Have you ever felt disappointed with a pre workout?

Well, those days are gone.
As the title of this article suggests, I’m going to show you how to make your own pre workout supplement from scratch using a bunch of raw ingredients you can buy from any good supplement manufacturer.
I’ll link you off to my favourites below.
When you make your own pre-workout it allows you to control the dose of each key ingredient, making sure that you’re getting enough of the compounds which can have the biggest impact. It also enables you to exclude any unnecessary “filler” (e.g. those silly pre-workouts which claim to have “27 active ingredients!”), and it’ll even save you a bunch of money in the long run!
I learned this trick way back in 2013 from none other than Dr. Jim Stoppani, and it’s something I still do to this very day whenever I fancy a break from traditional pre-workouts.
DISCLAIMER: This article is for information purposes, and just because it’s what I do doesn’t mean it’s what you should do – there are important things to take into consideration like allergies, tolerances, etc. You should always consult with your physician before trying any new supplements.

The Four Key Pre-Workout Ingredients
The biggest attraction to making your own pre-workout (for me at least) is that it allows you to control the doses of each ingredient, so you can focus your attention on the stuff which has been shown to work the best.
They are:
- Caffeine (capsules not powder)
- Citrulline malate
- Beta-alanine
- Betaine anhydrous
Before we get stuck in to the science behind each of these ingredients, let’s address the elephant in the room:
“Why do most pre-workouts contain 5, 10, or even 15 more ingredients?”
There two reasons for this.
- Product individuality. From a legal perspective you cannot have the exact same formula as another brand, so supplement companies often pad their formula with tiny doses of additional ingredients.
- Marketing claims. Most of these extra ingredients do very little at all to improve the quality of the pre-workout, but they can certainly improve the sales! That’s because including them in the formula enables the manufacturer to use any claims about said ingredient in their marketing campaign. So although the links between something like CLA and fat burning is miniscule, the fact that the link does exist allows them to legally call their product a “fat burning pre-workout”. See what I mean?

The PROS And CONS Of A DIY Pre-Workout
There’s two of each, so let’s take a look:
- PRO #1: You control the dose of each key ingredient.
You can make sure each ingredient delivers maximum results by using a clinical dose. I’ll show you how to do this below. This gives you the power to play with the caffeine content, too, so you can scale your intake up or down depending on your tolerance levels.
- PRO #2: You will save money.
I’m going to demonstrate this on a six-monthly basis so you can really see the difference. A decent pre workout costs around £30 per month, which is £180 over six months. By purchasing these four raw ingredients and using the clinical doses I show you below, you’ll get a six month supply for just £73! Oh, and at this stage you’ll only need to top up on one of the ingredients (CitMal) as none of the others will have run out yet! That’s insane value, especially when we consider that your little DIY pre-workout contains fully clinical doses of each key ingredient, unlike the vast majority of standard pre-workout supplements.
- CON#1: It won’t taste as nice.
Most pre workouts have a distinctive tangy taste because they combine several different compounds into one drink. They also add a bunch of ingredients to soften the taste, which is a luxury which a DIY pre-workout doesn’t offer. However, you can mix it with fruit juice quite easily.
- CON #2: It isn’t as convenient.
Most pre workout supplements are little more than over-priced “caffeine water”, but the fact that they’re ready to go with one scoop in a glass of water goes a long way to convincing people to fork out £20-30 for it! Making your own pre-workout is still easy as fuck (3-4 scoops instead of 1?) but it requires a bit more prep time.

