Spartans know that overall nutrition is best received through whole foods, fruits, and veggies. But we also know that training is demanding on the body. The right sports nutrition bars can provide us with electrolyte replacement, amino acids for muscle repair, carbohydrates for quick energy, and fats for caloric density and satiety.

Athletes have long turned to sports nutrition bars as a source of fuel. They can be a quick, convenient, easy way to get the nutrition you need all wrapped up in a portable package that’s great for the gym bag, in the car, and on the go. With the explosion of sports nutrition bars on the market, finding the right one can be tricky. It all comes down to matching the right bar to the fueling or refueling need. Let’s break it down.

Sports Nutrition Bars: Choosing the Right One

Your choice of sports nutrition bar should fit your overall training needs for the day. In the same way that you’d pack differently for a weekend getaway than for a week-long adventure, not every workout requires the same bar. Taking a short run? Your daily meal and snack intake will likely be enough to cover it. But if your workout is scheduled to be an hour or longer, you’ll want to think about your fuel. Before choosing a bar at random, check out the overall calories and choose the one that’s best for your workout. A single brand can offer multiple bar sizes and calorie counts.

The Best Sports Nutrition Bars by Spartan Race

Many people will look at the basic protein and perhaps carbohydrate content of a bar. They’ll probably glance at the fats too. But let’s go beyond that. Sports nutrition bars are specifically designed with athletes in mind will also offer a variety of vitamins and minerals specific to what an athlete needs for optimal performance. Bars with sodium, potassium, and magnesium will help replace and rebalance electrolytes lost in sweat. B vitamins and phosphorus for energy metabolism, vitamin C for immune health, and iron for red blood cell production are a few of the benefits that a bar can offer.

Related: 3 Remedies for Health and Performance

Energy and protein needs will vary from person to person, but here are some basic recommendations for choosing sports nutrition bars to fit your training needs.

Sprint

The Workout: roughly 60 minutes long, moderate to high intensity.

The Goal: pre-workout fuel or quick post-workout recovery.

The Bar: similar to a small snack. Look for something with less than 200 calories with fast-digesting carbs, moderate protein, and a nice nutrient mix. Aim for a 2:1 or 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio. The Kashi Double Chocolate Almond Butter Bar (our favorite!) has a nice balance of carbs to protein for this recovery.

Super

The Workout: 60–120 minutes, moderate yet steady intensity.

The Goal: pre-workout fuel or recovery, perhaps throughout the workout, depending on the style of training (running versus strength, monitoring for gastrointestinal upset with solid fuels).

The Bar: This workout will require higher energy intake. Continue with a bar that offers a 2:1 or 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio. This will help maintain lean muscle while also replenishing glycogen stores. The Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal offers 3 grams of protein and 14 grams of whole grains with just 140 calories.

Beast

The Workout: 120+ minutes in one workout or you may be training twice a day. With this extended training often comes a lower intensity, but greater muscle use.

Related: Oats: Convenient Food, Convenient Nutrition

The Goal: This bar needs to have some substance. Higher protein and calories from fats for caloric density will be important. Long duration workouts burn a lot of calories, and replacing these calories with food alone can be a challenge for some people. A bar can offer the required fuel with less volume of food.

The Bar: Your bar should have decent protein content (aim for 10–20 grams), still have carbohydrates for glycogen replenishment, and should include fats for caloric density. Odds are your body will be craving the electrolyte replenishment plus added vitamins and minerals for overall nutritional replenishment. Combined with an electrolyte replacement drink for hydration, your bar should also provide a relatively balanced mix of sodium and potassium. A bar with around 250 calories would pair excellently with a couple of pieces of jerky and hydration source to quickly get your body ready for the next beatdown. If you’ve earned your finisher medal at a race, you’ve no doubt seen a bar that meets these criteria: it’s the Kashi Crunchy Peanuts and Peanut Butter Protein Bar.

Make It Yours

Homemade energy bites are fun to make and can provide the great benefits of commercial bars. Here is a link to one of our favorites.

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