Pre-Workout Supplements

Most pre-workout supplements contain some form of stimulant, which is basically a substance that stimulates the central nervous system and revs up the metabolism.

There are a variety of different types of pre-workout supplements that can be taken and these are:

Whey Protein

There are lot of people taking this supplement that proofs taking whey protein before a workout can help energize the muscles during the workout especially with the help of the BCCA’s, or called the branch chain amino acids. Whey proteins truly are the building blocks of muscle and the helpful ingredients which compose of amino, leucine, isoleucine and valine do not get processed by the liver but shoot straight to your muscle. When you are breaking down muscle during an intense workout, having the branch chain amino acid supplements in the bloodstream readily available to be utilized by the muscle increases protein synthesis and maximizes your workout efficiency.

Nitric Oxide (NO)

Nitric oxide expands the blood vessels, improving blood flow and delivering more oxygen to virtually every area of the body including the muscles. It is among the most popular type of pre-workout supplements because it gives so many benefits during a workout. These include reducing fatigue during a workout, increasing overall performance, increasing available energy and elevates muscle pump. It contributes may more better at your gym performance.

Caffeine

Caffeine is the most popular pre-workout supplements that you can attain almost everywhere. And you can find it by just simply buying coffee. But not all the time caffeine can be good for you especially if you have a heart condition. An average cup of coffee may contain 70-80 mgs of caffeine. The average amount of caffeine in pre-workout supplements can range from 200-300 mgs. Like any stimulant, caffeine can have negative effects on the body. It can over tax your adrenal glands, speed up the heart rate and cause high blood pressure if taken in great numbers. But taken in moderation as a pre-workout supplements can be beneficial and some very positive rewards. The most obvious benefit of caffeine and why it’s the world’s most popular drug is that it improves mental clarity and focus. But evidence suggests that caffeine can actually increase your strength in the gym. Caffeine is also a thermogenic that helps to speed up the metabolism and burn fat.

Beta-Alanine

Beta-Alanine also promotes strength and helps reduce the lactic acid build-up in the muscle.

Creatine

Creatine is perhaps the most well-known pre workout supplement and has been around for a long time. The basic benefit of creatine is increasing strength by increasing energy in the body. It is molecular similar to ATP which is the energy created by our cells.

There are many different pre-workout supplements make different claims, their main purpose is to supposedly help you get more out of your workout by increasing your energy and blood flow to the extremities. When taken before a workout, they're designed to help you have better focus, lift heavier and have more energy for a tough workout.

BCAA Contents

The metabolism of BCAA is involved in some specific biochemical muscle processes and many studies have been carried out to understand whether sports performance can be enhanced by a BCAA supplementation. While most amino acids are broken down in your liver, BCAAs are broken down primarily in your muscle. As such, they're believed to help improve exercise performance as well as reduce the breakdown of muscle. However, many of these researches have failed to confirm this hypothesis. Thus, in recent years investigators have changed their research target and focused on the effects of BCAA on the muscle protein matrix and the immune system. BCAA intake has shown promises to enhance muscle growth in those with low dietary protein intake and stave off fatigue during prolonged exercise in untrained or light-trained people. However, many protein sources are naturally rich in BCAA content; supplementation may be unnecessary for those consuming adequate quantities of protein.

BCAA which contains leucine, isoleucine, and valine are the basic building blocks of your muscle protein. Leucine has been shown to stimulate muscle synthesis. Hard training sessions result in monstrous damage to your muscles, thus destroying the proteins that make up your muscle fibers. When compared to ingestion during exercise, it has been suggested that ingestion of BCAA following a workout exhibited greater effects. BCAA’s have been proposed to benefit performance in several ways including as a stimulant for muscle protein synthesis. BCAA may also prevent muscle protein breakdown and reduce markers of exercise induced muscle damage.

BCAA may perform signal functions, specifically activation of the mTOR signaling pathway, resulting in positive influences on a wide variety of metabolic and synthetic functions, including increased protein translation, improved insulin resistance, increased insulin-independent glucose transport, and reduced oxidative stress following severe injury and infection. Another research found that BCAA prevents muscle protein breakdown by sparing essential amino acids in muscle tissue. BCAA supplementation likely improves recovery time by diminishing the amount of damage caused during exercise. This is especially useful for athletes who are in the middle of high volume training cycles.

