What is Pre Workout? And what related pre-workout supplements have gained so much popularity in recent years?
In short, pre-workout relates to the various individual supplements regularly taken by athletes before their training session. The products that combine several of these ingredients are known as Pre Workout shakes and promise users more motivation and performance potential for their workouts.
There are also alternatives to pre-workout drinks like pre-workout gummies. Due to their popularity, almost every renowned supplement manufacturer has such a product in its range. As a result, athletes are flooded with a massive range of products and many wonder which product will now deliver the best results for individual use.
This article will inform you about what Pre Workout is and consists of, what types of Pre Workout options there are, whether these products can deliver significant results for your training, and why even beginners can benefit from it.
Lastly, we look at why our team at Chewz believe that our "magic potion" combines the best of all pre-workout formulas for your individual needs as an alternative to pre-workout shakes.
Types of Pre-Workout Products
In principle, workout boosters can be divided into three categories. The most popular are the classic Pre Workout Boosters. Consequently, the meaning of pre workout is determined by the time before a workout that they are taken.
Pre Workout energy boost
The active ingredients therein are supposed to boost energy levels for your workout and improve the pump effect.
Caffeine and various amino acids are often used.
Classic pre-workout boosters are, therefore, all-in-one products that combine different active ingredients to get the most out of your workout. Pre-workout boosters without caffeine are less common.
Pump Booster
In contrast to the classic pre-workout booster, a pump booster is the same but without the energy-boosting ingredients to enhance energy production. In addition, these products do not contain caffeine, so they can also be used for later training sessions. The focus of pump boosters is on optimizing the pump effect and the associated increase in performance.
Classic ingredients in pump boosters are amino acids such as L-arginine or citrulline. These can come in the form of a powder to make a shake.
Hardcore boosters
These are, by far, the most controversial supplements on the market. However, they promise a powerful athletic performance and have a strong following amongst professional athletes.
These hardcore boosters are primarily purchased from other countries, as the active ingredients they contain are often in a legal grey area. Such boosters' manufacturers hide synthetic stimulants behind harmless-sounding plant extracts.
Derivatives of amphetamines such as DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine), DMBA (1,3-dimethylbutylamine) or DMHA (1,5-dimethylhexylamine) are often used. These have been BANNED in the UK as additives in food supplements!!
Although ingestion is not illegal, many of these substances are among the prohibited stimulants on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) doping list.
To circumvent the ban on marketing these questionable stimulants, the manufacturers of these hardcore boosters repeatedly rely on new, less researched active ingredients to be able to sell the products on the market. The amphetamine derivatives mentioned above artificially put the body in a flight or fight situation by activating the sympathetic nervous system.
The sympathetic nervous system puts the body in high-performance mode by increasing heart activity, blood pressure, energy supply and metabolism. As a result, side effects such as tremors, nervousness, cardiac arrhythmias, and many more can occur. In addition, taking it can lead to positive drug tests for amphetamines.
Google "NFL players failing drug tests" and you will find that these derivatives are often responsible.
Pre-workout gummies
These are not the same the gummy bears of our childhood. They help to reduce tiredness and fatigue during a workout as opposed to just being sugar-pumped sweets.
What are the benefits of pre-workout supplements?
Reduces fatigue
Many people know the feeling that you've been working hard all day at work, school or university, and you just don't have the energy you need to get through the upcoming training session. You would prefer to skip the workout and spend the evening on the couch. In such situations, a workout booster gummy is just the right supplement to give you the push you need. These also help those suffering from muscle fatigue and need a boost to get through another tough workout.
Improves the Mind-Muscle Connection
Especially for beginners, the so-called mind-muscle connection is often barely present. For those not in the know, the mind-muscle connection is the added benefit of mentally focusing on the target muscle while performing an exercise.
Think of it like learning to write; as a child, you needed to focus on your fine muscle power to hold the pen whilst moving your hand. This helps improve the movement's quality and thus increases muscle mass and reduces muscle damage.
By taking a pre-workout supplement, you improve this mind-muscle connection get the necessary concentration and improve blood flow in the target muscle tissue.
