Natural Beverages: Staying Energized & Hydrated During Pilates

When you’re engaged in an intense pilates workout, especially during the warm summer months, staying hydrated and cool is key. Without the right hydration, research shows that multiple bodily systems become compromised, including our skin, cognitive function, gut, and overall body composition. Natural beverages are key to living and feeling well.

Why? Because natural and functional beverages give your body what it needs to remain hydrated, active, and fully functional both pre- and post-workout. Especially with heated pilates (and heated yoga, like Bikram yoga), staying hydrated is essential to completing workouts without succumbing to dizziness, fatigue, or dehydration.

Ola Mate here: we understand the research and science behind staying energized and hydrated during pilates. In fact, many of our team members and customers use natural beverages to help them achieve peak performance during workouts.

If you’re curious about how to optimize your performance, the natural way, during strenuous workouts like pilates, you’ve come to the right place.

 In this article, we’ll provide a few of our favorite natural beverages, as well as:

• What natural beverages are

• Hydration hacks for staying cool during a strenuous pilates workout

• 5 Awesome and natural beverages that keep you hydrated and cool

• The importance of choosing a natural beverage that’s both functional and refreshing

• Herbal-infused tea infusions, like yerba mate, for staying cool, collected, and focused for your workout regimen

What are natural beverages and drinks?

Let’s get clear on what a natural beverage is. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a natural beverage is any beverage that isn’t “artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source).”

Common, non-alcoholic, natural beverages include the following:

• Water (mineral water, purified water, or spring water)

• Nervine beverages (coffee, tea, and yerba mate)

• Soft beverages (carbonated & sparkling drinks, juice-, and syrup-based beverages)

5 Awesome and organic natural beverages for energy and hydration during pilates

Natural beverages help us operate at peak performance. Understanding how to use natural beverages to stay cool during pilates workouts is key to ensuring a successful sweat session.

Aside from hydrating throughout the day, wearing breathable clothing, and exercising during cooler times of the day, the following natural beverages can keep you hydrated and refreshed for whatever pilates throws your way:

1. Water (essential for all exercise)

Did you know that a 5% drop in your water intake can reduce your ability to work by 30%, says UNC Health Southeastern.

As the ultimate baseline, water is essential for regulating your internal body temperature, particularly in pilates. Whether you’re participating in an outdoor pilates workout session or an indoor heated pilates session, water quenches thirst and helps you regulate your internal body temperature.

Here are a few quick tips for maximizing your hydration game and pilates workout:

• Before pilates: Drink two cups of water two hours before you start your workout.

• During pilates: Try to drink at least four ounces of water every 15 minutes.

• After pilates: Continue drinking water as needed to replace lost fluids.

Plain water is always one of the best ways to hydrate, as it’s essential for maximizing performance on and off the mat and reformer.

2. Coconut water (great for moderate exercise)

Coconut water, not to be confused with coconut milk, is great for moderate exercise. This all-natural, delicious drink is known for its natural electrolyte content.

Containing minerals like potassium, sodium, and magnesium, key minerals you lose when you sweat, coconut water is packed with vitamins and minerals, which can help replenish you after a good sweat.

Drinking natural, fresh coconut water is essential to replacing much-needed electrolytes after a pilates session.

3. Fruit-infused water or probiotic soda (hydration with natural sugar)

If plain water feels dull, fruit-infused, no-sugar-added drinks provide an excellent, low-calorie alternative.

Infusing water with lemons, strawberries, oranges, limes, or pomegranate does more than just upgrade the taste of your beverage. These functional ingredients add a vital boost of antioxidants and vitamins to your recovery.

Mix and match different fruits, incorporate them into your next exercise ritual, and discover which flavored blends taste best.

4. Herbal teas (hydration alternative with antioxidants to boost your flow)

Many herbal teas use ginger for its many health benefits. Often used in specific diets and medications for digestive health and gut health, organic ginger has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. It can also help relieve nausea and aid in digestion.

