Pre-workout nutrition: 8 cents of beef

via SIZZLE

I’m a bit of a hippie. I’ve been called “crunchy granola” on more than one occasion. (This is a term that I initially ignored but eventually succumbed to Googling. Lo and behold, I am, indeed, crunchy granola. But really I only meet 1-and-a-half of the characteristics assigned to this category of person.)

That leads to your disclaimer: The information you are about to read is a mixture of science, broscience, and personal bias. If you want pure science, scroll to the bottom, get your 5-Minute Sweaty, and then go search for scholarly articles.

It was recently asked of me to explain my thoughts and suggestions regarding pre-workout supplements and BCAAs. [Ok, technically the question was posed to “you guys,” and I provided my two-cents’ worth. I believe I have roughly a dime’s worth of opinions to share, so the following is roughly the remaining 8-cents’ worth. I wouldn’t dream of short-changing you.]

As with just about anything, my advice must be prefaced with “it depends.” See, the method is dependent on the goal.

Should I get my haircut? Well, it depends. Do you want shorter hair? If so, yes! If not, no!

Should I buy a new laptop? Well, it depends. Do you need one? Do you have the funds for one? Is there something you need more? Is it on sale?

Should I smoke this weed? Well, it depends. … … …

Sometimes, the answer is straight-forward depending on your goal, but sometimes it still is not.

In the case of pre-workout supplements, the latter is unfortunately true.

That being said…

I think that the majority of people will reach their fitness goals without the use of supplements.

If you are training for a specific something-or-other (Ironman, bodybuilding competition, powerlifting competition, swimsuit modeling, etc.), you should put some additional effort into fine-tuning your nutritional needs.

But if you “just” want to be strong and lean and healthy, here are your three golden guidelines:

1. Eat real food.

2. Prioritize protein.

3. Keep carb consumption mostly to within 2 hours before and after a workout.

If you want to lose fat, you’ll want to keep carbs to mostly after your workout, and you’ll definitely want to get protein before and after.

My main beef with pre-workout supplements is similar to my main beef with anything produced in any way that cannot be very directly traced back to photosynthesis: there tends to be a whole lotta phooey involved.

[“Beef,” as a matter of fact, comes from cows, and cows eat grass, and grass grows because of photosynthesis. Yum. Beef.]

Supplement labels will boast all sorts of things that may or may not be true and will list in the ingredients “proprietary blends” with names like “Fat-Incinerating, Muscle-Quadrupling, Omnipotence-Inducing, Eternal-Life-Giving, Eye-Lash-Thickening, Booty-Lifting, *Cup-Size-Increasing, Charisma-Infusing Antioxidizer.” Such a blend might very well be a combination of sugar and caffeine. (Which, by the way, might even make you feel like a million bucks until your workout is over and you want to die.) *Read that with whichever gender-bias you prefer.

So, I guess you could say I’m pretty much “against” most of the pre-workout powders being marketed as a solve-all for fitness.

But that doesn’t mean that I am “against” providing your body with specifically-chosen supplements in order to support the positive effects of your training. My personal advice would be to find pure, high-quality forms of the particular supplements you want and then to mix your own little pre-workout potion.

You might wish to consider caffeine, BCAAs (especially leucine), and even creatine monohydrate. However, BCAAs and creatine aren’t super time-sensitive, so post-workout works well, too.

Personally, I’m going to drink caffeine anyway, so I might as well use it to my advantage pre-workout. I have found that my muscle soreness is diminished using BCAAs post-workout, so I’ll use those as I see fit.

Otherwise, I’m just crunchy granola; I don’t like to put things in my body to affect the way it works.

I don’t want to feel like Superwoman during my workouts because I don’t want to artificially boost my confidence. Instead, I’d rather stay within my realm of safety, for the moment and for the long-haul.

I don’t want to throw off the way my brain perceives certain things or secretes certain things or inhibits certain things because I just don’t want to risk messing with that stuff in exchange for possibly looking muscly-er or even benching a bit more. (Although claims to increase cup-size are always enticing.)

I will, however, eat whole foods, prioritize protein (before & after my workouts and also at every other time during the day), and use carbs as fuel and recovery for training.

I’ll also drink lots of water. And get adequate sleep.

Because those are 203980430x more important to my healthy and quality of life than 800 mg of beta-alanine four times a day.

SWEATY

Move forward, do exercise, move laterally, do exercise, etc. clockwise for 2 minutes; reset, then move counterclockwise for 2 minutes:

3 x inchworm walk-out (bend in half, walk hands to plank, walk toes to hands)

1o x squat

3 x side plank walk

10 x reverse lunge, alternating

3 x backwards inchworm walk-out (bend in half, walk feet to plank, walk hands to toes)

10 x squat

3 x side plank walk

10 forward lunge, alternating

– Alyssa

P.S. Wanna fight? I’m feelin’ fiesty! If you’d like to debate “to supp or not to supp,” comment below. Broscience and personal bias are obviously welcome here.

P.P.S. – You might also enjoy Pat’s Inner Circle because pre-workouts are so whatever.

I think that the majority of people will reach their fitness goals without the use of supplements.

Otherwise, I’m just crunchy granola; I don’t like to put things in my body to affect the way it works.

SWEATY

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