Pre Workout? Why?
Heather Quinlan
Member, Inward Journey Meditation Group Member Rank ✭7✭
I must confess... I have taken a pre workout in the past without really knowing why I was taking it. I probably saw others drinking them to get energized prior to/for a workout, so thought hey... why not? I need all the energy I can get! I haven't taken one in a few years, but given my consistent workout routine at AFS, some strength goals I have in mind, and that I’ll gladly take any extra energy after a day of teaching... I want to start drinking one. I ordered one based on a friend's recommendation and am eager to try it. However I'd love to know...
Besides an increase in energy, what are the overall benefits? And what should someone take into consideration when taking one before a workout? Any and all info is appreciated! I look forward to learning more! 😃
Comments
@Heather Quinlan, great question! A lot of people take things without knowing why they're necessarily taking them.
In general "pre-workout" should do two things primarily:
1) Provide you with nutrients for energy: this can be in the form of energy for your muscles (which is sugar) or energy for your nervous system (such as caffeine and other stimulants). Additionally creatine is in many pre-workout supplements. Creatine is actually an energy source for muscle contraction (and even if your goal isn't to be super strong, creatine aids in performance in a many different kinds of workouts - like even running).
2) Provide you with nutrients that spare protein: this is either in the form of ingested protein or amino acids (specifically BCAA or Branched Chained Amino Acids). Ingested protein helps spare muscle protein during exercise b/c the ingested protein is used as a fuel source rather than your actual muscles.
Now there are a whole host of pre-workout supplements on the market, most of them have a combination of stimulants and other ergogenic aids. I don't know if I'm a fan of many of them because there's not a lot of good research behind a number of the ingredients and in some case there may be negative interactions with prescription medications. Personally I prefer to make my own pre-workout supplement, as my "homemade" blend meets the two criteria I mentioned above (and as a bonus, making it myself is usually cheaper than buying it from a store). Below is what is contained and my workout as well as I why I've included that ingredient:
Michael E. Stack, BS CFP CSCS*D CPS
AGENT OF CHANGE, CEO, & Exercise Physiologist
Few additional things to add...
All of the supplements I've recommended above to be included in a pre-workout cocktail can be mixed together in about 8-12oz of water (more or less water depending on your taste preferences) and consumed about 15-20min before exercise. All of these supplements are back by significant clinical evidence of there safety and efficacy. Things like sugar, creatine, and even caffeine get painted in a bad light by the media, but if you peak into the science behind these substances and their role in improving exercise performance you find it's pretty robust. What's interesting is much of the research has been done on the isolated use of one or two of these supplements, with significantly positive findings. I've found practically (both with myself and with clients) that the combination of all of these supplements really amplifies their performance effect and allows you to get a lot more out of your workout.
A couple disclaimers about what I've written above: (1) if you do take prescription medication you should talk with your doctor (or pharmacist) to see if there are any interactions with these supplements. In my experience this is almost never the case, but checking is wise. (2) Starting with one or two of these supplements can make a big difference, so don't feel like you have to start with all 5 things I mentioned. Minimally starting with the dextrose and BCAAs can make quite a difference in performance. You even start with lower doses than I've recommended to see how your body tolerates it. (3) This mixture of supplements is appropriate for any training goal; weight loss, muscle gain, strength, performance, endurance, etc. The human body needs all of the same "fuel" to perform well in a workout. The kind of workout you do dictates what you get out of it, not the supplements you take (they just "prime" the environment with the right nutrition so the adaptations can actually manifest themselves).
Michael E. Stack, BS CFP CSCS*D CPS
AGENT OF CHANGE, CEO, & Exercise Physiologist
Hey Heather-
I'd like to just chime in real fast to add on to what Mike said, which was awesome.
It seems like from most research that's out there, you would get probably the large majority of the same benefits from solely caffeine and creatine as you would from a fancily packaged pre-workout product. The data is pretty clear that those two ingredients have a significant performance benefit. Most of the other ingredients in popular pre-workouts are less vetted and might help, but also might not do a whole lot of anything (again, the science is more murky).
Thus, if you want something a little simpler, cheaper, and likely just as effective, a caffeine pill and some creatine (whenever it fits into your day, timing doesn't matter) would provide a very similar if not identical benefit.
