So your pre workout stopped working. What could be causing this?
There are a number of reasons why you’re no longer feeling your pre workout, and why it’s not working for firing you up for your workouts.
I’ve experienced this myself. I’ve been taking pre workout off and on for 7 or 8 years. I’ve built up a tolerance to pre workout and had to take a break from the supplement. I’ve overtrained myself to the point that even pre workout doesn’t stimulant my nervous system. I’ve also tried working out when I have had a terrible sleep schedule and diet for a few days.
Just because your pre workout isn’t working doesn’t mean that you’re some sort of freak who can’t use pre workout. It could be that you need to take a break from the supplement, or you’re just taking a shitty pre workout.
Here are some reasons your pre workout could not be working for you any more:
5 Reasons You Don’t Feel Pre Workout Any More
1. Your Caffeine Tolerance Has Increased
It’s widely known that you can build a tolerance to caffeine. Actually, your tolerance to caffeine starts to grow pretty quickly. Even if you’re taking low doses of caffeine regularly, you can build a tolerance in just a few days.
Since pre workouts typically rely on high doses of caffeine to increase energy levels, it’s easy to build a tolerance fairly quickly.
This is the most likely cause of your pre workout’s ineffectiveness. If this is the case, you probably need some time off to allow your body to reset its tolerance to your pre workouts stimulants.
2. Your Pre Workout Is Expired
It’s possible that your pre workout has expired and some of the ingredients have broken down and are no longer effective. Over time certain ingredients in your supplements may lose their effectiveness. This is especially true if you don’t store your pre workout properly, which can make it go bad more quickly.
3. You’re Overtrained
If you’ve trained too much without giving your body a chance to recover, pre workout may not be able to provide much benefit. Your central nervous system needs to be able to respond to the stimulants in pre workout to deliver the performance improvements. As you build up fatigue from training, your central nervous system also fatigues.
The best solution to this problem is to simply take a few days or a week completely off from training.
4. Your Diet Isn’t Dialed In
To maximize your workout performance, you need to optimize your diet. Fueling for a workout shouldn’t just mean chugging down some caffeine and hoping for the best.
You need to make sure you’re meeting your body’s energy needs to properly fuel your daily expenditure. From a macronutrient perspective you also need to give your body the balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats.
If your pre workout isn’t giving you a noticeable benefit, you may just need to improve your diet to make sure you’re giving yourself the nutritional foundation for your body to perform.
5. You’re Taking an Under-Dosed Pre Workout
Your body isn’t always the culprit if your pre workout isn’t giving you what you’re looking for. You could just be taking a shitty pre workout with under-dosed ingredients. For example, if you drink a lot of coffee you’ll likely need a higher dose of caffeine to get the benefits in your training. High-stimulant pre workouts like WOKE AF or Gorilla Mode can give you the stimulant boost you need.
In addition to the stimulant ingredients in your pre workout, you should also verify that your pre-workout includes clinically effective doses of other ingredients. Ingredients like beta-alanine or L-citrulline can provide noticeable performance improvements, but need to be dosed properly.
If you’re looking for properly dosed ingredients, we can’t recommend Transparent Labs enough. Their pre workouts and other supplements include clinically-proven doses of key ingredients.
What Should You Do If You Can’t Feel Your Pre Workout?
Here are a few steps you can take if you’re no longer getting the most out of your pre workout. These can help you start hitting PRs in the gym again and get you jacked up and excited about working out.
Take Pre Workout as Directed
Pre workouts include directions on the label for how to take the supplement. Follow the directions to make sure you are taking the proper amount, at the proper time. If you’re not taking enough of the supplement the effects may be too weak for you to notice. If you’re taking too much, you may build a tolerance quickly.
Take a “Tolerance Break”
Taking time off from pre-workout (and other caffeinated beverages) can give your body a chance to reset. We recommend cycling on and off of pre workout regularly so you don’t build up a tolerance and end up getting addicted to caffeine and other stimulant ingredients in pre workout.
You may experience some withdrawal symptoms at first if you’ve been taking caffeine regularly for a long period of time. You’ll likely find that after taking a break from caffeine and other stimulants there effects are even stronger and more pleasant.
Use a Stimulant-Free Pre Workout
If you’re cycling off of pre workout or you’re sensitive to stimulants, you may want to try a stimulant-free pre workout. These pre workouts still provide pump and blood flow improvements, as well as some nootropic ingredients. Try these supplements for awhile before switching back to caffeinated pre workouts to allow your tolerance to reset.
