I’ve been taking preworkouts for about the last 8 months or so and what I usually do is take it 2-3 times a week (I workout 5-6 times a week depending on the split I’m doing at the time) and I do that until I finish the PWO tub and then I wait about 7-10 days before starting the new one. I see a lot of people recommend taking a month or so off at a time. Should I be cycling off for longer or is 7-10 days enough considering only taking it 2-3 times per week? Or is it even necessary at all?
I found switching brands would help keep them somewhat working. Eventually I got to the point where they didn’t do anything and I was consuming large amounts of caffeine throughout the day with no effect. Switched to stim free pre and cut out ALL caffeine except the very occasional Coke Zero out to eat.
I’m not back to drinking a red bull here and there, sugar free small one, but pre workout is still stim free.
Idk about cycling off and on, but I’m sure a little break won’t hurt and may make them work better for you in the future.
It’s really just caffeine. Nothing else in any of the current generation of pre work outs occurs in amounts to be effective or in any way meaningful.
Is 10 days without pre workout enough to reset the caffeine tolerance when only taking PWO 2-3 times per week for about 3 months or so?
As you can see, you asked this exact question months ago. So… in that time, what have you found out?
Haven’t found much tbh, I’ve seen some people say everything between no break at all and a month. Also had forgotten that I asked this question on here already lol
do what you want if you feel great doing it OMG thats so complicated
Do know that I did not and still do not use “energy drinks”. I have never needed those to get amped up to lift weights. I was always amped to lift. That said, I also looked for an edge anywhere I could find one.
So here’s my thoughts and why. By the early '90’s I became more acutely aware of “drug” down regulation. At the time I used coffee as a means to access caffeine. I enjoyed coffee and drank it in the morning (socially with others at work) and then as pre-workout stimulant (I worked out about 5:00pm, 6 days/wk).
Considering my caffeine administration of twice daily and my down regulation concern, I decided to adjust my pre-workout stimulation method. I used three different pre-workout substances:
- Caffeine (From coffee only, no sugar ever)
- Ephedrine (I bought this at the health food store and don’t recall the dose)
- Nicotine (I never smoked. This was 2mg Nicorette Gum)
There were times before I understood down regulation that I did all three. But the following method is how I applied this to the above three:
As much as I enjoyed coffee, I totally eliminated my morning coffee. All of the three stimulants were taken on my way to the gym in my car. An example of how I administered these is:
- Monday: coffee
- Tuesday: ephedrine
- Wednesday: Nicorette
- Thursday: coffee
- Friday: ephedrine
- Saturday: Nicorette
With this program I was confident that my body was not down regulating from any of the three.