This past month I tried Hammer Fully Charged Pre-Exercise Igniter as a replacement for my beet juice, tart cherry juice, and beta-alanine dietary supplements. It may just be for you too.
Use Fully Charged
for: Hammer Fully Charged is a
pre-workout supplement that provides caffeine, sustained energy blends, and Nitrous
Oxide exercise support to improve performance and maximize muscular and mental
function.
What’s In It: Green Tea Extract, Nitrous Oxide
Proprietary Blend, Taurine, Tart Cherry Extract, Beta Alanine,
L-Carnitine. These ingredients claim to provide
mental and physical sharpening, increased blood flow and supply to muscles, and
amino acids for muscular efficiency.
Review: During our racing careers we go through
phases and experimentation with our diets.
There is an endless supply of new and rediscovered super foods in a
dietary world that feels cyclical in nature.
Like many triathletes, I have tried most of them. I used Beta-Alanine a decade ago, started
using beets two years ago, and grew up with a tart cherry tree which has made
it easy to utilize tart cherries in my diet as a recovery aid. Hammer Fully Charged combines all three of
those ingredients in their proprietary blend in addition to amino acids,
taurine, and the everyone’s favorite supplement caffeine which comes from green
tea. Naturally, an all in one product is
preferable to three different concoctions each day so I gave it a try through a
training cycle including long runs, hill repeats, interval workouts, and three
races.
Day 1: Mixed my first
glass. Fully Charged mixes into cool
water easily and provides a pinkish hue.
The flavor is tart cherry, I personally smell and taste a watered-down
bubble gum which is pleasant enough for a supplement and not painful to
drink. I went out on my first run 30
minutes after replacing my pre-run glass of water with Fully Charged. The biggest test of these supplements to me
is if my stomach can handle it; I did not notice any difference in my stomach
which was a great start from day one.
Day 2-7: I continued
to drink a single glass in the morning before my first workout. I felt great during this week, it was my
first week of build into a training cycle.
A progression long run, hill workout, and my first race all occurred
with good results and no stomach issues which has always been my complaint
about other beet supplements.
Day 8-14: It took
over a week until I started noticing the flush from the Beta-Alanine in the
Fully Charged. Research shows that
Beta-Alanine requires a period of loading and then maintenance to provide the
buffer effect. By itself, Beta-Alanine
is usually cycled for 4-6 weeks prior to your primary event. This was my best week of the cycle. Every day I felt I could meet or exceed my
workout goals. There is no doubt the
Fully Charged wasn’t hurting and I kept feeling good; I found a supplement that
made my legs feel like my other beet supplements – faster and fresher. I continued to be happy about how easily my
stomach handled the blend of supplements in Fully Charged.
Day 15-21: I
continued to sleep and recover well this week which was the final of this cycle
before a down week. One of the more
common uses for Tart Cherry is as a sleep aide which is what I used it for in
periods prior to beginning Fully Charged.
Sleep is vital to recovery so a supplement that can provide some quality
to your shut-eye can be worth its weight in gold during harder cycles. After making it through my last race and long
run during this test period while hitting all of my goals has made me feel that
there isn’t a fall off between Hammer’s all in one product and supplementing
with the three separate products I was consuming otherwise. I am a believer and since it is cheaper and
easier to consume; Hammer Fully Charged will replace my other supplements going
forward until I am convinced otherwise.
Pros:
-Multiple Performance Enhancers in One
-Easy on the Stomach
-Caffeine source without the acidity of coffee before a run
Cons:
-Tart Cherry Flavor preference
-For most this is a morning or early afternoon supplement only due to
caffeine content
-Beta-Alanine flush can be unpleasant but is short lived
Recap: After a three week hard training cycle I
would highly recommend Hammer Fully Charged as a supplement to add to your
arsenal. Hammer Fully Charged provided
the same exercise feel as similar beet or blended performance enhancing
products at a lower cost and in an all-in-one supplement. Easy to dissolve and drink before exercise
without the stomach difficulties of other products.
