Pre-Workout for Running| What’s Best? Pro’s And Con’s

Have you ever wondered if you should use coffee, green tea or another pre-workout supplement for running to take your energy level from zero to hero?

Ok you might not believe it’s going to have that dramatic of an impact, but we’ve all seen how it “gives you wings”? Right?! So if you’ve been curious, but cautious (great job), let’s break it down today.

My personal opinions aside, the truth is they work.

But like anything you use all the time, you may not feel the effects as much as you’d like due to a normalcy effect (i.e. you need more for that same original buzz).

It’s why people go from a daily cup of coffee to multiple espresso shots.

In this article, you’ll learn exactly what pre-workouts for running are. I’ll also explain what common ingredients you’ll likely find in pre-workouts and how they can help you.

If you’re looking for some good pre-workouts for running, I’ve also mentioned my recommended ones in the article. My in-depth guide will answer all your burning questions about pre-workout supplements from when to take them, to the potential side effects.

Want to learn everything there is about pre-workout for running? Then keep reading!

What are Pre-Workouts for Running?

A pre-workout is made to provide you with the energy you need to run constantly while also increasing your stamina and endurance.

They may also include ingredients that assist with the maintenance of lean muscle mass and with the recovery process following a run.

Most will include ingredients such as vitamins, electrolytes, and antioxidants, and some may include stimulants such as caffeine.

There are tons of pre-workout formulas currently on the market. They’re available in several forms, including powder, tablets, tablets, canned drinks, and chews. So we’ll dive in to what to avoid, but first what’s in them?

What are Pre-Workouts for Running Made Of?

When looking for a good pre-workout to help you run faster and better, you should look for some standard ingredients on the product label. Let’s look at the most common ones you’ll come across and how they’re beneficial for you:

Beta Alanine

Beta-alanine is an important amino acid that plays a crucial role in maintaining prolonged energy and endurance. It starts a process in your body that keeps your muscles from getting tired easily.

Branched-Chain Amino Acids

Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are building blocks of protein that the body does not make naturally. If you don’t get enough BCAAs from what you eat, your muscles could get weak and tired.

BCAAs are readily absorbed by active tissues because they are metabolized inside the muscle rather than by the liver.

They are essential for a good pre-workout. BCAAs themselves refer to three important amino acids, leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

They work together to help the body manage its protein, and can also help runners prevent or reduce the effects of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

Caffeine

One of the most common ingredients in pre-workouts is caffeine, which is meant to provide you with more energy during a run.  It also prevents fatigue and the rate of perceived effort (RPE) we feel.

Additionally, caffeine encourages the body to use its stored fat as a source of fuel rather than the glycogen that is found in muscle. Marathon runners will benefit from this since their muscles will be able to perform for extended periods of time without depleting glycogen stores.

Creatine

Some pre-workout supplements include the ingredient creatine, which can help you have more energy for both long runs and intense workouts. Creatine helps the body make ATP, also known as adenosine triphosphate. ATP is what gives our muscles the energy to move.

Muscle contractions require our bodies to produce ATP very fast because our bodies don’t have a lot of it stored in the cells. This is where creatine comes in handy!

If you take a pre-workout supplement that contains creatine, your strength, muscle endurance, and muscle growth will all improve. This will allow you to maintain your level of performance and finish strong even when running endurance events like the marathon.

Electrolytes

Electrolytes are a very important part of sports nutrition, and they are also one of the easiest ones to change quickly. They’re called electrolytes because they have an electrical charge when paired with water.

Electrolytes are minerals that play a crucial part in the body. They contribute to the balance of water within and outside the cells.

Although most individuals can maintain a healthy electrolyte level with a balanced diet, high endurance athletes, such as runners, frequently require a boost for optimal performance.

A pre-workout containing sodium, potassium, and magnesium aids in the replacement of electrolytes lost during a run.

Even if you only go for a short run, if you build up a sweat, you must replace your electrolytes. This will keep your body balanced and help you recover faster.

Vitamins

Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12 are all immune-boosting vitamins that may be found in pre-workouts.

They can also help muscles recover and keep energy up while the body during long runs.

Benefits of Pre-Workouts

Should I take a pre-workout before cardio? Should I use pre-workout supplements before running? Is a pre-workout bad for your heart?

All valid questions, which made me want to dig in because for many years I didn’t want to use any kind of pre-workout.

The benefits based on science are what keep many athletes coming back to the legal performance enhancer of caffeine and herbal-based energy supplements for pre-workout!

So does a pre-workout help? Science says it helps with the following:

• Reduced perceived effort
• Greater usage of fatas energy source
• Improved muscle gains and reduce muscle breakdown
• Increased muscle endurance
• Improved respiratory fitness
• Up to 30% increase in metabolism
• Help glycogen stores from depleting
• Prevent muscle cramps, fatigue, and nausea
• Postpone muscle fatigue and soreness

As stated by sports nutritionist Drew Price to Men’s Health,

“Caffeine {or its herbal counter parts above} reduces levels of perceived effort so you can train harder. It improves your body’s ability to use fatty acids for energy, conserving carb stores and delaying fatigue.”

All of these things mean that you might be able to increase your endurance or intensity, which leads to greater training gains. I often find the biggest gain is the little mental boost I get from running a bit farther or nailing a faster past.

Side Effects of Pre-Workout Supplements

For those who are sensitive to caffeine (myself included) definitely start out with a smaller dose. I never use a full dose and that’s partially because I don’t drink any caffeine on a regular basis, so it takes just a little for me to get the effects.

You MUST test out how it makes you feel before you head out for a big workout.

