Every major supplement brand has a pre workout in their product line, which can make shopping for one overwhelming. As a consumer, that overwhelm can lead to frustration, particularly as they become more educated on supplement ingredients.
It’s hard to find a pre workout that not only has the ingredients you want, but also in efficacious doses.
Some people take the next step and create their own homemade pre workout by buying supplement ingredients in bulk and mixing them together.
It’s rare to find a pre workout that offers the complete package. There is a divide in the market between pre workouts that are heavier on stimulants and ingredients for mental focus versus pre workouts geared towards pumps and performance. But why choose when you could have both?
What You Will Need
Before you start this endeavor, there are a few simple things you need to make sure your DIY pre workout concoction is successful.
Most people who are serious about dieting and fitness probably own a food scale. However, that food scale may not be precise enough to measure the ingredients in a homemade pre workout. The supplement ingredients that are part of the formula are measured in grams and sometimes even milligrams.
Your scale likely measures grams, but dependant on the decimal place you may need to get something that is more precise. You don’t want to be inaccurate when measuring something like caffeine.
Many bulk powders come with a scoop, but you may not necessarily want whatever that particular serving size is. Having a quality scale ensures you get what you want each time.
This is especially helpful if you’re experimenting with different doses. If you buy a readymade pre workout supplement, you can’t change the potency of one specific ingredient. If you take half a scoop, you decrease everything by 50%. Making your own literally means you could have a different formula each day.
You’ll also need something to flavor your pre workout. Most bulk supplement ingredients come unflavored, but still have an undesirable taste to them. Nothing unflavored is truly unflavored.
Nowadays there is no shortage of flavor options. There are grocery store aisles dedicated to calorie free flavoring powders and liquids. You can find anything from Snapple iced tea to Kool Aid to Crush orange soda. These flavors are pretty strong and should be enough to mask any taste from the supplement powders.
You could even choose a different flavor every day. It’s not uncommon to buy a pre workout, which is usually about 30 servings, and be completely sick of the flavor by the time you’re halfway through.
What Supplement Ingredients to Choose
A good pre workout will give someone energy, increase performance in the gym, provide enhanced focus, and improve blood flow for better muscle pumps. It may seem like a lot, but with a handful of ingredients you can achieve all of these variables.
Rather than go by category (i.e. best supplement for strength, then pumps, etc.) we’ll go ingredient by ingredient. The reason being, many supplement ingredients provide more than one benefit and don’t fall neatly into one category. There also may be some overlap, where two ingredients work toward a common goal.
The ingredients listed all have research studies that show at the very least a potential benefit (if not a borderline undeniable one), as opposed to just anecdotal or theoretical data.
Citrulline Malate
Whether for aesthetic or performance purposes, having enhanced blood flow during a workout is a beneficial thing. Years ago arginine was the major muscle pump ingredient found in pre workout formulas, but it has since been surpassed by citrulline.
This is not to say arginine doesn’t work. In fact, citrulline converts to arginine in the body. However arginine is not very bioavailable when taken in that form, so citrulline is the better option for absorption.
Citrulline not only increases blood flow but power output as well. It also delays time to fatigue, which is relevant no matter what type of workout you are doing.
Citrulline works better when taken consistently, so its effects may not be felt when used for the first time. If muscle pumps and vascularity matter more to you than other factors, check out this article for a breakdown on the best pump supplements.
Citrulline Malate Benefits
- Improves blood flow and muscle pumps
- Delays time to fatigue
- Increases power and work capacity
Get Citrulline Malate in Bulk Here
How Much to Take: 6,000-8,000mg
L-Carnitine
Carnitine is a transporter which helps get fats into the mitochondria to be burned for energy. The process of using fat for energy, while creating a lot of energy in the end, is a long one. Supplementing with L-Carnitine makes this process more efficient.
Carnitine also helps to buffer ammonia, which is the byproduct of intense exercise. Ammonia is what causes fatigue and forces you to slow down during exercise. Supplementing with carnitine helps to mitigate this so you can work out longer and harder.
There are many different forms of L-Carnitine, broken down in detail in this article. While there doesn’t seem to be a superior version, some have different benefits and may have to be dosed in a certain manner.
L-Carnitine Benefits
- Improves fat burning
- Delays time to fatigue
Get L-Carnitine in Bulk Here
How Much to Take: 1-2g
Creatine
Creatine is discussed ad nauseam on this website, from using it on a cut to why women should use it. But this is for good reason; it’s arguably the best supplement you could take.
Creatine provides performance benefit in the form of increased strength, and also helps to build muscle. New research even suggests it may positively impact brain health. There are very few populations who wouldn’t benefit from creatine supplementation.
However, creatine isn’t going to make any headlines. I would venture to say some people may skim this post and go right past the creatine section. “Yeah yeah, I got it, creatine. Next.” But it’s still worth mentioning because it is just that effective.
The ironic thing is that creatine is the most researched supplement ingredient on this list while also being the most inexpensive. It goes to show that the shiny new toy isn’t always worth the expense. There are plenty of supplements on store shelves that are 5x the price that don’t do anything.
