Should You Take A Pre-Workout Before Cardio?

When it comes to enhancing your cardio workouts, pre-workout supplements can play a pivotal role. Designed primarily to boost athletic performance, these supplements are not just for strength training enthusiasts but also benefit those engaging in various forms of cardio. 

Whether you prefer steady-state endurance exercises like jogging or cycling, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions, pre-workout supplements can enhance endurance, delay fatigue, and improve overall conditioning.Learn how incorporating a pre-workout into your routine can potentially elevate your cardio sessions and support your fitness journey.

What is a Pre-Workout?

Pre-workouts are dietary supplements designed to enhance physical performance during exercise, including cardiovascular activities like running, cycling, or HIIT. These supplements are taken before workouts & contain a blend of ingredients aimed at boosting energy levels, improving endurance, and enhancing focus.Common ingredients include:

Caffeine - Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that enhances alertness and reduces perceived effort during exercise.

Beta-Alanine - Beta-alanine is an amino acid that buffers lactic acid accumulation in muscles, delaying fatigue and improving endurance.

Creatine - Creatine supports ATP production in muscles, enhancing strength and power output during high-intensity workouts.

BCAAs (Branched-Chain Amino Acids) - BCAAs, including leucine, isoleucine, and valine, support muscle protein synthesis, reduce muscle breakdown, and aid in recovery.

DMHA (Dimethylhexylamine) - DMHA is a potent stimulant that increases energy, focus, and alertness, similar to other stimulants like caffeine.

Bitter Orange Extract - Bitter orange extract is a natural stimulant that enhances energy levels and may support fat burning and exercise performance.

Cymbidium Goeringii - Cymbidium Goeringii extract is used for its potential benefits in enhancing energy, focus, and overall workout performance in some pre-workout supplements.

Citrulline Malate - Citrulline malate boosts nitric oxide production, improving blood flow and reducing muscle soreness during and after workouts.

What are the benefits of taking Pre-workout Supplements?

Increased Energy Levels: Pre-workout supplements, often containing caffeine and other stimulants, provide a significant boost in energy, helping you maintain intensity throughout your cardio session.

Enhanced Focus and Mental Clarity: The stimulants in pre-workout can improve concentration and focus, which are crucial for staying motivated and pushing through fatigue during cardio workouts.

Better Performance: Pre-workout supplements can enhance overall workout performance by increasing strength, power output, and speed, which are beneficial for various types of cardio exercises.

Increased Fat Burning: Some pre-workout ingredients, such as caffeine, have been shown to boost metabolic rate and promote fat oxidation, potentially enhancing the effectiveness of cardio workouts for weight loss.

Psychological Boost: The ritual of taking pre-workout can provide a psychological boost, mentally preparing you for the workout ahead and increasing motivation to perform at your best.

Should You Take A Pre-Workout Before Cardio?

The short answer is yes, pre-workout supplements are versatile and can enhance performance for any type of cardio, whether it’s steady state or HIIT. Designed primarily to improve athletic performance, they are commonly associated with strength training but are equally effective for cardio workouts. If you're aiming to enhance endurance, extend your time to fatigue, and improve overall conditioning during your cardio sessions, incorporating pre-workout supplements could be beneficial.

Benefits of Taking A Pre-Workout for Steady-State Cardio

Steady-state cardio involves maintaining a consistent level of moderate intensity over an extended period, such as jogging, cycling, or swimming. For steady-state cardio, the decision to use pre-workout supplements depends on personal preference and tolerance to stimulants.

While pre-workout supplements are typically associated with higher intensity workouts, they can still be beneficial for steady state cardio sessions. Even though the intensity may not be as demanding, taking a pre-workout before steady-state cardio can enhance endurance, productivity, and focus throughout the workout. 

Improved Endurance & Time to Exhaustion
A review titled "Effects of Caffeine Intake on Endurance Running Performance and Time to Exhaustion" found that caffeine consumption improved endurance running performance by increasing the time athletes could sustain high-intensity efforts before reaching exhaustion [1].  This enhancement is attributed to caffeine's role as a central nervous system stimulant, which reduces perceived exertion, allowing individuals to push harder and maintain peak performance for longer durations. By using pre-workout supplements that include caffeine, athletes and fitness enthusiasts can benefit from enhanced endurance, resulting in more effective and extended workout sessions.

If you choose to use a pre-workout for steady-state cardio, consider starting with a lower dosage to assess how your body reacts. Be mindful of hydration, as some pre-workout supplements can have diuretic effects. It's also important to avoid overstimulation, especially if you're sensitive to caffeine, as it can lead to jitteriness or an elevated heart rate.

