You probably don't need a sports drink for a normal gym session

Electrolyte drinks earn their keep past about an hour of hard sweating, not before

Sports drinks are marketed as essential for any workout, but the science they're built on - replacing electrolytes and carbohydrate lost through sweat - mostly applies to endurance exercise lasting well over an hour, or shorter sessions in serious heat with heavy sweat loss. A typical 45-60 minute strength training session, even an intense one, doesn't deplete glycogen or electrolytes anywhere near the point where plain water stops being adequate.

The sugar content is the part worth paying attention to: most sports drinks carry 20-30+ grams of sugar per bottle, which is a meaningful chunk of daily intake if you're drinking one out of habit rather than genuine need. For a short or moderate session, that's added sugar with no real performance payoff - the carbohydrate boost matters for sustained endurance output, not for a standard set of squats or bench press.

The practical line: plain water covers the vast majority of gym sessions just fine. Reach for a sports drink specifically for training longer than roughly 60-90 minutes, in significant heat, or when sweat rate is visibly heavy - not as a default before every workout.