VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Maciej Szukała
Ergogenic supplements play a significant role among sports nutrition. It is a group of compounds that aims to improve performance by temporarily increasing performance, arousal, motivation and muscular sensation. Read how to create your own pre-workout that will work exactly as you need it.
Why does buying ready-made mixes not always pay off?
On the shelves of supplement stores you will find dozens of various pre-workout supplements, both Polish and foreign companies. Many of them are effective, but unfortunately not all of them. The effectiveness of the supplement is influenced by many parameters:
- chemical form of the substances used,
- grammage,
- synergistic effect of individual ingredients,
- degree of purification.
Unfortunately, many manufacturers (especially foreign ones) limit the information about the ingredients to a minimum.
Companies, stating that a portion of the supplement is, for example, 8 g of powder, of which 6.5 g is the so-called proprietary blend (proprietary blend) does not specify the basis weight of individual compounds. As a result, you do not know how much of the active ingredients you are taking and whether they are able to achieve the active concentration in the blood, and are not just an ornament to make you believe that the substances work in a comprehensive way.
Sometimes a supplement containing 30 ingredients will be less effective than the one containing … 5, but in the right concentration.
Another issue is the high price of ready-made pre-workouts. You have to pay a lot for the patented formulas. The standard price of a good-quality supplement, which is enough for 25-30 servings, is about PLN 160-180.
Choosing the composition of the conditioner yourself:
- you control a safe - and effective - amount of each active substance,
- you can use products from reliable manufacturers,
- you choose the composition in such a way that it corresponds to your training goal,
- you avoid unnecessary preservatives, dyes and sweeteners, which may harm your he alth in the long term,
- you really save money.
What aspects of the pre-workout supplement should you pay attention to?
Wpractice turns out that there are no universal pre-workout supplements. If the manufacturer declares that his preparation simultaneously builds strength, increases muscles, reduces fat and stimulates, then most likely in each of these areas it works on average or contains illegal additives.
Therefore, when composing your own squad, you should first think about what you actually expect from it. Pre-workouts improve the effectiveness of training in many ways:
- accelerate the growth of strength and muscle mass,
- provide focus and concentration,
- delay the onset of fatigue,
- cause a muscle pump,
- burn fat.
Ingredients influencing the growth of strength and muscle mass
In this category, the most popular supplement is creatine. It is the most popular and, at the same time, the best-studied anabolic supplement that has been discovered. In supplements, it is most often in the form of monohydrate (other forms may appear in more expensive products, e.g. malate, hydrochloride, nitrate or orotate).
For your own supplement, you can safely use one of the two simplest forms - monohydrate or malate. Both are effective, although the former causes a little more water retention in the body.
If you take creatine on non-training days, you can use 3 to 5 g of the substance in the pre-workout (less malate, more monohydrate). This way you will ensure the continuity of the supply of the active substance.
When you are not taking creatine in a different form, you can even double your dose ( although the absorption will not be as effective then as it would be with more of the lower doses).
The literature indicates that consuming less than 3 g of creatine per day reduces the effectiveness of muscle adaptation (due to the excretion of about 2 g per day with urine). If you want the pre-workout to strengthen the development of muscles, this is the minimum amount you should use.
The enrichment of the conditioner with creatine causes that it increases the concentration of phosphocreatine in the muscles, thus accelerating the re-synthesis of ATP. As a result, during exercise, the power and ability to perform short but intense exertion increases. The addition of creatine also means that the muscle mass will grow faster and it will be easier to maintain.
Ingredients improving focus and concentration
When it comes to substances that improve focus, caffeine and tyrosine come to the fore.
Caffeine
Popular caffeine improves aerobic fitness and delays the onset of fatigue. It improves concentration and makes it easier to focus on the task. Athletes zthey will certainly notice an improvement in their reflexes and overall fitness.
Caffeine in the form of a single supplement is sold in the form of capsules containing 100 to 300 mg of the active substance. For comparison, coffee brewed from an espresso machine can contain up to 200 mg of caffeine. A glass of instant coffee generally does not contain more than 40-60 mg.
When it comes to pre-workout supplements, the caffeine content varies from 100 to 400 mg in one serving, depending on the target strength and the content of other stimulants that work synergistically.
Most people report a perceptible agitation after consuming 150-200 mg of caffeine, although a lot depends on individual properties and genetics - some people metabolize caffeine faster than others.
If you want your supplement to have a strong stimulating effect, you can add 200 to 400 mg of caffeine to it. When all you want to do is stop your fatigue, 100 or 150 mg should do the trick.
Don't overdo it though, because more is not always better. Caffeine in a concentration that exceeds the optimal (over 500-600 mg) may have the opposite effect to the expected - lack of strength, feeling sick, muscle tremors and lack of concentration - and even be dangerous to your he alth.
Remember that the more often and in higher doses you use caffeine, the faster your body will get used to it. It is worth eliminating her from the stockpile from time to time.
