While you don’t need pre-workout to build muscle, it can be helpful if you need an extra ‘push’ to get through your workout if you’re a bit more fatigued one day or if you’re in a calorie deficit, explains Nicole Ibarra, RD, LD, a registered dietitian specializing in sports nutrition, gut, and hormonal health. Pre-workout supplements include ingredients that supply energy, help you push harder, improve focus, and can help your body more easily build muscle and recover from your workouts.
We examined products for effective formulas, caffeine, testing, user experience, and overall safety to find the best pre-workout supplements to help support your workouts and fitness goals.
What to Consider
Caffeine
Caffeine is the primary stimulant in most pre-workouts. Doses typically range between 150 mg and 300 mg per serving, but more isn’t always going to give you the better workout experience—especially if you’re sensitive to caffeine jitters or love a late-night workout. While caffeine is not needed for a workout, the compound might improve your performance and focus. Research has found that consuming caffeine within 60 minutes of your workout can improve aerobic and anaerobic running capacity, strength, and power.
Considering a stim-free or caffeine-free pre-workout? We did a little investigation into this product category ourselves, and found them to not be as effective. You would likely be better off taking the supplements found in stim-free versions like beta-alanine and creatine in individual doses.
Other Ingredients
Pre-workout supplements also like to advertise all the other stuff they include on top of the caffeine. Citrulline for blood flow. Beta-alanine for muscle fatigue. Creatine for creatine’s sake. Deer-antler velvet for who the hell knows. But for a lot of the products making these claims often don’t have enough of the stuff to matter. For example, some products claiming to contain creatine only have a single gram of it, which is not even a quarter of your recommended dosage. It hardly seems worth it. Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard Pre-Workout at least has 3.3 grams, a much more reasonable offering. For the more esoteric ingredients, there isn’t a whole lot of science behind how they combine in a pre-workout. This brings us to our next point.
Safety
“I always recommend looking for supplements that are third-party tested, which ensures that the pre-workout contains what it claims and is free from contaminants or impurities,” says Boufounos. Ibarra says that she would also avoid any pre-workout supplement that includes a “proprietary blend.” These blends include a wide array of ingredients and often don’t disclose the exact amounts of ingredients used. In any case, it’s always a good idea to talk to your primary care physician prior to taking any supplement in order to avoid health complications.
How We Selected
I’m a NASM-certified nutritionist who has spent years covering the intersection of fitness and nutrition. I started with input from the Men’s Health editors, including Deputy Editor Paul Kita and Fitness and Commerce Editor Charles Thorp, NASM. We then tested several dozen pre-workout supplements over several months, along with our own previous experience using the products. Our editors, certified trainers, and product testers evaluated each product based on key criteria: ingredient quality, effectiveness, side effects, taste, mix-ability, and overall value.
Testing notes from the editors were used to guide selections and call out specific benefits and drawbacks of each pick. We also had experts Melissa Boufounos, CHN, sports nutritionist and owner of MB Performance Nutrition near Ottawa, ON and Nicole Ibarra, RD, LD, a registered dietitian specializing in sports nutrition weigh in. All of the products in this guide are available online, widely reviewed, and meet our editorial standards for safety and transparency.
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Best Overall
Transparent Labs Bulk
Based on our extensive testing, we found that Transparent Labs’ Bulk Pre-Workout has everything you need to increase your reps, energy, and focus during your workouts. Each serving contains 8 grams of citruline malate, an amino acid salt that enhances blood flow to your muscles while removing waste and increasing nutrient delivery. All of these factors help to improve strength and recovery during and after your training sessions. We love that it includes the dose that most commonly produces study results.
I appreciate that each serving also has 200 milligrams of caffeine to enhance energy and L-tyrosine and Taurine to boost focus and cognitive performance as you focus on getting through your workout. “Plus, Transparent Labs lives up to its name with third-party testing and transparent labeling that discloses the exact amount of each ingredient,” says Boufounos. This pre-workout supplement has no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors and comes in 12 fruity flavors.
Read more: Best Supplements for Men
| Caffeine | 200 mg |
| Third-Party Testing | Yes (Informed Choice) |
| Price Per Serving | $1.67 |
Best Pre-Workout With Creatine
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout
ON Gold Standard Pre-workout is budget-friendly, costing just over a dollar per serving, and widely available at most health food stores and large supermarkets as well as online. For the price, you really can’t beat the quality, especially as it’s Informed Choice certified so you know you’re getting what’s on the label and nothing that’s not.
