The right pre-workout will increase energy, boost muscle pumps, and provide serious results.
Premium pre-workout supplements will give you more energy and focus while pumping more blood and oxygen to your muscles to make you feel ripped. Our pre-workout needs are important, and especially after a long day, the best thing we can do is pump ourselves with a high-quality supplement designed to give us the best energy. You will smash weights like never before, you will recover faster, and you will feel amazing pumps when you take a quality pre-workout.
Perhaps you have tried pre-workout supplements, and this has not been your experience. That is probably because there are plenty of sub-par pre-workout products out there with low dosages, ineffective ingredients, or so many stimulants that the energy is not worth the crash.
It is important to do your research and choose a premium pre-workout product that is clinically dosed with well-researched ingredients. The research is always developing, so you need a forward-thinking brand that has kept up to date and knows how to create pre-workout supplements that will take your performance to the next level.
How Do I Find The Best Pre-Workout Supplements?
When it comes to the best pre-workout supplements, there are some things you should watch out for. Firstly, if you see the words “proprietary blend,” run in the opposite direction. The ingredient list should be transparent. If it is not, then the manufacturer is probably hiding something. The number of servings should also equal the price to make it worth your time and money.
Benefits Of Pre-Workouts
The benefits of pre-workout should not be ignored for this supplement can seriously increase energy, muscle pumps, and overall results. A premium pre-workout supplement can:
- Increase focus and energy: Offer intense workouts while being locked into every exercise so nothing interferes with a good workout (1).
- Reduce fatigue: Allow for longer training sessions by busting fatigue and keeping that energy high for prolonged periods of time (2).
- Muscle pumps: Watch your strength and muscle gains flourish and allow blood to flow through your muscles.
- Enhanced recovery: Bounce back faster and promote more efficient growth while recovering more effectively for faster turn arounds.
Effective Ingredients For A Premium Pre-Workout
Caffeine (100-200 mg): Caffeine is a safe and effective natural ingredient that boosts energy levels and focus so you can train harder for longer (3). It also improves your metabolic rate. However, some pre-workout supplements rely too heavily on caffeine and contain high amounts, which leads to a harsh subsequent crash. Around 150mg is best.
Beta-Alanine (2-5g per day): Beta-Alanine increases muscle endurance by preventing lactic acid build-up, which causes fatigue. Allowing you to work out for longer and grow bigger muscles (4).
L-Citrulline (Maximum 15g per day): Arginine was once hailed as the ultimate pre-workout ingredient. Research showed that the body does a terrible job of absorbing it. Many people continue to waste money on supplements containing Arginine.
Citrulline converts to arginine in the body, and your body can better absorb it. Which leads to the relaxation of the muscles around the blood vessels, causing vasodilation (the widening of the arteries and veins) and increased blood flow (5).
Citrulline also reduces the liver’s absorption of certain amino acids and prevents them from being broken down. This allows those amino acids to be used for muscle building. Although Citrulline is not used to build protein itself, studies show that it increases protein synthesis by stimulating signaling pathways involved in muscle building.
L-Citrulline Malate: This is the combination of citrulline and DL Malate. When combined, they have the added benefit of energy production, allowing or better exercise performance. In one study, participants were given a supplement 60 minutes before exercise. They went on to perform 53% more repetitions. They also experienced less pain in the days following training.
VASO6: Extracted from green tea, this is a relative discovery. If pre-workout developers keep up with the latest research, this should be an ingredient they incorporate.
VASO6 encourages the production of nitric oxide, promoting vasorelaxation. This makes the cardiovascular system work easier and increases the blood flow to your muscles. A healthier blood flow results in more energy, endurance, and of course, bigger pumps. It also enables the efficient clearance of metabolic waste.
Vitamin B12: A premium pre-workout should contain ingredients to help you feel your best. Ingredients that are good for mental focus, such as B12, will give you focus during your workout and beyond. B12 is one of the most common deficiencies, partially because of the depleting nutrients in the soil where our food grows. A deficiency can leave you with brain fog, poor performance, slow recovery, and an inability to lose excess fat (6). For bodybuilders, it is even more important that they are getting the nutrients they need.
Common Ineffective Ingredients in Pre-Workout Supplements
Although the following ingredients may not necessarily harm you, the latest research shows them ineffective workout supplements.
- Glutamine: Glutamine is an important amino acid that plays a role in building muscles, intentional health, and the immune system. However, most people get enough from their food; virtually any protein source contains glutamine. So if you are eating a high-protein diet, then you probably don’t need to supplement it (7).
