In the post you will learn how to make your very own homemade pre-workout supplement using all natural ingredients.
Why?
Because pre-workout is fucking great. That’s why.
What other supplement fills you to the brim with energy and makes you feel superhuman?
A good pre-workout is the only legal way to drastically boost your energy to the point where it feels like pure adrenaline is coursing through your veins.
A few minutes after downing a dose of pre-workout, you get that neat prickly feeling, like your body is bursting with energy.
Many personal records are set and plateaus crushed while lifting under the influence of a potent pre-workout formula.
I used to use pre-workout before every workout for years.
After a while though, I realized that I was paying too much for something I could make for less than half the price and was just as effective.
Pre-Workout Benefits
The benefits of pre-workout supplements are hard to deny.
Taking a heaping scoop is a swift kick in ass ghat gets you in the gym with one mission: Thrash some iron.
Other pre-workout benefits include:
- Increased strength
- Increased energy
- Better athletic performance
- Increased endurance
- Sense of well being
- Sense of euphoria
- Hearing colors
- Communicating with animals telepathically
Yeah, that’s why pre-workout is endeared in the bodybuilding community. Especially with the young bucks.
It’s a legal high that also makes you actually want to train hard.
Pre-Workout Drawbacks
With all of these wonderful benefits there are a significant amount of drawbacks.
Immediate and long term health concerns being the main issues. Other problems with the pre-workout market include:
Pre-Workouts Get Banned All the Time
Pre-workout products come and go in the blink of an eye.
GNC has a revolving door or pre-workout supplements hitting the shelfs or being liquidated due to an impending ban.
These products get banned because they contain unsafe ingredients.
The claims made about a pre-workout product are not verified by the FDA.
Meaning the supplement company can say whatever they want about the product. True, false, embellishment or otherwise, as long as they tell you the FDA didn’t approve their claims.
Buyer beware.
Copycats Pop Up Constantly
It’s easy for a company to white-label a pre-workout supplement and slap their own brand name on it.
I’d bet a signed dollar that there are many pre-workout supplements out their with different labels claiming they are the best even though they are exactly the same supplement.
Weak Safety Regulations Make Taking Pre-Workout Risky
Many pre-workouts try to one-up each other by adding risky ingredients.
The next generation tries to be more extreme than the previous one.
As a result people get messed up and the pre-workout gets recalled. Only to be replaced later by another pre-workout that found a loophole in the fine print somewhere.
‘Proprietary blend’ ingredients are a way to weasel risky ingredients into their formula.
No one knows what makes up the proprietary blend in a pre-workout supplement. It could be evaporated cat piss. You just don’t know.
High Turn Over
Your favorite pre-workout can be yanked from store shelfs overnight.
When that happens, you need a new pre-workout.
Which leads to another problem: Each new pre-workout has a learning curve because the formulas are different strengths.
Take too much before your morning workout and you’re shaking like a Chihuahua in your desk chair at work ready to jump out of your skin.
Or, God forbid, you take too much too late in the day and now you’re up all night like an insomniac. Tossing and turning in pre-workout purgatory for hours while screaming internally every time you look at the time on the alarm clock.
It takes time to get used to a new supplement. Which can cause some transition anxiety, sleepless nights, and lots of teeth grinding.
Pre-Workout is Definitely Not Healthy
Pre-workout is not a health supplement. It’s a means to an end, and that end is sick gains, bro.
Those sick gains could make you actually sick in the long run.
Although some may have vitamins, it’s usually mega doses of B-Complex for a quick energy rush.
Gym bros that prick their ass with a needle won’t think twice about taking the maximum pre-workout dosage.
Overtime this can cause serious wear and tear on your body.
Pre-workouts can be loaded with heavy metal alkaloids that cause free radicals.
Free radicals wreak havoc on your body. They are like tiny wrecking balls careening through your body punching through DNA and weakening cells.
Pre-Workout is Expensive
The markup on supplements is ludicrous (hence why the industry is saturated).
You can eat for a week or two with the money spent on a jar of pre-workout.
Buying full priced pre-workout is like getting robbed consensually.
So, in reality, you are paying for an overpriced supplement full of harmful ingredients.
If money is power, so don’t give yours away- Save some money and keep your power by making your very own homemade pre-workout supplement.
Why Would Anyone Take Pre-Workout?
