Does Pre Workout Help You Focus?

We all want the bes performance and, ideally, a shortcut to it. A pre-workout isn’t really a shortcut, but it can give you a serious boost and help you push your limits. But beyond just giving you more energy, can it also improve your focus?

In this article, we’ll go over how pre-workouts might improve your mental clarity and concentration during exercise. Pre-workout formulas often have a mix of ingredients that are designed to increase energy, improve endurance, and sharpen mental focus. We’ll break them down, as well as let you know what to look for in a pre-workout if you’re after better focus.

How Does Pre Workout Help to Focus?

1. Caffeine + Creatine

The first reason pre-workouts will help you focus is that they often contain high doses of caffeine in each serving. Caffeine is shown to increase “alertness, energy, and ability to concentrate” in dosages up to 300 mg, which is the range in which all of the pre-workouts listed above fall.

Another key ingredient in many pre-workouts is creatine. Unlike caffeine, it has less clear scientific support in the context of cognitive benefits, as the data is still mixed. However, creatine can potentially be considered an ingredient that may improve cognitive function, especially in conditions when brain bioenergetics are challenged, such as sleep deprivation.

Tips From the Champ

Pre-workouts can be used for much more than just a boost of energy and enhanced athletic performance. The combination of caffeine and additional ingredients (such as creatine, theanine and few plant-based promising components with nootropic effects) may give you a significant boost in focus.

Oleksiy Torokhtiy

Olympic Weightlifting Champion

2. Nootropics

Nootropics are ingredients included in many pre-workout supplements intended to enhance cognitive function. There is plenty of debate as to the efficacy of nootropics as a group of supplements.

The vast majority of ingredients with nootropic effects have been studied in experiments with people who already had cognitive impairment or disorders such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. These supplements have hardly been studied in healthy young people.

Moreover, only a few plant extracts or other types of supplements have demonstrated nootropic effect or potential effects, and most of them still lack sufficient scientific support.

However, since plant-based nootropics are considered safe, it is up to you whether you want to see them in your pre-workout. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that these supplements (such as Ginkgo Biloba, Coffee Fruit Extract etc.) help people achieve better focus.

How to Find the Best Pre Workout to Focus?

1. Caffeine Dosage

Everybody has different caffeine metabolism and sensitivity. The target dose of caffeine for cognitive enhancement is between 40 and 300mg, which is a pretty wide range. This means everybody will need to do some experimenting to find their ideal target. If you’re someone with a good caffeine tolerance, then a higher dosage of caffeine may suit you best. But keep in mind that doses higher than 300 mg are more likely to have negative effects such as anxiety, and may even impair cognitive performance.

As you can see, the principle of “more is better” does not apply to caffeine if you are interested in its effects on improving attention and other cognitive functions. And even such a small dose as 40 mg can already have an effect on mental performance.

2. Other Ingredients

Pre-workouts contain more ingredients than just caffeine. Some of the most common ingredients found in pre workouts are beta-alanine, l-citrulline, creatine and betaine.

In terms of focus, you should be looking closer at the ingredients which have at least some scientific support in terms of cognitive enhancement. These mainly include Theanine, Rhodiola Rosea, Citicoline and Alpha-GPC.

2 Pre Workout Tips to Focus

1. When to Take Pre-workout?

It’s recommended that you take a pre-workout supplement approximately 20-30 minutes before your workout. If you take pre-workout too early or too late, you will likely not receive the optimal stimulation boost you’re looking for. Once again, everyone’s body is different, so do some experimenting to see what works best for you.

2. Don’t Overdo It

As previously mentioned, the sweet spot for caffeine to focus is somewhere between 40 and 300mg, and anything above this can have adverse effects. Follow the recommended dosages, and don’t fall into internet trends like “dry scooping”, which could have serious consequences for your health. While there may be real benefits to taking a pre workout, there are also some serious drawbacks if you’re not using it responsibly.

Recomended Pre Workout

Huge Supplements – FOCUS

• Item Form: Capsules
• Best For: Focus, Overall Exercise Performance, Muscular Endurance, Reducing Fatigue
• Flavor: Unflavored
• Caffeine (grams): 250 mg + 150 mg Di-Caffeine Malate
• Special Ingredients: L-Theanine, Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Alpha GPC, Rhodiola Rosea
• Package Information: 240 capsules (30 servings)
• Serving: 8 capsules
• Company Founded (year): 2019
• Recommended By Athletes: Matt Greggo, Tren Twins, Max Taylor

CHECK LATEST PRICE

On their website, they claim that Focus is the “most stacked nootropic and cognitive support supplement on the market”, and we can agree with that. Among the large list of ingredients, an optimal dosage of caffeine stands out, which improves alertness, vigilance and attention.

