Pre-workouts can push you to get a better workout which is why they have their place. When it comes to pre-workouts, it's not very complicated.
Pre-workout is something you take 15-30 minutes before a workout to get an energy boost to push yourself to have a more intense workout.
That's also the primary reason why pre-workouts will help you build muscle and strength: you will push yourself harder in the gym, which then of course translates into better results.
Pre-workout isn't a magic pill. The things that affect your results the most are your diet, your motivation to go to the gym (consistency), your sleep (energy!) and overall health.
Pre-workouts allow you to get a quick energy boost, but what you eat in the morning or a couple of hours before the workout, also dramatically affect your energy levels in the gym.
There are thousands of different pre-workout products and many of them do work, but they aren't always necessary. You can get a super effective pre-workout without any complex ingredients and you don't even have to pay much for it.
Below are the two pre-workouts that actually work and will help.
1. Fruits
Eating fruits for a pre-workout is great because going to the gym hungry while your blood sugar levels are down, won't help you push to your full potential.
Fruits are satiating and ensure you won't get hungry. They are also full of fructose, simple carbohydrates, which will boost your blood sugar level almost immediately.
Your blood sugar is one of the biggest factors determining your energy levels inside and outside the gym!
You could eat a candy bar or something else for a pre-workout, but fruits are just the healthier option because they offer a more stable energy source and contain many good vitamins.
2. Coffee
Caffeine is a serious stimulant and one of the best pre-workouts there is. Most commercial pre-workout products are actually full of caffeine.
Coffee is inexpensive, tastes great and full of naturally found caffeine, which makes it one of the best pre-workouts out there.
Just 1-2 cups of coffee 30 minutes before a workout is enough to rise your energy levels and allow you to get the best workout you can.
Did you know that there are many different forms of coffee?
Most people don't actually know that coffee comes in many different tastes and forms.
If you drink lots of coffee, I highly recommend to try different coffees to see which one you like the most. After finding the best coffee, it's just hard to go back to the average coffee you get in most places.
The origin country of the coffee beans makes a drastic difference in the taste and the quality of the coffee. Coffee beans mainly come from these 3 different continents:
- South-America
- Asia
- Africa
All of these beans from different continents can have very different flavors. Maybe it's the soil, the climate or the coffee family, but they taste and feel completely different.
The problem with generic coffees is that they are almost always blends.
Most of the coffee you get from local stores are 99% likely blends. This means that they are mixtures of different coffee beans from all over the world, and not pure original coffee from one continent. Somehow the pure original always tastes better.
If you want the pure original coffee from one continent, then you likely need to order it from internet or find a special coffee store from your city.
YIRGACHEFFE is the best tasting coffee I've tasted. It's special YIRGACHEFFE coffee that is purely from Ethiopia. I highly recommend it.
Black coffee is very strong if that's what you like. It's from Sumatra (Asia) and has a very intense flavor to it.
In conclusion, drink 1-2 cups of coffee 30 minutes before a workout and eat fruits like bananas, oranges or apples for a complete pre-workout.
Train hard, stay safe.