Pre-workout supplements - worth it or just expensive caffeine?
I spend like $45/month on pre-workout. My buddy says I'm wasting money and should just drink coffee. Is he right? I like the tingly feeling and the energy but is there actually a performance benefit beyond caffeine?
Your buddy is mostly right. The main effective ingredient in pre-workout IS caffeine. The other stuff:
- Beta-alanine: causes the tingling, has modest endurance benefits for high-rep work
- Citrulline: decent evidence for pump/blood flow at 6-8g doses (most pre-workouts underdose it)
- Creatine: works but you should take it daily, not just pre-workout
Most of the other ingredients are pixie-dusted at ineffective doses.
I make my own "pre-workout": 200mg caffeine pill ($0.05) + 6g citrulline ($0.30) + 5g creatine ($0.10). Total: $0.45 vs $1.50+ per serving for branded stuff. Same effect.
The tingly feeling is beta-alanine. It's harmless but not really doing much for you unless you're doing sets of 60+ seconds. For typical strength training it's negligible.
Caffeine is the most effective ergogenic aid there is. Everything else in pre-workout is minor at best. A strong coffee 30 min before the gym will give you 90% of the benefit.
I switched from pre-workout to black coffee and noticed zero difference in performance. Saved $40/month. The fancy flavors and tingle were just placebo and sensory tricks.
Damn. Ok I'll try just coffee for a month and see if my workouts suffer. If they don't, that's a lot of money saved. Thanks for the reality check lol.
Whatever you do, don't take pre-workout after 2pm unless you want to stare at the ceiling all night. Caffeine has a 5-6 hour half-life. Your sleep is more important than your pump.
Also worth mentioning: caffeine tolerance builds quickly. If you use pre-workout daily you'll need more and more for the same effect. Cycling off for a week every month helps reset sensitivity.