- The global pre-workout supplements market is expected to reach $26.8 billion by 2030.
- Three personal trainers told Business Insider why they stopped using supplements.
- Giving yourself too much energy can lead to overtraining, they said.
If you work out regularly, you know that some days feel harder than others. You feel tired and unmotivated, weaker and less energetic than usual.
To help overcome these feelings, more and more people are turning to pre-workout supplements (commonly known as “pre-workouts”). The global pre-workout supplement market is expected to grow from $3.15 billion in 2021 to $26.8 billion by 2030, according to market research firm SkyQuest.
However, artificially energizing yourself is not always the answer.
That’s the conclusion drawn by three personal trainers interviewed by Business Insider.
For celebrity trainer Luke Worthington, the impetus was the realization that sometimes you need to relax before a workout, rather than pushing your body too hard. For former bodybuilder Hayley Madigan, it was a huge downfall when her supplements stopped working. And for physique coach and bodybuilder Cliff Wilson, that meant cutting back on caffeine.
Pre-workout supplements contain caffeine
Pre-workouts typically come in powder form dissolved in water, as well as tablets and liquid forms.
Designed to improve performance during exercise, it typically contains caffeine, as well as beta-alanine (a non-essential amino acid designed to limit muscle fatigue) and BCAA (branched-chain amino acids, which reduce muscle breakdown). included). muscle protein), vitamin B (also increases energy).
“There’s a lot of evidence showing the effectiveness of caffeine as a performance enhancer, so these supplements can be ‘worked’ and make you work harder during your workouts if you take them than if you didn’t.” ,” said Mr. Worthington, who is based in London.
You may not listen to your body before training
But that fatigue is a signal that might be worth listening to.
When Worthington was younger, he always pushed himself to train as hard as possible, but now he understands that training consistently is even more important to avoid injury and stay healthy. doing.
“Now, if I don’t feel ‘in the mood’ for a particular workout, I focus on technique and skill and work at a lower intensity, rather than ingesting caffeine,” says Worthington. said.
Wilson, who is based in Chicago, agrees.
“You can overtrain and not even realize it,” he told BI. “A lot of times people wake up and feel terrible because they hit the ground, but then they do a high-dose pre-workout with a lot of stimulants and suddenly they feel better and they live forever. Train hard. It’s your body’s natural signal.”
A crash occurs after a surge in energy
Madigan, a UK-based women’s fitness specialist, trains in the morning, when she’s naturally more alert, and uses her morning coffee as a pre-workout alternative.
Caffeine content varies depending on pre-workout, but an average serving can contain 300 milligrams of caffeine, and a cappuccino can contain about 66 milligrams. There is a gender.
“After the pre-workout effects wore off, I found myself crashing and tended to feel even more fatigued,” she said.
For some people, consuming too much caffeine can cause anxiety, tremors, and changes in heart rate.
Wilson says caffeine definitely has a role and can be beneficial before a workout, but if you’re drinking it before a workout instead of just drinking coffee, make sure you’re consuming a “moderate amount” of caffeine. He said he was there. He believes it is in the range of 200 to 300 milligrams, rather than more than 400 milligrams.
“I wouldn’t take supplements that give me too much caffeine before a workout,” he says.
