Pre-workouts are some of the most popular supplements on the market today, but do they actually work? And if they do, what ingredients actually make a difference?

Are they safe? When should you take them, and how much should you take?

That’s what we’re here to talk about. I hope by the end of this article, you’ll be better informed about what pre-workout supplements are, what impact they can have, and how to find and properly take these supplements on your own.

The Basics

Let’s start by defining exactly what a pre-workout supplement is.

Generally speaking, a pre-workout supplement is something that gives you an energy boost, and a boost in performance, while working out in the gym. These can come in different forms, but largely what we’re talking about in this article is a pre-workout powder that is mixed with water and ingested prior to working out.

We’re going to dive into the specifics about what ingredients are in these powders (and what you should look for) in just a moment, as well as how and when you should take them.

The reason these supplements are so popular, and so highly recommended in some cases, is that the vast majority of evidence suggests they work. How they work, and what contributes to the positive impact, is a little less clear.

In June, I wrote a complete guide to everything you need to know about caffeine, training, and nutrition. Caffeine is one of the primary ingredients in most pre-workouts, and that’s because there’s overwhelming evidence that caffeine improves performance (strength, power, endurance, etc.). It’s one of the few fitness supplement ingredients, along with creatine, that has overwhelming evidence of its impact.

Caffeine works, and whether you’ve used it for fitness or just in your daily life, I think we can all agree and understand that point. It’s why I’ve listed caffeine as one of the three supplements I’d actually recommend people take on a regular basis.

Other workout supplements either need a lot more research to prove their efficacy, or they’re just complete crap.

Evidence of Impact

So we know caffeine is beneficial to workout performance. Let’s build on that a little more and get into other ingredients that seem to be part of the beneficial effects of pre-workout supplements.

I briefly mentioned creatine above. It’s up there with caffeine as having a unanimously positive impact on performance in the gym. I’m not gonna link to the research, because you can Google it and find thousands of articles to tell you more.

Creatine is also found in many pre-workout supplements, and a recent review explains that the majority of tangible results we see with pre-workout supplements probably primarily revolves around caffeine and creatine.

But a new study points out a few other ingredients that appear to be potentially beneficial as well.

Two groups of people entered this study — one taking a pre-workout supplement, one taking a placebo — and over four weeks of resistance training the supplement group experienced significantly greater increases in muscle mass than the placebo group. The supplement group also experienced more progress in squat and bench press one-rep maxes.

This is interesting, because up until now most research has focused on the acute effects of pre-workout supplements. In other words, researchers have mostly focused on evaluating performance in a single training session following supplementation — not over the course of several weeks.

In the study, the pre-workout supplement also included citrulline malate, betaine, and beta-alanine. It’s less clear on whether or not these ingredients had a significant impact on the results, and this is something we need more research on, but their potential is intriguing.

Safety

It’s fair to have a discussion about how safe these supplements are. Like I mentioned earlier, we really don’t have a lot of long-term research, so our ability to evaluate their safety with consistent use is up for debate.

The study we already mentioned did evaluate blood biomarkers over four weeks, though, and the results were positive. In short, all blood work stayed within normal ranges for the participants, so this supports the notion that these supplements are probably safe.

Now, that’s not to say anyone can or should take them. If you have an existing health condition, it’s probably best to discuss taking these supplements with your doctor before beginning.

Dosing responsibly is important, too, and I can speak to all of you from personal experience on this topic. When I was college and started taking workout supplements, I went overboard with pre-workouts and paid for it with stomach discomfort and dizziness.

I took the supplement and felt great, so I figured, “more’s gotta be better, right?!”

Wrong.

If you’ve never taken a pre-workout supplement, start small. It’s OK to increase over time, but you should approach this conservatively.

And if you’re hesitant to take these at all, you can get a lot of the same benefits from simply having coffee prior to working out and supplementing with creatine.

Coaching Cues

Most pre-workout supplements have directions on the label regarding when to take the supplement, how much, etc. I’d recommend you avoid using their recommendations and use the following coaching cues as your guide. Not surprisingly, the directions on the label often encourage you to take too much, consume the product quicker than necessary, and cause you to buy more of the product sooner.

First off, if you’ve never taken a pre-workout supplement and you’re healthy, I think you can take one with confidence. Just start slow.

Start with half a scoop and take it right before your workout. See how that feels over the course of two weeks or so, and if everything feels good, you can increase to a full scoop. Continue to evaluate how you feel, and if you feel compelled to increase the dosage further, do so at your own discretion.

When increasing your dosage, pay attention to the amount of caffeine per serving. The milligrams of caffeine per scoop/serving should be listed on the label (if it’s not, DON’T BUY THAT PRODUCT). Generally anything over 300 mg is overkill, in my opinion.

Over time, you can also start to take the pre-workout supplement ahead of your workout — up to 30 minutes prior. From personal experience, I’ve found that if you take it too far ahead of your workout, stomach discomfort can start to set in. Take it within 30 minutes of working out. I’ve often found taking it during your warm up is a great way to get the supplement in your system 10-15 minutes prior to getting started.

It’s important to talk timing from a time-of-day perspective, too, since we all work out at different times. Caffeine can really negatively impact sleep. We’ve gone over that in previous articles as well. Caffeine has a half-life of around 5-6 hours, meaning half of the caffeine will still be in your system 5-6 hours after you take it.

Factor that into your plans when thinking about taking a pre-workout. Generally, I’d recommend you avoid caffeine after around 3 p.m. or so, assuming you have a 10-11 p.m. bedtime.

Many supplement companies now manufacture non-stim versions of their pre-workout supplements, which are essentially caffeine free but include all of the other ingredients. This is a great option if you workout in the afternoon or evening and still want a boost to train, but also want to actually sleep at night.

Lastly, it’s important to cycle off of pre-workout supplements every so often in order to resensitize yourself to its effect. Similar to coffee, or something like alcohol, we develop a tolerance to it over time. Cycling off a pre-workout for one week every 1-2 months should help preserve its effects on your performance.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you found this article helpful. If you are seeking guidance on supplementation, training, or nutrition, check out my coaching services page. If interested, fill out a coaching application form and we can schedule a call!

CGF