Pre workout supplement

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HilTri
HilTri Posts: 378 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been curious about pre workout supplements for a while wondering if they were for me. I haven't purchased any yet because I wonder if they are part of the fitness fads/money makers. If you are a believer in them, what products do you recommend? Thank you.
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  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    I don't know if I'd go so far as to say they are a fad, but they are definitely over hyped.

    Caffeine is a tried and true stimulant, and there's no denying its impact/benefit. Most pre-workouts have some caffeine, and this is where the vast majority of a pre's benefit is going to come from.

    Some, but definitely not all, have creatine in them... another tried and true supplement.

    Beyond that... that's where the hype comes in.



    As to whether or not I'd recommend them, and which I'd recommend... it's largely personal preference. Different people will respond differently to the various stims/addititives, so it's largely trial and error then personal preference. I like a simple caffeine pill (cheap, easy, effective) most days. If I need a bit more umph, I'll go wiht a 5hr Energy extra strength. If I'm buying a commercial pre-workout, I like BSN NO-Xplode.
  • NGentRD
    NGentRD Posts: 181 Member
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    Anything that sells well in life is a money maker. Doesnt mean that they are bad. The key word is supplement. When you're tired, have no motivation and arent feeling it. They are great. I personally love the tingly feeling. On long days where I dont want to workout i take it and within 30 min all I can think about is "GYM". Because its a supplement, you shouldnt need to supplement your lack of energy and motivation all the time. Its good to cycle it like one week one week off, whatever works for you. Now as to which one to choose. Some companies fill their products with stuff you dont need to pay big dollars for, such as niacin. Its great it dilates your blood vessels so you get more blood/oxygen transport but all niacin is, is B3. most of the relevant ingredients in preworkout you can buy separate and make your own if youre into that. When I buy one I personally go for ones without niacin as the main ingredient , then it's flavor. The Curse is pretty darn good, C4..idk i like a bunch. Spend your money, but dont waste it!
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    h1udd wrote: »
    I love a pre-workout in the morning.

    Yes they are part of the fad/money makers .... most stuff you can buy is - and a lot of the stuff in them is dubious to say the least, BCAAS, thermogenics etc, its debatable they do anything

    so why do I take one.

    (1) Motivation to get out of bed at 4am and hit the gym. I just plain love the theater and routine of getting up, making blue raz flavoured drink, pulling the hood over my head and getting down to it. - it works for me, and in the fitness game you have to do what works for you, not what works for someone else

    (2) Caffeine - a coffee has 80mg of caffine .. its pretty weaksauce compared to the whopping 300+mg of caffine in a PW - its 4am, I want 300mg of caffine .. BOOOOOM !

    (3) Beta alanine - it makes your face tingle - allegedly its useful, but to be honest a tingling face lets me know its working and puts me in the zone

    (4) Nitric oxide - it gives you a pump .. protruding veins, bigger looking muscles - again its motivation to keep pulling, pressing and squatting qwhen you catch a glimps of yourself in the tank of the Triumph Thruxton next to you and think "yeah, I look ripped"

    (5) Creatine - saves me having to measure out creatine ... of course if you dont use it, then get one without it

    Currently I use GAT no-creatine Pre and when I go back on the creatine I'll use either C4 or N.O explode

    For me its a mental thing - its one of my motivations, I just dont get the same excitement from drinking 4 coffees .. coffee ? .... I love it, trust me, I even roast my own beans ... but the theater for me in coffee is one for post workout/ride relaxing espressos that I can savour the taste .. that and there just isnt enough caffeine in a coffee

    A lot of this!!

    For me though, I prefer to mix my own in order to get the effective dose of Citrulline, Beta alanine, and creatine. Which is one of the reasons why I left NO Xplode and C4 behind.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    I have recently started using pre-workout for my workouts, and I have to say I enjoy them. I go to the gym right after work, so it is nice to have that kick of energy in the afternoon. I have noticed that I sweat more when using pre-workout. It does seem to help my lifting in that sometimes I get into my own head too much and will doubt myself before a heavy lift. This seems to help negate that a bit, but for me I think that is all a mindset. I read several reviews online before picking out some and I decided to go with C4 and Nitrosurge. Both work well for me and the taste is pretty good too.
  • Riff1970
    Riff1970 Posts: 136 Member
    edited May 2018
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    h1udd wrote: »
    I love a pre-workout in the morning.

