Pre-Workout Supplements: 6 Side Effects and How to Avoid Them

We live in a world where we expect to feel something when we use pre-workout supplements. If you don’t feel some sort of energy, tingly sensation, or mental focus, then we consider it a terrible product. Yet, what many of us find out is that these pre-workouts also have some drawbacks — specifically, side effects.

At Weik Fitness, we want you to understand not only your nutrition but how things work and potential consequences (especially if abused). Pre-workout supplements are no exception. Some of us swear by pre-workout supplements and can’t work out without them.

Related Article: Do You Need a Pre-Workout? What You Need to Know

Then on the flip-side, we have people who never use a pre-workout and they have amazing workouts. The choice is ultimately yours in the direction you care to go.

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1) Insomnia

Have you ever looked at the label of your pre-workout? You should. What you find on the back might give you a good indication if the product is for you or not — especially if you use your pre-workout supplements for a night-time training session and they contain stimulants.

In general, pre-workout supplements are slammed with caffeine. I’m not talking about a couple cups of coffee worth, I mean anywhere from 200-400mg of caffeine per serving.

Sure, the caffeine in these products will help give you energy throughout your workout due to it activating epinephrine and norepinephrine in the body, but if taken at night, it will also cause you to lay in bed staring at your ceiling.

So how can this be combated if you plan on getting a good night’s sleep? The half-life (how long it lasts) of caffeine is anywhere from three to five hours. With that being said, if you plan on hopping into bed around 11 pm, you shouldn’t take your pre-workout after 6 pm or they might affect your sleep.

The Counter Approach for Pre-Workout Supplements

The good news is, everyone metabolizes caffeine at different rates, so in this instance, you might be able to get away with using your pre-workout supplements as late as 8 pm.

However, if you metabolize it extremely slowly, you might still be feeling the effects of the stimulant from a lunchtime workout. You could also lower the dose/serving size of your pre-workout supplements so the effects aren’t as drastic as a full serving, which could allow it to exit your system faster.

Don’t forget about post workout nutrition after your workout. If you would like information on how to set that up for maximal results, IIFYM has some great programs to get you on track to making progress through proper nutrition.

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2) Diarrhea

Ah yes, the runs. Something we at IIFYM would hate to see any of you have. Yet, it happens with certain pre-workout supplements. This can happen for a number of reasons, but most people will find the issue arising from two things in particular.

The first one is some specific ingredients used in the products that can have a laxative effect on sensitive systems that send you to the toilet fairly quickly after slamming down the pre-workout supplements.

These ingredients include high dosages of the following: sodium bicarbonate, magnesium, taurine, arginine, Yohimbe, creatine, and caffeine. But more times than not, it comes down to how you use the product.

A problem in the supplement industry is that sometimes you have people creating pre-workout supplements without truly knowing how they work in the body and how they are absorbed. For instance, and this is the second issue we were talking about above, how much water you use to mix up your favorite pre-workout supplements.

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