5 Reasons to Use a Pre-Workout Drink Before Exercise + Recipes

Whether you’re an athlete, adventurer, yogi, weekend warrior, or just trying your best to live an active lifestyle, one of the keys to getting the most out of your exercise is the right nutrition. No matter what activity you’re doing or how intensely you’re doing it, a great way to help your body perform at its peak is to take a pre-workout supplement before you exercise. Thankfully, we have a solution for you. Our new Performance® Pre-Workout Energy Drink gives you natural, clean energy from caffeine that’s derived from green tea extract for a long-lasting boost plus beta-alanine and L-theanine to improve physical performance, delay muscle fatigue, reduce perceived exertion, and sharpen focus.*  But why would you need a pre-workout supplement in the first place? Let’s break down what happens in your body during exercise and give you five reasons why you should drink pre-workout before exercising.

What Causes Exercise Exhaustion? 

What’s happening in your body that leaves you exhausted after you exercise? When you exercise, your body uses oxygen to break down glucose for energy. During intense exercise, when there isn’t enough oxygen available, your body makes lactate, which can be converted into energy without oxygen. Hydrogen ions are also produced during that process. Hydrogen ions decrease the pH level in your muscles, reducing your muscles’ ability to contract and resulting in fatigue.

How the Ingredients in Pre-Workout Drink Can Help 

Performance® Pre-Workout drink contains the key ingredient beta-alanine. This is a non-essential amino acid that is produced naturally in the body and used to synthesize carnosine, a molecule stored in your muscles that helps reduce acid accumulation in muscles during intense exercise. When combined with L-histidine, another amino acid, beta-alanine increases muscle carnosine concentrations. Muscle carnosine is important because it acts as an intracellular buffer against hydrogen ions that can accumulate during high-intensity activity. An increase in hydrogen ions can cause a decline in muscle pH, which can lead to a faster onset of fatigue and reduce your ability to perform. Supplementing with beta-alanine has been shown to increase carnosine levels in the muscle and improve performance by delaying fatigue.*1-3  Another key ingredient in Pre-Workout Drink is 100 mg of caffeine. Caffeine is classified as a stimulant, and it increases activity in the central nervous system. It does this by acting as an adenosine antagonist. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that binds to specific receptors and makes us feel drowsy. Caffeine binds to those same receptors, blocking the adenosine from working, which can enhance athletic performance.*

What Makes Our Pre-Workout Drink Different from Others?

Finding the best pre-workout supplement for yourself can be tricky. Pre-workout supplements sometimes have too much caffeine or sugar that can lead to jitters or energy crashes. But Performance Pre-Workout Drink is designed to give you clean energy, naturally sourced from green tea extract, without jitters or crashes.* It also contains only 2 g of sugar and no artificial preservatives, flavors, or sweeteners. And like all Shaklee products, the ingredients in Performance Pre-Workout Drink go through extensive quality testing, including screening for heavy metals, pesticides, and herbicides, to make sure they are safe to use.

Here Are Five Reasons to Take Pre-Workout Drink Before You Exercise

1. Provides Long-Lasting Energy* Natural green tea extract boosts energy levels.2-5
2. Improves Physical Performance*6-9 Key ingredients enhance athletic performance by improving exercise capacity.10
3. Delays Fatigue* Formulated with beta-alanine to delay muscle fatigue during exercise.10
4. Reduces Perceived Exertion* Beta-alanine has been shown to reduce perceived effort during exercise.8
5. Sharpens Focus* Formulated with L-theanine and caffeine to sharpen mental focus and help you push through.11

Take Your Pre-Workout Anywhere

Performance Pre-Workout comes in convenient stick packs that easily mix with 8 oz of water or your drink of choice. Keep a few packets in your gym bag, in a shaker bottle, in the car, or in your bag so you’re ready to get active at any time.

Get Creative with Your Pre-Workout

If you want more interesting ways to get your pre-workout energy in, here are a few recipes you can try using Performance Pre-Workout stick packs. 

Energizing Mocktail 

By Serena Forster, Shaklee Ambassador  Makes 1 serving  Ingredients:

• 1 Performance Pre-Workout Drink packet
• 8 oz unflavored sparkling water

• ½ cup frozen berries
• Squeeze of lemon
• Ice

Directions:

1. Mix 1 packet of Performance Pre-Workout Drink with 8 oz unflavored sparkling water until well incorporated.
2. Add in ½ cup berries and a squeeze of fresh lemon.
3. Top with ice and serve.

Energy-Aide Drink

By Amanda Villarreal, Shaklee Ambassador  Makes 1 serving  Ingredients:

• 1 Performance Pre-Workout Drink packet
• 1 tsp tart cherry juice
• Fresh-squeezed lemon juice from ¼ lemon

• 1 tbsp honey
• 8-10 oz cold water
• Ice

Directions:

1. Mix 1 packet of Performance Pre-Workout Drink, 1 tsp tart cherry juice, and the lemon juice with 8-10 oz water until well incorporated.
2. Add in 1 tbsp honey until well incorporated.
3. Top with ice and serve.

Energizing Strawberry Lemonade

By Sarah Mayo, Shaklee Ambassador  Makes 1 serving  Ingredients:

• 1-2 strawberries
• 1 Performance Pre-Workout Drink packet
• 1 Lemon-Lime Performance Endurance Electrolyte Drink
• 4-6 oz. water

Directions:

1. Dice the strawberries and muddle them in a glass.
2. Add the Lemon-Lime Performance Endurance Electrolyte Drink and Pre-Workout Drink into the glass.
3. Fill with water and froth to combine.
4. Add ice to chill and top with a strawberry garnish.

Lemon-Strawberry Pre-Workout Popsicle 

Makes 2 popsicles  Ingredients:

• 2 cups coconut water
• ¾ cup fresh strawberries, chopped (or other desired fruit)
• 2 packets Performance Pre-Workout Drink

Directions:

1. Place a few strawberry pieces in the bottom of each popsicle mold and set aside.
2. Combine coconut water and Pre-Workout Drink mix in a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until Pre-Workout is dissolved. Do not heat until boiling, just until drink mix is dissolved.
3. Let cool to room temperature. Stir again, then pour mixture into popsicle molds over strawberry pieces and place popsicle sticks in the center.
4. Place popsicles in the freezer for at least 6 hours. Enjoy before a workout.

Crush Your Workout

Whether you go for a run, do a spin class, lift weights, or explore the outdoors, prepare for your workout with Performance Pre-Workout Drink for lasting, natural energy.* Stay active and healthy!    *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

1. Smith, A., Sturgess, W., Gallagher, J. Effects of a low dose of caffeine given in different drinks on mood and performance. Hum. Psychopharmacol. Clin. Exp. 14: 473-482, 1999.
2. Quinlan, P.T., Lane, J., Moore, K.L., Aspen, J., Rycroft, J.A., O’Brien, D.C. The acute physiological and mood effects of tea and coffee: the role of caffeine level. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 66(1):19-28, 2000.
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