Why you can trust Good Food reviews
This review was developed with the help of a qualified nutritionist and registered dietitian, who combined her clinical expertise with a practical understanding of how pre-workout supplements fit into real training routines.
Each product was checked for its formulation, dosage, ease of use and value for money, with special attention to ingredients like caffeine, creatine and beta-alanine and whether they were included at levels shown to be effective. And of course all pre-workout supplements were tried to offer you genuine guidance on what the supplement was like to prepare and drink – including whether it was pleasantly palatable or something we felt we had to chug.
Our expert also considered the experience from a gym-goer’s perspective. For example, whether a supplement genuinely boosts energy and focus without being difficult to take or unrealistic to use every day.
As with all Good Food reviews, the results were not shared with manufacturers or retailers before publication, and no payment was accepted for positive coverage.
What we looked for in pre-workout supplements
All the pre-workout supplements featured were tested over the same period to keep results consistent and comparable. Each product was trialled and scored against set criteria, with detailed notes taken during use. We tested a variety of options from a mix of brands at different price points and in a variety of formats, such as powders, capsules and ready-to-drink sachets, to reflect the range available on the market, though only the powder offerings made it into our final list.
Here’s what we assessed:
- Taste and flavour: For powders and drinks, we noted whether the flavour was enjoyable, how well the powder mixed with liquid and whether the taste lingered pleasantly or left an artificial aftertaste.
- Nutrient profile: We looked closely at the key ingredients, such as caffeine, creatine, beta-alanine and electrolytes and whether they were present in evidence-based amounts that could realistically support energy, focus and performance.
- Additives: Ingredient lists were reviewed for extras like preservatives, artificial sweeteners or colourings, highlighting products that kept formulations cleaner or more minimal.
- Dietary requirements: We checked whether each supplement was suitable for specific needs, including vegetarian, vegan or allergen-free formulations.
- Value for money: We compared cost per serving, weighing the price against the quality of the formulation, taste and overall performance in use.
Jump to section:
Best pre-workout supplements at a glance
- The Energy Booster, £29.95
- Optimum Nutrition Fruit Punch Gold Standard Pre-Workout 330g, £27.50
- Elite All Blacks Pre-Workout Fuel + Caffeine, £32.99
Best pre-work out supplements to buy in 2025
Innermost The Energy Booster
Available from Cult Beauty (£24.95), Innermost (£29.95)
Price per day (recommended dose): £1
Star rating: 4/5
This mid-price supplement contains caffeine and guarana, which can help with energy and focus, so might be best suited to sports rather than a general gym workout.
Although one serving didn’t contain the recommended daily levels of all ingredients, Innermost offers a free consultation with a nutritionist, which offers good value for money.
Available from:
Optimum Nutrition Fruit Punch Gold Standard Pre-Workout
Available from Amazon (£22), Optimum Nutrition (£27.50), Holland & Barrett (£30)
Price per day (recommended dose): 85p
Star rating: 4/5
This product scored high for taste, ease of mixing and value for money. It was also the only pre-workout supplement in our test to include creatine. It contains caffeine and beta alanine, but no BCAAs so might be better suited to team sports where short bursts of energy are needed and good focus, rather than muscle-building workouts.
This product is also subject to monthly, third-party testing by the Informed Choice organisation, giving peace of mind about what’s actually in the product.
Available from:
Elite All Blacks Pre-Workout Fuel + Caffeine
Available from Amazon (£22.95), Healthspan (£32.99)
Price per day (recommended dose): £2.75
Star rating: 3.5/5
This was the most expensive of the pre-workout supplements we tested, but was the only one where each batch is subject to testing by Informed Sport for banned substances. It contained less than the recommended dose of many of the ingredients, but it contains protein as well as carbs, making it most suited to longer duration exercise sessions where gaining muscle is the goal. It also contains creatine, but in a lower quantity than the recommended effective dose.
It didn’t taste nice and was difficult to dissolve so was unpleasant to drink, and one pack contains only 12 servings so reordering will be laborious. You can get a subscription though which offers a discount.
Available from:
What should be in a pre-workout supplement?
Caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant, but not everyone responds to it in the same way, as it is dependent on your genetic make-up. However, 3-6mg of caffeine one hour before a workout has been shown to improve aerobic endurance and focus and attention in some, and the International Society for Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends it for improving performance.
Too much caffeine can affect sleep, which won’t help your exercise in the long run, so be careful about having too much caffeine over the course of a day and also close to bed time.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the primary source of fuel for exercise as glucose gets converted to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – which the body uses for energy. Maltodextrin has been best studied for its use in exercise as it is rapidly absorbed. The ISSN recommends consuming some carbohydrate 30-90 minutes before exercise.
