Pre Workout Cheat Sheet

Let’s make one thing clear.

Pre Workout refers to anything you take before a workout for the workout. It doesn’t matter if what you take is labelled as “Pre”.

Some people say monsters aren’t pre…

Here’s an embarrassing thing to admit.

I used to travel down the wrong path.

Before getting really good at learning what causes growth, I got really good at understanding preworkouts…

It’s not the best thing to focus on. Improving a workout externally means nothing if the workout is bad. Oh well! 🙄 

It’s still beneficial for today.

But back then I went crazy with it.

I analysed the UK market and discovered no pre-workouts were worth buying here.

I spoke deeply about how toxic the marketing of pre workout is here.

I’m sure one day I’ll finally fulfil my dream of starting a pre-workout line, but for now I can help you use my brain to improve your sessions.

No, this won’t make up for bad training. Please have a good workout plan 😁 

• I’ll teach you the 3 reasons you’d want pre

• I’ll tell you how to work out if you’re having the right dose

• I’ll give you a short and easy way to judge if buying a pre is worth it

So lets take a look at the things we might do to improve our workout.

1. Better energy

2. Better motivation

3. Better endurance

Most of these are going to be situation dependent but some are essential.

Better energy in the gym.

There’s two parts to this.

You’ve got mental energy, and physical energy.

You might feel 100% mentally locked in. You might be as hyper as you can possibly be. Your muscles might have energy issues…

I’ve had hyped up completely locked in workouts where I’m significantly weaker than normal.

I’ve had just get out of bed worn down groggy half asleep don’t’ want to be there workouts where I’m significantly stronger than normal.

You need to do your best to tick both boxes.

If you’re physically and mentally energised, that’s setting you up for a perfect workout.

How to get better mental energy in the gym.

You’ll hear these be called nootropics.

Hands down the best thing you can do for mental energy is take a stimulant.

I’m not saying this is necessary, but for most people it’s the backbone of their pre workout.

Obviously there are some who can’t take this. If you train close to bed stimulants aren’t going to be the best option. I’m also not about to recommend nicotine for the gym 😭 

This is where other stuff comes in that isn’t inherently stimulating, but does give you that boost.

Stims

• Caffeine is the gold standard

• It’s also the only stim you’ll probably be taking…

• I won’t recommend any others as most aren’t legal/safe 🙄 

Non-stims

• Creatine is your best friend here

• L-Theanine might be beneficial

• L-Tyrosine might do something

• There’s a lot of options and it takes self experimentation.

The thing about non stims is that everyone is going to respond differently.

They also typically don’t make a HUGE difference, so it’s on you to find out what works.

For me, L-Theanine completely removes any side effects of stimulants, for others it does nothing.

Side note, if you want an alternative to smelling salts here’s a good intra-workout inhalant.

Where physical energy comes in at the gym

Physical energy largely comes down to whether or not your muscles are ready and able to generate force.

The biggest factor here I’ve found is going to entirely be the amount of carbs/glycogen you’ve got in your muscle.

Although this is largely dependent on getting enough carbs in general, and taking advantage of the post workout window you still have a lot you can do before the gym.

Work on getting a ton of carbs before your workout and you’re setting yourself up for success.

Better motivation is a weird one with pre

Of course you have the obvious.

Any sort of stimulant/nootropic is going to have increased motivation.

But there’s other stuff here you don’t always consider.

Stuff that causes a bigger pump gives huge motivation.

Sensations like tingling give some motivation.

You have to find what gives you motivation, and what doesn’t.

Sensations can cause motivation.

• Beta-alanine makes you feel electrified

• Niacin makes you feel tingling with energy

• Caffeine makes you feel wired

These can be great for some people but can completely ruin the experience for others.

You have to figure out what works for you.

Getting the pump is super easy with pre.

There’s been a trend recently of guys using Viagra to help with the pump.

It works…

Most people are addicted to the pump. It’s one of the most motivating things possible.

Even if there are no benefits of getting a better pump as far as I can tell.

There are benefits to being more motivated.

Pump compounds are kinda easy…

You’re just looking for a vasodilator.

• L-Citrulline is the most common pump compound, it works.

• Nitrates can be pretty decent

• Carbing up properly can work well too

You might start to see there’s a lot of overlap here.

Endurance is the last thing to worry about

It’s easily covered by some of your other stuff…

Better motivation, better energy, etc.

But there are some unique ways to tackle this.

The better your endurance, the shorter rest times.

• Caffeine is king here too.

Now I’ll get really nerdy.

When you’re trying out these compounds for your specific needs there’s some stuff you need to do.

Alongside that feel free to explore and find other compounds out there and test them yourself. If on you to do due diligence to make sure it works. If you don’t see any real benefit drop it.

You have two things to research.

1. Deloads

2. Doses

Some compounds are going to start to lose their effectiveness the more you use them, these will require timeoff.

Caffeine is a big culprit here… as are most stims.

When it comes to doses, you’ll have to get nerdy.

Easiest way to work this out is going over to examine.com and taking a look at what they recommend for the outcome you want.

If you’re not getting this amount, you probably shouldn’t be taking it.

That’s all the advice I have for you!

So here’s the prompt I promised. Make sure you use the search function to give it internet access, and throw in the pre-workout ingredients you’re looking at.

Hello Mr Chat GPT. Pretend you are an expert in Pharmacology and you're using the highest evidence based research collected on examine.com. 

Please analyse the recipe to make sure I'm getting efficacious doses for my body (ask me my weight, gender, and height). Make sure I'm taking the right form of the compound that will be effective, and let me know if anything needs to be deloaded, or used at a specific time due to effecting sleep etc.

Here is my formula:

I hope this can help you get that little bit extra in your workout now that you’ve been following me for a while and have an insanely good workout plan.

Your Hypertrophy Hero,
Fletcher