Are all Pre-Workouts the same?

The first time I ever took a Pre-workout I had bought the cheapest one off of amazon and it was so disgusting that I learned how to dry scoop just to get it over with. I felt a mixture of amazing and horrible at the same time with a high dose of energy, anxiety, and just overall weirdness because who knows what I just put in my body.

Between the taste and bodily experience, I quit taking it after a week. It'd be another couple years before I ever tried Pre-workout again, because I thought they would all be the same terrible ordeal.

Funnily enough, experiences like that helped form our product philosophy at MOMO. We develop our Pre to be enjoyable in order to sustain the habit as well as scientifically backed to benefit the body.

In most pre-workouts:

Almost all Pre-workouts focus on at least 3 areas:

• energy
• pump
• endurance
  

The starting point for this typically:

1. a stimulant (think caffeine),
2. an endurance focused amino acid like beta-alanine (the stuff that feels tingly)
3. a pump focused vasodilator for blood flow.

Brands then add ingredients and change dosages to emphasize some areas over others and [hopefully] create a balance.

As they differentiate:

What we hate to see:

• irresponsible caffeine dosages: We understand high-stim Pre's have their place, but some brands increase caffeine dosages while advertising their Pre's as normal, which we find extremely irresponsible – we know from experience not everyone looks at or understands supplement labels. 
  Just increasing the caffeine dosages to trick consumers into a short term "wow" is lazy, reckless, and a clear sign of putting money over people. We consider "high-stim" to be any pre that has 300mg or more caffeine per serving.
• tons of vitamins: Whenever we see this, our best guess is it's an advertising technique to make the customer think "wow lots of stuff = lots of value" because usually they're cheap ingredients without any relevant benefits.
• random ingredients: Yup. We even see this in some of the top selling Pre-workouts. Ingredients with little to no research backing, often dosed at tiny amounts just so they can advertise it on the label for marketing and premium pricing.
• under-dosing ingredients: Effective ingredients are expensive. Having just a little amount lets them advertise the ingredient while the customer might not understand it's an ineffective amount.

What we love to see:

• balanced longer term energy: Caffeine's an obvious 'energy', but having longer term sustained energy without the crash takes more thought. Promoting core functions within the body alongside caffeine are all part of creating an evenly sustained, longer term, no-crash experience.
• scientifically dosed: Making sure there's enough of an ingredient to support the research claims. 
• tastes good, feels good: Sounds silly, but don't laugh it off. If you don't enjoy it, you eventually stop taking it. And if you don't take it, it's useless.
  
• well rounded ingredients: It's great to see brands select quality ingredients with more than advertised positive benefits like gut health, nutrient absorption, and kidney health to name a few - all important for someone who works out.
• tests and more tests: We like companies that test for banned substances, toxins, heavy metals, and dosage claims. A big bonus if they use 3rd party sources to verify each.

 

If you're looking for a Pre-workout that meets all the criteria above and more (we didn't even talk about cognitive benefits), we custom formulate our Pre-workout with all of this in mind. We're passionate about this stuff because we use it in our own lives.

If you don't like it, let us know why and maybe we can help you find a better fit. We've tried a lot of things out there. At the end of the day we're committed to helping people find their way towards better fitness.

 

a quick side note on other types of pre-workout:

"no stim" pre-workout: No stimulants in the pre (like caffeine). These won't hit the same, but they're usually great for not disrupting sleep if you work out late at night or for the caffeine sensitive. The types of ingredients added to compensate the lack of caffeine vary and are another topic altogether.

"high stim" pre-workout: Caffeine dosages of 300mg or more per dosage, often coupled with higher dosages of varied ingredients. Responsible usage of high-stim is okay, but if you find yourself relying on it we recommend taking a break. It's hard, but we recommend cycling off caffeine for at least 2-3 weeks to reset your caffeine tolerance back to a lower dosage.

by: tom, co-founder of momo®