Although it is well-known that players take pre-workout supplements, many of them, fearful due to the steroid age, decide not to speak up about their supplement use.
However, as athletes are expected to perform at high levels day in and day out, they are constantly looking for ways to increase their performance and athletic abilities.
Pre-workout products are some of the most aggressively marketed supplements and typically contain caffeine, creatine, and other proposed ergogenic ingredients.
Pre-workout supplements are one such way that athletes can increase their athletic performance with little to no side effects on their overall game or health.
In some leagues, particularly the NBA, many players are outspoken proponents of pre-workouts and their use in the league. In fact, LeBron James, one of the most prolific and talented basketball players to play the game, started his own line of pre-workout supplements.
Although athletes might benefit greatly from pre-workouts, they are sometimes ignorant of this because they are not the target of supplement advertising campaigns.
A pre-workout can be exactly what they need if seeking a means to persevere and destroy their opponents.
In this article, we’ll cover all the essential information you need to know and common inquiries about pre-workout supplements for athletes, and everything in between.
What Is a Pre-workout? (In-Short)
A pre-workout is a supplement taken before a workout/game to improve performance.
Most pre-workouts come in a powdered form – similar to protein powder. The goal of these supplements is to help increase energy, improve stamina and build muscle.
Pre-workouts include a special blend of ingredients unique to each brand.
It is wise to evaluate the ingredient list as athletes, particularly collegiate and professional, are responsible for what they put in their bodies. Also, the marketing around pre-workout supplements is prone to unsubstantiated claims.
Pre-workouts have, in recent years, grown in popularity. Due to their touted benefits, the pre-workout market is expected to grow to a whopping $13.98 billion in 2020.
Pre-workout supplements, or simply pre-workouts, are a multi-ingredient dietary formula designed to boost both energy and athletic performance.
Pre-workout supplements are typically powdered substances that are mixed in with water or a smoothie and drunk before the start of an exercise.
Although there are a plethora of pre-workout supplements available on the market, there is little consistency in the formulas from one brand to the next. However, many pre-workout supplements contain a blend of amino acids, B vitamins, caffeine, creatine, and artificial sweeteners.
NSF Certification
As the market for pre-workouts continues to grow, a number of illicit and low-quality pre-workout brands have emerged.
To protect themselves and their health from these pre-workout brands, athletes always choose pre-workout supplements which have reputable sources and have been certified by the NSF.
While no pre-workout supplement has been certified by the FDA, many have been certified by the NSF.
The NSF is an independent organization that ensures strict quality control and verifies that the company you are purchasing from complies with the standards and procedures imposed by the NSF.
An NSF certification is not a one-time occurrence, either. Multiple on-site inspections of manufacturing facilities and ongoing product testing are required for NSF certifications to verify that the products continue to meet the strict requirements necessary to keep the certification.
When you are looking to purchase a pre-workout supplement, we highly encourage and recommend always opting for one that is NSF certified. If a pre-workout supplement is NSF certified, it will be marked as “NSF Certified” or “NSF Listed.”
Do Athletes in Most Popular Sports Take Pre Workouts?
We’ll begin with basketball, which I already covered in this article.
Naturally, taking a pre-workout before playing basketball boosts a player’s performance with a boost of caffeine and other potent chemicals.
If players find themselves feeling lethargic and exhausted before their basketball game, they should grab a pre-workout, as the advantages can be impressive.
As we mentioned, before every workout or game, LeBron James uses Ladder Pre-workout, which provides a premium energy boost from natural green tea leaves, beta-alanine, and l-theanine.
The combination helps him feel less fatigued, maximizes the natural production of energy, boosts endurance, enhances focus, and increases his strength without any crashes or jitters.
On to soccer. The increased focus means players keep awareness up during a game. And awareness is important for understanding soccer and making the right decisions during a game.
Soccer players use pre-workouts to increase focus to make accurate passes or shots. If they’re a defender, they can better focus on positioning and timing their tackles. It can also help goalkeepers concentrate on the ball and where shots might be coming from.
