Why Am I Itchy After Pre-Workout: Unraveling The Truth

If you are new to pre-workouts. You might have experienced a weird, itchy, and tingly feeling after drinking certain types of pre-workout.

Having an itchy, tingly, or flush feeling after taking a pre-workout is very common. The main ingredient responsible for this itchy feeling is called beta-alanine. Beta-alanine is a popular ingredient in most pre-workouts and is what can cause you to have itchy skin.

Below, I’ll dive deep into why beta-alanine causes your skin to feel itchy after pre-workout. The benefits you are getting from beta-alaine. Also, 2 things that you can do to stop feeling itchy after taking pre-workout.

Why Does Pre-Workout Make Your Skin Itchy

Most of the pre-workouts with beta-alanine on the market can give you this itchy, tingly, and hot sensation after taking it.

This is commonly referred to as “paresthesia.” Which is that feeling of pins and needles you get after taking a pre-workout. You usually can experience something similar when your foot or arm falls asleep because you’ve put pressure on a nerve for too long.

This tingly and itchy sensation will go away after a few minutes. Usually 20-40 mins from personal experience.

Just keep in mind…

Everyone has a certain tolerance to it. Some people may just feel a little bit of an itch on their arms. At the same time, others can feel an intense itchy, tingle, and burning sensation all over their body. This includes the hands, feet, and face.

Now, is going through all that worth it? Let’s talk about the benefits of taking beta-alanine.

Beta-Alanine Benefits

Beta-alanine is the ingredient responsible for giving you itchy skin after drinking pre-workout. Also, it’s friend niacin is known to make you feel hot and flushed, too.

But there is some benefit to it all…

Beta-alanine combines with histidine to create something called carnosine. Carnosine is used in your body to reduce fatigue in the muscles and help with your physical performance in the gym.

So simply put…

You get to push a little harder in the gym and reduce the feeling of muscle fatigue during your workouts by using beta-alanine.

But, at the end of the day. It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth going through the itchy feeling in order to have this benefit.

Now let’s talk about how to stop that itching and tingly feeling after taking your pre…

How Do You Stop Itching After Pre-Workout

There are a few ways to try and stop that itchy feeling when you take pre-workout supplements. The first method I am going to talk about may or may not work for you.

This method is best if you still want the benefits of beta-alanine without having such an intense itchy feeling.

But the second method will stop the itching altogether. The downside is you won’t benefit from the beta-alanine.

Let’s discuss these two methods…

Take A Slow Releasing Beta-Alanine Product

I think that the itchy feeling in pre-workout has caused so much of an issue, to the point that the fitness industry has tried to create its own solution to this problem.

There is a product created called CarnoSyn. This product has an SR version. And this SR version stands for slow release.

It’s essentially a beta-alanine designed to be slowly released in order to combat that itchy feeling you get.

Many pre-workouts have CarnoSyn in their ingredients list.

But to be honest…

I’ve tried some of these pre-workouts. I still end up experiencing the itchy feeling after taking those pre-workouts.

But others online claim it has helped them feel less of the intensity.

I say give it a try and test it out for yourself. Everyone’s tolerance will be different, and you might be one of the lucky few. Who knows?

But if you want to avoid this feeling altogether. Then this next solution is for you…

Skip Pre-Workouts With Beta-Alanine

Yup! You heard that right. Just skip the pre-workout with beta-alanine altogether. There are plenty of pre-workouts out on the market without beta-alanine, but they still give you great performance in the gym.

This is the surefire way to avoid that itchy skin feeling after drinking pre-workout.

My recommended pre-workout without Beta-alanine is this one

This pre-workout is one of my favorites. It gives you a great pump, focus, and endurance in the gym. Also, it already contains creatine monohydrate, which saves you a little cash having to buy it separately.

Now I’ll go over a few questions I’ve seen being asked around about pre-workouts…

How Am I Supposed To Feel On Pre-Workout

Read this article on what does pre-workout feels like if you are still curious about how you should feel when taking this supplement.

Just keep in mind not all pre-workouts are created equal. There are high-stim and no-stim pre-workouts. There are brands that have transparent nutrition labels. Which tells you exactly how much of every ingredient is in a serving.

And there are companies who hide behind proprietary blends. These labels hide the true dosing of the pre-workout supplement, and I tend to stay away from these companies.

But each formula and brand can have you feeling differently. So, there really is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to pre-workout.

Is Itching After Pre-Workout Good

This is another common question I get asked about frequently. And here’s what you need to know about it…

Itching after taking pre-workout is very common and usually nothing to worry about. It’s a sign that the pre-workout you’ve taken contains an ingredient called Beta-Alanine. Beta-alanine can be good for endurance, fighting fatigue, and improving athletic performance.

So if you are looking for those benefits in the gym and experience some itching. Then it’s a good sign you’ve taken a pre-workout with that ingredient, and you’ll benefit from it.

Conclusion To Why You’re Itchy After Pre-Workout

Now, you should understand completely why you get itchy after drinking pre-workout.

Not just that, but I’ve given you a crash course on what ingredient is responsible for this feeling, the benefits you get from it, and how to avoid it if it really bugs you.

Like using pre-workouts that do not contain any beta-alanine…

But at the end of the day. You may just need to endure it, especially if you want the benefits of beta-alanine.

And in my honest opinion. After taking it for a while, you sort of just get used to it and learn to deal with it.

Some even use it as a signal to get in the right frame of mind when they are at the gym!