Green Tea Sports Drink

This is an all-natural, homemade sports drink that's easy to whip up before a workout. Each ingredient plays an important role in fueling your fitness.

This recipe post is sponsored by Lipton® as part of the Agents of Change program.

I’ve had this idea for a long time that I wanted to create a homemade sports drink. Why? I have a few reasons. First, sometimes I need a sports drink for a run or workout and I don’t have any in the house. Second, I like sports drinks without artificial ingredients. Lastly, I always just wondered if I could come up with a combo that provided a little something extra than just carbs and electrolytes.

Friends, I finally think I’ve got it. My Green Tea Sports Drink made with Lipton® Green Tea is all my dreams come true for a sports drink.

Green tea is the perfect base flavor for a sports drink because it’s light, refreshing and just has a leg up on plain water.

Here’s all the reasons why I love this Green Tea Sports Drink:

• Green tea is a great choice as a base for a sports drink because it’s just as hydrating as water. It also provides flavonoids which have been shown to promote a healthy heart and could have other health benefits important for athletes. In addition, there’s a small amount of caffeine in tea (less than a cup of brewed/filtered coffee, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Composition Database).
• You can adjust the flavor based on what you like. Try brewing any of the flavored Lipton® green tea varieties to make your own unique version. You can also adjust the amount of lemon juice or try fresh lime or orange juice instead.
• There’s no artificial flavors or colors in this drink. Win!
• There is both glucose and fructose from the honey and sugar in this drink which is important. In fact, it’s recommended to have a mix of both these monosaccharides (simple sugars) to maximize the amount of fuel your body can use during exercise.
• Electrolytes are present thanks to a pinch of salt and the coconut water. If you are a heavy sweater, you may want to double the amount of salt to replace your losses.

Who needs a sports drink

Sports drink can play an important role in improving performance in all kinds of activities. Generally, it is recommended to use a sports drink with both carbs and electrolytes during continuous exercise lasting an hour or longer. However, if your training is very intense or takes place in very hot or very cold climates, a sports drink could be beneficial even if the duration is less than an hour. I have found this to be the case for me as having a sports drink really helps me make it through my outdoor boot camp class.

Who does not need a sports drink

In situations where movement is intermittent and lower intensity, like a youth sports practice, I don’t recommend a sports drink. I’ve watched some youth sports practices and there tends to be a lot of standing around. Most situations like this are not one that are intense enough to justify giving the kids a carb and electrolyte drink. It’s not really doing much beyond adding calories to their daily intake.

Another situation where a sports drink is typically not necessary is indoor gym workouts less than an hour in length. By simply going into this kind of workout having eaten something within 1-1/12 hours, your body has what it needs to maximize benefits.

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Recipe

Have I convinced you to give this a try? Here’s the simple recipe, and remember you can customize this by adjusting the tea flavors, amount of salt and the lemon juice. One recommended serving is 8 oz. but you can certainly double that for a larger, more normal quantity.

If you try this Green Tea Sports Drink, I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment and let me know how it went down.