Supplements
The 15 Best Pre-Workout Supplements to Buy
What are the best pre-workout supplements?
Pre-workouts are designed to give you an extra boost of energy to kickstart your workouts and keep you going throughout.
If you’re interested in pre-workout supplements and want to know what the best ones are, then stick around, as we’re about to list the top pre-workout formulas on the market right now.
Here’s a list of the 15 best pre-workout supplements!
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The 15 Best Pre Workout Supplements to Buy
The list of pre-workouts and figures mentioned below have been compiled from various sources around the web, such as Top 10 Supps, Leg Work & Rave Reviews.
These are the 15 best pre-workout supplements to buy in 2021:
In A Rush? Here’s Our Top Pick:
15. BPI Sports One More Rep
The first pre-workout on our list is One More Rep, from BPI Sports.
Formulated to enhance and intensify your workouts, One More Rep uses a unique blend of ingredients to give you everything you need to go hard in the gym.
In each serving, you’ll get 454mg of proprietary blend ingredients, consisting of Theobromine, Caffeine Anhydrous, Yohimbe, and Himalayan Pink Salt.
One More Rep pre-workout is available in four flavors: Berry Splash, Fruit Punch, Hurricane Orange, and Raspberry Tea.
You can pick up an 8.8oz tub on Muscle & Strength for $29.99, for approximately 25 servings.
14. Muscle Tech Vapor X5 Next Gen
Next up, we have Muscle Techs Vapor X5 Next Gen pre-workout supplement.
This sugar-free pre-workout includes creatine to help you benefit from being able to lift heavier weights for longer periods of time.
Vapor X5 contains, creatine, beta-alanine, and taurine, as well as 150mg of caffeine to give you that extra little boost of energy and stimulation.
You can purchase a 30 serving tub of Vapor X5 Next Gen pre-workout on Muscle & Strength for $31.99.
13. Pre Lab Pro
Next up on the list is Pre Lab Pro, which focuses on a clean formula that is perfect for sensitive individuals who often struggle with traditional pre-workout formulas.
Pre Lab Pro is gluten-free, soy-free, vegan-friendly, allergen-friendly, non-GMO, and contains no artificial sweeteners or flavorings.
Whilst this isn’t the strongest pre-workout on the market, it may very well be the cleanest formula available. This makes it well worth giving a try if you often have problems or tolerance issues with normal pre-workouts.
Ingredients:
- Vitamin D – 12.5mcg
- Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) – 500mcg
- Vitamin B6 – 750mcg
- Folate (Vitamin B9) – 167mcg
- Vitamin B12 – 2mcg
- Potassium – 45mg
- Iron – 2.5mg
- Salt (Himalayan Pink Salt) – 0.5g
- Natural Caffeine – 80mg
- L-Theanine – 160mg
- L-Tyrosine – 400mg
- L-Citrulline & L-Glutathione – 2200mg
- Red Beet Powder – 1500mg
12. GAT Sport Nitraflex
Coming in at number twelve on our list of the 15 best pre-workout supplements, is Nitraflex, from GAT Sports.
Designed to boost your energy, strength, and mental sharpness during your workout, Nitraflex contains 7.2g of their own special proprietary blend of performance-enhancing ingredients.
Ingredients include L-Citrulline Malate, L-Arginine, L-Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AKG) amino acids, and Calcium Fructoboarte. It also contains a vasoactive complex which is meant to help induce hyperemia, which increases blood flow into your muscles.
Nitraflex comes in several flavors, including Black Cherry, Green Apple, Pina Colada & Blue Raspberry.
You can purchase a 30 serving tub of Nitraflex on Muscle & Strength for $31.99.
11. Jacked Factory Nitrosurge
Nitrosurge by Jacked Factory is the next pre-workout supplement to be featured on our list.
Containing approximately 180mg of caffeine per serving, as well as other ingredients like L-Citrulline, Betaine Anhydrous, Beta-Alanine, Theanine, and Caffeine, Nitorsurge is a maximum strength pre-workout supplement that will give you everything you need to perform in the gym.
Nitrosurge helps promote blood flow to the muscles, which should give you even better pumps and induce muscle growth, and can be purchased in a number of different flavors like Fruit Punch, Cotton Candy, Watermelon & Pineapple.
You can buy a tub on Muscle & Strength’s website for $25.10, which will give you 30 servings.
