Female athletes can use a pre workout supplement to boost focus, strength, athleticism and motivation in the gym, and on the sports field.
If you think that pre workouts are just for the guys you’d be completely wrong.
But many are too aggressive.
They’re overdosed or contain ingredients that just don’t suit your physiology.
In this article we take a look at the best pre workouts for women.
If you want to know which ingredients deliver optimal results or what kind of doses you’ll respond best to, you’re in the right place.
Read on to find out more…
What is a Pre Workout?
Getting the most from your workouts isn’t just about turning up and hoping for the best.
It’s about the planning and precision that gives your gym sessions the very best results.
But no matter how hard you try, sometimes you just can’t get into the groove. Maybe it’s a lack of motivation, or your energy levels seemed to have deserted you. It might be stress or tiredness that’s driving you down into a hole that you just can’t seem to get out of.
Either way, you need something to help you focus, take your training to the next level, and make every session count.
That’s where pre workout supplements come in.
Pre workouts take your gym sessions to a whole new level
Like pure energy in a bottle, a high-quality pre workout enhances your athleticism in the gym or sports field.
They contain natural ingredients that target different physiological pathways of athletic performance.
- Increased strength and power – enhanced power and more targeted energy to crush your workouts
- Enhanced focus and motivation – unrelenting resilience, even at high intensities
- Better blood flow- intense blood flow and nutrient delivery
- Improved stamina – ramp up endurance and break through the cardio barrier
Is pre workout safe for women?
Yes, of course.
Plain and simple; if you go to the gym, you’ll benefit from the turbo charged energy boost that pre workout offers.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a man or woman. As an athlete you deserve to give yourself every advantage possible.
Everyone needs that extra kick before a tough workout.
And if you’re a female athlete who takes part in sports such as running, powerlifting or any other sport where physical performance is the difference between winning and losing for that matter… a pre workout is where it’s at.
But like any type of supplement, it’s all about finding the right ingredients and nutrients.
- Key Point: Pre workout supplements help to boost sports performance in male and female athletes.
Best Pre Workout Ingredients for Female Athletes
The very best pre workout supplements are made with women in mind.
Gone are the days where sports performance products were just for the guys. And even recent statistics show as many as 40% of women are now taking supplements to boost their health.
If you feel fatigued, unmotivated or tired from hours and hours of hard training or competition, pre workout offers the perfect solution.
A supplement for winners
Women are using pre workout more and more now – especially female athletes who want to be at the cutting edge of science and fitness. It’s a supplement for real competitors who strive for perfection in their sport.
But if you’re a female athlete looking for the right pre workout supplement to help you meet your goals, you need to consider the ingredients that make up your product.
Get the right ones and you’ll find your athletic ability improves significantly. Get the wrong ones and you can wave goodbye to any benefits.
The Best Pre Workout Nutrients for Women
Caffeine: Boosts performance at moderate amounts
Females have a lower tolerance to caffeine than their male counterparts, most likely due to lower body mass and differences in physiology. It’s a fantastic compound, but the dose has to be right for toy.
Get the amount right and it’s all benefits.
Why should women have caffeine in their pre workout?
Moderate caffeine intake prior to intense exercise provides an analgesic effect, helping to boost pain threshold in women, as well as ‘producing more clearheaded and energetic feelings’ [1].
It helps women deal with stressful situations much better than in men, and caffeine doesn’t raise blood pressure as much either – instead, helping to boost exercise heart rate rather than vascular resistance [2].
Female athletes taking part in competitive sports such as soccer have been shown to benefit from caffeine-based pre workout supplements, with 3 mg per kilogram of body weight showing significant effects on athletic performance [3].
That’ around 150-180 mg for an average weight athlete.
For reference, that’s the same strength as 2 cups of coffee.
But make sure you avoid some of the higher caffeine pre workouts, as they can have a number of side effects:
- Menstrual cycle disturbances
- Reduced fertility
- Heart palpitations
- Headaches, irritability and sleep problems
- Key Point: Shooting for 150 mg of caffeine will optimize performance, without side effects.
