a man with a supplement container

Benefits of Pre-Workout Supplements

Pre-workouts or pre-workout supplements are multi-ingredient formulas that boost athletic performance and energy levels, popular among bodybuilders, athletes, and trainers. They aim to provide your muscles adequate energy to support your workout. Often, the formulas include amino acids, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, and B vitamins with varying quantities depending on the brand.

Below are some benefits of pre-workout supplements:

Boosts Your Endurance

A significant way to boost endurance is eliminating fatigue-causing mechanisms. Pre-workout achieve this through caffeine that charges you for perseverance and motivation during an intense workout. Fatigue from soreness also limits endurance due to the accumulation of acids in muscles. The supplements contain beta-alanine that reduces the accumulation of acids that cause burn during intense training. They also contain sodium bicarbonate that minimizes the accumulation of acids in muscle tissues.

Promotes Muscle Gain

pre-workouts promote muscle growthPre-workout supplements contain essential amino acids essential for gaining muscles. Specifically, the branded-chain acids (BCAAs) that directly go to your muscles for synthesis. BCAAs bypass the digestive process to become available for muscle building. In addition, pre-workouts contain citrulline that increases the flow of blood to muscles. It boosts oxygen levels and carries more nutrients as you undergo stress training, resulting in muscles that work harder and longer.

Increases Your Focus

When you take pre-workout supplements, you feel more focused and sharper as the clean energy boost clears your mind helping you make the most from your exercise. Workout has a significant mental component as you can easily psyche yourself or lose motivation to quit early, even when you can keep going. Caffeine in pre-workout supplements helps you concentrate like it would when cramming a test or going through a long day working.

Reduces Protein Breakdown 

Protein synthesis needs to be equal to the breakdown of protein to maintain or gain muscle tissues. Ideally, it needs to exceed the protein breakdown rate. The BCAAs are building blocks of protein, and you can also source amino acids through dietary means. When you keep levels of protein high through saturating muscle stores, you prevent muscle breakdown for energy. Besides, the supplements speed up your recovery time after intense workouts due to ingredients like creatine and beta-alanine. They promote faster healing leading to less downtime and more efficient workouts.

                                                                                                   


trapezoid shoulder cuts

Using Pull-Ups to Increase Strength

Push-ups are indeed one of the best exercises for strengthening the spine and increasing the overall fitness level. They are old-school, fundamental, and also a pure movement pattern of the individual. The pull-up is among the most basic strength training exercises. It is also among the most challenging bodybuilding exercises, but it is essential for developing upper body strength in athletes and clients. But performing this exercise is not as easy as it sounds.

Do More Pull-Ups

training fit exerciseThe best way to improve your pull-ups is to practice them. In other words, do push-ups more often. When you try to increase the number of reps you can perform in a workout, it’s all about increasing strength, endurance, and neurological efficiency. The longer you do the pull-ups, the more efficient your neuromuscular system becomes. In other words, the movement becomes part of your body and your mind.

Improve Your Grip

Push-ups also improve grip strength. In addition, it can increase performance in various sports that involve physical strength. In everyday life, a firm grip can also be crucial for everyday tasks. Limit your strength gains. The stronger your grip, the longer your system will allow you to generate power. If you have a firm grip, it will be easier to climb up your thigh.

Do Different Variations

lifting active strengthPull-ups are a challenging strength exercise. Working your muscles with complicated movements can also improve your overall fitness level. If you’ve never done push-ups before, adding them to a regular workout can help you feel and look more muscular. If you do the same exercises, your body can start to plateau after a while. However, when you incorporate new practices like pull-ups into your workout, you can see a significant improvement in your strength.

Lose Body Fat

Reducing body fat makes lifting easier. Strength or resistance training with exercises like pull-ups can also improve your overall physical well-being. Studies has found that frequent weight training can reduce visceral fat and help treat type 2 diabetes. It can also help lower resting blood pressure and reduce discomfort and back pain associated with arthritis and fibromyalgia. However, talk to your doctor before starting strength training, as it may not be safe for you.

Bottom Line

Push-ups are a difficult exercise. But you should not miss including that in your workout routine. If you are a beginner, practicing hanging on the bar or performing an assisted pull-up can help you develop your strength. You can do this workout two to three times per week. Always allow a day between strength exercises to allow your muscles to recover. Also, be sure to consult your doctor before starting a new strength training program.


a man running

Top Tips on How to Start Running

As you begin a new year, you want to make some resolutions. One of such resolutions is starting to run on a routine basis. People have different reasons that motivate them. For instance, you may want to lose weight, get fit, or prepare for a running race. Beginners often do not know where to start to reach their goals and they must stay consistent with it. In this post, you will learn some useful tips that can help you start.

Go Out and Run

joggingIf you want to take your running to another level, you should be ready to put your shoes on and start immediately. You should not postpone it until the weather is nice or until you buy the right running equipment. If you keep on waiting, you will never get started.

Short Distance Runs

It may not matter whether you have friends who are runners. They may be running 5 or 10 km daily. The truth is that you are not them and this is your run. Thus, if you go on a long distance at the start, there is a likelihood that your body may suffer a lot after the run. The fact that you will have a bad experience, you may think that running is not meant for you.

Keep Up the Struggle

At the start, you may find it quite difficult to enjoy running. It is advisable to do it in runs. You should try running for a few minutes and walking for a few minutes. After this, you can start increasing the intervals. Over time, you will be surprised by the distances you cover during the intervals.

Start Slowly

woman runningA huge mistake that most people make is to start too fast. At the start, your legs may feel heavy, and you may not catch your breath. This is a common mistake that most newbies make. They do start full of excitement, and they are not sure of their pace, or they feel as if they may look like snails. Thus, you need to start at a pace that you are comfortable with. Check whether the pace you are running at allows you to keep a conversation. Even if the pace is slow, it will improve over time.

The above tips can help you start running. The good thing about running is that it can help you achieve your fitness goals such as weight loss and increasing endurance.