10. Cellucor C4 Extreme Energy
Best Pre-Workout for Daily Use: C4 Extreme Energy
The tenth best pre-workout supplement on the market right now is C4 Extreme Energy from Cellucor.
Extreme energy is their latest version of their popular pre-workout supplements and contains a number of highly effective ingredients; like creatine nitrate, beta-alanine, arginine & tyrosine.
In this formula, Cellucor decided to use creatine nitrate, instead, of the popular monohydrate version as it can cause bloating for some people.
C4 Extreme Energy is available in four flavors, Icey Blue Razz, Strawberry Kiwi, Cherry Limeade & Lemon Drop.
You can grab a 30 serving tub of C4 Extreme Energy on Amazon.com for $34.99.
9. Pro Supps Mr. Hyde
My. Hyde by Pro Supps is designed to give you increased energy and focus, as well as an insane pump.
In one serving you’ll get, 5,000mg Strength Matrix, consisting of Beta-Alanine, creatine hydrochloride, l-leucine, agmatine sulfate, and a range of other powerful stimulants.
If you like the feeling of stimulants, and a high dosage of caffeine will be right up your street, as this will help you stay focused and energized in the gym.
Pro Supps Mr.Hyde comes in six delicious flavors including, Cherry Popsicle, Blue Raz Popsicle, Cotton Candy, Sour Green Apple & Pixie Dust.
8. Redcon1 Total War
Redcon1’s Total War claims to give you extreme energy and unstoppable power, as well as laser-like focus.
Being a fairly new pre-workout supplement in the fitness industry, Total War has managed to gain a lot of fans and positive reviews.
Ingredients include L-Citrulline, Beta-Alanine, Taurine, Caffeine Anhydrous, and some natural and artificial flavorings.
Total War offers over 10 flavors to choose from like, Blue Lemonade, Green Apple, Orange Crush, and Rainbow Candy.
7. JYM Pre-JYM
The 7th best pre-workout supplement on the market right now is PRE-JYM, by JYM.
This pre-workout uses an all-in-one advanced formula to optimize your workouts for maximum strength, endurance, and pump.
All individual ingredients are fully disclosed on the packaging so you’ll know exactly what you’re taking.
One serving contains 6g Citrulline Malate, 6g BCAAs, 2g Creatine HCL, 2g CarnoSyn Brand Beta-Alanine, 5g Betaine & 300mg of Caffeine.
Pre-JYM is available to purchase in a number of flavors like Rainbow Sherbet, Orange Mango, Cherry Limeade & Refreshing Melon.
A 20 serving tub will cost you $31.12 on Amazon.com.
6. Kaged Muscle PRE-Kaged
Next up, we have PRE-Kaged by Kaged Muscle.
This pre-workout supplement includes many beneficial ingredients like taurine, creatine, BCAAs, Caffeine, and L-Citrulline, which will all help to kick start your workouts.
Kaged Muscle has received excellent reviews; as it’s known to label all its ingredients clearly, to make sure that you know exactly what you’re taking.
It’s available to buy on Amazon.com for $39.99, which will give you 20 servings, and comes in four tasty flavors: Berry Blast, Fruit Punch, Krisp Apple & Orange Krush.
PRE-Kaged is pretty expensive when compared to some of the other pre-workout supplements on the list; however, it’s received great reviews on Amazon.com and has become a fan favorite in the supplement industry.
5. Pump Serum By Huge Nutrition
Best Stimulant-Free Pre-Workout: Pump Serum
Not all pre-workouts are created equal, and everybody’s preferences and tolerances are different. Many choose a stimulant-free pre-workout over a high-stim high caffeine formulated product.
Pump Serum is Huge Nutrition’s stimulant-free version of their most popular pre-workout product, Wrecked, which is also on this list.
This pre-workout contains 10 core ingredients that are proven to help boost focus, blood flow, and pumps in the gym. The addition of GlycerPump is something we love to see, especially in a stimulant-free pre-workout, as the pumps are insane.
So if you don’t like caffeine and the side effects that come with it, give Pump Serum a try.
