I started seeing posts and ads for pre-workout everywhere. I have a good friend who I consider to be my fitness guru, so I came to him with my questions.
His view on pre-workout was as such: caffeine isn't necessarily bad for your body(this is a contriversial topic...depends on who you ask...), it's low calorie, and generally sugar free/low sugar. It gives you a boost of energy, and he said that, on days that he was lacking motivation, he would take a few scoops.
I've been looking around for some to try, and I recently found myself in the vitamin shoppe, and I grabbed some that was on sale.
I have to say, it did not disappoint.
I took two scoops about 20 minutes before my workout. I felt energized the whole time, my endurance was higher than normal, and I was more motivated/willing to workout harder than I normally would.
Here's the problem.
I did my workout that first day at about 7 pm. So, taking caffeine a few hours before I was planning on going to bed? Yeesh. Not a good plan. I tossed and turned all night, so confused as to why I was still awake. I was tired, but my brain wouldn't shut off. At about 12:30 am, I realized what the problem was, and I took 5 mg of melatonin so I could sleep. It kicked in after about half an hour and I was asleep by 1:30 am.
It made my morning kinda rough, but I stuck through it. I took my pre-workout about 20 minutes prior to my warm-up run. This time, I was working out in the morning though. But, just to be safe, i only took 1 1/2 scoops. I still had the energy I wanted, but it wore off quicker. So by the time I went to bed that night, the caffeine had worn off, and I was able to sleep normally, without needing melatonin.
So. My verdict on pre-workout? Yes. As long as you're smart about when to take it, you'll be golden. Highly recommend it, just use it wisely.
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