Best Ingredients In A Pre Workout – What Should You Be Looking For?

There are thousands of Pre Workout Supplements out there. This makes it extremely tough to decide which one is the best and works the best. I want to show you what you should be looking for and not let all this crazy advertising suck you in. This article will show you the best ingredients In a Pre Workout supplement you should always look for.

Over the years, I have tried at least ten different brands of Pre Workout supplements.

Explosive Pre Jym Pre Workout is the best pre-workout I have ever tried.

Please look at the ingredients, and you will realize why it might be a little pricier than some other Pre Workouts.

This reason is that it is like FOUR supplements in 1.

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If you do the math, it breaks down to around $1.75 per pre-workout drink if you buy the larger size. This is well worth it since it already has things like Creatine and your BCAA’s in it. You don’t need to purchase them separately. A small black cup of coffee is more than this.

A few years ago, I decided to spend some time researching the most important ingredients and comparing all the pre-workout supplement brands I’ve tried.

I was shocked because some of the most important ingredients you must be getting in a Pre Workout didn’t exist in some of these brands. In the Fitness industry, you have some ripped Fitness Models on the front of the supplement; sometimes, that’s enough for people to purchase based on that.

Same with Instagram, if someone is in extremely great shape and says, “this is the pre-workout I use,” then most people will buy it based on that. This is not a good enough reason to purchase a supplement.

The reason you want to purchase a supplement is 100% based on the quality of the ingredients and the price.

You should not let people influence you just because they look good and promote the pre-workout supplements. I know some people sponsored by supplement companies that don’t actually use the product they promote.

Watch this video below to get an idea of why this is the best pre-workout.

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CITRULLINE MALATE (L-CITRULLINE+MALATE)

What is L-Citrulline? If you want to get technical, Citrulline is a non-proteinogenic Amino Acid. This means they are not naturally found in an organism.

Citrulline plays a big role in the Urea cycle. The Urea Cycle is the removal of Ammonia from the body. Ammonia can cause fatigue after intense exercise. In simple terms, this means that Citrulline has an eliminating effect on Ammonia.

Citrulline is an amino acid that is naturally found in watermelons. It has been shown to increase blood flow, which is why it is often added to pre-workout supplements. When you take citrulline supplements, the amino acid is converted into arginine in your body.

Arginine is a precursor for nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow. The main effect of L-Citrulline is to produce Nitric Oxide in the body.

This can increase blood flow to your muscles, providing them with more oxygen and nutrients. Citrulline may also help to reduce fatigue and improve exercise performance. If you are looking for a natural way to improve blood flow, citrulline may be worth trying.

This is why Citrulline is important to take pre-workout to reduce fatigue!

When Citrulline enters the body, the kidneys convert it to arginine, which your body will use as fuel to make Nitric Oxide.

So this means the more you can increase arginine, the more NO (Nitric Oxide) increases. In the end, this is what leads to greater pumps, performance, blood flow, and vasodilation (widening of blood vessels).

.What is Malate? You will see on the ingredient label of a supplement the words Citrulline Malate, a mix of Malate and L-Citrulline. The other half is Malic Acid, and the salts and esters are known as Malates.

Malic acid is an organic compound that is naturally found in fruits like apples.

Malic acid is known for its ability to increase energy and tolerance to exercise. Malic acid enhances energy production and plays a big role in the Krebs Cycle. The Krebs Cycle basically converts the food we consume into energy.

I’ve explained what both the two ingredients make up what I think is the most important ingredient in a Pre Workout Supplement. You might be wondering why they should be added together to make one.

There are many studies done with just taking L-Citrulline vs. Citrulline Malate pre-workout. When Athletes were performing exercises with just L-Citrulline, they didn’t have any increase in performance. The same can’t be said about when taking Citrulline Malate or, as I said, the combination of the 2.

There are studies I have read with a big increase in performance, and the soreness was decreased.

When you increase your Malate levels, you increase energy production.

I personally will not buy pre-workout supplements without a good amount of Citrulline Malate.

Some companies don’t even include it in the supplement. This could be because it’s one of the more expensive ingredients. I would recommend looking for AT LEAST 6 grams and up to 8 grams in a pre-workout.

With any supplement, though, you should maybe try half of the serving if it’s your first time to see how you react to the pre-workout.

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CREATINE IS A COMMON PRE-WORKOUT INGREDIENT

Creatine is one of my other articles and is a Top 5 supplement alone for muscle building.

If I could only pick two supplements for muscle building, it would be Creatine and a Whey Protein Isolate. This should be in every pre-workout.

Creatine is found naturally in foods like fish and meat. It is produced in the body but only in small amounts. This is why it is good to supplement with Creatine.

There is no other supplement that has been researched more.

95% of Creatine is stored in the Skeletal Muscle and 5% in the brain.

Many athletes use creatine because of its ability to improve performance and allow them to train harder. There are several types of Creatine available. A great benefit of Creatine is muscle fatigue.

The most common is Monohydrate, but I recommend Creatine hydrochloride (HCL) because of its quicker absorption rates and the smaller doses you need.

I have personally experimented with Creatine alone.

Once all my lifts had peaked and I was not going up, I added Creatine in. Tracking my results, I increased all my lifts for the next three weeks. This is a must if you are buying a pre-workout supplement.

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BETA-ALANINE IS A VERY POPULAR PRE-WORKOUT INGREDIENT

Beta-alanine is a popular supplement among athletes and bodybuilders. It is a non-essential amino acid. This means the body can make it, so you don’t need to get them from food.

The main purpose people use Beta-Alanine alone is to improve their athletic performance and build lean muscle mass.

