Spotting a pre-workout can be tricky.
Heck, slap a pair of flaming biceps on the tub and most people will give it a whirl – and unfortunately after 10+ years of reviewing supplements I can confirm that’s what several companies actually do!
So to help you avoid wasting cash on bullshit pre-workouts, take a look at my “Great Pre-Workout Checklist!” below.
A Transparent Formula
Gone are the days when brands used to hide their formula for fear of rivals stealing it.
Nowadays supplement companies know that the best way to promote a good product is to let the formula do all the talking, so you should be able to see every single ingredients and the dose on the label.
No Exotic Stimulants
Exotic stimulants present a condundrum.
There’s no denying they can make you train harder, but there’s very little data to show their safety. This is why USADA (the U.S. Anti Doping Agency) are pretty quick to ban these ingredients, so adding them to a pre-workout puts the product into a grey area for athletes.
For example, the entire body of research supporting Eria Jarensis (one of the most popular exotic stimulants) consists just one study – and it dates back to 1958!
Clinical Doses Of These Ingredients
Less is definitely more when it comes to pre-workout ingredients.
We don’t need 20+ active ingredients, because the list of stuff which has genuinely been proven to boost performance, fat loss, and/or muscle building results is actually very small.
- Citrulline Malate
This amino acid helps you recover faster between sets, achieve a better pump, and improves the delivery of key nutrients to your muscles as they work. A 2010 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that using it generally leads to one more rep on every set, and those results soon mount up! A clinical dose of CitMal is 6-10 grams. (1, 2, 3, 4)
- Caffeine
This famous stimulant can enhance mental focus, improve energy, and increase explosive strength (although you need a huge dose for that). A clinical dose is 200-400mg. (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- Beta-Alanine
An amino acid which is best-known for the tingly sensation it provides (parasthesia), but there’s a lot more going on under the surface here. Researchers from England were able to improve the punching power of boxers by an astonishing 2000% (no typo), and a study from The College Of New Jersey showed that it leads to an average of 25% more reps per set. A clinical dose is 3.2 grams. (12, 13)
- Betaine
The bodybuilding world is only just beginning to realize the benefits of this lesser-known ingredient, which has been a firm favourite among cyclists and sprinters for many years. It can have a huge effect on explosive strength, muscle recovery speed, and training endurance. A clinical dose is 2.5 grams. NOTE: Some brands like to use beetroot extract instead of betaine, but don’t fall for it, you’d need 10x the dose. (17, 18, 19)
None Of These Ingredients
Alongside your proven essentials, you’ll generally see a whole bunch of other stuff which has been added to the formula.
We don’t really want any of these, and some of the exclusions may surprise you!
- BCAAs
I’m sorry, bodybuilding.com, but BCAAs should be going nowhere near your pre-workout supplement. That’s because leucine has been shown to inhibit l-tyrosine (a precursor to dopamine) from entering the brain, which can lead to early CNS fatigue and leave you feeling sluggish. You can still use BCAAs throughout the day if you wish, but they’re terrible addition to a pre-workout! (20, 21)
- Niacin
This cheap ingredient (vitamin B3) mimics the tingly effect caused by beta-alanine, so lots of companies use it to hide the fact that they’ve under-dosed a key ingredient. It doesn’t offer any of the training benefits of beta-alanine, so it’s a very poor substitute.
- Taurine
A hugely popular ingredient which can have a positive impact on mental focus, it’s actually pretty hard to find a pre-workout which doesn’t contain taurine. However, this ingredient is an antagonist of caffeine and will prevent “the world’s best energy booster” from doing its job properly. (14, 15, 16)
Here’s Some Great Pre-Workouts
Use my “Great Pre-Workout Checklist” to determine if your next pre-workout purchase is truly as good as the manufacturer is claiming it to be.
If it can do most of the things above, then it’s a solid choice!
Of course, if you’d like to skip the search and just get stuff which does everything on my checklist you can do so by picking up any of the pre-workouts listed below. These bad boys manage to tick every single box, so consider the “the cream of the crop”.
- Advanced Molecular Labs “Pre-Workout”
An absolute masterpiece from Steve Blechman and Joe Donnelly which contains 8g CitMal, 400mg caffeine, 2.5g betaine, and 2g beta-alanine. It also adds a full 5 grams of creatine monohydrate (so you don’t need a separate creatine supplement), and excludes all of the ingredients which I listed as red flags. See it here.
- TruFierce Nutrition “Pre-Fierce”
This one went under the radar to most gymgoers when it arrived in 2022, but it fully deserved the 4-start rating it received in my official review. It has 7g CitMal, 250mg caffeine, 3.5g beta-alanine, and 2.5g betaine, and excludes all of the ingredients which I listed as red flag. See it here.
- Northbound Nutrition “Pinnacle”
It isn’t a very well-known product, but it should be. You’ll get 8g CitMal, 325mg caffeine, 4g beta-alanine, and 2.5g betaine, and it excludes all of the ingredients which I listed as red flags. See it here.
- Adapt Nutrition “Pre Train X”
Pre Train X delivers 4.5g pure l-citrulline (the equivalent of 6.75g CitMal), 350mg caffeine, and 3.2g beta-alanine. It doesn’t have betaine (bummer), but it excludes all of the ingredients which I listed as red flags. See it here.
- JYM Supplement Science “Pre JYM X”
The best-selling pre-workout ever created, Pre JYM X is Dr. Jim Stoppani’s magnus opus. It delivers 8g CitMal, 300mg caffeine, 4g beta-alanine, 3g betaine, and 3g creatine hydrochloride for good measure, although it does contain BCAAs and taurine. See it here.
Further Reading:
If you enjoyed this blog, then you’ll probably also like reading these.
>> How To Make Your Own Pre-Workout Supplement From Scratch
>> Citrulline Malate: A Pre-Workout Powerhouse!
>> Russ’ Guide To Supplements
References:
- 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).
- Castillo L., et al. Splanchnic metabolism of dietary arginine in relation to nitric oxide synthesis in normal adult man. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1993).
- Sureda A., et al. Arginine and citrulline supplementation in sports and exercise: ergogenic nutrients? Med Sport Sci (2012).
- 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).
- Holtzman S. G., et al. CGS 15943, a nonxanthine adenosine receptor antagonist: effects on locomotor activity of nontolerant and caffeine-tolerant rats. Life Sci (1991).
- 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).
- 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).
- Hoffman J., et al. Beta-alanine and the hormonal response to exercise. Int J Sports Med (2008).
- Beyranvand M. R., et al. Effect of taurine supplementation on exercise capacity of patients with heart failure. J Cardiol (2011).
- 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).
- Lee E. C., et al. Ergogenic effects of betaine supplementation on strength and power performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr (2010).
- 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).
- Hoffman, J. R., et al. Effect of betaine supplementation on power performance and fatigue. J Int Soc Sports Nutr (2009).
- Acworth I., et al. Effect of sustained exercise on concentrations of plasma aromatic and branched-chain amino acids and brain amines. Biochem Biophys Res Commun (1986).
- 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).