Basketball is four 10-minute quarters of sprinting, jumping, cutting and defending, with only short breaks to recover. Add timeouts and stoppages and a game runs well over an hour. Many courts here are covered but not air conditioned, so heat and sweat are a big part of the game. Good fuel keeps your legs and your shooting steady in the fourth quarter, not just the first.
Key Hammer Nutrition Fuels for Basketball Players
HEED
A sports drink with complex carbohydrates and a full range of electrolytes, without refined sugar, citric acid or artificial ingredients.
General Application: Mix 1 to 1.5 scoops in 12 to 20 oz (355 to 591 ml) of water. Sip during warm-ups, timeouts and the breaks between quarters.
Hammer Gel
Quick, easy energy from complex carbohydrates, with no simple sugars.
General Application: 1 serving about 10 minutes before tip-off (2 for bigger players) and another at halftime.
Endurolytes / Endurolytes Extreme
Electrolytes in capsule form, taken on top of HEED. On hot courts, or if you see salt marks on your jersey, Endurolytes Extreme is the better choice.
General Application: 1 Endurolytes capsule for every 60 lb (27 kg) of body weight, 15 to 20 minutes before tip-off, with the same dose at halftime. With Endurolytes Extreme, take 1 to 2 capsules in the same way.
Fully Charged
A non-stimulant pre-game drink.
General Application: Mix 1 serving in 4 to 8 oz (120 to 240 ml) of water, or take 2 capsules, 15 to 30 minutes before tip-off.
Recoverite
Carbohydrates and whey protein in a 3:1 ratio, plus electrolytes, to start your recovery right after the game.
General Application: Mix 2 scoops in 8 to 16 oz (236 to 473 ml) of water and drink it within 30 minutes of every practice and game. Hammer Bar® is a convenient whole food recovery option when Recoverite isn’t available, or can be eaten alongside your recovery drink when you need additional food. Follow with a proper balanced meal.
Hammer Bar®
A practical whole food option around practice, games and tournament days.
General Application: Hammer Bar® is a convenient whole food option when you need something light before practice or a game and have sufficient time for digestion. Treat it like a meal and finish it at least 3 hours before tip-off, not in the warm-up. On tournament days with 2 hours or more between games, it is an easy option straight after a game, alongside or instead of Recoverite.
Hammer Whey and Hammer Whey / Vegan Protein Bars
Easy ways to reach your daily protein, between meals or before bed.
General Application: 1 to 2 servings a day on top of your normal meals.
Game Day Timing
- 3 hours before tip-off: finish your last meal. For a 7:00 pm game, eat your main meal around 3:00 pm and finish by 4:00 pm. After that, water only.
- 15 to 30 minutes before: Fully Charged, if you use it.
- 15 to 20 minutes before: your first dose of Endurolytes.
- 10 minutes before: 1 serving of Hammer Gel, then start sipping HEED.
- During the game: sip HEED at every timeout and quarter break.
- Halftime: another Hammer Gel and your second dose of Endurolytes.
- Within 30 minutes of the final buzzer: Recoverite, then a proper meal.
More Than One Game in a Day
In a tournament or league day with back-to-back games:
- If the next game is 2 hours or more away, have Recoverite right after the game, then follow the normal pre-game steps (Endurolytes, Hammer Gel, HEED) before the next tip-off.
- If the games are closer together, keep sipping HEED between games, take a Hammer Gel about 10 minutes before the next tip-off, and have Recoverite after your last game.
- Keep taking Endurolytes about every hour for the whole day, not just during games, especially in the heat.
Hammer Nutrition High Performance Tips
- Stay hydrated all day. Drink half your body weight in pounds as ounces of water every day (for example, a 180 lb player needs about 90 oz, or 2.7 liters), plus what you drink during practice and games. During play, aim for 18 to 25 oz (530 to 740 ml) per hour, and up to 28 oz (830 ml) per hour in the heat.
- Fuel on the lean side. Take the least you need to keep your energy steady. If it is not quite enough, add a little more. Count the calories from all your fuels together and keep to about 120 to 180 per hour.
- Skip the junk. Soft drinks and sugary snacks before a game give you a quick high and then a drop, usually right when the game is close.
- Refill the tank. Recoverite within 30 minutes of every practice and game helps you come back ready for the next one.
- Never sacrifice sleep for food. For an early practice, eat a good dinner the night before and sleep in rather than getting up early to eat.
The above recommendations are provided for information purposes only and are not intended to provide specific dietary or medical advice.
