What Does Beetroot Extract Do in Pre-workout?

What Is Beetroot?

Beetroot is a root vegetable well known for its purple-red colour. It’s often called red beet, table beet, garden beet or just beet. They’re a great source of nutrients like vitamin B, manganese, potassium, iron and vitamin C. They also have a few great health benefits, including preventing and reducing high blood pressure, improving our capacity for exercise and improving blood flow. 

In regards to beetroot in a pre-workout, its concentration of nitrates makes it a great supplement before workouts because it can help improve power, endurance and recovery. In fact, beetroot is one of the most nitrate-packed foods you can get, making it perfect as a pre-workout. 

Our bodies convert nitrate to nitric oxide, which is a compound that improves blood flow by widening or relaxing the blood vessels in our bodies. With a larger volume of oxygenated blood reaching our muscles, the more they’ll be able to endure, which improves your performance as a whole. 

What Are The Benefits Of Beetroot In Pre-workout Supplements?

There are several benefits to using beetroot as a pre-workout supplement. Here are a few:

Increased Blood Flow: The nitrate in beetroot is important for producing nitric oxide in the body. The role of nitric oxide in the body is to dilate blood vessels, regulate neurotransmissions and stimulate hormone release. Beetroot relaxes blood vessels; nitric oxide allows for greater volumes of blood to be transported throughout the body. In short, this makes the delivery of nutrients to the muscles faster, leading to improved performance.

Improved Mitochondrial Efficiency: Mitochondria have several functions, the main one being to convert nutrients from food into energy for the body. With nutrients reaching the mitochondria faster, more nutrients can be converted to energy faster. Thus, the extra presence of nitric oxide in beetroot leads to improved mitochondrial efficiency. 

Enhanced Endurance: With the extra boost in energy the nitric oxide in beetroot supplies, our bodies can exercise for longer at more intense levels. 

What Is The Recommended Dosage Of Beetroot?

For pre-workouts that already have beetroot powder added to them, follow their dosage instructions closely. For athletic performance, drink 70-140 ml of beetroot juice daily for a few hours before working out. How Should You Take Beetroot?

How Should You Take Beetroot?

Beetroot can be taken by eating it, through concentrated powder, as an additive to a pre-workout supplement, as a juice, or in pills. You can even take it by drinking beetroot juice.

When Should You Take Beetroot?

You should take beetroot supplements at least 1-2 hours before exercising for the best results. To ease muscle soreness, you can also take 125-250 ml of beetroot juice 6 to 8 times every two days.

Where Can I Buy Pre-Workout Supplements With Beetroot In?

Beetroot can be bought at your local market whole or in juice form. But if you’re looking for beetroot concentrate powder or beetroot in an existing pre-workout supplement, we suggest you take a look at Power Supps. 

What Are The Potential Side Effects Of Beetroot Supplementation?

Beetroot is a relatively healthy and natural product, so there aren’t really any severe side effects for consuming it as a pre-workout. Some noticeable side effects are that it can cause your stools to turn red or pink, and the same goes for your urine. Some people suggest that over-consumption of beetroot could cause liver or kidney damage, but there is not enough data on this to consider it a fact.

Final Thoughts On Beetroot Do in Pre-workout Supplements

As a superfood, beetroot is packed with nutrients that would benefit anyone, not just athletes. That said, its abundance of nitrate makes it a great pre-workout food. Take it before your workout to optimise your performance, improve endurance and recover faster.