The buzz around pre-workout supplements is hard to miss, especially if you’ve spent time scrolling through TikTok or watching fitness influencers rave about their go-to formulas. Touted as the secret to supercharged workouts and faster gains, these powders, pills, gummies, and drinks have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry—one projected to swell to $36.9 billion by 2033.
But beneath the bold claims is a complex mix of ingredients, potential benefits, and unknowns. So, do these supplements live up to the hype? Here’s what the experts want you to know.
What’s in your pre-workout?
Pre-workout supplements are designed to be taken before exercise and most commonly contain caffeine, which stimulates alertness and reduces perceived exertion.
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Other key ingredients include beta-alanine, which buffers muscle acidity to reduce fatigue; creatine, supporting energy supply to muscles; and dietary nitrates like L-arginine, which improves blood flow. Taurine is often added for its supposed anti-inflammatory benefits. While these ingredients sound promising, their benefits for casual gym-goers may be overstated—offering effects like slightly delayed fatigue or a reduction in perceived effort, allowing for more reps, or increasing focus, which can often be achieved through simpler means.
For most people, pre-workouts are unnecessary. “I would not think that the average person on the street needs supplements,” says David M. Kelly, a performance consultant and former head of sports science at Manchester United. “It’s like comparing apples with oranges. If they’re going to the gym, then they are not going to be training as intensely as a professional athlete.”
With their demanding schedules and limited recovery time, professional athletes rely on supplements as part of a highly optimized training plan that includes input from nutritionists, coaches, and psychologists. For the average gym-goer, however, basic strategies like getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, and eating a pre-workout snack—like a banana—may provide comparable benefits.
The reality is that unless you are training at an elite level and have access to your performance data, pre-workouts likely offer minimal additional benefits beyond the widely studied effects of caffeine.
In fact, further studies suggest that the ‘placebo effect’ of pre-workouts might be just as impactful as the products themselves. Believing you’re consuming something to boost your performance can enhance focus and confidence, improving gym outcomes—even if your product consumption contains no active ingredients.
Music can play a similar role. “There is sufficient evidence to show that listening to music with higher beats per minute (BPM) during exercise can indeed result in higher outputs,” says Brad DeWeese, director of human performance science at Penn State University and former NFL high-performance director.
What are the risks of pre-workout?
While pre-workouts can be safe when used correctly, they come with risks. “Supplements, often in liquid form, are quickly absorbed and may bypass parts of the digestive system, unlike food,” says Amy Stephens, sports dietitian for New York University and the Empire Elite Track Team.
While this can provide a rapid energy boost, quick absorption can lead to spikes in certain compounds and may pose health risks if they contain harmful additives or contaminants.
For example, some dietary supplements have been found to contain heavy metals like lead and arsenic, posing severe health risks over time. Other harmful, unlisted substances found include anabolic steroid contaminants, banned stimulants like DMAA and DMHA, amphetamine-like compounds, and synthetic stimulants such as synephrine and oxilofrine, which can raise heart rate and blood pressure, causing cardiovascular issues. Pre-workouts can also cause unwanted side effects due to their high caffeine content, as well as potentially impacting sleep if consumed too late in the day.
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“Symptoms of excessive caffeine consumption include gastrointestinal discomfort, shakiness, trouble concentrating, insomnia, and a rapid heart rate,” says Stephens.
Independent organizations like Informed Sport and the Banned Substances Control Group offer certification programs that test popular supplements, verifying their ingredients and helping consumers select safer options—though certified products can sometimes be more expensive.
If you are going to use pre-workout products, Stephens says, “Choose reputable brands that use third-party testing and carry a United States Pharmacopeia (USP) or National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) seal. This seal indicates that the product has been tested for harmful substances, though it does not guarantee overall safety.”
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