This is going to create some controversy, so put on your seatbelts and let’s get ready for this ride! I DO NOT think that, if you work in the tactical space (military, law enforcement, fire service, emergency services), that you should be relying on pre-workout to get you through a workout. There, I said it. Let the comments come forth!
In order to tackle this stance, I am going to give you the Science, and then I’m going to barrage it with anecdotal evidence. In other words, I’m going to justify actually taking pre-workout with a scientific study and then tear it down with my experience in the field. Trust me, this will all make sense.
In the research journal Sports Medicine, an article entitled, Nutrition for Tactical Athletes: Insights, Applications and Research Gaps, written by Jamie Ching Ting Lye and Jason Kai Wei Lee, both from the National University of Singapore, state, “Beta-alanine, creatine and beetroot juice have been shown to improve physical performance in active military personnel, supporting outcomes such as increased endurance and muscular strength.” They go on to say that, “By adapting these evidence-based protocols from athletic research, tactical athletes can strategically optimise their performance to meet the physical and cognitive demands of their operational environments.” There it is. The Science. Pretty convincing, right?
The problem with this is the operational demands of duty. In a lab it’s easy to schedule workouts and increases in metabolic demand (meaning, doing intense and tiring stuff). When you are on a deployment or on a shift, you’ve got to get where you need to be at a moments notice. You are on the Universe’s schedule. Terrorists want to get squirrely, Rainbow Six has got to get on the plane. Cindy decides one night that she wants to knock over a 7-Eleven, then Officer Dan has to hurry out of the Waffle House and get to the scene. There’s no time to load. You have to come prepared.
To add to all of that, according to Megan Lautz, MS, RD, CSCS, TSAC-F, a Registered Dietitian and strength coach who specializes in first responder nutrition, it has been shown that, “Pre-workout supplements pose distinct risks for tactical populations—such as military, law enforcement, and first responders—primarily causing overstimulation and jitters, cardiovascular strain, and operational compromise.” More Science.
Well, now that I’ve torpedoed the Science, uh, using Science, what do we do to fix it? One word, COFFEE. The International Association of Sports Nutrition put out a paper on caffeine that states, “caffeine effectively enhances exercise performance and alertness when used correctly.” Do you know what every military base, guard shack and quonset hut has inside of it. A coffee pot. I know this from experience.
The United States Military literally RUNS on coffee. It’s all you need. Drop all of the supplements and stop spending money on something you DON’T need. Just grab a cup of Joe. Just like your granddad did.
