TikTok claims Rice Krispies Treats — a snack made from melted marshmallows and rice puff cereal — is an effective pre-workout, according to multiple sources online.
Pre-workout is usually a supplement, often in the form of a pill or powder, that is meant to give you energy for your workout, per WebMD.
USA Today reported that TikTok users said a Rice Krispies Treat can act as a suitable pre-workout because it can “improve workouts and give them more power during training sessions.”
Medical News Today, an online health news platform, said that “Rice Krispies Treats make for a suitable pre-workout snack due to their simple carbohydrate content. Carbohydrates are the body’s primary fuel source, so eating a high-carb snack before a training session can boost energy and performance.”
Hillary Ake, a sports dietitian, told Medical News Today that the treats are “a quick carbohydrate, taste good and are easy to consume.”
Health is an educational fitness platform that said it’s best to eat the treat before intense cardio or strength exercise routines, adding that “if you’re going to eat a Rice Krispie Treat as your pre-workout snack, keep in mind that less than 10% of your daily calories should be added sugar. If you need 2,000 calories every day, you should try to eat no more than 200 calories in added sugar.”
USA Today said one user shared via social media that using the treat as a pre-workout gave him “30 mins of sugar high then a sugar crash that ruined the back end of my workout. Not for me.”
Abbie E. Smith-Ryan, associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Department of Exercise and Sport Science and an active researcher in sports nutrition and exercise performance, told USA Today that an ideal pre-workout would be a meal containing all necessary nutrients about three hours before exercising.
Pre-workout
Health said for workouts that are less than an hour, no pre-workout is needed. For long, high-intensity workouts, “you should eat 30-60 grams of carbohydrates for every hour of exercise.”
Forbes listed common ingredients found in pre-workout supplements, which include:
- Caffeine, meant to increase focus and attentiveness.
- Beta-alanine, an amino acid that may decrease muscle fatigue.
- Creatine, an amino acid meant to increase energy.