Is It Time To Quit Your Pre-Workout?
I used pre-workout years ago. And every time I drank that fluro yellow mixture I thought my heart was going to launch out of my eyeballs.
Perseverance won out however and I finished the tub.
When I went to re-purchase, it was no longer available in Australia… As in, banned! Oh my. What had I been using?!
My aversion towards pre-workout has somewhat strengthened as I’ve learnt more about the human body and the intricacies of performance nutrition, however I think it’s important to look at The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of every nutrition scenario ― supplementation included.
Plus, a lot of athletes absolutely love pre-workout, so let’s get the lowdown on this magical potion called pre-workout.
What is pre-workout?
As the name implies, pre-workout supplements are traditionally marketed as products to be consumed before training sessions. Almost every pre-workout product claims to provide the consumer with energy, heightened focus, and the feeling of “transient hypertrophy” ― meaning muscles are pumped and primed to train. Pre-workout products are most commonly sold in powdered form and are mixed with water.
A quick Google search for “pre-workout” brings up products named Freak3d, Disorder, DVST8, Total War, Psychotic and Possessed. These names strongly indicate that the appeal of these products is their ability to make users feel somewhat wild and frenetic heading into a workout.
Why is pre-workout so popular?
Pre-workout supplements have the propensity to make users feel focused, energised and alert due to a cocktail of ingredients inclusive of stimulants, nootropics (cognitive enhancers) and vasodilators. But whether these products truly work is up for debate.
The research around pre-workout products is inconclusive due to many studies being funded by the supplement companies themselves, and/or the data being self-reported by study participants. This results in subject bias and confirmation bias, which could influence study results (ie: it’s not quality research).
Is your pre-workout a Band-Aid solution?
Most athletes use pre-workout because they feel tired or fatigued before training. While these are legitimate reasons to reach for a stimulant from time-to-time, it’s important to not rely on pre-workout and to face the actual problem of why pre-workout is required.
Tiredness and fatigue are physiological conditions that can be caused by multiple factors:
Lifestyle related, eg: poor diet, poor sleep, excessive intake of alcohol/drugs, overtraining
Stress related, eg: personal, social, professional concerns
Medical related, eg: illness, injury
For the longevity of sporting performance and ongoing good health, it’s imperative that the factors above are addressed and not ignored. Pre-workout is not the solution to these issues.
What does the science say?
The research on pre-workout supplements is in its infancy. And remember, the pre-workouts used in studies is not necessarily your pre-workout! Every product has a different combination of “proprietary blends” (secret ingredient blends).
The Science: Pre-workout and Performance
Acute (short term) Effects
Minimal effect on maximal force production (strength).
No impact on power output. The research looked at barbell velocity during resistance exercise, anaerobic sprinting, and jumping performance.
No strong evidence that pre-workout assists with endurance capacity.
Might assist with muscular endurance/total volume completed (ie: open-ended exercise such as CrossFit with reps without a time limit, or repetitions to fatigue).
Might improve reaction time and cognitive processing.
Chronic Effects (using pre-workout for more than 14 days)
Inconclusive results for force production (strength).
No impressive results on muscular endurance.
No impressive results on power production.
No impressive results on minimisation of soreness, inflammation, or biomarkers of muscle damage resulting from exercise (ie: DOMS).
No influence on body composition.
No impact on mood. (There was one study back in 2014 that found longer term use of pre-workout led to improved self-ratings of energy, focus and reductions in fatigue, however the supplement in that experiment was later recalled for containing methamphetamine).
Little effect on reaction time.
These “longer term” studies are tough to decipher due to many of them being supported by supplement manufacturers. And because manufacturers love using proprietary blends, it’s difficult to know if the so-called performance benefits are brought about by a combination of ingredients, or by one primary ingredient.
In addition, because many of these studies are supported by the supplement manufacturers, the training protocols and data gathering are sometimes questionable. For example, one study asked participants to report their physical activity levels via a questionnaire (subject bias, much?)
Is pre-workout safe to use?
Short-term use appears to be safe, but keep in mind most studies are no longer than 8 weeks in duration. Also, studies rarely report on participant outliers – people who experienced particularly unusual side effects. Therefore it’s really important to chat to your doctor or sports dietitian before using pre-workout, especially if you are taking medication or have any health conditions.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia recently introduced stringent regulations on the sports supplement industry, particularly on products such as pre-workouts and “fat burners” due to these items containing higher-risk ingredients. This has seen multiple products either reformulated or discontinued.
However, the TGA does not test products for WADA-banned substances. Neither do they test a product’s efficacy.
If you are an athlete who is drug tested, you absolutely can only use supplements that have been third party tested by a reputable company (and even this doesn’t guarantee safety). And a tip for both athletes and non-athletes is to jump onto Examine.com or Google Scholar and search your product’s ingredients for efficacy and safety.
