What To Look For In Pre Workout And How To Use it
On an average day what would you rate your peak level of energy? Scale of 1-10. What time of the day do you experience this boost? If you have one at all. Now I ask.. what time do you workout?
Chances are your high energy moment and your slotted time to hit the weights don’t quite align. Here’s where pre workout powder, and a solid warm up for the record, can pick up the slack.
But that’s not all pre workout is good for, this Jack has a few more trades.
In this article you’ll find: what a pre workout is, what to expect when you use one, what ingredients you should keep an eye out for, how to use pre workout, and what the best pre workout powder is.
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What Is A Pre Workout Supplement
If you want to instantly add a couple of points to your momentum scale pre workout powder isn’t a bad place to start. It’s like throwing cheese on garlic bread – the good gets better and the bland is suddenly tolerable.
A pre workout is a supplement that’s intended to boost your energy, but the good ones do even more than just prevent lethargic workouts; they have ergogenic effects.
Each company lays their spin on pre workouts, yet typically you’ll find:
Caffeine
Creatine
Arginine
Some vitamin bs
All combined with select additives as a proprietary blend.
The definition of pre workout is broad, for it is nothing short of a broad spectrum of possibilities. Still we’ll get down to what you want to aim for in this broad spectrum. But before that let’s delve a little deeper into what a pre workout can do for you.
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What Does Pre Workout Do For You
As beneficial as using pre workout may be, it is by no means the end all be all. It’s not required to see success whether it be performance-based, in losing fat, gaining muscle, or whatever it is you’re after.
It can make certain aspects of fitness more convenient, however. With the kind of pre workout I recommend you can expect:
More energy
Better pumps
Impressive stamina
A slight metabolic boost
Increased focus
Improved mind-muscle connection
Greater power [1]
All pre workouts aren’t created equal, so they all won’t lead to these desirable results. But don’t worry, by the end of this column you’ll know just how to assure success. Look for these ingredients and you’ll get what you came for.
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What To Look For In Pre Workout
You know what you want your pre workout to do for you. You want it to put you in the middle of a Venn diagram that includes Dash from the Incredibles, Popeye after a can of spinach, and Thanos for drive and focus. I can’t exactly say that’ll happen, but if you want to add to your version of their super powers.. look for these bad boys in a pre workout: caffeine, l-citrulline, and beta alanine.
Other additives could enhance the benefits, yet these are the pieces you should seek out. Here’s why:
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Caffeine
Caffeine is largely responsible for the energy, focus, and slight metabolic bump you get from a quality pre workout.
Caffeine is a stimulant extracted from coffee beans. It acts by blocking your adenosine A1 receptor to increase energy. This is why even coffee before exercise could give you a jolt.
The cognitive, energy-based, and metabolic [3] benefits that come with caffeine aren’t all in the black, however.
You have to be cognizant with caffeine intake. Not because it’ll have you waiting outside of Starbucks for an hour each morning. But because your total caffeine intake for a given day should be less than 400mg, otherwise the sweet effects turn sour.
That means considering coffee, tea, soda, pre workout, and whatever other caffeine laden substances you may consume.
The bad side of caffeine can lead to sleep loss, high blood pressure, stress, and you being on a first name basis with your local coffee shop’s cashier.
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L-Citrulline
L-citrulline is where your pump and stamina arrives.
L-citrulline is an amino acid that converts to l-arginine in the kidneys. Arginine leads to nitric oxide production and can be supplemented directly, but when converted from l-citrulline the process is more potent. This is why the top pre workout supplements use l-citrulline rather than arginine.
With the production of nitric oxide pre workout you get a better pump due to nitric oxide eliciting natural vasodilation. The result is increased blood flow, which even complements the distribution of oxygen and nutrients.
Nitric oxide is naturally produced by the body with its greatest feature being this widening of blood vessels. That means fuller muscles. Also happens to help promote human growth hormone release.
Go with a pre workout containing 6-8 grams of l-citrulline and you’ll reap the full benefit.
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Beta Alanine
Beta alanine increases performance in the 60-240 seconds range of exercise.
That’ll bode well for high intensity cardio and marathon weight training sets, particularly burnouts.
Beta alanine is a modified version of the amino acid alanine.
It induces carnosine production, which aids in the reduction of acid in muscles. Less acid buildup allows you to go longer before burning out. So you can expect to add a few percentage points to your current ability to resist muscle fatigue.