Agent of Change / Fitness Innovation & Education Coordinator
Thanks @Sawyer Paull-Baird. One thing that I'll add on here (btw, can you tell Sawyer and I love talking about this kind of stuff...lol) is that a lot of the commercially available pre-workout supplements have what the manufacturer calls a "proprietary blend" of ingredients. According to FDA regulations, companies don't have to list the dosages in a proprietary blend (since it's proprietary or a trade secret). The problem with this is if they don't list the dose, you don't know how much of the active ingredient you're actually ingesting. In many cases this results in getting far less of a dose than what's necessary to achieve a performance benefit. For example, getting 1g of creatine instead of 5g or getting 0.5g of beta-alanine rather than 3g. With that said, there's definitely a buyer beware element to a lot of the commercially available pre-workout blends that are available.
Michael E. Stack, BS CFP CSCS*D CPS
AGENT OF CHANGE, CEO, & Exercise Physiologist
Thank you so much, @Mike Stack and @Sawyer Paull-Baird , for chiming in on my question with all of your knowledge! I have a feeling I will refer back to this post a few more times just to digest the information as I figure out what will work best for me. Ultimately, I want to go into each workout with the energy to give it my best. Obviously, general nutrition plays a huge role. Mindset too. But my thought was that if there is a pre-workout I could add to the regimen that would benefit my body/performance... awesome! I did try one (Ora renewable energy) before yesterday's workout. I think I noticed a bit of a difference, but then wonder "is this some placebo effect"? lol Actually, I was quite productive all day. Perhaps that was just the natural endorphins and energy from a great FS workout? Could be. I'm going to keep using it and see what happens. I'll take it in this week to show it to the crew and see what they think, too. But if there is a way for me to combine products, like shared above, that's even more effective (physically, nutritionally, cost), I'm open to that too! Thank you both for taking the time to reply! :)
Pre-workout supplements versus energy drinks with pre-workout markings on the cans... Wolf in sheep clothing? To keep the discussion streamlined I'll use these examples:
C4 - https://cellucor.com/products/c4-original
Rockstar XDurance - http://rockstarenergy.com/products/xdurance-blue-raz
@Douglas Christensen, of those two products C4 will provide much more of an ergogenic benefit. Just because the Rockstar has BCAAs doesn't mean those are very bioavailable. The distilling process to make the Rockstar drink in liquid form will degrade the bioavailability of the BCAA quite a bit. I'd rather see you go with a serving of C4, that has some good creatine, beta-alanine, and other stimulants and then add BCAAs to it rather than rely on the low quality BCAAs that are in the Rockstar.
Additionally, I'm never a big fan of the lack of sugar in the C4, as I said above sugar is a critical energy nutrient pre-exercise. With that said, mixing one scoop of C4 with Gatorade can be a great way to get the extra sugar in to fuel your workout. You could do a simple mixture of Gatorade, C4 and 1 scoops of powdered BCAAs and have a solid pre-workout drink with much more bioavailable nutrients.
Michael E. Stack, BS CFP CSCS*D CPS
AGENT OF CHANGE, CEO, & Exercise Physiologist
Hey Heather-
If you want a specific recommendation, for someone who has not taken pre-workouts before, I like this product here;
It has a much smaller ingredient list than other preworkouts out there, and none of those proprietary blends that Mike mentioned. All of the doses meet the efficacy thresholds too.
@Douglas Christensen in regards to energy drinks marketing themselves as preworkout, I would look at the label and see if the ingredients meet the minimum doses for efficacy (from Mike's post above). Looking at the Xdurance drink you posted, it has caffeine in the amount needed for an ergogenic (performance enhancing) effect, and the carbohydrates can be helpful as well (although there's way more than needed in this drink). They also advertise BCAAs but don't listed the dose here.
So, in short, the caffeine alone means the drink would probably provide a performance benefit. That said, I would weight the cost versus something like the product I listed above which is $1/serving, and also provides creatine and beta-alanine.
Agent of Change / Fitness Innovation & Education Coordinator
Dont use creatine if you have kidney disease.
I have been taking BCAAs in capsule form immediately after my workouts. In terms of the benefits that BCAAs specifically provide, does it really matter a lot if I take them before vs. after? I've been avoiding pre-workout blends because of the caffeine—many of my teammates use them before practices or games, but I already have really high anxiety before games so I'm trying to avoid anything else that will push me over the jittery edge, so to speak. But I could consider taking my BCAAs prior to if that would make a difference!
