Weird Pre Workout for Athletes and sports person
Some pre-workouts make sense on paper. Caffeine, creatine, carbs, water, warm-up. Then there are the weird ones: pickle juice, salt shots, beetroot, smelling salts, sour candy, cold showers, loud music, and rituals that look more like superstition than sports science.
The truth sits somewhere in the middle. A “hard” pre-workout is not just the strongest scoop in the tub. It is the full build-up before training: what you eat, drink, think, and do in the 30 to 90 minutes before the first heavy set or sprint.
For athletes and gym goers, the goal is simple: feel switched on without feeling shaky, bloated, or burnt out halfway through the session.
This article is informational only. If you have high blood pressure, heart issues, anxiety, acid reflux, kidney concerns, or take medication, speak to a qualified medical professional before using strong stimulants, high-salt drinks, or unusual pre-workout methods.
What makes a pre-workout feel weird and hard
A normal pre-workout supports training. A weird hard pre-workout feels more intense because it pushes more than one system at once.
It may target:
Energy
Mostly through caffeine, carbohydrates, or both.
Pump
Usually through ingredients linked with blood flow, such as citrulline, beetroot, or nitrates.
Hydration
Often through water, sodium, electrolytes, and sometimes coconut water or lemon-salt drinks.
Focus
Built through caffeine, music, routine, breathing, and reduced distractions.
Aggression or arousal
This can come from heavy music, ammonia inhalants, cold exposure, or intense warm-ups.
That last part is where things get risky. Feeling “amped” is not the same as being ready. If the nervous system is too fired up, technique can get careless. That matters in heavy squats, deadlifts, Olympic lifts, combat sports, sprinting, and even high-volume bodybuilding work.
The best hard pre-workout should make the first set feel sharp, not chaotic.
The strange pre-workout methods that people actually use
Not every weird pre-workout is nonsense. Some have a reasonable purpose. Others are mostly hype, ritual, or borrowed from elite sport without context.
Pickle juice for cramps and salty sweat
Pickle juice became popular because many lifters and field-sport athletes deal with cramps, especially in hot weather. In India, training in humid cities or non-air-conditioned gyms can mean heavy sweating before the workout even becomes hard.
Pickle juice brings two things:
Salt
A sharp sour taste
The salt may help if someone is low on sodium from heavy sweating. The sour taste may also create a strong sensory jolt. Still, it is not magic. Drinking too much can upset the stomach or make training uncomfortable.
A safer version is simple:
Water
A small pinch of salt
Lemon
A little sugar or honey if training is long or intense
This is not exciting, but it often works better than a dramatic shot of pickle juice before leg day.
Beetroot juice for endurance and pump
Beetroot is one of the less silly “weird” options. It contains dietary nitrates, which the body can convert into nitric oxide. That may support blood flow and exercise performance for some people, especially during endurance or repeated-effort work.
The downside is practical. Beetroot juice can taste earthy, stain everything, and disturb the stomach if taken too close to training.
For athletes, it works better as a planned routine than a last-minute trick. Taking it only once, five minutes before training, is unlikely to feel dramatic.
Sour candy before heavy sets
Some lifters take sour candy or glucose sweets before hard sets. The logic is simple: fast carbohydrates taste good, digest quickly, and give a small mental lift.
This can be useful before:
High-volume leg training
Long bodybuilding sessions
Team sport drills
Conditioning circuits
Double training days
It is less useful if the session is short and you already ate a proper meal. It can also become a habit where every workout needs sugar to feel possible.
A better approach is to match carbs to the session. Heavy lifting for 45 minutes does not need the same fuelling as football practice in the heat.
Smelling salts and ammonia inhalants
Smelling salts are common in strength sports. They create a sharp, irritating sensation that can make a lifter feel suddenly alert.
They are not a normal fitness tool.
Using them for every set, every session, or casual gym training makes little sense. They do not add strength by themselves. They create arousal. If arousal improves commitment to a very heavy single, some experienced lifters may find them useful. If it makes form messy, they become a liability.
They are also unpleasant and can irritate the nose, eyes, and lungs. People with respiratory issues should stay away from them unless cleared by a professional.
Cold showers and ice before training
Cold exposure before training is popular online, but it can be a poor match for strength and power work. A cold shower may make the mind feel awake, but cold muscles are not ideal for heavy lifting or explosive sport.
If someone enjoys cold water, it is usually smarter to use it well before the workout, not right before the first set. A warm body generally moves better.
For most gym goers, a proper warm-up beats a dramatic ice ritual.
Spicy coffee, salt coffee, and other homemade stimulants
Coffee with chilli, salt, butter, coconut oil, or jaggery has its fans. Some combinations are cultural, some are personal experiments, and some are just social media content.
The useful part is usually caffeine. The rest depends on digestion and preference.
Caffeine can improve alertness and performance for many people, but more is not always better. Common sports nutrition guidance often discusses caffeine in the range of about 3 to 6 mg per kg of body weight. Many people feel benefits at lower amounts. Higher amounts can bring jitters, fast heartbeat, anxiety, poor sleep, and stomach trouble.
If training happens after 5 pm, strong caffeine can ruin sleep. Poor sleep then ruins the next workout. That is a bad trade.
A hard pre-workout should match the training day
The mistake is using the same intense pre-workout for every session.
A powerlifting max-out day, a 10 km run, a hypertrophy push day, and a football practice session do not need the same build-up. The body needs the right kind of readiness.
