Exercising in the high desert of New Mexico is a dusty, dry affair. Even when you鈥檙e not sweating, the sun feels unfiltered and harsh, like it鈥檚 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鈥檛 drink enough fluids, the听aridity makes it challenging to catch up: no matter how much I chug, I鈥檓 often still thirsty.
I employ a rotating cast of beverages to achieve my hydration quotas:听SodaStream听sparkling water with lime, 100 percent juices cut with听sparkling water, fruit smoothies with protein powder, and my favorite:听 ($25听for four tubes).
These magic disks听are easy to use. Fill a pint glass with water, drop in a听tablet, 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 holding听the cup, watching the disintegrating听tablet听float to the surface of my听cold filtered water in anticipation of that first, most satisfying hit.
Of Nuun Sport鈥檚 13听flavors,听I highly recommend , , and . In fact, this听caffeine variety is my go-to (there are听four 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, and听caffeine听helps give me the听boost I need to recover and finish out the day鈥檚 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 it听as a听pick-me-up on the trail. I鈥檝e 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鈥檙e putting in hard efforts that last听a half day or longer.
Nuun also offers instant powder packets, vitamin tablets, and subscription boxes, but for my money, the Sport听tablets are the best, both in flavor and in satisfaction (some of the powder packets don鈥檛 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鈥檚 that good.