BCAAs are found in a number of healthy protein-rich foods, including organic grass-fed beef, wild Alaskan salmon, pastured egg yolks, raw grass-fed cheese, quinoa, pumpkin seeds and nuts. One of the best sources, however, is whey protein concentrate, which has one of the highest concentrations of leucine. To ensure you're getting a high-quality product, be sure your whey protein concentrate supplement comes from organically raised, grass-fed raw cows' milk to ensure the whey is free of GMOs, pesticides and hormones and is cold processed, as heat destroys whey's fragile molecular structure.

BCAA supplement is considered a dietary supplement and perfectly legal to buy. The only concern would be if your sporting organization considers them a banned substance to use. BCAA’s are a worthwhile supplement if you are a competitive athlete and/or your training goals are focused on performance. If your goals are more centered on health and body composition, BCAA supplementation probably isn’t necessary in most cases.

Doing Post Workout and Nutrition

Before doing post workout, research suggests there is a window of opportunity, which lasts up to one hour after a workout. In fact, some studies have showed that participants who consumed protein immediately after their workout versus a placebo gained 'significantly' more muscle size and strength than those who consumed it two hours removed from their workout.

The focus shouldn't be on how fast you recover, but instead on how productive your recovery is If you constantly obliterate your body to complete and utter exhaustion with every workout, this damage accumulates over time and your body will revert its energy to repairing the downstream effects of the damage rather than building new muscle. By now, most people understand that the foods they eat after their workout and throughout the day factor into the quality of their recovery. The foods you eat before a workout can also play an important role in pre-empting the tissue-rebuilding process once the workout is over. Digestion is a lengthy process; proteins and carbs that you ingest prior to the workout will still be circulating in the body afterward. For this reason, choose your foods wisely. Make sure you get high-quality, lean protein along with some complex carbohydrates, especially if you plan on an intense workout. I recommend consuming your meals roughly two hours prior to your workout to avoid digestive issues or cramps.

Stretching is a great way to relieve muscular tension and potentially downplay the soreness you experience later. Prolonged stretching with moderate exercise and diet control will reduce cholesterol and significantly reverse hardening of the arteries. While on the subject of post workout nutrition, you should consider including a source of potassium in your post-workout cocktail. Your potassium reserves will inevitably be sapped from an intense workout session. Potassium, among other nutrients like sodium and calcium, is a key mineral which plays a role in muscular energy. Bananas or potatoes are good potassium sources. Bananas go with nearly everything, but mashed potatoes in your first meal following the workout are also winners. Sleep is not just for relaxing. This is the necessary downtime that your body needs to restore itself from post workout.

Sacrificing hours of sleep over a long period of time can even make you mentally weaker and negatively impact your drive in training sessions. At least seven hours is the ideal target to hit, although many people, including athletes, may need up to nine hours. Find ways to make changes in your day that will allow you to get to bed earlier. The opportunity for muscle growth begins the moment you stop lifting, and that growth can't happen without proper recovery protocol. Muscles don't grow in the gym; they grow after. When you lift heavy, muscles suffer micro tears and are actually broken down via a process called catabolism. Immediately after you lift, your body begins repairs, but it needs your help.

If you want to get the most from each and every workout, you need to prioritize post workout recovery in order to maximize recovery, stay on top of your game, and ensure maximum gains.

Workout Body Needs

Pre workout nutrition is important in your workout activity and there are supplements that are designed to give you a boost in all areas of your training. In usual cases, it would be sufficient to meet your training goals. However, athletes with a serious training schedule might need a little more than the usual. For bodybuilders and athletes, combining pump and pre-workout supplements is a great way to achieve insane and lasting pumps during and after exercise. While almost all pump and pre-workout supplements work well together, it is always advisable to seek consultation before mixing different supplements to avoid any risks.

