Have you ever found yourself severely lacking energy, motivation, and mental focus, despite having had plenty of sleep and food? If so, you’ve probably found that this has severely hindered your performance in the gym. When we’re tired, our workouts often suck. To counter this, some of us chug down a sugar-laden energy drink, or a cup of strong coffee for that much-needed caffeine hit. A lot of bodybuilders choose not to rely on coffee, but instead they use pre-workout supplements. As beneficial as they are, these supplements aren’t without their risks. Here’s the low down on pre-workout supplements.
What are pre-workout supplements?
Pre-workout supplements are, surprisingly, designed to be consumed directly before you work out. They’re created to help give you a temporary burst of physical and mental energy, whilst enhancing your athletic performance at the same time. Though you can get stimulant-free supplements, most pre-workout supplements contain caffeine as their primary ingredient, in large doses, as this is what gives you a temporary boost of energy because of its stimulating effects. On top of that, they also tend to contain ingredients such as amino acids and creatine, which are designed to help boost recovery, energy, and athletic performance.
Pros of pre-workout supplements
Some pros of pre-workout supplements include:
More energy – When you’re tired and lacking energy, pre-workout supplements are ideal. They contain stimulants such as caffeine and taurine, which provide temporary increases in energy. This increase in energy means that your workouts become more productive as you get more done. Looking for more energy? Check out our review on pre-workout supplement Pre Jym
Better focus – Not only do they provide increases in energy they also provide increases in mental focus as well. Caffeine and various other ingredients in these supplements help you to focus and concentrate on your workout. This helps you to avoid distraction and it helps to improve your mind-muscle connection.
Improved athletic performance – Pre-workout supplements often contain creatine, amino acids, and vasodilators such as Nitric Oxide, which help to increase athletic performance. Creatine for example, helps to boost your energy levels as it increases adenosine triphosphate production, or ATP for short. ATP is a primary source of energy for cells within the muscles. Nitric Oxide is a vasodilator which dilates the blood vessels and allows more oxygenated blood to flow through your body and be delivered to your cells. The more oxygen they have, the more energy your cells have, which means the more energy you will have.
Cons of pre-workout supplements
Some potential risks of pre-workout supplements include:
Insomnia – If you train later on the day, the later you take your pre-workout supplement the greater your risk of insomnia. As you now, caffeine is a stimulant that wakes you up, and if you have caffeine in your system in the evening, you’ll find it much harder to get to sleep.
Cardiovascular risks – Too much caffeine can be bad for your heart. Caffeine increases your heart rate, and if you consume too much caffeine you run the risk of all manner of cardiovascular-related health issues, including heart attack.
