Anybody have a recommendation for a pre workout? I've been fairly pleased with mine but wouldn't mind branching out. TIA.

Gummy bears.

My preworkout consists of PurePump linked below as well as creatine HCL.

https://dovitamins.com/products/purepump

C4..

Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy... just caffeine and aminos, that's it. Mixes up very well. TONS of different flavors, most of them really good.

No creatine, which is a plus for me, but may be a negative for some.

Coffee - black

nature's bakery bars! fig and lemon flavor are my favorite.

Junkhead said:

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Presley OBannons Sword said:

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Cocaine

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Are you a personal trainer? If so, how much do you charge?

Asking for a friend.

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yes. first session is free.

DavidAg02 said:

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Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy... just caffeine and aminos, that's it. Mixes up very well. TONS of different flavors, most of them really good.

No creatine, which is a plus for me, but may be a negative for some.

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I use this occasionally. Not bad.

Also use Six Star Explosion from Walmart. Not bad for the price.

Just whatever you do don't be one of those people that uses the excuse for not having a good workout or skipping a workout since you didn't take your preworkout.

I find I have more consistent workouts off of preworkouts. I sometimes use coffee but mostly just my normal diet, that includes fasting before some workouts

I use Optimum Amino Energy as well and like it. I even use it for a pick-me-up on weekends and such. It makes me much less jittery than C4.

StickTogetherAgs said:

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Tried that once and thought I was going to die... Most I will do is drink a cup of coffee or green tea.

I have used C4 for a long time but recently switched to Advocare's Pre-Workout from their fit line and love it.. I like I can stash packets in my bag, car, etc. I can tell a difference using it vs. the C4 (in a good way).

Depends on what you are looking for. Jyms is the best. A little pricy but for what you get it is not that bad. I have never got much out of C4. There are some others that I have tried that work great but probably are not the safest. There was a lot of things pulled from the shelves about 4 years ago.

What no one has mentioned Ultimate Orange? Not sure what flavor they were going for but if an orange had a butt that's what it tasted like

Emergen-C,
Coffee,
Or
Gatorade during my workout...
but most times nothing at all.

Supplements are overrated, pre-workouts are the least essential part of a program.

1. Show up
2. Sleep
3. Eat
4. Take supplements
5. Take pre workout

Maybe if you needed peak performance for some competition a pre workout helps your goals, but you don't need supplements and stimulants every workout for general health and fitness and longevity or aesthetics.

Surprised I haven't seen Redbull listed. I know that stuff gets me going.

Companies that make a product containing BCAAs, creatine and caffeine are shady?

I'm sorry not all of us can...

Back when I drank caffeine I would take Assault by Muscle Pharm. Stuff was like butane in my veins.

Yah advertising food as anything other than food is shady.

Where do you find branch chain amino acids?
Where do you find creatine?
And caffeine, what's wrong with a coke or a cup of coffee? Do you need an overpriced energy drink for that?

Waste your money if you want. That's your choice. I'm just speaking truth. Taking C4 does nothing for you that you can't get from a lot cheaper regular food and won't get you to pizzing excellence.

A lot of haters in here.

I think we can all agree that different things work for different people/goals.

I cycle pre-workout every few weeks. I do notice that my strength and endurance increase during my on cycle. It may be placebo but if it works, it works.

It's not my money

DavidAg02 said:

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Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy... just caffeine and aminos, that's it. Mixes up very well. TONS of different flavors, most of them really good.

No creatine, which is a plus for me, but may be a negative for some.

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I second this

Finally going to try XCITE from athleanX after following a bunch of Jeff's stuff.

What's the deal with some preferring no creatine? What side effects are y'all dealing with?

It depends on your goals. Creatine will help with increase strength but will also dehydrate you if not consuming enough water. You will also gain water weight.

Many believe it should only be consumed through natural foods but I personally believe enough research has been done now to show it is a safe supplement.

CTGilley said:

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It depends on your goals. Creatine will help with increase strength but will also dehydrate you if not consuming enough water. You will also gain water weight.

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Dehydrate you if you are not consuming enough water? That is just called dehydration since you are not drinking enough water. Water weight depends on the person, some gain a lot some nothing.

you could supplement with pwo supplements but i find that they work best if you have a pre workout meal https://www.samedaysupplements.com/blog/healthy-diet-recipes-protein/pre-workout-snack-or-pre-workout-meal/

It's been mentioned but I'll echo it. Your goals will really decide what preworkout you use. There are many kinds. Do you want a single supplement that bundles in your creatine, BA, vasodilators? Do you just want something to give you lots of energy? How sensitive are you to caffeine? There isn't a single best preworkout.

Everyone will SWEAR by their own brand they choose, but honestly, learn what the ingredients are, what their clinical effective doses are, and source your preworkout based on that. Not on hype or advertisements.

Spend some time on examine.com and see what ingredients are actually shown to do some good, and what really doesn't have much testing done and relies heavily on "may improve this or that".

The three preworkouts I like the most based on their overall ingredient profile, full label disclosure, and ones that ACTUALLY PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE DOSE are:

Pre-Kaged
Nutrabio Pre (or pre-extreme)
C4 Ultimate (only the ultimate, all other c4's are trash to be honest)

Those three avoid having "proprietary blends" which don't tell you how much of what is in them so you don't know if you're actually getting the correct dose. The Pre-Kaged and Nutra Bio are also competitively priced as well for how many servings you get, and how heavily dosed they are, especially with citrulline.

In a preworkout I like one that helps enhance pumps and that will get me my daily dose of creatine and beta alanine (I also take those separately alone on days I don't take a PWO).

If you simply want an energy boost, any caffeine source will work and you don't need to be spending the amount of money a crap preworkout costs just to get an energy boost. Or...If you're looking for a strong energy boost, don't care about pumps or creatine, and aren't sensitive to caffeine, there are several DMAA containing preworkouts available like Blackstone Labs Dust extreme. Be careful though, you can fail a drug screen when taking DMAA as it will cause a false positive for amphetamine tests since it's closely related. Use at your own risk.

Hope that helps