One of the most widespread fitness supplements for exercise is pre-workout.
Pre workout is a sports supplement that is taken before an exercise bout, with the goal of enhancing physical and mental performance, and elevating mood.

Discover how to read pre-workout formulas and choose the best supplements. Learn about key ingredients, effective dosages, and how to spot underdosed products. Perfect for fitness enthusiasts looking to enhance performance and mood. Make informed decisions with our detailed dosage tables and expert insights!

After this post you should be able to decide for yourself if a pre-workout you’re considering is worth your money.

In this blog post:

1. Minimum effective dosages.
2. Table of dosages.
3. L-Citrulline vs L-Citrulline Malate.
4. Non-acute substances (Creatine & Beta Alanine)
5. Bioavailability.
6. Still feel a kick?.

Minimum effective dosages

One of the key giveaways of an underdosed pre workout is….. the dosage.
There are lots of pre workouts out there that don’t meet the minimum effective dose; the dosage threshold before a compound has a noticeable effect on your body.

Table of dosages

In the table below you will find the three most relevant and important ingredients that make up a pre-workout. Click the numbers on the left for the sources.

	Minimum effective dose	recommended dose	Maximum dose
L-Citrulline [1] [2]	3000 mg	6000mg – 8000mg	10 000mg*
L-Tyrosine [1]	500 mg	500mg – 2000mg	10 000mg*
Taurine [1] [2] [3]	1000mg	1000mg - 6000mg	6000mg*
Betaine [1] [2]	1500mg	2500mg – 6000mg	-
Caffeine [1] [2]	150mg**	200mg – 400mg	400mg**
Huperzine A [1]	50 mcg	50 mcg – 200 mcg	500 mcg

*These indicate the point of maximum dose before diminishing returns, taking more than the maximum dosage of these compounds will not result in an ‘overdose’ but would just be a waste of the product
** Caffeine dosage is mostly personaly preference, some people can feel the effects strongly with a dosage of only 70-140mg (cup of coffee), and some people need a lot more in order to feel the effects. However, taking more than 400mg per dosage is not recommended. Since caffeine is a stimulant, going over 400mg may present very unpleasant side effects.

 

L-Citrulline vs L-Citrulline Malate

One of the most key ingredients that you’ll find in almost all pre-workouts is an amino acid called L-Citrulline.

L-Citrulline comes in two forms: 
L-Citrulline or L-Citrulline malate

L-Citrulline Malate is the amino acid L-citrulline bound to a malate molecule, often in the following ratios:

L-Citrulline : Malate -> 2:1 or 1:1

So, if a pre-workout has 6 grams of L-Citrulline Malate per serving, it might only have 3 or 4 grams of actual L-Citrulline, which barely meets the minimum effective dosage:

For acute sports performance, a recommended dose would be 6-8 grams and the maximum dose before diminishing returns around 10 grams.