How Much Caffeine Is In A Pre Workout – Is More Better?
How much Caffeine is in a pre workout supplement? The amount ranges from enough to get you out of your skin with the jitters, to no caffeine at all.
Pre workouts are many times purchased based just on the label or because of the crazed name. However, it’s best to look past this for considerations such as your body chemistry and personal exercise goals.
There is not a “one size fits all” when it comes to pre workout supplements. Caffeine can be an extremely useful tool, but can also come with some drawbacks. We will be discussing both the pros and cons.
How Does Caffeine Work
The majority of us first became familiar with caffeine from our parents, who couldn’t start their day without a cup of coffee.
Later in life, many of us eventually got into the coffee habit or Starbucks routine. For some of us, Coffee became a lifesaver for our mornings.
When exercising, coffee alone is not a great substitute for the performance and endurance factors that come from a pre workout. However, caffeine is the foundation of a pre workout supplement.
This stimulant works by blocking the neurotransmitter that relaxes the brain to make you feel tired. While these receptors are blocked, you will be alert and awake. At the same time, caffeine works to jumpstart the brain by connecting the adenosine receptors.
Caffeine also increases brain activity and blood adrenaline levels by activating dopamine and norepinephrine. This further stimulates energy and focus.
Benefits of Caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant that is naturally found in nature, and studies have even shown that it’s a healthy ingredient in your diet.
⊕ At low dosages, Caffeine is shown to trigger increased focus and attention.
⊕ Higher doses significantly boost energy levels and performance. You can read more at Caffeine for Sport.
⊕ Provides vitality, motivation, positive outlook, and can even fight depression when consumed in normal quantities.
⊕ It increases stamina that will keep you from fatiguing as easily during your workout.
⊕ Caffeine is a natural thermogenic that naturally increases your metabolism to burn more calories.
⊕ This stimulant has positive effects on our minds and bodies when taken in these reasonable amounts.
⊕ The most prominent advantage of Caffeine is the convenience of this energy source.
Caffeine combined with exercise and a correct diet will sizzle calories to increase weight loss. This makes pre workout supplements one of the fasted and healthiest solutions for burning fat.
However, too much Caffeine can be a negative thing for almost anyone. When starting with a new pre workout, it’s extremely important to start the correct serving size or less. More is not always better. so start out slow.
See the Best Fat Burning Pre Workouts
Caffeine Negatives
Caffeine can come with some negatives as well, but most of these can be avoided. The worst thing that one can do, is take too much. Some fitness junkies including myself will tend to overdo how much we take at one time.
It’s easy to be over-ambitious when getting prepared for an intense workout. Too much caffeine can result in an upset stomach, headaches, jitters, anxiety, and sleepless nights.
The most serious problems caused by caffeine consumption is Caffeine Intolerance or Caffeine Allergies. Because of this, there are Stimulant Free Pre Workouts.
Another possible negative to caffeine is due to it being a stimulant. Many coffee drinkers, for example, can suffer from withdrawal symptoms when they stop using it.
This can happen when taking pre workout supplements as well. Problems can include irritability, tiredness, and headaches.
Lastly, there is the topic of tolerance. This happens to coffee drinkers, but it can be a problem with pre workout supplements as well.
If taking this supplement every day, your body will need more of it to get the same effect. This is called caffeine tolerance.
There comes a point when taking more will not provide any positive effects. When this happens, the best thing to do is to stop taking your pre workout for a few weeks or try switching to another brand.
How Much Caffeine Is In A Pre Workout
Caffeine is one of the biggest factors in a pre workout, since it’s this ingredient that gives us the most intense effects.
Pre workout amino acids bring muscle endurance and athletic performance, but the focus, energy and motivation part comes from this stimulant.
To give you a baseline for caffeine quantities, an average cup of joe contains between 80-100mg. People with a normal tolerance can safely average between 200 and 300 mg per day.
It just so happens that an average pre workout serving contains between 150-300 mg as well. Some pre workout supplements have as much as 400 mg or more per serving, so pay close attention to the label.
Another reason to read the nutritional fact label is that there are stimulants hidden under different names. We will list these in the section below.
