Beetroot for Pump: Benefits of Beetroot Powder Pre-Workout for Bodybuilding

Muscle pump during a weightlifting session, often referred to as “the pump”, is when the muscles swell up during the workout.

This is caused when excess blood fills up the working muscles, giving them a fuller, tighter feeling–much like a water balloon being filled with water.

Along with increased blood flow to working muscle, a flow of nutrients is also carried into the muscle cells, nourishing and fueling them further into your workout and post-training recovery.

Though, a muscle pump can be as much a mental experience as it is a physical one. Those who experience muscle pumps in the gym can often feel more confident and euphoric, thus pushing them to work even harder and gain that highly desired feeling of triumph afterward.

Muscle pump can be achieved through quite literally “pumping” the muscles in the gym through strength training and resistance training!

Diet, particularly what you eat pre-workout, is often an important component to achieving this, though. Carbohydrates fill the muscles with fuel, which is our body’s preferred energy source during training sessions. (7)

However, certain pre-workout supplements may also help you achieve muscle pumps, especially pre-workouts containing beetroot extract.

If you’re looking to achieve a muscle pump in the gym, keep reading to find out more about how beetroot can help, and where to find the best beets supplement!

Beetroot + citrulline for reliable pre-workout flow

Pre Lab Pro® times NO support with clean cognition and energy.

Nitrate + citrulline synergy for pump and endurance.

Moderate caffeine + nootropics for focused drive.

Clean-label, vegan NutriCaps®—easy on the stomach.

Learn More

What is Beetroot?

You probably know beetroot as the dark red-purple root vegetable, also known as red beet, powdered beets, or just beets.

This food is packed with nutrients including fiber, folate, manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C.

Beetroot is associated with many health benefits, such as improved blood flow, heart health, support for people with high blood pressure, and increased exercise performance. (8)

This is all down to the exceptionally high content of inorganic nitrates - nitrates, nitrites, and nitric oxide.

Let’s take a closer look at dietary nitrates and how this helps muscle pump!

Beetroot and Nitric Oxide: Muscle Pump

Dietary nitrates are found in high concentrations in vegetables such as leafy greens, lettuce, celery, turnips, and most notably, beetroot.

Nitrate is a pre-curser to nitric oxide (NO) and is widely known for its effects on boosting circulation via vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels).

Due to these benefits, nitrates consumed in the form of beet juice or powder have been shown to have ergogenic benefits, helping you to perform at your best.

As you can see, beetroots deliver more oxygen to muscles and can offer additional performance-enhancing benefits because of increased blood flow to the muscles, i.e., muscle pump.

So, not only will you experience a boost in performance, you could also notice improvements in performance from the positive mindset that comes with experiencing a muscle pump.

Beetroot Powder for Bodybuilding

Beetroot supplements have been trending for a while among endurance athletes due to the robust research proving it to be an effective supplement for improving endurance exercise.

Though it’s yet to fully break through the bodybuilding and weightlifting world.

While the obvious benefit of consuming beetroot for bodybuilding would be increased muscle pump, does this have a tangible benefit to muscle growth?

It appears to still be up for debate, though the initial research suggests that this wouldn’t be a surprising finding in the near future.

Beetroot has been shown to improve higher rep sets, thus potentially translating to improved hypertrophy (muscle growth). (2)

So, while the research in this specific area is still in its youth, the initial findings are promising so far, indicating a huge potential for beetroot powder supplementation in the bodybuilding world in the long run, with little to no downsides.

Get regular insight, offers & access to sales. Plus 10% off your first order.

Email address Subscribe

Beetroot Dosage for Pre-Workout & Muscle Recovery

Dosage of beetroot actually plays a fairly significant role in the performance-enhancing effects, so it’s important to seek out the correct dose to properly reap the benefits!

Findings suggest that acute ingestion of 5.0-8.5 mmol of nitric oxide (310-525 mg) is the dose required to improve exercise economy, though higher doses may be necessary to improve performance.

This amount is equivalent to two concentrated shots of beetroot juice, ideally taken 2-3 hours before training.

Beetroot can also be taken in powder form, which is a staple ingredient in the Pre Lab Pro pre-workout formula, which you can easily mix with water.

This is the richest, most concentrated form of beetroot extract containing 25x more nitrate and 10x greater antioxidants than beetroot.

Not only does this offer the performance-enhancing benefits noted above, but it also sharpens cognitive function & mental focus, enhances muscle energy, may support muscle recovery post-training and can support your overall fitness goals.

Shop Pre Lab Pro®

Beetroot Side Effects

There is minimal risk to beetroot supplementation in healthy people.

That said, beetroots contain high levels of oxalates, which can contribute to kidney stones in those who are at risk. So make sure to check with your doctor, especially if you have any conditions.

Some people may also find that it can change their urine and/or stool to a red or pink color, which can be alarming but is not harmful at all.

Otherwise, the only other downsides may be poor taste and cost, but this is subjective!

Beetroot for Pump: Take-Home Message

Beetroot is known to be an effective performance-enhancer due to the high content of nitrates that promote better circulation. This can help improve muscle efficiency, reduce the O2 cost of exercise, and help you achieve that much-desired “muscle pump”.

While it's not magic and the research is not yet conclusive around the effects of beetroot on muscle growth, there is a strong indication of it having some great advantages for bodybuilders and weightlifters alike.

You can find concentrated beetroot in the form of juice shots or powder, though our top pick is Pre Lab Pro—our #1 beetroot pre-workout formula containing the most effective, concentrated form of beetroot powder.

This all-round ergogenic will help boost your performance and optimize your recovery, thus accelerating your fitness journey.