Weights, the treadmill, a stationary bike, circuits, a fitness class or a workout in your living room: most sessions last 30 to 90 minutes. The good news is that fueling them is simple.
A normal 30 to 60 minute workout usually doesn’t require race fuel. Real food and water come first.
Start with Real Food and Water
Your everyday meals do most of the work: protein at each meal, vegetables and fruit, healthy fats and whole grains, with less processed food and added sugar. Drink water through the day, not just at the gym. See our Everyday Hammer Guide for the full picture.
Before Your Workout
- Train after a normal meal where you can. A regular meal a few hours before is ideal.
- When a normal meal isn’t practical, a Hammer Bar® can be a convenient whole food option, eaten with sufficient time to digest before training.
- Early morning workouts: if you already train before breakfast, tolerate it well and have practiced it, water may be enough for a shorter session. If you haven’t, don’t suddenly start training on an empty stomach. Have something light that you know sits well with you.
- After-work workouts: eat a sensible lunch and a real-food snack in the afternoon, and drink water before you start. Arriving hungry or dehydrated is the most common reason an evening session feels flat.
During Your Workout
- Water is enough for most sessions.
- Heavy sweating or a hot gym: add Endurolytes Fizz to your water or take Endurolytes capsules (about 1 capsule for every 27 kg of body weight per hour). Use them when you need them, not by default.
- Longer, harder or hotter sessions: when a session runs past about 60 to 75 minutes, or is very intense, hot or sweaty, HEED supplies carbohydrate and electrolytes together. Mix 1 to 1.5 scoops in 355 to 591 mL of water and sip through the session.
- Hammer Gel is only worth considering for long, hard cardio. A normal gym session doesn’t need it.
Strength vs Cardio
- Strength training is short on fuel needs and big on recovery needs. Protein across the day matters more than anything you take during the session.
- Cardio uses more carbohydrate and more sweat. Under an hour, water is usually enough. Longer or hotter sessions are where HEED and electrolytes start to earn their place.
After Your Workout
- Real food with protein is the foundation. A normal meal soon after training works well.
- Whey Protein is a convenient option when a meal isn’t coming soon or when your diet is short on protein. You don’t need a protein supplement just because you lift. Mix 1 scoop (25 g) in 236 to 473 mL of water. Hammer Whey Protein can also be taken before bed.
- Recoverite is for longer or harder sessions, significant endurance work, or training twice in a day, when carbohydrate and protein together help you recover for the next session. Mix 2 scoops in 236 to 473 mL of water within about 30 minutes. A normal short gym session doesn’t automatically need Recoverite.
Daily Training Support
Creatine Boost
Pure Creapure® creatine monohydrate. One scoop provides 5 g of creatine monohydrate. Hammer’s simplest protocol is 1 scoop (5 g) daily, mixed in 355 to 473 mL of water or added to Whey Protein. On training days, take it before strength workouts or after endurance workouts; on rest days, take it in the morning with a little food. If you are new to creatine, start with half a scoop (2.5 g) for 3 to 5 days. Hammer also describes an optional loading protocol on the product page. Stay well hydrated throughout the day when using creatine.
Whey Protein
Useful for topping up daily protein when meals fall short. Real food protein stays the foundation.
Optional: Peak Performance
Fully Charged
Grit in a bottle.
Built to support energy, focus and performance when the work gets harder, without relying on high sugar or high caffeine. Designed for sustained performance, hour after hour, even through multi day events.
For a demanding session, mix 1 serving in 120 to 240 mL of water, or take 2 capsules, 15 to 30 minutes before you start.
Hammer Nutrition Tips for Gym & Home Workouts
- More isn’t better. Most workouts don’t need sports drinks, gels or recovery drinks. Add them only when the session calls for it.
- Eat real food on time. Most flat workouts start with a skipped meal, not a missing supplement.
- Drink water all day, and more in a hot gym.
- Get enough protein from food, and use Whey Protein when your meals fall short.
- Sleep. It is where most of your progress actually happens.
The above recommendations are provided for information purposes only and are not intended to provide specific dietary or medical advice.
