Intra workout supplements can be beneficial to help maximize your performance. In this article you’ll learn about their benefits, and what ingredients you need to power your performance. When it comes to supplements, finding which one and the type of products to help optimize your performance and training can be challenging. One type of supplement you may be wondering about, is intra workout supplements. As the name aptly implies, intra workout supplements are made to be used during your workout, for the specific purposes of providing fuel for your workout, to help improve endurance, workout volume, muscle maintenance, and hydration while you’re training. We’re going to talk more about intra workout supplements, their benefits, and what ingredients you need to power your performance. What Are Intra Workout Supplements? Intra workout supplements are specific sports performance nutrition products made to help power your training while you work out. Intra workout supplements can come in a wide variety of different forms, either with essential amino acids (EAA), branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), electrolytes, carbohydrates, and endurance-enhancing ingredients. Intra workout supplements can be extremely beneficial to help boost endurance and provide fuel for long-lasting training and prolonged bouts of exercise. Athletes who train for several hours in the gym, on the track, or on the pavement, need to keep their energy levels, focus, and hydration optimized at all times to maximize their training capacity and output. That’s where intra workout supplements can benefit performance the most. Intra Workout Ingredients The majority of intra workout supplements contain fast-acting carbohydrates, essential amino acids, and electrolytes. For example, Swolverine’s Intra Workout contains: Essential Amino Acids (EAA) Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and are vital to human health. Essential amino acids (EAA) stimulate muscle protein synthesis and work by creating new protein cells for muscle size, growth, and recovery. Your body needs 20 amino acids for proper biological function, however, only 9 are considered essential. These are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Your body cannot make essential amino acids, hence why they are considered “essential.” EAAs must be obtained from dietary supplements or from the food in your diet. A large body of evidence shows that EAAs can improve athletic performance, delay muscle and mental fatigue, and enhance muscle recovery. A systematic review, including 4274 patients across thirty-nine randomized controlled trials found that EAAs improve muscle strength, physical function, and fatigue.1 Intra Workout Supplements Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for your body. Carbohydrates provide glucose to feed your muscles with prolonged endurance capacity, better athletic performance as well as improved cognitive performance and processing. When it comes to training, carbohydrates are needed to help build more muscle mass, improve recovery times, and replenish glycogen for optimal energy output. Carbohydrate supplements are often created for the purpose of muscle recovery and providing more energy, intra workout. Fast-absorbing carbohydrate supplements like maltodextrins and dextrose, are specifically made for endurance athletes, triathletes, crossfitters, or those participating in high-intensity functional training protocols. The average gym goer will not necessarily need fast-acting carbs and can easily get those dietary sources and food. Muscle glycogen is a major determinant of endurance exercise capacity and recovery. Intra-workout carbs can help with glycogen resynthesis or reloading your body with efficient glycogen stores. Carbs can also help initiate muscle protein synthesis, and produce energy intra or pre-workout for better endurance and prolonged exercise capacity. Carbohydrates are also a great source of macronutrients to help with intra-workout energy and endurance. Swolverine’s Clean Carbs for example is made from real food and contains sweet potatoes, yams, oats, and blueberries to help provide glycogen for long-lasting energy and endurance. Unlike fast-acting carbs, this product can help with body optimization, energy levels, and recovery without the unnecessary added sugar from dextrose or maltodextrin. Antioxidants And Vitamins Nutrient dense ingredients, such as spirulina, tart cherry, and pomegranate, are rich with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, in addition to nitrates. Antioxidants have been proven to reduce muscle damage and inhibit muscle mass breakdown due to their protective effects from eradicating oxidative stress. In a systematic review, conducted by Cambridge University, eleven studies were identified that examined the effects of pomegranate intake on exercise performance exercise-induced muscle fatigue, soreness, muscle damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, and cardiovascular function. Identified studies investigated the effects on several training modalities including; running, cycling, weightlifting, and endurance training. The review concluded that pomegranate has the potential to enhance endurance, and strength performance, and improve post-workout recovery by conferring antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and improving cardiovascular responses during and following exercise.2 Additionally, A study published in the journal Plos One, investigated the effects of pomegranate supplementation on recovery, muscle damage, and soreness following Olympic weightlifting training and concluded that pomegranate ingestion 60 minutes before training, improved total workload by 8.3%, maximal load lifted by 3.26% and cut down DOMS by 13.4% 48 hours post-workout.3 Intra workout supplements will often contain b-vitamins and ingredients for mental focus and energy such as Panax Ginseng which can help with prolonged endurance capacity and athletic performance. Mental focus is crucial during prolonged endurance activity and resistance training to help push maximum training capacity. Close up shot of strong female athlete drinking out of her shaker bottle in the gym. Benefits of Intra Workout Supplements Electrolytes are vitamins and minerals that conduct electrical activity within the body. Electrolytes help you perform mechanical functions, such as muscle contraction and relaxation, which are essential for daily and athletic performance. With just a 1-2% reduction in body weight from fluid loss alone, athletic performance will significantly decrease while perceived exertion increases. In a typical workout, you can lose anywhere from 2-6% of your body’s water weight just by sweating. Now imagine how much fluid you lose when you’re really pushing your limits. The loss of water and electrolytes, coupled with not replenishing them affects recovery times, oxygen levels, and nutrient delivery contributing to muscle wasting and poor waste recycling from the bloodstream. Electrolytes such as magnesium, potassium,…
