The Best Pre-Workout for Pump: Meals and Supplements

Preparing for a workout includes adequate nutrient replenishment.  Not only is it important to have a quality last pre-workout meal, but it is imperative to eat in a right way for at least the previous 24 hours and longer before the workout as well as take the right supplements.

The pre-workout ritual can make the whole process or destroy it completely, so it is important to do it well. Here are the best pre-workout for pump practices and tips for you:

Pre-Workout Meal

The pre-workout meal may be both liquid and solid. Your nutrient intake should be included 60-120 minutes before training. However, there is plenty of room for manoeuvre depending on what suits you, so your personal preferences may not fall within this range.

If you work out early in the morning, do not underestimate the nutrition at bedtime the previous day.  Likewise, do not be afraid to add a smaller second dinner just before bedtime. It may consist, for example, of a dairy product or a micellar casein supplemented with complex carbohydrates.

Many people have questions concerning a meal before their workout in the early morning hours. This very much depends on the goal of the workout. If your main goal is not purely lean muscle mass and you tolerate training on an empty stomach, nothing terrible will happen. All the more, however, focus on quality post-workout nutrition that changes the metabolic switch from catabolism to anabolism.

Pre-Workout Supplements

Today’s sports nutrition is not just about food. Food supplements also play an important role. Dietary supplements used before exercise are one way to support your efforts. These substances can directly build on your performance and influence what you do in the gym and what outcome your endeavour will have. So, what should you supplement before your performance based on your goal?

Dietary supplements have become almost an integral part of today’s sports nutrition at both fitness and professional levels. No wonder they are effective helpers in accelerating your performance and focus on a specific goal. However, there are instances of some dietary supplements having harmful effects. An example can be found in the case of the Jack3d lawsuit, where it was found that the supplement was associated with both elevated blood pressure and sudden cardiac death. With this in mind, it is clear that taking dietary supplements requires meticulous research.

When considering taking supplements, it is important to remember that there are two crucial phases:

  • A pre-workout; and
  • A post-workout one.

The following supplements are used in the pre-workout phase to make you deliver the best results during the training:

Whey Protein

  • It is often used as a source of protein in a pre-workout meal as the most important nutrient.
  • The ideal dose to support anabolic processes is 0.25-0.4 g / kg body weight or 20-40 g in absolute numbers.

BCAA

  • BCAA stands for branched-chain amino acids, namely valine, leucine and isoleucine.
  • These are three essential amino acids which hold a crucial role among the pre-workout supplements.
  • They serve both as a source of energy and help those who seek to lose weight.
  • In addition, they can be used in long-term workouts where they can reduce the perception of feeling fatigue.

Gainer

  • A classic blend of carbohydrates and proteins that is often used after training.
  • However, it can theoretically prove its service even before training as a substitute for solid food.
  • Although, beware of the type of carbohydrates contained (especially the simple ones).
  • A sudden fall in blood glucose (blood sugar) after carbohydrate intake prior to training can cause somnolence, drowsiness and fatigue, in which state you will definitely not want to go to exercise.
  • Therefore, focus more on products containing complex carbohydrates (cereal flour or starches).

Creatine

  • Often dosed before training.
  • However, be aware that intake of creatine before training will have no effect on your performance during the training that is just waiting for you.
  • For creatine to work, it has to be taken for a long time and most studies agree that creatine gets into the muscles a little better with protein and carbohydrate intake after training.

Kickstart

  • A kickstart is a mixture of diverse pre-training products.
  • It contains many substances with various proven effects.
  • The best thing is to choose a kickstart that contains citrulline and beta-alanine.
  • Citrulline improves your endurance during workout by reducing fatigue.
  • Beta-alanine has similar effects as far as the muscle endurance is concerned.
    • It increases the circulation of the blood during exercise while lowering the blood pression.
    • The overall health of the human heart is strengthened by beta-alanine.

Fat Burners

  • Caffeine is the most useful and beneficial among the easily accessible fat burners.
  • It not only has an effect on fat burns, but a study has recently shown that caffeine also improved workout performance and increases strength.
  • Caffeine is therefore suitable for both diet and volume.
  • As far as fat a combination of fat burners is concerned, caffeine combines well with synephrine or ephedrine.
  • Synephrine is an alkaloid, used for treatment of various diseases such as hay fever and asthma.
  • According to this article from WestWord, as a supplement, Caffeine speeds up the metabolism and helps with focus and concentration. It also helps burn fat while having a positive effect on both blood circulation and digestion.
  • Ephedrine is extracted from the herb called Ephedra and it is known for increasing the volume of fat for burning.
  • There are other fat burners, especially those of natural character, with more information found here.

How to use Supplements for Muscle Mass Growth

If you want maximum muscle mass growth, the main “onslaught” of your nutrition functionality is driven by higher energy intake, which is important for building new mass. This is also associated with strength training, which must be engaged 4-5 times a week. Before this strength training, it is more than convenient to set up your supplementation correctly.

If your goal is to build muscle mass, include a whey protein source or free amino acid (e.g. BCAA) or add easily digestible carbohydrates before training according to your personal tolerance. According to studies, just 20 g of whey protein is enough to stimulate anabolism before training.

A classic recommendation is 1 scoop of whey protein (20-40 g) which can be substituted with up to 10 g of BCAA. Then, the following supplements should be taken as well: arginine (3g), beta-alanine (2 g), creatine (3 g), glucose (10 g) and maltodextrin (10 g).

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