Sometimes it can be easy to forget about one of the most important parts of getting into shape – hitting the gym and training hard. And that’s where a pre workout supplement can come into play.
Update: We updated this guide in January 2023 with the latest product choices and information. We currently rate Pre Lab Pro (for men) and Powher (for women) as two of the best pre workout supplements on the market right now.
It’s common sense of course, but you won’t be able to get the physique you’ve always wanted unless you’re exercising regularly and consistently and sticking to a healthy and balanced diet.
A ‘pre workout’ supplement is a blanket name which generally refers to products which have been formulated to be consumed before periods of exercise to help support your training.
They are usually available as food supplements in powder or capsule form, and they contain a range of ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and plant extracts, each of which may bring about potential benefit.
Editor's note: The content on this website is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. Our articles and the products featured in them are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. Always speak with a certified medical professional before making any changes to your lifestyle, diet, exercise routine, and/or taking any supplements.
In this guide, we bring you what you need to know as we pick out some of the best pre workout supplements on sale in the UK, USA and worldwide right now.
Best Pre Workout Supplements – Top Five Picks
| Rating | Summary | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre Lab Pro |
|
• 80mg Caffeine • 160mg L-Theanine • L-Citrulline • Vegan Friendly | Buy Now | |
| Powher |
|
• Made for Women • 100mg Caffeine • L-Tyrosine • Vitamins B6 & B12 | Buy Now | |
| Pre-Workout Blend |
|
• 150mg Caffeine • Vitamins B6 & B12 • L-Citrulline • Two Flavours | Buy Now | |
| 4 Gauge |
|
• 150mg Caffeine • 200mg L-Theanine • 1g Creatine • Potassium | Buy Now | |
| Elevate |
|
• 5g Citrulline Malate • 200mg Caffeine • 2.5g Taurine • UK/Europe Only | Buy Now |
What Is A ‘Pre Workout’ Supplement?
Those of us who train regularly know all too well about the big difference between the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ days you can have at the gym.
We’ve all had those workouts which seem to fly by. You were in the zone from start to finish and felt like you could keep going forever. You didn’t want to leave the gym.
In contrast, we’ve all experienced those ‘off days’. Sessions where you’re physically present but seem to find yourself just going through the motions. You have to keep telling yourself to focus on each set. Simply put, we were just not in the game.
Pre workouts are popular fitness-focused supplements (Photo: Adobe Stock)
The purpose of pre workout supplements is to help you to support your training regimen, whether in the gym or elsewhere, as you aim to smash your fitness goals this year.
Pre workout supplements usually contain a range of different ingredients such as vitamins, minerals and plant extracts, each of which may bring some benefits when combined with the right healthy lifestyle choices.
It’s important to remember that they are not ‘magic’ pills or powders, though. They simply supply your body with some nutrients that may help support you during exercise.
Editor's note: Any health claims about the ingredients mentioned in this article are listed as authorised on the EU Register at the time of publishing. Additionally, you should carefully check the ingredients information shown on the official website of any product you're considering purchasing, as formulas may change from time to time and therefore may differ from what's shown on this page.
What We Looked For
Here’s exactly what we looked for when picking out some of the best pre workout supplements:
• Effectiveness – We tried to ignore the marketing hype and instead focused on the facts regarding each supplement. Namely, the ingredients, the doses and the directions.
• Company reputation – Who are the company behind the product? We looked into the manufacturers behind the products and examined the other supplements they offer.
• Multi-action ingredients – The best pre workouts usually contain a range of different ingredients and can help in multiple ways. These include vitamins, minerals, amino acids and plant extracts, each of which can bring their own individual benefit. We picked products that combined a variety of ingredients to ensure maximum effectiveness.
Best Pre Workouts 2023 – Five Of The Best
So, with the introductions out of the way, let’s get right down to it and bring you our pick of some of the best pre workouts on sale in the UK, USA and worldwide right now.
Editor's note: The writer of this article has not necessarily tried the products featured. All product information provided is purely research based.
1) Pre Lab Pro
Product website: www.prelabpro.com
Pre Lab Pro is a vegan-friendly pre workout supplement made by the UK-based company Opti-Nutra. It comes in a single ‘Natural Berry’ flavour and contains a wide array of the top ingredients you’d expect to find in a quality pre workout supplement, including ‘Natural’ Caffeine, L-Theanine and more. It currently only comes in a ‘Natural Berry’ flavour and each tub contains 20 servings of one scoop. Many pre workouts overdo it on the Caffeine. Pre Lab Pro only contains 80mg of Caffeine per serving, so you can avoid the potential downsides of consuming too much of the stimulant. You can currently only buy Pre Lab Pro directly from the manufacturer on the official website, and they offer fast shipping to most countries.
2) Powher (For Women)
Product website: www.powherofficial.com
Powher is a pre-workout supplement specifically aimed at women only. As you’d expect, Powher, also known as ‘Powher Up’, contains a range of ingredients, including vitamins, plant extracts and amino acids. Some of the ingredients in Powher are also ‘branded’. It’s designed to be mixed with water and consumed before beginning your exercise or training session. It currently only comes in a ‘Pink Lemonade’ flavour. Powher’s ingredients formula is shown in full on the tub, along with the doses of each substance. One tub of Powher contains 25 servings and currently costs around $45 / £35 / €39. You can only buy it on the official website at the moment, meaning that you won’t find it in the shops or elsewhere online at places like Amazon.