Keep in mind you don’t exactly need beta alanine pre workout, it can be taken throughout the day because it gets stored in your muscle cells. Still, I like having it in my pre workout since I’ll then adopt one less supplement.
You want 2-5 grams of beta alanine daily, yet be aware of paresthesia. Initial beta alanine use will cause a pre workout tingling sensation that may alarm you, yet is harmless. With consistent use the tingles shall subside in under 2 weeks.
Note: most pre workouts contain creatine. Creatine is incredible, stupendous even. It’ll increase muscular output, while making your muscles look bigger with the way it forces you to soak up water, but the amount in pre workouts is so minuscule that it’s irrelevant. Use creatine outside of your pre workout supplement to obtain enough for maximum effectiveness.
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How To Use Pre Workout
Now to the execution process. When taking pre workout follow instructions. They’ll usually say something like mix x amount of grams in 16 ounces of water 20-30 minutes before exercise. And something along the lines of only using 6 or less days per week.
I recommend measuring the dose on a kitchen scale, since the scoops aren’t always as accurate as you’d like, same with whey protein by the way.
After washing the powder down you’ll steadily feel the pre workout kicking in as those 20-30 minutes pass. It’s like Vegeta grunting his way into Super Saiyan blue, but less grunting.
Outside of the actual use of pre workout, it calls for other requirements and considerations for optimal outcomes:
Total caffeine intake per day is to be 400mg or less.
No pre workout near bedtime or you’ll suffer from lack of sleep.
Water intake should see an increase when you start a pre workout supplement. It’ll dehydrate you otherwise. I can’t recommend a specific number of ounces because we all vary, but generally half your body weight in ounces per day.
When you’re active you need more than that.
High protein intake? Need even more.
High caffeine intake? Need moooore.
Monitor your urine color and you’ll know when you’ve found your sweet spot.
Eventually pre workout’s energy jump dissipates a bit and you have to make a decision. You become acclimated to the caffeine.
Accept the other benefits as sufficient enough and push through (my choice) or cycle your pre workout by taking a couple of weeks off from use. When you restart it’ll be good as new.
Again don’t be alarmed by the harmless tingles beta alanine causes.
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The Best Pre Workout Powder
I’m a “Total War” guy at the moment.
I find it to be the best pre workout, since it has the ingredients I’m looking for, the right amount of the ingredients I’m looking for (6g l-citrulline, 3.2g beta alanine, 320mg caffeine), and the flavor Tiger’s Blood is quite favorable if you’re looking for a palate pleaser.
Total war is my number one choice, but other decent top 10 pre workout options are C4 Ultimate and Nutrabio’s Pre.
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My Thoughts
Pre workout doesn’t qualify for the miracle label. It won’t do much if you have consistently poor sleep hygiene. It’s immaterial if your general and pre workout nutrition has no rhyme or reason. It won’t benefit you if you neglect hydration.
If you’re not so experienced with caffeine intake you may not know caffeine is not only a diuretic, but a laxative. You’re likely to hear calls from a bathroom stall before your workout begins.
The first time I tried a pre workout I was on 24 hour duty, military thing. On these shifts sleeping is off the table so I figured there was no better time than when you’re required to go 24 hours without sleep to see what the pre workout supplement fuss was all about.
I prepped my scoop.. patted it down, dumped it in a shaker full of water.. aaaand it was nothing short of exhilarating.
I could feel my veins expand and the amount of energy that overcame me had to be used. A short moment later I found myself in the restroom - shadow boxing.
Note: shadows have impeccable stamina.
At that moment I knew it worked and knew it wasn’t to be played with. So when you take pre workout, do so before an actual workout or you’ll be somewhere shadow boxing like Apollo Creed is on your fight schedule.
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So, It’s About That Time
There you have it; pre workout 101. A pre workout provides energy and much more if you choose wisely. This is the section where I tend to reiterate, and I choose to do so about water intake - drink up or you’ll suffer. Pre workout isn’t the end all be all, but it is certainly an assistant. Abide by these guidelines and you’ll make the most of every scoop.. and that’s all I have to say about that. Now is the time to put those muscles to use and Be Great.
Sources:
[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4947244/
[2] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30089501/
[3] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3894395/
[4] examine.com/supplements/citrulline/