Hi my name is Sheryl, Fitness and nutrition expert.
I have been in the fitness game for quite some time but I keep learning something new every day. Our health is important, but not everyone understands what it takes to achieve a fitness goal, and that is why I am here.
While I focus on pre-workout, my main aim is to help you get healthier through;
Losing weight
Building muscle
Getting stronger
Pre-workouts
Health
Nutrition and exercise
So many women are scared to take supplements, especially pre-workouts. The truth it, once you learn the benefits you will realise how handy they can be in helping you achieve your fitness goals.
Understanding pre-workout
Pre-workout is a supplement taken before your athlete activities when you want to boost or increase the performance. It gives you that extra boost you need to amplify out your daily workout routine.
The energy, strength, stamina and endurance will increase al depending on the ingredients in the pre-workout.
If you need more motivation, need to push yourself harder in the gym and more energy all you have to do is use a pre-workout supplement.
What else do you need to understand?
One of the most questions you will find out there about pre-workout supplements is ; Do women really need the pre-workout supplemented Do you need a pre-workout?
If you are a professional sports person or athlete and someone looking to make an improvement on the personal fitness level then you might want to add a pre-workout to your routine.
It is difficult to find supplements suited for your goals and needs but out of all the supplements women choose for their active lifestyles, the pre-workout is critical.
The good thing is that we are here to help you find the perfect pre-workouts.
While you might think that some of your favourite fitness influencers are pitching you their favourite pre-workouts, it might just be for the money. Even if they are being honest, how do you know it is the right one for you?
One thing should be clear, pre-workouts are not magical. You need to match them with everything else in your lifestyle if you want good results.
Remember, good fitness habits include the following
Eating a proper diet
Taking the right pre-workout
Finding a good workout programme
Having a wholesome healthy lifestyle
Common misconceptions about pre-workout supplements
They are made for men
To this day, many people ask me if women can take pre-workout supplements. This has me confused for a long time. I believe that both men and women can use pre-workouts. However, there are some that contain ingredients that boost tostesterone like fenugreek, tribulus and D-as[artic and those are the ones that should be avoided
Pre-workouts will make it harder for you to sleep
Because most of them have caffeine, people believe that it will keep them up at night.
Generally, I woud say that it depends on the dosage and how your body reacts. If you take it during morning hours, the effects to stay alert will be done by the end of the day.
What are the top things you should focus on?
What are the main essentials?
Proper training
Basically, you need to get the right workouts for your body. Some people focus on getting lean muscles and others are in the gym to lose some weight.
You need to find the proper pre-workout together with a coach that will help you through the journey and surround yourself with the individuals that will encourage you through your fitness goals and lifestyle.
The proper nutrition
Your pre-workout will not work out if you have a messed up diet. As much as you need to stay on the fitness goals, you should put nutrition at the top.
Get proper rest
Pre-workout will help you go wild in the gym, but you also need your rest. While some pre-workouts will keep you energetic throughout the day but if you do not get the rest you deserve, it will eventually beat you down.
When you this into account, your pre-workout will turn out great for you.
The pre-workout should essentially take your training and lifestyle to the next level by giving you the energy you require.
The truth about pre-workout supplements
Most companies will put the cheapest ingredients and blends together and people will still purchase them without the knowledge.
Some go as far as selling the stim and pump pre-workout separately so that people can spend double the money to purchase both supplements.
If you do plenty of research, you will realize that you can get both in one product. The sad truth is that some of these companies do not care about the consumer as long as they get their profits.
By selling the under dosed products, they get people to purchase more products.
Caffeine – it is known for its energy boosting effects. Caffeine makes you more alert, amplifies your endurance and increases the peak performance. What it does is help you pich harder during training so you can build lean muscle while burning more calories.
How much caffeine should be in your pre-workouts?
Just like most of the ingredients in the pre-workouts, the major issue is in the dosage. Caffeine is very health in small doses and when you take them at the start of the day.
It is perfect to help you improve your responses but taking an overdose will come with some negative responses and major side effects
The dosage depends on your performance in the gym and the kind of tolerance you have depending on your age and weight,
A dosage between 250 and 500 mg of caffeine should be enough to sow you some major results. The effects of caffeine should build up in 30 minutes to an hour and last you close to 6 hours.
This means that you should wait at least that long before you start the heavy workouts.
NB; Pre-workouts with more than 250 mg should not be consumed by individuals who include coffee in their morning workout routines.
