Friday, November 2, 2012

Which Pre-Workout Supplement is Right for You?



This is a great video on choosing a pre-workout supplement from barthelfitness.




  A lot of these supplements contain the same main ingredients (stimulants, nitric oxide promoting agents, creatine, amino acids) though in different quantity. Different people react differently to these ingredients, so if you’ve found a pre workout supplement that works for you with little/no side effects then stick to it. This post is based on my personal experience using some of these, my knowledge of ingredients on the nutrition labels, and the experience of others.

Mitchell's Top 5 Pre-Workout Supplements:

1. Assault - MusclePharm

Notable Ingredients:
BCAA (3:1:2), Creatine Monohydrate, Beta Alanine, Citrulline, Tyrosine, Choline Caffeine
Notes about ingredients:
  • BCAA (3:1:2) are branched chained amino acids at 3/1/2 ratio of Leucine/Valine/Isoleucine respectively. Most cell benefits come from Leucine so the 3:1:2 ratio seems quite promising. Having BCAAs in your system is like having fuel ready for your muscles to use while you’re lifting.
  • Citrulline is better at promoting Nitric Oxide (NO) synthesis than arginine as it has better intestinal uptake.
  • Tyrosine helps increase adrenaline levels.
  • Choline helps increase focus/clarify and has been linked to improved endurance performance.

2. Jack3d - USPlabs

Notable Ingredients:
Arginine, Creatine Monohydrate, Beta Alanine, Caffeine, 1,3-Dimethylamylamine
Notes about ingredients:
  • Arginine is often used to increase the blood vessel circumference by promoting Nitric Oxide (NO) synthesis (gets you pumped – helping with muscle growth).
  • Creatine monohydrate is the most effective and most proven performance enhancing supplement legally available.
  • Beta Alanine help enhance muscular endurance by buffering lactic acid.
  • Caffeine helps increase focus, alertness, and energy.
  • 1,3-Dimethylamylamine (DMAA) is a highly stimulatory neurological stimulant that helps give a quick spike of energy like caffeine. Note that DMAA is a relatively new supplement that hasn’t been as extensively studied and though it is tolerated pretty well in pre workout supplement form, it has been linked to cerebral hemorrhage in the party pill form.

3. C4 Extreme - Cellucor

Notable Ingredients:
Beta Alanine, Creatine Nitrate, Arginine, Tyrosine, Caffeine, 1,3-Dimethylamlymine

Some things you should know about pre workout supplements

  • Consult your doctor before taking these supplements or any other supplements out there.
  • Some of these supplements contain 1,3-Dimethylamylamine/DMAA/Geranamine (e.g. Jack3d, 1MR, Cellucor C4 Extreme, Hemo Rage, Neurocore) and are banned by World Anti-Doping Agency since these ingredients show up as amphetamines in their tests. Be sure to read the labels if you are going to need to be drug-tested for anything (e.g. competitive sports).
  • These supplements are used to help you workout longer and lift harder so that you can get more out of your workouts.
  • These supplements are highly stimulatory so do not take the full dosage if you are sensitive to stimulants.
  • Because of its stimulatory nature, do not take these in conjunction with fat burners or any other stimulatory supplements.
  • Like any other stimulants, try cycling (3 weeks on, 1 week off) to not build up tolerance and reduce any risk of major side effects.
  • Some of these pre workout supplements have creatine in them, so it can add bulk whether you like it or not.
  • Make sure to pay attention to your body’s hydration level while under the effects of these pre workout supplements. For example, I wouldn’t take any of these top rated pre workout supplements and go out for a 10 mile run without access to plenty of water.
  • Do not treat these supplements as fat burners. If you want to burn fat, go take some fat burners instead.

MusclePharm Assault is my favorite pre-workout and has given me the best results, I reccommend you try it out and let me know if you don't have one of the best workouts of your life.



data obtained via: http://tweakfit.com/




2 comments:

  1. The right nutrition is important and I feel that my supplement is helping me with that. Though there's no magic pill to getting ripped instantaneously, but supplement helps in getting an overall better result.
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    ReplyDelete