A couple of months back I was walking the dog at the common , and as I arrived, two 'middle aged' ladies were just returning to their cars from a 'power walk'. They looked a little red in the face, but by no means out of breath as they were chatting away!
Last week I saw 2 younger girls at the gym chatting away as they 'worked' on the cross trainer (damn I hate those machines), then proceeded to do a few random weights exercises with weights my 4 year old could pick up.
Now, I'm not going to put these people down, because they were at least doing 'something', but I'm presuming they probably wanted to lose a bit of weight (just judging by their general appearance) as well as getting fit. What got me though was that all of them were drinking a particular brand of isotonic drink. The one that promises you will work 33% percent harder or whatever it may be! I would lay a hefty bet that there were more calories in that drink than these people burnt off during their workout! Sports drinks are high in calories due to their sugar content, and only have a place during strenuous exercise.
If you are exercising for up to 45 mins, then standard water is all you need if you have eaten correctly prior to your workout.
Strenuous exercise lasting over an hour, then you could look towards such drinks, as the sodium and sugars will replenish levels lost though sweating.
If you are strength training then a protein/carb mix drink during and after workouts would be beneficial.
If you are strength training then a protein/carb mix drink during and after workouts would be beneficial.
If you're looking to lose weight, watch out for those 'hidden calories'!
