Your Pre-Workout Sucks

Paying less for a pre-workout that really feels like it’s working? Chances are, you’re not getting your money’s worth.

Your pre-workout product sucks. It really does. You just don’t know it. You think it’s a good pre-workout because you feel it. You start sipping on it, and within minutes, you feel the flushing, the warmth in your ears, that tingling sensation.

That’s the Niacin. It’s doing its job of making you feel like your pre-workout is working. It sort of feels like beta-alanine, right? Only problem is, beta-alanine actually provides both short-term and long-term results. Niacin doesn’t. It’s only in there to make you think the product is working.

What is Niacin? It’s vitamin B3. And yes, the B vitamins are important for providing energy — but not acutely. Let me repeat that: not acutely. Meaning, not in the short-term. You don’t take these vitamins, and boom, you have instant energy. No. You take B vitamins regularly (daily) to optimize the body’s energy levels over time.

Have you ever seen a multivitamin that directs you to “take immediately before workouts”? No. Why? Because there’s no reason to. Again, the energy the vitamins provide is not acute.

“But my pre-workout is less expensive than yours.”

No, it’s not. Look beyond the price and the number of servings advertised on the front of the label. Turn that label around. Look at the serving size. Five grams per scoop? 6 grams? That’s a small serving size. Actually, it’s tiny. Now look even further down the back of the label. Does it recommend taking more than one scoop at a time? Yes? If it says something along the lines of… “after you’ve built a tolerance to 1 scoop, feel free to take 2 scoops before workouts…” that means a typical serving is 2 scoops, not one. So those “30 servings for $30” you thought you were getting is actually 15 servings for $30.

That’s $2 per serving, and that is not less expensive than my pre-workout (Pre JYM).

You know why else your pre-workout sucks? Because it’s not complete. It’s a supplement that needs to be supplemented with other supplements. Sounds ridiculous, right? Because it is.

Keep looking at that Supplement Facts panel. Do you see branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) listed anywhere? How about a full dose of creatine? If it’s a 5- or 6-gram scoop, probably not. But if you keep looking through the company’s website, you’ll likely find BCAAs and creatine as separate products that are recommended to take daily. The label might even recommend taking them both before and after workouts.

Wait, before workouts? Isn’t that what my pre-workout is for? Yes, and these separate BCAAs and creatine products, too. Take them all before training. The pre-workout costs $30, the BCAAs and creatine another $30 or so a piece.

Your pre-workout plus separate BCAAs and creatine products are not less expensive than my pre-workout.

You know how else I know your pre-workout sucks? Because the company who sells it has two or three or four (or more) other pre-workout products. One is the standard pre-workout, another is, say, “extra strength” and another is “elite” or “Pro Level” and another is some sort of extreme “fat-burning” pre-workout.

But wait, if the standard pre-workout is supposed to be so great, why do they have other pre-workouts available? Because different pre-workouts are designed for different individuals with different goals? I’m not buying it. You’re telling me that some people would prefer to have the standard pre-workout instead of the “elite” one or the “ripped” one, as if they don’t care about being elite or ripped?

If a company has a truly great pre-workout, it doesn’t need to offer any others.

No wonder so many people are confused about what supplements they should be taking. It’s not enough that they see dozens of different pre-workouts from different companies when they walk into the nutrition store — they also see three, four, five different pre-workouts from one company. It reminds me of Sam Adams beer: countless seasonal brews in addition to the standard Sam Adams Boston Lager. So many beers I can’t keep them all straight.

When the supplement industry starts mimicking the beer industry, that’s a bad sign.

Here’s the problem: People don’t know what they’re looking at and don’t know what they should be looking for. They walk into a supplement shop and see thousands of different bottles and hundreds of different brands. They get advice from the guy at the supplement store who gets a commission to sell some brands but not others. Does he have your best interest in mind or his own bank account? Take a guess.

People are mistaking results for momentary feelings.

There’s nothing wrong with price shopping for supplements. I highly recommend doing your research and finding the very best values you can for your money. Determining value, however, requires more than just looking at a price tag and a number of servings. It involves knowing what you’re buying and knowing what ingredients have been left out.

When you buy a toy for your kid, it might say on the box “Batteries not included.” That level of transparency is refreshing. If only supplement companies would list right there on the label the missing ingredients — the “batteries,” if you will, that are necessary to get the most out of the product.

Imagine this…

“BCAAs, betaine, adequate and effective dosing, and full transparency not included.”

Pre JYM: Everything included.