Creatine monohydrate is the best form of creatine, despite the marketing efforts of some brands. It saturates muscles with creatine 100%. In case you were wondering, you cannot exceed 100%.
You could even argue that a different form of creatine would be worse than monohydrate. We know that monohydrate completely saturates muscles, but we can’t say the same about other forms.
Creatine Benefits
- Increases strength
- Builds muscle
- Inexpensive
Get Creatine Monohydrate in Bulk Here
How Much to Take: 3-5g (unless in a loading protocol)
Ashwagandha
Ashwaganda is an herb with a ton of scientific studies researching its effects. It’s the first ingredient on this list that is not one of the usual suspects of pre workout supplementation.
While some research indicates a potential increase in testosterone and power output, ashwagandha’s main benefits are with overall well-being. Ashwagandha has been shown to decrease anxiety and stress.
Stress is a part of daily life, and a direct cause of many ailments. It’s something we all know we should try to manage, but never do. As much as we say we’ll start meditating or taking more time off, it rarely happens.
Stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing; after all working out is a stress in of itself. However it easily gets out of control. Too much stress can lead to weight gain and muscle loss.
While it isn’t a magic pill, ashwagandha is an easy and natural way to mitigate stress. Ashwagandha may also increase motivation according to research.
Ashwagandha Benefits
- Improves overall mood and well-being
- Decreases stress
Get Ashwagandha in Bulk Here
How Much to Take: 300-500mg
Caffeine
Caffeine is found in nearly every pre workout supplement, so much so that there is a separate category called non stimulant pre workouts. Caffeine rivals creatine in terms of scientific research, showing both physical and mental benefits.
Caffeine has been shown to increase performance for both resistance training and cardiovascular exercise. However, each individual has a different tolerance.
This is where having a homemade pre workout excels. With something like citrulline or creatine, there is a standard efficacious dose. But caffeine is different.
One person may be able to benefit from 100mg of caffeine, while someone may need 400mg just to wake up. Making your own pre workout allows you to choose a different amount each time.
This could even change on a day to day basis. Sometimes you may need a little boost while other days you may need a significant amount. This is especially true when dieting and energy reserves are low. Or your tolerance may just increase naturally over time.
The general rule is that you want to get the most benefit out of the smallest dose, so start small and work your way up as tolerance increases.
Caffeine Benefits
- Improves workout performance
- Increases mental focus
Get Caffeine in Bulk Here
How Much to Take: Varies, usually between 100-400mg
Alpha-GPC
There is a general class of supplements called nootropics which are designed to increase mental focus, improve cognitive abilities, and support brain health. While innovation in pre workout supplementation has become stagnant, nootropics are the new thing in the industry.
The one drawback is that many of these ingredients have not been tested with one exception; Alpha-GPC.
If you’ve ever heard that nuts are good for brain health, that is due to the nuts’ choline content. Alpha-GPC (Alpha-glycerophosphocholine) delivers choline to the body in a much higher dose.
Alpha-GPC has been shown to slow cognitive decline and may improve memory and cognition. It’s also been shown to improve isometric strength. This study was designed pretty well, with each participant serving as their own control with a washout period between strength testing to ensure every variable was equal.
You may wonder how a supplement for the brain would improve strength. The likely mechanism has to do with the brain’s impact on exercise.
Think about the first time you try a new exercise, or any motor skill for that matter. It was probably very awkward. Your arms were likely shaking and it just didn’t feel right. This is because every motor activity starts in the brain.
When you perform an exercise the brain fires a signal to the muscle. For a new skill, this signal isn’t very good, hence the struggle. Over time this signal becomes more efficient, and the exercise becomes seamless.
Remember the first time you unracked a 135lb barbell off the flat bench press? Your arms were probably shaking. But a few weeks later that likely didn’t happen anymore. Yes you got somewhat physically stronger and added more muscle, but the brain signal is the primary reason for that change. This is why people new to lifting often get stronger before they get bigger.
Another consideration is Alpha-GPC’s effect on growth hormone. This study showed that ingesting 600mg of Alpha-GPC prior to exercise increased growth hormone 44x at its peak level. For reference, placebo increased growth hormone 2.6x, likely due to the natural increases from working out itself. Hard to say what an acute change in GH means and if it had any effect on chronic GH levels, but interesting nonetheless.
Alpha-GPC may also work synergistically with another ingredient on this list, caffeine, for brain health and reaction time.
Alpha-GPC Benefits
- Cognitive improvements
- Increases growth hormone (acutely)
Get Alpha-GPC in Bulk Here
How Much to Take: 600mg
Conclusion
The supplement ingredients listed for a homemade pre workout all provide a unique benefit. They are all ingredients you’ve seen before, just scattered throughout different supplements.
But what you’ll notice when looking through the recommendations is that the dosage listed here does not match what’s in those supplements. What’s in those supplements is often less.
What’s the point of using an ingredient, despite all its benefits, if you’re not using an effective dose?
Making your own pre workout puts you in control, and allows you to get the most out of each supplement ingredient. It allows you to adjust amounts on the fly, change flavors, and add and remove ingredients at your discretion.