When trying to reach any fitness goal, be it fat loss, muscle growth, endurance, or getting stronger, most people focus on what to do before and after their training sessions. And rightfully so—pre-workouts that contain the right ingredients can maximize your workouts, and the nutrients you give your body after exercise are both important.

But have you ever thought about what you should do during your workout to make the most of every rep, set, and minute you spend training? Most people think they just need to drink a lot of water, or maybe they've heard they should sip on BCAAs.

You certainly need to stay hydrated during your workouts, and BCAAs can have benefits, but these things alone may not be enough to fully support your energy, hydration, and muscle recovery as you train.

But there is a supplement that can– an intra-workout. Today, we will talk about the science behind intra-workout supplements and how they might be the very thing missing from your supplement stack that could maximize your results.

What are Intra-Workout Supplements?

Hence the name, intra-workout supplements are designed to be consumed during (and sometimes after) your workout to give your body exactly what it needs while you're actively training.

They work differently from pre-workout supplements. The goal of intra-workout supplements is to provide your body with the necessary nutrients to sustain peak performance, reduce fatigue, and support muscle endurance.

Typically, intra-workout supplements contain a blend of ingredients like fast-acting carbohydrates, electrolytes, and/or amino acids that help maintain energy levels, hydration, and muscle function throughout the workout.

If you're already using a pre-workout to enhance performance and a post-workout supplement to support recovery, incorporating an intra-workout formula could be what's missing in your supplement stack (that is, if you want the best results or want to outperform your competition.)

What are the Benefits of Intra-Workout Supplements?

Many people focus on pre-workout products to get them through their training and post-workout nutrition for recovery but don't consider the importance of maintaining energy, hydration, and muscle function during the workout itself.

That's where intra-workouts come into play.  

Intra-workout supplements are often overlooked despite their ability to significantly enhance workout performance by providing key nutrients exactly when your body needs them most—during your workout.

Here are some of the key benefits you could be missing if you're not taking an intra-workout supplement:

Maximizes Workout Endurance

Have you ever gotten about halfway through your workout, run, or competition and started to lose steam? Intra-workout supplements contain ingredients that help you maintain consistent energy throughout your workout. 

When you have sustained and steady energy, you can push through with less perceived effort. This not only helps you go longer and harder but also allows you to increase your overall training volume. Over time, this leads to faster progress, better results, and improvements in strength and muscle growth.

Fuels Muscle Hydration 

Muscles are made up of about 75% water, so even slight dehydration can reduce your muscles' ability to contract efficiently, leading to faster fatigue, cramping, and a drop in strength and endurance. Dehydration also hampers nutrient delivery and oxygen flow, which are essential for muscle function during exercise.

Intra-workout supplements support hydration by replenishing lost fluids and electrolytes, ensuring your muscles stay primed and ready to perform at their peak. Properly hydrated muscles can generate more force, recover faster between sets, and sustain high levels of intensity, helping you make the most of every workout.

Prevents Lean Tissue Loss

During intense training, your body enters a catabolic state, where it begins breaking down muscle tissue to meet energy demands. This process can lead to muscle loss and slower recovery if not addressed.

The anabolic window is one of the greatest fitness debates. Everyone has a different opinion. However, most agree that the goal is to shift your body back into an anabolic state—where it builds and repairs muscle—as soon as possible, or better yet, prevent excessive muscle breakdown from occurring in the first place.

Intra-workout supplements are designed to help combat muscle breakdown during exercise, supplying your muscles with the nutrients they need to stay protected.

Who Should Take an Intra-Workout Supplement?

Intra-workout supplements can benefit anyone looking to enhance their workout performance and maximize their training sessions. However, these supplements are especially beneficial for those involved in intense training or who have very specific fitness goals.

Those Wanting to Build Muscle

For those focused on building muscle, intra-workouts offer vital nutrients that prevent muscle breakdown and support recovery during long training sessions. They also keep energy levels steady, helping you maximize the volume and quality of your training, which is essential for stimulating muscle growth.

