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Truth be told, there aren’t many things that give workouts a significant boost—at least things that you don’t already know. Getting good sleep, eating well, and working to stay limber do most of the heavy lifting, whether you’re, well, heavy lifting, or going for a hard run or bike ride. That said, energy chews have become a popular means to get over that PR hump.
What are energy chews? They’re basically gummies designed for athletic performance rather than delivering sugary, cavity-creating payloads. They’re often carb-rich and include added electrolytes and caffeine. Which ones are the best, and when should you take them? We tried the most popular options on the market. Here are the results.
- Best Overall: CLIF BLOKS Energy Chew, $59
- Best Tasting: Skratch Labs Energy Chews, $24
- Best Mid-workout Refuel: Jelly Belly Sports Beans, $32
- Best Budget Option: GU Energy Chews, $30
What to Look for in Energy Chews
Carbs
Easy-to-digest carbohydrates are fundamentally what energy chews are bringing to the table. Sometimes called simple sugars, most energy chews offer 20 to 25 grams of carbs per serving and suggest eating two servings per workout—one before and one during. These simple sugars can take a few different forms, but they’re most often some mix of sucrose, glucose, and maltodextrin. Think sugar carbs, not bread carbs.
Caffeine
Most energy chews come in caffeinated and non-caffeinated versions. For the most part, we tested the non-caffeinated options, as most people get plenty of caffeine as it is (probably too much, truthfully). If there is caffeine, it’ll likely be around 25mg per serving, which is significantly less than a standard 8-ounce cup of coffee, which harbors somewhere around 90mg of caffeine.
Caffeine is ergogenic—workout boosting—but isn’t necessarily something you’d want to reach for to prop up every workout, especially if you’re exercising four to six times a week. Consider caffeine-loaded energy chews when you’re really pushing yourself—perhaps during longer weekend workouts.
Electrolytes
The third prong of an energy gel’s workout-boosting power supply is electrolytes. Though they offer significantly less volume of electrolytes than hydration and electrolyte powders do, energy gels nearly always contain them. Electrolytes show up on the nutrition label as sodium, and you can expect anywhere from 30 to 100mg of them.
Best Energy Chews for Working Out
CLIF BLOKS Energy Chews
Best Overall
You probably know CLIF brand from the health bars available, well, pretty much everywhere. After testing a dozen energy chews, we think its energy chews are the best thing the brand makes.
Where many chews are sickly sweet, or taste too much like artificial sweetener, CLIF BLOKS are a pleasant mix of sweet and salty. The texture is close to that of a Gusher, and the flavor options are all solid. More importantly, CLIF BLOKS offer a top-end nutritional load. Each packet—which you’re meant to eat half of before your workout and the other half during—contains 48g of carbs, 50-100mg of sodium (depends on flavor), and a nice amount of potassium. The brand offers caffeinated and non-caffeinated versions of its energy chews as well.
Another big plus for CLIF BLOKS is the tall, slender packaging—it’s basically a sleeve that can slip in your pocket on runs or bike rides. The chews don’t some out of the sleeve unless you pull them out. We prefer the salted watermelon flavor for the taste and the added electrolyte load.
Price per packet: $3.28
Carbs per packet: 48g
Sodium per packet: 100-200mg
Skratch Labs Energy Chews
Best Tasting
We’ve marked Skratch Labs as our best tasting energy chew, but that doesn’t mean it’s not functional. The brand’s gummies are made with fewer than 10 ingredients, one of which is actual fruit juice. The brand recommends eating one packet before a workout and more gummies during the workout as needed. We found one packet pre-workout and maybe 1 or 2 gummies during most workout sessions was plenty.
Another big plus for Skratch Labs is the chewability of the gummies. Some energy chews can feel like a burden to eat before (and especially during) a workout. Skratch Labs are a nice texture, and are much bouncier than the majority of the market. We like the lemon matcha flavor for the most balanced sweetness level.
Price per packet: $2.40
Carbs per packet: 38g
Sodium per packet: 70mg
Jelly Belly Sport Beans
Best for mid-workout refuel
Yes, that Jelly Belly makes surprisingly high quality energy gels. The flavor is essentially a slightly less sweet version of normal jelly beans, but its nutritionals are rock solid for sweaty workouts and they’re available for much cheaper than most of the competition at just over a dollar per packet.
What we liked most about Jelly Belly’s energy chews, though, was one very simple feature every single one of these products should replicate: a resealable packet. Energy chews are meant to be consumed before and during a workout, so they have to go somewhere in the time between those points. Every other energy chew brand sells its gummies in plastic packs that can’t be resealed, which is a recipe for the chews bouncing out of your pocket.
The Jelly Belly chews are a bit behind our top picks in carbs per packet—25g vs mid-30s and up—but otherwise are a solid buy.
Price per packet: $1.33
Carbs per packet: 25g
Sodium per packet: 80mg
GU Energy Chews
Best Budget Option
We like GU energy chews for two main reasons: price and chewability. At just $1.25 per packet, GU energy chews are the most affordable energy chews we tested and recommend for most people. We also thought GU’s chews were great specifically for on-the-run refueling, as the gummies require very little chewing to swallow. That may sound graphic, but the last thing you want your brain focusing on in the middle of a grueling run is how long it’s taking you to finish off some gummies.
GU chew flavors were hit and miss, which is why we didn’t award them top honors, but otherwise these are an excellent option for the budget-minded athlete.
Price per packet: $1.25
Carbs per packet: 44g
Sodium per packet: 80mg
BUILD YOUR STACK
FAQ
Are energy chews healthy?
For how few calories you get from energy chews, they deliver a huge amount of carbohydrates, sugar, sodium, and potassium. If you eat them outside of their functional purview—fairly intense exercise—they could not be considered healthy for this reason. But consumed with purpose, they can boost workouts that drain your body of all the things they provide, so could generally be considered a net positive. If you’re worried about health factors, you should absolutely speak to your primary care physician before trying them (especially if you opt for caffeinated energy chews).
When should I eat energy chews?
You should take energy chews 15 to 30 minutes prior to an intensive workout and again as needed during the workout. You’ll see some slight diversions from this suggestion, but this is the general consensus among the companies that make the chews. This usually means you eat half the packet before the workout and the other half during it.
Bear in mind that, though the caffeinated variety of energy chews typically carry less caffeine than coffee, the volume of caffeine is still sufficient to both energize you and keep you awake should you take them for an evening workout. If you’re particularly caffeine-sensitive, consider non-caffeinated options or limit usage to morning and afternoon training sessions.
How long does it take energy chews to work?
It should take about 30 minutes for energy chews to begin doing their work. This lines up with when you should take your first energy chews pre-workout so you begin feeling that extra bit of energy as you begin your workout. Note that this timing will differ person to person, so allow for a self-experimentation period.
How many energy chews should you take?
The answer to this depends completely on your goals, body composition, and workout intensity. That said, for most people simply following the suggested serving sizes on the nutrition label should suffice. Because every energy chew is sold in different quantities of chews, there is no unifying number to recommend for athletes to eat. Don’t get cute: follow the nutritional label and adjust as needed.
What workouts are energy chews good for?
Whether it’s running, rowing, lifting, or various organized sports, the human body needs carbs to keep going when the going gets tough—roughly 30-60g of carbs per 60 to 90 minutes of working out, per the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN). We also know caffeine supports both cardio and power-based workouts in men and women. So, generally speaking, any workout lasting longer than an hour could be supported by energy chews.
In reality, we prefer to limit their use to longer, more focused, higher-intensity sessions.
