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Pre-workouts are every gym goer’s and body builder’s best friend. Everyone wants the best for themselves and hence we have come up with a list of the best natural pre workouts for all.
Many of the best natural pre-workout supplements have active ingredients as well as natural ingredients that have advantages of their own.
These supplements help in enhancing exercise performance and muscle building while also constituting a part of your dietary supplements.
1) Benefits of Pre-Workout
1.1) Helps Improve Endurance
Endurance is the ability to sustain a particular exercise for a longer period – be it cardiovascular endurance1 or muscular endurance
Most people struggle with endurance during their workouts.
Natural pre-workout helps in increasing endurance throughout the workout and helps you exercise better.
1.2) Helps Keep Your Stamina for Longer
You might have noticed that every time you pick up a set of dumbbells and carry out an exercise, the first repetition is way easier than the last one.
This is because of muscle fatigue. By the time you reach the last repetition, your muscles get tired and give up.
Including some pre-workout in your diet will help you delay the time that the muscle gets fatigued so that you can perform your exercise evenly throughout.
1.3) Helps Boost Power
Pre-workout also helps increase your power during the workout and helps keep your energy levels up.
For example, a person who has a pre-workout can sprint for a much longer distance as compared to the one who didn’t.
1.4) Can Improve Mental Performance
Having a pre-workout is said to help improve cognitive functions of the brain like focus and concentration, along with alertness and a good sense of perception.
All of this combined provides a sense of positivity, which helps you to work out even better and also motivates you as well.
1.5) Helps Attain Better Body Composition
Muscle definition and building become more acquirable and feasible once you start using pre-workout.
People who consume pre-workout are said to build muscles more effectively and efficiently.
2) Some of The Best Natural Pre Workouts
Given below is a list of a few of the natural ingredients that act as the best natural pre-workouts.
2.1) Caffeine
Caffeine is the best natural pre-workout and is also added to many supplement powders.
Caffeine is responsible for endurance enhancement and causes vasodilation2 which improves the blood flow and oxygen intake in our body and makes us feel pumped up through our workout.
It is also responsible for alertness and focus and helps in fat reduction by increasing the rate of metabolism.
Caffeine is also said to be a hunger suppressor and can help in aiding weight loss while exercising. It also helps in muscular contraction and proper activation of muscle groups which is crucial while working out.
The best source of caffeine is black coffee without sugar.
2.2) Creatinine
Creatinine comes under the broad category of amino acid and is used widely as a supplement by athletes and bodybuilders.
Creatinine helps boost energy levels and helps in muscle mass enhancement. It also helps provide energy in the form of ATP for a successful contraction of the muscles.
The formation of ATP goes through a process during which the creatinine turns into creatinine phosphate which in turn helps make ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)
Creatine helps the body perform high-endurance exercises with ease and also helps build lean muscle mass.
The body creates a small amount of creatinine naturally but meat fish and other protein-rich foods are the best sources of creatinine.
2.3) Citrulline Malate
Citrulline malate, also known as L-Citrulline, is a type of amino acid.
It is a predecessor of nitric oxide and is found naturally in our bodies as well as in many other foods like watermelons.
Watermelons are the highest source of citrulline and are not related to protein or the making of protein.
The body converts the citrulline malate into L-arginine, which is another amino acid. It is also converted into nitric oxide by the body as well.
Citrulline is well known to decrease the blood pressure in the body while working out and is also responsible for the dilation of the blood vessels and increases oxygen and blood flow.
The increased oxygen is delivered to the muscles and then helps the muscles perform better while working out and also provides energy.
2.4) Glutamine
Glutamine also belongs to the family of amino acids and is known as the basic constructing blocks of protein.
Glutamine is found in ample amounts in our body and is a type of free amino acid. It is produced abundantly in the body and is distributed amongst other parts of the body via the blood.
Glutamine is said to be a very effective natural supplement in times of stress.
When the body undergoes stress during a workout, glutamine helps keep everything in function and gives a de-stressing effect3.
It also helps in strengthening the immune system of the body and is good for the digestive system.
Glutamine acts as a very good supplement to decrease the chances of muscle wasting or atrophy in the body.
Chicken, fish, and cabbage are the richest sources of glutamine.
2.5) Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine is a natural amino acid that is non-essential.
It is used by the body to create certain other chemicals that help increase muscle function and keep muscle health in check.
Beta-alanine is widely used to enhance physical performance in many athletes and sports players. It is also used to boost performance by increasing stamina and endurance.
Foods rich in Alanine include – dairy and poultry products, eggs, and fish.