How Much Of Each Key Ingredient?
Let’s take a look at the four key ingredients now.
I’ll explain why we chose these particular ingredients over others, and show you how much of each to include in your pre-workout.
- 200mg Caffeine
Caffeine is (by far) the world’s most popular stimulant.
It’s best known for its energy-boosting characteristics, but it also offers us range of training-related benefits including better mental focus, greater power output, a slightly increased calorie burn. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
However, the effectiveness of caffeine depends on your personal tolerance to it, so you might have to play with this one a little. Studies show we need at least 165mg to unlock any of the training benefits it offers, and we can go as high as 400mg for those who are particularly tolerant. I recommend starting off around 200mg and moving up or down accordingly. (7, 8)
NOTE: Never buy caffeine in powdered form. It’s too difficult to measure (even if you have drug dealer scales), so get capsules as they’re much safer!
- 6g Citrulline Malate
This is the real “powerhouse” of your pre-workout, as it uses the body’s nitric oxide pathway to improve the delivery of crucial nutrients to your muscles as you train.
This enables you to train harder for longer, and achieve a monstrous pump!
A 2010 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that regular CitMal supplementation generally leads to an improvement of one more rep per set on every exercise in your workout. It doesn’t take very long for those kind of gains to stack up! (9, 10)
- 3.2g Beta-Alanine
It’s mainly famous for it’s skin-crawling effect, but there’s a lot more going on underneath the hood here.
You’ll have a much higher pain tolerance, and it also provides your muscles with a temporary “buffer” against the build-up of waste product (metabolites, a.k.a. “the burn”). A 2008 study found that trainees supplementing with beta-alanine saw a 25% increase in the number of reps they could perform to failure, and a 2012 study from England discovered that boxers’ were able to improve their power in the closing stages of 3-3-minute rounds by a whopping 2000%. (12, 13)
- 2.5g Betaine Anhydrous
Betaine anhydrous (a.k.a. trimethylglycine) has been popular with sprinters for many years, and is finally starting to transition over into the bodybuilder world.
It’ll make improvements the length of time you can spend working at maximum intensity, so that means more reps per set and higher power output for you. In recent years betaine has been used across various sports (weightlifting, cycling, swimming, and sprinting), and it’s never failed to deliver the goods! (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)

The Popular Ingredients I Left Out
You may have noticed there’s a few “big names” missing, huh?
Some of these were left out because they’re unnecessary, and some because they’re downright useless, but many people have been conditioned by the supplement industry to believe they “need” them in their pre-workout.
Let’s take a look at them and I’ll explain why they’re excluded.
- Creatine
I love creatine, but it doesn’t really need to be used in a pre-workout formula. You see, you can unlock the full benefits of this ingredient by grabbing 5 grams at any time of day, so there’s no need for us to bulk up our formula and make it hard for the body to digest. Or you can add it if you really want to.
- BCAAs
These are thrown into pre-workouts because they’re cheap, and there is some (weak) evidence to suggest that they may be useful for increasing energy output. However, you are already unlocking those benefits if you’re eating a high protein diet so you don’t need a supplement. Also, research shows is that taking BCAAs immediately prior to exercise can actually lead to early CNS fatigue. We don’t want that! (21, 22)
- Taurine
Taurine can provide a boost to mental focus, but it also happens to be the arch nemesis of caffeine. The two ingredients clash like Rocky vs Drago, and the result of this battle will leave you feeling “sluggish”. (23, 24, 25)
- Arginine
Citrulline malate is broken down into arginine once it enters the body, so many people theorise that taking arginine directly would be an even better option. Sadly that’s not the case, because this amino acid has a terrible absorption rate and as little as 1% of it makes it beyond the liver and intestines to the muscle cells. (11)
- Agmatine Sulfate
This one rose to popularity in the 2010s with reports of it being “the next big thing” in channelling the body’s nitric oxide pathway. Sadly the research has since revealed it’s not up to the task, so you don’t need it as part of your pre-workout. (26, 27)
- Exotic Stimulants
I love me some exotic stims because they can greatly improve your training experience, but sadly they’re just too dangerous to fuck about with. For example, two of the most popular ingredients in this category (DMAA and DMHA) have caused the deaths of several gym goers over the years. It’s just not worth it.

