Is taking green tea or coffee no giving you the desired effect you need to boost your energy for your morning run? Instead, you can try drinking a pre-workout supplement before your morning to give an instant energy boost.
Some people drink lots of coffee before their morning run to give them an instant boost, and helps to clear your thoughts, which keeps you alert. Taking too much caffeine before your workout isn’t a good idea as it changes your pace and heart rate a lot, and you take many bathroom breaks. If you’re not a coffee drinker, other natural alternatives can give you the same effect. You also must have heard about pre-workout supplements for athletes and bodybuilders. Runners also need a supplement to boost your energy and endurance levels to help you run properly and finish the race on time.
Why do you need a pre-workout supplement for running?
There are many types of workouts, and each has its own specific needs. In the same way, there are pre-workout supplements that are for weight training and high-intensity workouts. These aren’t the right supplements for a runner because you need something that will increase your endurance levels. If you’ve noticed, the hardest part when you start to run isn’t the beginning; it’s how you keep your momentum going.
As a runner, you need to understand your nutritional requirements. Any product you take is only useful if the ingredients are good, and you need a product with carbs, amino acids or essential proteins, and calories. And the best pre-workout supplement for running should be made with fat burning carbs and amino acids that will reduce muscle breakdown and fatigue. This ensures the fast recovery of your body after a workout.
Benefits of taking pre-run supplements
Many different benefits come with taking an excellent pre-workout supplement, like increasing your endurance, energy, mental focus, and strength. Most pre-workout supplements formulated explicitly for runners have certain ingredients that have different effects on your body.
Caffeine
Caffeine is very popular and very well known for its effects as a powerful stimulant that increases your energy levels and alertness. It provides your body with a quick energy boost and makes it easier for you to train harder during your run. It also helps your body can quickly convert fatty acids to energy, conserve carbs, and delay fatigue.
Creatine
Creatine is responsible for improving the strength and endurance of your slow-twitch muscle fibers. It pumps up your muscles. Most weight lifters talk about pumping up their biceps, and by using creatine, they build more gains. However, most runners opt for supplements without creatine.
Beta-alanine
Beta-alanine is a type of amino acid that helps increase your endurance, lean body mass, and improve your performance. This nutrient is a great pre-workout supplement that you can still take during other times of the day. It also helps to reduce muscle fatigue and the build-up of lactic acid in your body.
BCAA’s or Branch Chain Amino Acids
These amino acids include valine, leucine, and isoleucine, and they help your body to properly metabolize proteins and prevent the breakdown of muscle fibers when you’re performing endurance-based activities. This is one of the main ingredients found in most supplements that are used by athletes and bodybuilders to help them shed unwanted body fat. If you don’t have enough BCAA’s in your body during a run, it can lead to muscle weakness and fatigue.
Glutamine
Glutamine is an amino acid that helps with tissue repair and your body’s immune function. The amount of glutamine is drastically reduced when you’re under stress, and your body produces a lot of cortisol. This affects your cardiovascular activities, so you need to replenish it before you go for a run to make sure your body has enough in store.
Carbohydrates
Although some people avoid supplements that contain carbs, they’re essential for runners. To help you do a more cardio workout, you need complex carbs to provide your body with enough energy. If you’ve ever participated in a marathon, you know how vital carbs are to get you to the finish line. Your body stores glycogen in your muscles that is produced by carbs, so when you need energy, your body can get it from the glycogen stored in your body. Having enough supply of glycogen gives your body a consistent supply of energy, which prevents the depletion of your muscle mass.
Legion Pulse is a favorite pre-workout supplement among fitness enthusiasts, which contains active ingredients that help to improve your performance. It has a naturally sweet flavor that contains no artificial sweeteners or food dyes. It increases your strength and energy without giving you the jittery feeling or other side effects that could interfere with your running. This pre-workout is backed by scientific research, and it’s formulated to increase your energy and blood flow, sharpen your focus, reduce fatigue, and improve your muscle endurance.
Some of its ingredients include beta-alanine that is responsible for improving your cardio activity, caffeine for muscle endurance, citrulline malate to improve performance and muscle endurance, betaine to increase your strength, theanine to reduce your physical and mental stress, and ornithine to help your body burn fat and reduce fatigue. The best part is all its ingredients are 100% natural.
Pros
You don’t get any jittery feeling after taking it.
It provides you with clean energy for a great workout.
It works fast, within 30 minutes of taking it.
Reduces fatigue and increases your endurance.
Cons
It doesn’t have great taste.
It might leave you with a light tingly feeling.
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Evlution Nutrition BCAA energy
BCAA Energy is a high-performance amino acid supplement that is designed to boost your energy, performance and help in your recovery at any time of your workout. It’s formulated with natural energizers and antioxidants from green tea and green coffee to provide your body with energy and help you focus during your workout. BCAA’s are a great source of energy any time you need a boost and also in muscle repairs.
