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Don’t laugh.
Stim free pre-workout? Surely not?
Look, not all of us are caffeine craving lunatics who ignore the warning labels and chug down five scoops of PX1 before bouncing around the gym.
We know that some of you treat your gym sessions like a razor-sharp exercise in precision movement. So, you need a pre-workout that allows you to focus on every squeeze of every muscle fibre of every rep without the eye twitching.
This is where stimulant free pre-workout is king.
Stim free pre-workout is precisely what it says on the tub – pre-workout without any stimulants in it.
They are designed to give you all the benefits of a regular pre-workout like crazy pumps, increased blood flow, better endurance and more power – just without the hyperactivity and crash afterwards.
Yes, stimulants are included in most pre-workouts for their capacity to increase focus and energy levels, but as you’ll see below, sometimes stims just aren’t wanted or needed.
Most pre-workouts on the market contain substantial amounts of everyone’s favourite stimulant caffeine. World-famous for its ability to give you an energy boost and sharpen up your mental focus, caffeine is the most used stimulant of any kind around the globe.
And it is fantastic – there’s no denying it.
But, if used incorrectly, at the wrong doses, or at the wrong times, caffeine (and other stimulants) can have its downsides.
Firstly, caffeine has a half-life of about 5 hours for most people. This means it will be in your system for about 5 hours before it’s all broken down and used up. On the one hand, this is great if you train in the morning, but it can be a real pain for anyone who trains in the late evening and still wants a good night’s sleep.
Secondly, some people are also much more tolerant of stimulants than others. For someone with high tolerance, a single scoop of PX1 containing 200mg caffeine is enough to give a good buzz and blow away the cobwebs. For someone with low tolerance, 200mg would be a real heart-pumping rollercoaster ride. And not everyone wants the white-knuckle thrill of a stim packed pre-workout.
Those people who haven’t got a solid tolerance for stimulants can feel jittery and anxious when using caffeine, and some find it ruins their gym session.
So, there’s definitely a time and a place for stim free pre-workouts!
Well, it just so happens that we are about to release a brand new stim free pre-workout called Focus Pump – what a coincidence 😉.
This gives us a perfect opportunity to quickly run over what each of the ingredients found within Focus Pump does and why we have included them.
Citrulline is an amino acid that converts into l-arginine inside the body. L-arginine is responsible for increasing nitric oxide levels within your blood that essentially expand your blood vessels, creating more efficient blood flow.
In real terms, this means that citrulline, especially at high doses, can give you crazy good pumps in the gym. It has also been shown to increase cognition and alertness (like caffeine) and overall levels of endurance. So our stim free pre-workout includes a massive dose of citrulline, weighing in at 6000mg – hence the name Focus Pump!
We also include it in our PX1 pre-workout (if that’s more your thing), which is why we can include a much more modest dose of caffeine and still produce the same levels of mental sharpness you get in other stim packed pre-workouts.
Tyrosine is another amino acid produced naturally by your body, but it’s also found in high protein foods. It plays an essential role in the production of dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline. This means that supplementing tyrosine can help increase your energy levels and focus naturally, without relying on a short-term stimulant boost.
Electrolytes are minerals that are responsible for carrying electrical signals around your body. They are responsible for aiding hydration and energy production used for muscle contraction (including your heart).
When you work out, you sweat. And if you don’t – you’re not working hard enough…
Sweating causes your body to lose essential electrolytes, including sodium, magnesium and potassium. If these aren’t replaced, you will begin to fatigue fast.
So, topping up on electrolytes before and during a workout is essential to maintain peak levels of endurance, keep your muscles engaging and your heart pumping.
Taurine is a naturally occurring essential amino acid found in meat, fish and dairy products. So contrary to what your gym bro-scientist may have told you – it does NOT come from the balls of a bull (sorry).
Taurine is responsible for balancing mineral levels in your body. As a result, one of the most critical functions then becomes balancing the electrolyte levels essential for decent hydration when working out.
This is why we include both taurine and an electrolyte mix in our Focus Pump pre-workout. Used together, they are a fantastic combination to keep your body energised and hydrated while you work out.
Taurine’s benefits extend much further, and it is also used to support your central nervous system’s overall function and health, including your eyes and brain!
Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (you can see why it’s shortened to Alpha GPC) comes under an emerging world of supplements called nootropics. Nootropics are sometimes called “smart drugs” because of their ability to increase your cognitive abilities.
Alpha GPC is starting to grow in popularity in the worlds of fitness, bodybuilding and sports more generally because of its links to increased cognitive ability and increases in natural levels of growth hormones.
For you, this means increased levels of focus and concentration and a nice natural power boost!
Another nootropic, theanine, is an amino acid found in pretty high quantities in green tea. High doses have been shown to increase focus and concentration on mental tasks over a prolonged period.
We’ve all had gym sessions where the last few sets are starting back at you like a brick wall. Your concentration and motivation are flagging, and it can be a battle of wills to get it done. Theanine can help you blast right through that wall and keep the focus right through your session and beyond.
AstraGin is a proprietary plant-derived nutraceutical ingredient developed by NuLiv Science. We’ve included it in Focus Pump due to its ability to massively increase your ability to absorb amino acids. This means that every ingredient found within Focus Pump is maximised in its effectiveness for an even more powerful effect!
BioPerine is a natural bioavailability enhancer developed by Sabinsa Corporation. It increases the bioavailability of amino acids, vitamins and minerals within your bloodstream. So, similarly to AstraGin mentioned above, we’ve included BioPerine to maximise your bodies ability to use and absorb each ingredient in Focus Pump.
Huperzine A is another nootropic that we have included in Focus Pump. Huperzine A is known for its potential to increase learning and memory ability and possibly slow age-related cognitive decline, and help with related diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Another fantastic ingredient for boosting mental sharpness and focus in the gym – particularly for those longer sessions!
As we are sure you can see by now, stim free pre-workouts are not watered down, weaker versions of your standard pre-workout. Instead, these things are entirely different animals altogether.
Stim free pre-workouts like our Focus Pump blend can contain some unique mind sharpening, muscle pumping ingredients that can transform your workouts in an entirely new and unique way!
It’s one of those things that you have to see to believe and trust us – you won’t be disappointed!
