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Is Pre Workout Worth It? Here's Everything You Need To Know

9th March 2023

9th March 2023

By Beth Shelper

Recently started working out? Think you might benefit from a little bit of an energy boost before a workout? Want to perform to the best of your ability? You’ve probably been told about pre workout. But what is pre workout, how does it help, and how does it work?

What is pre workout?

Putting it simply, pre-workout is essentially a supplementation that you take around thirty minutes to one hour before a workout, that is formulated to both increase your energy and enhance your performance.

People take pre workout for a range of reasons including those above, and the best thing about this supplementation is that you don’t just experience the benefits before and during your workout, but after the workout, too. 

From assisting in the muscle repair cycle to easing the fatigue of a particularly intense gym session, pre workout is a great addition to your workout routine… and the way it works is pretty clever. You’re definitely going to want to hear this.

How does pre workout work?

Bit of a tongue twister that one.

Pre workout supplementations such as The Energy Booster work by simply boosting energy production in the body. Pre workout supplementations contain a range of active ingredients to help you make the most of your workout, with some of the main ones including Branched Chain Amino Acids and Beta Alanine.

Branched chain amino acids

If you’ve been here before, you’ve probably heard us talk about branched chain amino acids . Branched Chain Amino Acids, or BCAAs, are included in pre workout supplementations due to their vital role in the control of protein and it’s use in the body.

BCAAs work by increasing protein production and ensuring that the minimum amount of protein is broken down during a workout, with the aim of building muscle and minimising muscle damage. Pretty neat. 

Beta alanine

Another common ingredient in pre workout supplementations is Beta Alanine. Included with the aim of helping you make the most of your workout by boosting your endurance and maximising your stamina, beta alanine works to reduce feelings of fatigue and helps you smash your personal bests.

The health benefits of pre workout supplements

Extra energy for your workout sounds great, right? But what else can you get from a pre workout supplementation?

We’re glad you asked.

Pre workouts pack a punch when it comes to health benefits. From increasing your stamina to enhancing your muscle power, here are some health benefits of pre workout supplements that we love:

How long does pre workout take to kick in?

How long it takes for you to feel the effects of pre workout will all depend on the product you select and the ingredients it contains, as well as external factors such as your body type and how much you've eaten that day. As a rough figure, it should take between 15 and 30 minutes for you to start feeling the effects of a pre workout, but the best thing to do is try some and see what works for you.

What is the best pre workout?

Unlike other pre workout supplementations on the market, The Energy Booster doesn’t prioritise caffeine as it’s main ingredient. Created to ensure you’re maximising your workout, The Energy Booster aims to improve your speed, power, strength and endurance.

Whilst its true that caffeine is a great natural energy booster, too much caffeine can be problematic, leading to side effects such as anxiety, headaches and nausea when consumed in too large of quantities.

Instead, The Energy Booster includes added branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) to ensure that you get that all-important energy boost that pre workout supplementations are famed for. Not only that, The Energy Booster has been formulated by leading nutritionists so that you can be sure that you’re not only making the most of your workout, but making healthy choices for your mind, body and soul.

But don’t just take our word for it. The Energy Booster has won an award or too, which we couldn’t not mention. Awarded best pre-workout in the Men’s Health Sports Nutrition Awards, when looking for the best pre workout, this one is your winner.

Simply mix The Energy Booster with water and you’re good to go.

Are there any side effects when taking pre workout?

Due to the nature of Beta Alanine, some people report a slight tingling sensation shortly after consuming pre workout powders that contain this ingredient. Don’t panic though, this is totally normal, and will wear off shortly. If you experience this, though, we recommend reducing your intake of pre workout to ensure you don’t experience these sensations. But it’s definitely nothing to worry about – you can be sure of that.

It's also best to take these early in the day if possible, and not before bed. We've called it The Energy Booster for a reason... 

Summary

It’s a no brainer, really. Pre workout has great benefits and the ability to really supe up your training. With the demands of daily life, its not everyday that you’re going to turn up to your workout or gym class and feel raring and ready to go… and for those times, a pre workout supplementation is a real helping hand.

If you’re planning to implement a pre workout supplementation to your diet, make sure you’re doing so safely. Pre workouts are entirely safe to take on a regular basis, but if your go-to contains high amounts of caffeine, make sure you’re sticking to daily recommended doses.

