Any extreme workout is going to tap your energy reserves. If you want to get the most intense results, if you want the most transformative experience, then you need to be able to do each workout to your max—and that means having the fuel to keep going when others run out of energy.

That’s where FUEL SHOT comes in. Carefully formulated to deliver exactly the right amount of dextrose- and maltodextrin-based energy with a crucial added serving of electrolytes and a jolt of protein, this supplement will help you stay in the game longer, let you work out harder, and help your body respond faster and better while you’re recovering.

Further, for a supplement to work you have to want to drink it. Too many products these days from sports drinks to recovery formulas come loaded with artificial coloring and flavors, making it look radioactive and tasting like the underside of a paint factory. FUEL SHOT comes free of additives, colorants, or artificial flavoring. Mix it with your Beachbody M.A.X. Creatine or Beachbody Hardcore Base Shake with a splash of natural juice and you’re ready to go with a professional grade product that tastes however you want it to.

What makes FUEL SHOT so great?

Our bodies love to derive energy from the carbs we eat. Our blood sugar is called glucose, and all carbs that we consume are turned into glucose by either entering the blood stream directly, or by being processed through the liver. This blood sugar is our primary fuel source, and we store emergency supplies as glycogen in our muscle cells and liver. When you work out, these stores are depleted, and your blood sugar level drops. If it drops enough, you will ‘bonk’, or suffer from an energy crash.

That’s where FUEL SHOT is essential. Consuming carbs will give your body the fastest and most effective source of energy possible. It’s not generally a good idea to load up on simple carbs, however, because if there’s no demand from your muscles to use that excess glucose, it will get stored as fat. However, while working out or immediately after when your blood sugar levels are low, a supplement like FUEL SHOT is essential to maximize both your recovery and performance levels.

What happens if you don’t take a carb shot? Your body will do whatever it has to in order to get energy, even if that means breaking down protein (i.e. your muscles) in a process called catabolism. That’s why a timely shot of carbs can help you boost your energy levels. However, this isn’t a case of just chugging a sugary drink: FUEL SHOT is made of a combination of fast acting dextrose and slow acting maltodextrin. The first gets released immediately into the blood for a quick boost, while the second goes through the liver for a slow release and long lasting energy.

Aren’t Carbs Bad? 

There is a lot of talk these days portraying carbs as the enemy, a modern evil that our bodies haven’t evolved to deal with. The thinking goes that anything created since the agricultural revolution is new and bad for our digestive systems, and that we should stick to the diet we evolved over the last million years for best results.

While it is definitely true that you should avoid sugary sweets, processed food, and simple carbs, it’s important to realize that anything that isn’t a protein or a fat is a carb. That means, fruits, vegetables, sugars, bread, legumes, nuts—they’re all carbs, and thus anybody who says carbs are bad doesn’t know what they’re speaking of.

Further, protein and fat take a long time relatively speaking for our bodies to digest. Carbs can quickly be turned into fuel, which our bodies will snap up and use to replenish our glycogen supplies. For efficient muscle growth you should fuel your body with exactly what it needs and when it needs it. So should you give it a boost of fast and slow releasing glucose right after or during a workout? Yes. Should you eat highly processed carbs all the time? No. Should you eat natural carbs like fruits and vegetables all the time? Of course. So no, carbs aren’t bad—sometimes, as with FUEL SHOT, they’re absolutely essential for maximizing your muscle growth.

When Should You Use FUEL SHOT?

The best thing about FUEL SHOT is that it’s a versatile drink that can be inserted into any training program. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of it:

  • Before your workout: take a quarter or half a serving right before you start training to get a good energy boost. Couple this with some caffeine and your system will really rev up, allowing you to lift more, run faster, and burn more calories as your metabolism kicks into overdrive.
  • During your workout: Take sips throughout your workout to ensure that you are not going to crash and run out of energy. This is especially good during longer bouts of cardio, when athletes will often report a crash known as ‘bonking’.
  • After your workout: this is when FUEL SHOT comes into its own as a recovery drink. Combine it with protein so that you have a 4:1 carb to protein ratio in your drink for maximum benefits, as the glucose will help ferry the protein to your muscles and increase your recovery, while also replenishing your exhausted glycogen stores. When you combine FUEL SHOT with creatine, for example, it will have the same effect, getting the supplement into your muscle cells all the faster.

Now, here’s the important part: if you’re taking FUEL SHOT before and during your workout, your reserves won’t be depleted, which means you won’t need the after-workout dose. If you want to use FUEL SHOT after your workout, try just drinking coffee alone before your exercise, and even better, Beachbody’s E&E Energy and Endurance. Then, when you finish, drink a full dose of FUEL SHOT with protein powder, creatine and fruit juice for the best results!