Best Pre-Workout Supplements

Written by James C., M.S.(C), PT

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Struggling to make gains?

It’s not your fault.

Once you’ve been training for some time the results slow down.

At first, you were probably adding 10-20 lbs to your bench press and deadlift every single week.

But for the past few months or even years, you’re always lifting exactly the same amount of weight.

And you never seem to push past that.

What’s worse is that you’re not seeing any results in the mirror anymore.

Once you get to a certain level you simply need that extra push.

You’re most likely missing that “missing link”.

You need one of the best pre-workout supplements that ACTUALLY works.

In a rush? Here’s my top pick:

The best pre-workout supplements on the market can help you…

best pre-workout supplements benefits
  • Boost your strength levels – Increase your power to finally crush your PRs
  • Increase fat loss potential – Help you lose the stubborn fat
  • Increase Growth-Hormone production – There’s one popular pre-workout ingredient out there that can do this if it’s properly dosed
  • Boost muscle growth – Help you get into the anabolic state faster
  • Supercharge energy levels – Crush through your workouts even if you had a long day at work

If you want to CONSISTENTLY get amazing results in the gym, even when life gets in the way and knocks you down – you simply need a properly dosed pre-workout to help you get the most out of that precious time you spend in the gym.

Who is it NOT for?

who should not take pre-workout?

Let’s get one thing straight.

Pre-workout supplements are for men and women that want to maximize the time they spend working out. It’s for people that want to build more muscle or lose fat faster. It’s for people that live busy lives, but still want to have the energy to train hard and get amazing results from their workouts.

However, it’s NOT a magic solution designed to get you ripped with no effort. There’s no such thing.

It does NOT do the work for you. You have to be willing to do the work.

A great pre-workout simply unlocks your full potential and helps you get into beast mode no matter how you’re feeling that particular day.

But before you continue, understand this:

Not all pre-workouts are created equal

not all pre-workouts are created equal

It’s a sad reality that the majority of the pre-workouts available in big retailers are severely underdosed.

Sure, they may taste great and give you just enough caffeine to feel some difference.

But that’s it.

They usually don’t have any muscle boosters, strength superchargers, growth hormone boosters, or any ingredients that boost your metabolism.

And if they do contain these ingredients they’re usually so extremely underdosed that they might as well not be there.

Most mainstream pre-workouts are a scam in my humble opinion.

Here’s how to quickly spot a scam pre-workout:

how to spot pre workout scam

Look for a blend on the ingredient label.

In my books, a blend stands for Bogus Liar Excusing Nonsense Doses.

Any kind of blend is just a quick way for a supplement company to scam you out of your money.

It’s a sneaky way to underdose key ingredients.

They pile up many ingredients into one blend, so there’s no way to know how much you’re getting of each ingredient.

So how can you know if it’s clinically dosed or not?

Companies need to have the balls to reveal EXACTLY how much we’re getting of each ingredient.

best pre workout ingredients

Now you’re probably wondering: “well then, what are the ingredients I should be looking for?”.

Look no further.

I’ve been a bodybuilder and a supplement nerd for more than 25 years now.

I’ve written thousands of articles on bodybuilding, supplements, muscle growth, and fat loss.

I’ve read thousands of scientific studies, so you don’t have to.

Bottom line: I know what works and what doesn’t.

Here are the best pre-workout ingredients to look for:

  1. Citrulline Malate (6,000 mg) – Effective pump ingredient that also boosts growth-hormone production [1]
  2. Beta Alanine (3,200 mg) – Elevate muscular carnosine levels by up to 80% [2]. The result is a much higher level of output before fatigue sets in to tell your muscles to pack it up for the day.
  3. Betaine Anhydrous (2,500 mg) – Magnifies muscle pumps for muscle growth and increases muscular endurance [3]
  4. Caffeine (100-300 mg) – Much needed energy boost before going through an intense workout [4]
  5. L-Theanine (1-to-1 with Caffeine dose) – Sustained increase in energy, focus, and muscular output [5], also improves your mood [6].

If your pre-workout doesn’t at least contain the majority of these ingredients, IN CLINICAL DOSAGES, then you might as well throw it in the trash.

Best Pre-workout Supplements in 2023

So, what are the best pre-workout supplements on the market in 2023?

I wondered that too.

It took me about 4 weeks of research to come up with my list of the top 3 pre-workout supplements.

I had to comb through thousands of underdosed scams in order to find the needles in the haystack.

Here’s what I found:

1. PreFIERCE

best pre-workout supplement

– Click For Best Price –

I’ve been using this pre-workout and their T-Booster (seriously, this stuff is crazy good for muscle growth) for about a year now and I can’t get enough of this stack.

The flavor is amazing.

And the ingredients are top-of-the-line stuff.

Simply amazing.

The energy, the pumps, and the muscle gains I’m seeing when I’m on this stuff are something I’ve never experienced before in my career.

What I like

prefierce review
Image from TruFIERCE (this is not me)

First of all, the serving size is about 2-4x larger than what you’d normally get from a mainstream pre-workout.

Beginners should probably start with only half a scoop.

Remember, this is what a properly dosed pre-workout looks like!

PreFierce Pre-workout is endorsed by hundreds of experts
It’s endorsed by hundreds of experts, including us.

Now, on to the benefits I’ve been seeing:

  • Supercharged Energy Levels – You get a sudden rush of new energy levels go through your body after the first sip
  • Faster Muscle Growth – Insane muscle pumps in the gym which helps muscle grow faster
  • Fire Up the Metabolism – Helps you burn more fat in the same time
  • Increase GH Production – A proper Citrulline Malate dose has been shown to increase growth hormone production
  • Amazing Flavor – You have to try this for yourself, it’s out of this world
  • No Post-Workout Crash – Anti-crash ingredients make sure you still have energy after your workouts
  • No Proprietary Blends – You know exactly what you’re getting
  • Free Shipping Options Available
  • Money Back Guarantee

PreFIERCE Pre-workout is the real deal.

