As a fitness instructor for almost ten years, I routinely advise my clients to use high-quality supplements to improve their day-to-day physical performance at the gym.
Some of my clients were curious whether pre-workout supplements can help reduce weight regardless of exercise. So I consulted some of my fitness colleagues at Total Shape and conducted a few weeks of research to find out if there’s any to it.
If you're thinking about taking pre-workouts, keep reading to find out if they alone can help you reach your fat-loss goals faster.
Quick Summary
- Pre-workouts can help people lose weight by increasing exercise performance, which can lead to more calories getting burned when working out.
- The common ingredients in pre-workouts that aid performance are caffeine, creatine, beta-alanine, BCAAs, and L-Citrulline malate.
- Other benefits linked with pre-workouts include improving cognitive functions, boosting the immune system, and lowering blood sugar levels.
Can Pre-workout Supplements Help With Weight Loss?
Pre-workout supplements might help with weight loss because they contain ingredients that have been shown to increase motivation and physical performance.
Researchers have found that these stimulants and nootropics can improve endurance, focus, and energy while working out, which also might lead to weight loss.
Furthermore, these ergogenic effects of dietary supplements can lead to increased lean muscle mass, faster calorie burn, and, ultimately, weight loss [1].
How Can Pre-workout Boost Your Workout Results?
Studies showed that pre-workout supplements can boost your focus and workout results by increasing energy levels, concentration, and nutrient supply to working muscles.
Because of the added ingredients in these supplements, they provide extra benefits that can boost your efforts in losing weight. For example, some pre-workout ingredients like beta-alanine have been linked to improved fat oxidation, helping your body burn more body fat during exercise.
Additionally, pre-workouts can be a valuable tool for weight loss as they may help suppress appetite, allowing you to consume fewer calories throughout the day, ultimately aiding in achieving your fitness goals.
By supporting your workouts and providing the extra energy needed to push through intense training sessions, pre-workout supplements can enhance your overall weight loss journey and help you get closer to your desired body composition.
Let's see how these common ingredients aid performance:
Caffeine
Caffeine is the most commonly used pre-workout supplement ingredient because it has been shown to increase energy levels by activating the central nervous system (CNS) [2].
Research suggests that intake of about 3 to 6 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight can promote alertness and reaction time, thus improving overall workout performance [3]
Related Article: Can Caffeine Help You Lose Weight?
Creatine
Creatine is another common ingredient found in some different pre-workout supplements and energy drinks because it has been shown to hasten muscle recovery and prevent muscle injury during intense workouts [4].
Furthermore, research indicates that creatine supplementation can help improve body composition by increasing training capacity and promoting faster lean muscle mass gain from workouts [5].
Beta-Alanine
Sports supplements containing the amino acid beta-alanine can help improve workout performance by delaying muscle fatigue and increasing exercise capacity [6].
Furthermore, it contains antioxidant properties that boost immunity and overall health, leading to improved physical and mental performance [7].
Branched Chain Amino Acids
Supplements based on branched-chain amino acids are a common supplement ingredient that has been shown to speed up muscle growth and the rate at which muscles heal after training [8].
“The three BCAAs are of interest to researchers because of their potential to reduce muscle tissue breakdown and improve post-exercise recovery.”
- Kait Richardson RDN, LD, Florida
Furthermore, research has shown that consuming 3000 to 4000 mg of leucine, one of the BCAAs, promotes protein synthesis the most after resistance exercise [9].
L-Citrulline Malate
L-Citrulline Malate is another great ingredient that has been shown to enhance exercise performance by widening blood vessels and increasing muscle oxygenation [10].
As the oxygen supply to working muscles increases, nutrients are delivered to the muscles more quickly, leading to a faster recovery rate from post-workout muscle damage.
Also, there are ingredients in pre-workouts that do more than the mentioned weight-loss benefits, as some ingredients are also found to make you feel less hungry.
Does It Suppress Appetite?
An effective pre-workout supplement suppresses appetite because it contains nootropic ingredients like Rhodiola Rosea that boost your mood or fiber-rich ingredients like glucomannan that make you feel full longer [11].
Over many years of testing thousands of sports supplements, I found that the best pre-workout for weight loss is one that helps boost physical performance while cutting calorie intake.
This is because you're generating a negative energy balance, also known as a caloric deficit, in which you burn more calories than you consume.
Are There Any Other Health Benefits?
Yes, there are other health benefits to taking pre-workouts, such as improved cognitive functions, lower blood sugar levels, and immune support.
Caffeine is shown to enhance short-term memory and speed up reaction times, while creatine reduces blood glucose and fights diabetes [12] [13].
Furthermore, it has been found that getting essential amino acids, in the long run, helps improve digestion and increase immunity to disease [14].
FAQs
Does Pre-Workout Speed Up Your Metabolism?
A pre-workout supplement can speed up your metabolism because most of the common ingredients increase thermogenesis. Raising your body temperature will consequently increase your carbohydrate and fat metabolism.
Does Pre-Workout Make You Fat?
Pre-workout does not make you fat if you combine it with a proper diet and consistent workouts. Additionally, most contain substances that reduce hunger and promote healthy metabolism, which helps with fat loss.
References:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30089501/
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/caffeine/
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2020.574854/full
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5469049/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2048496/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257613/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24383505/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16365096/
- https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-9-54
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5999519/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3892933/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20182035/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33572228/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18670730/
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