Advertising Works – Those Sports Drinks Don’t Really Help Your Performance

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The other day one of my clients teenage daughter accompanied her to a training session, where she sat and observed.  When she walked in the studio she was drinking a bottle of Gatorade.  When I questioned her, I learned that her mother had bought it for her. So that begs the question, why?

If you’ve ever watched a professional footy code on TV in Australia, you’ll probably have noticed that after the game, most players have a bottle of either Powerade or Gatorade thrust in their hand.  Is it because it’s good for them?  Is it because they like the taste?  Is it because they have to?  The answer is probably a little bit of yes for all of them.

Here’s my take on advertising of these  types of sports drinks.

Gatorade was originally created by the University of Florida back in 1965, to replenish its various athletics & sporting teams of water, carbohydrates and electrolytes suffered as a result of HEAVY exercise.  The name was derived from the team name, “The Florida Gators”.

The original formula, a bland tasting glucose mixture worked very well in replenishing the lost water , glycogen stores & electrolytes.  The brand name and formula was quickly snapped up by Pepsi, but due to its lack of taste, the formula was changed.  (In came sugar)

So who are sports drinks meant for?  The reality is, unless you’re participating in continuous and rigorous physical activity for more than 90 minutes in duration, you really have no need to drink a sports drink.  Why?  Because the body has ample stores of energy in the form of muscle and liver glycogen on board to adequately perform whatever activity you participate in for this time.

After 90 minutes, any sugary drink will replace the lost glycogen stores.  Ironman competitors are known to drink large amounts of coke during an event just to keep them going.

So why is is that we see so many sports drinks being consumed by average everyday weekend warriors and gym goers?  The answer is simple – Advertising.

People have been duped into thinking sports drinks improve their performance.  The message may be true, but the message is missing the target audience ON PURPOSE.  Advertisements of these sports drinks isn’t targeting the professional elite sports person at all.  They target the 10-18 yr old teenage market.  Why?  Because once you’re addicted (Oh did I mention sugar is addicted?) you’ll continue to drink their product.  It’s called repeat sales.

So, my take is this: Unless you’re an ironman or your sport lasts longer than 90 minutes, the extra sugar you’re drinking in that sports drink will simply be converted to free fatty acids and then stored on your tummy, hips and thighs.

Pat Rae

ABOUT: Pat Rae is a personal trainer, lifestyle coach, massage therapist, motivational speaker, author and presenter.  He is the owner of a boutique PT studio in Brisbane  and an online health and wellness program both of which have been established to help people live healthier, happier and more energetic life through exercise, eating whole real foods and stressing less.  See more at http://www.prpt.com.au & http://www.patrae.com