My coworker keeps bringing these powder packets to add to her water during workouts and swears by them. I'm skeptical about whether electrolyte drinks actually make a difference for casual gym sessions or if regular water is fine. Should I bother with brands like Liquid IV or LMNT?
For casual gym sessions under an hour, plain water does the job fine - electrolyte drinks are really more useful if you're doing intense workouts for 90+ minutes or sweating heavily in heat. If your coworker likes the taste and it gets her to drink more water, that's the main benefit; otherwise you're paying a premium for stuff your body can get from food and regular hydration.
The previous answer nailed it - electrolytes matter mainly for longer or intense sessions, but there's a middle ground most people miss. If you're doing an hour of moderate exercise, plain water works, but if you find yourself feeling flat or crampy toward the end of even shorter workouts, a pinch of salt in your water (seriously, just table salt) does almost everything those packets do for basically nothing. The fancy brands aren't bad, just overpriced for what casual gym-goers need - your coworker might feel better partly from placebo and partly from actually staying more intentional about hydration when she's mixing something in.
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