3) Myprotein Pre-Workout Blend
Product website: www.myprotein.com
The next product on our list is The Pre-Workout Blend from Myprotein. Myprotein are one of the big names in the European supplement industry, and they are well-known for their excellent quality protein powders and other products. The Pre-Workout Blend is one of their main offerings when it comes to a pre-workout supplement designed to help support your training goals. It contains a range of popular ingredients found in pre workouts, including Caffeine, Taurine, L-Arginine and L-Citrulline. This supplement also uses Beta Alanine as well as vitamins B6 and B12, both of which help with the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, as well as normal energy release. It also includes a small dose of Vitamin C. At the time of writing, you can only buy Myprotein’s supplements online, meaning that you are unlikely to find them at your local health food shop.
4) 4 Gauge
Product website: www.4gauge.com
4 Gauge is an eye-catching pre workout supplement that has been around for a few years now. It comes in a shotgun-shell shaped bottle and uses a range of different ingredients to help support your training. These include minerals and plant extracts. It’s currently only available in ‘Fruit Blast’ flavour and you can buy it from the official website. It doesn’t use a proprietary blend on its label, so we know exactly what is in each serving. Each tub of 4 Gauge contains 20 servings of two scoops. At the time of writing, the price for one tub of 4 Gauge is around $45 / £29 / €36. At the moment, you won’t find this product in the shops. It’s only available to buy directly on the official website.
5) Bulk Pro Elevate
Product website: www.bulk.com
Elevate is a pre workout supplement made by Bulk Powders. If you’ve read any of our health and fitness content before, you’ll know that we’re big fans of Bulk Powders and their reasonably-priced products. Bulk Powders are a UK-based supplements company that have been around for many years. Elevate is Bulk Powders’ premium pre workout offering and it comes in three different flavors. They are Cherry Cola, Orange and Mango, and Summer Berry. Vitargo is its main flagship ingredient, and each serving of Elevate contains 10 grams. It also uses Vitamin B6 as one of its main ingredients. Vitamin B6 contributes to normal energy release and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. It uses a significant dose of Caffeine per serving so this may be too much for some people’s liking.
When And How To Take A Pre Workout Supplement
This tends to vary a little bit from person to person. It’s always best to follow the directions as stated on the instructions label of your product.
It’s important to realise that everyone is different and will have varying degrees of tolerance to the ingredients.
For some people, taking a pre workout 30 minutes before starting training is perfect, but for others, it can take as long as an hour to ‘kick in’.
You should carefully read the label of any supplement you purchase and speak directly to the manufacturers themselves to find out more if you have any queries about the product.
As mentioned above, most pre workout supplements contain at least some Caffeine. For this reason, it’s probably best not to take a Caffeine-containing pre workout within six hours of when you plan to go to sleep.
Men’s Pre Workouts vs Women’s Pre Workouts
You may have noticed that some pre workout supplements are aimed at both men and women, while others are more specific depending on your gender.
Generally speaking, men’s and women’s pre workouts use similar ingredients, but there may be some subtle tweaks to the ingredients formulas.
For example, some pre workout supplements made for women will contain slightly less Caffeine than male-focused products.
If you’re interested, you can check out our dedicated guide to some of the best pre workouts for women on the market at the moment.
The sports supplement market has grown rapidly in recent years (Photo: Adobe Stock)
Pre Workout Pills vs Powders
You probably already know that most pre workout supplements are supplied in a flavoured powder that’s designed to be mixed into a drink and consumed before your exercise session.
However, there are also some options on the market if you’re looking for a pre workout in capsule form. We’ve featured one of them on this list, of course.
Whether you should choose a pre workout pill or powder really comes down to personal preference.
Some people may prefer a flavoured drink that’s easy to consume before their training sessions, while other may prefer to take their pre workout in a capsule form like a multivitamin.
One of the advantages of choosing a capsule-form pre workout is that it means there are unlikely to be any artificial flavourings or additives in the formula.
Most pre workout supplements are consumed as a flavoured drink (Photo: Adobe Stock)
Anything Else To Consider?
Firstly, we think it’s important that you speak to your doctor or other certified medical professional before making any major changes to your diet or exercise regimen, or trying a new supplement.
The supplements featured on this page should not be taken by anyone under the age of 18, and they should not be used if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or have an underlying medical condition. You should speak to your doctor before taking any supplements if you’re taking any medications.
As we always say when discussing supplements, it’s important to remember that they won’t do the hard work for you. You’ll still have to be the one doing the hard work in the gym.
It’s no good taking a pre workout and expecting it to boost your training without any extra effort on your part. As with most things in life, there’s no shortcut to success when it comes to achieving a muscular and toned physique.
That being said, taking a good quality pre workout supplement can help to support your goals by providing some ingredients such as Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids and Plant Extracts to support you.
Always remember that supplements work best when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle. Make sure that you’re eating right, have a good training schedule and are getting enough rest to feel the full effects.
Conclusion – Our Final Thoughts
So there we have it, our top pick of some of the best pre workout supplements on sale right now.
We’ve taken you through what to look for in a pre workout supplement and brought you our pick of some products on sale at the moment based on all of the important information.
We currently feature the likes of Pre Lab Pro (best for men) and Powher (best for women) as two of the best pre workout supplements on the market right now.