Timing is everything. When prepping for exercise, you want the correct nutrients available in your system to support the work ahead so you can get the most benefit from the exercise. This might mean waking up a little earlier for your morning workout or thinking ahead to your evening workout, so you are energized, hydrated, and physically ready. Although many nutrients are helpful before, during, and after exercising, here are some of Thorne’s best supplement considerations for pre-workout, ideally the zero to two hours before you exercise.

1. Pre-Workout Elite

It’s all in the name! Thorne’s Pre-Workout Elite is formulated with a host of superstar ingredients that support physical and mental energy to help you achieve your goals in the gym, on the field, or at the screen.*

With this citrus berry powder, you can expect support for lean muscle mass, a natural boost in the body’s ability to produce energy, and less fatigue so you can go harder for longer.*

As you’d expect from Thorne, this isn’t your average pre-workout. While many other pre-workouts on the market are loaded with caffeine, Pre-Workout Elite contains less than you’d find in a cup of coffee.

Plus, the caffeine used in Pre-Workout Elite is derived from a natural caffeine source, the Guayusa plant. This extract in Pre-Workout Elite utilizes a patented extraction process that reduces the jitters and side effects often experienced with other caffeine sources.

Because you can feel the benefits of Pre-Workout Elite in as soon as 30 minutes after consumption,* we recommend mixing one scoop with at least 10 ounces of water 15-30 minutes before your workout. Thorne’s Pre-Workout Elite is part of our NSF Certified for Sport® product line.

2. Beta Alanine-SR

Beta Alanine-SR is a great pre-workout supplement for all types of exercise. Whether you’re hitting the gym, court, field, or pool – or simply lacing up sneakers for a long run – beta-alanine helps maintain normal muscular pH by buffering hydrogen ions and fighting fatigue during a workout.* It has been shown to support time-to-exhaustion in exercises lasting 1-4 minutes and aerobic exercise longer than 4 minutes, which is a good majority of the activity in team sports, HIIT training, and movements designed to improve muscle work capacity.*

This supplement is the only tablet that Thorne makes. Although most tablets on the market use binders on our “No List” to compress the ingredients into tablet shape, we deliver our beta-alanine as a tablet without using unwanted or unnecessary ingredients. The PureTab® sustained-release delivery system minimizes the tingling sensations from beta-alanine associated with consuming non-sustained release beta-alanine greater than 800 mg. It also helps with timing, so while you do want to take beta-alanine pre-workout, you can be a bit more flexible with how soon you take it before your workout.

Beta Alanine-SR is NSF Certified for Sport for use by professional athletes, but even if you’re not a serious or professional athlete, you will still want to consider the benefits of beta-alanine for everyday health.

3. Amino Complex

Both strength and endurance athletes can benefit from having amino acids readily available in the bloodstream when beginning a workout to support the anabolic response from exercise and muscle soreness, repair, and recovery.* Amino Complex – NSF Certified for Sport and available in lemon and berry flavors – is a good option for individuals doing an early morning workout or who have had hours since their last meal. 

Amino Complex’s blend of essential amino acids includes the branched-chain amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine. This mix supports energy production in the body and normal blood glucose during exercise.* For pre-workout, use one scoop of powder in eight ounces of water 30 minutes before beginning.

4. Creatine

Although most people think of creatine as a supplement for bodybuilders and weightlifters, it is actually supportive of pretty much every performance goal. Both men and women are known to reach for creatine pre-workout to support the growth of new lean body mass, to enhance submaximal and peak strength, and to promote motor function performance.*

Creatine does two primary things in the muscles when consumed pre-workout. First, it pulls water into the cells, thus holding onto water in the body and supporting cellular hydration levels. This is important for the structure and function of cells, while supporting thermoregulation in the working body.1 Second, while being transported into the cell, creatine is utilized to support quick energy needs in the phosphocreatine system while helping to maintain ATP levels (the main energy molecule used by cells) for other energy needs.* 

Although some of us like to “turn off” our brains and vibe with music when we exercise, brain function is crucial to a workout, especially in the case of injury risk. So whether you’re making decisions about plays, counting reps, calculating a pace, or trying to stay positive throughout the workout, your brain can be supported by creatine during exercise.* Regular, consistent creatine supplementation has been shown to support oxygen levels in the brain and decrease mental fatigue.2* Consider 2-5 grams of creatine monohydrate on a consistent pre-workout basis (30 minutes before starting) and even on days when you are not working out. Thorne’s Creatine is NSF Certified for Sport.