Creatine supports muscle growth and recovery from intense exercise, reduces muscle damage, lowers the risk of musculoskeletal injury, and even has neuroprotective effects when taken in doses of 3 to 5 grams. Each serving of this pre-workout has 3 grams of creatine to provide this support and protection during tough workouts. It also has 1.6 grams of beta-alanine, an amino acid needed for carnosine production in the muscles. We are impressed by the price point as well, for all this product offers.
Read More: Best Protein Powders For Men
| Caffeine | 175 mg |
| Third-Party Testing | Yes (Informed Choice) |
| Price Per Serving | $0.97 |
Best Vegan Pre-Workout
Gnarly Pre-Workout
This pre-workout contains 180 mg of caffeine from green tea and 150 mg of Asian Ginseng, which provides a natural boost of energy. You’ll also find ginger, beta-alanine, and branched-chain amino acids to help you build endurance and push yourself during workouts.
For those who travel and don’t want to carry full canisters of powder, the individual sticks are a nice offering. And while many users enjoy the taste, some feel it’s a little too tangy. While it’s free from added sugars and artificial sweeteners, it does have stevia added, which some people may not enjoy the taste of.
Read more: Best Vegan Protein Powders
| Caffeine | 180 mg |
| Third-Party Testing | Yes (NSF Certified for Sport) |
| Price Per Serving | $1.63 |
What Are the Main Ingredients in Pre-Workout Supplements?
While all pre-workouts include different types of ingredients in different amounts, common ingredients include caffeine, citrulline, beta-alanine, branched-chain amino acids, creatine, tyrosine, and a variety of botanicals that may help support performance or recovery.
Who Should Not Take Pre-Workout?
“Men with certain medical conditions, such as heart problems, high blood pressure, or sensitivity to stimulants, should avoid pre-workout supplements,” says Boufounos. Always check with your medical provider and pharmacist before adding a supplement to your routine.
Can I Take Pre-Workout Supplements if I Have a Medical Condition?
While pre-workout won’t interfere with all medical conditions or medications, it’s a good idea to check with your doctor before taking any new supplement if you do have a medical condition. If you take medications or other supplements, you should check with your pharmacist as well to make sure there are no potential medication interactions.
Are There Any Potential Side Effects of Pre-Workout Supplements?
Some ingredients in pre-workout products can cause side effects, depending on what ingredients are included and in what amounts. Beta-alanine, which may cause a tingling effect, and caffeine, which could cause nervousness or jitters, are common side effects.
How Do Pre-Workout Supplements Improve Workout Performance?
Various ingredients in pre-workout improve performance in different ways. Nitric oxide enhancers, like L-citrulline, beta-alanine, and betaine anhydrous, help increase blood flow to your muscles, while caffeine and ginseng improve energy and focus.
Lauren Keary is a NASM-certified nutrition coach and fitness/nutrition writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an ex-collegiate rower, and received her M.A. in magazine journalism and B.A. in literary journalism. She has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and has covered topics all across the wellness and lifestyles spaces.
Her bylines include Fortune, BarBend, Outside Magazine, Evening Standard, BuzzFeed, Modern Luxury, Women’s Running Magazine, TripSavvy, San Diego Magazine, Orange Coast Magazine, Fitt and FoodBeast.
When she’s not writing or editing, you can catch her walking with her dog and an iced vanilla latte (half sweet) beachside or catching a flight.
Kelsey Kunik, RDN, is a registered dietician and health writer who covers all-things nutrition for Men’s Health and Women’s Health.
Charles Thorp is the Fitness and Commerce Editor at Men’s Health, where he shares the best product recommendations in gym equipment, recovery tools, supplements, and more. Following an early life in athletics, Charles became a NASM-certified trainer and began writing programs alongside the most respected coaches in the world.
Since entering the world of fitness content, Charles has had the opportunity to learn from and train alongside high performance individuals from the NFL, UFC, NBA, Formula 1, CrossFit, US Olympics, and Navy SEALs. When he’s not writing about training programs or gear, he can be seen at the gym or in the wild, putting them to the test.
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