    Yes they are part of the fad/money makers .... most stuff you can buy is - and a lot of the stuff in them is dubious to say the least, BCAAS, thermogenics etc, its debatable they do anything

    so why do I take one.

    (1) Motivation to get out of bed at 4am and hit the gym. I just plain love the theater and routine of getting up, making blue raz flavoured drink, pulling the hood over my head and getting down to it. - it works for me, and in the fitness game you have to do what works for you, not what works for someone else

    (2) Caffeine - a coffee has 80mg of caffine .. its pretty weaksauce compared to the whopping 300+mg of caffine in a PW - its 4am, I want 300mg of caffine .. BOOOOOM !

    (3) Beta alanine - it makes your face tingle - allegedly its useful, but to be honest a tingling face lets me know its working and puts me in the zone

    (4) Nitric oxide - it gives you a pump .. protruding veins, bigger looking muscles - again its motivation to keep pulling, pressing and squatting qwhen you catch a glimps of yourself in the tank of the Triumph Thruxton next to you and think "yeah, I look ripped"

    (5) Creatine - saves me having to measure out creatine ... of course if you dont use it, then get one without it

    Currently I use GAT no-creatine Pre and when I go back on the creatine I'll use either C4 or N.O explode

    For me its a mental thing - its one of my motivations, I just dont get the same excitement from drinking 4 coffees .. coffee ? .... I love it, trust me, I even roast my own beans ... but the theater for me in coffee is one for post workout/ride relaxing espressos that I can savour the taste .. that and there just isnt enough caffeine in a coffee

    I just typed a whole response and when I sent it it only the quote showed up.
  • Riff1970
    Riff1970 Posts: 136 Member
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    Ok. Let me try this a third time.

    3 I tried that I like are Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre Workout (pre only), Optimum Nutrition Essential Amino Energy and Scivation Extend Energy(BCAA’s).
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Occasionally, I'll still drink a C4 or a SpeedStack. I like that it is highly concentrated so I don't have to drink a lot of liquid or deal with an upset stomach from too much coffee. I don't see other benefits besides a nice boost of energy though.

    You can buy single serves at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe and other supplement shops so you can try it before buying a whole tub. Remember to sip not chug though or else you can get the "tinglies."
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
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    I do a preworkout because it helps get my butt out of bed at 4:30. Maybe it's a placebo effect, but the week I ran out, my lifts were weak.
  • HilTri
    HilTri Posts: 378 Member
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    Thanks for all of your feedback. I went to the nutrition store and bought "Amped One" prework out. I also bought Nutra one's CNSIX which has creatine, and Betaine Anhydrous and Nutra one's PumpOne which has L Citruline, Beta Alanine, Nitrosgine and Agmatine Sulfate. My goal is to push myself during my workouts so I get the most out of them. Having never taken anything other than NOExplode and protein powder, I am a bit out of my element. If anyone sees anything wrong with the supplements I bought, please advise.
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
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    h1udd wrote: »
    Davidsdottir wrote: »
    Maybe it's a placebo effect, but the week I ran out, my lifts were weak.


    I swear placebo should be a recognized suppliment ... the fact i, that ironically placebos work. Everything from wearing lucky socks before a game, drinking BCAAS, to taking diet pills ... if it puts you in the zone, then helps .. period, it might not be the cause of your success, but a lot of the time the difference between winning and loosing, between success and failure IS your state of mind and a decent placebo that you believe in is psychologically helping.

    it keeps you on track, it motivates, its a driving factor ... we need more of them :smiley:

    Totally agree
  • Stockholm_Andy
    Stockholm_Andy Posts: 803 Member
    edited May 2018
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    Davidsdottir wrote: »
    I do a preworkout because it helps get my butt out of bed at 4:30. Maybe it's a placebo effect, but the week I ran out, my lifts were weak.

    I'm in exactly the same position up at 4:20 in the gym by 5am. I have time to make a shot of espresso to down before I leave then drink my PWO in the car on the way. Placebo or not (and I don't care which :D ) I feel a lot more energetic with it.

    Last time I read a thread on here about PWO everyone was jumping up and down about them being a waste of time, under strength, full of spurious supps and overpriced.