Increased Focus and Motivation
Pre-workout supplements can enhance mental focus and motivation, thanks to ingredients like caffeine, taurine, and tyrosine. This mental boost is particularly beneficial during LISS cardio, which can otherwise become monotonous. A study published in Psychopharmacology reported that caffeine intake improved mood, focus, and cognitive function, helping maintain motivation and mental clarity during extended LISS cardio sessions.[2]

Benefits of Taking Pre-workouts for HIIT

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) alternates between short bursts of intense exercise followed by periods of rest or lower intensity recovery. HIIT is known for its effectiveness in improving cardiovascular fitness, burning calories, and boosting metabolism. Integrating pre-workout supplements into your HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) routine can significantly enhance performance and results.

Improved Anaerobic Performance
A study on pre-workout supplementation on power and strength performance by The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition indicated consumption of a pre-workout dietary supplement significantly improved both anaerobic peak power and anaerobic mean power in comparison to a placebo treatment [3]. 

Pre-workout supplements, with their blend of stimulants like caffeine, beta-alanine, and creatine, are designed to boost energy levels, improve focus, and delay muscle fatigue. These effects are particularly advantageous during HIIT, where maximizing effort and maintaining intensity throughout each interval is crucial. The stimulants in pre-workout can increase alertness and mental acuity, allowing you to push harder during the high-intensity phases and recover more efficiently during the recovery periods. 

Helping Maintain Lean Body Mass
Another study from the same institution showed consuming pre-workout supplements containing caffeine, creatine, and amino acids combined with HIIT training led to improvements in lean body mass [4]. 

Creatine, a well-known performance-enhancing compound, supports rapid ATP production, essential for explosive movements and sustained power during HIIT sessions. Additionally, amino acids play a crucial role in muscle repair and growth, ensuring that the increased training intensity do not lead to overtraining or excessive muscle breakdown. 

Enhanced Blood Flow and Oxygen Delivery
Pre-workout supplements often contain nitric oxide boosters like citrulline malate, which improve blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscles. This can enhance performance and recovery in HIIT by ensuring muscles receive adequate nutrients and oxygen during intense exercise. A review in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research highlighted that citrulline malate supplementation enhanced blood flow and nutrient delivery, improving endurance and reducing muscle soreness during high-intensity training. [5]

Summary

In conclusion, incorporating pre-workout supplements into your cardio regimen can enhance performance and overall workout effectiveness, whether you're engaging in steady-state endurance exercises or high-intensity interval training (HIIT). These supplements, formulated with ingredients like caffeine, creatine, and amino acids, are designed to boost energy, improve endurance, and increase mental focus. 

Research supports their efficacy in prolonging time to exhaustion, enhancing anaerobic performance, and promoting lean body mass maintenance. However, individual tolerance and sensitivity to stimulants should be considered, and cautious experimentation with dosage is advisable to maximise benefits while avoiding potential side effects. Ultimately, integrating pre-workout supplementation into your fitness routine can optimise cardiovascular workouts, supporting your goals for improved endurance, performance, and overall fitness.

FAQs

What are pre-workout supplements?
Pre-workout supplements are formulated products designed to enhance physical performance during exercise. They typically contain ingredients like caffeine, beta-alanine, creatine, and nitric oxide boosters to increase energy, improve focus, and delay fatigue.

What is cardio?
Cardio, short for cardiovascular exercise, refers to activities that increase your heart rate and elevate your breathing. These exercises are aimed at improving the efficiency of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system.

Can pre-workout supplements benefit cardio workouts?
Yes, pre-workout supplements can benefit cardio workouts by providing an energy boost, enhancing endurance, and improving focus. They can be effective for steady-state cardio (e.g., jogging, cycling) and particularly so for high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

What are the benefits of doing cardio exercises?
Cardio exercises strengthen the heart muscle, improve lung capacity, and boost oxygen utilization, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes. They aid in weight management by burning calories and fat, support a healthy metabolism, and enhance endurance for sustained physical activity. Cardio also promotes mental well-being by releasing endorphins, reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, and improving overall mood. Moreover, regular cardio is associated with improved longevity and a decreased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers.

References

[1] Wang, Z., Qiu, B., Gao, J., & Del Coso, J. (2022). Effects of caffeine intake on endurance running performance and time to exhaustion: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36615805/

[2]  Haskell, C. F., Kennedy, D. O., Wesnes, K. A., & Scholey, A. B. (2005). Cognitive and mood improvements of caffeine in habitual consumers and habitual non-consumers of caffeine. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 178(4), 482-492. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-2010-7

[3] Martinez, N., Campbell, B., Franek, M., Buchanan, L., & Colquhoun, R. (2016). The effect of acute pre-workout supplementation on power and strength performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Retrieved from https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-016-0138-7

[4]  Smith, A. E., Fukuda, D. H., Kendall, K. L., & Stout, J. R. (2010). The effects of a pre-workout supplement containing caffeine, creatine, and amino acids during three weeks of high-intensity exercise on aerobic and anaerobic performance. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20156347/

[5] Gough, L. A., Sparks, S. A., McNaughton, L. R., Higgins, M. F., Newbury, J. W., Trexler, E., Faghy, M. A., & Bridge, C. A. (2021). A critical review of citrulline malate supplementation and exercise performance. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8571142/