Building a Simple Pre-Workout That Actually Works

A good pre-workout routine is mostly subtraction. Before buying anything, decide what your session actually needs: energy for an early morning lift, focus for a technical skill day, or simply a reliable trigger to get you through the door.

Caffeine is the workhorse ingredient — effective in the range of roughly 3 to 6 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, taken 30 to 45 minutes before training. If your coffee habit already runs high, a stim-free pump formula may serve you better.

Citrulline and beta-alanine are the supporting cast: citrulline for the pump and work capacity, beta-alanine for the familiar tingle during high-rep sets. Both are dosed on the label — compare per-serving grams, not the size of the tub.

Never stack two caffeinated products. It's the most common mistake we see: a pre-workout plus an energy drink plus a scoop of coffee equals a jittery afternoon and a poor night's sleep.

Keep a simple log — product, dose, session quality — for two weeks. If you can't tell the difference from the flavoured water you were drinking before, cancel the subscription. Training intensity does most of the heavy lifting.