Pre-workout supplements offer several benefits, such as increased energy, enhanced focus, bigger pumps, and better exercise performance. The pre-workout category dominates the sports nutrition industry as one of the most popular and saturated categories.

Nearly every supplement company offers at least one and several types of pre-workout supplements. Pre-workouts are usually categorized by their stimulant content, such as high-stim, moderate-stim, low-stim, and non-stim.

Those new to pre-workout supplements tend to buy based on price, marketing tactics, and flavor. However, it’s crucial to look at the pre-workout formula to see if there are any ingredients that may cause unwanted side effects.

A common side effect of taking a pre-workout supplement, especially stimulant-based pre-workouts, is making you poop. You may also notice a similar effect after drinking a cup of coffee. But why is this the case? This article will cover why pre-workout increases the urge to go to the bathroom and what ingredients prompt it!

Pre-workout supplements are one of the most popular products in the sports nutrition industry. They often contain ingredients that increase physical performance, such as strength, power, endurance, and stamina. However, they also contain various ingredients that improve mental performance.

Common pre-workout ingredients, like caffeine, alpha-GPC, tyrosine, huperzine A, Lion’s mane, Neurofactor®, creatine monohydrate, and choline bitartrate, increase energy, focus, alertness, concentration, and other cognitive functions. Not to mention, creatine monohydrate supplementation has been shown to improve memory, intelligence, and reasoning, while reducing mental fatigue.[1]

Beyond the athletic and mental benefits of the pre-workouts, they are also advantageous because they are tasty, convenient, and more affordable than buying an energy drink or overpriced espresso from your local coffee shop.

If you analyzed the benefits of each ingredient in most pre-workouts, you would quickly realize that pre-workout supplements can be used for much more than just training in the gym.

These extra benefits leave many pre-workout users wondering if it is safe and acceptable to use pre-workout without working out. This article will discuss whether you can take a pre-workout without hitting the gym and why you may want to consider it!

Creatine is a molecule produced in your body using three amino acids – glycine, methionine, and arginine. Creatine also naturally occurs in several foods, most notably red meat and seafood. There are high concentrations of creatine in skeletal muscles and the brain. The majority of creatine present in your body is stored in the form of creatine phosphate.

Creatine has several functions, but it’s primarily responsible for replenishing cellular energy, also known as adenosine triphosphate, levels during high-intensity exercise. Creatine phosphate donates its phosphate group to the ADP (adenosine diphosphate) to convert it into ATP.

As you can see, optimal creatine stores may result in greater strength, endurance, power, lean muscle mass, and overall exercise performance. Hence, why creatine supplements have become so popular over the years. Creatine, more specifically creatine monohydrate, is one of the most well-researched ingredients in sports nutrition. Numerous studies have shown that regular use of creatine dietary supplements is safe and effective.[1]

Considering the popularity of creatine, it comes as no surprise that there’s a lot of misinformation and questions involving proper creatine supplementation. In this article, we’re going to answer a commonly asked question, “how much water should I drink with creatine?”

Keep reading to find out where this question came from and what the real answer is!

Protein is an essential macronutrient needed to repair, recover, build muscle, and perform other vital physiological processes. Based on the most recent body of literature, the optimal daily amount of protein for those wanting to maximize muscle growth is between 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day (~0.8-1.0 grams/lb/day).[1]

If you’re a 200lb guy that’s relatively lean, consuming 200 grams of protein from whole foods alone is quite challenging, which is where protein powders come in handy. Not to mention, when you’re traveling or on the go, high-quality protein sources are hard to come by, which is one of the reasons why protein shakes are so popular.

Although you can buy ready-to-drink protein shakes from convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores, they are a lot more expensive than buying a 2lb or 5lb tub of protein powder and mixing it yourself.

Because it’s quite common for people to pre-mix their protein shakes but not consume them straight away, one of the most commonly asked questions in regards to protein powders is, “how long does a protein shake last after mixing?”. Not to mention, some people prefer to mix their protein with greek yogurt or oats (i.e. overnight oats, smoothies, etc.) for a quick and easy meal.

The answer to this question depends on various factors such as what the protein powder is mixed with (milk or water), whether it’s refrigerated or left at room temperature, and if there are any other active ingredients added to the protein powder. In this article, we cover various protein powder scenarios and give you estimates of how long the mixture or protein shake will last.

Within the dietary supplement industry, creatine and pre-workouts are two of the most commonly purchased, used, and researched supplements. Creatine is arguably the most well-researched ingredient in sports nutrition.

Based on the abundance of scientific literature, it’s clear that creatine monohydrate should be on your radar if you want to build muscle, increase power, strength, and endurance, lose fat, or experience some cognitive benefits. [1]

Creatine is a fairly straightforward supplement since it’s a single-ingredient product, and there are only a few different forms on the market. Creatine monohydrate is the most studied form, which is why it’s also the most recommended form.[1]

When it comes to pre-workout formulas, things get a little more unclear because there are so many different types, dosages of ingredients, forms, etc. A multi-ingredient pre-workout supplement can be high-stim, moderate stim, low stim, or even stimulant-free.

Some will even contain creatine, while others may leave it out. What’s more, the research on multi-ingredient pre-workouts is fairly scarce. So we don’t completely understand how different ingredients may interact.

Since the cost of creatine is much higher than it used to be, and you should take creatine daily for optimal results, it’s becoming more common for supplement companies to omit it from their pre-workouts and to offer it alone. Additionally, some evidence suggests that mixing creatine with caffeine, which the vast majority of pre-workouts contain, may be counterproductive.[2]

The question that keeps popping up is, “can you mix creatine with pre-workout?” In this article, we are going to answer that question along with some other commonly asked questions about creatine supplementation and pre-workout supplements!

Creatine is one of the most well-researched ingredients in the sports nutrition industry. Hundreds of clinical studies have shown that creatine effectively increases muscle mass, strength, power, and recovery, and is also safe and generally well-tolerated.[1]

There are various types of creatine on the market; however, creatine monohydrate is the most studied form. In fact, creatine monohydrate was used in some of the first studies to determine efficacious dosages, bioavailability, and more.[1] It’s well established that taking 3-5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day yields all of the benefits that creatine provides.

With that said, the second most popular form of creatine in the dietary supplement industry is creatine HCL. The concept behind creatine HCL is that the addition of the hydrochloride group improves creatine’s stability and solubility.

As of writing this article, creatine HCL is not considered to be superior to creatine monohydrate. But some people prefer creatine HCL because you can take a much lower dose. Additionally, there’s no loading phase, it’s easier on your stomach, and it results in less bloating and water retention for some people.

If you want to try creatine HCL, this article is going to be extremely helpful because we are going to answer the commonly asked question, “how much creatine HCL should I take?” The clinically studied dose for creatine monohydrate is pretty clear, but the dosing for creatine HCL is more complex.

Pre-workouts are one of the top-selling products in today’s sports nutrition industry. Thanks to various marketing tactics, supplement companies lead you to believe that pre-workout is the answer to all of your physique and performance goals. And if you train without a pre-workout, you might as well not work out at all.

Since the popularization of pre-workout, there are various types of pre-workouts, such as non-stim and high-stim. A commonly asked question by beginners or those that are just getting into taking supplements is, “what does pre-workout feel like?”

Although the answer to this question may seem straightforward, it really depends on the ingredients and how much of them are used in a pre-workout. Some ingredients you feel almost immediately, while others you may not feel at all. In this article, we are going to cover what the most common pre-workout ingredients feel like so you know what to expect!