Pre-workout - It's More Than You Ever Imagined

Loaded with stimulants, is pre-workout notably that big of a game-changer? How much should I take? When should I take it? What exactly does it do?

Through the contents of the article, you will further learn, and understand what pre-workout is and how you can use it to enhance your performance!

What Exactly Is Pre-Workout?

In short terms, Pre-Workout is utilised to lower your levels of fatigue throughout your workout. It is meant to give you a short burst of high energy in order to optimize your workout performance.

Here are the main components of Pre-Workout:

Caffeine

Most pre-workouts have a range of around 150 mg - 300 mg of caffeine per recommended serving. In terms of comparison this is around three standard cups of coffee, which is a considerable amount, especially given that it is taken in one dosage, within such a short period of time. With high levels of caffeine being mixed with L-Theanine, the typical jittery or agitated sensation associated with energy drinks is minimized.

Beta-Alanine

In addition to being accessible as an independent supplement, Beta-Alanine can be found in the majority of pre-workout supplements. Despite being a non-essential amino acid that your body naturally produces, an increase in Beta Alanine can boost the compound carnosine, which is a chemical most typically found in brain and muscle tissue. Carnosine is a pre-workout component that aids in endurance during high-intensity exercise. Beta-Alanine is also one of the causes of tingling sensations, which are generally considered to be innocuous. (Any severe or out of the ordinary sensations should be discussed with your doctor or a health expert.)

Nitrosigine®

"Nitrosigine is another patented ingredient" in pre workouts that improves attentiveness ("How Does Pre Workout Help You Reach Your Goals"). It also plays an important function in increasing blood flow throughout muscles, which boosts muscular endurance. L-Citrulline, another pre-workout substance, contributes to enhanced blood flow by physically relaxing arteries, allowing them to expand and boost blood flow. It is also important to note that unlike other stimulants in the market, supplements with Nitrosigine reduces the crashes and the fast increase in anxiety that is seen with other stimulants.

Other ingredients found in pre-workouts include Creatine, TeaCrine, Taurine, and Electrolytes, which contribute to the accumulation of higher energy, better muscular endurance, increased oxygen flow, and more.

How Much and When Should I Take it?

Most pre-workout labels state that you should take it around 30 minutes before the start of your workout. This period is certainly dependent on your body and how you naturally break down the contents of the supplement, but the usual time for the body to break down caffeine is 15 to 45 minutes. That time is proportional to the time required to digest other nutrients and minerals as well.

Over time, your body will naturally metabolize the caffeine faster and more efficiently, resulting in a reduction in the effects and an increase in energy levels. In such cases, many individuals either increase the dosage, although this must be done with caution because caffeine overdosing can have fatal repercussions, and I would personally advise against doing so.

Do I Really Need It?

The short answer is no. Pre-workout products, like many other supplements in the fitness industry, are fully optional, and it truly comes down to what your body needs to enhance your performance both in and out of the gym safely. It is a beneficial supplement that has been extensively explored in the fitness industry. Although pre-workout would be a fantastic addition to your regimen, skipping it can be just as beneficial.

Just remember to subscribe to HustleNow for more information about other supplements in the fitness industry!

Works Cited

Contributors, WebMD Editorial. “Pre-Workout Supplements: How It Can Benefit Your Overall Well-Being.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/health-benefits- pre-workout-supplements. Accessed April 20. 2022.

“How Does Pre Workout Help You Reach Your Goals.” ProSupps.com. ProSupps®, n.d. Web. www.prosupps.com/blogs/articles/how-does-pre-workout-help-you-reach-your-goals. Accessed April 21. 2022.

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Pick the Right Workout Split to See the Right Results: Here’s How

Importance of Workout Splits

I was 14 years old the first time I went into a gym. I had been instructed by someone who had gym experience to do a couple exercises, and I was under the impression that there were just three muscle groups to train - biceps, triceps, and shoulders. I worked every one of those muscles without any rest or recovery days for a couple of weeks. As you could expect, I became exhausted. I lost motivation after not seeing any results, and I was most perplexed by my lack of development.

The night after I was about to give up, I stumbled upon a video made by Bradley Martyn. The video, if I recall correctly, was about a protein shake. Although it was not necessarily tied to the gym, I realised, with a bit of research, that their was a lot more to weight lifting than I had previously understood.

That's when I started doing my own study and devised a workout regimen that I'd follow. I began by doing a full-body split, this time exercising more than just my arms... I saw progress, gained confidence, and began working on my muscles individually, transitioning to an upper/lower body split. To keep my athletic ability, I eventually went to a PPL split.

But, as cliche as my experience may seem, it demonstrates that I, like many others, most certainly began my fitness journey on the wrong foot. Unfortunately, many people aren't as persistent as I was and have given up on weight lifting entirely. I've chosen to write a short article regarding exercise splits. This is something I wish I had known about before I started, which is why I urge all of you to read this.

To begin, exercise splits are simply the method you split or divide the numerous muscle groups you train, typically over the course of a week. Each workout split is distinct from one another. Choosing the proper one is critical to growth, and as the story above shows, the choice of exercise split may make or break your progress, regardless of how hard you train. Below you will find essential information about which split matches with your goals, as well as the overall advantages and downsides of the top 5 exercise splits I would recommend.

What to Consider When Picking the Right Split?

