High carb performance drinks, today called energy drinks, are reputed to be the pioneer sports training drinks to hit the market and earn a loyal clientèle. Carbo Force manufactured by the American Body Building Products was the first product to be manufactured as a ready to drink energy booster. Previously, body builders and other sportsmen and women used to carry assorted powders which they could mix with water when they got thirsty during a body building workout. Today however, body builders only have to pop open the bottles of concentrated carbohydrate drinks to rejuvenate their energy when the workout is in progress.

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Energy drinks have become quite popular since the late 1980s. The components have also come a long way as new compounds and recently discovered effective agents have been added to the mix. The question, however, still remains - Are bodybuilding drinks really effective or are people better off taking plain water? Find out more about the true nature and efficacy as well as the dangers behind seemingly healthy concoctions.

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NORMAN, Okla.—Consumption of a low-calorie energy drink may improve physiological adaptations to strength training, according to a new study (J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24(8):2227-38. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181aeb0cf). Researchers from the Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Health and Exercise Science at the University of Oklahoma, assessed the effects of daily consumption of an energy drink alone or with exercise on measures of body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, strength, mood and safety in previously sedentary males. A total of 38 men were recruited for the 10-week study and randomly assigned to energy drink + exercise (EX-A), energy drink (NEX-A), placebo + exercise (EX-B) or placebo (NEX-B). Subjects in the exercise group participated in resistance and endurance exercise.

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Caffeine. It’s the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive substance – and the only one that is completely unregulated. You find it in soft drinks, coffee, tea, energy drinks, and of course, those magic little “reviving” yellow pills we find on the medicine aisle. While caffeine has always played a small role in the diet of most people (90% of Americans consume it daily), it’s only recently that bodybuilders have discovered that caffeine gives them an edge. However, caffeine has some risks and dangers that many are not aware of. While bodybuilders will spend hours measuring their rice and chicken to the gram, they will often ignore the side effects of the pills they pop without worry.

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