Hey man, what’s your preworkout?

I was having a heavy lifting sesh at one of my all time favorite gyms (CG Arena, RIP), when one of the coaches asked which pre-workout I used.

I was flattered because maybe someone had finally recognized the beast I was becoming and wanted to know what I was doing.

So I say, “tea.”

“What?”

“Green tea.”

He was surprised, and disappointed, because he had forgotten his pre-workout and was hoping I’d have some he could use.

And I was disappointed that perhaps I wasn’t as beastly as I had hoped #sad

I’m not sure when I started drinking tea before and during workouts, but indeed, that’s what helps me get through the two-hour workout sessions (and sometimes electrolytes)

I bought a tub or two of pre-workout during my first years lifting weights, but didn’t keep using it. The effect wears off after time, they generally have questionable ingredients, and I’d rather not spend money if I don’t have to.

Prereqs to using tea as pre-workout

For tea to be helpful during workouts, it helps to have some ducks in a row.

Get enough sleep

You should be doing this anyway, but if you’re sleep-deprived, you’ll need large amounts of caffeine to get an effect, which tea would be impractical to provide. Yes, you can use more tea leaves and make it stronger, but it might be necessary to drink coffee instead since it has much higher caffeine content.

Keep a low caffeine tolerance

If you’re sleeping and eating well and doing cardio, your energy levels should already be good enough that caffeine is a boost instead of a necessity.

If you’re used to drinking lots of coffee or energy drinks every day, then it’ll help to take the dosage down gradually, over several weeks, to reduce the effect of caffeine withdrawals.

Once you’ve reset your tolerance, then tea will have a noticeable effect.

What type of tea to use

I order from Arbor Teas because they offer fair trade, organic, loose leaf teas shipped in compostable bags. They’ve had consistent quality over many years.

I steep enough for a couple of days and store it in the fridge.

White teas don’t have enough caffeine to be useful, so it’s best to use green teas, black teas, or yerba mate. Each tea has a different color and flavor, and there’s fun in trying them and finding out which works best for you.