Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger is after any edge he can get when it comes to optimizing fitness. In his latest Arnold’s Pump Club Newsletter, the 76-year-old revealed how rinsing your mouth with a carb-based drink before sets can result in increased power and boost workout performance.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a living legend whose contributions to bodybuilding are still on display today. His grasp of exercise, nutrition, and supplementation is backed up by years of experience challenging himself in the IFBB Pro League, where he bested legends of the sport from Sergio Oliva and Frank Zane to his close friend, Franco Columbu.
Longevity has never been more important to Schwarzenegger as he was recently hospitalized to install a pacemaker. Spreading workout wisdom is something he’s all too familiar with, but each day, he finds new information on how to maximize training results.
Spit Out Your Pre-Workout: Arnold Schwarzenegger Says Rinsing Mouth With Carb-Based Drinks Improves Exercise Performance
Just like a sommelier who tastes fine wines, Schwarzenegger advised his followers to swish a carb-based drink around their mouths before a set, spit it out, and witness more gains.
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“Why You Might Start Spitting Out Your Pre-Workout
Have you ever seen how a sommelier tastes wine? They take a sip, swirl it around their palate, and then spit it out. Turns out you might be able to do the same thing with your pre-workout and still see the benefits.”
“Researchers found that rinsing your mouth with a carb-based drink before sets can improve workout performance.”
How was this study conducted? Schwarzenegger shared that scientists had subjects utilize a ‘sip-swirl-spit method’ with a carb-based drink before deadlifting.
“The scientists tested the effectiveness of the som-style pre-workout approach by having each participant test the sip-swirl-spit method on both a carb-based drink and a placebo before performing deadlifts.”
The results were eye-opening: the carb drink increased power and enabled participants to lift more during workouts without ramping up their perceived exertion, meaning they exercised harder but didn’t notice the fatigue as much.
“The carb drink helped increase power and how much total weight people could lift during their workout without increasing their perceived exertion (they didn’t feel more exhausted even though they worked harder).”
The findings are shocking, to say the least, considering subjects did not have to consume carbohydrates to see performance benefits.
“This isn’t the first time researchers have found a result from a pre-set carb rinse. Prior research found that a pre-workout carb-rinse also improves cycling performance.
What’s wild is the research suggests you don’t even need to consume carbs to see a performance benefit. Studies suggest that receptors in your mouth send a signal to your brain that affects motor unit activation, motivation, and reward. As we’ve discussed many times in the exclusive content inside the Pump App, motor unit recruitment is one of the most important variables of muscle growth.”
Schwarzenegger believes this study shines a light on the benefits many people attain from intra-workout drinks.
“What does it mean? For starters, you don’t need to bring a spit bucket to the gym. But it might explain why so many people benefit from an intra-workout drink (sipping on something during your training), even though many ingredients (such as BCAAs) repeatedly fail to show a benefit for muscle growth, strength, or endurance.”
While he maintains that the ‘swirling’ method didn’t raise maximum strength, it did help with muscular and cardiovascular endurance and power.
“Even flavored water during your workout might be enough to help activate the sensors in your mouth. Based on what we know right now, the swirling method doesn’t appear to help maximum strength, but it can assist with muscular and cardiovascular endurance and power.”
Physiologist and exercise expert Dr. Mike Israetel has also underscored the importance of carbs during workouts. In addition to discussing the serving size, Israetel suggests that rapidly digesting carbohydrates could benefit training efforts.
“The serving size you’re going to use is going to be determined by your workout volume, like if it’s legs, you are going to be consuming more carbs. If it’s just like biceps, you probably don’t need carbs at all.
The intensity of the workout if it’s like peak week super hard, you might need more carbs. If it’s an easy kind of deload of a workout, maybe not need any and anything in between.”
Most of us would probably like to consume our intra-workout drink instead of spitting it out, either way, Schwarzenegger says both routes have merit. The next time you’re pumping iron, put on your sommelier hat and try Schwarzenegger’s ‘sip-swirl-spit’ method for more gains.
RELATED: Arnold Schwarzenegger Discusses If You Need to Add Carbs to Post-Workout Meals
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