It’s January 2025, a new month of a new year, when most of us are eager to kickstart our health goals. With a fun, festive season full of indulgence behind, a new chapter awaits to get in line.
But while the thought of being fit, strong, and healthy may be top of your mind, it’s often easier said than done. With cold British winter weather and the January blues, you may need a bigger boost than usual for your workouts.
You might need to take a form of pre-workout at home or the gym to help you get started with your exercise. Whether it’s a pre-workout shake, shot, powder, or something else, it may be beneficial.
Dive in with us today to learn about the different types of pre-workouts and which one might be best for you.
What is pre-workout?
Pre-workout is often a supplement that focuses solely on boosting athletic performance inside and outside the gym. It’s formulated to enhance energy, endurance, and concentration. Growing research supports the effects of pre-workout powder, showing that it can help support increased strength output and anaerobic performance.
The ingredients in pre-workout formulations vary depending on the company that makes them. Many formulations contain caffeine, amino acids, BCAAs, creatine, beta-alanine, sweeteners, and more. However, the formulas vary according to the brand. Pre-workout usually comes in capsule or powder form and is taken on its own as a shot or mixed into a drink 30-60 minutes before exercise.
How pre-workout affects energy
As we mentioned earlier, pre-workout supplements are formulated to enhance your energy and performance in exercise due to their ingredients. While we did mention they vary due to the formulations, here are four common ingredients you’ll typically find in them and the link they have to increased energy levels:
Caffeine
We bet you’re no stranger to caffeine. Caffeine in pre-workout supplements increases the time it takes to feel exhausted, helps preserve muscle glycogen and feelings of pain and allows you to push harder for longer. Once consumed, it stimulates your central nervous system, helping reduce fatigue and improve reaction time. In pre workout supplements, the doses of caffeine can range between 150mg-300mg.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine is an amino acid often found in pre-workout. It’s added as it often acts as a buffer for lactic acid in your muscles, helping boost performance in high intensity exercise. Also as it helps slow down lactic acid it helps delay exhaustion and support strength output.
Creatine
Creatine is often used in fitness to support strength training, but the truth is it has a lot of more benefits in exercise. Creatine is often used as key ingredient in pre workout as it helps restore adenosine triphosphate stores (ATP), helping you workout at your maximum intensity.
Amino acids
Lastly, often most of the time in pre workout you’ll find branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). They enter the bloodstream quickly and help preserve glycogen stores in your muscles slowing down fatigue, allowing you to train longer. BCAAs can also increase the production of ATP, allowing you to feel more energised.
Natural foods for pre-workout energy
One of the major downsides of taking pre-workout, whether in a powder or capsule form, is that it can be known for its side effects. Often, workout powder can trigger side effects like jitters, anxiety, gastrointestinal upset, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. Plus, if you have a sensitivity to caffeine or ingredients, it may not be the best to help you with your workout.
To reduce this from happening, there are natural foods you can increase your consumption of to help support your energy levels. Try adding the following to your diet:
Oats: A form of complex carbohydrate, high in fibre, packed with protein, and amino acids and slowly releases energy into your body.
Bananas: High in potassium and natural sugars, which help with muscle contraction, reducing cramps and fatigue.
Dried fruit: Dried fruit is high in natural sugars, simple carbohydrate and are easy to digest for instant energy, being an effective choice for a pre workout snack.
Whole grain bread: Adding a slice of whole grain bread can be an excellent source of carbohydrate supporting energy levels.
Pro Tip – Always make sure to consume pre workout snacks 30-90 minutes before you workout, so you have time to fully digest them and perform your best.
Additional tips to increase energy in workouts
In addition to having more workout-boosting foods, there are simple adjustments you can make to your lifestyle to have more energy, such as the following:
Get a good night’s sleep: Opt for 6-8 hours of good quality sleep each night.
Stay on top of your hydration: Not being hydrated for workouts can make you feel fatigued and sluggish.
Eat a balanced diet: Having a balanced diet or proteins, carbohydrates and fats can help you feel more energised. You might want to also try energy boosting supplements.
Finding the right workout time: Discovering when you’re the most energetic in the day and can schedule your workouts based on your energy levels.
Conclusion
Overall, pre workout powder can be beneficial to your body as it can help you feel more energised and strong for longer. However it’s not suitable for everyone, if taken in the wrong dose or at the wrong time pre workout powder can trigger jitters, anxiety, increased heart rate and more.
If you want to increase your energy for workouts, try consuming more easy-to-digest and simple food that can help boost your energy levels.
But also in order to have ample energy, your body also needs to know how to recover in between workouts- learn about the importance of muscle recovery.
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