Attention: This isn’t a post to bash your favorite pre-workout, but a resource and tool for those that aren’t necessarily sure what they’re looking at.

When choosing a pre-workout supplement, it’s essential to be aware of certain red flags that may indicate a product isn’t worth your time or money. First, watch out for proprietary blends, as they obscure the exact amounts of each ingredient, making it difficult to assess their effectiveness. Another major concern is banned stimulants like DMAA, which have been linked to serious health risks and are often found in “shadier” products. Be cautious of ratioed ingredients such as citrulline malate, where the combination may not offer the intended benefits, especially if the proportions are off. Lastly, always check for under-dosed well-studied ingredients, as many supplements cut corners by using insufficient amounts of proven ingredients like creatine monohydrate.

• Uses Proprietary Blends
• Includes Banned Stimulants (DMAA or DMHA)
• Uses Ratioed Ingredients
• Under Dosed Well Studied Ingredients
• How Forge Pre-Workout Could Be Better Than Other Popular Brands

One of the biggest red flags when choosing a pre-workout supplement in our opinion is the use of a proprietary blend. These blends group multiple ingredients together under a single amount, which makes it impossible to know exactly how much of each ingredient you’re actually getting. This lack of transparency is the most consumer-unfriendly tactic used by brands to hide under-dosed or ineffective ingredients. In our previous blog where we reviewed 150 pre-workout supplements on the market, we found that:

• 24.3% of the industry used a proprietary blend on their supplement label
• The worst pre-workouts supplements at face value used proprietary blends

Banned stimulants like DMAA and DMHA are common ingredients in some pre-workout supplements, but they come with potential health risks and are illegal in many countries. These stimulants can cause dangerous side effects, such as increased heart rate, high blood pressure, and in some cases, even heart attacks. Despite these risks, some dietary supplement companies continue to include DMAA and DMHA in their formulas to produce intense, quick energy boosts. Some common naming conventions used on supplements labels to avoid are:

• 1,3-DMAA
• 1,3-Dimethylamylamine
• 1,3-Dimethylpentylamine
• 2-Amino-4-methylhexane
• 2-Hexanamine, 4-methyl- (9CI)
• 4-Methyl-2-hexanamine
• 4-Methyl-2-hexylamine
• Dimethylamylamine
• Geranamine
• Methylhexanamine
• Methylhexanenamine
• Geranium extract

This is more of an observation rather than a hard pass when it comes to choosing a pre-workout supplement.

When it comes to an ingredient like Citrulline Malate, it is blended together and not chemically bonded in any way shape or form. Thus, you’re taking the manufacturers word that their supplier of citrulline malate is actually combining your desired ratio correctly. To us, this seems like a very unnecessary step in the process when you can purchase L-Citrulline and Malic Acid separately and blend them together to your desired ratio in the manufacturing process. Examples of supplement labels when it comes to Citrulline Malate:

• 2:1 ratio (2 parts Citrulline to 1 part Malic Acid) easily breaks down at 6g
  • 4g Citrulline to 2g Malic Acid
• 2:1 ratio of Citrulline Malate doesn’t easily breakdown at 8g, which is the most common supplement label claim.

Supplement brands in general just need to be more transparent when it comes to their labeling details.

L-citrulline and creatine monohydrate are two of the most commonly underdosed ingredients in pre-workout supplements, despite being among the most effective for enhancing exercise performance. Creatine monohydrate is well-known for improving strength, power, and endurance, but many pre-workouts contain amounts too low to achieve the optimal benefits, which typically require a dose of 5 grams. Similarly, L-citrulline, which enhances blood flow and reduces fatigue by increasing nitric oxide production, is often included in doses that fall short of the 8 grams per serving shown to be effective in research.

• If your pre-workout supplement is using a 2:1 ratio of citrulline malate on its label, then it would need to be listed at 12g per serving to get the effective 8g dosage of L-citrulline.

These two ingredients are the most basic building blocks to a pre-workout supplement in our opinion. If supplement brands can’t figure out how to dose these ingredients properly, we typically say stay away from their products.

Our pre-workout formulation Forge is a great alternative to popular pre-workout brands on the market. We design all of our products with the consumer in mind, offering better quality in the sports nutrition and fitness space while eliminating what we consider unnecessary bullshit.

Why our pre-workout is better:

• 30% – 40% cheaper on average than other similar premium pre-workouts.
• Clinically supported and dosed ingredients for exercise performance at 8g L-citrulline and 5g creatine monohydrate.
• No useless ingredients just to make a label look more full.
• No artificial colors or flavor.
• No proprietary blends.