What should I put in a post-workout smoothie?

Protein and fast-digesting carbs are the priority. A frozen banana, a handful of berries, Greek yogurt or a scoop of protein powder, and milk covers both, with the protein supporting repair and the fruit refilling glycogen. Enter your bodyweight and goal above for a protein and carb target for your own drink.

Is a smoothie good before a workout?

Yes, if it is built to sit lightly. A pre-workout smoothie wants moderate carbs for energy and not much fat or heavy fibre, so berries, a little oats, banana and water or a light plant milk work well. Drink it far enough ahead that it is not still heavy in your stomach when you start.

How much protein should a workout smoothie have?

It depends on your bodyweight and what you are training for, but a post-workout smoothie in the region of twenty to forty grams of protein suits most people, with pre-workout a little lower. The calculator works out a target from your weight, goal and timing so you are not guessing.

When should I drink a workout smoothie?

For recovery, within an hour or two after training gives the best of the refuelling window without needing to rush. Before training, aim to finish it long enough ahead that it has settled. The exact minute matters far less than getting protein and carbs in around the session at all.

Fuel and recovery

Pre & post-workout smoothie calculator

From your bodyweight, what you trained and whether it is before or after, get a protein, carb and calorie target for the smoothie and a blend that hits it.

1 Your bodyweight

165 lb Drives the protein and carb target

2 What are you training for?

3 Before or after the workout?

Target for this smoothie

After training

g protein

Lead with protein and fast carbs. Banana, berries and a protein source within about an hour refill glycogen and start repair.

Protein 34 g

Carbs 60 g

Calories 437

Frozen banana, berries, Greek yogurt or a scoop of protein, and milk. Fast carbs plus protein, within the hour.

Work out the exact scoops of protein →

Why the timing changes the smoothie

The best smoothie before a workout and the best one after are almost opposites. Before, you want quick energy that will not weigh you down, so it stays light and leans on moderate carbs. After, you want to repair and refuel, so protein and faster carbs take over and a little more of everything is welcome. Tell the calculator which side of the session you are on and it shapes the target accordingly, then points you at a blend to match.

After training, protein plus fast carbs

A post-workout smoothie has two jobs: give muscles protein to repair with and carbs to refill what you burned. Banana, berries and a protein source over milk do both, and a smoothie is easier to get down straight after a session than a full meal.

Before training, keep it light

A pre-workout smoothie should sit easy, so lean on moderate carbs for energy and go light on fat and heavy fibre. Too rich or too fibrous and it sloshes around while you move.

Timing is a window, not a stopwatch

The old idea of a thirty-minute anabolic window is looser than it was sold as. Getting protein and carbs in within an hour or two either side of training is what matters, so a smoothie you actually drink beats a perfect one you skip.

Bodyweight sets the numbers

Protein and carb needs scale with how much of you there is and how hard you train, which is why a target is personal rather than one-size-fits-all. Heavier and harder-training bodies need more of both.

How much protein powder to add?

Once you know the protein target, the protein powder calculator works back from what is already in the blender and tells you how many scoops to add.

Open the protein powder calculator

Estimates, not advice. Every figure on this page is calculated from published per-100 g reference values and standard household measures, so your own brands, portions and equipment will move it. Nothing here is medical, nutritional or dietetic advice — talk to a qualified professional before acting on it, particularly if you are pregnant, managing a health condition, or feeding a child.