Some fitness enthusiasts engage in workouts twice a day for reasons best known to them. As pre-workout enhances their performance, they might take it before both workouts.
The question “Can you take pre-workout twice a day?” then comes to mind to know if it is safe. The short answer to this question is ‘no’ based on the general notion that pre-workouts contain specific ingredients that are not safe to take twice a day.
Let’s proceed to consider certain factors concerning our big question!
Table of Contents
Is Taking Pre-workout Twice a Day Safe?
Generally, we do not advise taking pre-workouts twice a day. But for most pre-workouts, the double dose depends on what is in your supplement.
Good pre-workouts are usually adequately gauged and dosed to give performance benefits from the ingredients, and it is perfect for one-off use. However, taking another serving of this supplement can result in an overdose that could cause complications.
For instance, if you take two servings of a high-stim pre-workout, there is a high tendency that the result won’t be as good as anticipated.
This occurrence is a result of caffeine metabolism. The clearance rate of caffeine ranges from 1.5 to 9.5 hours. Therefore, by the time you take the second dosage, the first one is likely still in your system. As a result, this can pose health complications, especially in women.
In addition, many pre-workouts contain a high level of Vitamin B3, and the average dose in most pre-workouts is 25.8mg. Exceeding the 35mg upper daily limit can lead to health issues, so taking pre-workout supplements twice daily is not safe.
What Is in My Pre-workout?
Pre-workout formulas are not standard everywhere since the dosages vary. The ingredients are different; some have patented formulas, while some are proprietary blends.
However, before thinking of using your pre-workout twice a day, it is essential to know what is in it.
Creatine
Creatine is an ingredient that motivates you to work harder for a long time as it boosts energy expenditure quickly, replenishes ATP stores, and improves recovery.
In addition, creatine is a non-essential amino acid that increases your exercise volume and expands your work capacity.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a primary ingredient that is usually present in pre-workout supplements. This component stimulates the central nervous system by improving strength and endurance and reducing fatigue.
However, if your system contains excess amounts of caffeine, it can lead to serious health complications.
Beta-alanine
Beta-alanine, a precursor amino acid to carnosine, improves performance when undergoing high-intensity exercises.
This ingredient achieves this by acting as an intramuscular buffer to prevent the build-up of lactic acid that impairs muscle gain. 2-4 g daily can be taken without hesitation.
Amino Acids
Leucine, isoleucine, and valine are essential ingredients to formulate a pre-workout supplement. They help prevent muscle protein breakdown, increase muscle protein synthesis rate, and reduce muscle damage induced by exercises.
Nitric Oxide
Nitric Oxide helps in dilating blood vessels. As a result, it ensures better blood flow to active muscles and increases the supply of oxygen and nutrients to improve exercise performance.
Taurine
Taurine enhances nerve growth and improves physical performance.
Electrolyte
Magnesium, potassium, and sodium enhance the regulation of muscle growth and nerve function, replenish damaged tissue, keep the body hydrated and balance blood pressure acidity.
Above are the various ingredients usually present in a pre-workout supplement, and you have to consider the effect of each of them before deciding to take your pre-workout twice a day.
Can You Take Creatine Twice a Day?
Yes, you can take creatine twice daily, but its intake won’t do any good. To saturate the muscles, you only require 2-5g of creatine daily. Taking it twice per day will only amount to wasting it.
It is also important to note that if your pre-workout contains creatine, you don’t need to retake it. However, you can use it on days when you don’t take the pre-workout.
Is It Safe to Take Pre-workouts Daily?
As stated earlier, the ingredients contained in your pre-workout and their proportion will determine whether it is suitable for daily intake or not.
Suppose you take supplements with more than 500mg of caffeine per serving and other daily sources; you should reconsider your daily intake and avoid doubling it.
Also, caffeine increases cortisol and high cortisol levels, which can seriously affect long-term health.
A high cortisol level causes memory impairment, changes in frontal lobe function, altered central nervous system, and depression. Also, it is a fat-storage hormone. The more you take it, the more you will likely gain weight.