Pump Serum contains the following ingredients:
- Choline (as Choline Bitartrate) – 980mg
- GlycerPump™ (65% Glycerol Powder) – 3000mg
- Betaine Anhydrous – 2500mg
- Agmatine Sulfate – 1500mg
- Beet Root Extract (Beta Vulgaris) – 1000mg
- L-Tyrosine – 1000mg
- Pomegranate Extract (Punica Granatum) – 1000mg
- Pink Himalayan Sea Salt – 400mg
- VasoDrive-AP (Casein Hydrolysate) – 254mg
- Huperzine A 1% (Huperzia Serrata Leaf Extract) – 200mcg
You can buy a tub of Pump Serum on Huge Supplements’ website for $34.95, and each tub contains 25 servings. With large quantities of Glycerol, Betaine, and Huperzine A, you’ll have no problem quitting caffeine in your workouts.
Read our full Pump Serum review.
4. Powher Pre-Workout
Best Pre-Workout for Women: PowHer
Powher is a pre-workout designed specifically for women. There aren’t too many pre-workout supplements on the market looking to target women, and put together with a female end user in mind.
We couldn’t put together a pre-workout list without including products beneficial for women, and that’s where Powher comes in.
There are 13 core ingredients inside PowHer, formulated to be a low-natural-stim product that reduces all the necessary side effects of high caffeine dosages.
Each serving weighs 10g, and there are 25 servings inside a single tub.
Here is the full ingredients breakdown:
- Vitamin B6 – 500% RDI
- Vitamin B12 – 833% RDI
- Pantothenic acid – 100% RDI
- Taurine – 2.5g
- L-citrulline malate – 2g
- Beta-alanine – 1g
- RedNite® – 500mg
- Lysine – 500mg
- Tyrosine – 500mg
- Coconut Water Powder – 500mg
- OxyJun® – 400mg
- EnXtra® – 300mg
- Natural Caffeine – 100mg
You can buy a single tub of PowHer on their official website for $45.00, and they offer discounts for multiple purchases.
3. 4 Gauge Pre-Workout
4 Gauge Pre-Workout is an all-natural pre-workout supplement, that will deliver a boost of energy during your workouts, without any unwanted side effects like some of the others on the list.
Because it contains no artificial sweeteners, low caffeine, and 100% natural ingredients, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll experience a crash after your workout, instead, you’ll just feel the right amount of energy to kick start your training.
One serving of 4 Gauge Pre-Workout contains 6,000mg Citrulline Malate, 1,000mg Creatine Monohydrate, 300mg Red Beetroot Extract, 300mg Coconut Water Powder, 500mg Acetyl L-Carnitine, 200mg L-Theanine, 100mg Rhodiola Rosea & 150mg Caffeine.
On their website, you can choose to buy either 1 round, 2 rounds, or their ultimate amino crate.
If you’re just starting out and looking at buying your first pre-workout, then try 1 round, as it will give you 20 servings for $45.00.
2. BlackWolf Pre-Workout Formula
The 2nd best pre-workout supplement on the market right now is BlackWolf. This pre-workout contains 11 core ingredients and comes ready in 3 different flavors.
The first two flavors, Green Apple and Blue Raspberry are stimulant versions containing 200mg of caffeine. The last flavor is a non-stimulant version with zero caffeine, but it includes two new ingredients, DMAE and Huperzine.
What we love most about this pre-workout is the fact that every ingredient is dosed almost perfectly. A lot of pre-workouts use the right ingredients, however, they’re often severely underdosed.
Here’s a full list of BlackWolf’s ingredients:
- L-Citrulline Malate – 6000mg
- Beta-Alanine – 3200mg
- Creatine Monohydrate – 3000mg
- Betaine Anhydrous – 2000mg
- L-Arginine – 1000mg
- Caffeine Anhydrous – 200mg (Green Apple & Blue Raspberry Only)
- Taurine – 1000mg
- L-Tyrosine – 600mg
- Dynomine – 125mg
- Coconut Water Powder – 320mg
- Bioperine – 5mg
- DMAE – 150mg (Fruit Punch Only)
- Huperzine – 10mg (Fruit Punch Only)
You can pick up a tub of BlackWolf pre-workout on their website for $34.99. Each tub contains 22 servings.
1. Wrecked by Huge Nutrition
Best Pre-Workout Overall: Wrecked by Huge Nutrition
Wrecked is the real deal folks; aiming to be the strongest pre-workout on the market. It’s most certainly not for the faint-hearted.
Developed by Huge Nutrition; Wrecked contains 18 ingredients, many of which aren’t found in most pre-workout powders available for purchase.
