4 KEY INGREDIENTS FOR YOUR PRE-WORKOUT!
Pre-workout supplements
can give you an extra push in the gym, but it's easy to get lost in the sea of
names and packaging. Start simple—and strong—with these 4 key ingredients!
VITAL STATS
Name: Vince
Kreipke, MS, CSCS, USAW-L1SP
Education: M.S.
in Applied Sports Sciences and currently pursing his PhD in Exercise Physiology
at Florida State University
Looking
for an added edge in the gym? Pre-workout supplements are a great place to
start! The trouble is, if you're new to the supplement world, it can be
incredibly difficult to sort through the mountain of choices, labels, and
ingredients.
As you
search, you'll likely scratch your head as you come across
"creatine-this," "citrulline-that," and
"beta-ala-what?" To compound the problem, those ingredients are often
blended into combinations with flashy names like "Ultra-Nasty Uber
Pump" and "Explosive Blood-Rush Blend."
With
all the hard-to-pronounce compounds and extreme marketing, it can feel like
you're drowning—and all you wanted was a solid edge to hit some nice PRs or
increase your training energy! Don't worry, I got you.
When
searching for or building my own pre-workout, I like to focus on four key
ingredients—or, as I call them, "The Big Four." While each of these
ingredients has multiple benefits, I'm going to focus on how important each one
is to conquering your next training session.
Yes,
there are many other supporting ingredients available in pre-workouts, but
these four have the most scientific research backing their use, which is why I
suggest starting with this bunch of ingredients above any others.
Next
time you hit the pre-workout market or start gathering ingredients for your own
killer pre-workout blend—make sure you give it a solid name!—reference this
list first. It will help you decide which ingredients and doses you really
want, and why you want them.
1
CAFFEINE
Primary
purpose: Energy
Optimal
dose: 200-500 mg, or 1.8-2.7 mg per kg of body weight
Benefits: Caffeine has repeatedly been shown to be
an effective ergogenic aid (performance booster) in both endurance exercise and
short bouts of maximal exercise (e.g., sprints). Although there haven't been
many studies showing increases in one-repetition max, caffeine has been shown
to increase workloads by decreasing the rate of fatigue and lowering the
perception of effort—even in sleep-deprived situations!1 And
remember, more workload means greater gainz!
CAFFEINE HAS REPEATEDLY BEEN SHOWN TO BE
AN EFFECTIVE ERGOGENIC AID (PERFORMANCE BOOSTER) IN BOTH ENDURANCE EXERCISE AND
SHORT BOUTS OF MAXIMAL EXERCISE.
It is
important to note that doses will vary from person to person. If you are a
habitual caffeine user, you are going to need more to get you up. If you
aren't, well... you won't. You are going to have to play within the ranges so
you can figure out what works best for you.
Finally,
if you work out at night, pay attention to how much you take. The effects of
caffeine might take a while to wear off, keeping you up at night. And you need
sleep so you can grow!
Why
Number 1? You are going to need energy to get through your workout. Caffeine is
a quick source to get you on your game and ready to crush some weight.
2
BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACIDS (BCAAS)
Primary
purpose: Foster an anabolic environment
Optimal
dose: 5 g in pre-workout, 20 g total throughout the day
Benefits: BCAAs—leucine, isoleucine, and valine—are key when
it comes to regulating protein metabolism, increasing protein synthesis, and
suppressing protein breakdown. It is important that you get the right ratio of
leucine to isoleucine to valine. You are looking for 2:1:1, respectively.
BCAAS— LEUCINE, ISOLEUCINE, AND
VALINE—ARE KEY WHEN IT COMES TO REGULATING PROTEIN METABOLISM, INCREASING
PROTEIN SYNTHESIS, AND SUPPRESSING PROTEIN BREAKDOWN.
Leucine
is king in this situation because it has been shown to stimulate muscle protein
synthesis, so that's why it should be the highest amino acid in your blend.
Looking for roughly 3 g of leucine per dose of your BCAAs is another effective
way to shop.
Why
Number 2? BCAAs give you some immediate protection against the catabolic
environments produced when exercising. Moreover, drinking BCAAs may help
decrease delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) the following day so you can get
back to training hard faster.2
3
BETA-ALANINE
Primary
purpose: Increased muscular endurance
Optimal
dose: 1.5-5 g
Benefits: This
is another ingredient that can help improve your overall training volume, but
it works by buffering hydrogen ions (H+), giving you the ability to keep your
intensity up for longer periods of time. In other words: more volume; more
gains.3
BETA-ALANINE IS EXCELLENT FOR PUMPING OUT
EXTRA REPS AND SQUEEZING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WORKOUT.
If you
take a larger dose of beta-alanine, you will most likely experience
a tingling sensation. Don't worry, your skin isn't melting. You are
experiencing what's called "paresthesia," and it is completely
normal. If you're not a fan of the feeling, consider splitting your dose into
smaller portions to take throughout the day.