Creatine improves lean mass and strength in female athletes
As a natural compound made up of amino acids, creatine is a go-to nutrient for any female athlete wanting to optimize physical performance, strength and power.
And what’s best is you’ll find it in top-quality pre workouts too.
Creatine provides energy at high-intensities.
If you’re a weightlifter, take part in sports where sprinting or power is a focal point, or even if you’re a female bodybuilder, creatine is essential.
- Adds volume and curves to muscle tissue
- Boosts rate of force production, maximal strength and power
- Enhances brain power and cognitive ability
- Slows down cell ageing
A study of female soccer players found that taking just a small dose of creatine helped to improve power and agility compared to a placebo group [4]. And it’s also been shown to increase muscle performance during weight training and high-intensity training too [5].
- Key Point: Even a small dose of creatine helps boost sports performance, strength and power in female athletes. It’s a great addition to a pre workout supplement.
Get stronger with citrulline malate
The unsung heroine in your pre workout is citrulline – an amino acid found in foods such as watermelon, dark chocolate and pomegranates.
Citrulline is a great nutrient for:
- Reducing fatigue
- Enhancing recovery by limiting muscle soreness
- Improving aerobic capacity and muscle oxygenation
If your pre workout doesn’t contain this compound you seriously need to bin it.
Citrulline improves blood flow, helping your body deliver oxygen and nutrients to your muscles at an accelerated rate. And when you’re training or competing at high-intensity, this is essential.
One study found that when female athletes were given a dose of ∼6,000 mg citrulline, their maximal and average strength was higher. As was their anaerobic fitness and peak power on a Wingate cycling test too [6].
And another study [7] reported that in strong female athletes who lifted weights on a regular basis, 8,000 mg of citrulline malate helped increase total repetitions for both upper and lower body exercise.
And it had no side effects either – even though it was higher than the recommended 6,000 mg dose for women.
The Solution: 4 Gauge
Designed specifically for athletes, 4 Gauge contains only natural ingredients shown to enhance physical and cognitive performance in clinical trials.
Containing creatine, caffeine, citrulline malate and a host of other powerful nutrients, this supplement is everything you need to take your strength, endurance and power to a whole new level.
- Unrelenting energy – trigger your nervous system and fire up your PRs
- Smash your workouts – with more strength and power, your workouts don’t stand a chance
- Determination and motivation – develop a never-give-up attitude and kick fatigue in the face
4 Gauge is an exhaustively researched, all-natural pre workout designed to rip the lid off your gym sessions, sports games or workouts.
Packed with performance-enhancing nutrients such as caffeine, L-theanine and creatine, 4 Gauge will take your training to a completely new level.
- Smash your workouts – feel your nervous system firing on all cylinders
- Cell-splitting muscle pumps – harness the power of vasodilation and deliver more nutrients to your muscle cells
- Determination like never before – feel unparalleled focus and motivation
- Relentless energy – train for longer without fatigue
References
- Keogh, E et al. Hypoalgesic effect of caffeine in normotensive men and women. Psychophysiology. 2001; 38(6): 886-95
- Hartley,TR et al. Cardiovascular effects of caffeine in men and women. Am J Cardiology. 2004; 93(8): 1022-1026
- Lara, B et al. Caffeine-containing energy drink improves physical performance in female soccer players. Amino Acids. 2014; 46(5): 1385-92
- Cox, G et al. Acute Creatine Supplementation and Performance during a Field Test Simulating Match Play in Elite Female Soccer Players. Int J Sports Exerc Metab. 2002; 12(1): 33-46
- Vandenberghe, K et al. Long-term creatine intake is beneficial to muscle performance during resistance training. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1997; 83(6): 2055-63
- Glenn, JM et al. Acute citrulline-malate supplementation improves maximal strength and anaerobic power in female, masters athletes tennis players. Eur J Sport Sci. 2016; 16(8): 1095-103
- Glenn, JM et al. Acute citrulline malate supplementation improves upper- and lower-body submaximal weightlifting exercise performance in resistance-trained females. Eur J Nutr. 2017; 56(2): 775-784