A pre-workout refers to any supplement, typically a powdered drink mix that claims to improve exercise performance when consumed in advance. Many individuals find it hard to get and stay active. Lack of energy is a major reason. To acquire an extra lift of energy during exercise, most people take a supplement before training.

However, there are many supplements available, each of which has many ingredients. So knowing what to look for in a pre-workout supplement can be confusing. Here are six ingredients to look for in your pre-workout and their benefits.

1. Caffeine

Caffeine refers to a natural molecule that you can find in tea, coffee, and other beverages and foods. It stimulates specific brain organs to increase alertness and reduce fatigue. It’s also a common element in pre-workout supplements such as cellucor. Caffeine is efficient in improving various gym performance features and can boost the ability to generate energy quickly. This is applicable in multiple types of exercises, including weight training, sprinting, and cycling.

Caffeine can cause a short-term rise in blood pressure and increase restlessness; however it does not normally cause an unbalanced heartbeat also called an arrhythmia, unless possibly taken in extreme excess amounts. Individuals react differently to different amounts of caffeine, so it’s probably advisable to start with a small dose to check how you respond. It might also be good to limit your caffeine intake early in the day because of its anti-sleep side-effects.

2. Creatine

Creatine refers to a molecule located in your cells. It is also a common dietary supplement. Creatine is considered by the majority of sports scientists to be a supplement for increasing power and strength. It safely increases muscle strength, mass and gym performance. In case your muscles have more vigor when you workout, you can perform better and encounter greater enhancements over time. If your goal is to increase muscle strength, this could be the supplement for you.

3. Beta-alanine

Beta-alanine refers to an amino acid that assists in fighting muscle tiredness. When acid begins to build up in your body during a strenuous workout, beta-alanine helps fight the acid. Consuming beta-alanine like a supplement improves concentration in your body and can improve gym performance. Particularly, this supplement can help boost performance during forceful exercise that lasts for 1-4 minutes. Though, it might not be effective for enhancing workouts that last less than 60 seconds, for example, one set during weight-training exercise.

4. Baking Soda

Most individuals get surprised to learn that this popular household product is a sports supplement. Also recognized as sodium bicarbonate, it works as a buffering agent, which means that it assists in fighting acid build-up in your body.

When it comes to exercise, baking soda can help reduce exercise fatigue, characterized by a “burning” sensation in the muscles. The burning sensation is an indication that the production of acid increases with workout intensity.

5. Citrulline

Citrulline refers to an amino acid that occurs naturally in the body. However, taking citrulline from supplements or foods can increase the levels in your body. These elevated levels can be useful for gym performance. Among the effects of citrulline is an increase in the flow of blood to body tissues. In regards to exercise, this can help provide working muscles with nutrients and oxygen to function properly.

6. BCAAs

BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) are made up of three main molecules: isoleucine, valine, and leucine. You can find these amino acids in large amounts in most protein-containing foods. Even though they are often consumed for their purported muscle-building impacts, they are not as effective as the whole proteins. The high-quality protein in whole foods offer enough BCAAs to support muscle growth and has all the body’s amino acids. However, the use of BCAA supplements has some potential benefits. For example, it can improve stamina and it can also reduce muscle pain after running and weight-lifting.

bcaa ingredients

For long-term strength training you can enhance your performance using caffeine and BCAAs. For shorter more intense activities like muscle burning, beta-alanine, baking soda, citrulline, and caffeine, can help. For optimal performance during a workout such as weight-lifting, you can try caffeine, creatine, and citrulline. Some types of training and certain sports you can use a combination of the above categories. You may need to experiment using ingredients in diverse categories to see what suits you in those cases and when in doubt always consult a Doctor and certified Nutritionist for better advice on what exactly would be beneficial for you.

About the Author:

Samantha Higgins is a professional writer with a passion for research, observation, and innovation. She is nurturing a growing family of twin boys in Portland, Oregon with her husband. She loves kayaking and reading creative non-fiction.

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Today I came across a very good article written by Hilton Preen, once a Mr South Africa, a great bodybuilding champion and a man with extensive knowledge on nutrition.

The article is all about the current state of the sports supplements industry within South Africa as well as all over the world.

I have my own views on sports supplements which I will be sharing in another post soon! But this article was quite informative and eye opening with regards to what actually goes into sports supplements and how to choice between all the different brands of supplements currently out there.  A very good read for the average gym goer, as well as for the professional athlete.

You can read the article here > Supplement Scandal Secrets by Hilton Preen

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The post Supplement Scandal – Secrets Revealed appeared first on FitNish.com.