hammer bars

price roughly $2.50 depending on where you get them.

we sponsor a cyclecross event in Michigan, where they had another sponsor, hammer nutrition. I didn’t think much of it, but being that I live on energy bars I took some free samples. Not expecting much I tried one out and I was hooked!
As you all know I ride a pedicab here in Chicago, and we burn a ton of calories! we ride all day and keeping energy levels up is rough. I was eating clif bars a lot and I was getting tired of them (don’t get me wrong I still have a deep love of clif bars), but needed a change and I remembered hammer bars.
Hammer Nutrition was kind enough to send me a sample pack of bars, gels and the recovery drink. I’ll get to the gels and recovery drink later, this is about the bars. First they are 70%-90% Raw, non GMO, 100% vegetarian, Gluten-Free and non dairy. They are also organic. The almond raisin is also completely vegan. The bars taste great the texture is soft, not crunchy. I passed around a few to some of the other riders and they loved them! as a matter of fact me and a few of the riders are going in on a few cases. The energy is pretty quick and lasted for at least an hour of hard riding for me. I would eat one right before the cubs game got out and would haul people around at a good pace for at least two hours before feeling like I needed a break.  If you’re into energy bars, you really should try these- they’re amazing! and even if you’re not into bars, but have kids that are eating crap all the time try giving them one of these- I bet they will dig them and you can feel good about it!

Hammer gel shots

Price $1.25 per shot

Gel shots are an odd thing. They don’t taste very great and you really need some water when you get done, but they’re soooo worth it. Once again I use these while pedi-cabbing because sometimes you’re just super busy and sometimes you need a little more energy to get through. I also like the shots because it’s a pretty rapid energy boost- no waiting around for it. Hammer gels taste as good as gel can. I like the plain the best because it wasn’t to sweet. Once again, Hammer makes a great product. Hammer Gel has no added refined sugars and artificial colors or sweeteners. So it’s just the stuff you need.
They say you can also add them to your water bottle, which seems like a good idea if you don’t need the energy right away. seems more like a way to keep up your energy level for a decent time. Gels are something that I always keep in my bag because sometimes it’s a lot longer ride than i thought.

Hammer recoverite

Price: 32 servings for 49.95 but they also have singles and a six pack option.

amazing its pretty much all I can say. Once again I got recoverite for ped-cabbing…I’m starting to get up there in age and im feeling it. Sometimes I work 10 or 11 days straight and after a day of hauling people around and knowing you have to get up and do it again the next day is tough.
I used to drink endurox and liked it just fine, but I thought I would give recoverite a shot. The first night I came home after a long day, I mixed some up, drank it down, then walked to get some food. When I got home I ran up the two flights of steps to our apartment and realized my legs didn’t burn like usual…hmmm. the next day I got on my pedicab and my legs seemed fine. usually they’re pretty pissed at me for a few miles but they were good as new. I rode for 10 days straight and after day five my legs were still in good shape, I really really believe in this product. I keep telling the other pedi-cabbers about it and they all think I’m nuts. i even heard a reference to snake oil, but its ok because while they’re resting and sleeping in because their legs are sore, I’ll be taking all their rides!  Hammer’s secret to recoverite is the 3:1 ratio of carbs and protein.  They can try to explain it all scientific if they want but I know this: I drink one of these when I get home and the next day I can ride like the day before, and in a job where you need to ride to make money- this stuff is gold.

This concludes my review of the 3 products that I got from hammer nutrition, but they have a lot more stuff that I’m really interested in so take a look at their site and see what you want…I know there is some heed in my future.

Cole