In turn, tyrosine is a precursor of important neurotransmitters responsible for arousal (dopamine and norepinephrine). It has an energizing effect and counteracts mental and physical fatigue. Stimulating the secretion of these hormones accelerates the heart rate, narrows peripheral vessels, and improves energy processes responsible for burning fat and carbohydrates.
Typical tyrosine dosages in pre-workout supplements range from 0.5 to 2 g.
Ingredients delaying the appearance of fatigue
If you want to maintain a constant intensity of work for a long time, it is worth supplementing the supplement with ingredients that delay the feeling of fatigue. These include, among others carbohydrates, BCAA amino acids and beta alanine.
Carbohydrates
By adding sugars with different absorption kinetics, the body will receive energy in a liquid form, ready for use. Depending on the duration of the training and its intensity, the carbohydrate content will vary from 0.2 to 0.5 g per kilogram of body weight.
The supply of carbohydrates such as honey or m altodextrin allows you to save glycogenmuscle, allowing you to extend the effort and increases explosive power during training.
The addition of carbohydrates will be especially appreciated by athletes of endurance and mixed disciplines (e.g. martial arts, crossfit), where high intensity of work is maintained for a long time.
BCAA amino acids
Branched-Chain Amino Acids are exogenous leucine, iso-leucine and valine. They are crucial from the point of view of physically active people, because they improve the regeneration process and reduce muscle catabolism.
BCAAs can also be used as fuel ensuring stable muscle performance and protecting glycogen stores.
The appropriate dose of amino acids in the pre-training supplement should depend on the weight of the exercising person. It is assumed that the optimal amount is 1 g for every 10 kg of body weight. However, it is worth dividing this portion into smaller, 5-gram ones. Therefore, in a pre-workout, 3-4 g is enough, the remaining amount can be divided into the morning and evening doses.
Beta alanine
Beta alanine is a precursor of carnosine, which is responsible, inter alia, in for buffering the build-up of lactic acid in the muscles. It causes a rapid increase in endurance. It allows you to shorten the time between sets as well as extend cardio effort. It is responsible for faster strength gains. Workouts after consuming beta alanine become more efficient. Strength athletes will also notice an increased muscle pump.
Characteristic for beta alanine is the effect of paresthesia, i.e. tingling usually occurring around the face, ears, forearms or shins. Paresthesia is completely harmless and will disappear over time as the body gets used to the increased levels of the substance in the body.
The recommended dose of beta alanine is 2 to 5 g. People who have never taken this substance will benefit from minimal intake of the substance. The big advantage of beta alanine is its low price and easy availability.
Ingredients affecting the muscle pump
A muscle pump is nothing more than filling working muscles with blood containing nutrients. It is a particularly desirable phenomenon in bodybuilding. It is definitely avoided in martial arts and endurance disciplines such as running or cycling due to its negative impact on dynamics.
Filling the muscles with blood guarantees better nutrition and more efficient regeneration, and thus greater gains in mass and strength. Consistent and thoughtful work on the same muscle group over time also results in the formation of new capillaries, which are even betterwill nourish the area. It is also indicated that the muscle fascia is stretched better, which in turn translates into a reduced risk of injury.
In sports supplements, arginine alpha-ketoglutarate (better known as AAKG) and Agmatine Sulfate are responsible for the pump. The first one is cheaper, but has a short half-life. On the other hand, agmatine is more expensive and less available, but shows greater systemic stability.
The recommended dose of arginine is 3 to 6 g depending on the desired effect. In the case of agmatine, a much smaller dose is enough - from 1 to 2.5 g.
Substances influencing fat burning
Synephrine dominates among natural fat burners. It is made of compounds contained in the peel of citrus fruit. Its action is based on the activation of beta-3 adrenoreceptors responsible for the intensification of lipolysis. Synephrine also causes increased body thermogenesis, which translates into faster burning of calories.
The most popular source of synephrine is the bitter orange extract (the so-called citrus aurantium). Adding it to the pre-workout will make you feel an additional boost of energy, and at the same time you will mobilize your body to reduce weight faster.
Effective doses of synephrine are considered to be 15-25 mg of the substance. However, it is important to remember that the alkaloid works best when combined with exercise. Without activity, its effect will be much smaller.
People who struggle with heart problems should be careful about consuming synephrine. It causes an increase in blood pressure and an acceleration of the heart rate.
When to take a pre-training supplement?
You already know what your own pre-workout supplement might consist of, but how to consume it? The most recommended time is 20-25 minutes before exercise. However, depending on the form of the application, the timing may slightly differ.
If you combine capsules with liquids, you must remember that the former will release the active substances a little later than the latter, because the capsule shell must first disassemble. Many substances in fluids are already absorbed directly in the mouth.
In such a situation, you can take the pre-workout even earlier (30-40 minutes before exercise). The ingredients will maintain their maximum concentration in the blood for at least 2-3 hours anyway, and often for much longer.
Test different active ingredients and find the combination that best suits you. You will quickly find out that preparing your own preparation saves a lot of money without having to give upthe effectiveness of well-chosen supplementation.