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The Best Exercises To Improve Your Rowing PB
Whether a seasoned gym addict, first-time fitness enthusiast, or avid water goer, there’s nothing quite like smashing your rowing PB. While it might look intimidating to begin, it’s much simpler, addictive, and most importantly, beneficial to your body than beginners might think. Like any workout PB however, there can reach a point where your best time seems to plateau. After all, there are only so many times you can improve right? Well not necessarily. In addition to a high protein diet and the use of fitness supplements like The Power Booster to aid performance, there are a wide range of exercises to try that can improve rowing endurance, power, and technique. By the end, getting a faster rowing PB should be a breeze. The Benefits Of Rowing Firstly, it’s important to ask; should you go for a PB in the first place? Short answer: absolutely! Rowing offers a complete high-intensity exercise all without skipping a beat; just a single session will train 9 of your muscle groups and around 85% of your body’s muscles. Compared to other workouts, this builds strength and endurance within key muscles in the upper and lower body. While achieving that rowing PB can be tough, being able to endure the challenge and feel the muscle growth is an unmatched workout joy. The versatility of rowing means everyone from cardio lovers to arm day enthusiasts can look forward to smashing their next PB. Rowing workouts are also low-impact and kind to your individual joints. This makes it the perfect PB challenge for those recovering from, and looking to avoid persistent injury - or perhaps even the dreaded shin splints. The exercise also provides mental benefits for the individual through the release of endorphins (the body’s feel-good hormones).   Exercises To Improve Your PB So how do you go about improving your PB? Well because rowing utilizes a complete range of muscles, getting a better time is all about targeting these individual parts of the body. This requires a mix of all types of workouts from cardio and core to strength training. Cardio Workouts To bring rowing performance to the next level, it’s almost essential to incorporate a strong aerobic focus into your exercise. Given the repetitive and continuous motions required with rowing, it’s easy to get stuck in the trap of pushing yourself too much – especially when it comes to striving for a PB. Cardio performance exercises are a fantastic method to build your rowing endurance, improve your heart health, and simply just lift your mood. For the best results, we’d recommend a mix of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and steady-state cardio (SSC) workouts. High-Intensity Interval Training HIIT exercises are all about raising the heart rate and building strength and stamina. They balance short but maximum-intensity workouts with rest intervals – think short sprints, fast cycling, and squat jumps. This makes HIIT an important tool to improve cardio capabilities and smash that rowing PB goal. Steady State Cardio SSC workouts on the other hand focus on continuous but long-term workouts. Instead of 2-minute short sprints of high intensity, you might take a light 30-minute jog for a consistent heart rate. These exercises have the benefit of improving your endurance levels and making it easier to continue rowing until hitting your distance target.     Strength Training While debates continue to rage about whether rowing is a cardio exercise – we’re firmly of the it is camp – strength plays just as vital a role as endurance. Regardless of whether you row 500, 1000, 2000 metres, or beyond, there will always be a mental balance required between the rowing strength you exert per rep and the overall distance remaining. By improving key muscles through strength training, you can reduce the effort and difficulty on each row to improve speed and overall performance. Given the full body sequence of actions used in rowing, we’d recommend you focus your workout on 3 key areas: legs, core, and arms.         Leg Exercises Your leg contains some of the strongest muscles in the body. Given its importance to strong rowing performance, it’s not exactly surprising that we’re recommending you incorporate leg exercises into your fitness routine. This is especially true at the rowing catch point - the end point of each row – where the greatest leg force is required. To improve leg muscle strength, we recommend simple but effective exercises like squats, lunges, and targeted deadlift sessions.     Core Exercises While it might not be completely obvious, your core muscles – the stomach and lower back muscles - play a pivotal part in maintaining your posture and improving your rowing PB. They are especially important in supporting rowing form toward the end of the workout when you begin to tire. A strong core also minimises the workload on other muscles that would otherwise have to work harder to compensate for a weak core. Core workouts are also simple to do whether at home or the gym. Just some ideas include plants, hip bridges, and Pilate ab crunches. Arm Exercises Arm strength also plays a significant role in maintaining rowing form, albeit slightly different depending on whether you’re at the gym or treading the waters. For water goers, the arms act as a messenger of sorts. They transfer the power generated from the leg and core muscles into the rowing oar and push the boat forward – a fairly important element to achieving any sort of distance. For the motivated gym goer, strong arms can provide well-defined concentric and eccentric muscle movements that benefit form. To focus on improving arm muscle strength, there are plenty of exercises you to try. Just some effective choices are bicep curl and triceps extension workouts, but you can even try something as simple as home push-ups (which will also help in improving core strength). The Importance Of Technique, Rest, And Recovery With all this said, a key and often overlooked part of improving a rowing PB is simply getting the basics - effective form and technique before, during, and after any exercise – down. Consider adding some simple and easy stretches before a session to effectively warm up your muscles and best prepare your body. Likewise, you could have all the endurance tools you need to succeed, but a poor rowing technique could see you waste unnecessary energy. Efficiency is key here. The other added benefit of good form is that it greatly reduces the chance of any injuries which let’s face it, is quite important to training and smashing the next PB. As someone who has gone for a personal best on many occasions, I can agree that this last part can be the most difficult, but achieving a PB is all about planning rest and recovery days into your training. Listening to your body here can be crucial. Pushing too hard increases the risk of overtraining, potentially leading to injury. To this end, it can make it easier to think of recovery as another stage of the workout process. Remember, rest days don’t necessarily mean you have to do nothing all day. Gentle exercises like walks and even yoga can work wonders for body recovery. Interested to discover more about Innermost Power Booster Supplements? Looking for the best ways to fuel your next workout? Perhaps you have some amazing and inspired ideas to share? Don’t hesitate to message us on our Instagram @liveinnermost. Read more
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