What to drink when you're working out
You can find hundreds of sports drinks on store shelves - but which really boost your performance, and which are just expensive sugar water? From weekend warriors to world champions here are some suggestions for the perfect beverage in every athletic situation.

Stop-and-Go Sports: Sports drinks with 6 to 8 percent carbohydrates have been shown to give athletes extra fuel to improve high-intensity athletic performance, even if activity lasts less than an hour. Best Bets: Gatorade Original Thirst Quencher and PowerAde Thirst Quencher

Endurance: To stay energized, marathoners, cyclists, and people exercising for more than 90 minutes should reach for endurance formulas. They're higher in sodium than traditional fluid-electrolyte replacement drinks, so they'll keep you hydrated during long workouts. Best Bets: PowerBar Endurance and Gatorade Endurance Hydration

Recovery: After a serious lifting session, the right drink can amplify your efforts. Research shows that sports drinks containing a combination of protein and carbohydrates enhance muscle recovery. Drinking this during or after each workout, my muscles are not sore at all the next day - these drinks work. Best Bet: Endurox R4

Low-cal: If you're exercising solely to lose weight, sticking to good old fashioned water is your best choice. But for those who don't like the taste of water, the added flavor of low-cal sports drinks may help you stay hydrated without too many additional calories. Look for 10 calories or less per 8-ounce serving. Best Bets: Propel Fitness Water, Gatorade's new G2 and PowerAde's low-cal Option

FYI: Gatorade has a unique and useful Fluid Loss Calculator just set the parameters for your workout, plug in your weight and you'll be given the recommended amounts of fluid you'll need to drink to stay hydrated before, during and after your workout.