City kick-off their pre-season campaign against Ilkeston FC on 22 July, but the main focus is the opening weekend of the Premier League season against Everton at King Power Stadium on 16 August, and the former Southampton man reckons the Foxes are in great shape.
Speaking exclusively to LCFC.com, Hammond said: “It’s not like in years gone past when you can come back and gradually build yourself in, you have to be ready.
“In the summer you do need to relax a bit and switch off from last season, but it’s always in the back of your mind coming into a Premier League season. You have to keep fit, work hard and be ready for the first day.
“The boys have come back fit and motivated, and it’s a real challenge and there’s a real hunger about us. We worked so hard to get here last season and it’s going to be a tough five or six weeks to get ourselves into shape, but we look forward to that and getting ready for the Premier League campaign.
“It’s nice to come back and see the players. Everyone is fit and looking forward to the challenge so it’s good to be back.”
Hammond joined Nigel Pearson’s squad at the end of August last year, having spent the 2013/14 pre-season with Southampton. He went on to play an important role in City’s run to the Championship title, and feels that the squad have again been boosted with the arrivals of new signings Ben Hamer, Marc Albrighton and Matthew Upson.
He added: “It’s my first pre-season here and it’s been good. Everything is always well run by the staff. We get looked after here, we get worked hard and the training is intense. We also get rest as well to give the body a chance to recuperate and it’s been good so far.
“It goes without saying [that we have a responsibility to help the new boys settle]. The new boys come in and we’ve got a great team spirit here so they’re welcomed and helped to settle. It’s a benefit for us as players and it's only going to improve as a group.
“They’ve all settled in quickly and seem like really good lads. They’ve all got different qualities but they’ll bring extra competition to the squad and hopefully push us all on as players.
“I know Matthew Upson from Brighton, he’s a very good player. He’s played the majority of his career in the Premier League and has really good experience. He’s a footballing centre half who is very intelligent, and again, he’ll help improve the players around him.”