Not many would think of using salt (sodium) as a pre-workout supplement, however sodium is a lot more useful for strength training than you may believe. Here we outline some of the benefits of using salt pre-workout and how you could try it out for your next strength training session.
What are the benefits of using salt pre-workout?
- Helps muscles contract better
When a nerve signals a muscle to contract, sodium rapidly flows into the cell. Using sodium as a pre-workout protocol will help you to ‘feel‘ your reps more as you’ll squeeze and contract harder. - IMPROVES hydration
Sodium doesn’t dehydrate you. It hydrates you. Consuming sodium replaces what’s lost through sweat, urine etc. It’ll help keep your bodily fluids properly balanced. Salt also helps you to absorb water better. - Maintains fluid balance
Salt is an electrolyte, so when we sweat and lose electrolytes during a workout (especially sodium), pre-dosing will help to maintain healthy levels. - Improves strength
A lot of strength and power is intracellular water retention and sodium will help you retain water better. - Get better pumps!
The same way that sodium helps you to contract your muscles, it’ll also help to flood your muscles with more water, meaning you get much better pumps in the gym.
Salt helps to increase blood volume so you have a better cardiovascular system, better stamina from being more hydrated, improved muscle function and better recovery from training
How to try it out pre-workout…
To give this a try on your next workout, aim for a ¼ teaspoon of high quality Himalayan salt with your pre workout meal (2 – 3 hours before training). Start with that and see how you find your next workout. Once you’ve tried that a few times, you can even try adding an extra little pinch in your water bottle to sip whilst you train.
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