A Guide To Pre-workout- What Is It And How To Use It
You must have felt the need of some extra jolt of energy during your workout sessions. DO you know what your body needs? Well! Your body needs pre-workout supplements or foods to boost your stamina and increase your endurance power. The boost that comes from these caffeinated supplements can allow fitness enthusiasts to maximize their workout time by providing them the energy to power through longer workouts with more intensity and increased reps.
In the market there are two variants of pre-workout supplements:
- Pre-workout with stimulants
- Pre-workout without stimulants
You can find stimulant rich supplements that contain caffeine or any other stimulants to boost your energy levels. However, you can also find non-stimulant pre-workouts that will help to get your blood circulating to improve energy levels and stamina.
These sports beverage supplements are usually available in powdered form that are mixed with water and are available in an array of delicious flavors. You can also get pre-workouts in the form of pills or foods. As the name suggests these supplements are to be consumed before you go for a rigorous workout. Although there are a lot of athletes and fitness enthusiasts who prefer drinking these supplements/foods on their way to gym or while working out, it should be noted that these energy boosters are to be consumed at least 30 to 60 minutes prior to your gymming sessions.
Foods that work as pre-workout:
- Fruit smoothies
- Yogurt
- Granola
- Oatmeal
- Bananas
- Whole grain bread
- Lean meat
- Chicken with rice and sauteed vegetables.
- Apples
- Peanut butter
- Raisins
Ingredients present in some of the best pre-workout supplements:
- Caffeine
Caffeine is one of the most used pre-workout ingredients and is mainly responsible for boosting energy levels and increasing focus that all fitness enthusiasts look for. However, while consuming a pre-workout supplement that contains caffeine, one needs to read the label and know the amount of this ingredient in each serving size. Some powders contain almost the same amount of caffeine as you would get from a cup of hot coffee, but others might have significantly more amount than that. For those fitness guys and girls who like to work out later in the afternoon or evening or for those who are sensitive to caffeine, you can find pre-workouts that do not contain caffeine. These types of pre-workout powders are formulated using other stimulants.
- Creatine
Creatine monohydrate is an ingredient that helps in building muscles and is naturally found in our muscle cells. Majority of pre-workout powders that you find in the market contain creatine to boost the production of muscle cells while you are doing strength training, weight training or high-intensity exercises. The acceleration of muscle cells can help to build muscle mass and make your muscles stronger to allow for harder workouts. For those who are avid weightlifters, creatine must be one of their top ingredient priorities.
- Amino-Acids
Branched-chain amino acids or BCAAs play a vital role in improving the effectiveness of pre-workout supplements because the essential amino acids can help to regulate how protein should be used throughout your body. Amino acids can increase protein production in the body while minimizing the breakdown of protein breakdown. This is possible due to the combination of essential amino acids like leucine, isoleucine and valine. BCAAs are the best ingredient that can help to build muscles, repair muscles, minimize soreness and damage.
Other essential ingredients:
- Beta-alanine
- Nitric oxide
Read on more to know the benefits of consuming pre-workout supplements or foods:
- Regular consumption of pre-workout powders will help to improve your metabolism rate
- Pre-workout foods or supplements are linked with improving endurance power is essential for fitness enthusiasts who want to build the desired physique in a short span
- These are the best supplements to choose if you want to keep fatigue at bay
- Pre-workout powders can help to stimulate your central nervous system, which, in turn, can enhance the functioning of the brain. Beta-alanine is one of the best ingredient that is used in pre-workout powders to promote better nerve signal functioning
- Pre-workout food/ supplements can help to increase productivity and effectiveness during tough workout sessions
- These supplements can help in rapid recovery of muscles and tissues
We would recommend you to follow these steps before consuming supplements:
- Talk to your medical practitioner and fitness instructor
- Examine the ingredients of each product
- Define your fitness goals
- Browse through the reviews of the products
- Try small samples of each product before deciding which type is the best for you
- Pay attention to how your body is responding to these pre-workout supplements and how you are feeling during the workout sessions.
Conclusion: Know your fitness goals and choose the supplements accordingly. You should not consume excessive amounts of supplements than what is recommended by the brand that you are using. With new products being launched everyday into the fitness world, there is no shortage of options to choose from.
