Looking for a good pre-workout? It should be simple. It isn't. Many popular formulas pack in sweeteners, colors and long chemical names, and some don't even tell you how much of each ingredient you're getting. The best defense is knowing what the common ingredients do, what dose actually works, and what to check on the label. Here's a plain-English guide.
What's in most pre-workout supplements?
When researchers analyzed the 100 top-selling pre-workouts, the average product listed 18 ingredients. The most common were beta-alanine (in 87% of products), caffeine (86%), citrulline (71%), tyrosine (63%), taurine (51%) and creatine (49%). Nearly half of all ingredients sat inside proprietary blends with undisclosed amounts, and the average doses of several key ingredients were below the amounts shown to work in studies.
In other words, a long ingredient list doesn't guarantee you're getting an effective dose of anything.
What do the most common pre-workout ingredients do?
Caffeine
Caffeine is the ingredient most likely to make a noticeable difference. The International Society of Sports Nutrition finds it improves many types of exercise performance at 3 to 6 mg per kilogram of body weight, with the most consistent benefits for endurance. The products in the analysis above averaged 254 mg per serving. Remember that pre-workout caffeine adds to your coffee and tea: the FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most healthy adults.
Beta-alanine
Beta-alanine raises muscle carnosine, which helps buffer acid during hard efforts lasting one to four minutes. It works through daily loading rather than a single dose: the evidence supports 4 to 6 grams a day for at least two to four weeks. Its only reported side effect is a harmless tingling of the skin, which is why some pre-workouts make your face prickle.
Citrulline
Citrulline is an amino acid the body uses to make nitric oxide, so it's often added for "pump" and blood flow. The evidence for performance is underwhelming: a 2023 meta-analysis found no significant benefit of a single dose of citrulline for endurance performance.
Creatine
Creatine is one of the most researched supplements in sports nutrition, with strong evidence that it increases high-intensity exercise capacity and lean muscle mass, and is safe for healthy people at recommended doses. It works by building up stores in your muscles over time, so taking it every day matters more than taking it right before a workout. That's why many people take creatine on its own: Muscle Memory provides 5 grams of Creavitalis creatine monohydrate per serving, with 1 gram of D-ribose, 500 mg of taurine and 150 mg of elevATP, in an acai berry flavor with no sugar. Our guide on how to take creatine explains dosing.
Nitrate-rich plants
Beetroot and leafy greens supply nitrate, which the body converts to nitric oxide. In a meta-analysis of 80 studies, nitrate gave a small performance boost in recreationally active men, with less clear effects in women and trained endurance athletes.
Electrolytes
Sodium and potassium replace what you lose in sweat. The American College of Sports Medicine notes that losing more than about 2% of body weight as fluid can impair aerobic performance, so electrolytes earn their place, especially in hot or long sessions.
Adaptogens
Herbs such as ashwagandha, maca and ginseng are traditionally used to help the body handle stress. Ashwagandha has the strongest evidence: a meta-analysis of 12 trials found it reduced self-reported stress and anxiety compared with placebo.
Sweeteners, flavors and fillers
This is where labels vary most: sugar or artificial sweeteners, colors, anti-caking agents and "natural flavors." None of them make you perform better. If you want to know what that last one really means, read what natural flavors are.
What's in Ora's pre-workouts?
We built ours from plants, and we print every ingredient. Both are USDA Organic.
- Renewable Energy: 90mg of caffeine from three organic sources (green coffee bean, matcha green tea and yerba mate), an adaptogen blend of ashwagandha, rhodiola, panax ginseng and maca, pomegranate and beetroot juice powders, and coconut water as a natural source of electrolytes. It is sweetened with organic monk fruit and stevia, is certified vegan, gluten-free and kosher, and has no beta-alanine, gums, erythritol or artificial sweeteners. Beet Pomegranate has no added sugar; Raspberry Lemonade has 5 g from organic coconut sugar.
- Renewable Energy Plus: 180mg of caffeine from organic green coffee beans, beetroot and pomegranate, an adaptogen blend of ashwagandha, ginseng and maca, and coconut water, in a watermelon flavor.
You can see how we test on our 5 Nation Standard page and read the results on our certificates of analysis page.
How do you read a pre-workout label?
- Look for full disclosure. Every ingredient should have an amount next to it. Be wary of large proprietary blends.
- Check the caffeine per serving and add it to the coffee and tea you already drink.
- Compare doses with the research. A sprinkle of beta-alanine or creatine won't do much.
- Look for third-party testing, especially if you compete in a tested sport.
- Talk to your doctor first if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, have a heart condition or high blood pressure, or take medication.
For more help, see how to choose the best pre-workout and when to take a pre-workout.
