Pre workout - substances

[QQQ]

Just out of curiosity, would anyone be able to give some insight into the benefits of these substances in the pre workout I’m using?

Ill be switching back to organic coffee beans once I run out as I felt more balanced having a single 30 gram coffee. Tried matcha for a bit but was a bit too soft for a weight session followed by a 5km run.

[Waves]

My opinion, don't really know much about the benefits of these ingredients, but intuitively I would avoid such products. They're poorly regulated (if at all), have lots of ingredients that could potentially interact and create undesired effects, and in the long term they're not supporting your health if they're upregulating your hormonal system to smash it at the gym. I see it as a crash and burn down the line. Psychologically you might get addicted, thinking "I can't work out today because I haven't had my pre-workout". I used to do that with coffee.

Also, 335mg of caffeine is an insane amount, especially if you work out in the afternoon/evening, that will mess up your resting ability.

Coffee would be a safer and simpler choice. You could add some beetroot juice 2-3h before working out to promote vasodilation and increase blood supply to muscles.

 

[QQQ]

Completely agree with everything you said. I used to have that mentality that if I didn’t have a pre workout or caffeine I couldn’t workout. I still get it now to be honest with not having at least a coffee before I work out.

The big caffeine hit is great for getting me through workouts when I’m cutting, especially as I workout at 7am before work. I don’t workout in the afternoon or evening for the exact reason of not being able to sleep, even if I give caffeine a miss.

I will be switching over to coffee at my next session, as your point regarding the impact to the hormonal system is something I definitely feel. Prolonged use of the pre work , 3 times a week, ends up making me push too hard in my workouts and causing me to need more regular breaks. I used to be able to make it through 8 weeks and then have a break but now I barely manage 4/5.

Have you had a success working out caffeine/stimulant free for combined heavy weight lifting and cardio sessions?

[integral]

@QQQ Why do you need a pre-workout boost? 

[QQQ]

I enjoy the focus it gives, and it allows me to push through the mental barrier when I think I’m physically exhausted. 

The issue comes in that I push myself too hard and often which causes me to feel run down. 
 

Pre workout is like a double edged sword lol

[Michael569]

Some of those components do have a little bit of research behind them but the studies are small and results often all over the place. I'd day if you like preworkout a good old black coffee is the go to. 

Go organic and you don't have to worry about anything and it'll be 10 times cheaper per dose. 

Usually caffeine is what gives you the tunnel vision and the shits from preworkout anyways, everything else is a fluff

[UDT]

@QQQ  Preworkout is stupid because your cortisol and andrenaline is going to rise anyhow once you hit the weights.

How about some good music? I´d leave my stress hormones low because that gives me better growth results than to overshoot on stimulants

[Waves]

Respect for working out that early haha, I gave it a try but usually feel tired during the day so I switched to late afternoon.

And good call on choosing long-term health, it's the wiser way, unless you're training to compete in the short term. 

On 6/5/2022 at 6:17 PM, QQQ said:

Have you had a success working out caffeine/stimulant free for combined heavy weight lifting and cardio sessions?

I did last month, it was possible to endure a 1h workout of heavy lifting with progressions almost at every session, 3x/wk (no cardio though). I also switched from music to podcasts. I did push myself, but I wasn't going so hard like my life depended on it.

Although I must say that that regime probably contributed to a burnout I experienced a few weeks ago, which I'm still trying to understand and recover from. Lots under the surface. So count me as a special case haha.

[BipolarGrowth]

Caffeine is doing 90%+ of the work in that mix most likely. 

[CultivateLove]

Why are you working out? To feel healthier and more energetic? Then don't take pre-workouts. It's that simple.