Buzz
Pre-workout supplements promise enhanced performance, often with hefty price tags attached. They're supposed to give you a surge of energy, reduce fatigue, and improve blood circulation, all designed to help you push harder in your workouts. However, these supplements are essentially potent stimulants.
Pre-workout supplements are widely available, with many brands offering them alongside protein powders. Companies like Optimum Nutrition, MusclePharm, and Cellucor are just a few well-known names in the industry. These supplements usually come in powder form, meant to be mixed with water, and often have a flavor similar to sports drinks—likely due to the high amounts of artificial sweeteners, coloring, and other additives included.
After consuming one, within 20-30 minutes, you’ll start feeling the effects, as if it’s ‘kicked in,’ and you’re ready to tackle your workout. It’s both a relief and a bit of a double-edged sword.
Caffeine is the main factor behind the effectiveness of many pre-workout supplements.
Caffeine is a key ingredient in most pre-workout formulas, and it’s usually present in significant amounts.
Athletes, especially those participating in endurance events, often use caffeine to boost their exercise performance. It enhances focus and reduces fatigue—just as supplement labels claim! So when you feel energized and ready to tackle a workout, it’s likely the caffeine kicking in, not the supplement itself.
The pre-workout products I’ve used from Optimum Nutrition, JYM, and Kaged Muscle all contain varying caffeine amounts, ranging from 175 milligrams in Optimum Nutrition to 300 milligrams in Kaged Muscle. To put that in perspective, a can of Red Bull has about 80 milligrams of caffeine, while a regular cup of coffee typically contains around 100 milligrams.
Some research indicates that higher caffeine doses may improve strength and performance in lifting (as shown in this study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise), but the ideal caffeine amount depends on the person. Typically, it’s around 6 to 9 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. For example, a person weighing 150 pounds would need 409 to 612 milligrams.
These supplements often deliver a hefty dose of caffeine without allowing you to control the amount you consume. Additionally, they are filled with unnecessary additives. If you want to experience the performance boost from caffeine, it's best to get it from sources like coffee or caffeine pills, where you can adjust the dosage to your needs.
Effective doses of the beneficial ingredients are not always included.
Most pre-workout supplements share a common formula. They contain a mix of compounds that sound scientifically impressive, claiming to enhance blood flow to muscles, increase energy production, and speed up the removal of metabolites that cause fatigue during exercise.
Common ingredients include creatine, arginine, beta-alanine, carnitine, and citrulline. These substances are naturally present in the body, and supplementing with some of them can offer benefits—when taken in the right amounts and consistently. Here are a few well-researched ingredients that stand out, which you should keep an eye out for when evaluating supplements:
Creatine
Recommended Effective Dose: 5 grams
Creatine is stored in the muscles and serves as a backup energy source during physical exertion. When engaging in intense exercises like weightlifting, your body rapidly uses up ATP, a key energy molecule. Supplementing with creatine boosts the amount stored in your muscles, allowing for quicker ATP regeneration, which helps you push harder during your workouts.
According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, creatine is a safe, effective, and ethical supplement for athletes looking to improve their strength, power, and muscle mass. A review of over 80 studies on creatine published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition confirmed its strength-enhancing properties for weightlifters and its positive impact on muscle growth.
A couple of things to keep in mind: There are various forms of creatine available, but creatine monohydrate is the most extensively studied. Also, the benefits of creatine aren’t immediate. It takes time for your muscles to become fully saturated with creatine, although you can see quicker results by taking higher doses. For further information, check out this article on Examine.com.
Beta-Alanine
Recommended Effective Dose: 2.4 grams
Research on beta-alanine, such as in this study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, indicates that it can help people get a few extra reps when performing exercises with higher rep ranges (typically between 8 and 15 reps). A review in the journal Amino Acids concluded that beta-alanine enhances performance in moderately intense activities lasting between 60 and 240 seconds, meaning it's not likely to be helpful for something like a 1-rep max bench press.