In Summary
There you have it.
Now you know exactly how to make your own pre-workout supplement from scratch.
And not only that, but you also know how to make sure each of your four key ingredients (link link link link) are fully dosed for maximum results, and which commonly used pre-workout ingredients we want to avoid because either a) they do nothing, or b) they hinder the effectiveness of one of “the big four”.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article. Jump on my free email list at the bottom of this page for more tips, then go lift something heavy!

References:
- Duncan M. J., et al. The effect of caffeine ingestion on mood state and bench press performance to failure. J Strength Cond Res (2011).
- Childs E., et al. Subjective, behavioral, and physiological effects of acute caffeine in light, nondependent caffeine users. Psychopharmacology (Berl) (2006).
- Kim T. W., et al. Caffeine increases sweating sensitivity via changes in sudomotor activity during physical loading. J Med Food (2011).
- Cook C., et al. Acute caffeine ingestion increases voluntarily chosen resistance training load following limited sleep. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab (2012).
- Del Coso J., et al. Dose response effects of a caffeine-containing energy drink on muscle performance: a repeated measures design. J Int Soc Sports Nutr (2012).
- Mora-Rodríguez R., et al. Caffeine ingestion reverses the circadian rhythm effects on neuromuscular performance in highly resistance-trained men. PLoS One (2012).
- McCormack W. P., et al. Caffeine, Energy Drinks, and Strength-Power Performance. Str Con J (2012).
- Beaven C. M., et al. Dose effect of caffeine on testosterone and cortisol responses to resistance exercise. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab (2008).
- Pérez-Guisado J., et al. Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. J Strength Cond Res (2010).
- Alvares T. S., et al. Acute l-arginine supplementation increases muscle blood volume but not strength performance. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab (2012).
- Schwedhelm E., et al. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of oral L-citrulline and L-arginine: impact on nitric oxide metabolism. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2008).
- Hoffman J., et al. Beta-alanine and the hormonal response to exercise. Int J Sports Med (2008).
- Donovan T., et al. Beta-alanine improves punch force and frequency in amateur boxers during a simulated contest. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab (2012).
- Artioli G. G., et al. Role of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine and exercise performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc (2010).
- Wylie L. J., et al. Dietary nitrate supplementation improves team sport-specific intense intermittent exercise performance. Eur J Appl Physiol (2013).
- Lansley K. E., et al. Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of walking and running: a placebo-controlled study. J Appl Physiol (1985).
- Pryor J. L., et al. Effect of betaine supplementation on cycling sprint performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr (2012).
- Lee E. C., et al. Ergogenic effects of betaine supplementation on strength and power performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr (2010).
- Hoffman J. R., et al. Effect of betaine supplementation on power performance and fatigue. J Int Soc Sports Nutr (2009).
- Holewa J., et al. Effects of betaine on body composition, performance, and homocysteine thiolactone. Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies, Coastal Carolina University (2013).
- Walker, D. K., et al. Exercise, amino acids, and aging in the control of human muscle protein synthesis. Med Sci Sports Exerc (2011).
- Choi S., et al. Oral branched-chain amino acid supplements that reduce brain serotonin during exercise in rats also lower brain catecholamines. Amino Acids (2013).
- Kim S., et al. Taurine Induces Anti-Anxiety by Activating Strychnine-Sensitive Glycine Receptor in Vivo. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism (2009).
- Moloney M. A., et al. Two weeks taurine supplementation reverses endothelial dysfunction in young male type 1 diabetics. Diab Vasc Dis Res (2010).
- Giles G. E., et al. Differential cognitive effects of energy drink ingredients: caffeine, taurine, and glucose. Pharmacol Biochem Behav (2012).
- Piletz J. E., et al. Agmatine: clinical applications after 100 years in translation. Drug Discov Today (2013).
