Unless you know what to look for, there is a high chance that you are going to waste your money on a pre-workout. The majority of the products out there are over-priced, under-dosed, and way under-performing. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably not into wasting money, which is why I’ve put together this no b-s guide to pre-workout supplements that really work.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Why you need a pre-workout.
- What ingredients and dosages REALLY work?
- What are the 5 best pre-workout products on the market right now.
Why You Need A Pre-Workout Supplement
To allow your body to perform at its best, you have simply got to provide it with the right fuel to do the work. The hour before your training session is the critical period to get the nutrients into your system. The prime requirement is energy. And that means carbohydrates. The carbs that you consume, though, must be those that are able to be used as an immediate fuel source for your workout. To achieve that, you need to plan your carb intake smartly.
Start with a Whole Food Meal
Your first pre workout meal should be consumed about two hours before the workout. Plan to take in approximately half the number of calories that you’ll be burning during the upcoming workout. About 60% of those calories should come from a complex carb, such as oatmeal. These carbs will release energy slowly over the next couple of hours to provide the power base for your workout energy.
Get Stacked
About 30 minutes prior to your workout, you should have a second meal. This is where you should be taking a pre-workout stack. This will, in effect, be a shake that contains a number of key components to fuel you through the best training session of your life. It should contain fast digesting, high glycemic index carbohydrates to provide immediate energy release. But that’s just the start. A great pre-workout stack needs to include several other key nutrients.
The Strength & Power Boosters
Beta-Alanine
During your workout, when insulin levels are high, beta alanine rushes into the muscle fiber where it combines with the amino acid histidine to form carnosine. Carnosine helps buffer the acidity level inside muscle fibers so they can contract with more strength for longer periods.[1] Research shows that supplementing with beta-alanine increases muscle strength, power and endurance.[2]
Ideal Dosage – 2-4 g
Betaine
Betaine is a modified amino acid that is derived from beetroot. Clinical studies have shown that it helps to boost power and strength when resistance training.[3]
Ideal Dosage – 1500-3000 mg
Creatine
Creatine has been proven in hundreds of studies to improve power and strength when resistance training. It delivers the extra phosphocreatine that your body needs to restore its ATP (adenosine triphosphate) stores. ATP is the body’s main energy source. Yet, after around 10 seconds of intense exercise, your body will exhaust its ATP supplies. Creatine will provide the boost you need to complete those last couple of muscle stimulating reps.[4]
Many guys choose to take their creatine separately from their pre-workout.
Ideal Dosage – 3-5 g
The Energy Boosters
The following are non-stimulant energy boosters. They enhance endurance without stimulating the central nervous system.
Tyrosine
The amino acid tyrosine has been clinically proven to increase training endurance without any jittery side effects. It also improves stamina and focus. It is used by the body as a precursor to the key neurotransmitters epinephrine and dopamine.
Ideal Dosage – 1-3 g
B Vitamins
The B-Complex vitamins, especially B6 (pyridoxine) and B12 (cobalamin), are vital for the body’s production of energy. Their main job is to convert food into energy. Other B Complex vitamins to look out for are thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and folate (B9).[5]
Ideal Dosage: B6 – 50-100 mg; B12 – 50-400 mcg (micrograms)
The Stimulants
Stimulants will give you a buzz but this will be short lived. Always check off the strength and energy boosting ingredients before looking for stims.
Caffeine
We all know that caffeine is a powerful central nervous system booster. However, the voluminous research done on the world’s most popular stimulant has also been shown to be a powerful strength and muscle builder as well as blunter of muscle pain. Look for the anhydrous form of caffeine which has been shown to be the most effective. Be sure to stay under the maximum recommended dosage to avoid a dramatic energy crash and jittery reaction.[6]
Ideal Dosage – 200-400 mg
Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate is a plant, the leaves of which contain a blend of xanthine alkaloids which work together to provide an energy kick to ramp up your training intensity. There is no post high crash or jittery reaction with this ingredient. For people who are sensitive to caffeine, this is the way to go.[7]
Ideal Dosage – 500-1000 mg
Pump Providers
In order to achieve a pump in the gym you need to boost your nitric oxide (NO) levels. NO is a vasodilator which expands the blood vessels to allow more blood to surge into the muscle.
Citrulline
The body takes citrulline and converts it into arginine. It then becomes nitric oxide. Taking citrulline before arginine will boost the body’s blood levels of arginine. Arginine taken directly will see a lot of it taken up by the intestines.[8]
Ideal Dosage – 3-6 g
Arginine
Arginine converts directly to nitric oxide in the bloodstream. To get as much arginine as possible to do that, look for such alternatives to l–arginine as arginine-AKG or arginine-HCL.[9]
Ideal Dosage – 3-5 g
Comparison of the 5 Best Pre-Workout Supplements
Performance Lab Pre
Performance Lab Pre
A stim free pre-workout that comes in capsule form. Includes a nitric oxide booster to deliver an awesome training pump; all the energy you need without the jitters!
