4 Pre-Workout Side Effects That Could Impact Your Training

Not all pre-workout supplements are created equal. In fact, most (if not all) pre-workouts are quite different. Whether it’s about dosage, specific ingredients, or whether they contain stimulants like caffeine and/or added sugar. Many times, pre-workout can lead to side effects including headaches, nausea, digestive and stomach problems, and water retention. If you experience some of these side effects, adjusting your dosage or avoiding certain ingredients at the same time may help.

Many people use pre-workout supplements to boost energy and produce better performance results through training. Pre-workouts generally fall into two categories—stimulating or nonstimulating. Some pre-workout supplements contain stimulants like caffeine, or natural stimulants like green coffee beans, while others contain no stimulants at all. Non-stim pre-workout supplements are formulated with specific sports nutrients to help improve athletic performance, strength, endurance, and build muscle mass, rather than creating an immediate response and boosting your acute energy pre-workout.

However, some people experience negative side effects of pre-workout supplements, whether they use stimulants or not.

Caffeine, one of the most dominant and common ingredients in pre-workout supplements, is considered a stimulant.

Caffeine has been shown to enhance performance and prolong exercise at doses of 3 to 13 mg/kg body weight.

Caffeine is technically a psychoactive drug, which means it directly affects your brain. Caffeine stimulates nervous system activity, increasing wakefulness and alertness.

It produces nervous excitement and stimulates the release of adrenaline.

Studies investigating the effects of caffeine on athletic performance have found positive effects on exercise endurance and muscle strength (R).

However, caffeine may have some negative effects such as making you jittery, irritable, increased heart rate, nausea and anxiety. The effects do vary from person to person and are largely mediated by our genes. Higher doses of caffeine did not exert or result in additional improvements in physical performance (R).

Caffeine dosage is individual, so be aware of how much caffeine you may have before your workout. If you’re highly sensitive to caffeine, consider a non-stimulating pre-workout, such as Swolverine.

Very high doses of caffeine (e.g. 9 mg/kg) are associated with a high incidence of side effects and do not appear to be required to elicit potentiation.

If you have a sensitive stomach or digestive issues, some pre-workout ingredients may cause an upset stomach or digestive issues, such as magnesium and caffeine.

Magnesium, especially in the form of magnesium citrate, has a laxative effect. Not using enough water when mixing pre-workout can also lead to an upset stomach and digestive issues. Too high a concentration usually causes diarrhea.

Niacin can also cause stomach upset and bloating at higher doses of 50 mg or more (R).

Exceeding the recommended doses of several pre-workout ingredients may cause headaches.

Ingredients like arginine, citrulline, and niacin are vasodilators that increase blood flow throughout the body, including the brain. More blood onslaught and expansion of blood vessel volume can lead to headaches.

Two common pre-workout ingredients, beta-alanine and niacin (vitamin B3), can cause mildly uncomfortable side effects. Beta-alanine is an amino acid that helps reduce muscle fatigue by buffering hydrogen ions and causing a biological response called paresthesia, a tingling sensation on the surface of the body. This side effect is a harmless neurologic response that activates sensory neurons that terminate in the skin, causing localized tingling and itching (R).

Niacin is a common pre-workout ingredient that can cause mild flushing discomfort. Skin flushing or flushing is caused by increased blood flow. This effect is known as a “niacin flush,” which is a burning, tingling sensation in the face and chest, and redness or redness of the skin. Other side effects may include diarrhea, headache, upset stomach, and bloating at doses of 50 mg or higher (R).

Like other B vitamins, vitamin B3 plays an important role in energy metabolism. However, too much niacin, at doses above 1,000 mg, leads to diminishing returns and negatively affects exercise performance (R).

It’s important to remember that everyone’s biology is different. Some people may have intolerances or allergies to certain ingredients, while others may not. At Swolverine, we combine whole superfoods like pomegranate, beetroot, and coconut water with proven ingredients and the right clinical dosages that have been found in studies to trigger and produce significant synergistic effects, Thereby minimizing any side effects associated with pre-workout supplements. In the right doses, pre-workout supplements can enhance athletic performance. However, most pre-workout doses are insufficient to produce any benefit at all. You have to find what works for you. Limiting certain ingredients may help, but none of these ingredients have been found to be harmful at the prescribed doses, and all are FDA-approved for human consumption and use.

Looking for the best pre-workout for your performance?

Swolverine’s Mango Lemonade Pre-Workout is a non-stimulant, proprietary blend-free and clinically dosed pre-workout formula that combines high-quality sports nutrition with powerful antioxidant-rich superfoods. This natural pre-workout powder is made with proven ingredients, citrulline malate, beta-alanine, L-carnitine, and nutrient-dense superfoods like pomegranate, betaine anhydrous, coconut water, and ginseng. Swolverine’s Pre-Workout Proven to help you train harder and maximize your performance.