☕Should you take a pre-workout supplement or only take caffeine before training?
Research suggests that a fully stacked pre-workout supplement is less effective for boosting your strength than taking only caffeine before training [1].
You see, the main reason a pre-workout supplement works is that it has a high caffeine dose. The remaining ingredients in a pre-workout like beta-alanine, taurine, and arginine do not benefit your strength performance much, as shown in these research reviews by the International Society of Sports Nutrition [2, 3].
Caffeine is one of the only well-studied performance enhancers for lifting performance [4]. So it makes sense to supplement ONLY with caffeine before training,
Adding other unnecessary ingredients to your pre-workout will just make the pre-workout less effective.
📚Scientific References (PMID):
1. 35565718
2. 30068354
3. 26175657
4. 26068323
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