Its capacity to suppress the activity of the neurotransmitter and disrupt the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals is also one of the reasons you should consume it daily. Therefore, we do not recommend taking pre-workouts daily.
Is It Okay to Take Pre-workout Supplements and Not Workout?
Yes, taking a pre-workout is possible and not undergoing your training session. It will just be like drinking coffee and then not exercising. Doing this will make sense if you require caffeine and other nootropics to steady your concentration and strength for pertinent activities.
How Many Times a Day Can You Take Pre-workouts?
If you don’t fully understand a pre-workout, you’re better off taking it just once a day. However, you can take stim-free pre-workouts and under-dosed ones twice a day.
How Many Times a Week Can You Take Pre-workout?
Pre-workouts can be taken weekly, excluding days when you are not undergoing sports training to avoid addiction.
Benefits of Taking Pre-workout Twice in a Day
More Fat Burning Potential
Most pre-workout supplements contain caffeine, and this ingredient enhances focus, improves your strength, and increases fat loss. Based on research, each doubling of caffeine intake boosts fat oxidation by 28%.
By taking pre-workouts twice per day, you are doubling your caffeine intake, and this has the probability of increasing fat loss.
Increase in Productivity
Some pre-workouts have nootropics for improved focus and increased mental aspects of your performance. For instance, a pre-workout called Genius contains an adaptogenic herb called Rhodiola.
Research conducted on night shift workers revealed the effects of Rhodiola and placebo on performance. The night shift workers took either 170 mg of Rhodiola or a placebo daily for two weeks.
According to the study, those who took Rhodiola had less mental fatigue and increased performance than those who used the placebo.
On the other hand, the Hooligan pre-workout includes Lion’s Mane mushroom. Researchers conducted this study on 30 adults who took either 3g of Lion’s Mane extract or a placebo daily for 16 weeks.
After eight weeks, those who took the Lion’s Mane extract had improved cognitive function.
Negative Effects of Taking Pre-workouts Twice a Day
Caffeine Tolerance
The body tends to get used to constant caffeine intake, so you would have to rely on it for many activities. In the long run, you would not be able to stay awake without drinking coffee.
Unhealthy
Taking too much caffeine can result in side effects like headaches, anxieties, insomnia, jitters, and nausea. Additionally, some people naturally allergic to caffeine tend to experience these side effects with just a small dose of caffeine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you take two servings of pre-workout?
We advise you to avoid taking pre-workout twice a day as many pre-workouts with two servings of dosage can result in serious health problems.
How often can you take pre-workouts?
It is better to use pre-workout three to four times weekly to get accurate results. If you take pre-workout daily, your body is likely to become tolerant, and you might become dependent on it. Additionally, it might stand in the way of you having adequate rest.
Can you take too much pre-workout?
Pre-workout is to be taken in adequate doses to provide its positive effect. Taking extreme pre-workout can result in adverse effects such as cardiac arrest, cramps, jitters, high blood pressure, and cramps.
How much pre-workout can you take at once?
0.014 ounces of pre-workout is advisable to be consumed by healthy adults per day, and if you take it once a day (which is supposed to be the norm), then that’s the quantity you can take at once.
Guage your pre-workout intake, especially in every scoop you take, then compare it to what you’ve taken before your workout.
As stated at the beginning of this article, taking pre-workouts twice daily depends on the ingredients present in the pre-workout.
Conclusion
To be safe, do not take a pre-workout twice a day unless you are sure that what you are using is underdosed. We also recommend Paleo Pro’s Power Coffee as the best organic pre-workout suitable for intake twice daily.
If you found this article helpful, check other fitness-related articles on ExpertFitness.org.
Other related articles:
- What Happens if You Miss a Day of Creatine?
- How Many Scoops of C4 Should I Take?
- The Best Supplements for Skinny-Fat Guys
Nathan Lloyd, MSc
LICENSED PERSONAL TRAINER
I’m a personal trainer, based in Boulder, Colorado.
I service clients physically in the Boulder area, mainly in the ONE Boulder Fitness Gym, but am also available for online consulting and coaching.
If you’re interested in my personal coaching programs, please contact me via the contact page.