Whats the Buzz: 3 things your pre workout should have

In conjuntion with the top 3 things your pre workout doesn't need we've compiled a simple list of the top 3 things your pre workout NEEDS. Just by glancing at the back of a pre workout lable we notice a glob of products, all claimed as necessary for "stronger, bigger, and more full muscles." Balogne, most of those products are what "we in the business" like to call pixie dusting [when a company adds copious amounts of ingredients in very small quantaties to make the product seem of higher quality.] The reality of it all is that due to the allowance of proprietary blends we have no idea the quantatie of products or sometimes no idea what products are included at all! That's why when you walk into a supplement shop or your buying online forget all the flashy advertising and the billybob03 review of 5 stars and look at the label. If the product has these 3 ingredients with at least or around the quantaties, you may have found yourself something worth its weight.

Amino Acid blend 4:1:1 ratio-
This is a blend of the Branched Chain Amino Acids [BCAA's] Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. You'll see many people spouting off that 2:1:1 ratio is just fine. I wont contest that.

The authors of this trial examined the effect of branched-chain amino acid supplementation on squat-exercise-induced delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) using 12 young, healthy, untrained female participants. In the morning on the exercise-session day, the participants ingested either BCAA or dextrin at 100 mg/kg body weight before the squat exercise, which consisted of 7 sets of 20 squats/set with 3-min intervals between sets. DOMS showed a peak on Days 2 and 3 in both trials, but the level of soreness was significantly lower in the BCAA trial than in the placebo. Our results suggest that muscle damage may be suppressed by BCAA supplementation.

However, according to other clinical trials the amount of leucine necessary for seen results is a bare minimum of 3-10 gr. That being said a 4:1:1 ratio will give you the 3 min gr of leucine necessary. If your pre workout doesn't contain more than 3 gr of leucine then see that it at least abides by the 2:1:1 ratio. Studies have shown that consuming as few as 2 gr of BCAA's can show positive results, especially in the 2:1:1 ratio.

Glucose/dextrose/sugary/ Carbohydrates-

Before all of the weight watching calorie cutting gym rats out there get mad about taking in carbs listen up. Consuming a carbohydrate that can boost insulin levels in your pre workout has been shown to have these benefits.

1. increased vasodialation
2. faster absorption of nutrients
3. improved blood glucose levels intra workout
4. improved strength intra workout
5. increased protein synthesis intra & post workout
6. decrease in DOMS and increase in muscle recovery

Those are 6 obvious reasons to consume a high glycemic carb before you begin working out. Obviously you need to be taking this at least 30 min before working out. However because of the lack of "body builders" desiring "fattening" carbs in their pre workout many companies do not add any. My suggestion is either buy a waxy maize, karbolyn, or gatorade and add 15-30 gr of carbs.

Antioxidants-

How many preworkouts include antioxidants in their preworkouts? Barely any, a pre workout usually does not try and add benefits for the long run. It's main goal is to make you into a weight moving machine during your workout and leave you drained afterwards. Antioxidants are a key product in reducing the damage done by free radicals [crazy bouncing oxygen molecules left from ATP resynthesization in the cell]. Antioxidants have also been shown to reduce Cortisol levels [Cortisol being the hormone that is told to break down muscle for fuel]. My favorite antioxidant to consume is Vitamin C. WHY? because its everywhere and so cheap! My Preworkout contains 1 gr of vitamin C along with other antioxidants such as Vitamin E and selenium. This will speed recovery, decrease inflammation, and improve overall health.

Conclusion:

In the end I honestly feel like making my own pre workout [which i have done before] with individual dosages and servings. However, the convenient and surprisingly cheaper route is to find a company that makes a product that will prime your body and help you HONOR YOUR TEMPLE.