Other Ingredients
Scientists have discovered other compounds that can be observed in pre-workout supplements. These compounds may sound confusing, but they are just artificial names for natural ingredients. They include:
- Nitric Oxide (NO): Nitric oxide helps dilate your blood vessels, which boosts blood flow. Nitric oxide offers a clear pathway for oxygen [2] and nutrients to get into the blood vessels, which can give you extra energy when lifting weights. Tandem with nitric oxide might contain L-citrulline and L-arginine [3]; that’s because both are amino acids involved in the process of producing it!
- L-tyrosine: L-tyrosine is an amino acid that helps synthesize adrenaline [4] and norepinephrine [5], two hormones that are activated when the body is under stress. At first, that might sound bad. But stress isn’t always a bad thing; sometimes it means you’re pushing through a difficult workout and because of its relationship with those two hormones, studies have shown that l-tyrosine can actually help improve exercise performance when you’re under stress.
- L-theanine: L-theanine is a natural ingredient found in tea. If you’re looking for a pre-workout that doesn’t have caffeine, you’ll likely encounter l-theanine, as it’s been shown to improve focus, attention, and alertness.
- Vitamin B-6: In addition to different types of amino acids, you also may observe vitamin B-6 listed on the label of your pre-workout. Vitamin B-6 is vital for the production of energy. It is also used to split muscle glycogen [6]. It’s crucial for your metabolism, especially during exercise, and adding enough of it to your diet can help with weight loss, too. We’d be happy to see it on any sports pre-workout label.