Supplement Science
Pre-Workout Ingredients Explained: What Actually Works
Caffeine, citrulline, beta-alanine, and creatine — the evidence-backed list, and the marketing fluff to skip.
8 min read · XT Editorial Team · Reviewed & updated
Evidence-backed ingredients
Caffeine (150–300 mg), citrulline malate (6–8 g), beta-alanine (3–5 g), and creatine (5 g) have the strongest evidence for acute performance.
Skip the rest
Proprietary 'matrix' blends, niacin-flush mega-doses, and exotic compounds with no human trials are usually marketing rather than performance.
Frequently asked questions
- Is pre-workout safe daily?
- For most healthy adults at moderate doses, yes — though caffeine tolerance and sleep impact deserve attention.
- Stim-free pre-workouts?
- Citrulline, beta-alanine, and creatine cover most of the performance benefit without caffeine.
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