Introduction
We have had a lot of people email us that are new to gym ask us to explain what “Pre-Workout” is. They have heard it used around the gym. Or they have seen it advertised online and on social media. So in this post, we will be going through pre-workouts, what is it, what it does and if you need it or not. After you read this you will know everything you need to know about Pre Workout and will be able to decide if you want to try it or not.
The Basic Rundown
So what is Pre Workout? Well to put it in simple terms, it is energy in a tub. All pre workout does is give you energy. I mean it does more and in a different way than say a cup of coffee, but at its core, it just gives you energy and more focus. The most popular use for Pre Workout is the “I’ve just finished work, I need some energy for my workout.” If you spend all day at work then after you finish you head to the gym, you may find yourself yawning, laggy and lack the motivation for the gym. Now with the help of Pre Workout it will get you fired up and ready for a workout. You will be energised and have full focus on your workout.
Another thing that a good Pre Workout is good for is giving you a pump. Various chemicals (which we will go over in a minute) make the blood flow to the muscles and help swell your muscles up and give you massive pumps. This helps the mind, getting a big pump is always good for your self-confidence. It is also very helpful when trying to get a good connection while doing a certain lift.
Flavours? Any Recommendations?
Pre Workouts come in many flavours, strengths and kinds. Most nutrition companies have released a pre-workout, and if you do a bit of research you can make your own fairly easily and fairly cheap. Few things to remember when buying, and we will go through this more a bit later but we will quickly run through it now. The first thing is there are loads of flavours our there, hundreds if not thousands, and finding one that you like won’t take long. There’s everything from Cola, to lemon & Lime and beyond. Just got to pick a flavour you think you like and 90% of the time you will, and anyway, you drink it so quickly you can’t even taste it.
How and When?
Next question is how do I use it and when do I use it? Well, both of them questions have a very simple answer. Best time to take Pre Workout is Pre…..workout! More specifically around 30-40 minutes before your workout (Depending on caffeine sensitive you are). You want to time it so when you reach the peak of your workout the Pre Workout kicks in. So if you start with a 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill, then you would want to take it around 25 minutes before you get to the gym. Some people even drink it while they do their warm up cardio. You will have to experiment and find the timing that works best for you.
Pre Workout 90% in powder form, kind of like a protein shake. Just mix it up with a little bit of water, shake and consume. Every Pre Workout will have its own instructions. Most of then will say mix 1-2 scoops with around 100-150ml of water and consume 30-40 minutes before workout. We would always recommend starting with 1/2 scoop which is normally 5-10g and making sure that fine with your body. Pre Workout is not dangerous but with high caffeine and other chemicals there are some things to watch out for (we will run through these later). High caffeine intake can lead to the jitters and how do we say it, more frequent toilet visits. If you start with 1/2 scoop and work up you will be fine and have nothing to worry.
Buying: Types & Strengths
Before we go into what’s in it and is it good or bad (hint: it’s good) we must first run through the different type and the different strengths of pre-workout. Let’s start with the different types, there are not that many types but various companies are coming up with various different formulas containing different things.
I have seen and tried a caffeine-free Pre Workout design for those that are caffeine sensitive, I found that it was okay gave me a great pump but the hype and the energy weren’t there. Also, I have tried energy Gels, these are massive with the running and cycling scene. I would say that these are not suitable for working out due to there high sugar content. They do give you a good buzz and fill you with lots of energy.
Another kind of Pre Workout is a formula that is mainly designed to just give you the pump effect, it contains certain chemicals that help the blood flow, and give you a bigger better pump. These are popular in competitions, so before you go on stage you would use this to get a bigger and better pump.
The Most Popular Pre Workout
The last kind of Pre Workout and the most popular is a caffeine Pre Workout. This is by far the most popular and readily available. These use caffeine and other chemicals to give you a massive increase of energy, focus and a big pump. With different brands and kind, you will find they have different effects, and this is due to the strength of them.
The strength of Pre Workout depends on how much of certain chemicals it contains. The Two most popular. One is Caffeine and the other is Beta-Alanine, now there are various other chemicals that make up a Pre Workout formula and every brand will change it, add some and take some away, but we can guarantee that every formula will have these two chemicals. Now to put it simply, caffeine is a chemical that we all know, it’s found in coffee, Energy drinks, tea and much more, all caffeine does is gives you energy. It is amazing and waking you up and getting you ready to workout.
Beta Alanine, on the other hand, is a chemical that many people won’t of heard of. Again to put it simply, it is used to give you that pump, have ever taken Pre Workout and felt your skin tingling? That’s beta alanine. Now in a standard pre-workout, you would be looking to see about 150-250mg of Caffeine and between 1.5-2.0g of beta-alanine. These are the usual numbers. Most brands will vary these numbers around and add more or less depending on the goal of the formula.
