When you decide to use a pre-workout supplement, you can say that you’re getting pretty serious
with your gym goals.
And with such a huge market and countless consumers touting its benefits, pre-workouts
must be effective enough to warrant the attention of even the most casual gym-goer.
And… for the most part, it does.
In fact, if you ever took a pre-workout supplement or currently taking it now, you can attest
to the effects it gives you.
Undoubtedly, there's some sort of jolt to it.
And it leaves you wondering exactly what's in it and how does it actually help you?
Before we start, I want to briefly thank PictureFit Patreon supporter Andy.
For those of you that have been asking for a pre-workout video, you can thank Andy for
choosing this video as his pledge reward.
If you would like to support PictureFit as well and snag cool rewards such as me drawing
you a picture or picking the topic for a future video just like Andy did, come check out PictureFit's
Patreon page at patreon.com/PictureFit!
Alright.
Taking a quick glance at any pre-workout supplement label, you're bombarded by a rather ridiculous
list of almost unpronounceable ingredients.
And some of them are indeed helpful.
Something like trimethylglycine, which can aid in hearth health and power output.
You’ll also find beta-alanine, which helps decrease fatigue, meaning you can possibly
run longer or eek out a few more reps.
Some will contain Nitric Oxide Boosters, such as citrulline and arginine, helping you achieve
a greater pump.
And most definitely you'll find some form of creatine, an extremely popular supplement
in its own right known for improving energy production during anaerobic activities.
There are also popular ingredients that aren't… so helpful, such as the amino acid glutamine.
Supplement companies have heavily pushed glutamine to be a muscle builder and power booster,
but research shows that it's no better than a placebo.
Some companies might even pair pre-workouts with conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA for
short, claiming that it will help burn more fat during exercise.
But, much like glutamine, its effects are unsubstantiated.
But yes, no doubt these ingredients in a pre-workout can be helpful overall.
But, studies show that taking them before your workout doesn’t have any more benefits
than just taking them on a regular basis.
And also, these ingredients can easily be found in your... food.
With the exception of creatine, buying a pre-workout just for *these* ingredients, for the most
part, can be a waste of money.
BUT if that’s the case, where does the tingling sensation from a pre-workout come from?
Well, along with the mentioned ingredients, pre-workout supplements also have ingredients
known as stimulants.
Stimulants serve the general purpose of increasing performance through the heightening of multiple
physiological and mental factors such as heart rate, alertness, and vasodilation.
You'll most likely find a stimulant called yohimbine, a substance found within a Yohime
Tree bark, that can improve blood flow and the use of fat for energy.
Some popular stimulants in the past were ephedrine and DMAA, both of which stimulates the central
nervous system, essentially kicking your body into hyper mode and driving up your adrenaline
levels, heart rate, blood pressure, and fat breakdown.
Reason they are popular stimulants *in the past* is because they've been banned as dietary
supplements in the U.S due to a handful of links to… death.
Other stimulants you might find are theobromine, paraxanthine, and theophylline.
BUT… by FAR, and it's not even close, THE most effective and important stimulant in
all pre-workout supplements is none other than...
Caffeine.
That's right, the same thing you find in your morning coffee.
As you all know, caffeine is the most widely used stimulant in the world, and for good
reason.
Thanks to its ability to inhibit the sleep-inducing effects of adenosine, caffeine consumption
can influence factors such as wakefulness, alertness, aerobic capacity, power output,
fat breakdown, and time to exhaustion.
And yes, it can even cause you to have jittery sensations.
So...
there you have it.
The secret is out!
Without caffeine, pre-workout supplements really aren't all that special.
It's also the reason people have such different experiences with it, since caffeine tolerance
vary from person to person.
Some people might perform better simply because the caffeine and other stimulants makes them
focus better.
And since most pre-workout supplements contain caffeine equal to roughly 3-4 cups of coffee,
it’s important to assess your own response to caffeine, both positive and negative, before
taking it.
Plus, the effects of pre-workouts are indeed much greater on an empty stomach, so plan
accordingly.
And if you simply don't want to spend money on pre-workouts, a healthy diet with a side
of black coffee is definitely a valiant alternative.
Share your thoughts on pre-workouts in the comments below.
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