Strength Training

Fueling your body properly is essential for lifting heavy and maximizing strength gains. Intra-workout supplements are formulated with ingredients that support muscle growth and function, delay fatigue, and ensure you can give your all in every set.

Individuals Focused on Fat Loss

The intensity of your workouts is important for calorie burn. Intra-workout supplements can give you the energy you need to keep your heart rate in the fat-burning zone.

Additionally, most people trying to lose weight are in a calorie deficit. Intra-workouts can help preserve lean muscle mass during intense calorie-burning workouts, minimizing muscle breakdown.

Endurance Athletes

If you participate in any activity requiring stamina, you know that endurance is vital. Intra-workouts contain ingredients that support sustained energy and prevent fatigue, keeping you going strong during long sessions.

They also replenish electrolytes and support hydration, which are important for preventing cramping, maintaining muscle function, and avoiding the performance dips associated with dehydration.

CrossFit

CrossFit involves a mix of strength, endurance, and high-intensity movements. Intra-workout supplements help provide sustained energy, prevent fatigue, and maintain hydration, allowing you to power through demanding workouts.

People Training in Hot or Humid Conditions

In warm or humid environments, dehydration can be a risk. Intra-workouts with electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium help replenish lost fluids, preventing cramping and keeping your muscles functioning at their best.

How Intra-Workout Supplements Are Different from Other Supplements

Intra-workout supplements are often confused with other supplements, such as pre-workout, BCAAs, hydration formulas, and electrolytes. However, they serve different purposes and provide distinct benefits.

Pre-Workout vs. Intra-Workout

Pre-workouts are designed to give you a boost of energy and focus before your session and typically contain stimulants or a pump-inducing ingredient. Intra-workouts don't typically have these ingredients.

Instead, they have ingredients that provide hydration and muscle support. Many also offer energy via a fast-acting carb source like cluster dextrin, which provides constant energy and replenishes muscle glycogen stores without spiking blood sugar levels.

Hydration Supplements vs. Intra-Workout

Hydration supplements help replenish fluids and electrolytes lost during exercise, but that's it. They often lack the energy support found and muscle-repairing ingredients in intra-workouts. With an intra-workout, you get both. 

Electrolytes vs. Intra-Workout

Electrolyte supplements help maintain fluid balance and prevent cramping, while intra-workouts go further by providing not only electrolytes but also energy and muscle-repairing ingredients to support endurance and recovery during the workout. 

Key Ingredients in Intra-Workout Supplements

There are many intra-workout supplements on the market. Some contain only one or two ingredients, while others combine a variety of ingredients to provide maximum support during your workout. 

Here is a list of ingredients to look for in a quality intra-workout supplement and how they benefit your training:

Sodium (Sodium Citrate + Sea Salt)

Sodium is a key electrolyte that helps maintain fluid balance during exercise. It also plays a vital role in muscle contraction and nerve signaling. Sodium helps prevent dehydration, ensuring that your muscles stay fueled and function properly throughout your workout.

All sodium isn’t equal.  Sodium citrate and sea salt are the winning combination. Using these types of sodium together in a 1:1 ratio allows your gut to tolerate more sodium consumption during training, delivering optimal hydration and electrolyte balance without digestive upset. 

Carbohydrates (Glucose + Fructose)

If you want to maximize endurance and stamina, your body needs carbs. However, like sodium, not all carbohydrates are created equal, especially during exercise. A quality intra-workout should have carbs that come from glucose and fructose. 

Glucose and fructose are absorbed differently in the body—glucose uses SGLT1 transporters, while fructose relies on GLUT5 transporters. Because these pathways operate independently, combining the two reduces the likelihood of overloading your digestive system, minimizing gastrointestinal discomfort.

Ratios are also important. A precise ratio of 1 to 0.8 glucose to fructose is needed to efficiently fuel prolonged endurance activities. Research indicates that combining glucose and fructose allows the body to absorb up to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour—roughly 50% more than relying on glucose alone. This is due to the use of separate absorption pathways, preventing strain on a single route. 