It helps with post-workout recovery in preparation for your next intense exercise
One of the main reasons to use pre-workout boosters is to increase your performance during your next training session and exceed your former limits. They also help with muscle soreness and muscle cramps. In addition, a workout booster provides an extreme push and the confidence necessary for you to jump over your shadow.
In a diet
Often in a diet, one's well-being and training suffer from the lack of energy. However, when you take pre-workout sports nutrition, you get back some of this lost energy. In addition, the right pre-workout formulas activate the sympathetic nervous system during training and the period after you leave the gym. Thus, the cravings for a greasy Macdonalds after the workout are less likely.
Do Pre Workout Boosters bring other benefits?
We already know pre-workout boosters are very popular as a supplement, but what about the studies on using such products? There is little research regarding using pre-workout shakes with different ingredients. A scientific review that was done in 2018 took a close look at previous studies and concluded that such supplements could improve various exercise performance and training adaptations. However, the authors noted that more research is needed regarding long-term efficacy and safety, especially for older individuals.
In contrast, the research on using individual substances before exercise is much better.
What pre-workout ingredients should you look for when choosing your Pre Workout?
So what should you look for when choosing a pre-workout product? We will explain the most important points to you below.
The crash after consuming pre-workout supplements
As so often in life, the consumption of pre-workout boosters can also have a downside.
Suppose your energy level drops rapidly after your workout and even the lightest everyday activities become strenuous. In that case, this is known as the dreaded pre-workout crash amongst gym-goers and sportsmen.
This is often due to the high amounts of caffeine in the product, suppressing the effect of the body's adenosine. Adenosine is responsible for suppressing excitement and agitation. So whilst high doses of caffeine rocket energy levels, so too is the drop that follows. This rapid change can lead to a restless state and general malaise.
Many consumers of pre-workout boosters intentionally forgo a meal before training so that the product can develop its effect more quickly and intensively. However, this approach is wrong for avoiding a crash.
On an empty stomach, the active ingredients, such as caffeine, are absorbed much faster but thus cause an equally rapid descent of the level, which leads to a crash. Even a small meal one hour before training can reduce this effect.
Evidence-based product for maximum results
Many products on the market have the problem that while useful active ingredients are used, they are provided with lower dosages per serving than have been proven effective in previous studies. Often manufacturers are more concerned with higher margins than the product itself, or more money is spent on packaging or marketing campaigns.
If you don't have the time to read up on the studies, you should look at manufacturers who care more about the product's effectiveness than the margin.
Even though some manufacturers now use dosages that have shown efficacy in studies, they often ignore that body weight is often related to the amount of an active ingredient needed. For example, a 50 kg woman does not require the same amount of pre-workout formula as an experienced 100 kg athlete. This can even lead to unwanted side effects.
Therefore, you should ensure that your pre-workout booster adapts to your body composition and not the other way around!
Amount of caffeine per serving
Caffeine sensitivity also varies enormously among different people. Therefore, when choosing your pre-workout booster, you should pay attention to the amount of caffeine a serving contains and compare it to what you regularly consume.
You can use a cup of coffee with about 90 mg of caffeine as a reference. However, if the booster of your choice has 400 mg of caffeine per serving, you should ask yourself if you still feel fit for your workout after 4 cups of coffee.
In principle, you should prefer natural sources of caffeine, as natural caffeine is absorbed more slowly by the body than synthetically produced caffeine due to the tannins and secondary plant compounds, which leads to a more pleasant push during training and weakens a possible crash. That's why we at Chewz use 200mg of caffeine per 10 gummy servings to ensure a balanced physical performance.
What other pre-workout supplements you should stay away from
Not all pre-workout boosters are safe when it comes to their ingredients. This is especially true for "black box" boosters imported from abroad, which come along with imprecise information about their ingredients and advertise miracle effects.
Unfortunately, it has happened more often in recent years that incredibly hyped training boosters have subsequently turned out to contain illegal, dangerous and highly addictive substances. We advise you to find out about all the substances in a booster before taking it. If you can not understand the ingredients, then better leave it alone. If you are in doubt about our gummies, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Why CHEWZ pre-workout gummies
First, we are focused on using natural ingredients that improve exercise performance whilst maintaining healthy adults amongst our clients. Second, we know that our gummies are the best pre-workout supplements on a price-per-kg basis.
