What's in a pre-workout

The latest blog post, as is often the case, is by James Kennedy. Who has recently passed his PhD, so a massive congratulations to him! 

​Enjoy!

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Pre-workout. An essential component to a good workout or an expensive placebo? Pre-workouts are ubiquitous in gym culture, especially on TikTok. For strength athletes, it's rare to see someone *not* using pre-workouts in the warm-up area before a big lift. So does it work, and if so, why? An essential component to a good workout or an expensive placebo? Look at the back of a pre-workout supplement, and you'll find a list of ingredients with scientific-sounding names, but what do they do? Do you need them? Are they dosed correctly? 
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To find out, we googled and picked a generic-looking pre-workout from a significant player in the UK supplement market. The ingredients are listed below:

The first step is to evaluate the ingredients (behind the fancy ® brand names). What is the ingredient meant to do, and is there evidence that it does this? Is it a WADA-approved supplement (a critical point for our IPF and IWF competitors!)? If the ingredient works, is it correctly dosed? Does the ingredient need to be 'loaded' (i.e. taken daily) to produce optimal results? Finally, when should this ingredient be taken to boost performance best? 
Ideally, at the end of this article, you will know what to look for in a pre-workout, what ingredients are necessary and how to take pre-workout supplements to best optimise your performance in the gym. Let's break it down!

First up, Creatine Monohydrate, at 3500mg (3.5g). Creatine is well-researched and has a moderate boost in performance outcomes. It's safe, effective and cheap. Creatine is stored in the muscles and allows for rapid replenishment of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the muscle during intense exercises, allowing the muscle to continue to work at a higher intensity and thereby improving athletic performance. Creatine builds up in the muscles over time and requires daily supplementation to maintain high muscle creatine levels. Usually, the recommendation is for 3-5g, taken daily (supplement guide link). 

Within this supplement, the dosage is on the lower side. In addition, there is no specific time window to take creatine. The benefits from taking creatine accumulate from a daily intake and is likely best sourced from a creatine powder rather than a pre-workout (the same supplement company selling this pre-workout for £1.33 per serving is currently selling creatine monohydrate for £0.40 per 5g serving …. spend your money wisely guys!) Overall, it's good that an effective supplement like creatine is in this pre-workout. However, the dosage is low and buying creatine monohydrate and taking 5g daily is probably more cost-effective. 

The second ingredient is L-Citrulline (3g). Evidence shows that L-Citrulline improves nitric oxide metabolism, increasing muscle blood flow and enhancing the pump you get from training (https://examine.com/supplements/citrulline/#effect-matrix). Additionally, studies have shown a performance increase from L-Citrulline supplementation - as it improves reps to failure performance. This is where the good news ends, however. L-Citrulline is a second-tier supplement with the potential to move into the top tier (supplement article link) - meaning it's currently either understudied or underwhelming but with potential benefits worth exploring. 


Where L-Citruline is effective, the minimum dosage is 6g daily, with typical recommendations of 8-10g. This pre-workout provides half the dosage required to see a benefit. The second issue is timing. Pre-workout supplements are commonly taken immediately before or during warm-ups. L-Citrulline requires 1-2 hours to enter the bloodstream and reach the muscles. Within this supplement, the combination of dosage and recommended usage (30 minutes pre-workout) means you will get minimal benefit.

An alternative option would be buying some L-Citrulline (roughly £10/100g) … although this works out at around £0.80 per serving. You could also not buy it; the magnitude of benefit from taking it is small, and it's doubtful you're missing out by not taking it. It's also worth remembering not to fall into the trap of thinking that taking the small doses present within this supplement will be enough to see a benefit and use that to justify buying the pre-workout! 

The third primary ingredient is Beta-Alanine, with 1.5g per serving. Beta-Alanine acts as an acid buffer in the body, preventing lactic acid build-up in the muscles, primarily when performing exercises in the lactic-aerobic zone (for example, a 400m sprint). For powerlifters, doing relatively low reps, you are almost exclusively using the anaerobic system with minimal lactic acid build-up; therefore Beta-Alanaine supplementation will likely be of minimal benefit to you. However, suppose you are a CrossFit athlete or bodybuilder. In that case, studies have shown an improvement in reps to failure in the 10-15 rep range (Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis - PubMed). 

Like creatine, the benefits of taking Beta-Alanine come from the build-up of Alanine in the muscles. Unfortunately, whilst the ingredient is beneficial, it is underdosed again within this supplement. It would be best if you took a larger daily dose to benefit from Alanine supplementation - similar to L-Citrulline, meaning the amount of Alanine in this supplement is too low for you to help your performance.

The Nootropics

The following two ingredients, L-Tyrosine and L-Theanine, belong to a group of substances called nootropics. Nootropics, as a group, improve cognitive function and mental performance. Typically, L-Tyrosine and L-Theanine are used to offset the stress and anxiety associated with higher dose caffeine consumption, thus allowing you to benefit from the caffeine (improved focus and alertness) without suffering the downsides. The pre-workout contains a well-dosed amount of both substances, which will enhance the benefit of caffeine. 

