Below you will find comparison charts for some of the top pre-workouts on the market. We put this together to help people understand the difference and help navigate them to the pre-workout that helps best meet their needs.
We have broken it down into the follow categories:
- Caffeine Content
- Creatine Content
- Beta-Alanine Content
- Nootropic Content
- Nitric Oxide Content
- Total Serving Size
- Lean Physique Compound Content
- Price Per Serving
There could be sub-categories but we wanted to make this simple and easy to understand. There are some comments we will add as we go along, but for now let’s get started.
To compare “apples to apples” the pre-workouts that use multiple scoops we broke down into the 1 scoop and 2 scoop varieties. Keep in mind, in most cases, these pre-workouts are meant to be used in their full version for best results.
Two categories that can be misleading are the Nitric Oxide Content and the Nootropic Content. Not all Nitric Oxide products are equal and the same goes for Nootropics.
The Nitric Oxide Difference
When it comes to Nitric Oxide most people believe that Arginine and Citrulline are equivalent and this is incorrect. Both will help to produce Nitric Oxide, but when it comes to athletic performance Arginine is king.
There is a reason for this. Arginine can readily be broken down into Nitric Oxide in the Urea Cycle, while with Citrulline, extra steps need to occur along with limiting factors in conversion process to Nitric Oxide. In a case study done in 2021 it was shown that for best results that Citrulline needed to be taken about an hour before exercise to get better performance results.
So when you have a pre-workout that uses caffeine and only Citrulline, you will only get the performance benefits of the caffeine unless you feel like waiting an hour before working out.
If you don’t have that kind of time to wait you’ll want a pre-workout that uses more Arginine or a combination of both.
The Nootropic Difference
Nootropics are compounds that help boost cognitive function. This category of compounds has yet to be clearly defined in a clinical fashion so many compounds can be misunderstood as nootropics.
In most pre-workouts, L-Tyrosine is used as the main nootropic. It acts as a precursor (a compound that gets converted to another compound or breaks down into another compound.) to neurotransmitters in the brain.
Even though it is effective in doing this the problem is that the body will only convert Tyrosine into the neurotransmitters if it needs it. This means if your pre-workout uses it, you’ll most likely feel the effects closer to the end of your workout.
For best results during the workout you’ll want to find one that uses several nootropics or different forms of nootropics that will supply neurotransmitters vs. helping your body just create them.
We hope this helps with your search in the best pre-workout for you. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them below! We look forward to hearing back from you!