Together with another amino acid called histidine, they produce Carnosine. Carnosine reduces lactic acid accumulation in your muscles during exercise, which leads to improved athletic performance.

When your pre-workout supplement has Beta-Alanine, it has been shown to elevate your Carnosine levels in the muscles by 80%

To make this sound a little less complicated of Beta’s purpose. You are taking it to produce something in your body, and by 80%, that increases athletic performance.

Some studies show Beta helps you exercise for longer periods before becoming exhausted. You can get a good amount from your diet, but you should get this in a supplement form for the greatest results.

Beta alanine is a popular supplement among athletes and bodybuilders. Beta alanine has been shown to improve exercise performance, increase muscle mass, and decrease fatigue. Beta alanine works by increasing the levels of carnosine in the muscles. Carnosine is an amino acid that helps to buffer lactic acid, which can build up during exercise and lead to fatigue.

By increasing carnosine levels, beta alanine can help to delay the onset of fatigue and improve exercise performance. Beta alanine is most effective in doses of 3-6 grams daily. When used correctly, beta alanine can be a powerful tool for improving exercise performance.

Many pre workout supplements I see are low in beta alanine.

The bottom line with Beta alanine is it improves athletic performance by reducing your chance of getting tired. Your high-intensity performance will also be increasing.

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BRANCH CHAIN AMINO ACIDS

Otherwise known as BCAA’S, you will often see. There are three of these. Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine and great for muscle fatigue.

Leucine is by far the most important of the three because it stimulates muscle growth.

So whenever I’m looking at pre-workout supplements ingredient amounts, I ensure there are at least two times the amount of Leucine compared to the other two. I would recommend at least 3 grams of Leucine.

There are actually 20 different kinds of Amino Acids that make up different proteins in the body. 9 of these 20 must be obtained from your diet because your body does not make them. These are called essential amino acids.

Of these 9, three are Branch chain amino acids I mentioned in this paragraph.

Branched-chain amino acids are important for many reasons, and I think the most important is increased muscle recovery. Increased muscle recovery will give you more muscle growth.

When clients ask me what to take to prevent soreness, I always recommend Branched-chain amino acids. They have been shown to reduce muscle soreness. You can get a good amount of BCAA sources from food. This would be more beneficial since they contain all the essential amino acids.

That would mean, though, you would constantly have to eat many chicken breasts, Tuna, Salmon, Turkey Breast, or Beef rounds.

These are the highest sources, but for the convenience factor, I like to supplement sometimes.

The process of amino acids mixing in with your skeletal muscle is called muscle protein synthesis.

 

BETAINE

Another great ingredient you need in a pre-workout and probably have not heard of. Betaine, AKA trimethylglycine, is a chemical that occurs naturally in the body.

You can also find it in certain foods like Spinach, beets, seafood, and one of my favorite things…Wine! There are three main reasons people supplement with Betaine. One is to gain muscle and strength faster while increasing exercise performance. They also take it to improve heart health and digestion.

How does Betaine work in pre-workouts? There is a chemical called homocysteine that Betaine helps metabolize. Homocysteine is significant because it’s involved in the functions of many parts of the body.

Parts like the brain, heart, eyes, bones, and blood. High levels of homocysteine are linked to the early development of heart disease. Betaine is very important because it prevents the buildup of homocysteine in the blood.

Most of the time, we are thinking of gaining more muscle and increasing endurance when it comes to good pre-workout supplements. As you can see, Betaine has other health benefits.

SOME COMMON PRE-WORKOUT INGREDIENTS TO AVOID

Over the years, I have seen some popular pre-workout ingredients from big-name companies that get banned and are no longer allowed.  Thankfully, almost every ingredient has been researched by now, and everything is generally safe in a pre-workout.

• Caffeine doesn’t need to be avoided completely but be careful you don’t overdo it.
• Proprietary blends can mean the manufacturer is using this word to hide the actual dose amount.
• Artificial sweeteners can be used to make supplements sweeter, but some companies put way too much in, and this can be bad for your insulin and glucose levels.
• Artificial flavors and colors are added to pre-workouts and can be harmful.  Keep an eye out for Red 40 or Yellow 5. They have a bad relationship with people who have asthma.
• Fillers or unnecessary pre-workout ingredients.

The FDA can ban pre-workout ingredients from certain supplements. This was the case with a supplement I tried about 15 years ago. This is very tricky because the company just basically went under another name. There are way too many companies out there for the FDA to monitor all the pre-workout ingredients.

 

UNDERSTANDING THE PRE-WORKOUTS INGREDIENT LABEL [DON’T BE FOOLED]

You must see all the ingredients with the amounts written right next to them. In one of my previous articles, I talked about whey protein. Sometimes they write “Blend.”

This means you have no idea of how much of each you are getting. The same goes when you see “Proprietary Blend.” Yes, that may sound pretty fancy, but this usually means they will not tell you what’s in this so-called “special” blend of the pre-workout.

This is a common way for companies to hide the fact that they do not have quality ingredients in the pre-workout supplement.

PRE JYM is Only Quality ingredients, and nothing is hidden

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Sometimes you are not always getting what you pay for in a pre-workout. Although on the other hand, some best pre-workout supplements are some of the pricier ones.

These may be a little pricier, but when I’ve done all my comparing in the past, I found you are basically getting three or more supplements in one!

My final thought is don’t always base your decision on promoting it or the fancy wording. Look for these quality  pre workout ingredients in this article and the proper amounts.

Pre Jym Pre Workout Supplement

 

I would also suggest you look at an article I wrote on what to take after your workout Post Workout Supplement.

You may also be interested in checking out my Top 5 pre workout supplements. 

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“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

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