Yeah, it depends on how long/hard you're training and what you're training for. If, for example, you're trying not to lose any lean tissue and you've just done an intense workout, waiting until you've got showered, driven home and made your tea might not be the best idea.



Another point is that your glycogen stores can only be so full, so if you're training for a long time, you might need to refuel during your workout.



You're quite correct though when you say that most people don't need to routinely use sports drinks, it was merely an example I picked to illustrate a point.

Isn't that the body's way of telling you that you've done enough?

So you should stop in the middle of a marathon (or a tennis match, or whatever) because your glycogen stores are depleted?

The nutritionist featured on the Panorama programme referred to by another poster suggested that 'sports' drinks could have a minor benefit for a small percentage of athletes performing at an elite level, but he was absolutely unequivocal that for the average joe doing his regular work-out, they have no benefit whatsoever.



We've tried to discourage their use at our junior rugby club but as has been alluded to, some lads think they 'need' them to get through a session; our parents were shocked when we told them that the average bottle contains 9-10 teaspoons of sugar and thankfully, their use is decreasing. We're advocating water or squash for hydration, and a milk-based drink within 40 mins of post-training to aid recovery.



Bit of an uphill struggle though, when you've got Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis working against you.

I don't think it's necessarily just elite athletes who can benefit from using sports drinks, but I certainly accept the point that you have to be working pretty hard to necessitate their use. If, for example, I play two hours of five-a-side back to back as I've been known to do, I'll knock back a bottle of Lucozade Sport in between the two games. I wouldn't, however, tend to use them during a normal gym workout.



The amount of sugar in one of the drinks (dental health aside) is only harmful if your body isn't working hard enough (or long enough) to utilise it.

At bloody last! After 50 years of being fed (no pun intended), what many of us knew was pure bollox, US scientists now think [url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/start-spreading-the-news--saturated-fat-is-not-so-bad-says-study-8482321.htmlbutter & lard may not have been so bad after all[/url

That'll be the millionaire Mo Farah and the millionaire Jessica Ennis ?

Indeed, some of which millions came from being the faces of Lucozade Sport and Powerade, respectively.

I'd actually quite like to have Jessica Ennis working against me. Mo, not so much.

To be fair to those manufacturers though, there isn't a cat in hells chance that they'd get kids to drink those appalling slimey concoctions without a sports superstar saying that they owe everything to "these slimy sports drinks", have you ever tasted any of them, if you haven't yet tasted Gatorade then save yourself the trouble, I've drunk it for you and now know what drinking the scum off the top of a summer pond must be like.

I don't begrudge them their millions; it could be argued though that it's a little irresponsible to be the face of a product that is marketed as a 'sports' drink for the masses when all the evidence indicates otherwise, but I don't fancy myself in an argument against the darlings of London 2012.



I've tasted a few of the drinks myself - they range from bland to noxious; I make my own 'sport' drink and have done for years - 1 part orange juice, fill up with water and a pinch of salt - that's hydrated me through several thousand miles of cycling, with flap-jacks for fuel and a couple of pints of real ale as a hearty recovery drink. Everything in moderation and all that jazz.

Thats almost EXACTLY the same formula that we use on our C2C rides every year, even down to the salt in the orange juice