One scoop of Wrecked includes:
- L-Citrulline Malate (9000mg)
- Beta-Alanine (3200mg)
- Agmatine Sulphate (2000mg)
- L-Tyrosine (1500mg)
- Lion’s Mane Mushroom (600g)
- VasoDrive-AP (255mg)
- Caffeine Anhydrous (250mg)
- Plus another 11 less prominent ingredients
You can find out more about the ingredients list on the Huge Supplements website, as well as how to take it, when to take it, and what to stack it with.
They also offer a non-stimulant version of the product, Pump Serum, which is at position #5 on this list.
Read our full Wrecked Pre-Workout review.
BONUS: Wrecked Extreme Limited Edition Pre-Workout
Huge Nutrition collaborated with Review Bros to develop Wrecked Extreme, a limited edition version of their iconic Wrecked formula.
The formula for Wrecked Extreme is quite different from the original Wrecked, with more emphasis on the stimulant side of things. Wrecked Extreme is quite possibly one of the strongest pre-workout formulas on the market, containing three different variations of caffeine, and DMHA, a popular alternative to the banned substance DMAA.
We didn’t include Wrecked Extreme in this best pre-workout list as it’s a limited edition product, and it’s likely to sell out very soon. However, we couldn’t include Wrecked without mentioned Wrecked Extreme.
Read our full Wrecked Extreme Limited Edition Pre-Workout review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thanks for reading our list of the best pre-workout supplements. There are a lot of questions people may have on the list, as well as pre-workouts in general.
We’ve dedicated this next section of the article to answer some of the most common questions people have when it comes to selecting and buying a pre-workout supplement.
How Do We Pick the Best Pre-Workouts?
There are a lot of factors that go into producing a list like this, and being able to highlight some of the best supplements on the market within a specific category. Whilst all opinions in this article remain our own, and everybody’s opinions are different, we feel it’s important to discuss the factors that helped us make our decision.
Here’s a breakdown of the things we take into consideration when writing the list:
Ingredients
Ingredients used in pre-workouts will always vary depending on the company.
There are usually several common ingredients included in most, however, we take a good look at the contents of these pre-workouts to try and find those which have been studied, and in most cases proven to have some sort of desired benefit/effect on energy, focus, or muscular pump.
Dosages
Whilst ingredients are the most important thing, they’re rendered useless if the dosages are not correct. Dosages often vary depending on the aspect of the product supplement brands want to focus on the most. They also vary depending on the type of end-user those companies are targeting.
We look at the clinically ‘effective’ dosages listed in studies for each ingredient we come across and compare it to that of the pre-workout.
Transparency
Transparency is of high importance in the fitness industry. You might occasionally see brands hide behind ‘proprietary blends’, or be as clear as possible with their marketing and packaging. We want to know exactly what’s inside the products, who they are for, and any important information people should know before buying a particular company’s supplement.
Flavor
After ingredients, dosages, and transparency, we can move onto aspects like the flavor. Nobody wants to drink something that tastes bad, and nowadays there are hundreds of flavors available for pre-workout supplements.
Everybody has different taste palettes, and flavors we love others may hate. We’ve combined our personal opinion alongside aspects such as the number of flavor variations a product has. Many pre-workouts are available in multiple flavor options, and that allows you to select which one you think you’d enjoy best.
Value
Lastly, we look at value. Value is last on this list because above all else, a pre-workout should do its job and obey all the laws and regulations necessary. The price of pre-workouts varies, and the dosages/ingredients also vary heavily.
Whilst one product may be more costly than another, the formula could be much more effective, and that’s the main area we take into consideration.
What Are the Most Common Pre-Workout Ingredients?
It shouldn’t be to anyone’s surprise that there are several ingredients used within most pre-workout supplements.
All pre-workout formulas are different in one way or another; be it the ingredients used, the dosages of said ingredients, or the source and manufacturing of those ingredients.
Yet, you’ll find that the majority of pre-workouts will likely include the following:
Caffeine Anhydrous
Caffeine is a stimulant the vast majority of us ingest on a daily basis when drinking coffee. Whilst it comes in many different forms, the most popular form used in pre-workout supplements is Caffeine Anhydrous.
An average Starbucks coffee order will contain between 200mg-300mg of caffeine, and pre-workouts tend to contain between 150mg-300mg.
