Anytime you are considering adding a dietary supplement or pre-workout drink, it is important to consult with your physician to find the best supplement for your body and goals. Today’s market is packed with different pre-workout supplements all proclaiming to be the best but all have pros and cons. Many provide high value to your exercise and diet routine but some can cause serious health problems when not taken correctly.
When trying to determine whether or not a supplement is what you need to take your workouts to the next level, here are just a few benefits to consider:
Increased Focus – Often times our biggest opponent on the journey to becoming more fit is a lack of drive and focus. Pre-workout supplements can give you that extra boost to get you in the gym and keep you in the gym for longer periods of time. Instead of hitting the proverbial wall, you will feel yourself power through barriers and finish exercise routines you may have struggled with in the past.
Metabolism Boost – Many of the top pre-workout drinks also kick start your metabolism and have a fat burning element to their compound. The supplement helps burn through calories even faster than normal and when combined with an intense workout, results can be amazing!
Quicker Recovery – This benefit has become one of the more desired traits of pre-workout supplements. High intensity exercises have swept the nation and because there are short rest periods in these full body workouts, supplements can be used to help aid muscle groups recover much faster than normal.
Even with all the amazing positives a pre-workout supplement can bring to your exercise routine, there are some negatives we must be on guard for:
Increased Heart Rate – In many of the pre-workout supplements on the shelves today, caffeine is the driving force to get the increase in energy aspect buyers wish for. This can become extremely dangerous and cause heart beat irregularities. It is safe practice to only use pre-workout supplements for anaerobic exercises only.
Watch Out Athletes – If you are a current athlete or training to compete in a contest that will require a drug screening, it is important to know exactly what you are putting into your body. Although we have mentioned consulting a doctor before starting any pre-workout supplement, it is also important to obtain a list from the governing body that will be screening you to make sure anything you take is legal. Sometimes the competitors inside us only see the amazing fat burning benefits to these supplements and miss out on ingredients that can be harmful and illegal.
Body Function Shutdown – Another main ingredient in most major pre-workout supplements is creatine. This is an example of a pre-workout supplement containing something your body produces naturally and you just want to have a larger quantity of in a shorter amount of time. By filling your body with something It already produces, you stand risk of causing your body functions to stop production of these elements, resulting in major health issues.
