I was chatting recently with a parent at a lacrosse tournament when the topic of electrolytes came up.
The conversation made me think about some of the research I did just a few months ago on the topic.
Here’s the deal, sports drinks for rehydration are not all the same.
When it’s summer and the heat is on and athlete’s are playing more that one game as they often do in lacrosse tournaments, proper hydration can not only help your performance, it can cost you if you don’t get it right.
When you’re deep into the second half of a tournament game, the sun is punishing, the humidity is suffocating, and your legs feel like they belong to someone else. You cramped up. Your focus went sideways. Your shot was late.
You need to know which type of sports drink you need to grab.
But here’s the underlying problem.
Not all hydration products are built for the same conditions and the gap between a good choice and a poor one isn’t just about taste or convenience. It’s about sodium. That’s the key. Sodium.
It’s about your sweat rate. It’s about whether you’re playing a 45-minute practice in October or grinding through a fierce double-header in Florida, Maryland, or Pennsylvania in July.
Get this wrong and you’re not just underperforming.
You’re actively working against your body and the conditions.
I’ll break down the five most commonly used electrolyte products, rank them by what matters most (sodium content) and show you exactly which situations call for which drink.
Let’s go.
SODIUM: IT’S THE X-FACTOR
Most athletes think about hydration in terms of water. And water is super important.
Drink more water, stay hydrated (although there’s a problem with this that I’ve covered – see my previous article on hydration).
Simple enough. But water alone doesn’t solve the problem because you’re not just losing water when you sweat.
You’re losing electrolytes, and the dominant one is sodium.
Sodium is the primary electrolyte in your sweat.
It regulates fluid balance, drives nerve signaling, and controls muscle contraction – which is a big one for lacrosse athletes and potentially with muscle cramping.
When sodium drops too low, especially when you’ve been sweating heavily, your body can’t hold onto the water you’re drinking.
You urinate it out. You stay dehydrated (not hyrdated as you’re trying to do). Muscle cramps follow. So does fatigue, mental fog, and degraded reaction time. All of this is real.
If you want to underperform, allow yourself to get dehydrated (that’s a joke).
The bottom line is the type and amount of sodium in your drink matters just as much as how much you’re drinking – especially in hot weather and with multiple games.
The five products below are ranked on what we can call the Sweat Scale from highest sodium content per serving to lowest.
Understanding where each sits, and why, is the first step toward a smarter hydration strategy.
The Sweat Scale
1. LMNT: Very High Sodium (Top of the Scale)
LMNT contains 1,000 mg of sodium per serving, which puts it in a different category from traditional sports drinks.
It was designed specifically for people who sweat a lot, work out hard, and operate in the heat: athletes, endurance competitors, and people following low-carbohydrate diets that naturally deplete sodium stores.
This product is best for:
- South Florida summer tournament days
- Double-headers or multi-game weekends
- Athletes who are heavy, salty sweaters (you know who you are, the ones with white crust on their face and jerseys)
- Sessions lasting 60 to 90+ minutes in high heat and humidity
- Athletes who cramp frequently despite drinking “enough”
The caution?
LMNT is not everyday practice hydration. For a 60-minute cooler-weather session, 1,000 mg of sodium is unnecessary and may actually create an imbalanced approach if water intake doesn’t keep pace. Use it when conditions genuinely demand it.
2. RE-LYTE Hydration: High Sodium
RE-LYTE from Redmond sits just below LMNT with approximately 810 mg of sodium per serving. It also carries a clean ingredient profile – no artificial colors, no synthetic sweeteners – and includes a balanced electrolyte mix with potassium, magnesium, and chloride alongside its sodium.
This is best for:
- Long summer practices (75-90+ minutes)
- Pre-game loading on hot days
- Athletes who train or compete in extended heat exposure but may find LMNT’s sodium level too aggressive
- Tournament days with moderate-to-high sweat demands
RE-LYTE is a strong middle-ground option for the athlete who needs serious sodium replacement without going to the extreme top of the scale.
3. LIQUID I.V. Hydration Multiplier: Moderate-to-High Sodium
Liquid I.V. uses a science-backed approach called Cellular Transport Technology (CTT), modeled after oral rehydration therapy (ORT), the same framework used medically for rapid rehydration.
Its sodium content sits around 500 mg per serving, paired with a specific glucose-to-sodium ratio designed to accelerate fluid absorption into the bloodstream.
What this means practically: Liquid I.V. may hydrate you faster than drinks with higher sodium but no delivery mechanism. Speed of absorption matters when you’re trying to rehydrate during a halftime break or between tournament games.
This is best for:
- Tournament days with back-to-back games
- Rapid rehydration between halves
- Athletes who struggle to stay ahead of hydration during high-output competition
- Girls lacrosse players in South Florida who need both sodium and absorption speed
This is one of the most commonly recommended products for serious high school lacrosse athletes competing in warm-weather conditions, and for good reason.
The balance of sodium, delivery mechanism, and palatability makes it practical and effective. It’s a great choice.
4. NUUN SPORT: Moderate to Low Sodium Electrolyte Tablets
Nuun Sport effervescent tablets deliver approximately 300 mg of sodium per serving with very little sugar content, minimal calories, and 5 electrolytes.
They’re convenient, portable, and relatively mild and a good fit for athletes who prioritize hydration over aggressive sodium replacement and may want a “cleaner” product profile than say Gatorade.
This is best for:
- Lower-intensity training days
- Cooler weather and fall season practices
- Athletes with lower sweat rates who still want electrolyte support beyond plain water
- Situations where caloric intake from drinks isn’t needed or desired
Nuun is a perfectly good product in the right context. It’s not the right tool for a South Florida summer tournament, but it’s a smart daily training option for many athletes. It’s not the highly potent rehydration drink but it’s fine for light duty.