With pre-workouts, you always have to start small. Get what you feel is safe and healthy for your body. Generally, caffeine is safe for most people. Individuals with previous medical conditions should not use it regularly. Contact a Medial professional to ensure the caffeine doses you are taking are safe.
Beta Alanine
Supplements that contain beta Alanine increase the muscle carnsine levels.
Basically, you get more amino acid, which combats the lactic acid build up and result to a greater muscular endurance during workout and even improved muscle weight.
Citrulline malate
This works to improve the bloodflow throughout your whole body.
When you take this, the blood vessels widen during the exercise. Technically, your body will transport blood more effectively under this condition. You are able to get more nutrients and oxygen to your muscle which increases your fatigue. This has a lot to do with your focus and attention during the workout.
The betaine Anhydrous
This ingredient helps you increase the power output.
it is naturally occurring in out body, you can get it in spinach, beetroot and seaweed. Some studies show that betaine Anhydrous improves the strength, power, endurance and force.
Vitamin B12
B vitamins are very important on pre-workout supplements. Vitamin B12 is an essential in the development of nerve cells, healthy blood cells and proteins in your body. B12 helps increase the energy level and amplify your peak performance.
Bioperine
Bioperine, which is black pepper extracts, enhances the bio availability of the nutrients by increasing the absorption and availability of the nutrients when you take them.
What to look for in a pre-workout
According to most experts, caffeine is one of the most important products in a pre0-workout supplement. Caffeine causes major changes in your body and helps you achieve the perfect workout
What do you get from caffeine?
Focus and wakefulness – this is something that most workout enthusiast is familiar with. The cup of coffee is the perfect boost when you wake up at 5 am for the gym. The cup of coffee can make a difference between falling back asleep and actually going to the gym. Now imagine not having to take a coffee for that energy boost.
Caffeine improves your performance physically and mentally. It is associated with power and strength improvement during exercise. You can use it for sprinting, weight lifting and any other exercises.
It is obvious that caffeine improves your adrenaline, improves your neural processes and frees up the fatty acids for metabolism.
The time and amount of pre-workout supplements you take depends on your goals and what you are looking to achieve out of the pre-workouts.
Some people take it to increase power and strength, to lose some weight and shed some fat, get some mental and energy boost or all of the above.
As stated, everyone, including beginners should take the supplement 30 to 60 minutes before they start working out.
What to mix with your pre-workout
It all depends on the supplement and the taste. The three most basic ways to take the pre-workout is with milk, blended juice and water.
How much of the pre-workout should you take?
As a beginner, you should start with ½ a dose for several weeks so you can get your body to adapt to the ingredients. By ½ a dosage I mean ½ of what is recommended by the manufacture of that specific ingredient.
One major mistake most beginners make with the pre-workout supplement is taking it on an empty stomach. You will feel, jittery, light headed and nauseous and this is not great when you are going to work out.
Tips for taking pre-workout supplements
Make sure the time it right
You need 30 minutes to an hour (depending on the pre-workout) to absorb and digest the nutrients. If you take your pre-workouts to early, they can turn out to be ineffective. Basically, do not take the pre-workouts more than 2 hours before you have to start the exercise. Taking your pre-workouts later in the day will disrupt your ability to sleep and stay awake.
Read all the labels carefully
Treat all the pre-workouts like any other products you would consume. You need to know what you are putting into your body before you do it. Look out for banned and artificial ingredients and make sure you know how much of each ingredient is provided I every serving. If the information is not on the label, call the manufacture and find out.
Monitor your caffeine intake
You have to monitor how much of every ingredient you can take. This helps you calculate how much of each ingredient you consume daily and how much you need to get an effective workout session. The maximum amount of caffeine you can take is 4000 mg and average formulae should contain close to 200mg.
The health and fitness world is full of misconceptions and myths, especially in the female workout world.
One laughable myth is that lifting weights, even the small light ones will bulk you up and that crunches are the most effective when it comes to gaining abs which is all wrong.
Another common myth is that pre-workout supplements are only intended for people handful of goals, excluding weight loss. Generally, they are connected to body builders and athletes and basically anyone looking to gain muscle mass.
You need to understand that pre-workouts can help you in weight and fat loss. While there are uncountable numbers of pre-workouts present, not all of them serve the same function.
You should check out the formulas and ingredients before you settle. Most types contain ingredients that help lose weight faster and more efficiently. Most of them contain caffeine, calcium, b vitamins and vitamin c.
Here are some of the benefits of pre-workout supplements made for women
They are designed to be used before your workout sessions because they offer
A clean and jitter free energy focus
The natural caffeine in the supplement provides you with steady and sustainable energy boost. It is stronger than caffeine.