5. Collagen Fit

Collagen Fit is a collagen peptide supplement – with nicotinamide riboside (NR) to support cellular energy production – making this a perfect pre-workout supplement for individuals looking to promote lean body mass, strengthen connective tissue, reduce the risk for injury in joints and tendons, and enhance metabolism.*

The older you get, the more you might want to consider Collagen Fit as your go-to before a weightlifting session. As much as 40 percent of our bones consists of collagen, so if the body's collagen production decreases or its intake is low, then bones can weaken, making them more susceptible to fracture.3 Paired with a resistance training program, collagen supports bones, joints, tendons, muscles, skin, hair, and nails.*

You should also consider collagen if you’re doing two-a-days, exercising seven days a week, feeling stiff when you wake up, or just wanting to optimize body composition.* One scoop of unflavored Collagen Fit powder can be mixed with other powders on this list and consumed 30 minutes before exercise.

6. Catalyte

Although most of us reach for a water bottle when we’re thirsty, research shows the body is already around 2-percent dehydrated when thirst kicks in, making us more susceptible to decreased performance and drops in blood pressure.4 So don’t wait until you’re thirsty to start hydrating.

Pre-workout hydration, depending on the time of day, can take hours to optimize, so begin early. Ideally, you want to consume 20-30 ounces of water or an electrolyte supplement – like Thorne’s lemon lime-flavored Catalyte – 2-3 hours before exercise and another 20 ounces 30 minutes before beginning, while monitoring your urine color for hydration status – aim for your urine stream to be the color of light lemonade rather than apple juice.

Being hydrated when beginning exercise helps you thermoregulate and sweat appropriately, regulates blood flow and blood pressure, supports muscle contractions, delivers nutrients to cells, and improves mood.*5 Also, being dehydrated makes exercise feel significantly harder than it is.6

Catalyte replaces the nutrients your body sweats out, and is also formulated with B vitamins and taurine to support energy production,* making this a perfect option to prep you for a workout of any kind. Thorne’s Catalyte is NSF Certified for Sport.

7. NiaCel® 400

NAD+ is what our cells use in energy production pathways to live and breathe each day, but also to pump iron, run a race, or smash a softball into the outfield. 

Not only do we make less NAD+ as we age, but our diets play a big role in how much we have available. Excessive carbohydrate intake, and in some cases excessive calorie intake in general, can cause accumulation of NADH and a decreased availability of NAD+. Fasting, decreasing carbohydrate intake, or reducing overall calories can help, but is usually not a good strategy for athletes and others looking to optimize their workout.

Thorne’s NiaCel® 400 is a nicotinamide riboside supplement that supports NAD+ production to help you achieve optimal exercise efficiency and reach your health and fitness goals.* Aim to take 1-2 capsules 30 to 60 minutes before a workout to support your exercise routine, as well as routinely on days when you don’t exercise. NiaCel® 400 is NSF Certified for Sport.

References

  1. Polyviou TP, Pitsiladis YP, Lee WC, et al. Thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses to creatine, glycerol and alpha lipoic acid in trained cyclists. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2012;9(1):29.
  2. Watanabe A, Kato N, Kato T. Effects of creatine on mental fatigue and cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation. Neurosci Res 2002;42(4):279-285.
  3. König D, Oesser S, Scharla S, et al. Specific collagen peptides improve bone mineral density and bone markers in postmenopausal women-a randomized controlled study. Nutrients 2018;10(1). doi:10.3390/nu10010097
  4. Adams WM, Vandermark LW, Belval LN, Casa DJ. The utility of thirst as a measure of hydration status following exercise-induced dehydration. Nutrients 2019;11(11). doi:10.3390/nu11112689
  5. Armstrong LE, Ganio MS, Casa DJ, et al. Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. J Nutr 2012;142(2):382-388.
  6. Ganio MS, Armstrong LE, Casa DJ, et al. Mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men. Br J Nutr 2011;106(10):1535-1543.