# Pre-Workout Supplements ## Is the mental boost worth the money? If you’ve ever wondered about the **real benefits and risks of pre-workout**, you have come to the right place. Gymaholic investigates the mind and body energizing supplements. ![Woman Pre-Workout](//cdn.gymaholic.co/articles/supplements/6-what-is-pre-workout/woman-pre-workout.jpg "Woman drinking her pre workout") ### What is a Pre-Workout? For those who don’t know, a **pre-workout supplement** is (usually) a drink, a specialty powder mixed with water. The powder usually comes in a big tub, and the amount of powder and water depends on the directions of the supplement, but usually is around 1-3 scoops mixed with 6-12 ounces of water. Usually the supplement is taken **25-40 minutes before the workout.** It’s a wide range because some powders are more… Potent than others, and require you to mix it with more or less water. ### What Does it Do? Since the components of that powder can vary, so can the benefits. Generally though, Pre-workouts are meant to **increase your energy, concentration and focus, while reducing tiredness (fatigue).** Pre-workouts **do NOT usually increase muscle power, endurance, or strength.** You may feel like you’re king of the world, but biologically, your strength and power don’t normally increase, just your **mentality towards your workout!** Due to this mental boost, that increased motivation, it could increase your will to **stick to a program, or ace your workout!** Of course you may experience increased lean muscle mass and reduced fat mass eventually, but that is likely because you’re sticking to a program and working hard to earn it. If a pre-workout supplement claims to do any of the above, it could very well have added ingredients that do support this (Like **creatine, for possible increased power**), but it could also be a big fat lie. There is very limited evidence supporting pre-workouts that increase power, endurance or strength.This limited evidence is found in **intensive athletes and maximal power anaerobic exercise.** The problem is that these claims are usually supported **hypothetically, based on the ingredients, not the full product.** Also, everyone reacts to supplements like pre-workouts differently, and have **different levels of training.** A good example of this is **creatine (mentioned above)** which is often promoted heavily for its ability to **increase power output.** Truthfully it only increases output when you’re training **maximally for intense anaerobic (high power-short duration) exercises.** Also, creative has **no effect whatsoever on some people,** because of their genetics or body composition. Pre-workouts are also not really meant to **fuel the workout.** Considering they have between 5-10 calories per scoop (depending on the product), and calories are a measure of energy value, it’s quite obvious that isn’t the purpose. Just for the sake of completing that thought and answering the question that follows, eating a small snack or meal that has **minimal fat, moderate protein and moderate carbs** (Simple or a mix of simple and complex) approximately 1.5-2 hours before your workout should provide enough fuel. Regarding what to eat, there are **several nutrition articles** that cover that. ![Coffee](//cdn.gymaholic.co/articles/supplements/6-what-is-pre-workout/pre-workout-coffee.jpg "Coffee is also a great pre-workout") ### Are Pre-Workout Supplements Safe? **Generally, yes.** As long as you take it **according to the directions.** They are there for a reason, and so is the large paragraph under the section called “Warnings:” found on most pre-workout labels. Make sure you read it and if you need to, clear it with a healthcare professional. The components of a pre-workout can vary, but might include things like **caffeine, creatine, Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) or a mix of some amino acids, different forms of sugars and nitrates… And a few vitamins and minerals.** It would take pages for me to go through the various brand and chemical names of ingredients found in different pre-workouts, and googling a chemical yourself may lead to a ton of added confusion or misdirection. The biggest problem and potential risk of pre-workouts is the **caffeine content!** This is the cause of most of those warnings on the label. Most pre-workouts contain at minimum 200mg of caffeine per scoop, which is approximately **2 cups of coffee! --And many contain much more than that.** To counteract that and other possible risky content, make sure you consume enough water and you read the warnings. **Consuming more pre-workout than is recommended is not only reckless, but also has very little added benefit.** ### In Conclusion If you’re looking at supplements, remember: - **Pre-workout is a powder mixed with water taken before your workout.** - **Pre-workout can increase your energy, concentration and focus, while reducing tiredness (fatigue).** - **The better mentality may help you better stick to a workout program!** - **Any other claims should be investigated, but it could potentially increase endurance and power.** - **Make sure you stick to the directions and read the warnings to make sure you don’t put yourself at risk.** Get pumped up!

References:
Kedia, A. William, et al. "Effects of a pre-workout supplement on lean mass, muscular performance, subjective workout experience and biomarkers of safety." Int J Med Sci 11.2 (2014): 116-26.
Joy, Jordan M., et al. "A multi-ingredient, pre-workout supplement is apparently safe in healthy males and females." Food & nutrition research 59 (2015).
Calcote, A. E., et al. "THE EFFECTS OF PRE-WORKOUT ON ANAEROBIC POWER OUTPUT AND BLOOD LACTATE LEVELS." International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings. Vol. 11. No. 3. 2015.
Jagim, A. R., et al. "Effects of acute ingestion of a multi-ingredient pre-workout supplement on lower body power and anaerobic sprint performance."Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 12.Suppl 1 (2015): P49.
Outlaw, Jordan J., et al. "Acute effects of a commercially-available pre-workout supplement on markers of training: a double-blind study." J Int Soc Sports Nutr 11 (2014): 40.