The Bare Minimum for Modern Pre-Workouts

Pre-workouts have evolved massively in the past 50 to 60 years. Starting in the '60s and '70s pre-workouts didn't technically exist. Coffee consumed for caffeine benefits were the first "pre-workouts" to exist and slowly the industry has been improving formulas for

pre-workouts.

Today most pre-workouts come in powder form and are highly focused on stimulation and breaking the boundaries of the body using chemicals. The majority of these chemicals are researched and healthy within moderation; however, some of the modern pre-workout formulas are adding too many unnecessary ingredients.

Below are the absolute bare minimum ingredients that I believe are best for our modern

pre-workouts.

L-Citrulline

Starting with one of the most common ingredients L-Citrulline. L-Citrulline is an amino acid that helps the body produce Nitric Oxide. Nitric Oxide produces a better blood flow, which leads to a better "pump" when lifting. Some of the other positive effects L-Citrulline gives the body are better endurance, stronger workouts and less fatigue.

Essentially, this is the core of all pre-workouts., but what is the bare minimum dosage for

L-Citrulline?

A daily recommended dose is 3-5 grams. Most pre-workouts use 4 grams and some even exceed the range using 6 grams. However, be careful with doses around 6 and higher. Doses higher than 5 can cause short-term side effects; one example. stomach pain and other minor issues. Even though it sounds like the more Nitric Oxide you have the better, this is not true.

Caffeine

Caffeine has been here since day one and always will be. I like to think of caffeine as the grandfather of all other ingredients. Certainly, not every ingredient is derived from caffeine, but each component in modern pre-workouts aims to complement caffeine or mimic its effects in some manner.

Caffeine should be distributed in doses of 150-300 mg. To give a good example of why this is the perfect range, 400 mg is the daily max. Anything above 300 mg should be taken with extreme caution or not at all. Just like L-Citrulline and almost every ingredient more is not always better.

Now for the actual benefits of caffeine: Energy, focus and endurance. Caffeine is arguably the best ingredient for any pre-workout. Caffeine alone can serve as a pre-workout supplement. However, when combined with L-Citrulline and Beta-Alanine, it forms the ultimate bare minimum formula.

Beta-Alanine

Beta-Alanine is the last ingredient that can be considered a bare minimum. In my personal opinion this was harder to put on the list than the previous two. Beta-Alanine offers a strong contender for workout benefits, but there is one major problem with Beta-Alanine. The Itch.

A stimulant junkie would say this is a requirement for any and every pre-workout. A main reason people love this ingredient is that you can "feel" the pre-workout. This may make you believe it finally hit your system, which is true, but it does not mean other pre-workouts without Beta-Alanine do not hit your system in the same amount of time or even faster (which companies may make you think). As a former stimulant junkie, I can give my opinion on both sides of the spectrum. First let's go into what Beta-Alanine is and does to the body.

Beta-Alanine is another amino acid and helps with delaying the fatigue in your muscles. It combines with histidine to make carnosine which blocks acid build up in our muscles. Less acid means less burn and that means more endurance. For its endurance enhancing feature Beta-Alanine, in my opinion, is a bare minimum in our modern pre-workouts.

Being a stimulant ingredient can give Beta-Alanine a bad reputation and itchiness is not a feeling everyone wants to "fuel" their workouts. However, if you can get past the itch Beta-Alanine will be lethal for workouts. The dosing range is 3.2-6.4 grams. With that said, you can take 3.2 grams and receive full benefit, and this dosage would cause the least amount of itchiness.

Before we conclude, I want to add that Beta-Alanine was not added to this list because of its stimulation but because of the endurance effects it gives to the body.

Stimulation ingredients are ruining the supplement industry, but that topic is for another day.

Conclusion

The bare minimum modern pre-workout formula would consist of:

1. 3 grams L-Citrulline

2. 150 mg Caffeine

3. 3.2 grams of Beta-Alanine (Optional)

Ultimately, the final formula comes down to a personal preference. Brute Rage does not contain Beta-Alanine in our main formula because we don't want a strong stimulation

pre-workout. This does not mean other labels with Beta-Alanine should be avoided but always look at what you're consuming and make sure the dosage is correct and safe.