Natural Bodybuilding Question: Is fruit juice the best drink for hydration & bodybuilding workout performance?

Answer: The short answer is NO. The reason for that is the following: unless you are a skinny hardgainer that is having a lot of issues gaining muscle, fruit juice is just a whole bunch of sugar calories. For example, 8 ounces of grape juice yields approximately 40 grams of simple carbs in the form of sugar. Caloric wise, that comes out to 160 calories. Now, imagine if grape juice is someone’s preferred form of drink for staying hydrated. If that is the case, assuming ten 8-ounce glasses a day, we are looking at 1,600 calories a day!

On top of that, we are not talking about the natural fresh squeezed variety. Big difference with the store variety as the sugar content of the store juice is way higher than the one obtained by squeezing a fruit.

The best way to stay hydrated is to drink spring water. Keep a water bottle with you at all times. Drink .66 x your bodyweight (measured in pounds) in ounces of water each day. So for example, if you are 200-lbs, be sure to drink 132 ounces of water each day.

Now if we are talking about staying hydrated throughout the workout, water again is the best bet. However, if you can afford it, there is a product called PowerCarb from www.labrada-nutrition.com that helps tremendously and you can mix this with your water in order to achieve better hydration and workout performance. I mix it up with my water and 3 scoops of BCAAs. Powercarb is a complex carb whose molecular weight has been manipulated in order to allow for fast absorption into the bloodstream (faster than even glucose). One scoop has 20 grams of carbs and it has the right amount of electrolytes (meaning potassium and sodium) in order to better hydrate you. I also take one tablet of potassium as well. I put in between 20-25 ounces of spring water per scoop of Powercarb. The BCAAs turn this hydration drink into a powerful recovery drink. You can also put creatine as well into this drink. I personally take 2.5 grams of creatine before the workout and mix another 2.5 grams with this drink as I consume it during the workout (I finish my last sip by the time I am done).

So in conclusion, for hydration purposes, I use spring water throughout the day and 1 scoop of PowerCarb + 3 scoops of BCAAs + 1 Potassium table during the workouts.

I hope this helps!

Until next time, take care and train hard!