First and foremost, you need to establish your objectives and availability. Consider the following questions:

• What do I want to take from fitness (mental or physical)?

• How many times per week will I take time out of my day to workout?

• How long can I spend on each workout?

• What are my specific goals?

Once you've grasped the fundamentals, you can move on to learning about the different possible workout splits and how they may be tailored to your specific preferences.

Pros and Cons of My Top 5 Recommended Workout Splits

1. Full Body Split

Advantages:

• Forces you to commit to compound lifts (fastest way to get stronger, and helps with functionality)

• Flexibility in terms of schedule

• Easy for variation

• Great for beginners

Disadvantages:

• Focus on compound lifts, can lead to lack of precision lifting

• Each muscle is trained less frequently

2. Lower/Upper Body Split

Advantages:

• Can be used as strength or hypertrophy training

• Flexibility (can vary the amount of weekly sessions)

• Simplicity

• Great for beginners

Disadvantages:

• Recover time can easily be neglected

3. Push-Pull-Legs Split

Advantages:

• Great for athletes (strengthens and develops athletic movements)

• The split structure allows for faster recovery

• Good feeling of balance (motions aren’t overlapped)

• Relative flexibility and volume training

Disadvantages:

• Can become repetitive (can lead to lack of motivation)

4. Bro Split

Advantages:

• Very long recovery periods

• Focus on certain muscle groups more than others

• Heavily strength bed

Disadvantages:

• Low frequency training of each muscle group (not ideal for muscle growth)

• Very long recovery periods (Yes, it’s also a disadvantage. Long recovery periods can hinder progress and prevent maximum performance as the Muscle Protein Synthesis Process (‘MPS’) deteriorates 36 hours after training.)

• Less flexibility

5. Arnold Split

Advantages:

• Great to focus on strength training (agonist/antagonist training)

• A lot of focus on each muscle group (helpful for imbalances)

• Very high-volume

Disadvantages:

• Less flexibility

• Requires a lot of time + energy to commit to every training session

What Now?

Hopefully, after reading over each of my proposed splits, you have a better idea of which split you want to go with. Each split is equally good, thus choosing your split is ultimately determined by your specific goals.

If I were you, I would read through the questions just above again to acquaint yourself with your objectives, and then make a selection.

Your next step is to design your own program. This was the most difficult thing for me to complete in all the years I've been weight lifting. I had no idea which exercise was the best, and I had no idea how many sets or reps each exercise required. Fortunately, HustleNow has set up a page just for you. Visit the 'Create Your Program' tab to get a customised training program made especially for you!

Is Hitting Every Muscle the Trick?

What is a Full Body Split?

To put it simply, a full body split is when you work each major muscle group (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, legs) during each training session. People that practise body weight exercises such as HIIT and circuit training, rather than weight lifters, usually turn to a full body training split. However, full body workout is still popular among beginners and those who enjoy high volume training. Because the nature of the split necessitates a lot of energy, the split may be divided in a variety of ways based on availability and overall time commitment to the gym.

Examples of a full body weekly split may look something like this:

2x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

3x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Full Body Workout

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

4x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Full Body Workout

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Full Body Workout

Friday: Full Body Workout

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

OR

5x/week:

Monday: Full Body Workout

Tuesday: Full Body Workout

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Full Body Workout

Friday: Full Body Workout (Lighter Session)

Saturday: Full Body Workout

Sunday: Rest Day

Note: Although training 6x/week for a full body split is conceivable, I wouldn't advocate it unless you commit to lighter sessions because the high volume of the split necessitates adequate recovery time in order for progress to be made. In reality, 5 full-body exercises each week is really more than enough.

Pros & Cons of a Full Body Split

The first and most obvious advantage of a complete body split is that exercising all muscles on the same day compels you to do compound lifts (along with extra hypertrophy lifts) because compound lifts efficiently target many muscles in one single exercise. Compound lifts not only help you acquire a lot of strength, but they also help your muscles work better together. Essentially, when you use a Full Body Split, your body learns to engage your muscles as a unit rather than as isolated muscle groups which has many other benefits.

If you haven't read the previous post on the PPL (Push-Pull-Legs) split, muscle functionality, which is acquired through a full body programme, has been shown to improve athletic performance. Better functionality benefits motions, balance, muscular efficiency, and proprioception (your body's capacity to orient itself in space). These elements have direct links to improved athletic performance.

But, if you want to improve your athletic ability, is a full-body exercise the best way to go?

To say the very least, there isn't a single correct solution.

Yes, a full body split has advantages, but its disadvantages must also be considered. As previously said, exercising your entire body at once necessitates the use of compound lifts, which can have drawbacks. Don't get me wrong: compound lifts are a crucial element of weight lifting, if not the most important part. However, focusing entirely on compound lifts leads in a lack of precision training for smaller muscle groups. Neglecting minor exercises as a result of the large volume of full-body training can lead to bigger problems, such as muscle imbalances. It just depends on where you are in the training process; if you are behind or have muscle imbalances, full body exercising isn't the greatest solution.

Key Takeaways

At the end of the day, properly determining your split is one of the most critical aspects of working out. A complete body split includes both high volume training and improved athletic performance. Discipline is vital for any type of workout split, but it is more important when following a full body split, because many minor exercises are sometimes overlooked and neglected. But, people with irregular outside schedules will benefit from the added flexibility. A complete body split is one of the most efficient, and it's a great choice for a beginner!

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