Exercising in the high desert of New Mexico is a dusty, dry affair. Even when you’re not sweating, the sun feels unfiltered and harsh, like it’s sucking moisture from inside your body. As someone who prioritizes sweaty aerobic activities every day in this climate, I try my best to stay hydrated. But if I don’t drink enough fluids, thearidity makes it challenging to catch up: no matter how much I chug, I’m often still thirsty.
I employ a rotating cast of beverages to achieve my hydration quotas:SodaStreamsparkling water with lime, 100 percent juices cut withsparkling water, fruit smoothies with protein powder, and my favorite: ($25for four tubes).
These magic disksare easy to use. Fill a pint glass with water, drop in atablet, and in a few minutes the tab will completely dissolve, leaving you with a slightly sweet, effervescent beverage that I find endlessly refreshing. Dripping sweat post-run, I often stand holdingthe cup, watching the disintegratingtabletfloat to the surface of mycold filtered water in anticipation of that first, most satisfying hit.
Of Nuun Sport’s 13flavors,I highly recommend , , and . In fact, thiscaffeine variety is my go-to (there arefour flavors with caffeine, and dosage varies, so make sure to read the label). Most lunch breaks I return from a run or bike ride and plop one in some water. The combination of electrolytes, minerals, a single gram of sugar, andcaffeinehelps give me theboost I need to recover and finish out the day’s work.
The tablets are just as useful on weekends. For rides and runs over two hours, I fill a separate bottle with water and a Nuun tablet and use itas apick-me-up on the trail. I’ve tried countless other during-exercise solutions and found that Nuun products are the lightest and most gentle on my stomach. That counts for a lot when you’re putting in hard efforts that lasta half day or longer.
Nuun also offers instant powder packets, vitamin tablets, and subscription boxes, but for my money, the Sporttablets are the best, both in flavor and in satisfaction (some of the powder packets don’t totally dissolve and are grainy in the water). You may have to wait a few minutes for your drink to be ready, but I find that only builds my anticipation: that initial chug usually empties about half a pint. It’s that good.