Pre-Workout Supplement – Some Pros and Cons

A pre-workout supplement can fire up a dedicated body builder and fitness buff to go to work in the gym. A good supplement can get the body ready to replenish itself of lost nutrients during intensive workouts. In theory, they keep the needed nutrients level all throughout and even after the workout.

However, there are downsides and potential risks. Of late, the market of many pre-workout drinks is now full of ineffective ingredients. In addition, there are many minuscule dosages of good ingredients and there are cheap stimulants to make for a pretty label and misleading copy.

Upside

The main fact is that today, the market for pre-workout pills and powders that promise to boost performances has exploded in recent years. Fortunately, the main ingredients for a successful pre workout supplement have remained to include the four basic ingredients since their development days.

Brands have been throwing many things in the ingredients, but most of them are formulated with the use of one or more of the following ingredients: caffeine, amino acids, carbohydrates and beet root juice. The other exotic additions in the list of ingredients are simply derivatives of one of the four ingredients.

Caffeine / carbohydrates

Caffeine has a good back up in research. It had been indicated that it has the ability to boost energy levels, alertness and arousal. The situation is true even if you are a heavy coffee drinker outside the gym.

Everyone loves carbs, even if many want us to stay away from it. In heavy workouts, it gives a different story. Carbohydrates in pre-workouts help to fuel the muscles with glycogen, which the body uses as an energy source while lifting. (Those who love it but are not exercising are all gifted later with lots of fats all over the body as stored energy.)

Amino acids / nitric oxide / beetroot juice

Our bodies normally cannot manufacture the essential BCCAs (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) which can be obtained through the food we ingest. The amino acids are the so-called building blocks of protein and help increase energy levels. It can also dramatically enhance performance, a study reveals.

Nitric oxide is displayed as arginine, another amino acid. It is touted to dilate blood vessels to increase protein synthesis. Studies show that arginine increase anaerobic threshold (this is when lactic acid accumulates in the muscles) for three weeks.

Nitrate-rich beetroot juice dilates the blood vessels to increase blood plasma nitric oxide levels.

Downside

Like the other supplements, pre-work ones are also not regulated for safety by the FDA. This means these products can be sold until there is a reason for the FDA to pull them from stores.

The regulation of the supplements is not the same as those for pharmaceutical medicines. As consumer, you may want to be assured that a supplement are safe or of high quality or effective by looking for popular independent certifications.

Some ingredients are also overstuffed and excessive amounts (for caffeine, at least) can cause nausea, anxiety and insomnia. Overall, these are some of the more blatant cons in our pre workout supplement.

Branched Chain Amino Acid Supplements – Enhancing the Body’s Protein Synthesis

It had already been scientifically established that amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are so called because of their structure, which includes a “side chain” of one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms. Today, this essential supplement is now available as branched-chain amino acid supplements, a staple in the body-building, among others.

These three BCCAs (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) combine and are considered hydrophobic (water-fearing). Among the three, leucine is the most heavily researched, and appears to offer the biggest physiological benefit.

Because of their involvement in protein synthesis and energy production, BCAAs are important components to many metabolic processes. However, they must be available to the body through ingestion.

Intakes

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Among the amino acids, BCAAs are not degraded (processed) in the liver. All the other amino acids are regulated and processed in the gut and the liver before they are being circulated all over the body. BCCAs directly go into the bloodstream.

BCCA intake, therefore, directly influences the plasma levels and concentration in the muscle tissue. They are burned for energy (oxidized) during the exercise proper as an exercise fuel. Consumption of BCCA before training can increase the uptake into the muscle tissues.

Other benefits

Supplementation of BCCAs may lower the lactate levels during the resistance training, hence, improve the oxidation in muscles.  It may also induce the increase of growth hormones in circulation. This is related to anabolic mechanisms that cause muscle growth.

The supplementation may also decrease serum concentrations of the intramuscular enzymes creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase after a prolonged exercise. This can decrease muscle damage and improve overall recovery.

