If you’ve been paying attention to the pre-workout market, here of late, things have come down to who can shove the most stimulants into a tub and still have it taste good by masking all of the caffeine tossed into the formulation. While stimulants such as caffeine have some great benefits and advantages when it comes to being included in pre-workout products, consumers could get so much more from their pre-workout if they looked at the bigger picture.
When looking at pre-workout supplements, if the only thing you want is energy, by all means, go ahead and find one that includes every stimulant under the sun plus the kitchen sink. Or, save yourself some money and purchase a standalone caffeine supplement in pill or powder form. But if you want a pre-workout that will completely transform and elevate your workouts, there are a few more types of ingredients you will want to be included in the profile.
Below, we will break down what a complete pre-workout product should look like and how each area plays a key role in your results.
Increase Blood Flow and Muscle Pump
Other than insane amounts of energy, many people are looking to achieve a pump. If you’ve watched Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger, you know how much he loves the feeling even more than “another activity” (go watch it if you haven’t seen it). That said, the pump does a lot more than help make you look swole in the mirror.
When the pump is achieved, it is due to vasodilation and the blood vessels expanding. This helps increase blood flow, which aids in transporting nutrients and oxygenated blood into the muscle as well as removing byproducts and toxins such as lactic acid that can be a limiting factor to your workouts.
In your pre-workout, you will want something like the incredible and patented Nitrosigine®, citrulline, and even agmatine sulfate. These will help increase nitric oxide production and increase your pump.
Improve Focus and Concentration
Take a look at your day. When you’re focused, you get more done, and your quality of work is better, correct? Then look at a day where you’re suffering from brain fog, and your mental performance is off – you don’t get as much done, and the quality suffers, right? The same thing can be said for your workouts.
Achieving a solid mind-muscle connection is incredibly important during your workout as it can help you activate more muscle fibers during your set(s). When your focus is off, you may find yourself simply going through the motions and including other muscle groups into the movement rather than putting the focus on the muscle you’re trying to specifically train. By putting more focus into your contractions, you can find (going back to #1) that your pump is further enhanced. That’s because you’re forcing blood into the muscle, causing it to swell.
There are many focus and concertation ingredients that can be added to a pre-workout. Some of these ingredients include VitaCholine™, caffeine, Infinergy™, and TheaPure™, to name a few.
Replenish Glycogen
For many people, hitting the wall during a workout is a total bummer. When the glycogen stores in your muscles are tapped out, it can cause your workout to come to a screeching halt as if you were driving at 100mph and all of a sudden hit a barricade. In order to prevent that, look for a pre-workout that also focuses on glycogen replenishment.
One of the hottest ingredients being used today for pre- and intra-workout glycogen replenishment is highly branched cyclic dextrin (a patented version being ClusterDextrin®). ClusterDextrin is a clinically studied carbohydrate that has been shown to be rapidly absorbed so that it can be pushed out to the muscles. When glycogen is present and replenished, you can experience an increase in exercise performance.
If you want the highest quality ingredients for glycogen replenishment, ClusterDextrin should be at the top of your list. Other inferior pre-workout formulas will use inexpensive ingredients like dextrose or maltodextrin.
Support Proper Hydration Levels
Proper hydration can not only be the difference between having an insane pump and looking flat but also the difference between your body functioning optimally and it starting to shut down. Hydration is incredibly important, especially if you sweat profusely or are training in warm weather.
Various electrolytes and amino acids can be added to pre-workout products to help support proper hydration levels. This should be a priority, and it’s highly recommended to ensure the pre-workout you purchase has such ingredients included in the formula.
Hydration also plays a role in motor neuron functioning and muscular contractions. Performance can decrease dramatically when your water balance is thrown off, and you start to become dehydrated. Stay on top of your water intake during training and ensure you replenish electrolytes through a well thought out pre-workout formula.
Is Your Pre-Workout Not Living Up to the Hype?
Unfortunately, this is quite common. Brands put a ton of marketing behind a “brand new” and “industry-changing” pre-workout only to hide behind proprietary blends so that you don’t know the entire product was fairy dusted and won’t do much of anything for you. But hey, that’s why they had to spend so much money on advertising and marketing because the product can’t speak for itself. Not to mention, most of them are simply filled with stimulants to get you all jacked up and not do much of anything else. You don’t need or want that.
If you want a REAL pre-workout with efficacious dosages and a transparent label, grab yourself some NutraBio PRE Extreme. Loaded with patented ingredients that are backed by science and clinical research, NutraBio PRE Extreme doesn’t need to be hyped up like the next big fight on Pay-Per-View.
NutraBio PRE Extreme is a hard-hitting pre-workout that was specifically formulated to cover all of the topics mentioned in the article above, and then some. Explosive energy, power, strength, endurance, mental focus, acuity, and recovery are just a few of the benefits you can experience through the use of this pre-workout.
When you’re sick of spending your money on marketing rather than results, consider a completely transparent and fully disclosed label that doesn’t hide behind proprietary blends. Available in four delicious flavors, you’ll have many options to choose from to suit your palate.
Once you try NutraBio PRE Extreme, you’ll never train with anything else ever again.
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