Pre-workout supplements can supercharge your training by supplying you with several ergogenic aids, giving you the extra edge you need to make faster, more effective progress in the gym.
You can’t always expect to turn up to every workout feeling 100% and ready to go. Sometimes you will feel lethargic, tired, and unmotivated. This is where an effective pre-workout can step in to help, alleviating your training lull and boosting your energy and performance.
So, if a pre-workout sounds like something you need to add to your supplement stack, you’ll want to know how to incorporate it safely and smartly.
Many pre-workouts on the market are packed with unnecessary ingredients and proprietary blends, so you never really know what you’re putting into your body and what effect it’s having.
This article clears up the smoke and mirrors around pre-workout supplements, listing the most important ingredients you should be looking out for, and how to successfully incorporate a pre-workout into your supplement strategy.
Let’s get into it!
What is Pre-Workout and What Does It Do?
Pre-workout is a supplement that is ideally consumed before your workout or exercise. It is largely available as a powder that you mix with water, which is then consumed like a shake.
Athletes and gym-goers take pre-workout to help intensity their workouts, with the end goal of increasing fat loss and/or muscle gain.
What Are the Essential Pre-Workout Ingredients?
Let’s take a look at some of the key ingredients you should be looking out for in a pre-workout supplement.
Caffeine for Energy
Many people associate caffeine with coffee and energy drinks, though it is actually the key ingredient in most pre-workout supplements.
Caffeine is one of the most extensively studied ergogenic aids available. To put it simply, it binds to adenosine receptors in the brain which block the signals of fatigue. As a result, a dose of caffeine can make you feel more energized and focused.
A strong dose of caffeine starts at around 200mg, which is equivalent to an 8oz cup of coffee. Though, you may need more or less depending on your tolerance.
An appropriate dose of caffeine can help boost performance by suppressing the effects of fatigue, helping to prolong your workout and maintain the intensity.
L-Arginine for Blood Flow
L-arginine is an amino acid that helps produce nitric oxide in the body when combined with oxygen. This acts as a vasodilator (widening of the blood vessels), thus allowing more blood to pass through and get to the working muscles.
With increased blood flow, more nutrients can get to the muscles, helping to enhance recovery and growth. Additionally, increased blood flow also means increased muscle volume and vascularity, often referred to as “the pump”.
Beetroot for Pump
Following on from the above, beetroot is a rich source of dietary nitrates, which also helps to increase nitric oxide in the body.
This has very much the same effect as L-arginine; increased blood flow, muscle pump, and boosted performance.
Beta-Alanine for Performance
During a weight training session, pH levels drop as lactic acid builds up, resulting in decreased muscular performance due to fatigue.
Beta-alanine helps to delay this fatigue by buffering the pH levels in the presence of lactic acid, allowing for longer and more intense training sessions.
Though, it’s worth noting that beta-alanine can sometimes cause a tingling sensation on the skin. This is no cause for concern and will wear off after some time.
Other good ingredients include:
Creatine
Another one of the most studied sports supplements of the last few decades is creatine monohydrate. This substance helps enhance the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a form of energy used in the body.
Before a workout, creatine can provide an immediate fuel source, helping to prolong workouts and increase physical performance.
Alternatively, creatine can also be taken after training, or at any other time of the day, to refill creatine stores.
L-Citrulline
Similar to beta-alanine, L-citrulline helps to remove waste products from muscles during exercise, such as lactic acid and ammonia.
Additionally, L-citrulline works well with arginine to extend the “pump” effect, allowing for harder training sessions and faster recovery, leading to greater muscle gain.
The Best Pre-Workout Supplement
While combining these individual ingredients in the appropriate doses would make a very potent and effective pre-workout, there is an easier solution!
Introducing Pre Lab Pro, the next-gen pre-workout formula that combines beetroot powder, caffeine, L-citrulline, glutathione, L-tyrosine, L-theanine, Pink Himalayan salt, and a selection of B-vitamins and minerals.
Pre Lab Pro helps enhance your training sessions by boosting blood flow and physical and mental energy, leading to peak muscle power and efficiency, extended endurance, and calm clarity.
Conclusion
Pre-workout is one of the most popular sports supplements in the fitness industry. Though they can sometimes be expensive and ineffective if you lack knowledge of the key ingredients, limiting your choices when it comes to choosing the best one.
Some of the key ingredients to look out for in a pre-workout supplement include:
- Beta-Alanine
- L-Citrulline
- Creatine
- Beetroot powder
- Caffeine
- L-Arginine
- L-Theanine
- L-tyrosine
Ensure the pre-workout supplement you are considering has at least a majority of the ingredients on this list.
To take the guesswork out of it, Pre Lab Pro is the elite choice!