In fitness places, we often see people spend tens of dollars to play for an hour, but few people consciously spend a few dollars to drink a bottle of sports drinks, at most a bottle of mineral water. As a result, after one exercise, my whole body ached and I couldn't recover the next day. In fact, this kind of fitness exercise has not achieved the expected effect, and even backfired. This is because they only consider exercise, not diet before and after exercise.

When a person exercises, the material consumption will increase greatly, and the biggest consumption is sugar, water and electrolyte. Sugar provides energy for muscle contraction, and water and electrolyte are quickly lost from sweat. These three substances must be supplemented in a timely and appropriate amount to ensure the effect of exercise, accelerate the recovery of the body after exercise, and truly achieve the purpose of fitness.

Four characteristics of sports drinks

Different from ordinary drinks, sports drinks combine water supplement, sugar supplement and salt supplement according to the needs of exercise, and supplement the nutrients lost during exercise in a targeted manner, thus maintaining and improving the sports ability. Sports drinks have the following characteristics:

1. Specific sugar content and sugar combination

A scientifically formulated sports drink must contain a certain amount of sugar. If sucrose, glucose and fructose are used as raw materials, the sugar concentration of 6% is generally adopted, which is the best concentration to accelerate the recovery of body fluids and provide energy. Any sugar concentration higher than 6% will slow down absorption, resulting in the retention of drinks in the gastrointestinal tract. This is also the reason why drinks containing more than 8% sugar (such as some fruit juice and soda water) are not suitable for exercise.

At present, the best sports drinks are mainly oligosaccharides, whose molecules are 3 ~ 10 times larger than glucose and fructose and 1 ~ 5 times larger than sucrose. Its advantages include providing more energy, low sweetness, non-stick to mouth and throat, etc. It is beneficial to supplement blood sugar and make the brain and muscles absorb sugar continuously during exercise, thus improving endurance, delaying fatigue and accelerating recovery after exercise.

Second, the right amount of electrolyte.

Sweating during exercise leads to a large loss of electrolytes such as potassium and sodium, which leads to physical weakness and even cramps, leading to a decline in exercise ability. Sodium and potassium ions in drinks not only help to replenish sodium and potassium lost in sweat, but also help to maintain blood volume and make the body get more water. If the electrolyte content in the beverage is too low, it cannot be supplemented; If it is too high, it will cause gastrointestinal discomfort, and the water in the drink cannot be effectively absorbed by the body.

The content of electrolyte in sports drinks is not high, but it plays an important role in people's sports. The acid-base balance of body fluids, the contraction of muscles and the conduction of nerve impulses are all inseparable from electrolytes. In addition, the electrolyte in the beverage can improve the taste of the beverage and stimulate people's desire to drink water, which is very important for people engaged in sports, because the appetite of the human body is suppressed during exercise. A large number of electrolyte needs of human body can be supplemented in diet. Sports drinks pay more attention to the addition of sodium and potassium, and some drinks also have certain requirements for calcium and magnesium.

3. Vitamins in great demand during exercise.

Sports drinks will also consider increasing vitamins that are in great demand during exercise, such as B vitamins, which can promote energy generation; Vitamin C is used for scavenging free radicals, reducing its harm to the body and delaying the occurrence of fatigue; Proper amount of taurine and inositol can promote the synthesis of protein, prevent the decomposition of protein, regulate metabolism and accelerate the elimination of fatigue.

Fourth, no carbonated gas, no caffeine, no alcohol.

Carbonated gas can cause flatulence and discomfort in the stomach, stomach cramps and even vomiting. Caffeine and alcohol have certain diuretic and dehydration effects, which will further aggravate the loss of body fluids.

How to supplement sports drinks before, during and after exercise?

After determining the variety of drinks, drinking time is also very important. The principle is:

1. Supplementing 250 ~ 500ml of liquid 1~2 hours before exercise can increase the sugar reserve in the body.

2. Use a small amount of liquid many times during exercise, and replenish 15 ~ 250 ml of liquid every 125 ~ 20 minutes to prevent stomach discomfort. Supplementing blood sugar, prolonging exercise time and delaying fatigue.

3. Replenish the fluid lost during exercise. For every weight loss of 65,438+0 kg during exercise, 65,438+000 ml of liquid should be added, which can accelerate the recovery of water, sugar, inorganic salts and trace elements lost in the body, promote the rapid recovery of muscle glycogen and achieve the effect of eliminating fatigue.