The pre-workout supplements market has grown from just $2.5 billion in 2016 to $12.6 billion in 2019. This growth has been fueled by the increasing demand from consumers for products that can improve their performance in the gym and help reduce their recovery time after a workout.
If you're interested in pre-workout supplements but are wondering if they're actually worth it, read on to find out more about the long and short term benefits as well as how to choose the ideal pre-workout.
What Are Pre-Workout Supplements?
Pre-workout supplements — also known simply as pre-workouts — are formulas that are designed to enhance athletic performance and boost energy and focus levels during a workout. They are available in both pill and powder form. When taken as a power, pre-workouts are mixed with water and consumed as a drink prior to exercising. These supplements contain a variety of ingredients that differ depending on the brand, but some common ingredients include caffeine, creatine, and amino acids.
It's always a good idea for fitness enthusiasts to get pre-made pre-workout supplements from reputable brands that third-party test their pre-workouts to ensure that the highest quality standards are maintained. Knowing that the blend is safe and effective will give you peace of mind and will also save you the time and hassle it takes to make your own.
How Important Are Pre-Workouts?
Depending on your goals, pre-workouts can provide extra energy for workouts, boost your metabolism to help with fat burning, and help improve your endurance during exercise to maintain a higher intensity for longer.
Pre-workout supplements help give you the stamina and focus that you need during a workout so that you can push yourself to hit personal bests. They can also provide a nice mood boost for those times when you just don't feel like hitting the gym. For many people, all of these benefits make pre-workout supplement an indispensable part of working out.
Why Choose To Use Pre-workout Supplements?
Ingredients that Enhance Athletic Performance
Effective pre-workouts use ingredients that are backed by science to help users achieve their desired results. Here are a few of the key ingredients included in most pre-workout supplements.
Nitric Oxide - The Circulation Maestro
Nitric oxide is one of the ingredients that helps elevate athletic performance. Nitric oxide is a naturally occurring compound in your body that helps with blood circulation. The building blocks required by your body to make nitric oxide include L-citrulline and L-arginine, as well as other nitrates that can be found in foods like beetroot juice.
Research suggests that taking nitric oxide supplements can help increase nutrient and oxygen flow to your muscle tissues, therefore improving performance by boosting stamina and improving recovery times.
Caffeine - The Energy Booster
Caffeine is another ingredient that can help boost athletic performance by providing the boost of energy you need prior to a workout. Caffeine is a well-known stimulant that can help your mind stay alert and motivate you to push yourself during a workout. It's also been shown to help with fat burning.
If you'd prefer to avoid caffeine, there are pre-workout options that are stimulant-free. Beta-alanine, an amino acid that's produced naturally in the blood, is another component of pre-workouts that provides similar benefits to caffeine by helping to reduce the amount of lactic acid that's produced by your body during periods of intense exercise.
Creatine - The Strength Multiplier
Creatine is a natural chemical compound that is produced in the body. It's mainly stored in skeletal muscles and is key to producing the energy and strength that you need while you work out.
Creatine can be found in some pre-workout supplements, and it can also be bought on its own. This ingredient is very widely used in the world of weightlifting and bodybuilding by power athletes of all kinds. Several studies have shown that adding creatine to your pre-workout supplements can help expand the supply of creatine stored in your body and therefore speed up recovery both during and after exercise, as well as elevate your body strength, muscle mass, and overall performance.
Things to Be Aware of When Consuming Pre-Workout Supplements
High-quality pre-workouts are very safe to consume, but as with all supplements, making sure that they contain the correct ingredients and using them correctly will ensure that you obtain the maximum benefits from your workouts.
Supplements May Contain Sugar
Some pre-workout supplements may contain sugar, which isn’t an issue for most people. However, if you're trying to limit sugar in your diet, some pre-workout supplements may not align with your goals, so always be sure to check the labels.
If you prefer to avoid pre-workout supplements that contain sugars, you can instead try sugar-free pre-workouts as an alternative. Consuming too much sugar may result in unwanted symptoms like bloating and gassiness, which no gym goer wants to experience. If you’re ever unsure, it's a good idea to consult a physician about your recommended sugar intake to ensure that you maximize your workout sessions.
Too Much Caffeine Is Bad for You
It is well known that consuming too much caffeine can also impede your progress at the gym. Caffeine is one of the most common stimulants and is found in many pre-workout supplements. However, consuming excessive amounts of caffeine can cause several negative side effects, including disruption of sleep, heightened blood pressure, and anxiety.
While most pre-workout supplements contain about the amount of caffeine that you would get in a cup or two of coffee, if you consume caffeine from other sources throughout the day, you may unintentionally end up consuming too much caffeine.
Check the Labels
It's also important to check the ingredient labels carefully before making the decision to purchase any kind of pre-workout supplement to ensure that everything contained in your pre-workout is of the highest quality. At ProSupps, we go the extra mile and have our pre-workouts third-party tested to ensure the highest quality standards. We even go a step further for our most popular powders to ensure that they are Informed Choice certified and banned substance tested.
Familiarizing yourself with the ingredients also enables you to determine the benefits that you'll experience from the different pre-workout supplements. For instance, if you need more energy for your morning workouts, look out for whether the supplement contains caffeine. Other ingredients also work towards improving muscle endurance, stamina, and fat loss.
Finding the Right Pre-Workout
Pre-workout supplements are often not one size fits all. Everybody is different, and it's important to find the right pre-workout for your needs. You'll need to do a certain amount of trial and error in order to find which unique combination of supplements suits your specific needs.
Besides pre-workout supplements, getting the right amount of sleep, hydration, and nutrients through your diet is key to speeding up your post-workout recovery process.
Maintaining a balanced diet with sufficient carbohydrates, fiber, and other nutrients will complement pre-workout supplements and keep your body in top shape. It's not enough to rely on pre-workout supplements to optimize your performance — after all, most of the nutrients that you get are from your daily meals, so staying disciplined and planning healthy meals for yourself will go a long way.
Our HYDE pre-workouts cover a wide range of ingredients to help you achieve your goals, whether you're a casual gym-goer who's just looking to stay fit, or a performance athletes looking to take your training to the next level. All of our blends are backed by research and third-party tested to ensure the highest quality standards, so you can be confident that what you're using does exactly what it should.
At the end of the day, it's crucial that you ensure you're eating a balanced diet, drinking lots of water, and getting sufficient rest, in addition to taking your pre-workout supplements, in order to maximize your performance and reach your desired goals.