- Gilad G. M., et al. Long-term (5 years), high daily dosage of dietary agmatine – evidence of safety: a case report. J Med Food (2014).
- Edwards D., et al. Therapeutic Effects and Safety of Rhodiola rosea Extract WS® 1375 in Subjects with Life-stress Symptoms – Results of an Open-label Study. Phytotherapy Research (2012).
- Wiegant F. A., et al. Plant adaptogens increase lifespan and stress resistance in C. elegans. Biogerontology (2009).
Hi Russ,
Great article, thank you for sharing
One point that wasn’t covered was how to mix them together?
– Do you mortar and pestle, seive, then mortar and pestle lumps again?
– Measure say one months worth, place in a container and shake like hell?
– Measure what you need every day?
– Other?
Also, are all the powders you mentioned, homogenous? (Mix well together?
Thanks!
Hi Phil,
Yeah, they mix well together, I only use my shaker. If we’re adding ingredients individually like this post does, there’s no way to tell if we have enough of each ingredient in a serving if we pule it all into the same tub and scoop some out, so I mix mine up each day as I need it.
Russ
Hi Russ,
Thanks for that. I’m guessing the caffeine tablets dissolve quickly and easily too and don’t need crushing?
Thanks again,
Phil
Nah just take the capsule with the drink. That’s what I do.
Hey Russ, why is creatine not in the list?
I love creatine, but the supplements on the list here are shown to boost performance when taken directly before training. Creatine can be taken before, after, first thing in the morning, etc and have the same effect.
I really do appreciate this post on a very compelling and informative topic. Thank you for posting this.
Hi Russ, I am curious how you prepare the drink since there are not really any steps after listing out the ingredients. Do i mix it with water? Do I mix it with Milk? Do I inhale the powder? I’ve tried it with tea so far and it seems to go down OK but I am wonder if there is anything better. Thanks!
Hi Kyle,
I mix it with water. Fruit juice would also work if you’ve gone completely flavorless with the ingredients and want a bit of taste. Caffeine is in a pill, obvs, so not part of the drink.
Hi Russ — great article!! I laughed, I cried (realizing I’ve wasted money on bad products in the past), but learned a lot! I am still debating the DIY approach… mainly because I have access to get this product (https://evertrain.fit/products/pre) discounted when desired. When I compare your ingredients with those on the aforementioned product, they seem pretty close on core items. Thoughts?
Hi mate,
It’s got a few of the key ingredients in there. However, they’re under-dosed for the most part… 2g citrulline (ideally we want 6-8g), no betaine, it also contains taurine, which can counteract caffeine and leave the trainee feeling a bit sluggish.
Thanks for the insights! Looks like I’ll give the DYI approach a go afterall.
No probs.
Or grab some AML Pre Workout, they’ve pretty much nailed the formula.
This actually really works. I had a bad calve injury and it’s taken months to get back on track. I’m actually beating prs and feel like I have more in the tank all the time. I did a bit of research into what else I could put in it but everything keeps pointing back to these same ingredients. Thank you for the great guide.
You’re welcome James, glad it was helpful.
I wasted my time in search of best Pre-workout, luckily i came across this post, awesome work man, nicely explained and I must say i will try this.
Thanks Russ for this. I had stopped taking pre workouts simply because of the additional ingredients like flavours, coloring, etc. So this will solve it.
May I ask whether one should take the preworkout whey protein with it? Will the bcaas in the whey interfere? Thanks again.
Not a fan of having whey immediately before training, BCAAs pre-training can promote fatigue so if you’re trying to max out it’s not optimal. That’s why there’s no BCAA blend included in this formula 🙂
Hi! I am going to mix this up but for health reasons want to avoid caffeine. Can I use 200 mg of Taurine instead or would the ratio be different?
Hi there,
I tend to avoid taurine, but to get the training benefits it offers (muscle focus) we’d need around 2 grams per day.
Great article, thanks for providing this information!
This is a great breakdown Russ. Not only have I built my own using it, but it shows me what I need to look for when buying branded ones as well. Thank you so much.
Thank you for this information