Other Chemicals?
Now people are often put off by Pre Workout because they hear that they contain “chemicals” and they do, they do contain some on and sometimes weird chemicals. We have already gone through beta alanine and caffeine but there are a few more that will often spring up.
Creatine
Also known as Creatine Monohydrate is found in a lot of pre-workouts, and I know a lot of people that take it on its own. Creatine is found in various food such as Meats and Fish and is very helpful for helping with successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise. It’s proven to help you build strength and muscles that you use in short-term exercise (Like you max bench press, or an explosive start to a sprint) We highly recommend Creatine, its a wonderful chemical and can do wonders to your training.
When you start to take creatine you will hear people talk about a Loading phase, For about 3 days have 4 times the amount to help saturate your muscles, This is crap, pure crap. You don’t need to load creatine at all if you are going to be taking creatine for a year do you really think that 4 days is going to help in any way? Nope! Just stick to 5g a day, at roughly the same time and you will be fine. Even better if it is in your pre-workout, you don’t have to worry about taking it at all.
Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AAKG)
AAKG is a non-essential amino acid. That aids the liver into producing Nitric Oxide, Both AAKG and Nitric Oxide greatly assist in muscle building. Athletes take it to help them perform longer with less pain and stiffness. It’s even used to help treat Kidney Disease and liver problems. AAKG will also be found in most pre-workouts, around 3-6g which is a perfect amount.
L Carnitine
L Carnitine is a Vitamin like amino acid-like compound. It is formed in the Liver and Kidneys but is stored elsewhere, Mainly in muscles. It’s the main goal is to help transport long chained fatty acids to the mitochondria of cells. From there they are then used as fuel, thus burning fat. It has been proven to work when doing the High activity, intense Training. Like the ones, you will find on the Sets & Reps Application.
Are they bad? - Warnings & Hazards?
No, Well No if you use them sensibly, There are no known side effects of pre-workouts, Some of the chemicals inside them have side effects if you take to much, like you can get an upset stomach if you take much AAKG, but the dosages that are in Pre Workout will do no damage at all.
With this in mind, there are a few warnings to take into consideration. The biggest one stays away if you are pregnant or breastfeeding or have a heart condition. Also if you are sensitive too caffeine then be very, very, very careful. A few other warnings you will hear is don’t take Pre Workout if you plan to sleep in the next 6 hours, They affect different people in different ways, some stay wired for 6-7 hours and some can go to sleep straight after there workout. Again it’s just a matter of testing it out.
What will you feel?
If you are new to Pre Workout you may also find that your skin will tingle and possible feel “itchy”, as stated above this is Beta Alanine and it is fine, some people love this feeling and chase this feeling, they say it helps them perform better. If you find you are not a fan of the tingle. Use a smaller dose of Pre Workout and build your way up. The last thing to watch out for is that you might find that you sweat more with pre-workout, again some people love this and some people don’t, But you will most likely sweat more so make sure you are drinking plenty of water to keep hydrated during your workouts.
Also, we always advise having a little break period from pre-workout. Your body can get used to it and the effects will start to wear off. So having a 1 or 2-week break will reset tolerance.
Advice & Tips
Few words of advice and a few tips mostly when buying pre-workout, Don’t get ripped off. Bigger companies feel they can charge a stupid amount for there pre-workouts when they are the same as the cheaper ones. Cheaper Pre Workout is just as good, if not better. Saying that the only thing that bigger companies do, in my experience is the flavour. We have already said that flavour isn’t a deal breaker because you drink it so quick, but find a flavour you can tolerate and stomach. My personal favourite flavour MVPre “Roadside Lemonade”. It taste amazing! Has great effects and has no crash! Making it the perfect pre workout.
Conclusion
We hope that this post has answered any of your questions you have on pre-workout. Like we have said before, if you are going to try it, start with a low amount (Maybe 1/2 scoop) and work your way up from there, some of the products out there hit hard so just go careful. Also, DON’T use pre workout if you are sensitive to caffeine! Again, some products have a very high caffeine content. If we have forgotten anything, or there is anything you would like clearing up please feel free to email our advice email and we will try to respond asap. Go ahead and give Pre workout a go, use it with the Sets & Reps application and let us know how you got on.
Written by Kieran Blacker
Kieran is the CEO and Founder of Sets & Reps. He decided to make an application that helped people get a gym workout when not at the gym. He designed, Coded and built the application himself.