Imaging working a long 10-hour day.
Those grueling hours at work left you mentally and physically exhausted. You want to go home and relax but you know you still need to workout.
This is where pre-workout shines. Pre-workout is to weightlifters like spinach is to Popeye.
It powers you up, gets you focused, alert and gets your blood pumping. You’re ready to tear it up. Full of energy, focused and motivated.
Which leads me to my main point.
What if there was a pre-workout with all the benefits and none of the drawbacks?
Luckily, you could make your own pre-workout that is custom tailored to your individual needs.
Homemade pre-workout puts you in control of the ingredients and dosage.
You can develop the perfect blend to optimize your performance without relying on untrustworthy labels.
Just formulate it to optimize the benefit and mitigate the drawbacks.
Why You Should Could Make Your Own Pre-Workout Supplement
Consistency
Having the same ingredient ratio with each dose is a good thing. You know what to expect so you get the most out of it.
Perfect Potency
You can add the perfect amount of ingredients for your unique needs. If you like to workout in the afternoon, cut back on the caffeine.
Transparency
You know exactly what you’re paying for and exactly what you’re getting.
No markups for expensive marketing. You get a premium product at a wholesale price.
Ingredients in can be hidden within ‘proprietary blends’. One problem with conventional pre-workout is that you don’t know what’s in it.
Pre-workouts typically contain a ‘proprietary blend’ that could contain anything.
Sometimes supplements companies go so far as to add previously band substances by calling them a different name (like something foreign).
This loophole is used at the cost of your health and to line their pockets with your money.
Control
You control the strength, consistency and price of your pre-workout meaning you can make it perfect for any situation.
Take very detailed notes and record everything while developing your pre-workout and while using it.
Keep a journal in case you need to tweak any of the ingredients.
Ensure an even blend! If you do not blend it properly you could get a big scoop of one ingredient. IF THIS HAPPENS YOU WILL HAVE A BAD TIME.
Be focused and be precise when creating your own formula because you could kill yourself if you’re not careful.
*I do not condone or recommend making your own pre-workout. This article is for entertainment purposes only.
How to Make Your Own Homemade Pre-Workout
The major benefits of homemade pre workout are that you know exactly what’s in the pre workout and it’s much cheaper.
Homemade pre-workout is cheap and easy to make. All the ingredients can be bought in bulk online for pennies on the dollar.
All you need is a few key ingredients and a measuring scale and you’re good to go.
Even through this pre-workout is made of all natural ingredients, too much of a good thing can be dangerous.
Too much caffeine or any other ingredient can lead to serious health effects and death.
Be smart with the dosage and don’t over do it. If you have a pre-existing health condition, are under the age of 18 do not attempt.
Always consult a licensed medical doctor before supplementing or adjusting your diet.
Homemade Pre-Workout Ingredients
This homemade pre workout consists of four ingredients: Caffeine, Beta-Alanine, Citrulline Malate, and Creatine.
This formula is designed to improve strength, boost energy, and increase endurance, with the ultimate goal of providing the user (you) with a great workout and great results.
In order to get great results you need to train with intensity and the right pre-workout will dial up your intensity to 11.
All of the following ingredients are found in nature and are safe for human consumption, as long as you stay at or below the noted dosage.
Caffeine
Benefits: Increased Energy and Focus and cognitive function
Source: Naturally occurring in over 60 plant species
Caffeine makes the world go round. It’s the X-factor in coffee that keeps you awake and makes you productive at work.
Caffeine is scientifically proven to increase athletic performance and enhance cognitive function
The magic of caffeine is that it makes things seem easier than they really are. Seriously, caffeine plays a mind-trick on you to convince you that whatever task you are performing is easier than it really is.
Caffeine is highly effective and really helps to get over mental blocks when training.
Dose: 100-300mg depending on your size and caffeine tolerance.
Caffeine tablets or a strong black coffee is a good starting point.
Pro Tip – If caffeine makes you restless at night you can either reduce or eliminate the caffeine portion or sit in a sauna and sweat out all the caffeine before bed.
I find that 20 minutes in a hot sauna does the trick. I sleep like a baby after a workout/sauna session, even if I pounded caffeine that same day.
Citrulline Malate
Benefits: Increased endurance and induces shirt-ripping pumps.
