The Ultimate Guide to Pre-Workout Supplements

Alongside the health and wellbeing benefits, regular exercise can have a big impact on your energy levels. But, what if you struggle to find that push to workout in the first place?

That’s where pre-workout powders can be a big help. These fitness supplements are a great way for you to get a pep in your step and give your body the boost it needs before your workout. In this guide, the team from Kinetica will take you through everything you need to know about pre-workout supplements; from common ingredients, to what you should look for to make sure you’re getting the best pre-workout for your needs.

What are pre-workout supplements?

Whether you’re an evening exerciser, like to fit in an early morning workout, or are even just looking for that extra boost to help you perform at your best, you’ve probably heard of pre-workout supplements.

Pre-workout drinks are a type of fitness supplement that is designed to give you a boost of energy before you exercise – helping you work harder for longer so that you can reach your exercise goals. These typically come as a pre-workout powder that you’ll need to mix with water and drink before your workout.

What is in pre-workout powder?

To give you this energy boost, pre-workout powders can contain a mixture of several nutritional ingredients, including:

• Branched-chain amino acids, or BCAAs.
• Beta-alanine.
• Additional vitamins.
• Caffeine.

These all play a role in supporting your body before and during exercise (as you’ll see below), as well as helping you maintain healthy levels of important nutrients.

When should you take pre-workout powder?

As the name (obviously) suggests, you should take a pre-workout supplement before your planned exercise session. While the specifics may vary, you should aim to take a pre-workout drink roughly 30-60 minutes before your workout to give it a chance to be absorbed by the body.

Top tip – consider stacking your pre-workout powder with a Creatine supplement to support your training goals. Creatine can help your body to regenerate ATP, which is vital for providing your muscles with energy.

Want to learn more? Check out our guide to What is Creatine and Who Should Use it?

How can taking pre-workout supplements help you?

While we’ve touched on some of the benefits of pre-workout drinks above, allow us to explain further about how taking a pre-workout supplement can support your fitness goals.

Energy boost

Firstly, pre-workout powders are designed to give you an energy boost before you exercise. This can help you train harder (especially with resistance exercises), or train for longer if you’re looking to improve your endurance. 

And the ingredient that tends to provide this energy burst? Caffeine.

You’re likely to be aware of caffeine in your daily life. This is a commonly found psychoactive stimulant; which means that rather than delivering more energy to your muscles, caffeine stimulates your brain to make you feel more alert and reduce tiredness1.

Within a pre-workout powder, caffeine can help to prepare you for your exercise session, giving you the boost you need to reach your fitness goals. Take Kinetica Sports’ PreFuel as an example.

Buy Now – Kinetica Sports PreFuel

With 95mg of caffeine per serving, our pre-workout powder can give you a burst of energy for your next exercise session.

Note: the half-life of caffeine (the length of time it takes for the body to excrete half of a dose), tends to average around five hours for healthy adults – although this varies from person to person. While this is beneficial for exercise, if you have trouble sleeping, or are sensitive to caffeine, you may wish to avoid taking a highly-caffeinated pre-workout drink in the evening or near bedtime.

Reduce onset of fatigue

When you exercise, you expend energy, which makes you tired. Alongside the feeling of tiredness however, is something you’ll likely be familiar with – DOMS.

Standing for ‘delayed onset muscle soreness’, DOMS is usually caused by the microtears and damage your muscles experience after exercise, and is the reason you tend to ache for a few days after a workout. 

Fortunately, there are some ways you may be able to alleviate this stiffness and soreness, including taking a pre-workout powder containing BCAAs. These are made up of branched-chain amino acids called leucine, isoleucine, and valine that stimulate protein synthesis and muscle repair. 

Recent studies have shown that athletes may be able to reduce the onset of DOMS and muscle damage biomarkers, and improve muscle recovery with BCAA supplementation prior to exercise2,3.

Improve performance

Pre-workout powders can help to improve your performance. As we’ve already mentioned, the energy boost from a caffeinated pre-workout drink can give you the edge you need to train harder during your session.

But, there are other ingredients at play that can support you on your exercise journey. For example, many pre-workout powders contain an amino acid called beta-alanine. 

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid, which means that our bodies naturally produce it. But, supplementing with beta-alanine can help to improve physical performance4. This is because beta-alanine increases the amount of muscular carnosine, which is a molecule that can act as a pH buffer – slowing the build-up of acid in your muscles and allowing you to exercise for longer5. 

What to look for when buying pre-workout powders

If you’re interested in adding pre-workout supplements to your exercise routine, there are a few factors you’ll need to consider before you buy to ensure you’re getting the best one for you.

Taste

For starters, you should always consider taste when you’re buying pre-workout supplements. It’s much harder to commit to taking a pre-workout drink regularly if it doesn’t taste good, so be on the lookout for ones that you’ll enjoy.

At Kinetica Sports for example, our PreFuel pre-workout powders come in three refreshing flavours. Choose from Watermelon, Citrus and Berry to find your favourite.

Shop Kinetica PreFuel Pre-Workout Powders Now!

Form

The majority of pre-workout supplements are powders that can be added to water to make a drink. This has several advantages, including:

• Convenience: it’s quick and easy to make your pre-workout drink when you want it.
• Portionable: pre-workout powders are easy to portion out when you need them.
• Refreshing: by mixing with water, our PreFuel pre-workout powders are a great way to boost your hydration.

Ingredients

Alongside the active ingredients to provide you with that all-important energy boost and muscular support, the best pre-workout powders will have ingredients that contribute to a healthy diet. For example, Kinetica Sports’ PreFuel pre-workout powder contains an assortment of additional vitamins to support your wellbeing, such as:

• Thiamine Mononitrate, or B1.
• Pantothenic Acid, or B5.
• Pyridoxine, or B6.
• Biotin, or B7.
• Cyanocobalamin, or B12.
• Tocopherol Acetate, or vitamin E.

B-vitamins have the added benefit of being involved in managing mental and physical fatigue6, which makes them the perfect addition to the best pre-workout powders, such as those you’ll find at Kinetica Sports.

Kinetica Sports: You Know Why, We Know How

From professional athletes, to weekend warriors hitting the gym after work, your fitness goals are your own – but let Kinetica Sports help you achieve them. We have a superb range of supplements to provide you with the extra boost you need to reach the next step in your fitness journey; from pre-workout powders, to Protein Supplements, to Health and Wellbeing Supplements, and much more.

Plus, we know how important safety and consistency is within the sports industry. That’s why all of our pre-workout powders (and more within the range) are rigorously tested to comply with WADA regulations under Informed Sport standards.

Interested in learning more? Check out the Kinetica Sports blog to find useful resources, buying guides, and fun recipes to make the most of your sports supplements.