Some of its ingredients include vitamin B and C complex, which are good for your immune system and keeping your energy levels up, L-alanine is responsible for glucose production, beta-alanine helps to reduce lactic acid build-up, and taurine keeps your cells hydrated. It also contains high-quality BCAA’s and no sugars or carbs.
Pros
Provides you with enough energy for the day and for a great workout.
It doesn’t leave you feeling jittery or on edge.
It’s a great post-workout to help with recovery.
The amino acid levels prevent you from losing muscle mass.
Cons
Some people don’t like the taste of some of its flavors.
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Optimum nutrition essential amino energy
Essential amino energy, unlike other pre-workout supplements, it’s formulated to provide you with instant energy. As a runner, you can use this product any time, whether it’s before, during, or after your training. This pre-workout contains the energy blend and the amino blend. The energy blend contains stimulating ingredients that include green tea extract, caffeine, and green coffee extracts. At the same time, the amino blend contains L-leucine that helps to balance your body’s nitrogen levels, L-arginine to enhance your stamina and performance, L-isoleucine that boosts your muscle cells for better endurance, and beta-A.
Amino energy is a favorite with a runner because it has a fantastic taste, helps you focus, performance, endurance thanks to its amino acid content. However, it contains high amounts of artificial sweeteners and caffeine that make some runners uncomfortable.
Pros
It has many flavors to choose from.
Gives you a natural energy boost without jitters or crashes.
It helps with muscle recovery.
It’s low in calories and sugars, great for weight loss.
Cons
Some customers have complained of dental erosion due to overuse.
Some customers aren’t comfortable with artificial sweeteners.
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Red leaf pre-workout energizer
Red leaf pre-workout is formulated with BCAA’s, beta-alanine, and other natural ingredients that provide you with energy and other fitness benefits. It has a delicious cranberry-lime flavor. It contains natural ingredients that will help to intensify your workout sessions. Some of its ingredients include cranberry for antioxidant protection, L-arginine to promote blood circulation, and beta-alanine to help improve your endurance during a workout and reduce muscle fatigue.
The amino acid blend is great for increasing your muscle recovery, while the raspberry ketones help in burning fat. It’s a great product that is formulated with high-quality ingredients and contains no artificial coloring.
Pros
It’s an excellent pre-workout for a great cardio session.
The level of caffeine isn’t enough for intense runners.
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Clif Shot energy gel.
Clif shot energy get is a convenient pre-workout supplement that is contained in packets. You can easily carry it on your run, and it contains organic ingredients that give it a great taste. If you love running the marathon, you will need a supplement that you can easily carry over long distances, and Clif shot is just what you’re looking for.
You can consume this gel over some time or quickly as you run as it’s an easy gel to digest. It’s an excellent option for refueling while still running, saving you on time you would have used to stop and take the supplement. The only downside to it is it can at a time leak while carrying it. It has nine delicious flavors and contains enough caffeine to keep you energized throughout your run.
Pros
Great for people with low blood sugar.
It gives you a good boost of energy and keeps you alert.
Easy to carry and convenient.
Easy to consume the gel and digest.
Cons
It can leak during shipping.
Caffeine levels aren’t the same in all flavors.
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Cytomax sports performance mix
Cytomax sports performance mix is a citrus-flavored energy drink mix that contains stevia as a natural sweetener. It’s an excellent pre-workout for runners if you’re looking for strength, energy, endurance, keep yourself hydrated, and reduce fatigue during your long runs. It contains lactic acid that is useful in relaxing your muscles after a run. It provides you with a steady source of energy without any crashes after a workout.
As the carbohydrates provide fuel to your muscles, the amino acids and other essential nutrients help to delay muscle fatigue, and a blend of electrolytes replenish your body with the lost sodium, magnesium, and potassium caused by sweating. It also contains just enough caffeine to give you a slight boost without increasing your heart rate. With the help of Alpha-L-polylactic, your body’s pH levels are normalized, which helps to prevent lactic acid build-up.
Pros
Keeps you well hydrates after a workout.
Helps with muscle soreness and fatigue.
It comes in a variety of flavors to choose from.
You can control the number of electrolytes you take.
Cons
Some don’t like the tangy taste.
Some complained of the presence of stevia in the new formula.
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In conclusion
Just because a certain pre-workout supplement worked for someone doesn’t mean it will automatically work for you. That being said, it’s good to take a pre-workout supplement that contains all-natural ingredients, and Legion pulse contains 100% all-natural ingredients, which means there are no harsh chemicals or dangerous stimulants in your body. It provides you with good clean energy with no pre-workout energy crashes and no jitters. It increases your nitric oxide levels, which improves your energy and performance for a better workout experience.
