Pre-workout supplements are powerful and effective products that can boost performance and provide a mental and physical lift, but using them for every session could blunt their effectiveness.

A pre-workout is designed to help maximise your performance for better results, formulated with potent ingredients that can provide extra energy, enhance endurance, improve focus and support your recovery.

Building a tolerance

However, the inclusion of powerful stimulants means the best approach is to use pre-workouts strategically when you need them most.

Taking them too often can create a tolerance to the active ingredients, which reduces their effectiveness, and they may interfere with your sleep.

For the best results, you should use pre-workout supplements strategically, taking it a few times a week, not every day. So, when should you give your mind and body a pre-workout boost?

Tackle heavy weights

Limiting a pre-workout supplement to before your most demanding sessions helps maintain its effectiveness. Saving that powdered power-up for the workouts when you need to level up your game will give you the stamina and focus to conquer those squats like a gym boss.

Knowing you have a pre-workout in your arsenal for your most gruelling workouts can also provide a psychological edge, giving you something to look forward to and associate with pushing your limits.

By saving pre-workout for when you really need that extra push, minimises the chances you’ll build up a tolerance, ensuring it remains effective when it matters most.

  • Chasing the pump: If your aim is too look ripped, you’ll want to chase those extreme muscle pumps. Some pre-workouts have ingredients that can help increase blood flow to your muscles, giving you that satisfying “pumped” feeling.
  • Powering through: We all have those days where the couch is calling our name louder than the dumbbells. If you’re dragging yourself through the day and the thought of hitting the weights saps your motivation, a pre-workout can be your energetic sidekick, helping you shake off the sleepiness and priming your body for action.
  • Laser focus: Feeling more distracted than usual? Some pre-workouts contain ingredients that sharpen your mental focus, helping you stay locked in on your form and get the most out of each rep. Think of it as your mental gym coach, keeping you on track!

Dose it down

However, just like you wouldn’t down ten espressos before a casual stroll, a pre-workout isn’t always necessary.

If you wake up on the right side of bed and are full of natural energy, keep that pre-workout boost in your back pocket for those days when you need it most!

Primed muscles and intense focus aren’t necessary for a gentle yoga session or steady-state cardio session.

 Pick your pre-workout

When the time and situation are right for a pre-workout boost, it is important to choose the right tool for the job, because not all products deliver the same effect.

When your hardest gym workouts require explosive power and stamina you need more – more intense pumps, more energy, more mental focus, and more ingredients that help you fight fatigue and power through your training.

A high-potency pre-workout formulated with a combination of critical ingredients that enhance training and increase performance is the ideal tool to use when you need a boost.

Look for ingredients like:

  • Beta-alanine: Helps increase muscle carnosine levels1, which in turn buffers lactic acid buildup during high-intensity exercise, potentially delaying fatigue to improve stamina.
  • N-Acetyl L-Carnitine: Supports energy metabolism by transporting fatty acids into muscle cells and can lead to improved mental clarity and concentration during your workout2.
  • L-citrulline malate: Increases nitric oxide (NO) production3, which can improve blood flow to boost muscle pumps while delivering more oxygen to potentially delay fatigue.
  • AAKG: May enhances blood flow to muscles4, potentially leading to increased muscle pumps, improved nutrient delivery, and enhanced workout performance.
  • Betaine anhydrous: Boosts muscle protein synthesis by supporting the production of methionine, enhances power, and reduces perceived exertion and fatigue5.
  • Caffeine anhydrous: Improves various aspects of athletic performance6. Provides a quick energy boost by acting as a stimulant for the central nervous system, increasing alertness, focus, and energy levels.

When you’re looking for a product you can use more regularly, those that are light on the stimulants and loaded with amino acids can help increase energy, enhance mental focus, maximise performance, and improve muscle recovery.

It’s the ideal product to use anytime throughout the day, including as a pre-, intra-, or post-workout drink.

Look for options with these ingredients:

  • BCAAs: Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs), particularly leucine, can help signal the body to slow down the catabolic process during hard training, helping preserve hard-earned muscle mass, while stimulating the muscle protein synthesis (MPS) process – building new muscle tissue. BCAAs can also serve as an alternative fuel source when glycogen stores are depleted, which can help delay fatigue. There is also some evidence that BCAAs can help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)7.
  • L-Carnitine: May help improve physical performance when used in conjunction with a training regimen. L-Carnitine can help to delay fatigue during physical activity and helps by supporting fat metabolism and oxidation.
  • Chromium: provides support for healthy glucose metabolism and assists the body to metabolise carbohydrates and fats.

Dosed to perform

Most pre-workout products are ideally taken 20-30 minutes prior to training for optimal results. Whichever pre-workout you select, always stick to label recommendations on dosing and timing.

References:

  1. Culbertson JY, Kreider RB, Greenwood M, Cooke M. Effects of beta-alanine on muscle carnosine and exercise performance: a review of the current literature. Nutrients. 2010 Jan;2(1):75-98. doi: 10.3390/nu2010075. Epub 2010 Jan 25. PMID: 22253993; PMCID: PMC3257613.
  2. Scafidi S, Fiskum G, Lindauer SL, Bamford P, Shi D, Hopkins I, McKenna MC. Metabolism of acetyl-L-carnitine for energy and neurotransmitter synthesis in the immature rat brain. J Neurochem. 2010 Aug;114(3):820-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2010.06807.x. Epub 2010 May 13. PMID: 20477950; PMCID: PMC4949601.
  3. Theodorou AA, Zinelis PT, Malliou VJ, Chatzinikolaou PN, Margaritelis NV, Mandalidis D, Geladas ND, Paschalis V. Acute L-Citrulline Supplementation Increases Nitric Oxide Bioavailability but Not Inspiratory Muscle Oxygenation and Respiratory Performance. Nutrients. 2021 Sep 22;13(10):3311. doi: 10.3390/nu13103311. PMID: 34684312; PMCID: PMC8537281.
  4. Hemodynamic and Lactate Response to Exhaustive Exercise with L-Arginine Supplementation. (2022). Journal of Exercise and Nutrition, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.53520/jen2022.103114.
  5. Cholewa JM, Wyszczelska-Rokiel M, Glowacki R, Jakubowski H, Matthews T, Wood R, Craig SA, Paolone V. Effects of betaine on body composition, performance, and homocysteine thiolactone. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013 Aug 22;10(1):39. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-10-39. PMID: 23967897; PMCID: PMC3844502.
  6. Guest, N.S., VanDusseldorp, T.A., Nelson, M.T. et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and exercise performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 18, 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-020-00383-4.
  7. Weber MG, Dias SS, de Angelis TR, Fernandes EV, Bernardes AG, Milanez VF, Jussiani EI, de Paula Ramos S. The use of BCAA to decrease delayed-onset muscle soreness after a single bout of exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Amino Acids. 2021 Nov;53(11):1663-1678. doi: 10.1007/s00726-021-03089-2. Epub 2021 Oct 20. PMID: 34669012.