L-Citrulline Malate
L-Citrulline has been researched on its possible benefits to improve blood flow circulation, which can help improve blood flow to the muscle tissue, increasing muscular pump and therefore performance.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine aids in the production of carnosine, a compound that plays an important role in muscular endurance.
L-Tyrosine
Tyrosine is used for its potential links to increased adrenaline and dopamine. It’s also used to help negate several negative side effects of caffeine use. Whilst the research has only been carried out with 5000mg dosages, the average 1000mg dosage found in pre-workouts may be beneficial.
Creatine
Creatine is one of the most popular supplements on the market. Whilst many choose to take it separately, it’s often included in pre-workout supplements. Although the body naturally produces creatine in small quantities, those who perform intense exercise can benefit from taking a creatine supplement.
During exercise, the body’s ATP levels become depleted. Additional creatine supply can be used to increase ATP production to stop muscular fatigue setting in earlier.
How Do Pre-Workouts Work?
In order to understand how a pre-workout supplement may benefit you, and to ensure you have enough knowledge on the subject before making your purchase, we need to discuss how pre-workouts work.
A good pre-workout supplement will be designed to achieve three things inside the gym:
- Energy
- Pump
- Focus
Some brands may focus more on one element or the other, which adds to the importance of picking the right product according to your personal goals and/or preferences.
Energy
You’ll be needing an energy boost inside the gym when performing intense exercise. This is the core reason most people take a pre-workout supplement. Caffeine will be the main driving force of energy when it comes to pre-workouts, and it will often be coupled with other stimulant-based ingredients.
Focus
Higher levels of focus and concentration are often achieved in pre-workout supplements by using nootropic agents, such as Alpha GPC, Huperzine A, and Lion’s Mane Mushroom. Ingredients such as L-Tyrosine and L-Theanine are also used in this instance, as they may help negate the negative side effects of caffeine, such as jitters.
Pump
The last focus of a pre-workout is to get a pump. You want to ensure enough blood is flowing to the muscles providing additional strength and endurance when completing intense workouts. Ingredients often used in pre-workouts to boost nitric oxide levels and increase blood flow to the muscle tissue include L-Citrulline, Creatine, and Beta-Alanine.
Important Information
Before taking a pre-workout supplement, there’s some important information we need to highlight. If you are new to pre-workout products, take a minute to read the following:
Caffeine Is A Drug
Caffeine is an addictive substance with well-known side effects. Whilst the majority of the world consumes caffeine on a daily basis, everybody has different tolerance levels and side effects still exist.
Caffeine can cause insomnia, stomach issues, and anxiety. Remember the dosages you’re consuming, and either lower the dosage or take several weeks off if you experience any side effects.
Remember the Dosages
Every pre-workout supplement uses different dosages of different ingredients. If you take a particular supplement and find it to be good or bad, remember the dosages. This will help you more than anything to understand your personal tolerances, and which dosages work best for you.
Consult A Doctor
All the information we provide in these articles is based on our own personal experience and research. Always consult your doctor or physician if you have any pre-existing conditions, concerns, or questions before adding a supplement of any sort to your regime.
Summary
We hope you enjoyed our list of the 15 best pre-workout supplements.
What do you think? Found one you’re interested in?
Don’t forget, they’re all designed to do one thing, which is giving you that kick up the butt to get in the gym and start your workout.
So, if this is your first pre-workout supplement, then use our list as a guide, and choose one that’s most affordable for you!
If you enjoyed this list, you might want to check out:
- The Best Fat Burners
- The Best Testosterone Boosters
- The Best BCAA Supplements
- The Best Creatine Supplements
Here’s a quick recap of the 15 best pre-workout supplements to buy in 2021:
- Wrecked by Huge Nutrition
- BlackWolf Pre-Workout Formula
- 4 Gauge Pre-Workout
- Powher Pre-Workout for Women
- Pump Serum By Huge Nutrition
- Kaged Muscle PRE-Kaged
- JYM-Pre-JYM
- Redcon1 Total War
- Pro Supps Mr. Hyde
- Cellucor C4 Extreme Energy
- Jacked Factory Nitrosurge
- GAT Sport Nitroflex
- Pre Lab Pro
- Muscle Tech Vapor X5 Neuro
- BPI Sports 1.M.R Vortex
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