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LAVERA STEWART
Editor-in-Chief of the Gym Expert
While running can bring many health benefits, it can also pose unique needs for the body.
Bones and joints need extra care, nutrients run out more easily, and muscles need to have the time and fuel to recover properly.
Dietary supplements can help runners maintain overall health and improve performance. The needs of each person, however, can be very different.
Factors such as age, sex, genetics, fitness level, diet, and even geographic location can influence a person’s particular needs.
What is the best pre-workout for runners?
Firstly, we must establish our commitment as sportsmen; that is, our goal is to run:
- Improve our body composition
- Keep us in good physical shape
- Running for simple fun
- Compete in amateur tests
- Compete at higher levels
Whatever the option that best suits our purpose, we will have to keep in mind that we will need certain elements to improve athletic skills, propitiate a better recovery or directly maintain our health without this activity representing damage in the long-term.
However, the certainty is that unlike the more sedentary general population, any runner, regardless of his frequency and intensity of training, will have to consider some important aspects to avoid any health problems deriving from their running activity.
Here's a list of best pre-workout supplements for running:
Creatine
Creatine will probably not be the first supplement you think of in association with running, yet many the best pre-workout considers it for running.
Running, especially over greater distances, can lead to muscle inflammation and damage to the cellular level, as well as provoke muscle catabolism. If you want healthy and strong legs to run with, you will need to develop and maintain the affected muscle.
Its main function is to provide more energy to the muscle to push yourself beyond your limits. However, some research could allow the body to exploit oxygen more efficiently: good news for both legs and lungs.
Creatine can, therefore, help sprinters to increase the sudden force of movement.
BulkSupplements.com Creatine Monohydrate
Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Monohydrate Powder
MuscleTech Platinum Creatine Monohydrate Powder
BulkSupplements.com Creatine Monohydrate
Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Monohydrate Powder
MuscleTech Platinum Creatine Monohydrate Powder
Taking Creatine
- It is recommended to take 3 g of creatine per day to optimize muscle development and increase sports performance. The optimal intake time for creatine is immediately before training or after waking up, and the time doesn’t have to be always the same.
- You can buy the creatine powder and mix it in a liquid. Or you can buy it in capsules or tablets. Since even in these cases, it is a powder (encapsulated or pressed), it makes no difference in what form the creatine is taken.
- It should be ingested with abundant liquids and plenty of water. If you consume creatine powder, it is best to mix it in non-boiling hot water as it dissolves better.
Glutamine and Branch Chain Amino Acids
During intense and prolonged physical activity, the body mainly uses these amino acids as a source of glucose and additional or “emergency” energy. Glutamine is also important for strengthening the immune system and increasing resistance to infections. At the same time, an adequate supply of BCAA counteracts the perception of fatigue towards the end of prolonged activities, making it the best pre-workout for endurance.
BCAA is a great pre-workout before running, as it can help improve sports performance or at least accelerate recovery, removing the risk of overtraining (especially when associated with glutamine).
Body Fortress 100% Pure Glutamine Powder
Now Foods L-Glutamine Pure Powder
NOW Supplements L-Glutamine
Body Fortress 100% Pure Glutamine Powder
Now Foods L-Glutamine Pure Powder
NOW Supplements L-Glutamine
Taking glutamine:
- The recommended dose of intake is around 1-1.5 grams of glutamine per day. However, it should be noted that in many studies that attest to its ergogenic properties, significantly higher dosages have been used (5 grams or 0.1 g per kg of body weight).
- It must be taken one hour before the start of the training session together with carbohydrates since, in addition to being better absorbed in conditions of high blood sugar, glutamine promotes optimal sports performance
- Glutamine, as a nutritional supplement, is available in a powder version or capsules or tablets. The choice of powdered products is probably the most convenient due to the possibility of mixing it with other supplements such as protein shakes to create the best pre-workout drink for running.
