The Effects of Different Drinks
on Heart Rate During Exercise
Jack Powell
Abstract
• The goal of this project was to see which
drink would provide the best results during
exercise. I had my subjects drink three
different drinks and run a half mile and run
the same pace. They then took their heart
rate to see which provided the lowest
heart rate.
Review of Literature
Research was done on how different drinks affect you heart rate during
exercise. The drinks that were researched were water, Gatorade, and Red
Bull. These drinks were chosen due to their popularity and different contents.
What was found is that sugar and caffeine can increase heart rate which
would force your heart to work harder to do the same amount of work that
may be considered easy without the sugar.
Research found that water is the best drink to consume before exercising.
Gatorade contains sugar, but also contains electrolytes, which hydrate the
body. The Air Force Academy did a study and according to Southard and
Pugh, “hydration status affects heart rate”. Red Bull was found to be a
horrible choice for exercise with high levels of caffeine and sugar.
Major terms
Heart Rate- the amount of times the heart beats in a minute
Resting Heart Rate- the amount of times the heart beats when the body is
resting
Pace- the rate at which we ran (6min mile pace)
Hypothesis
The problem I am researching is the effects on
heart rate during exercise after drinking the
same amount of water, Gatorade, and Red Bull.
My hypothesis is if the subjects ran ½ mile at the
same pace then water will produce the lesser
heart rate increase from their resting heart rate
followed by Gatorade, and then the energy
drink. I believe the reasons for this is the higher
sugar content in the Gatorade and the caffeine
and sugar in the Red Bull.
Experimental Design
Materials:
• stop watch
• 3c. of water
• 3c. of Gatorade
• 3c. of Red Bull
• Paper
• Pencil
• Calculator
Experimental Design
Setup
Experimental Design
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Variables:
Control- resting heart rate
Independent- Which drink is consumed
Dependent- heart rate
Constant- The constants will be the pace
at which is run (6min), the time between
each drink(24 hrs), and the time of day(3
pm).
Procedure
• Each person will take their resting heart rate
• Then they will drink 2c. of water
• Next they will run ½ mile and take their heart
rate
• I will then record the new heart rate and find the
difference
• 24 hrs later we will retake our resting heart rate
• Then we will drink the 2 c. worth of Gatorade
Procedure
• We will then run ½ mile again at the same pace
• The new heart rate will be taken and there should
be a greater increase from the resting heart rate
than water because of Gatorades high sugar
content
• 24 hours later again we will retake our resting
heart rate
• We will then drink the 2c. worth of Red Bull
• We will then run ½ mile at the same pace and take
the new heart rate
• This heart rate increase should be the largest
because of the high sugar amount and the high
levels of caffeine
Pictures
Pictures
Pictures
Data Table
Heart Beats Per Minute
People
Resting
Water
Gatorade Red Bull
Jack
48
99
140
175
Jay
55
103
142
183
Sam R.
47
91
138
171
Sam L.
50
89
158
177
Brett
52
105
160
189
Results and Discussions
• The results confirmed my hypothesis
• The water forced the heart to do the least
work
• Red Bull is an awful choice and is not
recommended before an athletic event or
anytime
• Gatorade is a better drink for replacing the
electrolytes after an athletic event and not
necessarily before, however, it is okay
Conclusions and Future Studies
• I would like to test other drinks to see
where they compare with water
• I would like to coach cross-country some
day, so it would be nice to see what my
teams should and should not be drinking
• I would also like to see if the snow and
weather conditions altered my results
• Inside would have probably been better
Acknowledgments and
Bibliography
• I would like to thank my mom for supplies
• I would also like to thank Mrs. Richards for
her help
• And lastly I would like to thank my
subjects:
– Jay Michels
– Sam Lutz
– Brett Schauwecker
– Sam Reichman
Bibliography
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Steinke, L. (2008, April 13). The Effect of an "energy drink" on
cardiovascular and metabolic parameters . Retrieved from
http://www.dominican.edu/query/ncur/display_ncur.php?id=853
Southard, T. L. (2004). Effect of hydration state on heart rate-based
estimates of vo2max. Official Journal of The American Society of Exercise
Physiologists (ASEP), 7(1), Retrieved from
http://www.asep.org/files/SouthardV2.pdf
Bozeman. (1998, April). Heart rate during exercise. Retrieved from
http://btc.montana.edu/Olympics/physiology/cf02.html
Brittany, D. (2004). The Effect of Gatorade Vs. Water While Exercising.
http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/soar/sciproj2004/brittanyd.html