Does a black coffee or pre-workout carry a benefit over the other before hitting the gym?
In an era where pre-workout has taken over as one of the major supplements used before hitting the gym, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to answer the age-old question, is black coffee comparable to pre-workout?
[RELATED: Jay Cutler Talks Old-School Method Of Fat Burner & Coffee Before Workout]
“Recent research suggests that good ole caffeine delivers a similar performance boost to an eight-ingredient pre-workout supplement.”
Schwarzenegger built one of the greatest physiques of all-time during the Golden Era of bodybuilding. He found methods that worked for him ahead of the creatin of all these different supplements, including pre-workouts. During a recent edition of Arnold’s Pump Club, Schwarzenegger shared whether an old-fashioned cup of coffee if more beneficial than pre-workout supplements.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Compares Black Coffee & Pre-Workout
Arnold Schwarzenegger shared research where participants took on the challenge of competing as many reps as they could during one set of leg press. They used 80% of their one-rep max on leg press and 75% on bench press.
According to the research, there was no major difference between caffeine in black coffee and pre-workout supplements.
“There was no difference between using 200mg of caffeine (the equivalent of about 2 cups of coffee) and a supplement that included popular pre-workout ingredients such as citrulline malate (8,000mg), beta-alanine (4,000mg), betaine (2,500mg), taurine (1,300mg), L-tyrosine (1,000mg), aplha-GPC (300mg), L-theanine (200mg), and caffeine (200mg).”
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Jay Cutler has also spoken out about his use of coffee ahead of workouts paired with his fat burner. This might be an old-school method but Schwarzenegger admits that there are certain benefits to all supplements.
“Does that mean there’s no benefit to pre-workout? That would be overstating what was examined. The study was designed to test a single set of maximum reps at a heavy weight on one upper and lower body exercise.”
This is because certain pre-workouts are built to accomplish certain goals, including reducing fatigue. Ultimately, Schwarzenegger explains that certain supplements can be overhyped.
“If you’re focused on maximum strength, caffeine could be all you need for a pre-workout boost. If you have other goals, such as muscle gain, some supplements (such as creatine monohydrate) still offer benefits.
It’s a reminder that many supplement ingredients are overhyped.”
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