What’s more, herbs and health foods, like ginger, can work wonders for active people. For example, ginger helps accelerate recovery following intense exercise, according to research by the National Library of Medicine.

If you want to make your own infusion, simply steep a few thin slices of fresh ginger root in hot water. Alternatively, our Grapefruit Ginger sparkling mate tea utilizes organic ginger juice to simultaneously support heart health and digestion.

Whether you’re sipping green tea, oolong, white tea, or moringa, herbal blends are highly effective pre- and post- pilates workout tools.

5. Sparkling adaptogenic teas (focused, jitter-free energy)

Finally, for those who are looking to avoid caffeine (think: probiotic sodas like Olipop or vintage colas) and dairy (think: creamy muscle milkshakes or smoothies), sparkling adaptogenic teas can help you sustain endurance and power during pilates.

Infused with adaptogens and herbs like ashwagandha and lion’s mane, our Berry Coconut Lavender sparkling tea quenches thirst and primes your system to be at its best. The natural caffeine from yerba mate provides a smooth, steady build of energy.

Sparkling adaptogenic teas provide the calm, focused energy required for precise, controlled movements of pilates, without the crash. What’s more, these powerhouse drinks also contain essential vitamins and minerals from organic, non-GMO ingredients that our bodies love.

Consider sparkling adaptogenic teas as a naturally effervescent way to get in the zone for your next pilates session.

What a natural beverage (or food) is not

Just in case, we figured we’d describe what a natural beverage is not, to help you with your pilates practice. True, natural beverages completely avoid the following:

• Artificial dyes or artificial sweeteners

• Artificial fillers or synthetic ingredients

• Natural beverages are non-alcoholic in nature

For a strenuous anaerobic and aerobic workout like pilates, you need hydration that’s both functional yet refreshing, flavorful yet healthy, and formulated by a brand or company committed to preserving the earth’s natural resources.

Health and wellness is all about receiving the right nutrition. That means drinking a botanical drink with recognizable ingredients grounded in vegetables and fruits that leave you with a feeling of satiety.

Whether you’re opting for probiotic-rich kefir soda, gut-healthy kombucha, soothing herbal tea, refreshing coconut water, or a powerhouse sparkling mate beverage, the best natural beverage for pilates is ultimately the one that fits your diet, lifestyle, and health needs.

Fast facts about the nutrition of natural beverages

Some of the most efficient, healthy natural beverages don’t just include natural ingredients. They include flavor combinations that offer benefits for mind and body. We’re talking:

✔️ Smoother energy without crashes

✔️ Full of antioxidants and adaptogens

✔️ Full flavor beverages that are ethically sourced

🏡Good Housekeeping, the magazine, explains these ideas best when discussing our Ola Mate natural beverage. 

👉🏼Check out our Instagram page to learn more about their take on natural beverages.

Sparkling yerba mate with adaptogens: A natural beverage for pilates

We may be biased, but of all the natural beverages, we think yerba mate is pretty cool. With about 80-100 milligrams of natural caffeine, a little more than green tea and a little less than coffee, yerba mate can be infused with water, fruit, and adaptogens to create a first-class flavor that’ll keep you focused and hydrated during pilates.

If you’re looking for a natural beverage with prebiotic effects that’s big on flavor, low on calories, and all around good for your body, we invite you to try Ola Mate. With three delicious fruity flavors to help you fuel, focus, and flow, this alcohol-free beverage will keep you fueled longer than most caffeinated energy drinks — 78 minutes longer to be exact!

To try a can of Ola Mate sparkling yerba mate tea, we invite you to shop our entire collection today.🎁

Note: The best natural beverage for your pilates practice is the one that meets your preferences, and that’s in line with your health care regimen. None of the information in this article is a prescription nor a substitute for professional medical or dietary advice. Please consult your trusted healthcare professional or dietician for medical advice.

🧘🏼♀️Ola Mate: Clean, Focused Energy Without the Jitters or the Crash🏋🏼♀️