Pre workout nutrition supplements typically achieve one of two goals: boost strength and power to muscle through harder and longer workouts or improve mental and physical energy to overcome mental road blocks and improve the mind/muscle connection. Whether you are looking for lean muscle gains, better pumps, and improved power output or you need the cognitive agility and energy to make it through a hard workout, there is a pre workout nutrition that will get the job done. In fact, this is why many people turn to premixed blends as they contain a variety of synergistic supplements to achieve multiple benefits. When using a pre workout nutrition blend, be sure it contains quality ingredients that synergize well together or make your own with proven supplements.

Nutrition needs for your body workout:

Carbohydrates

For short- and high-intensity exercise, your muscle and liver stores of glycogen are your muscles' main source of energy. But for longer exercises, the degree to which carbs are used depends on several factors. These include the intensity, type of training and your overall diet. Your muscles' glycogen stores are limited. As these stores become depleted, your output and intensity diminish.

Protein

Many studies and research have documented the potential of pre-workout protein consumption to improve athletic performance. Consuming protein alone or with carbs prior to exercise has been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis. One study showed a positive anabolic response after the ingestion of 20 grams of whey protein before exercise.

Other benefits of eating protein before exercise include:

• Better anabolic response, or muscle growth
• Improves muscle recovery
• Increases strength and lean body mass
• Increases muscle performance

Fat

Fat becomes the source of fuel for longer and moderate-to-low-intensity exercise. Some studies have investigated the effects of fat intake on athletic performance. However, these studies looked at high-fat diets over a long period of time, rather than prior to exercise.

Your body needs water to function optimally.  Good hydration has been shown to sustain and even enhance performance, while dehydration has been linked to significant decreases in performance. It's recommended to consume both water and sodium before exercise. This will improve fluid balance

Fuelling your body with the right pre workout nutrition prior to exercise will give you the energy and strength you need to perform better. Each macronutrient has a specific role before a workout. However, the ratio in which you need to consume them varies by individual and the type of exercise.

Benefits of Amino Acids

Amino acids are organic compounds primarily made from the elements carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. More than 500 amino acids are currently known and classified, but only 23 are involved in the process of building proteins. This group is known as the protein amino acids, which combine into peptide chains (polypeptides) to form the building blocks of a vast array of proteins. Taking a BCAA supplement also improves muscular endurance, increases energy levels and reduces recovery time, making them beneficial both for those seeking lean muscle gains and for endurance athletes. If you've made the commitment to start investing time regularly in a weightlifting workout program, the next step that you must take is getting your nutrition and supplement protocol in line so that you are able to maximize the results you get from your workouts. Getting a full spectrum of amino acids tops the list of important is a must that needs to be covered, so that's where you should start off when planning your BCAA supplement program.

BCAA stands for “Branched Chain Amino Acids.” Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. There are nine essential amino acids in total, but there’s a key trio that helps you maintain muscle: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Of these three, leucine is the muscle-building powerhouse. To unlock the full effects of leucine, the latest research suggests consuming 2 to 3 grams a sitting, at least 3 times during the day. When your glycogen stores run low, your body relies on the three types of BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) for fuel. Your body can't produce BCAAs on its own, so you'll need to get them from your diet. Especially when eaten around your workout, BCAA supplement can help promote muscle growth and repair and reduce muscle soreness after exercise. However, while they may make you feel less tired after a workout, they won’t improve athletic performance.

If you’ve been researching BCAA supplement, you’ve probably seen a lot of advice about when to take BCAAs. Some people can take it during your workout first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach only, when you have a rest day, or with a meal. You can be pretty flexible about when you take BCAA supplement, as long as you’re not forcing them to compete with other nutrients in your digestive system to get absorbed. If you take BCAA supplement right after your protein shake or with your dinner, you’ll absorb less of them than if you take them between meals or during your workout when your stomach is probably pretty empty. If you workout on an empty stomach or if you snack a lot throughout the day, professionals recommend first thing in the morning might be the best time to take your BCAA supplement.

BCAA supplement is an essential part of a healthy diet for anyone, but for athletes and women dedicated to improving their fitness, they’re an even more important part of getting amazing results. Your body needs BCAA’s to build and maintain the lean muscle that gets you the body you’re working for during your workouts.