How to Choose the Right Energy or Protein Bar for Your Goals

At OTE Sports, we know just how impactful bars can be for fuelling performance and supporting a healthy, balanced nutrition plan. Our range is full of lightweight, delicious bars for you to choose from, but how do you choose the right energy or protein bar for your fitness goals?

Tailoring your nutrition to your fitness goals might seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. With our simple steps, you can identify just the bars you need to support your journey, no matter the sport or discipline. Stick with OTE Sports, and we’ll cover everything you need to know.

Step #1: Recognising What Bars Are Available

In order to identify which type of bar best serves your fitness goals, you must first recognise the difference between a protein bar and an energy bar. These bars are similar but not the same, so let’s take a closer look at them.

What Do Energy Bars Do?

As their name suggests, energy bars are designed to provide the body with a boost of energy. They are packed full of carbohydrates, fuelling the body with much-needed energy to sustain high-intensity exercise for longer. The body can only store so many carbs at one time, so energy bars are an efficient way to replenish these stores during workouts.

What Do Protein Bars Do?

While protein bars also contain carbohydrates, their primary function is not to energise the body. Instead, their high protein content helps the body recover and repair following a workout. Protein is the building block of muscle growth, supplying amino acids muscles need to grow stronger after being torn during a workout. Protein bars are therefore a convenient and effective way to support post-workout recovery.

Step #2: Considering Your Sport or Discipline

Now that we’ve identified how energy and protein bars differ, the next step is to turn our attention to you, the athlete. Different bars support the body in different ways, so choosing the right bar for your goals requires you to understand the ways in which your body needs to be supported. To do this, we must look at your chosen sport or discipline.

Which Sports Require Energy Bars?

As we have discussed, energy bars are effective at delivering carbs to the body to keep it energised and functioning at optimal levels. These bars are therefore most appropriate for activities that demand a lot of energy from the body over long periods of time, especially those that don’t permit rest breaks.

These kinds of sports/discplines include:

• Running
• Cycling
• Triathlons
• Marathons
• Hiking
• Team sports, including football and rugby

When searching for the perfect energy bar to support these activities, it’s important to find one that’s packed with carbohydrates to sustain the activity they require. Our Caramel Anytime Bar is one of the best energy bars for runners, for example, thanks to the 39g of carbs it provides in a great-tasting, easily digestible snack format.