5. GATORADE: Traditional Sports Drink with Moderate to Low Sodium
Traditional Gatorade built the modern sports drink category, and for decades it was the default answer to athletic hydration.
But its sodium content hovers around 160 mg to 270 mg per serving in standard formulations, significantly lower than the products above.
That’s not a flaw. It’s a feature for the right context. You could argue it could be last in the list but I think athletes typically drink more than a standard serving, thereby elevating the sodium content to a moderate level.
[*NOTE: Just after posting this article, I came to find a newer product by Gatorade called GatorLyte, a rapid rehydration formulation which the product I have has 490 mg of sodium. Remember, sodium is key, that’s why LMNT is the top dog here. GatorLyte would put the product more in the moderate category for the Sweat Sodium Scale of beverages.)
Traditional Gatorade is designed for moderate-duration activity in moderate conditions, and it pairs carbohydrates with electrolytes to provide both fuel and fluid.
For a 60-minute practice in mild weather, it does exactly what it’s supposed to do.
This may be best for:
- Shorter training sessions (under 60-75 minutes)
- Cooler-weather practices (fall season, indoor training)
- Lower sweat-rate athletes
- Situations where quick energy from carbohydrates is also a priority
The honest assessment:
Where Gatorade falls short is in the high-heat, extended-duration scenarios that are common in youth and high school lacrosse, particularly in the South.
If you’re playing a full game – or series of games – in July, Gatorade’s sodium content simply isn’t sufficient to replace what you’re losing. You also have the coloring and potential high sugar content with the standard formulations. And some athletes can have moderate to severe GI stress – something to consider.
The Matching Framework: Conditions → Sweat Rate → Product
Here’s how to think about it practically:
- 90°F+, humid, 90+ min tournament – Very high sweat rate – LMNT or RE-LYTE
- Hot summer practice, 60-90 min – High sweat rate – Liquid I.V. or RE-LYTE
- Tournament with back-to-back games – High sweat rate + need rapid rehydration – Liquid I.V.
- Moderate conditions, 60-75 min practice – Moderate sweat rate – Liquid I.V. or Nuun Sport
- Cooler weather, fall season practice – Lower sweat rate – Nuun Sport or Gatorade
- Light training or lower sweat rate – Low sweat rate – Nuun Sport or water
There you have it.
Let this be your guide.
SPECIAL NOTE TO GIRLS LACROSSE PLAYERS IN SOUTH FLORIDA
South Florida lacrosse athletes face some of the most demanding hydration conditions in the sport. Temperature and humidity combine to create sweat rates that can lead to excessive fluid loss during sustained activity. This make the need for pregame day hydration and rehydration strategies critical for health and for performance.
Tournament weekends in the hot spring, summer or fall – multiple games, minimal shade, high-speed play – are exactly the scenarios where the difference between the right and wrong hydration choice becomes a performance variable.
You need to manipulate this variable for your best performance.
If you’re a South Florida athlete playing a double-header day or a summer tournament, Liquid I.V., RE-LYTE, or LMNT should be in your bag. Not as a suggestion, but as part of your competition preparation.
If you’re using Gatorade as your primary hydration on those days, you are underrepresenting the sodium losses your body is experiencing and your performance in that second or third game will show it.
Keep in mind things I’ve shared with you here.
WHAT ABOUT OTHER SPORTS DRINKS? (AND PICKLE JUICE)
This review covered 5 of the most popular types of electrolyte drinks, however, there are many more (drip drop, dry water, etc.)
The goal was to make you aware of what’s important (sodium) to prevent performance decline and optimize lacrosse performance.
Then, there’s pickle juice which is extremely high in sodium, along the lines of LMNT.
Personally, I have zero desire to drink pickle juice on a hot day and I’d much rather opt for the better tasting – and better designed – LMNT (surprisingly, there is some data to support pickle juice to minimize muscle cramping) but that’s your call, my friend.
ONE MORE VARIABLE: YOU
The Sweat Sodium Scale gives you a framework, but the most important variable is your individual sweat rate and sodium concentration.
Some athletes are heavy sweaters. Some are salty sweaters. Most don’t know which category they fall into.
Clues that you’re a heavy or salty sweater:
- White residue on your face, helmet, or jersey after practice
- Frequent muscle cramps despite staying hydrated
- You feel significantly worse in the heat than your teammates
- You’re thirsty even when you’ve been drinking
If any of those sound familiar, you likely need to be at the higher end of this scale more consistently than you think.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Hydration is not a passive decision. Grabbing whatever is in the cooler or defaulting to the same sports drink you’ve used since middle school without considering the conditions is leaving performance on the table and in extreme cases, putting your health at risk.
The framework is straightforward: hotter conditions, longer sessions, higher sweat rates, and tournament demands require higher-sodium products.
Cooler conditions, shorter sessions, and lower sweat rates allow for lower-sodium options.
Match the product to the moment. Know your body. And treat your hydration strategy with the same intentionality you bring to your skills work, your strength training, and your preparation.
Because the athlete who shows up to game three of a tournament day properly hydrated has an edge over the one who doesn’t.
And on a long, hot day, that edge can be a difference maker.
Coach Scott is Precision Nutrition Level 1 certified and has been certified by the International Society of Sports Nutrition as a CISSN (Certified Sports Nutritionist by the International Society of Sports Nutrition) to complement his background as a sports performance coach and girls high school lacrosse coach.
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