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Pre-workout has become a popular way to resolve a lack of physical motivation to workout despite the questions and uncertainty surrounding the product. The increasing popularity is mostly due to current marketing strategies promoted by fitness. It is common for body builders to say that they use a certain brand which helps market certain products; however, those pre-workout products are not the reason the body builders look the way they do.

The main concern with current pre-workout products is that they might contain dangerous ingredients or stimulants. While this is true for many products there are still some options regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Despite this, the FDA has minimal control over supplements like pre-workout. In other words, the companies selling those products do not have to prove that they are safe, effective or high quality before they can be sold in stores. The FDA also has no power to remove the products from the shelves until they are given good reason to do so.

The main danger surrounding pre-workout products today is how little we know about their ingredients. Proprietary blends are the most popular form of pre-workout. They are mixtures of multiple ingredients that do not always disclose exactly how much of each ingredient it contains. They do, however, include the names of the ingredients. By doing this, companies can advertise the good ingredients in their product despite there being very little of that ingredient involved. Although it is rare, this tactic can also be used to cover up dangerous ingredients in a product such as extremely large amounts of caffeine.

How can someone know if certain products are safe to consume? This answer lies in the list of ingredients. According to LifeVault.com, “the most dangerous pre-workout ingredients are typically stimulants which are not FDA-approved”.

Some of these ingredients are even banned in certain sports federations. Dangerous ingredients include DMAA, DMHA, DMBA, ephedrine, phenethylamines and 2-aminoisoheptane. DMAA is a stimulant sold in the United States, however it is banned in most sports and is not intended for human consumption. DMAA can also constrict blood vessels and cause high blood pressure. Similarly, DMHA is banned in most sports federations and is also not intended for human consumption. Although it is not as common anymore, ephedrine is an appetite suppressant and is also found in asthma medications.

Some good and safe ingredients include caffeine, creatine, beta-alanine, citrulline malate, BCAA betaine, L-theanine, L-tyrosine and taurine. Caffeine, creatine and beta-alanine are safe to a certain extent.

A product should contain no more than five grams of creatine, three to four grams of beta-alanine, and 400mg of caffeine. Because of the large amounts of caffeine associated with most pre-workouts, people can form some form of addiction to it.

However, it is not always the product that people get addicted to. It is the feeling of having a great workout and the feeling of having the energy to work out for longer periods of time.

“That feeling can be addictive and make you think that you need it in order to have a productive workout”, said Mitch Pomeroy, exercise science student studying at Dubuque University.

The placebo effect may also play a role here. People may often think that if they do not take pre-workout prior to a workout that they will not perform as well. This negative mindset will then often lead to them having a bad workout; however, the lack of pre-workout will take the blame.

“I just feel like taking in all of that caffeine and other chemicals just offsets my work out because I’m taking in stuff I’m trying to burn off,” said Pomeroy.

Overall, pre-workout has many positives and negatives. It all comes down to what the product is made of and how much of it is consumed. There are many pre-workout products that have great ingredients and are intended to boost performance during a workout, they just take some time to find.