We also highlight:

• L-theanine, which has been shown to have positive effects on cognitive function, especially when taken with caffeine.
• Rhodiola Rosea, which has good potential for improving cognition and curbing fatigue.
• Lion’s Mane – promising cognitive enhancer.

The major drawback to this product is its big serving size. A recommended dose is 8 capsules, which is a lot to get down. With 240 capsules in a bottle, it may seem like it will last a long time, but this is only 30 servings.

The high dosage size may ultimately be seen as a plus, as you can effectively decide how much you want to consume at a given time. However, if you want the best pre workout for energy and focus, you will need to take all 8 capsules.

FAQ

Does Pre-Workout Help You Focus?

Yes, caffeine is shown to increase attention and alertness, and with most pre workouts containing optimal doses of caffeine, they will likely help you focus. Many pre-workouts also contain components with nootropic effect, which may provide additional benefits.

What Supplement in Pre-Workout Makes You Focus?

Mainly caffeine, however, creatine and some ingredients with cognitive enhancement effects (herbal nootropics and other components) may also play a role in the additional focus provided by pre workout.

Will Pre-Workout Make Me Itchy?

The reason people report itching or tingling after taking pre-workout is from the ingredient beta-alanine. While many report feeling itchy after a beta-alanine containing supplements, there is no evidence to support that this is harmful in any way.

Do Nootropics Really Work?

There is still no evidence that herbal nootropics as a group of supplements improve cognitive function in healthy people, and there are very few high-quality randomized controlled trials. Even if some plant extracts show positive effects, this applies to people with impaired cognitive functions or neurodegenerative diseases.

Conclusion

Pre-workouts can be used for much more than just a boost of energy and enhanced athletic performance. The combination of caffeine and additional ingredients (such as creatine, theanine and few plant-based promising components with nootropic effects) may give you a significant boost in focus. Our recommendation for an excellent pre workout for focus is Huge Supplements FOCUS.

Do you have any experience using pre-workouts for focus? Which supplement did you use? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Also read:

• How to Get Pre Workout Out of Your System
• How Long Does Pre Workout Take To Kick In
• What to Look For in a Pre Workout
• How Much Caffeine in Pre Workout
• Why Does Pre Workout Make You Itch
• Pre Workout Powder With Creatine
• Pre Workout Supplements With Creatine
• Nitric Oxide vs Pre Workout
• Energy Drink Before Workout

References:

1. Tom M. McLellan, John A. Caldwell, Harris R. Lieberman “A review of caffeine’s effects on cognitive, physical and occupational performance” ScienceDirect Volume 71, December 2016, Pages 294-312. https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/S0149763416300690
2. Jacob Telle “Certificate of Analysis” Analytical Resource Laboratorie Jun 15, 2020 https://cdn.shopify.com /s/files/1/0866/7664/files/ 40612517941.pdf?v=1595423870
3. Scott C. Forbes, Dean M. Cordingley, Stephen M. Cornish “Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Brain Function and Health” Nutrients. 2022 Mar; 14(5): 921. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc /articles/PMC8912287/
4. “Cognitive Function In Depth” Oregon State University https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/ mic/health-disease/cognitive-function
5. “ß-ALANINE” Ais Sports Supplement Framework March 2021 https://www.ais.gov.au/__data/ assets/pdf_file/0005/ 1000499/Sport-supplement-fact-sheets-B-Alanine-v4.pdf
6. “Coffee” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ nutritionsource/food-features/coffee/
7. Tom M. McLellan, John A. Caldwell, Harris R. Lieberman “A review of caffeine’s effects on cognitive, physical and occupational performance” Volume 71, December 2016, Pages 294-312 https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/ S0149763416300690
8. Gary Pettus “Latest Internet workout fad could have serious health consequences” University of Mississippi Medical Center July 1, 2021 https://www.umc.edu/news/ CONSULT/2021/07/ CON07012021C.html
9. Eric T. Trexler, Abbie E. Smith-Ryan, Jeffrey R. Stout “International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition volume 12, Article number: 30 (2015) https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/ articles/10.1186/s12970-015-0090-y
10. Photos are made by Torokhtiy Media Team.