Saturday, June 8, 2013

How Necessary Are Pre Workout Supplements?

By Howe Russ


Pre-workout supplements are the new cool thing in the fitness industry. Every time you go to the gym you will hear trainers and exercisers discussing why they were never able to figure out how to build muscle until they discovered the latest, greatest product they are currently using. Today, however, we are going to delve into this topic and ask if you actually 'need' one of these to build a bigger, better body.

If muscle building magazines are to be believed, then it's hard to get any results in the gym unless you are packing the latest in pre-workout stimulants. Of course, this is more marketing hype than actual fact.

The basic principles of getting bigger have remained largely unchanged over the last twenty five years.

With pre-workout supplements costing an average of 30 for a month's supply, getting hooked on finding the next big thing can turn into a very expensive bad habit. It's a craze which has really taken off in the last two years in gyms around the world yet, despite the huge financial outlay involved, most people complain at a lack of physical results.

The first step to understanding a particular supplement is to look at the main job it has.

When it comes to pre-workout supplements you have one very simple task at hand. They are created to increase your energy before a gym session, that's it.

With every product claiming to be the best, what do you need to look for to find out the truth?

In order to stop yourself getting sucked in by the hype of every 'next big thing' to hit the supplement market you simply need to learn the basic ingredients and you'll know what to look for the next time you see a product making bold statements about it's capabilities.

Pre-workout supplements usually contain a big serving of N.O. boosters or caffeine, designed to ramp up your energy levels immediately before you hit the gym. The products often claim that they will increase your ability to experience muscular hypertrophy but in reality they do this indirectly. By increasing your energy, they are hoping you will be able to lift heavier weights or train with more intensity than usual, therefore increasing hypertrophy as a result. You're still doing the work, it is not a miracle pill.

One reason there is so much hype surrounding this type of supplement is that the market can become a little bit 'hit and miss' for most gym users. What works for one individual won't necessarily work for another, because you probably have your own tolerance level to most of the ingredients in them, like caffeine, through your daily diet. This is often why people switch between different products every month in a bid to find one which continuously works for them.

Our body adapts, of course, so you generally have to change pre-workout supplement every three months otherwise you will notice it has less impact each time you take it. Since the discovery of creatine monohydrate products in the late 1980's, the bodybuilding industry has been set on finding the next big breakthrough. Pre-workout supplements are not 100% necessary in order to get results. If you want to know how to build muscle, you can certainly do it without taking one of these before you hit the gym.




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