Taurine

Dosed here at 0.5g, Taurine is an amino acid with diverse bodily functions. It is most relevant to energy metabolism and its anti-inflammatory properties here. Whilst the extract mechanisms are unclear, Taurine does increase fat burning for fuel and improve mitochondrial function (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34039357/). In addition, it is beneficial in treating inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5933890/). In studies, the effects of taking Taurine are relatively minor to non-existent with doses of ~3g. Sadly, as this ingredient works, it is massively underdosed in this supplement. 

Caffeine 

Caffeine is an effective stimulant - as anyone who's tried to function before having a morning cup of tea or coffee can test - which occurs naturally in tea and coffee. Alongside the obvious mental benefits, it also improves strength and endurance. The literature, and probably everyone's personal experience reading this, is that caffeine is an effective and relatively safe performance enhancer and should be used in pre-workouts. The dosage present in this pre-workout is reasonable - 200mg - broadly the same as a double espresso. 

At higher doses, caffeine can interfere with sleep - hampering recovery. The sleep interference effect is especially pertinent if you take caffeine within ~8 hours of trying to go to sleep. So, suppose you're tired before a workout in the evening or afternoon. In that case, there are better options than reaching for a pre-workout. Get through the workout, get some sleep, and recover; caffeine will temporarily mask the problem without addressing the cause.

The Vitamins

The next group of ingredients are the vitamins - Vitamin C, B6,9 and 12. Vitamin C does (slightly) reduce muscle damage (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15024666/); however, that study used a 200mg dose to achieve a small impact. In what should not be a surprise, Vitamin C is underdosed in this pre-workout, with only 80mg present. 

Vitamins B6,9 and 12 are common ingredients of pre-workouts and energy drinks, included to improve energy metabolism. The theory goes that they help you metabolise more energy, making you feel more energetic. Sadly, this is untrue. If you have a Vitamin B deficiency, you will likely have low energy, as a Vitamin B deficiency stops your body from breaking down food, leading to low energy levels and potentially anaemia. If you don't have a vitamin B deficiency - your body will filter the excess out into your urine, making this ingredient a waste of time. 

The Proprietary Blend - EnXtra

EnXtra is a proprietary extract of the Alpinia galanga plant, sometimes known as Blue Ginger. This plant is part of the ginger family and is used as a herb and spice in South Asian and Arabic cuisine and traditional medicine. Its use in traditional medicine has led to it being investigated for various properties - most pertinently as a stimulant. A study has shown that EnXtra can improve alertness and limit or prevent post-caffeine energy slumps when consumed with caffeine (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2017.1342576). The caveat? This study was funded by the company that sells EnXtra. This doesn't make it wrong, but it is context! This ingredient is harmless and potentially beneficial, although its purpose overlaps significantly with the well-researched and non-proprietary nootropics within the pre-workout. 
Conclusions / Discussion

This pre-workout does contain practical, well-studied and effective ingredients. However, it underdoses most of them, and the benefits of these ingredients come from long-term, daily usage - not 3 or 4 times a week before a workout. In addition, the performance-enhancing impact of these supplements is related to when you take them around the workout. With that in mind, let's learn how to use these ingredients to optimise your training. Firstly, creatine monohydrate and beta-alanine. Both of these supplements build up in the body over time - 5-10g of creatine and beta-alanine should be taken whenever is convenient throughout the day. 

The next group of supplements are time dependent. L-Citrulline needs to be taken 1-2 hours before the workout to maximise the benefits of using the supplement and needs to be dosed effectively to guarantee to achieve this. Ideally, you would take a 6-8g dose around 90 minutes before training. Around the same time, you should take the nootropics and Taurine, as these can take up to 2 hours to begin working. 

Moving closer to the workout is where you should start to take the stimulants. It would help if you consumed caffeine 15-30 minutes before starting the activity to give you the ergogenic benefits but prevent the caffeine crash from happening mid-workout. This outline of how much and when you should take these supplements shows the fallacy of cramming all these ingredients into one super pre-workout. If you took this pre-workout and began drinking it on the way to the gym, the only ingredient which would benefit you in the workout is the caffeine. Besides being underdosed, the other ingredients would only help you at the end of the workout or on the journey home. Overall, this is an important point. The ingredients in this pre-workout are fine if underdosed. But taking them in one go at the start of the workout likely inhibits the benefits you should feel from taking them. If you are determined to use these ingredients, follow the protocol outlined in this article and ensure you hit the effective dosage outlined. However, if that sounds like too much effort for minimal reward, take creatine monohydrate every morning in your water and have a cup of coffee before your workout. Save your money - hire a coach instead! Your performance, progress and achievements will be because of your hard work and dedication - not your supplements. 

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