Taking Branch Chain Amino Acids:
- Intaking 5 g of BCAA before training performs a preventive action in this sense – all with maximum digestibility, practicality, and without additional calories.
- The intake should happen before training and serves above all for muscle protection. To produce energy, the body preferably uses free BCAAs, instead of affecting its muscle protein reserves.
- BCAAs can be taken in capsules or in powder form, with abundant liquids: water, juice, and sports drinks. Since fat slows down the absorption of BCAAs, it is better to avoid fatty drinks such as whole milk. On the other hand, partially skimmed milk with a fat content of up to 1.5% is not a problem.
Optimum Nutrition Instantized BCAA Capsules
BulkSupplements.com BCAA 2:1:1
XTEND Original BCAA Powder
Optimum Nutrition Instantized BCAA Capsules
BulkSupplements.com BCAA 2:1:1
XTEND Original BCAA Powder
Caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant, and its main mechanism concerns the inhibition of adenosine (which causes relaxation when it acts on its receptors), thus causing promptness and alertness. Several studies have been conducted on this substance and have shown:
- Improvement in anaerobic performance thanks to the anti-fatigue effect and the increase in the power expressed.
- Improvements in aerobic performance include reducing fatigue and pain perception, as well as greater use of fats as an energy substrate, with an improvement in the performance of around 1%.
- If taken after an intense workout, it helps restore glycogen stores.
Caffeine is one of the few supplements that can help improve performance for both the short and medium distance runner and the marathon runner. It, therefore, is a great pre-workout supplement for runners.
SmarterVitamins Caffeine Pills
Bulksupplements Caffeine Capsules
SmarterVitamins Caffeine Pills
Bulksupplements Caffeine Capsules
Taking Caffeine:
- The optimal dose of caffeine to have effects on performance is between 4-6mg / kg of body weight or for a person of 70kg between 280-420mg. For those who do not usually consume caffeine, I recommend starting with low doses such as 100mg.
- The ideal time to intake is 45 to 60 minutes before the performance.
- You can take it through classic coffee, but the main problem is that it contains a relatively low dose of caffeine, and some do not tolerate it well before physical activity.
Beta-alanine
Beta-alanine (or β-alanine) is an amino acid widely used today as an ergogenic supplement. In particular, beta-alanine stands out as one of the most interesting supplements to improve various types of resistance, such as aerobic and anaerobic endurance, or muscle endurance.
Unlike many other supplements, in this case, the effectiveness is well-established, thanks to many studies that have observed the benefits of caffeine within runners.
Βeta-alanine acts as a so-called “buffer” agent, that is, as a buffer to limit the acidity produced by muscle contraction (acidosis). During the physical activity of sufficient intensity, there is an increase in the production of hydrogen ions (H+) and, therefore, their accumulation in muscle cells: this results in a decrease in cellular pH, and an acidic environment compromises muscle contraction creating fatigue. Buffer substances, such as β-alanine or sodium bicarbonate, act precisely by delaying this process.
BulkSupplements.com Beta-Alanine
Nutricost Beta-Alanine Powder
NOW Sports Nutrition Beta-Alanine
BulkSupplements.com Beta-Alanine
Nutricost Beta-Alanine Powder
NOW Sports Nutrition Beta-Alanine
Taking beta-alanine
- To be effective, beta-alanine must be taken for a long-term period of at least 4 weeks, and the ideal doses of β-alanine are 4-5 g, to be taken daily, even on rest days.
- Despite being a common ingredient of many pre-workout supplements, β-alanine does not have a so-called acute action. That is, it does not act in the period following ingestion.
- Beta-alanine is taken in the form of gelatin capsules or soluble powder.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Whether you are running for work or pleasure, it is important to recognize that the body is more than a sum of its parts. Everything – from the brain to foot – works in a complex synergy that we are only just beginning to understand.
Finding the right pre-workout before a run can certainly help you in your performance, but you should listen to your unique body’s needs, which will allow you to feel and give your best.
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