2.6) Branched Chain Amino Acids
Branched Chain Amino Acids4 or BCAA include amino acids called – Valine, isoleucine, and leucine.
These amino acids are named branch chains due to their structure, which forms branches and chains.
These amino acids are mainly used to reduce muscle fatigue and improve performance during workouts.
They are also responsible for reducing muscle breakdown during intensive workouts and help reduce inflammation and micro-tears in the muscles5. They aid muscle growth as well.
Branched-chain amino acids are obtained from foods like legumes, dairy products, and meat.
2.7) Beet Root Juice
This is not exactly a supplement but a very natural food source that has been proven beneficial in terms of a pre-workout.
Beets are rich sources of nitrate, vitamin C, flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acid.
Nitrate is converted into nitrate oxide. Nitrate oxide6 is used by the body to increase muscle function and activation along with proper contractions.
It also improves lung function helps increase oxygen levels in the blood and helps exercise efficiently.
The overall cardiorespiratory function improves on the consumption of beetroot, which is vital during workouts.
Beetroots are found in many supplement powders or can be consumed in the form of fresh juice as well.
3) When to Take the Pre Workouts?
The ideal time to consume your pre-workout is 25-30 minutes before your exercise or workout routine. This way, the body absorbs the essential elements to be utilized properly during your workout.
If you plan on consuming your pre-workout a few hours before bed, you might want to think twice. Taking pre-workouts before your sleep can disrupt your sleep cycle and keep you awake.
This is because most of the pre-workout supplements increase alertness and energy levels, which can cause restlessness and hamper your sleep.
4) Foods to Consume in Place Of Pre-Workouts
When it comes to pre-workouts, it is not just about supplements. Many food items are energy-boosting and you can consume them instead of powdered supplements.
These food items are much cheaper compared to supplement powders7 and can be found easily in the market as well.
- Boiled eggs
- Whole wheat toast with peanut butter
- Bananas
- Grapes
- Apples
- Fruit smoothies
- Yogurt
- Porridge made with almond milk
- Overnight oats protein
- Chicken with brown rice and vegetables
- Energy or granola bars
- yerba mate
- Bagel with honey as an artificial sweetener
5) Conclusion
Including any one of the best natural pre-workouts mentioned in this article and even post-workout foods can prove to be very promising while aiming to build muscles and increase your exercise performance.
However, overuse or overconsumption of anything can lead to side effects. The same is the case with all these best natural pre-workouts.
Some side effects of pre-workouts include headaches, digestive problems8, mild skin flushing, and mild tingling sensation in hands and feet, which can cause anxiety increased restlessness and increased water retention in the body.
Taking the advice of a medical professional, in case you are going through any of these side effects, is highly recommended.
- Sonchan, Wirat, Pratoom Moungmee, and Anek Sootmongkol. “The effects of a circuit training program on muscle strength, agility, anaerobic performance and cardiovascular endurance.” International Journal of Sport and Health Sciences 11.4 (2017): 176-179. ↩︎
- Joyner, Michael J., and Niki M. Dietz. “Nitric oxide and vasodilation in human limbs.” Journal of Applied Physiology 83.6 (1997): 1785-1796. ↩︎
- Banerjee, Pradipta, Alka Mehta, and C. Shanthi. “Investigation into the cyto-protective and wound healing properties of cryptic peptides from bovine Achilles tendon collagen.” Chemico-Biological Interactions 211 (2014): 1-10. ↩︎
- Neinast, Michael, Danielle Murashige, and Zoltan Arany. “Branched chain amino acids.” Annual review of physiology 81 (2019): 139-164. ↩︎
- Nakama, Leena H., et al. “Evidence of tendon microtears due to cyclical loading in an in vivo tendinopathy model.” Journal of Orthopaedic Research 23.5 (2005): 1199-1205. ↩︎
- Lundberg, Jon O., Eddie Weitzberg, and Mark T. Gladwin. “The nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway in physiology and therapeutics.” Nature reviews Drug discovery 7.2 (2008): 156-167. ↩︎
- Smith, Abbie E., et al. “The effects of a pre-workout supplement containing caffeine, creatine, and amino acids during three weeks of high-intensity exercise on aerobic and anaerobic performance.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 7 (2010): 1-11. ↩︎
- Blake, Michael S., et al. “Neither a multi-ingredient pre-workout supplement nor caffeine were effective at improving markers of blood flow or upper-body resistance exercise performance.” International Journal of Exercise Science 13.2 (2020): 167. ↩︎
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