Before workouts, athletes and athletic consumers want to maximize energy, support their muscles with nutrients and sharpen their minds for better performance. The answer: pre-workout supplements.
Pre-workout supplements help increase performance by delivering dietary ingredients researched for cellular energy production, central nervous system stimulation, blood vessel dilation and cognitive function.
A good pre workout supplement should:
Increase energy – Help one feel more motivated and allow them to put their all into a workout.
Enhance one’s focus – Build a stronger mind-muscle-connection to improve efficiency during repetitions.
Boost muscle pumps – Make it easier to pump out extra sets towards the end of a workout session.
Help one reach their goals more quickly – Enhance everything one does in the gym, helping them make faster progress.
Effective pre workout ingredients include:
Coconut Water –Packed full of electrolytes, coconut water can help one stay hydrated during their session. Coconut water is also packed with potassium, which helps prevent cramping during workouts.
Caffeine –Many sports nutrition users want some stimulant in their pre-workout supplement, to provide alertness or perceived energy. In supplement form, caffeine has been shown to boost strength and endurance. It can also play a role in improved cognition (memory, focus, reaction time) during a workout.
L-Theanine – This amino acid works as a relaxing agent found in green tea leaves and can help to get the most out of caffeine. It is shown to support focus but also diminish those jitters that can come from caffeine itself.
Citrulline Malate – is extracted from watermelon and is thought to raise nitric oxide levels, leading to your blood vessels dilating. Another non-essential amino acid, citrulline has become quite popular after it was discovered to be a valuable ally in amplifying your energy and performance while supporting the post workout recovery process.
There are two ways in which it does this: To provide you with energy, citrulline is converted into the highly efficient adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. With a plentiful supply of energy for your most intense workouts, you’ll be ready to go. As for the post-workout benefits, citrulline helps to soothe soreness and quicken the healing process by removing lactic acid build-up from the muscles.Creatine Monohydrate – A popular post-workout supplement, creatine monohydrate fuel your muscles while you train as well. It has been shown to boost strength and endurance to make sure you feel on point throughout your session.
Creatine is more than just an energy booster, it also has a crucial role in increasing lean muscle mass and endurance. Inside muscle cell mitochondria, energy is released by breaking the bonds of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) through numerous aerobic and anaerobic processes. Ingredients such as creatine (in various forms) play key roles in ATP synthesis.Vitamin B 12 - (Methylcobalamin) - Vitamin B12 supplementation has been shown to contribute to boosting the immune system to help with the post-workout recovery process. The intensity of the workouts performed by athletes, bodybuilders, and extreme fitness enthusiasts can become problematic for the body if proper supplementation is not administered. Vitamin B12 has also been shown to elevate energy and amplify peak performance.
Many bodybuilders and fitness aficionados view a pre-workout supplement as a necessary part of their workout. In sum, these products appeal to those seeking a health and fitness-oriented lifestyle.
Sources:
- https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/articles/2017/06/ingredients-for-pre-workout-formulation.aspx
- http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2017/06/best-pre-workout-uk/
- http://www.tgdaily.com/sport/understanding-pre-workout-and-post-workout-supplements
- https://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/health-fitness/top-ingredients-must-pre-workout-supplement/