Michael Claro 1

Michael Claro
May 6, 2014
English 301
Professor Bruce
Dangers of Pre-Workout
New workout supplements are constantly being introduced in todays market that
we as consumers dont know the hidden dangers behind this entirely new supplement
craze. One of the latest supplements that have recently gotten popular over the years is
Pre-Workout. Sales and production have increased tremendously as well, which makes it
harder for potential customers to decide what is safe and not safe. On the product itself,
they use great catch phases such as Increased Focus, Pump, and Energy. This is a
tremendous marketing tool however they also purposely leave out that it increases blood
pressure, adrenal fatigue, and sometimes insomnia. Although supplemental Pre-Workout
provides many beneficial effects in the short term, but in the long term it poses many
health risks that should make supplemental Pre-Workout illegal.
Supplemental Pre-Workout is basically a powder that one simply adds water to
ingest prior to physical exercise. The purpose of it is to improve areas many areas in
fitness such as strength, endurance, alertness and metabolism. Up to 70% of adolescents
and young adults have reported using at least one nutritional supplement and high energy
drinks are among the most popular (Alves and Lima, 2009). So we ask ourselves, what
makes Pre-Workout so great and why are 70% of adolescents using it? According to a
Pre-Workout supplement user, You feel a lot more focused, it gives you a lot more
energy, you enjoy it more, you want to be there and you push yourself further than what
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you would if you don't take it (Simmons, 2012). Most users who take Pre-Workout are
mainly bodybuilders who go to the gym daily and sometimes even twice a day. Some of
them consume Pre-Workout as a means to stay awake or to give them the endurance to
keep going even if they are already fatigued and drained from their previous workout
regiment. Pre-Workout keeps them going by providing them with energy to get through
the workout. What ingredients in supplemental Pre-Workout provide athletes and
bodybuilders alike with energy they need?
In NutritionExpress, Jeff S. Volek
states that there are five main ingredients
in supplemental Pre-Workout and they are
caffeine, creatine, beta-alanine, L-arginine,
and protein. Caffeine boosts energy, focus,
performance, and fat burning (Volek,
2008). Creatine also increases strength,
power, and muscle size (Volek, 2008).
Beta-alanine delays muscle fatigue (Volek,
2008). L-arginine spurs the growth of
nitric oxide production (Volek, 2008).
Lastly, protein intensifies muscles building
effects (Volek, 2008). The primary ingredient of Pre-
Workout is mainly caffeine which can range
anywhere from 100-300 mg of caffeine in just one serving and to give a mind blowing
example, there is around 100 mg of caffeine in an 8 ounce cup of coffee (Simmons,
Figure 1.1
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2012). Simmons also says that caffeine causes the system in our body to work harder and
can result in an increase of heart rate, blood pressure, mental excitement and constant
urination which makes the kidneys work harder. Looking at figure 1.1, we can see that
there are way more ingredients in supplemental Pre-Workout that we do not know of and
if they are even safe for human consumption.
Often times, there are many mysterious ingredients in supplemental Pre-
Workout that we as consumers are not really aware about. It is known that these Pre-
Workout contents similarly resemble to that of energy drinks- both of which are not
regulated under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Because these supplements
are often not regulated under their jurisdiction, consumers are left to intake a potent
amount of these chemicals that could be hazardous for their health. It states in that FDA
changed the ruling in October 1955, because President Clinton signed a new law called
the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) (FDA, 2014). Prior to this
ruling, any type of supplements had to go through the same requirements as if they were
food. Now since the DSHEA passed, a firm is responsible for determining that the
dietary supplements it manufactures or distributes are safe and that any representations or
claims made about them are substantiated by adequate evidence to show that they are not
false or misleading (FDA, 2014). This basically means that any dietary supplement does
not need any approval whatsoever from the FDA.
We now ask ourselves if supplemental Pre-Workout is even effective when an
individual consumes it prior to physical exercise. In one study done by professors at the
University of Central Florida, it was found that there was no conclusive evidence that its
ability to enhance resistance exercise performance in human subjects by itself remains
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unclear because little independent studies have been conducted to draw conclusions on
its effects (Gonzalez et al., 2001). According to Dr. Datis Kharrazian, he states that
resistance exercise may cause muscle damage and that caffeine enhances the risk. He also
asserts that long-term stimulant intake with intense training may increase the risk for
overtraining syndrome, which in turn leads to lack of motivation, depression, decreased
physical performance and increased risk of injury (Kharrazian Datis, 2010).
However other studies done by scientists have found that supplements can
improve human function by improving ones feeling of energy, focus, and alertness. All
of these combined can lead up to a significant improvement in multi-directional choice
reaction time and single-step choice reaction time with an auditory stimulant (Spradley et
al., 2012). It also says in Spradleys study that supplemental Pre-Workout may reduce
both feelings of fatigue and actual fatigue, which can result in an increase in performance
of muscular endurance and reaction time. In another study done at the University of
Central Florida done by Adam Gonzalez, he concluded that the consumption of Pre-
Workout energy supplement would result in an increase of total number of repetitions
performed during the exercise and average power outputs. Which basically means that
ones strength will greatly increase when one consumes supplemental Pre-Workout prior
to physical exercise (Gonzalez et al., 2001).
Taking supplemental Pre-Workout have both positive and negative benefits.
However it appears that the negative side outweighs the positive in the long run and there
is not enough research done on Pre-Workout to determine that safe to use. Like drugs in
general, individuals will develop a tolerance to the effects of the Pre-Workout which will
lead them in taking larger doses to achieve the same effect. As stated above, long-term
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use of caffeine will put the body under loads of stress and many other complications. Pre-
Workout may seemingly provide short-term energy boosts needed for physical exercise,
however taking it in large amounts over a long period of time is not safe and should be
illegal.



















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References
Alves, C. and Lima, R.V. (2009) Dietary supplement use by adolescents.
Journal of Pediatrics 85, 287-294.
Gonzalez, A. M., Walsh, A. L., Ratamess, N. A., Kang, J., & Hoffman, J. R. (2011).
Effect of a pre-workout energy supplement on acute multi-joint resistance
exercise. Journal Of Sports Science & Medicine, 10(2), 261-266.
Kharrazian, D. (2010). The potential negative effects of arginine and caffeine in pre-
workout nitric oxide products. Nutritional Perspectives: Journal Of The Council
On Nutrition, 33(3), 26.
Lipson, Dave. Invictus Redefining Fitness. Ed. Chris Johnson. N.p., 8 Jan. 2013. Web. 22
Apr. 2014. <http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/caffeine-based-pre-workout-
supplementsfriend-or-foe/>.
Simmons, Amy. ABC News. N.p., 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-17/pre-workout-supplements/3774122>.
Spradley, D. B., Crowley, R. K., Tai, C., Kendall, L. K., Fukuda, H. D., Esposito, N. E.,
Moon, R. J Ingesting a pre-workout supplement containing caffeine, B-
vitamins, amino acids, creatine, and beta-alanine before exercise delays fatigue
while improving reaction time and muscular endurance. (2012). Nutrition &
Metabolism, 9(1), 28-36. doi:10.1186/1743-7075-9-28
Volek, J. S. (2008, July 13). In NutritionExpress. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from
http://www.nutritionexpress.com/article+index/authors/jeff+s+volek+phd+rd/sho
warticle.aspx?articleID=1320
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Dietary Supplements . (2014, March 20). In FDA U. S. Food and Drug Administration .
Retrieved May 8, 2014, from
http://www.fda.gov/Food/Dietarysupplements/default.htm