What To Look For In A Pre-Workout

Written by Guy Gustafson
April 26, 2021

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Trying to achieve your workout goals but find yourself needing that additional boost? You can transform your workout by simply adding pre-workout supplements to your routine.

Trying to achieve your workout goals but find yourself needing that additional boost?

You can transform your workout by simply adding pre-workout supplements to your routine. Not only will you feel more energized, but you'll also be able to smash your previous records and achieve your ideal body physique. Pre-workouts are amazing complements to your hard work, perseverance, and healthy diet. All of this combined will help you feel more energized, less fatigued, and have greater endurance during your workout.

Pre-workout supplements can greatly benefit your performance. However, understanding the ingredients and how they affect your body is key to getting optimal results. Before we get into the details, let's go over what a pre-workout is.

What Is a Pre-Workout?

Pre-workout supplements give your body an energy boost and enhance the quality of your performance during your workout. Pre-workouts are available as drinks, powders, pills, and more, but they are most commonly found in powder form. Our range offers a wide variety of quality powders as well as a drink HYDE Xtreme RTD. These supplements contain performance-enhancing ingredients such as beta-alanine, caffeine, and amino acids, and creatine and simply need to be mixed into water or milk for consumption.

Some pre-workouts include stimulants, while others don't. The most common stimulant included is caffeine, but supplements may also include other stimulants such as theacrine and yohimbine. While stimulants can be very beneficial in a pre-workout supplement, some people avoid caffeine or simply may not want it for those late-night workouts. That's why we offer a caffeine-free option as well as sugar-free products.

Should You Use Pre-Workouts?

Pre-workouts don't directly build muscle, but rather they give you the energy, endurance, and focus to perform the exercises that can help you reach both of these goals.

It's hard to show up to the gym if you feel like you're not going to get the most out of your work out. Sometimes you just might not feel up to it, and that’s where a pre-workout comes in. Pre-workouts combat those lethargic muscles and provide some much-needed motivation when you really need it.

But a pre-workout isn't just for improving the hard days — it also enhances the good days, helping you perform at your best and ultimately achieve your desired results. Pre-workout is proven to enhance your performance in many different ways, so you can tailor your pre-workout to your needs and ensure that you're maximizing the benefits.

Check out our range of pre-workouts to boost your gym performance.

What Ingredients Should You Look For?

When selecting your pre-workout supplement, it's important to consider the type of exercise that you normally do. The best pre-workout supplement for you depends on the type of results that you're trying to achieve. Ingredients found in the pre-workout will enhance certain aspects of your performance, and different ingredients will focus on different areas, such as endurance and stamina.

Understanding the ingredients will help you select the best supplement for you. Here's what to look out for:

Beta-Alanine - a staple ingredient that helps you withstand the burning sensation in your muscles and bust out a few more reps, making the most of every set.

Caffeine - gives you an energy boost that you can use for both endurance training and HIIT workouts. It can help enhance your power and strength, and may even help reduce soreness.

Creatine - helps boost your strength, helps muscles recover more quickly, and increases lean muscle mass.

L-Citrulline - helps open up veins and arteries to improve blood flow and reduce blood pressure. Increased blood flow allows nutrients and oxygen to get to your muscle faster, making your workout more efficient.

BCAAs - BCAAs, or branched-chain amino acids, consist of leucine, valine, and isoleucine. BCAAs help with muscle growth and minimize protein breakdown. When taking BCAAs, it's important to make sure that the ratio of leucine, isoleucine, and valine is at 2:1:1. For example, if you have 7g of leucine, you should have 3.5g of isoleucine and valine. This ratio seems to be the most effective way to consume BCAAs, rather than taking each amino acid separately or at different ratios.

Vitamin D - A good 1,000 to 2,000 IU of Vitamin D can help improve your recovery from your hardcore workout and greatly improve your cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength. Most people are actually Vitamin D deficient, which makes Vitamin D an even more crucial part of your diet.

Magnesium - Many people also experience magnesium deficiencies. The recommended daily dose is between 200 and 400 milligrams. Magnesium has a significant impact on muscle growth, muscle contractions, and other important bodily functions.

Beetroot - Just 500 milligrams of beetroot extract will take your endurance to the next level and improve the muscle pump that is essential in strength training.

When examining the ingredients label of any pre-workout supplement that you’re considering, be sure to look out for things like “proprietary blend” as this means that the brand is not entirely transparent about the ingredients that they use in their product. It's always better to go with a brand that clearly states what ingredients they use, as well as the specific dosages, to ensure that you know exactly what you’re consuming.

In addition, a detailed ingredients list ensures that you can easily check out the benefits that you can expect to get from the pre-workout supplement to optimize your performance.

Complement Your Pre-Workouts with a Good Diet and Rest

While pre-workouts are an amazing addition to your workouts, it's also important to complement your regimen with a good diet and sufficient rest. Fueling your body with the right nutrients prior to exercise will give you the energy and strength you need to perform better. Without adequate amounts of carbohydrates, protein, fluids, and electrolytes, your desired results may be hampered.

Water is particularly important — good hydration has been shown to sustain and even enhance performance, while dehydration can significantly decrease performance levels. You should consume both water and sodium before exercise to improve fluid balance. Rest and recovery are also a very important aspects of an exercise program because it allows the body time to repair and strengthen itself in between workouts.

What Will Give You the Best Results?

ProSupps is here to empower you to reach your best results with pre-workout supplements that are safe and effective.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of your pre-workout, you should aim to take your pre-workout 15-30 minutes prior to your workout. You should also be sure to pick the correct ingredients for the results you're looking for.

For example, if you're looking to burn fat, you might consider our HYDE Thermo. Alternatively, if you're looking for extreme sustained energy and focus, HYDE Xtreme may be a good fit.

Occasionally, it may feel like a pre-workout isn't delivering the desired results. If you're not experiencing the full effects that you were expecting, there are a couple of potential reasons. if you're using a new pre-workout, it may just be that your body needs time to adjust.

On the other hand, if you’re very experienced with pre-workout supplements, you may have the opposite problem.

If you continually use supplements, your body will eventually become accustomed to the key ingredients such as caffeine. This means that you'll experience a lesser effect, and over time, you'll start needing more just to achieve the same results.

In order to combat this, try taking a few weeks off from your pre-workout regimen to help reduce your body’s tolerance.

Maximize Your Results

Pre-workouts can help you achieve specific results based on the ingredients used. Taking a pre-workout supplement before you exercise can improve your endurance and focus and maximize your energy and power. All you need to do to get started is choose a pre-workout that best suits your needs.

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