Abstract
It is generally believed consuming sports drinks containing 6-8% carbohydrate and also containing 10-20 mmol.(-1) of Sodium during endurance events lasting longer than 60 minutes will benefit performance. During exercise in the heat, fluid consumption is also important for thermoregulation. Therefore, the aim of this review is to investigate the components of a typical sports drink, and determine whether there is any effect on exercise performance or thermoregulation in the heat. The results suggest that carbohydrate ingestion during continuous exercise over 60 minutes in the heat can improve time trial and time to exhaustion performance.