• Can cause your digestion to get moving (aka runner’s trots), especially due to artificial sweeteners in some pre-workout drink mixes that can lead to indigestion.
• Can cause your heartbeat to increase, feeling jitters, or overly anxious as you’re pumping it through your body faster due to running.
• Can cause a tingling sensation in your hands and feet, as well as restlessness and insomnia
• Many energy drinks have a ton of sugar, which we know will cause other issues
• Used to push your workout too far is going to lead to exhaustion

While the herbal supplements have less of the digestive impact of coffee, it’s still important to test out how it will affect your need for a bathroom! (Here are a few caffeine free energy boosters while we are at it…)

If you’re just starting out with pre workout supplements and are worried about the side effects, you can also first try out single-ingredient products so help figure out which ones suit your body and which don’t.

You can then try out some of the pre-workout blends that I’ve suggested in this post. Make sure to always check the dosage for any and all supplements you take.

Should You Use Coffee Pre-Run?

As much as I love running and I love sharing it all with you, I do not love coffee so I simply could not test it out no matter the reported benefits!

Instead, I tried a few different supplements which I will share, but knowing that coffee pumps through many of your veins I like this quote from Tina Muir who went from being a non-coffee drinker to a new lover of the brew:

“I notice that when I have had coffee, during my workouts I can control my thoughts a lot more, and feel clearer.

A word of caution though, caffeine is not going to be a great idea for intervals or fartlek workouts as your pace and heart rate is changing too much. And… I noticed for the first few months I had to take the coffee 3 hours before I was going to run. {hello bathroom breaks}”

For those who LOVE their coffee, read this full article on timing and dosage to make coffee an effective pre-workout.

Coffee isn’t the only pre-workout supplement, though it tends to be reported on the most in scientific studies.

5 Best Pre-Workouts for Running

For those non-coffee drinkers like myself, I’m happy to say there are other alternatives that have the same effects and with a much better flavor. Most pre-workouts are going to be very low in calories as they aren’t trying to get in nutrition, just energy.

Celsius Energy

In fact, one zero calorie option from Celsius combines many of the most well known ingredients:

• Green Tea Extract
• Guarana Seed Extract (a caffeine source)
• Vitamin B (energy production and adrenal support, often low in endurance athletes)

I like the small Celsius sticks, so that I can dump just a portion of it in to my water, shake and go. I often sip this during long runs rather than just as a pre-workout. And you’ll notice I said I only use a portion of it! This is going to come down to your sensitivity level.

I don’t drink coffee, so all pre-workout is A LOT for me.

Orgain Sport Energy

Recently this one entered my cabinet of powders and I really like it. It’s only 80mg of caffeine where Celsius is 200mg, so much easier for someone sensitive to the effects.

• Contains beets and we know the nitric vegetables help with blood flow
• Uses cordicepys mushrooms and ginger for their adaptogenic effects as well
• Contains all the electrolytes and 50% of daily Vitamin C

Vega Sport Pre-Workout

Another that I’ve recommended to my runners for many years now is Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer.

I use roughly a 1/2 serving of any brand before weekend long runs and when runs start to get way up in the 20 mile range, instead of drinking it before the run I’ll put it in my water bottle to sip throughout the run.

• Rhodiola (reduce stress, fatigue and weakness)
• Yerba Mate (caffeine)
• Ginseng (used in Herbal Medicine to help enhance physical capacity)

I’m obviously all about the sticks you can add to a bottle and these things tend to last me a good long while, since I use sparingly. BONUS because by using less, I get a major boost on long runs and race day.

A few others that aren’t energy based, but can work as pre-workout:

• Essential Amino Acids – especially for long runs, this is a good way to help ensure you are maintaining muscle mass instead of using muscles for fuel
• Creatine – a small amount is good before lifting to help build muscle and yes, it’s totally safe. It often gets confused with people who took steroids. Creatine is a form of magnesium.

Can You Use Pre-Workout Supplements All the Time?

Here’s where I think a lot of people fall down on the job. They see it’s good and start using the same amount of the same thing before every single workout and as noted above, they stop seeing results because they body will adapt.

I choose not to use it before every workout.

Why? I don’t want to get accustomed to the effects (i.e. the friend who now needs 3 cups of coffee instead of one) and I want to be sure I know how the run feels without any boost.

I think it’s really important to be in tune with your body. That added energy boost can allow you to get over the hump without realizing that you might actually be pushing too far.

If I’ve been running all week without any kind of energy boost and then I add a partial serving  before my long run, it gives me just enough to help make it farther…but not so much that I am allowing myself to over do it.

Pushing too hard in any run is going to hinder your other workouts.I’ve settled in to only using it once per week prior to my long runs.

I like the extra boost it gives me to put in a few more miles!

David on the other hand is loving it prior to every mountain bike ride because he definitely notices a difference in having the stamina to climb. Again, he also doesn’t drink coffee during the week, but probably has a pretty steady Mountain Dew a day diet, so he doesn’t get any weird side effects from suddenly upping the energy.

When to Take a Pre-workout?

In general, it’s stated that within about 10 minutes you’ll start to get the benefits of a pre-workout and most are going to peak around 45 minutes. Now, this depends on how quickly you metabolize caffeine.

How long does pre-workout last?

Roughly the same as drinking coffee or taking any caffeine, it can stay in circulating in your body for up to 6 hours. That’s why it’s recommended you cut it off in the afternoon to ensure it doesn’t interfere with sleep.

Looking for additional runner nutrition guidance?

• How to Use Beet Juice for Endurance
• What’s the Best Runner’s Diet
• Running for Weight Loss Guide
• Complete Runner Nutrition Program – how to fuel every part of your training and race day

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