    To be fair I'm currently using MyPre and several ingredients are under-dosed, it has some ingredients that have very little data supporting their benefits and it costs about the same per serving than the Nespresso capsules I'd drinking otherwise.

    However, I feel it works for me so I don't care (o:
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    HilTri wrote: »
    Thanks for all of your feedback. I went to the nutrition store and bought "Amped One" prework out. I also bought Nutra one's CNSIX which has creatine, and Betaine Anhydrous and Nutra one's PumpOne which has L Citruline, Beta Alanine, Nitrosgine and Agmatine Sulfate. My goal is to push myself during my workouts so I get the most out of them. Having never taken anything other than NOExplode and protein powder, I am a bit out of my element. If anyone sees anything wrong with the supplements I bought, please advise.

    Make sure you check the ingredients so that you don't overdose on something. Just because most supplements underdose most ingredients doesn't mean you can't get to dangerous levels by mixing blends.

    Caffeine, creatine, etc.

    Best thing to do is See examine.com and blend your own from bulk and base it on a flavor you like... or use crystal lite or something for flavor.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    I hate PWO. I only use it if I am really dragging. And I'm up at 3:45 and at the gym by 4:30 most mornings.
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,218 Member
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    Folgers instant coffee. Half a cup of warm, not hot, water. Two huge tablespoons of coffee. Slam it down 15 minutes prior to leaving for the gym.
  • HilTri
    HilTri Posts: 378 Member
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    So, I got sick with the flu and couldn't try my new supplements until two days ago ( a week after I bought them). I definitely noticed that I got I a high heart rate zone quickly and stayed there for the duration of my workout. I definitely sweated more (a good thing for me). I did experience the tingles in my calves and forearms big time which was quite an odd feeling and I wondered what was going on. All in all, I am a believer. Thanks again.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    h1udd wrote: »
    I love a pre-workout in the morning.

    Yes they are part of the fad/money makers .... most stuff you can buy is - and a lot of the stuff in them is dubious to say the least, BCAAS, thermogenics etc, its debatable they do anything

    so why do I take one.

    (1) Motivation to get out of bed at 4am and hit the gym. I just plain love the theater and routine of getting up, making blue raz flavoured drink, pulling the hood over my head and getting down to it. - it works for me, and in the fitness game you have to do what works for you, not what works for someone else

    (2) Caffeine - a coffee has 80mg of caffine .. its pretty weaksauce compared to the whopping 300+mg of caffine in a PW - its 4am, I want 300mg of caffine .. BOOOOOM !

    (3) Beta alanine - it makes your face tingle - allegedly its useful, but to be honest a tingling face lets me know its working and puts me in the zone

    (4) Nitric oxide - it gives you a pump .. protruding veins, bigger looking muscles - again its motivation to keep pulling, pressing and squatting qwhen you catch a glimps of yourself in the tank of the Triumph Thruxton next to you and think "yeah, I look ripped"

    (5) Creatine - saves me having to measure out creatine ... of course if you dont use it, then get one without it

    Currently I use GAT no-creatine Pre and when I go back on the creatine I'll use either C4 or N.O explode

    For me its a mental thing - its one of my motivations, I just dont get the same excitement from drinking 4 coffees .. coffee ? .... I love it, trust me, I even roast my own beans ... but the theater for me in coffee is one for post workout/ride relaxing espressos that I can savour the taste .. that and there just isnt enough caffeine in a coffee

    Hope you're not taking in much more caffeine during the rest of the day. Most mainstream medical experts say up to 400mg is safe daily dose for most adults.

    https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678
  • mrschwarten
    mrschwarten Posts: 194 Member
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    Hi there! I know I am late to the game but this thread is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you @HilTri for following up and sharing your experience! I think I am going to hit GNC tomorrow for some single-trial packs.
  • HilTri
    HilTri Posts: 378 Member
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    Hey! I wanted to follow up after I read your post. I am really happy with the Creatine and Pump One. I only take it on workout days (6) days per week. I took the preworkout for about two weeks, stopped for about two weeks and took it again today. I got Lyme's disease from a tick about two weeks ago and have been feeling lethargic so I thought the kick that the preworkout provides would be good and it was! Good luck in finding what works for you.

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