I’ve heard of post workout drinks. It was a little bit later in life that I heard of pre workout drinks. Yet here I am, years into my fitness journey and I’m still learning. I was browsing YouTube videos earlier and one of the bodybuilders I was watching started going on about  a”Intra-workout supplement”.

Needless to say, I ended up frantically googling the phrase in a cold panic that I could have been spending all of my years working sub optimally. And now that my fingers have finally eased in their frantic search, I figured I may as well share my knowledge with you, the reader. I’ll be going into what an intra-workout supplement is, and the five best I can find online based on that info.

What is an Intra-Workout Supplement?

So, as it turns out, the concept is a lot less complicated than the phrase itself. An intra-workout supplement is something that you take during a workout to maximize your performance during training. It’s different than the traditional pre or post workout supplement in that it’s consumed slowly throughout a training session to keep your body fueled up. And there’s a few things you should look for when dipping your toes into the Intra-workout stream.

BCAAs

Well, now we get a bit more fancy. A BCAA is a branch chain amino acid. These have been used by top athletes for years thanks to their ability to support endurance and recovery during training. When you’re going hard in training, your body produces cortisol in response to that effort. Rising levels of cortisol can speed up the breakdown of muscle in your body to convert into glucose to fuel the training. That’s where BCAAs come in. These amino acids preserve glycogen stores and help reduce protein breakdowns in your body.

Taurine

It’s a pretty obvious truth that you need good endurance to get the most out of a workout. So, logically, a good intra-workout supplement should have something that supports your endurance levels. One of the most common types of endurance boosters you can find in a supplement is taurine, the amino acid. A single gram of taurine has been shown in clinical trials to imrpove athletic performances in endurance athletes. So in a good supplement, the serving of taurine should, naturally, be one gram.

Leucine

Leucine is one of the branch chain amino acids we talked about earlier. The rule of thumb seems to be that four grams of leucine per serving is about what you want in your supplement. Clinical trials have shown that a dose of four grams of leucine increased a subjects five rep max strength over twelve weeks by over forty percent. It’s also shown to slow the degradation of muscle tissue by increasing the synthesis of muscle protein. Hell, it’s even been shown to protect mice against seizures. The proof really is in the pudding with this one.

Electrolytes

Now, we’ll start off with some simple chemistry. What is an electrolyte? Well, when salts dissolve in fluid they tend to break apart into their components. This solution is then made electrically conductive. Any fluid that conducts electricity, like our saltwater solution, as known as an electrolyte solution. The ions in the solution are then referred as electrolytes.

Electrolytes affect many important factors in your body. They affect things like the PH of your blood, the amount of water in your body, and regular muscle function. You lose electrolytes when you sweat, and they need to be replenished for your workout. A few key sources of electrolytes are sodium and potassium. Both of these are lost quickly over the course of a workout.

That’s why for a high quality intra-workout supplement, electrolyte replenishment should be a major selling point.

Good Intra-Workout Supplements

So. I’m going to now discuss the various intra-workout products you can find online. The order isn’t going to be indicative of anything. I’ll just be going off of nutrition facts and how good I think it is.

Gaspari Nutrition SizeOn Maximum Performance

SizeOn Maximum Performance is a powerful intra-workout supplement created by Gaspari Nutrition. The formula mixes easily, has a pretty good variety of flavor choices, is affordable, and has a good amount of BCAAs and other amino acids. It contains whey protein, leucine, isoleucine, and valine to aid in protein synthesis.


It also has a good amount of taurine, potassium, calcium, sodium, and more. All and all it seems like a pretty top of the line product and one of the better intra-workout supplements out there.

Cellucor COR-Performance Beta-BCAA

Cellucor COR-Performance Beta-BCAA is a powerful mix and one of the top intra-workouts out there right now. It boasts an impressive five grams of BCAAs per serving, and added beta-alanine and citrulline to help you exercise with more intensity. One serving contains five grams of leucine, 1.25 grams of valine, and 1.25 grams of isoleucine.


It’s ingredients all seem to be of the highest quality. It doesn’t lack in flavor choices, either, and is easy to mix in with your drinks. Pretty affordable, too.

Scivation Xtend BCAAs

Out of all the intra-workouts I’ve read about, it’s hard to argue against this one being the best. The forumla is effective, unique, and affordable. Xtend is made by a company called Scivation. This company is known for creating truly quality supplements that really help customers reach and exceed their fitness goals.


So, we’ll actually go into the contents now. This supplement contains a twenty five gram blend of maltodextrin, cluster dextrin and waxy maize. Also, it holds a 1170mg blend of electrolytes, consisting of potassium chloride, sodium chloride and more.

Not to mention it’s BCAAs. This mix consists of five grams of Leucine, 1.75 grams of isoleucine, and 1.75 grams of valine. Also, it has five grams of glutamine and one gram of citrulline malate.