In endurance sports, you hear the terms hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic a lot. But what do these terms really mean and when do you take what?

During exercise, you sweat, lose fluids and consume energy. It is therefore important to supplement fluid loss and energy loss, you can do this with sports drinks. But when do you use what? In this blog we will go a little deeper into which drink you can use when.

If you exercise for less than an hour you don't need much extra. If you exercise for more than an hour and then take nothing with you or only water, you are preying on your body. This means that you are using more energy than your body has. Your body still wants to provide itself with energy and then gets this energy from fat or protein stored in your body. The fat that your body uses is a much slower fuel which reduces your performance (man with the hammer). The protein your body consumes is largely pulled from your muscles and this causes extra muscle damage and less or no muscle building. So if you want to perform better make sure your body is supplied with the right nutrients!

One way to do this is through a sports drink.

Now there are 3 different sports drinks on the market hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic sports drinks. The difference in these is the osmotic value: the ratio of dissolved particles of carbohydrates and salts in the drink to the dissolved particles in the blood. So the osmotic value indicates how quickly/easily the drink can be absorbed by your body

So the better the osmotic value is the better the drink is absorbed, this is because your body does not have to do anything about the fluid and absorbs the drink immediately. If the osmotic value is less good, then the drink stays in the stomach longer and if you drink a lot you may also experience a lumpy stomach. The same is true when the osmotic value is too high.

Water contains no carbohydrates and few salts and therefore has a low osmotic value and is therefore not absorbed well.

What is an isotonic sports drink?

Isotonic sports drinks contain 20 to 88 grams of fast carbohydrates per liter. They have the same osmotic value as body fluids and are therefore easily and quickly absorbed. This sports drink is suitable to drink before and/or during exercise. Try to drink 500ml of Isotonic sports drink per hour during moderate to/within an intensive workout. Our isotonic sports drink has 65 grams of carbohydrates per liter and in addition we are 1 of the first in Europe whose taste is 100% natural. Our sports drink incorporates real fruit to make the taste. We offer our Isotonic sports drink in 2 different flavors Lemon and Red fruits. This drink is best used for efforts longer than 1.5 hours.

What are hypotonic drinks?

Hypotonic drinks have a relatively low osmotic value. Your body can therefore absorb it less easily than an isotonic sports drink . This drink is best drunk before and/or during exercise for efforts of 0 to 1.5 hours. You can also dose our isotonic sports drink as a hypotonic sports drink. In that case, use half a scoop instead of a full scoop.

What is a Hypertone sports drink?

A hypertonic sports drink contains more than 88 grams of carbohydrates per liter. It has a higher osmotic value than body fluids and is therefore absorbed slower than isotonic sports drinks. You have the advantage that you take in more carbohydrates per 100 ml than an isotonic sports drink which means that you need to take fewer energy bars or gels. Our endurance booster is a hypertonic sports drink. This drink contains 110 grams of carbohydrates per liter. Besides the carbohydrates, our endurance booster also has a unique formula that also boosts your endurance performance. This drink is good to use for efforts longer than 2 hours and can be used both before and/or during exercise.

Conclusion

The hypotonic sports drink is best used in efforts up to 1.5 hours. The isotonic sports drink is the drink with the best osmotic value and is best used in efforts longer than 1.5 hours. A Hypertonic sports drink has the advantage of being high in carbohydrates but is therefore less easily absorbed and is best used in efforts longer than 2 hours.