You get an improved endurance and intra workout pump
Many experts, including me, believe that incorporating pre-workout supplements in your diet leads to a significant improvement in your aerobic means. Studies actually show that they give you power values enough to sustain you for a long time
The obvious benefit, you get an enhanced workout experience
Your focus and concentration becomes better. The supplements give you an overall exemplary performance in the gym. You get an extra boost of motivation for your workout routine.
Supplements increase your blood flow
The increased blood flow provides you with more energy by allowing more oxygen to your muscles and your brain.
Also, you feel less fatigued during the heavy weight lifting.
Who should take a pre-workout?
In the past, pre-work outs have has a reputation of being used only by professional and advanced gym goers. Most people thought and still think that pre-workouts are meant for people who only do muscular exercises like lifting, especially men.
The truth is, the ingredients on pre-workout are great and can help anyone who is looking to improve their health and fitness levels.
While coffee and energy drinks have a history and place in the active lifestyle, they are not that good when it comes to supplementing them with pre-workouts.
It is very important to keep in mind that you will not get enough energy boosts from a can of energy drinks of a cup of coffee. Even if the energy boost is enough, it does not have the additional benefits you would get from taking pre-workouts.
This is because the pre-workouts are made and tailored to enhance your physical output in various activities. It doesn’t matter If you are heavy lifting or going for a morning run.
Pre-workouts have a combination of specific ingredients and give you a great band for a slightly higher cost.
How long will the pre-workout last?
The effects of your pre- workout supplement depend on your sensitivity, some ingredients and the dose you actually take before the workout.
If you take a standard dosage of the pre-workout, you should expect to feel its full effect in 45 minutes(more or less) and it should last you close to 3-6 houses/.
People who are more sensitive to the ingredients should feel the full effect faster and they should last within the same timeline.
If you are convinces that a pre-workout can do great things for you’re and your training, you should get one immediately
Here is how you can choose the best pre-workout supplement
Keep it simple
When it comes down to choosing the best pre-workout supplement, the ones with the fancy ingredients and high prices may not always be the best. Some people even opt for single product ingredients instead.
Most pre-workout supplements contain a mixture of ingredients, some more than others. Some mixtures are a mystery while others are well known. Some pre-workouts do not have enough evidence to support the benefits of some of the ingredients. This can be harmful.
Pre-workout supplements are not usually safety regulated. This means that the blend you are going for may only contain some trace elements of what you actually want to consume.
Read the labels
With the above information in mind, you need to always check for an indication that the pre-workout has been tastes for safety and quality.
How will you know? I recommend that you got for products that have a mention of the NSF international of the informed choice Logo.
Go to the website and try to obtain as much information as you can
Try smaller packages before you purchase the big boxes or in bulk
This should be obvious to anyone. You never know if you will like the effect or taste of the pre-workout. Taking sample packages first will help you get the informed decision
Get some expert advice
Pre-workout supplements are used for athlete performance and to enhance your exercise but they may have major side effects in your body. Some pre-workouts interact negatively with prescriptions and even over the counter medication, which is why you also need advice from your doctor before you can embark on this journey.
Make a legitimate choice
Remember, not all the ingredients in the pre-workout are accepted by big sport governing bodies. If you are training for some sort of competition and want to boost your energy through pre-workouts, you need to do plenty of research to ensure you are within the right line.
What are the dangers of pre-workouts supplements?
Some supplements have dangerous and artificial ingredients
You need to watch out for pre-workouts with flavours and artificial colors and sweeteners. You will find them disguised in words like suralose, red dye 40 and caramel color. Dangerous ingredients like yohimbe and DMAA are banned and could cause some major illness.
Overstimulation
While getting jitters in uncommon for newbies, it can happen. Major stimulants like caffeine work to stimulate your central nervous system. When you over do this, the system will no use all the energy you take in. This in turn creates a tingly, shaky sensation that will you not enjoy.
How is this dangerous? It is risky for someone who has a pre-existing heart condition and can make them vulnerable to anxiety and some panic attacks. If you are sensitive to stimulants, [re-workouts may not be the right thing for you.
Dehydration
This is another common danger associated with pre-workouts. The stimulants signal the kidneys to release more water which means you have to take more water to keep up with the process.
Conclusion
Living a healthier lifestyle and achieving your fitness goal is not something you will get overnight. Even with the pre-workouts, you will have to work hard to get from one stage to another. As an expert, I pride myself and I am dedicated to help as many people as I can to live a healthier lifestyle through nutrition and fitness.
