The desire for a firm and toned body has become an essential part of our lives. Every woman and man wants to have a fit and healthy body that can boost their confidence.
A survey in 2020 showed roughly 105,846 fitness and health clubs and gyms present in the United States.
A fit and handsome body can add more confidence to your overall personality. The most valuable weapon of the athlete is his body, and, therefore, taking care of it is his first and most important priority.
The demand and trend of better healthy, fit, and toned bodies have rapidly accelerated the fitness and health club industry’s revenue.
According to a survey, approximately 34.07 billion U.S dollars were spent in the United States of America on the gyms, fitness, and health club industry in 2020.
Health care supplements such as those reviewed by Weight Loss, Fitness & Health also play a vital role in your workout performance and, therefore, thousands of pre-workouts and post-workouts products are available in the market.
The challenge is finding the right ones and incorporating them at the correct times into your diet.
But why do people use pre-workouts? What is so great about them?
Pre-workouts assist your body in handling the intense one or two-hour long workout. But when is the right time to take them, and how long does pre-workout last?
How Long Does Pre-Work Last?
There is no exact time duration given by scientists and health care experts for how long a pre-workout lasts. 
Several factors affect the effectiveness of a pre-workout supplement including your age, body mass, metabolism, caffeine tolerance, genetics, daily diet, ingredients in your pre-workout brand, etc. Depending on these factors, pre-workouts have different effects on different people. But the general idea about the active stimulation is around 1 to 2 hours.
In general, it takes 30 to 60 minutes for your pre-workout supplement to kick in your system, and from then onward, the effect can last for a minimum of 1.5 hours to a maximum of 6 hours. Therefore, it is highly recommended that before buying a pre-workout, you make sure it can give your desired results and can affect your body the way you want it to. Buy only those pre-workouts with a good market reputation and are developed by doctors, fitness, and health care experts.
A few scientific journals and general observations have given us a rough estimation for how long a different pre-workout supplement may last. In the given table, you can get the idea of how long a specific pre-workout supplement lasts.
Pre-Workout Ingredients and Duration Time
| Green Tea Extract | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Caffeine | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Conjugated linoleic acid | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Beta-Alanine | 45 to 60 mins |
| L-Carnitine | 30 to 55 minutes |
The Right Time to Take Pre-workouts
Pre-workouts are exactly what most of us need to get an extra push to reach our fitness goal or fulfill our eight packs-abs fantasy. 
Pre-workouts do not only give us an extra push, but they do increase the effectiveness of our overall workout session.
Several people make the mistake of taking pre-workout supplements while they are about to reach their gym. Let me clear this wrong perception that you have to take pre-workout supplements right before starting your workout sessions.
Remember any pre-workout supplements at least take 30 to 60 minutes to kick in your body system. The active ingredients in your pre-workouts take time to settle down and start the stimulation. Subsequently, the right time to take your pre-workout is at least 30 minutes prior to when you start your workout session for the day.
When Not to Take Pre-workouts
Although pre-workout is best to stimulate your body for an intense workout session, taking them at the wrong time may lead to different health complications.
Here’s when you should avoid these supplements, or here’s what you should know when you are taking these health items.
Empty Stomach
Many of you already know that taking caffeine with an empty stomach can cause you some health problems like feeling light-headed, nauseous, jittery, mild or severe headache, upset stomach.
Similarly, pre-workout supplements that have a noticeable amount of caffeine in it should not be taken with an empty stomach lest it creates undesirable feelings in your body.
Right Before Going to Bed
As pre-workout supplements are primarily responsible for stimulating your body, taking them right before going to bed can leave you with long sleepless nights. If you take them, your whole body will get into a state of active stimulation, and you might not feel sleepy for hours. Therefore, it is advisable not to take pre-workout supplements a few hours before going to bed.
Pros and Cons of Pre-workouts
Every picture has both a bright side and a dark side. Similarly, pre-workouts have both pros and cons attached to it.
Pros
- Thanks to active ingredients in the pre-workout, you stay more focused and engaged at the gym.
- Pre-workouts are what provide you enough stimulation and energy to last for a longer time in intense sessions. Pre-workouts are exactly what gives us an extra push to reach our fitness goal or accomplish an eight packs-abs body.
- Certain ingredients in pre-workout supplements also help you gain more muscles through more body gaining workouts.
- For the females out there who are worried about weight loss, pre-workouts can also help you lose an extra pound or two.
- Pre-workouts also help the athletes in improving their overall performance.
Cons
- Pre-workouts’ ingredients like caffeine, creatine monohydrate, L-Carnitine, Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), etc, can overstimulate your body and cause health complications.
- Overstimulation from pre-workouts can also cause insomnia if taken a few hours before going to bed. As pre-workout supplements are primarily responsible for stimulating your body, taking them right before going to bed can leave you with long sleepless nights.
- Pre-workouts can also increase your blood pressure either from overstimulation or insomnia.
- Pre-workouts may also cause dehydration.
- Over consummation of pre-workouts supplements may make you an addict as well.
The Skinny on Pre-Supplements
How long a pre-workout will last significantly depend on factors like age, genetics, body type, regular diet, body mass, metabolism, caffeine tolerance, ingredients in your pre-workout brand, etc.
These factors mainly determine how long your pre-workouts effects will last. But the general idea about the active stimulation is around 1 to 3 hours.
A certified personal trainer, Sarah is currently working towards a degree in dietetics and nutrition. Her passion lies in helping people to live up to their potential and achieve their fitness goals. With her ever-expanding knowledge, she happily shares the best information possible from top-rated supplements to workout gear & equipment.
