Today a strange thing happened and whilst you all are probably aware, I was not! And if I didn’t know, then it’s also likely that others also don’t know, so I thought I’d share (even if it does make me look stupid).  

Following my usual morning routine, I woke up, got into my gym gear, wandered bleary-eyed down the stairs trying to avoid the creaky ones which wake the family up. I reached for the light switch and on the third attempt, there was light. I packed my bag, not forgetting to grab my lunch from the fridge, and made a quick batch of Pre workout. I downed it in one and braced myself for the cold outside.

Upon my short drive to the gym, I got this strange sensation behind my eyes. I felt a little light-headed and thought it best to pull over. The weird feeling didn’t dissipate at all though and in fact I was starting to get this a popping sensation all over my body. It felt prickly and at times like I was in a bath of popping candy (for want of a better description).

Feeling so oddly, I didn’t want to be in a car at the side of the road alone, so decided it was better to get to the gym where there were people around, which was 2 minutes away, rather than return home which was 15 minutes in the other direction.

Still not feeling right, I got to the gym and put my bag in a locker. I went into the changing room to splash some water on my skin and I saw reflected back mass of red all over my body. Blotchy, irritated bumps all over my arms, chest, shoulders, face…

I instantly thought that I must be having an allergic reaction to something – this is not uncommon for me if I am honest – so I went in search of my mate, who owns the gym who I figured may have some anti-histamine! 

Jay is a knowledgable man and has helped me correct my form on a couple of occasions and he’s also just a decent guy. 

I told him that I thought I was having an allergic reaction and described the sensation. 

His first question was “ Have you taken any pre-workout?” And I said that I had. 

BETA-ALANINE 

Can cause those symptoms he said – that’s why I don’t use pre-workout.

I couldn’t believe it. My usual brand was out of stock so I had picked up something similar in the same price range. I had noted that the scoop was bigger than my usual brand, but thought nothing of it. 

A quick google search provided me with the following information:

Beta-Alenine is a non essential amino acid that occurs naturally in the body and is stored in the muscle tissue. Some supplements add it to help with athletic performance – it seems that in conjunction with histidine, it creates a substance called Carnosine. This can help reduce a build up of acid in the muscles, which causes them to tire and fatigue. (Although there is very little scientific proof to support the athletic benefits from what I can see) 

Well you probably guessed it, but some of the potential side effects were exactly the odd reactions that I was experiencing!

Generally safe when taken in recommended doses, of course when you take more that that, it can cause paraesthesia which is essentially the tingling of the skin and can feel like pins and needles for around 90 minutes! 

I am generally so careful what I put into my body, I don’t drink to excess or take drugs, I am also super careful as I have a lot of allergies. But I had never equated that there could be adverse side effects to a pre-workout! This may be a nativity on my part, but it has really made me feel stupid for not checking – it could be that I am particularly sensitive to this ingredient or it could be that the larger scoop had a smaller measure for the recommended amount – I guess I’ll find out when I get home! 

But what I do know is this. I will not be taking this product any more. Yes, this may be an over reaction to the side effects, but I firmly believe that our bodies are intuitive. Feeling odd and a rash-like covering of the skin is unlikely to be good! 

I’m feeling back to normal now and it doesn’t appear to have done much harm (I actually had a pretty good workout following this incident) 

So here’s the thing – have you had an experience like this with pre-workout? Am

I the most naive person in the land?! 

Who knows?! 

TIB 

If the content of the post wasn’t clear enough on this point… I am not a scientist nor have any medical background, I am just sharing my personal experience and the google search that ensued. Should you experience any of these symptoms please seek medical advice as it could well not be related to pre-workout.