Pre-workout supplement improves upper body resistance and exercise performance: Study
The research, funded by Shifted Supplements and published in Frontiers in Nutrition, also describes an improvement in reaction time and bench press peak power.
“MIPS may improve resistance to fatigue, allowing the participants to increase the number of repetitions performed over a series of bench press and bent over row sets,” the authors wrote.
Evaluating MIPS
The MIPS in this study is Shifted’s Maximum Formula Pre Workout, formulated with a range of vitamins, caffeine, herbal extracts and amino acids including rhodiola, L-theanine, L-tyrosine, creatine and taurine.
Caffeine is a common ingredient in pre-workout supplements for its correlation with improved power production, reduced perceived exertion and increased total repetitions. However, the authors wrote that while, “the effect of MIPS on exercise performance has been studied extensively … it is difficult to draw comparisons between different ingredient formulations, and therefore, investigating new products brought to market has merit.”
Other ingredients in the MIPS include L-citrulline and beetroot juice, which previous studies have shown increase power and total resistance exercise reps.
Study details
This double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study recruited 20 college-aged participants. Subjects supplemented with either the pre-workout or a placebo prior to performing upper body resistance exercise workouts on two separate occasions. All participants were recreationally trained and consumed caffeine on a regular basis.
Outcome measures included power output, repetitions, perceived exertion and perceived recovery. In addition, the authors analyzed o reaction time and fatigue. These were measured directly following the exercise workouts.
Participants in the MIPS group had improved reaction time and bench press peak power, as well as an increase in total number of repetitions and decrease in perceived exertion.
Although the trial only recorded measurements directly following exercise, the authors hypothesize that longer-term benefits may be possible.
“Some of the included ingredients may have limited acute effects but exert larger benefits when consumed over a longer duration,” they wrote. “Specifically, acute Rhodiola rosea supplementation has not been shown to improve reaction time, yet chronic supplementation for 4 weeks can improve reaction time.”
Study limitations included the small sample size, recreational training of the participants and the fact that all participants regularly consumed caffeine. Because the participants all had roughly one year or more of resistance training experience, the researchers noted that it is unknown how the MIPS would affect untrained individuals or professional athletes. It is also unknown how it would affect people who do not regularly consume caffeine.
Source: Frontiers in Nutrition
Volume 11; 2024; https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1323408
“A single dose multi-ingredient pre-workout supplement enhances upper body resistance exercise performance.”
Authors: Beyer, K., et al.