Hey @Chris Firlik -
The best time to use BCAAs depends on how long ago your last meal was. You can only spike muscle recovery/growth responses in the body once every few hours (your body becomes desensitized to the stimulus of protein for a period of time after protein ingestion that research indicates is around 2.5-3 hours), so if you had a meal at noon, there wouldn't be as much of a benefit to taking BCAAs until close to 2:30-3.
BCAAs could provide a modest performance/recovery benefit if taken pre-workout or game. However, if you are going into your game more than 2-3 hours post meal, I would consider adding dextrose or other simple sugar pre/during the game to help fuel your performance (carb is the main fuel source for your body during intense exercise). That dextrose would likely be even more beneficial than the BCAAs.
This might look like a scoop of BCAAs and a tablespoon of dextrose 10-15 minutes pre-game, then another serving during the game. Or half a serving before, and a half after. This could also be a gatorade+BCAA.
Hope that helps!
Agent of Change / Fitness Innovation & Education Coordinator
Thanks so much, @Sawyer Paull-Baird! That is great information. On game days it is true I'm often eating pretty far in advance and then trying to eat a variety of smaller items when I arrive at the venue, so I appreciate knowing some of the science behind this and how I can make things work better in my favor.
@Paulette Valliere thanks for mentioning that. As with any supplementation, if you have any chronic health condition (and you're being treated with any medication for it) it is wise to talk with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any type of supplement. I will say with regard to kidney dysfunction it does depend on the individual, this is why it's so important to talk with your doctor. I know some individuals who have been "cleared" by the doctor to take creatine despite having some degree of renal dysfunction. This is particularly true when creatine is used for other purposes beyond performance enhancement (like we've been talking about in this context). Creatine is also used to treat certain brain and cardiac disorders (and many other things), so there may be application of it beyond just the performance benefits discussed above. That said, your point is very well taken, talking to your doctor first is always wise if you have any health condition.
Michael E. Stack, BS CFP CSCS*D CPS
AGENT OF CHANGE, CEO, & Exercise Physiologist
@Mike Stack Thank you for scientific explanation of my at home chemistry of mixing C4 and Gatorade. Granted, I mix for flavor not for sugar necessarily because I only do 1/2 scoop of C4 and make pitchers of Gatorade at home with about 1/4 the dosing suggestion. Even during road races I have to water down Gatorade. As far as BCAAs though I personally have always taken them mid work out usually about the same time the pre-workout peaks to power the second half of 45-60 minute workouts. How crucial is BCAA timing for general fitness?
@Douglas Christensen, I think timing of BCAA is somewhat important in the sense that if you take them before exercise they can get into your blood stream and get delivered to the muscle to be used as an alternative fuel source nearly immediately in your workout. If you take them mid-workout it's more likely they'll be available in the post-exercise window rather than during a workout (this is simply because digestion and absorption are impaired during exercise). Additionally, taking the sugar with the BCAAs will help "shuttle" the BCAAs to your muscle a little better/faster, thereby increasing the efficacy of the BCAAs (because of local delivery to active muscles). Long story short, for the reasons I mentioned above, I would dose the BCAAs pre-exercise, with everything else. That will give you more bang for your buck in terms of an ergogenic response.
Michael E. Stack, BS CFP CSCS*D CPS
AGENT OF CHANGE, CEO, & Exercise Physiologist
Oh @Heather Quinlan thanks for this questions/thread starter. Tons of information and knowledge in here! I take BCAA’s daily, and have been meaning to read up on creatine. I’ve been struggling a bit with energy levels as I believe I’m in or near the perimenopause stage in my life. (So not fun) I bookmarked this and the thread on menopause (i think you started that one too)
thanks everyone for the solid info!
Theresa
@Theresa Cvetanovski, I'm curious when are you struggling with your energy levels? Is it around exercise or throughout the day (or both)? One of the things that happens with menopause is the body gets less effective at dealing with sugar and carbohydrates (more specifically your insulin doesn't work quite as well). Sometimes being smart about how you time your carb intake can be very helpful. Anything you want to share there to get more guidance, please let us know.
PS...I do believe that women can benefit immensely from creatine supplementation. It's not just a "guy" supplement as I think it's so often considered. Both genders can benefit from the use of creatine for sure, but since woman tend to eat less red meat (where creatine is found naturally in the diet) women might benefit from it a little more than even men.
Michael E. Stack, BS CFP CSCS*D CPS
AGENT OF CHANGE, CEO, & Exercise Physiologist