A quality intra-workout will include this ratio to deliver a steady energy supply designed to keep you going strong through long, demanding workouts without the risk of energy dips.

Essential Amino Acids (EAAs)

Not to be confused with BCAAs, which typically only contain three amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine), EAAs include all nine essential amino acids that the body cannot produce on its own. These typically include leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and histidine.

Providing your body with all essential amino acids during a workout, rather than just a select few, is crucial for preventing muscle breakdown, delaying fatigue, and kickstarting the recovery process—even while you're still training!

Magnesium

Magnesium is essential for ATP production, which powers your muscles during exercise. 

Potassium Citrate

Potassium helps maintain fluid balance and electrolyte status in the body. During a workout, potassium supports nerve function and muscle contraction, helping to prevent fatigue and cramping while enhancing overall endurance.

Common Mistakes People Make When Using an Intra-Workout Supplement

Intra-workouts are less talked about than other supplements, leading many people to take them incorrectly or use them in place of other supplements.

Below are some of the most common mistakes we see people make when taking an intra-workout supplement. For more helpful information on how to take an intra-workout, read “Tips When Taking an Intra-Workout Supplement.”

Not Staying Hydrated

Just because an intra-workout supplement contains hydration ingredients doesn't mean you can skimp on water. If you start your workout dehydrated, you won't get the full benefit.

Dehydration, even at mild levels, can decrease energy, focus, and overall performance. Starting your workout hydrated helps you make the most of your intra-workout formula.

Furthermore, intra-workout supplements often contain carbohydrates, which can draw water into your muscles, making it even more critical to maintain hydration throughout your session.

Taking More Than the Suggested Dose

More isn't necessarily better. It's important to stick to the recommended serving size for optimal performance and to avoid overloading your system or wasting your money.

For example, each scoop of RAW EAA Essential Amino Acid contains a precise dose of all nine of these amino acids. One serving throughout your workout is all you need! Same with RAW Fuel. One scoop contains efficacious dosages of every ingredient.

Taking It Too Late into the Workout

Intra-workout supplements are meant to be consumed during the workout to sustain energy and hydration levels. Waiting until you're already tired or feeling depleted means you've missed the window for optimal impact.

It is best to sip on your intra-workout supplement throughout the session to ensure you have a steady supply of nutrients from start to finish.

Relying Only on Intra-Workout for Energy

While intra-workout supplements can provide a boost during your training, they aren't meant to replace a small pre-workout meal or protein shake. Intra-workouts are designed to maintain performance during training, but you need to start your workout with adequate fuel.

They also aren't formulated to give you a burst of energy like many stimulant pre-workouts. If you are looking for that, it's best to stack your intra-workout with a stimulant pre-workout, or if you prefer no stimulants, a pump supplement with no caffeine.

Neglecting Post-Workout Nutrition

Intra-workout supplements help prevent muscle breakdown during exercise, but they don't replace the need for proper nutrition after your session. After an intense workout, your muscles are in a state of breakdown and need the right nutrients to start the repair process.

Protein, in particular, is crucial for rebuilding muscle fibers and stimulating growth. If you neglect post-workout nutrition, your muscles won't receive the essential building blocks they need to recover, which can limit the benefits of your hard work in the gym. Even if you take an intra-workout supplement--- still drink your post-workout protein shake! 

Conclusion 

While pre- and post-workout supplements often steal the spotlight, we believe an intra-workout is just as important. Don't let this underrated supplement be the missing link in your training—add it to your regimen and see the difference for yourself.

If you are looking to optimize intense training resistance or endurance sessions, you probably want an intra-workout with a precise mix of glucose/fructose and 300mg sodium in a 1:1 ratio of sea salt to sodium citrate. 

For those who want an intra-workout boost without the carbs, RAW EAA Essential Amino Acids might be a better fit.