How to resolve the HARDEN Pre-workout / Amino Energy issue
Have you open up a pre-workout powder, BCAA or electrolyte powder and notice that they are hardened or stick and clumping together? Not looking like the powder which you have imagined?
This process is quite common and this happened because of hygroscopic ingredients most pre-workout and electrolyte have.
Hygroscopic ingredients are ingredients which easily absorb moisture from the air.
There are many ways to resolve your pre-workout. Some of them are simple and some are quite unexpected. Now the question that many are asking is:
Is it safe to consume HARDENED PRE-WORKOUT?
Yes. A hardened pre-workout is still safe and effective to use but it can become challenging to scoop out and get the correct dose (plus, no one wants to swallow a hard pre-workout pebble that hasn't broken down in their water bottle.) Use these simple tips to turn the pre-workout back into a powder.
PS: You should be slightly please see your pre-workout hardened as it would mean you are getting the real effective dose active ingredients in it. As citrulline malate, beta-alanine and electrolytes are extremely hygroscopic. Preworkout which is hard to get hardened or clumpy, especially in Malaysia humid weather is usually filled with fillers, preservative and chemical compounds.
Example of how hardened preworkout supplement might look like.
One if the best solution Proteinlab Malaysia would advice would be to blend the hardened or clumping pre workout.
If you do have a blender in the kitchen, you can place the hardened pre-workout powder into a dry blender, and blend until its back to powder form. This will only require a couple of seconds to do. Once the pre-workout is back to powder form, you can return it to the container. Alongside with the scoop & Silica Gel (Preferred to put the Silica gel at the bottom of the bottle).
Here's a simple video demonstration down below :
Other method including cutting the preworkout into smaller piece with knife.
Yes! As weird & dangerous as it may be, you can use a knife to break up the powder. This would be the most convenient way available if you don't have a blender. However, instead of to a knife, you can also use a spoon or fork which is hard enough to pierce the harden preworkout. This won’t completely break up the powder but will enable you to scoop enough out for accurate dosage. But do be careful & mindful about it & try not to cut or stab yourself.
You can also regularly stir or shakes the powder in the container to prevent it from clumping.
One of the reasons pre-workouts can go hard is because they are not used as frequently as protein powders or other supplements.
Protein powders and other supplements are used multiple times a day and on both training and non-training days, the continual scooping keeps the powder from hardening up.
Pre-workout powders are usually only used once a day on training days. As a result, pre-workouts are often left sitting for periods and are more likely to absorb moisture and turn hard.
Regularly stirring or shaking the powder and container will help reduce the moisture absorbed by the powder and keep it loose and free-flowing.
Use & keep the Silica Gel
Silica Gel is a little packet that adsorbs and holds water vapours. Silica Gel can be found in all sorts of products because Silica Gel is a desiccant. In leather products and foods like pepperoni, the lack of moisture can limit the growth of mold and reduce spoilage.
KEEP THE SILICA GEL PACKET BURIED IN YOUR PRE-WORKOUT CONTAINER.
For some people, it has become a habit to open a new product and chuck the silica gel packet out straight away, this little guy is very important! The gel silica packet is what prevents your precious powder from attracting moisture, which causes it to go hard.
It’s important to not throw it away and make sure it is always buried in the pre-workout, not sitting on top.
SQUEEZE THE CONTAINER
Another method to solve the harden pre-workout issue if you do not have any tools available with you is by squeezing the pre-workout container. Squeezing hardened pre-workout container can help the powder break up if it has not become completely hard yet. This way, it can help break the hardened per-workout into smaller bits so that you can make sure that the per-workout will be able to break down into the mixture. After squeezing and breaking down the harden pre-workout into clumps, you can close the lid and shake it rigorously beforehand to break it down even further.
Pounding The Powder
If you do not have a blender, then this is the next best thing you can use. Place the harden Pre-workout into the bowl and start pounding it till it is back to its powdery form. The Pounder is the traditional method to break hard things down to either smaller bits or straight up into powder form.
Hope this article is helpful & informative.