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How Pre-Workout Smoothies Fuel Your Workout
Slurping down a smoothie before a workout is a quick way to give your body essential macronutrients to feel strong while also hydrating you. Yet not all smoothies are equal when it comes to helping your body perform. A pre-workout smoothie should contain a good mix of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber.
I love to run far distances— I’ve done 6 marathons, 2 x 50ks, 100k and lots more. I’m one of those strange people that actually likes to run…for hours at a time. I’ve learned that having a smoothie before, during and after a long run improves my performance and recovery.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This pre-workout smoothie is my-go because it’s packed with quick energy to help my body perform. The combination of greens and fruit blended together in this smoothie delivers the workout nutrition you need to keep you fueled for a long run, deep yoga session or a HIIT workout.
- Spinach: Leafy greens are powerhouse plants that provide nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and protein to any smoothie, to help you build muscle.
- Coconut water + water: Coconut water acts like natural Gatorade, providing hydrating electrolytes your body needs to replenish the energy lost during workouts.
- Pineapple: Naturally fights inflammation, helping your muscles recover faster after a workout.
- Peaches: Frozen peaches are picked at the height of freshness and flash-frozen to preserve as many nutrients as possible, making them irresistibly sweet and healthy.
- Banana: Adds natural sweetness to your smoothie and is rich in vitamin C and potassium, which supports muscle function and helps prevent cramps, making it an ideal pre-workout ingredient. A frozen banana chills down your creamy smoothie.
- Coconut oil: If you are looking to shed a few pounds then healthy fat is actually your friend, not your enemy. It helps break down the natural sugars from fruit to aid in your digestion and actually keeps you full longer. Feel free to swap it for chia seeds or hemp hearts if you want healthy fats with a protein boost.
This is one of my favorite smoothie combinations. It’s lightly sweet, I don’t even notice the spinach, and I can definitely feel the energy boost that helps me run faster and lift better during a workout.
Plant-Based Protein Powder
Protein can assist with muscle growth, muscle recovery and boost energy levels. I like to boost my post-workout smoothie with protein and leave my pre-workout smoothie lighter. If you want to add more protein to this recipe, try my homemade protein powder. It’s a blend of hemp protein, chia seeds, and flax.
How to Make a Pre-Workout Smoothie
I can’t stand a chunky smoothie. If I’m going to put the work into buying good ingredients to make something at home then I want it to be smoothie and creamy. Here’s how I blend my green smoothies for the best result, every time:
- Puree the spinach, coconut water and water until smooth. If you aren’t using a high-powered blender then stop and scrape down the sides as needed to get rid of all those leafy chunks.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend again until smooth. If you’re using frozen ingredients, let them sit out for about 15 minutes before blending to help soften them a bit.
Using this two-blend method you’ll actually save time and get a better pre-workout smoothie as a result. I’ve been blending smoothies for 13 years now and this method hasn’t let me down yet! When it comes to blenders, I recommend getting a high-speed Vitamix blender.
Common Questions
Yes! Smoothies are a great pre-workout fuel to give you quick and lasting energy for activities such as a long run or high-intensity workout.
It’s best to consume a pre-workout smoothie 1-2 hours before exercising, giving your body time to digest it and absorb the nutrients.
My go-to smoothie before workout contains coconut water, fruit, spinach, and coconut oil for a super fast snack that gives me the energy to maximize my workout without weighing me down.
Coconut water is loaded with natural electrolytes, fruit provides a great energy boost, spinach and coconut oil provide protein and healthy fat and fiber to help your body break down the natural sugar into usable energy.
More Healthy Pre-Workout Smoothie Recipes
Looking for a high-protein pre-workout recipe? I’ve got a few that’ll enhance your workout. Blending smoothies is easy and affordable— and make the perfect pre-workout smoothies at home.
- Vanilla Protein Shake: More delicious than any powered version you can find, this easy smoothie is tasty and fueling without artificial vanilla protein powder.
- Chocolate Protein Shake: This will give you great natural energy as well as keep you full while exercising with this almond butter and chocolate banana smoothie.
- Flaxseed Smoothie: A great energy and fiber boost with unsweetened almond milk and flaxseeds.
- Caramel Protein Shake: A dessert wrapped up in a smoothie, protein powered and delicious.
- Almond Smoothie: Almonds and strawberries combine for a delightfully smooth snack.
After you sweat it out, I recommend having a protein-rich Post Workout Smoothie to help build and repair skeletal muscle.
Please rate and review this recipe once you’ve blended it. I can’t wait to read how it turned out!
Healthy Pre-Workout Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ cup coconut water
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup pineapple frozen
- ½ cup peach frozen
- ½ banana
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Blend the spinach, coconut water and water until smooth.
- Add the pineapple, peaches, banana and coconut oil and blend again.
Equipment
Notes
- Use frozen fruit to make a refreshingly cool smoothie.
- Boost with your favorite plant-based protein powder for extra protein and healthy fats.
- Swap spinach with the leafy green of your choice.
- For a smoothie with less natural sugar, swap out 1/2 banana for 1/4 avocado.
Followed the recipe and not sure I will change anything the next time around either…….DELISH!!!! Haven’t met a green smoothie yet I haven’t liked
I liked it. Due to my using frozen bananas, it was too thick to drink, so I added a little orange juice to thin it. Couldn’t taste the coconut water (although the can said “best by 2019”). 🙁
Adding this to my summer recipes for both workouts and poolside
What a beautiful green color and so delicious and energizing! Loved it
Day #7 – I really liked this combination. I added collagen protein and and had it for lunch – it held me over until dinner. The Pre Workout Smoothie will be a regular for me for sure.
I found this to be very delicious and I used it to replace a meal. I will make this again. It would be helpful if you used metric measures on some of the items. 1 cup of spinach = 30 grams. I find that easier to measure.
Expected more coconut flavor. It was okay. Strong spinach and kale flavor.
Deliciuos
I didn’t like this smoothie. I’m finding I don’t like the taste of coconut water. When I blend it up in the smoothies it makes them frothy and the flavor of the water really comes out to my dismay. I could taste a little of the pineapple and none of the peaches, but mixed with the coconut water, I couldn’t get past that flavor profile. I liked the addition of greens, since the last couple of smoothies didn’t have that, but otherwise this one is a no for me.
It was refreshing. Tropical tasting. A nice change.
This is another one of my favorite smoothies. It’s not too sweet or tart and it gives me plenty of energy during my entire workout.
This was a very good smoothie but I had to add a little Stevia for sweetness. The protein powder that I used was not the best and left a little bit of an aftertaste but that was remedied with a squeeze of lemon. I will use a different proteins powder next time
Day 7, kinda cleaning tasting also, just like Beginners Luck. Definitely a keeper.
Another great combination. My question is why some of your recipes say to add the Protein Boost and not others? Is it my imagination, or does that give extra longevity for not being hungry as fast?
Very good enjoyed it!!!
Forgot to add my rating. Loved it
Very delicious! Will make again.