These £5 tablets helped me to run my fastest 5k in months

I was a cynic at first, but Phizz has me converted

Eleanor Jones
Tuesday 16 March 2021 04:01 EDT
Can two effervescent tablets a day really make a difference?
Can two effervescent tablets a day really make a difference? (iStock/The Independent)

When more than 50 pro sports teams keep a particular wellness product in their arsenal, you know there’s got to be something good happening when they take it. That’s why I’m so intrigued by Phizz, a 2-in-1 hydration and vitamin tablet that is used by Premier League and Championship football clubs such as Liverpool and Leeds, as well as big names in the worlds of rugby and cricket.

I’m not a huge supplement person generally, and I’d never claim to be anything even remotely approaching a professional athlete – the odd virtual yoga class or slog through a 5k is as close as I get to the pitch or the playing field.

But the more I looked into it, I realised it’s not just sports stars who swear by Phizz. On Amazon alone the effervescent product has an average of 4.4 out of five stars, with more than 400 positive reviews from those who swear by it for everything from illness and hangover recovery to livening them back up after the post-lunch slump at work.

So, can an extra fizzy drink each day really make a difference for us mere mortals too? I decided it was finally time to find out. 

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Phizz multivitamin hydration orange tablets

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Buy now £4.99, Amazon.co.uk

If you’ve ever bought Berocca, you’ll get the concept behind Phizz – it’s the same drop-into-drink formula that leaves you with an energy-boosting beverage to down.

It includes a blend of 19 vitamins and minerals –including B vitamins, vitamin C, and zinc – and the brand claims that it has the ability to rehydrate the body three times faster than water alone.

To activate its purported powers, you simply drop two of the tablets into a glass of water, which will then turn a rather vibrant shade of orange. Flavour-wise, it’d be unfair to expect Phizz to taste as delicious as a glass of orange squash, but it’s fairly sweet and fruity, and I sipped my first glass down (and all of those that followed) without complaint.

At 18 calories per serving, it’s also a lighter alternative to electrolyte-rich sports drinks like Lucozade, which packs 133 calories in a 380ml bottle.

I went into my experiment expecting no miracles, but after draining my cup at lunchtime, I noticed that my focus was much sharper that afternoon.

Working from home for almost a year has majorly interfered with my concentration span, yet post-Phizz I managed to blitz through a number of long-overdue emails and tick off items that had been on my to-do list for far longer that I’d care to admit (but reader, in some cases it’s been weeks).

Bolstered by this, and with the sporting reputation in the back of my head, I added a glass of Phizz to my routine the following morning and headed out for a run around the block.

It was dark, cold and windy, and with my battered running shoes on their last legs, to be honest, an outing that would have usually felt more like a battle than a triumph.

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Yet somehow this time around I found a sense of enjoyment in the exercise that had been missing from my last few previous sessions. I didn’t feel as instantly exhausted, and it seemed like my stamina (or perhaps just my attitude) had improved.

I sped through 30 minutes without stopping, and when I checked my running app, I’d run half a kilometre more than I had previously on the same route. This was my fastest time in months – and the beginning of my journey to official Phizz convert.

Since then I’ve kept a tube on hand and found myself reaching for it more often than anticipated; if I know my mind is wandering and I’m not feeling productive, it really does help me get back to the task at hand.

Between that and the noticeable improvement to my running times, I can’t deny that I’m impressed – and not just with the tablets themselves.

After discovering for each tube of Phizz sold, approximately six times its weight in plastic waste is collected and recycled, to the tune of one million plastic bottles per year, my impression of brand became even more positive. You can also recycle the tube itself, bolstering its eco-friendly credentials even further.

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The verdict: Phizz multivitamin hydration orange tablets

I was initially skeptical about the claims Phizz makes, but having taken the tablets myself, I’ve had to eat my words and admit that for me at least, they really do work.

When I’m feeling particularly tired or drained, about to take on a more strenuous workout than usual or know that the week ahead is going to be a full-on one, I’ll be adding a tube to my basket from now on. If you’re in need of a similar pick-me-up, I’d definitely suggest doing the same.

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