Creatine
Creatine helps muscles regenerate ATP energy quickly, which is especially useful for short bursts of intense exercise like sprinting or weightlifting. There is lots of evidence that it improves performance – however, there is no clear consensus of whether it is better to take it pre- or post-workout, or whether timing matters at all.
Nitrates
Nitrates cause blood vessels to open up so can increase blood flow. They are often found in pre-workout supplements in the form of beetroot. A study showed that supplementing 300-600mg nitrates two to three hours prior to exercise may improve performance in some people.
Amino acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are found in many foods, but have also been widely studied in supplement form for their effect on performance and recovery. There are many different types:
Beta alanine has been shown at a dose of 4-6g/d to improve performance during exercise, most probably because it reduces acid build-up in muscles, delaying fatigue. However, most supplements don’t offer this in such quantities.
- Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA)
Although BCAAs are in lots of pre-workout supplements, the evidence that they improve performance is mixed. They have been shown to promote anabolic (muscle-building) signalling and reduce catabolic (muscle breakdown) signals, but whether this translates into better performance is still up for debate.
However, they have been shown to be safe at daily levels of up to 20g for each kg of body weight and may reduce muscle soreness during resistance training. Most studies suggest an intake of 6-10g, but pre-workout supplements generally provide much less than this.
Other amino acids are less well studied with a lower quality of evidence. L-citrulline malate (found in watermelon) converts in the body to L-arginine. Some small studies have found that this may improve muscle function, although the findings are not consistent.
L-arginine helps to convert nitrates into nitric oxide to improve blood flow but the evidence is not strong enough to show that this actually improves performance in the quantities found in most pre-workout supplements.
Taurine is often included in pre-workout supplements but there is no evidence that it can increase performance. It may, however, reduce oxidative stress caused by exercise, potentially having an anti-inflammatory effect. There is no clear agreement on the best timing or quantity to take though.
Guarana
Guarana contains caffeine and has a stimulant effect, and there is some evidence that it can improve focus.
B vitamins
B vitamins are necessary for energy metabolism and the production of ATP. However, there is very little evidence they improve performance if you are not deficient in them (with any excess getting excreted in your urine).
Vitamin C
Like B vitamins, vitamin C is also water soluble so any excess gets excreted, but because it has anti-oxidant properties there is some evidence that it may help reduce oxidative stress from exercise. However, very few people are actually deficient in vitamin C because it is so widely available in food.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes added to fluids aid the rate of absorption so can prevent dehydration or improve rehydration. Some examples of electrolytes are calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and chloride.
Maca
A small study of elite athletes showed improvements in fitness, inflammation and ATP production when supplementing with 250mg of black maca. A review of the evidence has shown promising outcomes in reducing cellular oxidative stress but, although this is promising, there is not enough evidence from human studies to recommend it in a pre-workout supplement.
What makes a good pre-workout supplement?
According to the most robust evidence, a pre-workout supplement should contain caffeine, creatine (unless you are taking this as a separate supplement) and beta alanine. However, from there it does depend on what kind of workout you are doing.
Carbohydrate has been shown to be useful for endurance workouts and, if you are looking to build muscle and reduce muscle soreness, you can potentially look for the inclusion of branched-chain amino acids.
Electrolytes are also useful because they tend to promote more fluid consumption and less excretion meaning they can prevent dehydration, which is especially important if you are exercising for longer periods.
However, recommending specific amounts of these active ingredients is tricky because many of the studies have been done on elite athletes or men, meaning that it can be hard to extrapolate the results to women or people who are exercising only a couple of times a week.
Most of the supplements tested contained less of each ingredient than the amounts studied in research, so the effectiveness is hard to judge.
People should be aware that because guarana contains caffeine, supplements with both of these ingredients will mean higher caffeine than is on the label, which may cause sleep issues in some people, especially if taken alongside other sources of caffeine like coffee.
Some contain creatine, but many people take this as a separate supplement. Always check the ingredients list if you are taking multiple supplements to check you aren’t doubling up.
Some pre-workout supplements have been banned because they contained illegal substances such as amphetamines which were not listed in the ingredients. It is extremely important that you buy from a reputable source, ideally with third-party testing.
When should you take a pre-workout supplement?
The evidence on timing of pre-workout supplements is a bit muddy because research is varied across supplements containing different ingredients at different doses on different populations, so it’s difficult to translate into one-size-fits-all advice.
However, doing some experimenting with different timings around your own exercise to see what works best for you is likely to be a good course of action.
Some things to look out for include: how quickly you become fatigued; how many reps you can do; how much weight you can lift; the intensity of your exercise and so on, building up a picture of how your own performance is affected by timings. Try taking before or even during a workout.
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Do you buy pre-workout supplements? Leave a comment and tell us your favourite below.
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