Getting into a new workout routine can be exciting. The problem is, it can quickly lead to frustration if you’re struggling to achieve your fitness goals. Like other personal endeavors, consistency is essential to make and see progress in your workout. Unfortunately, there might be instances where your body cannot keep up, and you’ll find yourself losing motivation.
As with other fitness enthusiasts, there will always be times when you experience low energy and plateau in your workout. If you want to break free from it and earn great results, adding a pre-workout supplement into your routine may help.
But before doing so, discover below how pre-workout supplements can support you in reaching your fitness goals.
Gives A Significant Energy Boost
Blood glucose and stored carbs are the primary energy source of your body when doing physical activities like working out. Your energy levels may deplete as you exercise.
Such low energy levels can wear your muscles out prematurely and make it harder for you to sustain your workout, especially at high intensities. Thus, it is necessary to top off your energy levels before starting any workout.
By adding a pre-workout supplement to your diet, you can get a significant energy boost that can invigorate you through intense exercise even after a long day at work.
Allows You To Work Out Harder
The best pre-workout supplements contain ingredients that don’t only give extra energy but also increase blood flow while you’re working out. Having more oxygen and nutrients delivered to your muscles removes the mechanisms that cause fatigue. This allows you to push through complex routines and train with more weight.
Using a pre-workout supplement helps increase strength and muscle mass, improving your capacity to work out harder and longer. So if you’re looking to see results on your fitness goals sooner, supplementation would be an excellent support to your training.
Improves Muscle Recovery
Increasing your protein intake is essential to gain muscle mass. With insufficient proteins, your muscles can tire early and may cause you to be incredibly sore after a tough exercise routine. This can prevent you from getting as much out of your workout. When your muscles experience extreme soreness, it may take several days to repair themselves and result in delays in your progress.
But pre-workout supplementation helps restore the compounds your muscles used up during training. As a result, it supports muscle growth and repairs muscle fibers, making your body recover quickly with minimal soreness.
Helps Sharpen Your Mental Focus
Besides physical prowess, mental focus also plays a vital role in getting better gains out of your workouts. Remember that it takes concentration to lift heavier weights or run longer and faster without incurring injury. However, maintaining such focus can be challenging, especially when your motivation is wearing thin.
The good news is, taking pre-workout supplements can prevent losing concentration while exercising. Many of them are specifically formulated to help sharpen mental focus and power you through the end or break new ground on your workout goals. Thus, if you want to sustain your motivation levels high and keep you on track, boost your concentration with pre-workouts.
Makes You Lose Weight Faster
If losing weight is at the top of your fitness goals, boosting your metabolism or the number of calories you burn during your workout is essential. One way to make that possible is to use a pre-workout supplement. Since they generally contain ingredients that increase muscle mass, you can extend the intensity and length of your workout, both of which control calorie burns.
Add up to that, a significant level of energy it provides also increases the ability of your body to perform intense workouts. Thus, if you want to lose weight faster and more efficiently, fueling your body with a pre-workout formula can make a big difference.
Proper Ways to Use A Pre-Workout Supplement
Pre-workouts are indeed a good training staple, from getting the extra boost you need and sustaining mental focus during an intense exercise to working out harder, recovering quickly, and losing weight faster.
But though pre-workout supplementation is undoubtedly worth trying when it comes to making and seeing more progress in your fitness goals, it’s not wise to take anything without careful thought. If you want to maximize the benefits, here are the proper ways to use a pre-workout supplement.
Take It At The Right Time
Timing your pre-workout supplementation is crucial to get its fullest potential. As the name implies, you should take them before your workout session. However, it’s worth noting that taking pre-workout supplements too early will leave you short on energy in the middle of your workout.
On the other hand, taking it too late also means you won’t feel its effects while you’re training. But most people experience optimal results when they take their supplements between 15 and 30 before starting their workout. Remember that it’s best to have their effects fully kick in for your working sets.
Take the Right Amount
While pre-workouts are generally considered a safe supplement, you may experience side effects if you take an excessive amount. That’s why it is essential to measure out how much pre-workout you’re taking every day. On average, it’s safe for healthy adults to consume about 400 mg per day.
It’s also wise to read the recommended dosage of your pre-workout and consult with your doctor before taking anything. Since the Food and Drug Administration does not technically regulate supplements, ensure that a third-party lab has tested the pre-workout you’re taking.
Take Note of The Content
There is a wide variety of pre-workout supplements you can choose from these days. But some may contain fillers that won’t do you much good. So when choosing a pre-workout supplement, please take note of its content to ensure that it will support your fitness goals.
Whether you pick your pre-worked based on its brand name, flavor, or label, below are some of the most effective ingredients you should look out for:
- Caffeine. It’s the most frequently used ingredient in pre-workouts. If you want to increase your energy levels and mental alertness, look for this stimulant in your supplement.
- Creatine. For muscular boost, consider creatine when looking for a pre-workout supplement. It’s a chemical compound that is thought to improve strength and muscle recovery.
- Beta-Alanine. If you want to improve physical performance, one way to do so is to control muscle fatigue. Search for a pre-workout with a beta-alanine to fuel your body before exercising.
- Branched Amino Acids (BCAAs). Muscle-building is essential to reduce muscle soreness. Taking a pre-workout with sufficient BCAAs can help you work out harder and longer during intense training.
Achieve Your Fitness Goals With A Pre-Workout
Fueling your body with a pre-workout can help make a difference in achieving your fitness goals. However, it’s important to note that it won’t make the whole thing easier. Remember that staying fit and healthy is a lifestyle. A pre-workout provides excellent support, but determination and discipline are still the keys to making progress with your goals.