- Arginine: Arginine is another important amino acid for building muscles. However, studies show that it is destroyed by stomach acid when you supplement it and does not get helpfully absorbed by your body. Citrulline is a great alternative that converts to a more bioavailable form of arginine in the body.
- D-Aspartic Acid: D-Aspartic Acid works to increase testosterone and improve resistance training (8).
Dangerous Or Banned Ingredients
A common banned ingredient in pre-workouts is DMAA. Although it may give you an energy boost, it also elevates blood pressure and leads to cardiovascular problems, especially caffeine consumption.
But the most common danger to watch out for is an overload of caffeine. Some pre-workout manufacturers include a large number of stimulants to make you feel like the product is doing something. However, this can cause a severe crash and leave you with no energy for the rest of the day, or it can also make you feel anxious or raise your heart rate to dangerous levels.
Product Comparison
Here we will look at three of the most popular pre-workouts available and compare them. We are not looking for a product that tastes great and gives you a strong caffeine boost and nothing else. We are looking for a high-quality, all-natural formula that includes the ingredients we mentioned above, one which will take your workouts to the next level.
We’ve pulled the top three pre-workouts from our Best Pre-Workouts list to compare and give you great options to boost your workouts.
Transparent Labs PreSeries BULK
Transparent Labs PreSeries BULK is a great pre-workout for those looking to bulk up and see the best workout gains. You will also find that BULK will reduce fatigue and increase your energy for longer workouts. A fully transparent label shows these great ingredients and what this can do for increasing size and muscle mass.
Code GENIRON10 For 10% Off
Transparent Labs PreSeries BULK is backed by science with clinically effective dosages to increase muscle size and mass. This pre-workout is perfect for reducing fatigue, aiding in muscle growth, and boosting energy levels for better overall performance.
Pre Lab Pro
Pre Lab Pro is the next-gen pre-workout formula designed for all-around strength, speed, stamina, endurance, and recovery. Using nootropic-enhanced caffeine, this provides for smart stimulation for energy, focus, and calm intensity. This revolutionary design targets three key pathways that work in synergy to supercharge workout performance, promote health balance, and accelerate your overall progress.
Pre Lab Pro is the all-around pre-workout for strength, speed, stamina, endurance, and recovery. Nootropic-enhanced caffeine for energy, focus, and calm intensity ensures fast and healthy progress.
Enhanced Ramy’s Rage Stim Reloaded
Ramy’s Rage Stim is different. It has a fully disclosed supplement facts panel, so you know exactly what you’re getting in each serving. Ramy’s Rage Stim contains full dosages of ingredients scientifically proven to boost energy levels, improve physical performance, and enhance focus. With a smart 8-stim matrix, all of your energy and focus enhancing needs are met with a great pre-workout. With 17 clinically dosed ingredients grouped into 4 synergistic matrixes, this pre-workout is perfect for boosting intensity.
Code GENIRON For 15% Off
Enhanced Ramy’s Rage Stim Reloaded is a smart 8-stim matrix to enhance energy and focus. A fully disclosed label provides transparency for their scientifically proven ingredients.
Wrap Up
A premium pre-workout supplement has the ability to take your gains to new heights and with the right ingredients and a powerful formula, you never have to worry about poor performance again. While it can be tough to find the right supplement, it is important to remember that it is possible and that those premium products are out there. Knowing what ingredients to look for, the benefits of a pre-workout, and what results can come will give you comfort in knowing your premium pre-workout is only working for your benefit.
Generation Iron may receive commissions on purchases made through our links. See our disclosure page for more information.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
- Gonzalez, A.; et al. (2011). “Effect of a Pre-Workout Energy Supplement on Acute Multi-Joint Resistance Exercise”. (source)
- Kaczka, P.; et al. (2020). “Effect of Pre-Workout Multi-Ingredient Supplement on Anaerobic Performance: Randomized Double-Blind Crossover Study”. (source)
- Cappelletti, S.; et al. (2015). “Caffeine: Cognitive and Physical Performance Enhancer or Psychoactive Drug?”. (source)
- Artiolo, G.; et al. (2010). “Role of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine and exercise performance”. (source)
- Gonzalez, A.; et al. (2020). “Effects of Citrulline Supplementation on Exercise Performance in Humans: A Review of the Current Literature”. (source)
- Ryan-Harshman, M. (2008). “Vitamin B12 and health”. (source)
- Gleeson, M. (2008). “Dosing and efficacy of glutamine supplementation in human exercise and sport training”. (source)
- Melville, G.; et al. (2017). “The effects of d-aspartic acid supplementation in resistance-trained men over a three month training period: A randomized controlled trial”. (source)