Should You Drink Pre-Workout? (Random Post 2)

If you’ve ever stepped into a nutrition store like GNC, you’ve probably noticed shelves lined with suspicious powders touting aggressive titles like "C4", "GODZILLA" or "GORILLA MODE" (yes, capital letters are their signature style). These eye-catching tubs contain pre-workout supplements—a mix of neurological stimulants, such as caffeine, combined with ingredients designed to improve focus and enhance physical performance during exercise. 

Benefits of Pre-Workout

 

Voices in the industry often highlight these products as the perfect tool to stay motivated and overtake plateaus in your exercise progress. Having taken numerous products in this space (names listed below), I can confirm that this is almost always the case. Here are some of the benefits I've seen from pre-workout. 

• Enhanced Pump and Muscular Endurance: Ingredients such as L-Citrulline or Citrulline Malate boost nitric oxide levels in the blood, improving circulation and enabling longer, more effective workouts.

• Improved Energy and Focus: The combination of powerful neurological stimulants such as caffeine, L-Theanine, and (improving acetylcholine), have given me workouts where I stay motivated and energized even if I was tired that day.
  

Notable Drawbacks

However, others criticize pre-workout supplements for several reasons:

• Caffeine Content: Pre-workout blends can contain up to 400 mg of caffeine. For anyone who has had too many cups of coffee, involuntary shakes known as the "jittters" and increases in heart rate are potentially uncomfortable side-effects. Likewise, too much of this substance at once could put strain on the heart, leading to long-term consequences.
  
• Unknown Chemicals & Proprietary Blends: People are often unfamiliar with the chemicals present within these blends, so consumption can lead to digestive discomfort. Likewise, the unfamiliar nature of these chemicals makes them seem unnatural and unhealthy at first glands
  
• Artificial Sweeteners: Popular pre-workout supplements often contain artificial colors sweeteners that have become stigmatized such as red40 and yellow5 as well as sucralose and aspartame. 

So, Should You Take It?

The answer is unfortunately dependent on your priorities and where you are in your fitness journey. Personally, I use pre-workout as a tool when I am tired and need something to give me an extra boost to keep my progress going. With that said, for people who do not prioritize strenuous exercise or have not been practicing strenuous exercise for long, a cup of coffee, some water and a mix of simple and complex carbs (such as blueberries and oats) should serve as sufficient fuel before a workout

For those who would love to try pre-workout but are drawn away from many of the products due to the drawbacks shown above, I would recommend the products offered by Legion and Transparent Labs. These companies prioritize using clinical doses of only necessary ingredients. Moreover, both of these companies use only natural sweeteners such as stevia and natural coloring such as beet root (in place of red40), beta-carotene (in place of yellow5 and yellow6) and spirulina (in place of blue1). Likewise, for the more caffeine-sensitive people, both of these companies offer a line of "stim-free" pre-workouts which contain zero caffeine.

List of Products I have tried: 

• Bucked Up Energy
• Ghost Legend
  
• Beyond Raw LIT
• Transparent Labs BULK
• Legion Pulse
• C4 Energy 
• Ryse Godzilla
• Ryse Loaded
  
• Gorilla Mode