The muscles are important sites for Branch Chain Amino Acid supplements activity. There is increased cell concentration and breakdown of BCCAs in muscle tissue. They are continuously released from the liver and other internal organs to skeletal muscles. This enables the BCCAs to assist in maintaining blood sugar levels. During exercise, they may be responsible for the 40% blood sugar production.

Some details

BCCAs are important to muscle tissues and in maintaining blood sugar levels. Consuming carbohydrates, protein and amino acid beverages during and after exercises can induce insulin response.

In turn, it helps transport BCCAs into the body’s cells. In the muscle cells, the pathway for protein synthesis is dependent on leucine. This means that protein synthesis (and muscle building) is dependent on how much leucine is available. Since BCCA levels decline in exercise, there is need to supplement them.

Synthesis

If you train or do strenuous exercise after a fast, or you don’t eat after the routine, you will lose more protein than you rebuild. If you ingest sufficient Branch Chain Amino Acid supplements during this time, especially leucine, you will help enhance the body’s protein synthesis.

The body would need an estimated daily leucine intake of 1 to 3 grams a day, for the body to make new proteins. This minimum intake has to be met before leucine is able to impact the insulin signaling pathway. (Athletes and people doing heavy exercises and resistance training, usually consume 12 grams of leucine daily.)

Branched-chain amino acid supplements actively help these athletes.

Post Workout – Just as Important as your Pre-Workout Preparations

For body building buffs, a good set of pre-workout supplements is one necessity they cannot do without. However, not many of them are aware that in a post workout phase, the body does need just as much as before. There is need for an after workout recovery supplement.

Right after your workout, you depleted your body of its natural stores of essential nutrients. Your muscles have been torn under the stress in your workout. Glycogen, the carbohydrates stored in your muscles and the proteins are breaking down.

Necessity 

There is need to arrest these and reverse the changes. The pre-workout supplements do help greatly but the breakage of muscles can be more than what you have prepared for.

You would need to take your post workout supplements immediately right after the workout (within the first 45 minutes) when it is most effective to put back into the body what had been taken out.

All this starts with re-hydration (water or with added electrolytes for fast absorption). The following workout supplements can bring back right away those essential nutrients.

Without them, your body cannot start re-building (the most important part) and adding the bulk that you wanted in the first place. Each of these nutrients has their own work cut out for them in replenishing your body needs.

Beta-alanine

This essential nutrient that is often included in your pre-workout is vital in restoring the pH levels within the muscle to reasonable levels. When you work out, you build up lactic acid in the muscles. Beta-alanine helps raise the carnosine levels to restore the correct levels and helps in muscle gains.

Creatine monohydrate

This is the rapidly-absorbing form of creatine which is perfect in your body recovery after the workout. It helps increase the ATP production in the muscle cells, and gets the energy right back into the muscles. This prevents the further breakdown of the muscles that happens right after your workout.

Glutamine

Glutamine is the important key in adding fuel back to your muscles to help the repair much faster. Also, it is anti-catabolic, which is very good if you are shredding.

BCAAs

BCAAs (branched chain amino acids consisting of L-leucine, L-isoleucine, and L-valine) help build muscle protein. They are very essential when you plan to work out your body for the day.

Studies have shown that adding them during post workout gives better anabolic effects on your body than if you took them during the workout. A 5g of BCAAs taken after the workout helps supplement the BCAAs you took before the workout.

Carbohydrates

During the workout, your muscles have exhausted themselves of their carbohydrates. Get them back again in your system in amounts depending on your body type, age and metabolic capacity.

Different brands have different types of carbohydrate mixes so you need to find out what is best for your type.

Vitamin C

One of the best anti-oxidants comes with Vitamin C. Anti-oxidants help to protect your immune system (which is depleted when you run yourself down in a workout) and protect yourself from free radicals your body may have produced during the workout.

Your post workout is just as important as your pre-workout routine.