Pre-Workout Bundle
Pre-Workout Bundle
This bundle comes packed with micronized creatine monohydrate, caffeine, essential amino acids powder, beta alanine, and l-citruline dl-malate.
Powher
Powher
Powher Pre-Workout contains a low stimulant formula that’s designed to deliver a powerful energy boost and is specifically designed for women.
Ladder Pre
Ladder Pre
A stimulant free source of natural training energy and strength. It tastes great and works fast!
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BUY HEREPerfect Keto Perform
Perfect Keto Perform
The perfect choice for keto trainers packed with exogenous ketones and MCTs, this pre-workout includes creatine and BCAAs.
Performance Lab Pre
Performance Lab Pre is a stimulant-free pre-workout that is provided in capsule form. This makes it quite unique in the pre-workout market. It also makes it more a convenient product to take on the go, such as in the gym locker room. The ingredient profile includes the recommended ingredients caffeine, citrulline, beta-alanine along with several others that are clinically attested to.
Performance Lab Pre is a fast-absorbing product that produces a noticeable effect in terms of boosting training energy, focus, and strength. It is also exceptionally good value for money.
Pre-Workout Bundle by BulkSupplements
Pre-Workout Bundle by BulkSupplements is able to provide anyone with the boost they need to train intensely and recover properly. This bundle contains 500 grams of micronized creatine monohydrate, 100 vegetarian capsules of caffeine, 500 grams of essential amino acids powder, 100 grams of beta alanine powder, and 100 grams of l-citruline dl-malate 2:1 powder. All products sold within this bundle are free of sugar, soy, dairy, yeast, gluten, corn and additives and come in pure form.
Pre-Workout Bundle comes in pure powder form and is sold in quantities ranging from 10 grams to 25 kilograms. Adults should take 1 mg to 3 mg before bedtime.
BulkSupplements offers over 500 supplements which fall under categories such as fitness and sports, heart health, brain and memory, weight management, and immune support. All of its products contain pure raw ingredients, are lab tested for purity, and are manufactured at a facility that is FDA inspected. BulkSupplements stands out among its competitors due to its product versatility and ability to serve customers who stem from diverse health backgrounds, lifestyle choices, and dietary preferences.
Powher Pre-Workout for Women
Powher Pre-Workout for Women is specially formulated for women who want to increase their motivation, build endurance, and conquer their goals without the typical caffeine crash experience from most pre-workout products.
Powher Pre-Workout contains a low stimulant formula that’s designed to deliver a powerful energy boost for women minus the side effects commonly associated with standard male-centric pre-workout supplements. This product contains 10 stim-free natural ingredients that help reduce fatigue, improve alertness, increase concentration, and allow women to train more intensely.
Ladder Pre-Workout
Ladder pre-workout comes from the company that was launched by a number of high-profile sports figures, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lebron James. This is a stimulant free product designed to deliver a pure energy and strength boost without the crash that often follows. To achieve that goal, it provides you with:
- Beta-alanine – 3g
- Creatine – 5g
- Theanine – 250mg
- Caffeine – 98mg
All of these ingredients are part of our recommended list above apart from theanine. This compound is an amino acid that is derived from tea leaves. It has been shown to positively affect brain wave activity to improve focus and concentration, especially when combined with caffeine.
When it comes to caffeine, you only get 98mg, which is not a lot, being less than half of what you would normally expect in a pre-workout. This is a little low for our liking, and will not have much of an effect on your central nervous system. There is a greater emphasis on focus than on stimulation.
Ladder pre-workout is completely naturally flavored. It is one of the best tasting natural products we have come across. Every Ladder product is also NSF certified, guaranteeing that there are no banned substances in them.
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Perfect Keto Perform
Perfect Keto Perform is designed specifically for the workout requirements of followers of the keto diet. As such, it is extremely low in carbohydrate content. It also contains exogenous ketones and medium chain triglycerides to enhance the conversion of stored body fat to energy during your workout. In addition to these keto specific ingredients, you also get the following four recommended pre-workout ingredients:
- Creatine
- Citrulline
- Caffeine
- Alanine
A final ingredient is Branch Chain Amino Acids to fuel the muscle-building effects of the compound. This combination works effectively without either producing a jittery effect or throwing you out of ketosis.
Conclusion
A quality pre-workout, taken 30 minutes before you head to the gym, will allow you to train harder for longer. When assessing a pre-workout, rather than being swayed by the marketing hype, go directly to the ingredient list and check it off against the essential list and dosages we’ve provided here. Ideally, it should contain at least four of those ingredients. Remember, though, that a pre-workout is not a magic bullet. It is a supplement to proper nutrition and intense, focused training. Get those elements on point, and your pre-workout will provide that extra edge to fuel a killer workout.
Reference
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20479615/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17690198/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3844502/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407788/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4772032/
[6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15095008/
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4344557/
[8] https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/citrulline
[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17143054/