What can be improved

It’s only available through their secure online shop. I would love to be able to shop this through Amazon, but it is what it is. They provide fast shipping options so it’s no big deal.

They only have one flavor. Gummy Bear flavor. I have to say though that this flavor surprised me a lot. It’s honestly the best tasting pre-workout ever, in my opinion. Of course, that can vary from person to person, so they should have more flavor options. However, you never know what you like until you try it for yourself.

Premium-priced. You do get what you pay for. If you’re short on money you could always only take half a scoop to get double the amount of servings, and you’d still end up with a better pre-workout than most out there.

Price

$47 / bottle

$37 / bottle when you go for their multi-pack deal

Where to buy

You can only order PreFIERCE through their secure online store: trufierce.com/pages/prefierce

Also, if you’re serious about building muscle, I highly recommend you check out T-FIERCE as well: trufierce.com/pages/testofierce

2. Intensive Pre-Train

intensive Pre-train pre-workout

– Click For Best Price –

Another awesome pre-workout I came across when doing my research.

Packed with high-quality ingredients.

You can’t go wrong with this one.

What I like

Intensive Pre-Train pre-workout is new on the market, but the team behind it has been in the supplement industry for years

They know what they’re doing, you can tell just by looking at the ingredient label.

Here are a few of the benefits:

  • Increase your energy levels
  • Boost your focus
  • Feel improved muscle pumps
  • Boost your drive

Crazy Nutrition Intensive Pre-Train is another legit pre-workout I really love.

What can be improved

Beta-Alanine is at 2.5 grams when most other legit pre-workouts brands have around 3.6 grams. Not sure how much this small difference matters, but you should be aware of it.

One of their pump ingredients is L-Arginine, which has unfortunately been proven less effective numerous times. They still do 7 grams of Citrulline Malate, so you still get a sick pump, it’s just unnecessary to include L-Arginine, that’s all that is.

At the time of writing this, they only ship within the USA and the UK, which is a shame for international customers.

Price

$39.99 / bottle

$32.99 / When you subscribe for auto-ship or buy the 3-bottle package

Where to buy

You can only buy Intensive Pre-Train through their online store: crazynutrition.com

3. BlackWolf

blackwolf pre workout

– Click For Best Price –

BlackWolf has been on my radar for some time now.

When they entered the market they disrupted the industry.

They have three flavors, and one of them is stimulant-free.

Which is great for those late-night workouts.

What I like

The packaging and the ingredient label are very similar to PreFIERCE.

With a few tweaks here and there.

So, basically, they’re awesome too!

Here are some of the benefits:

  • Long-lasting Energy
  • Increased Focus
  • Maximum Endurance
  • Increase Power and Strength
  • Maximize Recovery
  • Stimulant Free option available

I really love BlackWolf pre-workout, it has everything you may need.

What can be improved

Like Intensive Pre-Train they include 1 gram of L-Arginine, and I’ve already explained why you don’t need that. Still, they have 6 grams of Citrulline Malate, so you’re still getting amazing pumps.

It has 3 grams of Creatine. Creatine is of course one of the best supplements out there – however, some studies suggest that caffeine hinders your body’s intake of it, therefore it is better to consume Creatine after your workouts, or at least not with caffeinated products.

Also, they don’t offer any multi-pack or auto-ship savings. I believe that dedicated customers that buy more than one bottle at a time should be rewarded with some savings.

Price

$44.99 / bottle

No multi-pack savings are available.

Where to buy

You can only buy BlackWolf through their official online store: blackwolf.com

Summary

As you can see, PreFIERCE pre-workout is hands down the best pre-workout supplement on the market right now.

Packed with high quality pre-workout ingredients. Every single ingredient properly dosed. You don’t see that often.

Although, I must admit that Intense Pre-Train and BlackWolf are great options as well.

There’s just a tiny little small detail missing in both. But with that said, they’re still in the top 3 out of THOUSANDS of pre-workout supplements on the market.

You can’t go wrong if any of them.

Check out PreFIERCE pre-workout now at: trufierce.com

FAQs

Is it safe to take pre-workout supplements?

Most pre-workout supplements are safe. However, many contain a dangerous amount of Caffeine. You should not consume more than 500mg of caffeine per day, so it’s best that your pre-workout contains only 100-300mg per serving. That way you can have safely consume coffee or energy drinks throughout the day.

Should a pre-workout contain creatine?

Some scientific studies claim that caffeine hinders your body’s intake of creatine. Therefore since most pre-workout supplements contain caffeine, I would say it’s better to supplement with creatine after your workout.

Should a pre-workout contain L-Arginine?

Recent scientific studies claim that L-Arginine is broken down in the liver, and therefore is not able to become the great pump amplifier we thought it would. Citrulline Malate is the new king of pump ingredients, as it bypasses this and is able to actually boost your muscle pumps.

How do I know if I need a pre-workout supplement?

If you want to get the most out of the time you spending working out, then you should consider supplementing with a pre-workout. If you want to increase your energy levels, muscle growth and fat loss you should consider it.

Are there any side-effects?

No, there are no known side-effects from the pre-workout supplements mentioned in this article.

Where to buy the best pre-workout supplement?

You can order PreFIERCE, the nr.1 rated pre-workout in 2023 only from their secure online store:

trufierce.com/pages/prefierce

References

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20499249

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16868650

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22080324

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18799995

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22819553

[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18681988

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