Speaking of ingredients, what is in pre-workout?
The following ingredients are just some of the components found in pre-workout products.
Beta-alanine
Beta-alanine is a common ingredient in pre-workout because it causes a tingling sensation in the skin called paresthesia. This makes users feel like the pre-workout is “working”, but the feeling is purely a harmless physiological reaction to beta-alanine and doesn’t reflect the functionality or quality of the pre-workout. Researchers are still unsure why beta-alanine causes paresthesia, but for whatever reason it excites itch-sensory circuits within our nervous system.
Beta-alanine is well researched and can improve performance via its ability to “buffer the burn” - it helps remove acids from the muscle during high-intensity single max efforts, such as sprint training. Beta-alanine can be dosed via a loading phase or a maintenance phase, and the AIS has a fantastic resource here to dose accordingly. Hence, you want to be sure your pre-workout has ample beta-alanine to achieve the required dose.
Creatine
Creatine is another very popular ingredient in pre-workout products. It is an extensively studied supplement and – as with beta-alanine – it can assist with high-intensity single max efforts. Creatine can also be dosed via a loading phase or maintenance phase, the latter of which is 3-5g per day. Hence, as with beta-alanine, you want to check that your pre-workout has a good amount of creatine so you benefit. As a side note, there’s a very popular pre-workout product on the market at the moment that only provides 1g of creatine per serve!
Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AAKG)
AAKG is a synthesised molecule that contains arginine, a naturally occurring amino acid. Supplement companies argue that AAKG, by way of arginine, can increase nitric oxide in the body, therefore producing better blood flow and oxygen delivery to exercising muscles. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but AAKG is over-rated. Citrulline, another amino acid, may be more effective at maintaining elevated arginine levels (more on this below).
If you’re keen to improve your performance capacity via increased nitric oxide, check out this great AIS resource.
Citrulline
Citrulline may improve power output with ongoing, long-term loading. It may also decrease feelings of fatigue. Citrulline supplements are effective in reducing the post-exercise Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and muscle soreness. A total of 3−4 g of L-citrulline or 8g of citrulline malate are recommended 1 hour before exercise. Hence, check your pre-workout. Does it contain enough?!
N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine (NALT)
This is a synthesised molecule that has enhanced solubility within the body compared to the naturally occurring amino acid tyrosine. It is claimed that NALT can increase the release of dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine during stressful situations, therefore improving exercise tolerance, motivation and focus. However research has found little benefit unless a tyrosine deficit exists. And of interest, the “stressful situations” referred to in the research were 4.5 hour exposures to cold and hypoxia.
Caffeine Anhydrous
This is a concentrated form of caffeine that can cause shaking, heart palpitations and/or an upset gut if taken in large amounts, or if used by someone not used to caffeine. One popular pre-workout product contains 450mg of caffeine anhydrous per serve. This is the equivalent of 7 espresso shots. And many products contain several stimulant ingredients in addition to caffeine. Check the label of your preworkout for the caffeine amount and stay smart. If you’re training in the evening, perhaps 450mg of caffeine anhydrous isn’t the best idea.
Theobromine
Theobromine is a compound found in the cacao plant with a similar chemical structure to caffeine (because pre-workouts need yet another stimulant). Small studies have found theobromine has the potential to increase heart rate and improve alertness (it’s used as a heart stimulant in the medical field), however further extensive investigation is required in a wider sports population.
Vitamins
Vitamins should ideally be obtained from actual food as they are more bioavailable and safer that way. Many pre-workout products list fancy terms for their vitamins and use smaller measurements to make it appear there is a greater total amount. For example, a product might state that it contains 500mcg of pyridoxal-5-phosphate (the active form of Vitamin B6). This sounds like a good amount, however it’s equivalent to 0.5mg… the same amount of B6 found in a banana.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, some pre-workout products contain vitamin amounts up to 10,000% of the Daily Value. While these extreme doses are limited to water-soluble vitamins, which makes toxicity unusual, adverse effects have been documented.
Some pre-workouts also contain niacinamide, a form of Vitamin B3, which can cause skin flushing in some people. This is just another way supplement companies try to create a physical response in the user to make them believe the supplement is “working”.
Pre-workout alternatives
If you feel it’s time to rip of the Band-Aid and quit your pre-workout, consider the following:
Address your sleep hygiene habits
Fuel appropriately in the lead up to every training session
Create your own personal supplement protocol using well-researched, effective products such as creatine, beta-alanine, and nitrates.
If desired, create your own caffeine (safe stimulant) protocol. The dosage and timing of caffeine is very individualised, so trial accordingly to find what works best for you without causing side effects. The AIS gives a great overview of caffeine use here.