Question
What’s your opinion of pre-workouts? Are they worth the cost and what do they do, besides getting you jacked up??
Answer
Pre-workouts can be useful, but there are a few caveats to consider…
A quality pre-workout acts as an idirect anabolic, insofar as generating greater intensity in the gym. Intensity is the most important fundamental of training, the others being Volume and Frequency. No muscle growth occurs while lying on the couch, so it stands to reason that the greater the intensity you can generate in the gym – the more overload is imposed. More overload = a stronger signal, to grow musce. Those are the upsides….
Downsides include over-paying for dressed up tri-methyl xanthine. Oops, I mean caffeine. What I’m getting at is with very few exceptions, most pre-workouts are powered by caffeine. A 200mg tab of generic caffeine tabs is pennies on the dollar vs. most of these products and generates the same amount of intensity. If you really want to kick it up a notch, consider 20mg of ephedrine in the form of Primatene tabs, and 300mg of EGCG from Green Tea extract.
Another facet to consider is too much stimulation. This can and does work against you, given it leads to DECREASED physical performance and excessive cortisol release. I can’t tell you the number of guys that fall victim to this. Shaky, sweating and paranoid is no way to approach the weight room. You walk a fine line then, between too much stimulation and just enough.
That tip about caffeine, ephedrine and EGCG will save you tons of money, and will increase intensity and burn more fat than any pre-workout on the market. It’s that powerful…
