In my last blog, I talked about the many benefits that Pre-Workout provides to intense weight lifters when it is not being abused.  With these benefits come some negatives that are just unavoidable and others that can come about when it is abused.  Many types of Pre-Workout have not been researched enough to determine some of the possible long-term problems that can arise.  Researching the Pre-Workout that you plan to use is extremely important when weighing the positives and negatives regarding your body.

Although there are many negative effects that come with consuming Pre-Workout, the 3 main effects are dehydration, kidney damage, and high blood pressure.  Some other minor effects would be headaches, stomach aches, insomnia, and nausea (Maternowski).  For these minor effects, certain precautions can be taken in order to minimize them.  One of the most precautions is going to a doctor and making sure it is safe to take.  Everyone is different and one person could take something and be fine, while another person could obtain issues (Marsh).  If you learn to be smart and safe with Pre-Workout, you should be able to minimize the risks that accompany the benefits.

The main ingredients of Pre-Workout are creatine and caffeine (discussed in my last blog), which are they key components of becoming dehydrated when too much is consumed.  Because creatine allows your body to store water in your muscles, it takes more water to replenish all of the other parts of the body.  Studies also show that urination is more rapid because both ingredients are known as “diuretics” (Maternowski).  With this being said, there are plenty of ways to make sure your body is staying hydrated.  Obviously drinking plenty of water throughout the say and during your workout is a must, but eating fruit is a good way to keep up electrolytes.  Also, being aware of urine color is an easy way to determine levels of dehydration; dark yellow urine means the body is dehydrated (McDermott).  Staying hydrated is very easy to do with a little bit of effort and will help your body’s health greatly.

When it comes to kidney damage, creatine is the ingredient in Pre-Workout that would be the lone cause of this.  Creatine is a naturally produced substance in the body, but an excess of creatine will lead to the body lowering its production of creatine and possibly kidney failure (Maternowski).  The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (JISSN) conducted a study on “Young healthy males who regularly engaged in resistance training for at least 1 year and were ingesting a high-protein diet” that determined whether or not creatine will hurt the kidneys of these men.  The overall conclusion was that 3 months of working out on creatine did not affect the kidneys in a dangerous way (JIISN).  This experiment is either correct or a false negative.

The most long-term effect of using Pre-Workout is high blood pressure; this is said to be a possible result from Pre-Workout because of caffeine.  Caffeine is a stimulant drug which has the purpose of raising blood pressure and heart rate.  This is not necessarily an issue, but intaking caffeine right before a vigorous session of exercise can cause an issue because both caffeine and exercise raise blood pressure (Maternowski).  In 2006, The Journal of the American College of Cardiology had a sample of people drink 2 cups of coffee before working out.  Their blood pressure was taken before and after working out, which led to the conclusion that the caffeine had no effect until after exercising; there was a 22% reduction of blood flow (Mueller).  This really proves that caffeine mixed with vigorous exercise can ultimately lead to high blood pressure.

Pre-Workout clearly has many positives and negatives, which allows it to be controversial depending on who is asked.  Now it is your time to decide.  Do the positives outweigh the negatives?  Will you decide to use Pre-Workout or not?