“You can take creatine monohydrate pre-workout, post-workout, or at 8:49 p.m.,” Fear says. While studies show supplementing with high doses does help build muscle mass and increase strength over time, it’s not pre-workout in the strict sense, in that timing doesn’t really matter. Here’s a brief overview of what the research indicates they might do for you. There are a few common pre-workout supplement ingredients that have been shown to improve exercise performance, including carbohydrates, caffeine, beetroot juice, creatine monohydrate, and beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB). The ones that don’t work are ineffective at best, and dangerous for your health at worst. Pre-workout supplements have been studied on a bunch of workout metrics, including strength, power, and endurance, as well as time it takes to fatigue, and perception of effort-or how hard it feels like you’re working during a given task.įor those reasons, people may choose to take pre-workout before a variety of workouts, from trying to increase their 1-rep max on the back squat, power through an interval-heavy running workout, or simply have enough gas left in the tank to crank out the final burpee in a HIIT class.īut does pre-workout actually do these things? It’s a mixed bag: Some pre-workout ingredients are well studied and can actually help improve your performance-those are the ones we’ll cover more in depth, below-but the majority of pre-workouts probably won’t. The hope is that the pre-workout will “help enhance performance, mainly through the boosting of energy and increased mental focus,” Yasi Ansari, M.S., R.D., C.S.S.D., a Los Angeles–based registered dietitian nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells SELF.
Most people take pre-workout to rev themselves up so they can exercise harder, or to simply feel better and less zonked when working out. “There’s really no good definition of what a pre-workout supplement is-and a lot of companies are just slapping it on products because it’s ‘in’ right now-but in general, it’s a product you eat before a morning workout that’s intended to boost energy levels, generally though a combination of B vitamins, carbs, and antioxidants,” registered dietitian Jessica Crandall, R.D.N., C.D.E., a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells SELF. In fact, according to a 2019 study of the top 100 commercially available pre-workout supplements, nearly half of all ingredients were part of a “proprietary blend,” meaning the amounts of each ingredient were not disclosed. “Pre-workout” is any supplement-usually a powder drink mix but also available in the forms listed above-that claims to boost workout performance if you consume it beforehand.įirst of all, it’s important to realize that virtually every supplement and exercise nutrition brand out there has its own pre-workout formula, meaning that no two tubs contain the same-or even similar-ingredients. Here's what you need to know before joining the pre-workout faithful. Turns out, while some pre-workouts may contain safe, energy-boosting ingredients, others can be pointless-or potentially harmful. Given how often people talk about these supplements and how heavily marketed they've become, it’s worth knowing what scientific research and experts in this area have to say about it.