Natural Source: Fresh watermelon and dark chocolate
Citrulline Malate is a powerful anti-fatigue agent that improves endurance.
Studies have shown it’s ability to reduce fatigue during aerobic and anaerobic training by a significant amount.
Citrulline Malate works by increasing the nitric oxide (NO) in your bloodstream. Nitrogen is a powerhouse element that is needed for organic chemical reactions.
Old school trainer Vince GiRonda used to prescribe a special supplement regimen to keep clients in a positive nitrogen state.
More NO in your bloodstream means more efficient chemical processes and intercellular activity.
Your veins might appear larger when supplementing with Citrulline Malate due to the increase blood volume. This results in larger muscle pumps caused by increase oxygen delivery and to your muscles.
Your dilated blood vessels flood your muscles with nutrients and oxygen resulting in huge pumps.
The nutrients and oxygen are critical to sustain intense workouts for extended periods of time so you can push your muscles to the brink.
Large blood vessels are a two way street. They also carry away lactic acid and other by-products that build up in your muscles as waste when training.
This also helps with muscle muscle recovery.
Dose: Start with 2g until you get used to it, and gradually work up to 4-5g
Beta-Alanine
Dose: 1-2g
Source: Chicken, turkey and fish (Alanine)
Beta-Alanine’s primary function is to act an anti-fatigue agent. It helps reduce acid buildup in your muscles which cause fatigue. Thus, Beta-Alanine lets you train harder for longer.
If you’re wary or faint of heart, Beta-Alanine can surprise you. It causes a tingling sensation that makes your skin feel ‘prickly’.
Within minutes of taking Beta-Alanine, you will feel this rush over your skin that can be uncomfortable at first. You will get used to it. I look at it as my body ‘charging up’ for my workout.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
Dose: 5 g
Source: Eggs, beans, meat and liver.
BCAAs metabolize proteins, increase protein synthesis and protect your muscles from atrophy. They also provide a bit of energy and help with muscle recovery so your not as sore after workouts and can get back in the gym faster.
BCAAs are especially important to prevent excessive breakdown of muscle if you workout while fasted or while in a caloric deficit. BCAAs have been clinically proven and shown to prevent muscle wasting in hospital patients with serious illnesses.
Creatine
Dose: 5g of Creatine Monohydrate. Although you may want to take 5g four times a day for the first five days. This is the creatine loading phase that is common. This loading phase saturates you muscles with creatine quickly.
Source: Red meat
Creatine primes your muscles so they have more energy. It hydrates your muscles and makes muscle cells more efficient at bringing in nutrients and expelling waste. Creatine will 100% make you bigger and stronger.
Make sure you drink a lot of water every day when supplementing with creatine otherwise you will get headaches from dehydration.
Creatine doesn’t have to be taken pre-workout to be effective. As long as you take it daily you will reap the benefits no matter when you workout.
BONUS Formula Number Two: Two Ingredient Pre-workout for energy and endurance. All natural. No mess.
Caffeine tabs and liver pills.
Caffeine to get you over the edge and liver to carry you through.
Final Thoughts on Homemade Pre-Workout
Taste could be a factor here.
If your pre-workout doesn’t taste pleasant then mix it with a sports drink or Crystal Light.
If your drink is grainy add more water and mix thoroughly.
Be careful with the doses, especially if you’ve never tried pre-workout before.
Take baby steps and half the dosage to start and work your way up. If you’re a healthy adult and you stay within the doses described you should be fine. Talk to a licensed medical doctor before taking any supplement.
Sure, it’s a rush and makes workouts fun but supplementing with pre-workout is not sustainable.
If you’re a healthy, young adult, you can give pre-workout a try. Just don’t become dependent on it.
Long term effects of continuous pre-workout use are generally not positive.
It’s wise to take a month off from pre-workout every month or two. This let’s your body get back to natural equilibrium.
A (More) Natural Pre-workout alternative
If any of what I mention above doesn’t interest you, then have yourself a nice big cup of black coffee, a banana, B Vitamin Complex (including B12) and some liver tablets. It’s not quite the same effect but easier to dose and will give definitely you an edge in the gym.
*This article is for entertainment purposes only! The reader assumes all risks.
hi thank you for the info! if i were to make a big batch of this with all the ingrediants do you have the breakdown to make a batch that will last at least a month? Thanks!!