The easiest and fastest way to lose energy during a workout is by becoming dehydrated and low in fluids — particularly water — as well as electrolytes such as chloride, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium. The body thrives when the ratio between water and electrolytes is balanced and favorable. 

If you become too high or low in either, or if both are depleted, you run the risk of sickness and fatigue, headaches, cramping, or nausea. And unfortunately, your workout performance inevitably suffers as a result. 

Related: How Drinking Herbal Tea Post-Workout Helps You Recover Faster

While dehydration symptoms are most common during HIIT workouts or while rigorously training for a Spartan race, you might notice exhaustion and discomfort throughout all variations of training sessions due to the weather and environment, your nutrition and fuel accessibility, your hydration levels prior to working out, and more. 

That’s where hydration tablets might help you manage your hydration levels and avoid a dangerous deficiency. Plus, you can easily pack them in your gym bag or runner's pack to use as a mid-workout boost.  

What Are Spartan Hydration Tablets?

Spartan Hydration Tablets are designed to provide the hydration needed for intense workouts and competitions, without the use of fillers, artificial ingredients, or chemicals. 

“These tablets are made with the electrolytes needed to prevent dehydration, muscle cramps, and poor performance," Trista Best, MPH, LDN, RD, a sports dietitian for Spartan trainees, says. "Spartan formulates their electrolyte tablets with phosphorus, magnesium, chloride, sodium, and potassium and a very few extra natural ingredients, including vegetable wax, stearic acid, and silica."

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Basically, the formula replenishes electrolytes and builds a greater supply, so that you have more energy and focus for workouts. You're also able to keep your body’s pH and hydration balance stable, as the body becomes too acidic when you’re dehydrated and electrolyte-deficient. 

Related: This Is Why Hydration Is More Important Than You Think

Plus, it’s not just about increasing the electrolyte power, but also about avoiding junk such as sugar and unhealthy additives.

“These additives are known to cause gastrointestinal distress, insulin spikes, and even potential weight gain due to extra calories,” Best says, so it’s better to avoid them. 

What’s more, the formula is plant-based, sugar-free, and has been tested by real athletes and military members. 

Can Spartan Hydration Tablets Affect Your Endurance and Performance?

“The benefit is that you are staying hydrated without needing sugar-loaded sports drinks or chalky powders,” she says.

It's important to note that water is still necessary for a healthy hydration ratio, too, or else you may be too low in water and high in electrolytes, respectively. The two go hand-in-hand, and if you’re taking in more electrolytes, you should also be drinking more water.  

When you are training or competing in a high-intensity sport, you lose electrolytes naturally through sweat.

“Replacing these electrolytes is essential to keep your body balanced and prevent cramps or worse side effects," Best explains. "If these electrolytes aren't replaced as you work out, you risk poor performance, injury, brain fog, and severe dehydration."

Related: I Trained for My First 50K and Drank N/A Beer. Here's What I Learned.

Spartan Hydration Tablets help you avoid consuming other kinds of processed electrolyte and performance powders or sports drinks, which tend to be sugary and might be a hassle to carry around. Instead, the tablets can be taken before a training session or race, and they are slow-release for up to six hours.

“Athletes are constantly running into products that are high in additives and sugars that are suboptimal not only for training, but also for recovery," Josh Honore, NASM CPT, Spartan racer, and XPRO for Xponential Plus, says. "Many products with added sugars can interfere with nutrient timing in relation to other meals throughout the day, too." 

The Best Time to Take Spartan Hydration Tablets During Training

You can get a boost of hydration at any point as you train, but timing is important, so you’re better off timing consumption well to receive maximum value. You can take up to three tablets daily, and it’s best to take them 30 minutes before a training session or race for maximum endurance and training benefits. And don't forget to take them along with water.

“Once you take the tablets, it's important to continue drinking water as you usually would for hydration in order for the electrolytes to get into the cells,” Best says.

Don’t skimp on water consumption, not just before your training session but also during and after. You must rehydrate as needed to maintain healthy hydration levels all day long, especially if you’re heavily sweating and losing electrolytes and fluids at a higher rate than usual.  

Honore, who takes a tablet in the morning before a workout, suggests drinking several glasses of water upon first waking up to shake off fatigue and give your mind and body a reboot in alertness and energy levels.

“For me, it’s important to begin my day with a few glasses of water, and since I often train in the morning as well, it works perfectly to take a hydration tablet first thing in the morning and get a head start on keeping my cells happily hydrated for the rest of the day,” he says. 

If you feel you need more than one tablet, try taking another and monitor the difference in endurance while training. You can also discuss it with your trainer or dietitian if you're unsure. 

Related: 10 Things You Didn't Know Hydration Could Do for Your Brain and Body

Like many athletes, Honore likes to implement intermittent fasting into his nutrition plan. He says that the tablets don’t interfere with fasting or any other supplements, which he might take on a training day for added performance benefits or fuel. 

Spartan Hydration Tablets also have a digestion-friendly profile, so you can avoid bloating and stomach upset over the four- to six-hour interval.

“Post-workout, I can have my regular protein shake or a solid breakfast and know that I won’t feel bloated or suffer any digestive disruption,” Honore says. 

Finally, the tablets are keto- and Paleo-approved, low in sugar and carbohydrates, and easy to implement into your daily meal plan to stay on track with your training progress and nutrition goals.