What Are the Pros and Cons of Pre-Workout Supplements

Getting the best possible workout you can is a huge factor in finding the right supplements and equipment to help improve your PRs and adapt your training methods. Even for those that are looking for some simple ways to get the most out of their exercises, there are plenty of things that can help aid in the pursuit of the ultimate pump.

You might not be training for a competition or lift meet, but you still want to hit the gym knowing that you are about to give it your all and leave feeling like you did your best. For that purpose, you want to consider what supplements you can introduce into your regiment to help push yourself harder. Not just harder, but more efficiently as well. One of the most talked-about types of supplements is pre-workout, and here are the pros and cons you need to know if you plan on using it.

Pros

Contain Useful Muscle Building Nutrients

Pre-workout is often associated with caffeine, which helps energize and get you pumped up for a hard workout. What people do not realize is that pre-workout also contains other useful muscle-building nutrients. The folks at Wilson Supplements show a wide range of different pre-workouts, but many contain amino acids, like L-Arginine, Beta-Alanine, and Taurine. These amino acids are helpful in building muscle, repairing tissue, and improving cognitive functions in the brain. Another important ingredient is creatine, a supplement that is synthesized by amino acids and helps with short burst energy, a perfect pairing with weight lifting.

Gets You Energetic For a Workout

Of course, the most apparent need for pre-workout is to get ready for exercise. It can be exhausting getting out of bed, going to work, then finding the energy to hit the gym but with pre-workout, the caffeine and creatine combination is intended to help you push through that barrier. This is the most common reason why people use pre-workout, and it shows because it allows for extended periods of high-energy effort that can be hard to find on a busy day. Creatine and caffeine combined help produce an excellent maximizing of your workout potential and is a reason why it is so popular. The combination of these two ingredients can help you cut down on other supplement costs if you were planning on incorporating both separately.

Helps Train for Peak Anaerobic Performance

Anaerobic performance deals with a physical performance function that is not utilizing oxygen as the main force for energy. Glucose is broken down, which is why it is the primary way that pre-workout helps improve anaerobic performance. Being able to last longer and perform better through anaerobic means helps improve the body’s ability to function at a higher intensity level without the need for oxygen. Suppose running is a good example of the aerobic function as oxygen is needed to rapidly circulate through the lungs. In that case, short bursts like weight lifting is a function of anaerobic which pre-workout can improve.

Cons

Not All Ingredients Can Be Trusted

Any great supplement has cons that also have to be addressed. While there are plenty of ingredients in pre-workout like the amino acids, a lot of the ingredients may be hard to source. Not understanding where these ingredients come from or possible filler ingredients can be untrustworthy which is cause for concern. Ingesting any kind of supplement should be a thing of confidence, so there are pre-workout supplements with a bad reputation. Artificial ingredients are not always bad, but often there are ones that can be dangerous to consume. Other ingredients can cause allergic reactions, like certain color dyes, but if you are aware of your allergen status then you can avoid this by carefully reading the labels. It is important to know what things you are putting into your body so it serves you well to research and know what is in your supplements.

Dehydration Factor

Creatine and the fact that pre-workout contains caffeine makes it act like a diuretic. This means that it tells the kidney, which is responsible for flushing the body’s waste through water, makes you go to the bathroom more. Releasing too much water and too frequently can lead to dehydration. Now, this is not always a huge issue and it is easily avoidable if you simply drink more water, which is advised during any strenuous activity. Still, it poses a potential problem, and letting yourself get dehydrated during intense workouts can cause problems like dizziness, cramps, and fainting. It is also a good idea to drink enough electrolytes because it will keep you energized and hydrated at the same time so you can safely use creatine.

Harmful for Pre-Existing Blood and Heart Conditions

Pre-workout acts like a powdered version of coffee or energy drinks, and for this reason, you need to exercise caution if you have a bad or weak heart or have pre-existing conditions relating to the blood and heart. High blood pressure, heart arrhythmia, history of heart attack, or stroke are among the most serious, but there are other conditions to look out for when taking a powerful supplement like these. People who have high anxiety or are prone to panic attacks should also limit their pre-workout consumption because the supplement’s caffeine and high energy nature can trigger averse, overstimulated responses. These responses are not life-threatening but having to deal with an anxiety attack at the gym would be awful.

When it comes to the gym, there is plenty of information out there to help improve your performance and include new products to get a better experience. Shoes, bags, clothing, wearable technology, belts, and so many more pieces of equipment help make your gym visits better each time, and one of the most important ones are supplements.

Supplements help you get more performance out of your body, and pre-workout is a wildly popular one. Before you go about purchasing a pre-workout just off of a suggestion from a friend, you want to know the pros and cons, and now that you have read through you can make an educated opinion on whether you want them.