Healthier Pre-Workout Alternatives

Basically over the last year or so I drink jack3d 1-2 scoops before every workout, without fail. I skipped it for a week once or twice just to let my body lower it's tolerance. I don't like how dependent i am on this stuff to lift. And Im also not sure about the healthiness of everything I'm putting in my body.

Has anyone had success using a more natural preworkout energy source? I have tried coffee and it works fairly well.. I was also looking into different yerba mate tea blends. I really feel like it gives me a mental boost to drink something before lifting and so I want to substitute jack3d and other NO products with a natural source.

Reps for any advice. Also if anyone has studies on the health affects pros/cons of NO products

It's the caffeine. I <3 jack3d.

[QUOTE=Love Pirate;517718323]Basically over the last year or so I drink jack3d 1-2 scoops before every workout, without fail. I skipped it for a week once or twice just to let my body lower it's tolerance. I don't like how dependent i am on this stuff to lift. And Im also not sure about the healthiness of everything I'm putting in my body.

Has anyone had success using a more natural preworkout energy source? I have tried coffee and it works fairly well.. I was also looking into different yerba mate tea blends. I really feel like it gives me a mental boost to drink something before lifting and so I want to substitute jack3d and other NO products with a natural source.

Reps for any advice. Also if anyone has studies on the health affects pros/cons of NO products[/QUOTE]

if you consider caffeine from sources such as coffee unnatural, then you are probably out of luck in your search for a "natural" product

I've found that a small carb source (apple, banana, etc) gets me going pretty well

I'm cool with coffee. Definitely cool with different teas and yerba mate. Its just that i don't feel at all like boiling up some hot coffee before the gym here where its 100 degrees every day haha.

maybe some bottled tea or coffee?

Your reasoning is kind of flawed...my girlfriend does this when she sees me taking pills. It's like the fact that the ingredients are in pill form somehow makes them bad like I'm abusing prescription medication or something.

For some reason people freak out when they see pills...like taking beta carotene in pill form is worse than eating a carrot.

Look at the ingredient profile of what you're taking and then determine whether it's healthy. Just because something is a supplement or in a pill or whatever doesn't make it "unhealthy".

The 100mg of caffeine you get from coffee is doing the same thing to your body that 100mg in a pre-workout supplement will do. If you want to get off the stim products altogether though that's another story...look at White Blood by Controlled Labs...or like someone else said, eat a banana or apple pre-workout.

[QUOTE=wood.aaronj;517726413]Your reasoning is kind of flawed...my girlfriend does this when she sees me taking pills. It's like the fact that the ingredients are in pill form somehow makes them bad like I'm abusing prescription medication or something.

For some reason people freak out when they see pills...like taking beta carotene in pill form is worse than eating a carrot.

Look at the ingredient profile of what you're taking and then determine whether it's healthy. Just because something is a supplement or in a pill or whatever doesn't make it "unhealthy".

The 100mg of caffeine you get from coffee is doing the same thing to your body that 100mg in a pre-workout supplement will do. If you want to get off the stim products altogether though that's another story...look at White Blood by Controlled Labs...or like someone else said, eat a banana or apple pre-workout.[/QUOTE]

thanks brah, repped. Its not the caffeine that bothers me. There are other ingredients in my current preworkout supplement (jack3d) and it is supposed to have the least of any of the common preworkouts:

arginine, creatine, beta alanine, caffeine, 1,3-dimethylamylamine, shizandrol, citiric acid, lemon lime flavor, acesulfame, sucralose, vegetable stearate, silicon dioxide, and chlorophyll

I just feel like i dont know what all of those do and it may not be best to put them in my body every day

EDIT: will rep on recharge

[QUOTE=Love Pirate;517730643]thanks brah, repped. Its not the caffeine that bothers me. There are other ingredients in my current preworkout supplement (jack3d) and it is supposed to have the least of any of the common preworkouts:

arginine, creatine, beta alanine, caffeine, 1,3-dimethylamylamine, shizandrol, citiric acid, lemon lime flavor, acesulfame, sucralose, vegetable stearate, silicon dioxide, and chlorophyll

I just feel like i dont know what all of those do and it may not be best to put them in my body every day

EDIT: will rep on recharge[/QUOTE]

Better safe than sorry...if you don't feel comfortable with something then you shouldn't use it. Too many people just take stuff because someone says to or some guy at the gym said it worked for him.

Best advice I could give you would be to know what you're taking and what the intended effects are.

Plenty...PLENTY...of people don't use a pre-workout energy/pump supplement at all. I would wager that most pro bodybuilders don't unless they're shooting a video for their sponsor.

If your goal is to make gains, a scoop of whey and an apple pre-workout would do alot more for you than Jack3d anyway.

A simple whey/oats shake does the trick for me

try some caffeine pills + glycergrow

could also do some fast acting carbs such as gatorade powder or honey right before working out.

Instant coffee might work for you, some of that stuff will mix even in cold water. You could also make coffee the night before and leave it in the fridge.