When you’re pushing hard at the gym or training for an event and want an energy boost before your next workout, it’s tough to know where to start.
That’s where pre-workout supplements could help. Find out what they are, what they do, and the best pre-workout supplement for your lifestyle.
A supplement can contain just one active ingredient – caffeine, for example – or a mix of several.
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Scientists believe beetroot juice is a promising pre-workout supplement. Nitrate, a compound found in beetroot, is converted by the body into nitric oxide, which helps blood vessels to relax and widen.
This boosts blood flow to the muscles, helping them work harder, while decreasing how hard your heart has to work in a training session.13 A double-blind study by St Louis University, USA, in 2012 gave 11 fit men and women a serving each of roasted beetroot 75 minutes before running 5K on a treadmill. They round that after eating the beetroot, the runners both ran faster and found the workout easier than after they ate a placebo.14
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13. Ormsbee MJ, Bach CW and Baur DA. Pre-Exercise Nutrition: The Role of Macronutrients, Modified Starches and Supplements on Metabolism and Endurance Performance. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4042570/#B2-nutrients-06-01782
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15. Murphy M, et al. Whole beetroot consumption acutely improves running performance. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22709704