If your exercise routine includes weightlifting, and you're at the point where your routine is becoming super-intense, you might feel like you are not quite powerful or energetic enough to make the progress you want. Your first two steps in remedying this are to ensure that your diet is healthy and adequate, and to ensure you're not overtraining. But if those -- and your sleep habits -- are looking good, the next step might be supplementation. However, choosing a pre-workout supplement can be confusing because of all the different formulations. Including these three considerations in your decision will help you narrow down the field so you can find an excellent supplement.

Recognizable Ingredient Names

One of the issues that the food and supplement industries have today is that so many formulas use derived ingredients, those that are extracted from more basic ingredients. For example, a formula might include albumin instead of eggs, or casein instead of milk. Many of these derivations are fine to use, such as albumin or casein for people who don't have egg or milk allergies. But seeing so many strange names in the ingredient list can make people stop reading the lists altogether. The danger in that is that they could ingest ingredients that they shouldn't.

When choosing a pre-workout supplement, always read the ingredient labels and ensure that you can recognize each one. If you don't, look them up. It could be that strange word is just another name for something you recognize, or it could be that it's something you prefer not to take. Knowledge is key here.

Study-Backed Ingredients

Supplements are not exactly the Wild West of nutrition; there are studies on many supplements that show whether they work or not. For example, a 2012 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that an energy drink containing caffeine had a positive effect on the study subjects' post-workout condition, indicating that the caffeine had a beneficial effect on the workout itself. Creatine has also been studied. Finding studies like these ensures that the supplements you take are safe to use.

FDA Complaints

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plays no role in testing or approving supplements before they hit the market. However, the FDA does monitor the supplements after they hit the market for reports of adverse reactions, accuracy in labeling, and other factors. That means that supplements can appear on shelves without testing and with unsubstantiated claims, and that you may be able to find adverse-reaction reports once the supplements have been around a while. When choosing a supplement, look up the names of the ingredients to see if there are reports of adverse events.

Pre-workout supplements can be helpful in many cases; you just need to find the right one. If you have more questions about supplements, talk to the manufacturers and compare what they say with what you can find from sources like the FDA and your own doctor.

For more information, contact Nutrition 4 Texas or a similar company.