My personal preference in a pre workout supplement is around 300 mg of caffeine. It helps me go hard, but at the same time, I don’t feel like a “jitterbug”.
Organic and Vegan pre workouts are processed with more natural sources of caffeine. Because of this, they tend to average closer to 100 mg per serving.
⇒ If you have any questions or comments about the amount to caffeine in pre workouts, please leave a message the bottom and I will respond.
See Pre Workouts With The Most Caffeine
Alternate Names for Caffeine
Pre workouts can contain more caffeine in them than what the label says at first glance. There is usually a specific line item for “Caffeine” or Caffeine Anhydrous, but there may be more. Look for special “Energy Blends” or stimulants that are labeled with alternate names.
Some names to look for on the nutritional facts label can be Caffeine Citrate, Methylxanthine, 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, Guayusa, Kombucha, Yerba, Green Coffee Bean, and TeaCrine.
B vitamins are many times include in pre workouts. These are not considered a stimulant but are a healthy way to produce natural energy.
Other names that you will see in a pre workout vitamin B complex may include Niacin, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Thiamine, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Folate.
Reasons For Not Consuming Caffeine
The issue with caffeine is it’s reactions to different people. Some aren’t phased by massive amounts, while others can have extreme discomfort with it.
Most people that are intolerant to caffeine simply have a caffeine sensitivity. This is mainly determined by genetics or by the livers’ ability to process caffeine. There are various levels of caffeine sensitivity, ranging from normal to hypersensitivity.
If you are Caffeine Intolerant, the side effects can be nervousness, nausea, racing heart, jitters, and insomnia.
What is worse is a “Caffeine Allergy”. This is when the body will mistake caffeine molecules for an “enemy” to your body’s immune system. Some don’t even know they are susceptible to this allergy until later on in life.
Caffeine allergies come with even worse effects, including difficulty breathing, swelling of the throat, and breaking out in hives.
There are also those that choose not to consume Caffeine because of its highly addictive properties. Quitting can be very difficult and come with withdrawal effects.
Lastly, don’t want caffeine in their diets simply because they don’t like the feeling it gives them.
⇒ Let me know if you have any different takes for the pros and cons of caffeine. Please leave a message in the comment box at the bottom.
Caffeine Free Pre Workout Powders
This brings us to an important pre workout category. Since there is a large percentage of people that may be caffeine intolerant or have an allergy to it, there are other pre workout options.
Fortunately, there are some great stimulant free powders called Caffeine Free Pre Workouts.
Many of these come with excellent ratings. Caffeine free supplements use larger concentrations of other ingredients such as Amino Acids to make up for the lack of a stimulant.
Now, you don’t have to worry about any side effects such as anxiety and sleepless nights.
Some of these effective aminos include L-Citrulline, N-Acetyl, L-Tyrosine, L-Arginine, Taurine, and Glutamine. They play an important role in improving endurance and strength. Aminos provide muscle energy and increase recovery time between exercises.
If you are going Caffeine Free, you may also want to try Intra Workout BCAA’s to help power your way through those workouts. Many weightlifters and athletes use these during exercise to provide additional nutrients and aminos.
The body quickly uses these up while exercising, and BCAA’s will help to recharge your depleted muscle tissue and they hydrate better than drinking water alone.
Here are the Best Stimulant Free Pre Workouts
The Caffeinated Conclusion
To sum it up, caffeine is what provides the energy, motivation, and focus in a pre workout. For the most part, caffeine is a healthy, naturally found ingredient that can enhance or lifestyles, that is unless it’s overused.
Always check the Supplemental Facts label for the quantity of caffeine. The average quantity in a pre workout supplement is between 150-300 mg. However, some are even higher than 400 mg in one serving.
Watch for the caffeine quantity in your pre workouts, because the daily recommendation is only 400 mg. This number includes your morning coffee and afternoon energy drink. Too much can lead to discomfort, headache, and dehydration.
If you are caffeine intolerant or have a caffeine allergy, your body doesn’t metabolism this stimulant the same. Be sure to try a Caffeine Free Pre Workout.
⇒ If you have any questions or comments on how much caffeine is in a pre workout, please leave a message below and I will respond.
See the Best Supplements For Muscle Growth