Pre-workout supplements have even been endorsed by FIFA, as they have gone on to provide some guidelines in what they call Nutrition for football (soccer).
According to FIFA, the use of supplements is “widespread” in the sport, but players should manage their expectations in terms of what they can do for their bodies or performance.
Many American football players (54.3%) report using nutritional supplements; 82.8% of the supplements were protein powder, 51.3% creatine, and 42.3% were pre-workout supplements. Despite widespread use, 34% of players did not know the role of creatine, and 67% did not know the function of caffeine in the body.
Tennis, like any professional sport, features intense competition between the best players. Notable athletes, such as Williams, Osaka, Djokovic, and Nadal, compete against one another to dominate the court and the rankings.
Naturally, this domination involves a great deal of skill, dedication, and focus, but it also necessitates that players keep their bodies in top shape so they may perform
This is where pre-workout comes in.
Although there’s plenty about tennis that’s unique in the sports world, the nutritional needs of those who play the game are essentially identical to those of other athletes.
That’s because virtually every type of sport involves placing similar kinds of strain on the body – muscle damage, energy depletion, loss of fluids and electrolytes – so the requirements to counteract those stressors are essentially the same.
Baseball players especially like to use P4 Sport pre-workout before intense workouts or training as well as before games.
The pre-game formula is an intense pre-workout supplement that gets athletes pumped and energized for an intense workout or highly competitive game. It promotes focus, energy, and muscle performance needed to have a serious workout and supports elite athletic performance.
What About Endurance Athletes?
Without a doubt, pre-workout is less well-liked among endurance athletes than among power athletes.
Surprisingly, there hasn’t been much pre-workout study done on endurance athletes, and the few studies that have been done have had mixed outcomes.
Because more research is required, 16 endurance kayakers with high levels of fitness (VO2max = 67.1 ml/kg/min) participated in a recent study conducted by scientists from Kingston University in Surrey and the University of Tasmania in Australia.
The first exercise consisted of three work intervals performed on a kayak ergometer and lasted 90, 150, and 300 seconds for each of the 16 participants.
The athletes recovered fully (heart rate returned to resting level) between intervals and completed each interval at the maximum possible intensity, according to the study “The Effects of Pre-Workout Supplementation on High-Intensity Exercise Performance in Elite Performers,” published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 78, pp. 236-240, in 1998.
After that, the participants were randomly allocated to a “pre-workout group” or a placebo group. Athletes in the pre-workout group consumed four five-gram doses of pre-workout every day for five days, while those in the placebo group consumed four five-gram doses of glucose every day.
The three-interval, max-intensity workout was performed five days later by both the pre-workout and glucose athletes.
After that, the volunteers underwent a four-week “washout phase,” during which they did not consume any pre-workout or glucose supplements.
According to research, four weeks are sufficient to return an elevated muscle creatine-phosphate concentration to “normal.”
All subjects again engaged in the three-interval workout after the four-week washout period.
The former pre-workout athletes took the glucose placebo after this re-test, while the former placebo subjects consumed pre-workout for five days (this is known as a “crossover” design). The athletes tried the three-interval session one last time after five days.
Are Pre-Workout Supplements Safe?
Overall, pre-workout supplements are generally safe for consumption. However, it is always important to examine and research the ingredient list of any pre-workout supplement to ensure the ingredients used are legal for your particular use case and do not contain excessive amounts of any one ingredient.
Similarly, as mentioned above, you should also ensure that any pre-workout supplement you purchase is certified by the NSF.
Doing so will not only ensure strict quality controls but will also ensure that any pre-workout supplement you purchase has been reviewed by an independent third party.
Although pre-workout supplements are generally safe, they aren’t without some risk.
Before beginning a regimen with a pre-workout supplement, it is best to speak with your doctor or a healthcare professional.
Some downsides to pre-workout supplements include not only an excess intake of caffeine but also the addition of artificial sugars and sweeteners.