Training session | What helps most | What to avoid |
Heavy strength day | Caffeine, longer warm-up, focus routine, enough salt and water | Too much pump work before main lifts |
Bodybuilding session | Carbs, hydration, citrulline-style pump support, controlled tempo | Overstimulation that shortens the session |
Endurance workout | Carbs, fluids, sodium, familiar foods | Heavy fats and fibre right before training |
Team sport practice | Light carbs, electrolytes, mobility, reaction drills | New supplements on match day |
Late evening gym session | Low-stim or no-stim pre-workout, music, warm-up | High caffeine that affects sleep |
A hard pre-workout is not always a stimulant bomb. For some sessions, the hardest move is eating properly, hydrating early, and entering the gym calm enough to perform.
Building a strong pre-workout without wrecking the session
A reliable pre-workout has layers. Each layer should earn its place.
Start with the meal
The best pre-workout often begins two to three hours before training.
A solid meal can include:
Rice, roti, oats, potatoes, poha, upma, bread, or fruit
Eggs, paneer, dal, chicken, fish, curd, whey, or tofu
A moderate amount of fat
Enough water
If training early morning, a full meal may not fit. A banana, black coffee, toast, dates, or a small curd bowl can work better.
The goal is to avoid two extremes:
Training hungry and flat
Training too full and sluggish
Use caffeine with control
Caffeine is useful because it is simple and well-studied. Coffee, tea, caffeine tablets, and commercial pre-workouts all count.
Better caffeine use looks like this:
Start with a low dose.
Take it 30 to 60 minutes before training.
Avoid stacking coffee, energy drinks, and pre-workout scoops together.
Keep high caffeine away from bedtime.
Cycle down if every session needs more than the last.
People often blame a supplement when the real issue is tolerance. If one scoop no longer works, two scoops may not be the answer. Sleep, stress, calories, and recovery may need attention.
Respect hydration and salt
In hot weather, sodium matters. Sweat is not just water. If a session is long, humid, or high-volume, plain water may not be enough.
Simple options include:
Water with a pinch of salt and lemon
Coconut water with a salty snack
An oral rehydration-style drink when sweating heavily
Regular meals with enough salt, unless medically restricted
People with blood pressure concerns should not experiment with high-salt pre-workouts without medical guidance.
Do not skip the warm-up
A supplement cannot replace heat, movement, and rehearsal.
A good warm-up should:
Raise body temperature
Move the joints used in training
Prepare the exact movement pattern
Build gradually towards working weight or speed
For squats, that means lighter squats before heavy squats. For sprinting, that means drills and build-up runs. For push day, that means shoulders, elbows, and light pressing.
The weirdest pre-workout is useless if the first real set is also the warm-up.
The line between intense and unsafe
Hard training attracts hard rituals. That is part of the culture. The problem begins when the ritual hides fatigue, poor recovery, or ego lifting.
Watch for these warning signs:
Chest pain or unusual tightness
Dizziness that does not pass quickly
Heart racing at rest
Nausea before every session
Panic, shaking, or cold sweats
Needing stimulants to train at all
Poor sleep after most workouts
Technique breaking down from over-arousal
If any of these show up, reduce the intensity of the pre-workout routine. Get checked if symptoms feel unusual or severe.
Be careful with proprietary blends
Many commercial pre-workouts use blends where exact amounts are unclear. That makes it harder to know how much caffeine or other active ingredients you are taking.
Look for labels that clearly list:
Caffeine amount per serving
Creatine amount, if included
Beta-alanine amount, if included
Citrulline or citrulline malate amount, if included
Serving size and scoop weight
Warnings for medical conditions
Beta-alanine tingles are common and harmless for many people, but they can feel strange if unexpected. Creatine does not need to be taken pre-workout to work. It works best when taken consistently over time, often around 3 to 5 g daily for many adults, if suitable.
Save the extreme stuff for rare days
Some tools are better kept for special situations.
Useful often | Use with care | Rarely needed |
Water | High caffeine | Smelling salts |
Carbs | High-salt shots | Ice-cold exposure before lifting |
Warm-up sets | Beetroot juice | Slaps, shouting, rage rituals |
Coffee or tea | Pump ingredients | Multiple stimulant stacks |
For most lifters, the best pre-workout is boring 80 percent of the time and intense only when the session truly demands it.
A simple hard pre-workout template that works
Here is a practical template that covers most gym and sport sessions.
Two to three hours before training
Eat a normal meal with carbs and protein.
Good examples:
Rice, dal, curd, and vegetables
Roti with paneer bhurji
Oats with banana and whey
Poha with peanuts and curd
Chicken, potatoes, and salad
Keep it familiar. Pre-workout is not the time to test a new food.
Thirty to sixty minutes before training
Choose only what the session needs.
For strength or power:
Coffee or a measured caffeine source
Water
A small salty snack if sweating heavily
Mobility and ramp-up sets
For bodybuilding:
Water
Carbs if the session is long
Optional pump-focused supplement
Controlled warm-up
For endurance or sport:
Fluids
Electrolytes if needed
Light carbs
Movement drills
Five to ten minutes before training
Use a focus trigger.
This can be:
One specific song
A breathing pattern
Reviewing the first lift or drill
A short walk
A consistent warm-up set routine
The trigger should calm the mind and sharpen effort. It should not turn the session into a circus.
The real takeaway
Weird pre-workouts are popular because they feel powerful. A sour shot, a burning scoop, a cold blast, or a loud ritual can make training feel serious before it even starts. Sometimes that helps.
Still, the hard pre-workout that works best is usually built from simple parts: food, fluids, salt when needed, smart caffeine, a clear warm-up, and a routine you can repeat.
Use the weird tools carefully. Keep the basics strong. The goal is not to feel destroyed before training begins. The goal is to walk into the first set ready, focused, and in control.
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