(69) LIMITED EFFECTS OF A MULTI-INGREDIENT PRE-WORKOUT SUPPLEMENT ON PACING DURING A 5-MINUTE HIGH INTENSITY FUNCTIONAL TRAINING WORKOUT

Autoregulated pace (i.e., repetition completion rate [RCR] during a high-intensity functional training (HIFT) workout is known to impact the final repetition count when prescription requests ‘as many repetitions as possible (AMRAP) within a time limit. Among other factors, a trainee’s optimal pace in a specific workout is affected by their experience and fitness status in physiological traits related to energy availability. Several ingredients found within pre-workout supplements are also thought to impact energy availability. However, no study has examined whether any pre-workout formulation might impact HIFT AMRAP performance.

Purpose: To determine the effect of acute ingestion of a multi-ingredient pre-workout supplement on pacing during a 15-minute AMRAP.

Methods: Seven men (28.8 ± 7.2 years, 172.9 ± 9.2 cm, 83.2 ± 17.0 kg) with ≥ 2 years of HIFT experience reported to the Biomechanics laboratory twice on the same day of the week over a 4-week period at a time consistent with their normal training schedule and having maintained a similar diet on the 3 days leading up to each visit. In double-blind fashion, participants randomly consumed a 5-calorie pre-workout supplement (S, Shifted® Maximum Pre-workout Formula) containing ingredients known to enhance energy availability or non-caloric placebo (P) 40 minutes prior to completed a standard warm-up and then a 5-minute AMRAP of 9-calorie rowing, six barbell thrusters at 43.1 kg, and three 0.61 M box jumps twice over a 4-week period. All workouts were recorded and then videos were analyzed to quantify RCR for each exercise, transition time between exercises, and failed repetitions on each minute. Subsequently, the average, standard deviation (SD), and slope across 5 minutes was calculated for each of these, and comparisons were made between S and P via paired-samples t-tests.

Results: Paired samples t-Tests revealed that more time (p < 0.05) was spent transitioning between thrusters and box jumps during P (Total = 22.1 ± 7.6 sec, Average per minute = 4.4 ± 1.5 sec) compared to S (Total = 18.7 ± 5.9 sec, Average per minute = 3.7 ± 1.2 sec). No other pacing or performance differences were observed between 5S and 5P.

Conclusion: Although transition time between thrusters and box jumps was reduced, consumption of the supplement did not impact repetitions completed or any other pacing variable. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The data does not support consuming this multi-ingredient supplement to improve 5-minute AMRAP pacing in men experienced with HIFT.

Acknowledgements: This study was funded by Shifted LLC, Eugene, OR, USA.