Why
Number 3? Beta-alanine is excellent for pumping out extra reps and squeezing
the most out of your workout. The reason I have it at number three is because
you don't need it right before you work out. As long as you are taking it
throughout the day, you will still build up your stores and increase your
ability to buffer H+.
4
CREATINE MONOHYDRATE
Primary
purpose: Explosive strength
Optimal
dose: 5 g in pre-workout, up to 20 g per day
Benefits: Creatine is the ingredient
that is going to help most with your lower-rep workouts. Simply put, it helps
saturate your muscles with the substrate (energy source) needed to produce a
fast, big energy pump required for those really big lifts.
SIMPLY PUT, CREATINE HELPS SATURATE YOUR
MUSCLES WITH THE SUBSTRATE (ENERGY SOURCE) NEEDED TO PRODUCE A FAST, BIG ENERGY
PUMP REQUIRED FOR THOSE REALLY BIG LIFTS.
Note
the dosage range. Huge, right? The reason is that most manufacturers suggest a
"loading" phase to speed up the saturation process. This process is
typically prescribed for about a week, and then dropped down to a
"maintenance" phase at about 5 g per day. Honestly, if you are not
looking to do a super-fast bulk phase, you don't need the 20 g. Just stick to
the 5 g, which is about 1 teaspoon.
Why
Number 4? Creatine is an amazing ingredient. I mean, I really love this stuff.
I put it down at number four because, as with beta-alanine, you can really take
it whenever you want. To date, there has only been one study showing a benefit,
albeit a minimal one, to taking creatine post-workout. (4) The majority of the
literature suggests that the timing of creatine has very little influence on
strength.
Until
more supportive evidence comes out, I say take creatine when you want and focus
on the others in "The Big Four" for your pre-workout.
*
Ratings as of article's date of publication
BONUS INGREDIENTS VASODILATORS
Primary
purpose: Increase blood flow
Benefits: The
primary role of vasodilators such as L-arginine, L-citrulline, and beetroot is to increase nitric oxide
levels in the blood, leading to an increase in blood flow, which can stimulate
the always-desired "pump."
There
are a lot of these ingredients on the market today. As such, there are a lot of
dosing recommendations, depending on which one you prefer. I personally tend to
stick to pomegranate extracts, which are a dietary
source of nitrates that have been shown to enhance blood flow and delay fatigue
in highly active individuals.5
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
I
suggest focusing on pre-workout ingredients in the order I've proposed here.
However, I cannot stress enough that these ingredients are placed in this list,
in this order, for pre-workout importance only. Each of them has multiple
benefits in different scenarios. When you go to buy your next pre-workout, make
sure that the product contains enough of the aforementioned ingredients, or it
may not be as effective as possible for your purposes.
Additionally,
if you have or find a pre-workout that contains a proprietary blend—a blend in
which the ingredients aren't listed separately, but are lumped under a total
amount—the individual doses of the ingredients are fixed. In this case, it can
be hard to determine how much of each ingredient is included, but you can
always supplement your pre-workout with a little more of any ingredient that
may be lacking in your mix.
Finally,
let's talk about timing. Most pre-workouts should be taken roughly 30 minutes
before getting to your workout. I typically drink mine while driving to the gym
or getting ready in the locker room. This ensures that all the ingredients
start to metabolize and become ready for use by the last set of my first lift,
which is when I really need it.
Now,
armed with "The Big Four," go forth and hit your best lifting session
to date!
REFERENCES
1.
Cook, C., Beaven, C. M., Kilduff, L. P., & Drawer, S.
(2012). Acute caffeine ingestion's increase of voluntarily chosen
resistance-training load after limited sleep. International
Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 22(3), 157-164.
2.
Shimomura,
Y., Inaguma, A., Watanabe, S., Yamamoto, Y., Muramatsu, Y., Bajotto, G., ... &
Mawatari, K. (2010). Branched-chain amino acid supplementation before squat
exercise and delayed-onset muscle soreness.International
Journal of Sport Nutrition, 20(3), 236.
3.
Smith, A. E., Walter, A. A., Graef, J. L., Kendall, K. L., Moon,
J. R., Lockwood, C. M., ... & Stout, J. R. (2009). Effects of B-alanine
supplementation and high-intensity interval training on endurance performance
and body composition in men; a double-blind trial. Journal
of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 6(1), 1-9.
4.
Antonio, J., & Ciccone, V. (2013). The effects of pre versus
post workout supplementation of creatine monohydrate on body composition and
strength. Journal of the International Society of Sports
Nutrition, 10(1), 36.
5.
Trexler, E. T., Smith-Ryan, A. E., Melvin, M. N., Roelofs, E.
J., & Wingfield, H. L. (2014). Effects of pomegranate extract on blood flow
and running time to exhaustion 1. Applied
Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 39(9), 1038-1042.
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