Gain Weight – Maintaining a fitness regimen can sometimes be difficult. They may leave your body exhausted if you don’t recover properly after those sweaty gym sessions.
So, is there anything you can do to beat morning grogginess and spur you on to get your workout going? Yes, and that’s preworkouts – A simple and the most effective technique to enhance performance and eliminate weariness.
These supplements are buzzwords that help increase efficiency, power, and strength. But there is much debate about their association with weight gain.
So, what’s the truth? Do they cause you to put on weight?
In this article, you will get insights into what these supplements are and whether this myth of their link with weight is true or not. Let’s dive in!
Pre-Workout Supplements – What Are They
When it comes to improved performance, these supplements are much sought-after. Many exercisers prefer to take them before working out so that they may work out longer and harder than normal. Regardless of whether you’re a weightlifter, professional bodybuilder, or simply working out to be in shape, harder and longer gym sessions should help you get the most out of your workouts.
Longer, more intensive workouts, on the other hand, might take a toll on your body. So, if you use pre-workouts, it is crucial to maintain a healthy balance by incorporating a nutritious diet and proper rest as a part of your fitness regime.
The Benefits
Mentioned below are the key advantages of consuming them before a workout session:
- Adds a feeling of being more energetic
- Improves longevity and strength
- Reinforced focus, power, and motivation
- Increased vascularity
- Easy to do sets with more reps
Many exercisers like to reap the benefits of these safe and effective supplements which are meant to deliver just a simple result – better strength, faster progress.
The Link With Gaining Weight
In a nutshell, these supplements boost performance and enable training adaptations that facilitate improved strength, efficiency, speed, and endurance, contributing to increased muscle growth. And because muscles have some weight to them, it is inevitable to put on some mass.
However, in terms of fat mass, the likelihood of these supplements causing weight gain is low. The majority of them are sugar-free, calorie-free, and contain no fats or carbs, or protein. Most people shouldn’t gain weight from these supplements, which are usually sweetened and flavored naturally or artificially (often both).
“Such supplements are often devoid of calories, so they are not directly responsible for causing weight gain.”
Weight gain occurs when you consume extra calories than what is required by the body. The science behind weight gain and weight loss concepts is pretty straightforward. These supplements neither have any impact on food cravings or blood sugar levels nor do they affect the process of digestion in any way. This implies that there is no direct mechanism that could induce weight gain in terms of fat as a result of their consumption before workout sessions.
Ingredients
Different supplements have different formulations. Some of the most common ingredients you will find are as follows –
Caffeine
Caffeine, which is commonly found in many pre-workout supplements, has significant stimulatory properties and enhances time to exhaustion. It results in increased endurance and favorable body composition alterations. Some of these supplements are caffeine-free and non-stimulating. However, they are usually not as effective as those which are caffeine-based.
Nitric Oxide Precursors
Nitric oxide increases blood flow by supporting blood vessel dilation. This increases the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles, while also increasing endurance and speeding up recovery. These ingredients also help in the removal of any bypass products which cause fatigue, weariness, and impair functionality.
Creatine
Creatine supplementation has been demonstrated to boost muscle strength and endurance. Its ergogenic promise stems from its capacity to rapidly replace ATP stores, enabling speedier recovery and perhaps higher training volume. It may also aid in the maintenance of lean body mass.
Beta-Alanine
Carnosine is formed when beta-alanine is combined with another amino acid known as histidine in the human body. Carnosine is a well-known fatigue reliever and performance enhancer. Beta-alanine effectively reduces acidity and damage caused by lactic acid in your muscles, counteracting its fatiguing effects. As a result of this “buffering effect”, you can pump out an extra rep or two.
Conclusion
A pre-workout supplement can potentially be one of the best additions to your training stack, and contrary to what some people believe, and also, it will not directly cause any weight gain.
Though, gaining weight in terms of improved muscle mass can be a definite possibility since they significantly improve performance and thus, the results. However, these supplements must be consumed appropriately and in conjunction with a proper fitness regime and a healthy, nutritious diet.