If you regularly read our articles and reviews, then you will know that we are big proponents of stimulant-free pre-workout supplements. But nowadays, it's a huge trend to judge the functionality of these supplements by how effectively they can wake you up and "kick you up a notch," or how much it makes your ears burn.
Our article today is therefore dedicated to pre-workout supplementswithout stimulants and we will try to introduce you to everything you need to know about this issue.
What do stimulants actually bother about?
Although many articles try to create the illusion that the issue is a one-size-fits-all one, this is rarely the case. And stimulants prove the rule in this case, because they too have both positive and negative effects. We won't be too concerned with the positive ones in this article, as it would be long and rambling.
Of course, it is worth mentioning, for example, the improvement of concentration for training, delaying fatigue and all aspects related to thoserelated - for example, better muscle sensation caused by proper concentration. But let's imagine the negatives of these substances, because they are not talked about much.
1.
Although it sounds paradoxical, stimulants really act vasoconstrictively, i.e. they restrict blood flow to the working muscle. The whole situation can easily be illustrated with caffeine, which is certainly very familiar to all of us. Caffeine affects the function of the adrenal glands, which, as a consequence of its consumption, begin to respond to stress with increased adrenaline production. And it is adrenaline that is responsible for the vasoconstriction of alpha receptors.
2. It is the adrenaline that is responsible for the limited duration of action
It's important to note that the effects of stimulants are limited in time and usually don't last for the entire workout. After some time, the stimulants wear off and a decay phase occurs, during which you in turn have a significant energy deficit. A great example of this would be American pre-workouts containing DMAAafter which the decay is so pronounced that you're in the mood to sleep after the workout.
3. They are addictive
Let's pour ourselves some pure wine on purpose, how many of us couldn't get up in the morning without our morning coffee. Stimulants are also a problem in terms of long-term use, because they become addictive, but their effect weakens considerably afterwards. The body develops a resistance to them and their effect becomes less and less.
4. In higher doses they are counterproductive
It is a well-known fact that the effective dose of citrulline is around 6-7 grams. But your pre-workout with stimulants contains only 3.5g. What to do about it? You probably double the dosage. But if you do that, you can take 400mg of caffeine in some supplements, which is already a lot. And what happens? Instead of kicking in, this alkaloid will have a depressant effect, making you feel irritable, restless and without energy.
5. It destroys the quality of sleep
As we mentioned in our article on maximizing recovery, sleep plays an unmistakable role in an athlete's performance. But unfortunately, high stimulant intake compromises sleep quality. And this effect doesn't just occur when taken in the evening, although this is obviously the strongest. If you exercise in the evening, forget about stimulants.
TIP: How to choose the right gym shoes?
For whom are stimulant-free pre-workouts suitable?
As you can probably see from the above paragraphs, based on our own experience, we definitely recommend taking stimulant-free pre-workouts for somethingto every athlete who wants to give a solid and, most importantly, maximum performance in training, even if he/she loses the pleasant stimulating energization during training.
1. If you train in the evening
Pre-workouts without stimulants are especially suitable for exercising in the evening. This is because they do not affect the quality of sleep and you can easily fall asleep after them. And it is, after all, sleep that plays a key role in proper recovery. As a result of better quality sleep, the following workouts are better.
2. If you are looking for a long-term improvement in muscle mass gain
Stimulant-free supplements offer maximum blood flow that is not limited by the presence of caffeine, taurine or other ingredients. However, they are also very suitable for optimizing anabolic hormones in the body, hence they are the best possible choice in terms of long-term use.
3. If you want to get rid of your addiction to stimulants
Of course, addiction to stimulants can arise as easily as to anything else. It is certainly not necessary to give up your morning coffee, however, in large quantities they are not so suitable.
Which stimulant-free pre-workouts do we recommend choosing?
As is already the case, there are dozens of different pre-workouts available on the market from a variety of brands, and it can be very challenging to get a handle on the subject. That's why we would like to recommend at least some stimulant-free pre-workouts that we have tried ourselves and would put our hands up for:
1. Serious Pre by Prom-IN
While we're sometimes accused of recommending supplements from Prom-In, the truth is that you absolutely won't find anything better in terms of value for money. Serious Pre combines the key ingredients you need as an athlete. In addition, the entire blend works synergistically, so the effect is truly maximum. It is completely free of stimulants, but you will find in it, for example, beta alanine, which causes a pleasant burning in the ears. We were completely satisfied with the effect of this supplement, which we also discussed in separate reviewwhich we recommend you take a look at.
2. M3/s Pump by Czech Virus
Right away 10 active ingredients that serve to promote blood flow, veining and optimal production of anabolic hormones. Glycerol is definitely worth highlighting, which is not very common in competitive supplements, but really positively affects the dilation of blood vessels and maximizes vascularity. Its effect is really extreme in combination with Beast Virus, which has become one of the best pre-workouts. However, it contains stimulants and therefore its use for our purposes is no longer quite the best. As with Serious Pre, you can read full review.
3. Blood Storm by Big Zone
Big Zone is one of the few brands that has been experiencing a huge boom lately. We recently tested Blood Storm, which we dare to call another very suitable stimulant-free supplement. It's worth mentioning the 10g of citrulline content in one hardcore dose, which is absolutely unprecedented and guarantees an unbeatable pump up throughout your workout. The downside, on the other hand, is the absence of beta alanine and therefore the tingling sensation that most of you are probably used to.
Proper training should not depend on stimulants
While stimulants are an integral part of a pre-workout supplement for most of you, they certainly shouldn't determine the quality of your workout. Adam Raw, for example, has a very sensible take on this issue, and as a successful athlete he has a great deal of insight. So you can watch about a one minute segment at the beginning of this video where he talks about the issue:
Most gym goers tend to judge the quality of a supplement by its stimulatory effects, which is obviously wrong. It's a bad idea, but it's a bad idea that supplementation is a bad idea.that will allow you to complete a far better workout than a gram of caffeine or other stimulant.
And use pre-workout supplements primarily to maximize blood flow and for long-term stable hormone production. That is their original purpose.
Well, that's it for this article. If you have any questions, be sure to ask in the comments, we're always happy to answer.
More articles like this:
Why can you trust us?
Hey! Hey! I'm Mirek and I've been working at World Fitness almost since the beginning, except for a small break. But before that I lived only in the gym for a few years, doing deadlifts and power triathlon, going to competitions and winning a few medals.
Probably the one I value the most is the national record in the WUAP federation. But besides working out, I was also interested in food and supplements, I liked to enjoy my free timeI used to read different researches and professional books in my free time to know as much as possible.