Pre-Workout Supplement Consumption Mistakes That You Should Avoid

Finding the right supplements that work for you during a workout is just one part of the equation when it comes to your health. The other part is knowing how and when to use your supplements in order to gain the maximum benefits. Pre-workout supplements are some of the most popular supplements for those who need extra power in the gym, and some people even regard them as essential for serious training.

The irony is that even though pre-workout supplements are both effective and easy to use, far too many people still manage to get things wrong. These mistakes don’t only waste the effectiveness of your pre-workout supplement, but they can even cause harm to your body. Here are three of the most common pre-workout consumption mistakes you need to avoid.

Buying the Wrong Pre-Workout Supplement

Before using pre-workout supplements, it’s important to check that the one you plan to buy contains these three essential ingredients: caffeine, beta-alanine, and creatine monohydrate. These ingredients work in concert to improve your focus, explosive muscular strength, and endurance. Any pre-workout supplement that lacks these ingredients isn’t worth the money, as you’ll be significantly limiting your strength gains.

Wrong Timing

Like many supplements, the active ingredients in your pre-workout supplements need time to reach peak levels in your blood. If you only take yours after you’ve arrived at the gym, you’ll be well into your third exercise by the time the full effects of your supplement are triggered, which means that the previous exercises didn’t benefit from them. Consume your pre-workout supplement 30 to 60 minutes before your training session for maximum effect.

Consuming Pre-Workout Supplements On an Empty Stomach

Consuming pre-workout supplements on an empty stomach will significantly increase the chances of side effects such as jitteriness, increased water retention, upset stomach, headaches, and mild allergic reactions. Working out on an empty stomach may also adversely affect the quality of your exercises, and may cause you to overeat after. Consume a light meal 30 to 60 minutes before consuming pre-workout supplements.

Overeating

If you overeat, your body will likely still be digesting the food during your workout. Coupled with the tension your body experiences during heavy exercise, this could cause you to vomit during a workout.

Skipping a Thorough Warm-Up

It’s understandable that most people would want to start pushing their limits as soon as their supplement kicks in, but the problem here is that this greatly increases your risk of sustaining an injury. Always remember that warm-ups are crucial to prevent injuries. A five minute warm-up is far better than a five month injury. Always make sure that your form and breathing are perfect during your warm-up sets before you begin to add weights.

Pre-workout supplements are a quick and easy way to improve your gym performance and break performance plateaus, but it’s important to remember that they’re only effective when they are used as suggested. Improper use will not only diminish their potential use, but will also cost you more money in the long run.