The way beta-alanine works is by transforming into carnosine in the body. During intense exercise, when you start feeling that burning sensation, carnosine is released to buffer the build-up of lactate (an acid), allowing you to keep going for a little longer.
When you consume beta-alanine or any pre-workout supplement containing more than 2 grams of it, you'll likely experience a strange tingling feeling, usually in your hands and face. This is a harmless and common reaction known as paresthesia.
Nitrate
Recommended Effective Dose: 0.5 grams
Nitrates are naturally present in green leafy vegetables and tubers like spinach and beets, as well as in the substances used to cure ham. When supplementing, beet juice or beet extract is commonly used. Once consumed, nitrates are broken down into nitrites and converted into nitric oxide during intense physical activity, especially when oxygen becomes harder to obtain.
The more nitrates you consume, the greater the availability of nitric oxide. This benefits exercise by dilating blood vessels, enhancing blood flow, and seemingly allowing you to push yourself harder and longer. A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology demonstrated that three days of nitrate supplementation (through beet juice) reduced the amount of oxygen required for moderate exercise and helped participants sustain effort during intense, near-maximal exercise.
Pre-workout supplements often highlight nitric oxide for another reason: the increased blood flow can give the sensation of fuller, larger muscles, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “the pump” in fitness culture.
While many pre-workout supplements feature ingredients like nitrates, the exact contents are often hidden behind a company’s proprietary or “secret” blends, which obscure the precise dosages of listed ingredients. This means it’s not uncommon for supplement companies to under-dose beneficial ingredients, such as beta-alanine.
Labdoor, an independent lab that tests supplements, analyzed 46 of the top-selling pre-workout products to compare their contents against the claims on their labels. Out of the 46, only two—Legion Pulse and Optimum Nutrition Platinum Pre-workout—actually matched their labels and contained effective doses (for full transparency, the site earns revenue through affiliate links). However, I’m not endorsing these two products; having accurate labeling is simply the ethical approach.
The Supplement Industry Is Plagued With Safety Issues
While the FDA oversees the supplement industry, their regulation has been inadequate and often limited by a lack of resources. This alone raises significant safety concerns. As I mentioned earlier, you can never be certain about the contents of any supplement bottle, and sometimes this can result in real harm.
In 2011 and 2012, several deaths linked to pre-workout supplements were traced back to a product called Jack3d, which at that time still contained a powerful stimulant, 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA). DMAA is chemically similar to amphetamine and has been marketed as a natural weight loss solution since the early 2000s.
Even after the controversy surrounding DMAA, Jack3d continued to be advertised as ‘safe and effective’ for a while. It took an additional two years and numerous adverse case reports before the FDA finally recalled Jack3d and the manufacturer agreed to stop using DMAA. Although the product is still available for purchase, the current formula no longer includes DMAA.
Unfortunately, products containing DMAA are still on the market. While the FDA is working to remove DMAA-containing dietary supplements, you can take matters into your own hands by carefully reading the labels. DMAA is also known by several other names: geranamine, dimethylamylamine, methylhexanamine, among others. You can find the complete list here.
Beyond regulatory issues, taking pre-workout supplements can come with some unpleasant side effects. Personally, I’ve dealt with some unfortunate gastrointestinal discomfort after using Pre-JYM and Cellucor’s C4. Others I know have mentioned experiencing trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, and headaches after using pre-workout products.
If the goal is simply to enhance workout intensity, you can achieve similar effects by taking caffeine on its own. I personally prefer coffee (and it’s delicious). In my opinion, the only individuals who might genuinely need pre-workout supplements are fitness models who are low on energy due to extended dieting. For those looking to improve strength or performance, I suggest looking into specific ingredients like creatine and beta-alanine, and taking them individually so you can control the dosage based on your needs and fitness objectives.
Generally speaking, pre-workout supplements can provide results by altering how you feel, primarily due to caffeine. The reality is, neither caffeine nor these supplements will automatically make you stronger, larger, or faster. You still need to put in the effort and work hard during your workouts.
Illustration by: Sam Woolley.
