Getting those coveted muscle pumps can help increase confidence, increase stamina, and boost workout performance. Some of the best ways to support muscle pumps come from vital ingredients found in pre-workout supplements.
When looking for the most effective caffeine-free pre-workout mix, it’s important to check the ingredient list for ones that will help you reach your fitness goals and for third-party testing to ensure ingredient quality and avoid banned substances.
Some of the best ingredients for supporting muscle pumps include betaine, beetroot juice, L-arginine, and L-citrulline. When used in the proper, researched, and prescribed dosages and according to a medical provider’s advice, a blend of these ingredients can help stimulate oxygen and blood flow to muscles during a training session.
Discover these top 5 ingredients for muscle pumps that are backed by science.
1. Beetroot
The leafy green beet plant with bulbous, purple-red roots is one of the best ingredients that can help take your strength training to the next level. Rich in nitrates, beetroot juice stimulates blood flow throughout the entire body, which is a good thing during exercise. This plant is also packed with fiber, potassium, folic acid, and manganese, making it a superfood powerhouse that’s vital to any pre-workout ingredient list.
Although some of these nutrients are stripped during supplement processing, studies show that this whole food can promote endurance and exercise efficiency, boost oxygen levels in the body, and improve workout performance.
2. Agmatine Sulfate
This ingredient is a popular addition to many pre-workout and intra-workout supplements due to its effective power to enhance muscle pumps and improve the vascularity that gives that envied swole look. This serious compound comes from the branched-chain amino acid L-arginine.
Here’s what agmatine sulfate does when you use it in conjunction with an invigorating lifting routine. It sends blood flow straight to the muscles and improves cognitive functions such as focus by controlling nitric oxide synthase in the body.
Not only can it deliver mind-blowing pumps, but agmatine sulfate also selects fuels for storage or burning, known as nutrient partitioning, offers pain relief for sore or strained muscles, and provides protection for the neurological system.
Keep in mind that it’s not recommended to eat agmatine sulfate along with other kinds of protein in your diet since it’s best consumed on an empty stomach, along with branched-chain amino acids, also called BCAAs, or with carbohydrates and fats, for optimal muscle-defining results.
3. L-arginine
This amino acid helps build protein which is good news for athletes or gym guys or gals who are trying to get the most out of their workout. In fact, L-arginine is necessary to synthesize most proteins in the body. When a muscle grows, this compound sends a message to the muscle cells to release growth hormone to optimize metabolizing fat and increase muscle mass.
L-arginine decreases fat that is stored beneath the skin. This can help create a leaner physical, encourage muscle growth, and enhance muscular definition. Recent studies have shown that L-arginine helps increase aerobic abilities, improve lifting performance, and promote strength, which can help people increase their muscle mass.
Taken as a supplement, this amino acid plays a significant role in reducing muscle-to-fat ratios, melting away fat stored under the skin, and enabling people to lift longer and harder, which enables them to build muscles faster.
4. Betaine
Also known as trimethylglycine, Betaine is produced naturally in the body, but it’s also popular in its nitrate and anhydrous forms in pre-workout mixes or intra-workout boosters. In its superfood form, Betaine is found in spinach, sweet potato, beets, and quinoa. It harnesses your body’s power to increase nitric oxide blood content by 185% after just one week of use.
This compound plays an important role in helping the liver function normally, producing carnitine, and reproducing cells. Betaine also stops amino acid homocysteine from building up and causing issues such as hardening of the arteries that reduce blood flow to organs and muscles and can compromise overall health and strength.
5. Citrulline
Many pre-workout and intra-workout supplements contain one of these two forms of Citrulline, called L-Citrulline and citrulline malate. Clinical trials have demonstrated that this free-form amino acid can radically lower fatigue, heal sore muscles, and promote nitric oxide flow into the bloodstream to provide stamina to keep pushing through an intense training session.
A free-form amino acid such as Citrulline malate means that it binds to the malic acid molecule, which occurs naturally in fruits and creates energy on a cellular level.
If you want to get the best results from your pumps and improve vascularity, this important compound is a must-have supplement ingredient to facilitate performance and hasten recovery after a workout.
Blood flow is vital to a healthy and vigorous workout that builds greater muscle mass. People who want better blood flow should take 1,000mg of citrulline malate three times a day, while people who want to stay at peak performance and hit their muscular definition goals are recommended to take 6,000-8,000mg of citrulline malate around one hour before they exercise in the gym or in the field.
Taken correctly and with guidance from a doctor, these five naturally derived ingredients are backed by science and have been shown to improve muscle pumps and vascular performance.
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