Supplements
Are you paying too much for your Pre-Workout?
Jan
In the world of fitness and bodybuilding, pre-workout supplements have become a staple in many workout regimes. These supplements play a vital role in helping fitness enthusiasts maximise their workouts, promising a boost of energy, focus and overall performance. However, with a plethora of options available, ranging from budget friendly chemist options to premium supplement store products, how do you determine which one is right for you? Is it actually worth paying more? In this article, we will uncover the hidden costs associated with cheap pre-workouts and highlight the value and quality that premium products provide.
Understanding Pre Workout Supplements
Before diving into the comparison, its essential to understand what pre-workout supplements are designed to do. They typically contain a blend of ingredients aimed at enhancing energy, endurance, focus and performance during workouts. A few common components of pre-workout supplements include:
Caffeine: A stimulant that increases energy and alertness.
Beta-Alanine: An amino acid that helps buffer lactic acid in muscles and reduces fatigue.
Citrulline Malate: An ingredient that promotes blood flow and enhances endurance.
L-Tyrosine: An amino acid that helps produce neurotransmitters like adrenaline and dopamine, which support focus and stress reduction.
Are Cheaper Pre Workouts better?
Cheap pre-workouts usually found in chemists and super-markets are often marketed as budget friendly options. They typically have lower price points, making them appealing to those who may not want to spend much on supplements. However, the question arises: do you get what you pay for?
Cheap Pre-Workouts Overview
- Affordability: The most significant advantage is the low cost, making them accessible to a broader audience
- Availability: These products are often found in local pharmacies and supermarkets, making them easy to purchase.
Cons of Cheap Pre-Workouts - Quality of ingredients: cheaper options often contain low-quality or ineffective ingredients, with minimal research backing their efficacy and dosage.
- Dosages: The dosage of active ingredients may be suboptimal, meaning users might not experience the intended benefits.
- Limited variety: Cheaper products may lack a comprehensive blend of ingredients, missing out on synergistic effects that can enhance performance.
Premium Pre Workout Supplements
In contrast, premium pre-workouts are designed for those who seek optimal performance, and a supplement that delivers on it’s promises. These products often come with higher price tags, but when broken down serve for serve and ingredient vs ingredient will usually work out more cost effective. Better cost per serve and better performance… We know which we prefer to sell!
Pros of Premium Pre-Workouts
- Quality ingredients: premium pre-workouts use high quality, well researched ingredients. This ensures that users are getting a comprehensive blend of synergistic ingredients to effectively boost performance.
- Optimal dosages: these products can provide the scientific dosage or higher based on research and clinical trials, ensuring that you are getting enough of each ingredient for maximum effectiveness.
- Enhanced formulations: Premium brands invest in unique blends of ingredients that work synergistically to improve energy, endurance and focus. For example, they may include not only caffeine, but also other stimulants, nootropics and performance ingredients for unparalleled cognitive enhancement, endurance and energy.
- Brand reputation: Premium brands often have a reputation for quality and transparency and undergo batch testing on their products to ensure quality and effectiveness of their products. This ensures that customers can have confidence in their products.
Cons of Premium Pre-Workouts - Higher Cost: The most significant drawback is the higher price, which may be a barrier for some consumers.
- Availability: Premium products can usually only be found in specialty supplement stores, and are not readily available in supermarkets and chemists.
Take a look at Altered State Pre Workout here and use the code PREMIUM for 15% off!
Cheap Pre Workout vs Premium Pre Workout
To illustrate the differences between cheap and premium pre-workouts, let’s take a closer look at two popular products; Chemist Pre Workout M Pre Workout and Altered State from Altered Nutrition.
Figure 1: Ingredients in Chemist Pre Workout1 vs Altered State Pre-Workout.
When comparing ingredients, Altered State stands out. Premium Pre-workouts like Altered State often utilize high quality, well-researched ingredients with proven efficacy. In contrast, Chemist Pre Workout M, whilst still a reputable brand, uses more basic formulations aimed at cost efficiency. The quality of ingredients may not be has high, premium ingredients may not be included at all and the dosages may fall short of what is expected for optimal performance.
Let’s dive into the specific ingredients of each product, highlighting their functions and dosages.
- Caffeine
Altered State. Contains 750mg of total stimulants, with 480mg coming from caffeine anhydrous and di caffeine malate. This amount is designed to provide a significant energy boost, enhancing focus and performance. This high caffeine content can be particularly beneficial for those engaging in intense training sessions.
Chemist Pre Workout M. Offers 150mg of total stimulants, with 150mg coming from a single caffeine source, caffeine anhydrous. While this might be okay for a casual workout, it may not be sufficient for athletes looking for a substantial energy increase. - Beta Alanine
Altered State. Includes 3.2 grams of beta-alanine, a well researched ingredient known to buffer lactic acid in muscles, potentially reducing fatigue during high-intensity workouts. This dosage also aligns with the effective range recommended in scientific studies.
Chemist Pre Workout M. Contains 1.5 grams of beta-alanine. While beneficial, this dose is lower than the recommended effective range which may limit the effectiveness of the ingredient. - Citrulline Malate
Altered State. Features 6 grams of citrulline malate. This ingredient is known for enhancing blood flow and improving endurance. This dosage aligns with the effective range recommended in scientific studies and leads to increased muscle pumps and workout performance.
Chemist Pre Workout M. Typically, does not include citrulline malate or offers it in minimal amounts. This absence means Chemist Pre Workout M may lack the benefits associated with improved blood flow and endurance. - L-Tyrosine
Altered State. Contains L-Tyrosine, an amino acid that helps improve focus and reduce stress during workouts. At a 2-gram dose in Altered State, this ingredient drastically enhances cognitive function and improves mood, which is beneficial during intense training.
Chemist Pre Workout M. L-Tyrosine is typically not included, which may result in a lack of focus-enhancing benefits during workouts. - Other ingredients
Altered State. Contains a myriad of premium performance ingredients to ensure the pre-workout covers all bases when it comes to energy, performance, muscle pumps and focus. These ingredients include: Alpha GPC, Agmapure, English Walnut, Astragin, Pine Bark Extract, Di-caffeine Malate, L-theanine and Hordenine which further promote optimal performance.
Chemist Pre Workout M. As M uses more basic formulations aimed at cost efficiency, these ingredients are not included at all. This may result in many missed benefits including substantial energy boosts, improved ingredient absorption, increased focus and muscle pumps.
Whilst Chemist Pre Workout M offers a reasonable mix of ingredients, the dosages of some components may not be optimal, and many key performance ingredients are missed from the formula all together. On the other hand, Altered State positions itself as a premium product and its formula leaves no stone unturned providing an all-round formulation with premium quality ingredients at effective or higher dosages.
Price Point: Are You Getting What You Paid For?
When examining the price point, Chemist Pre Workout M presents itself as a more budget friendly option, typically costing around $35 for a 25 serving container. While this lower price may attract customers at face value, it is crucial to consider the overall value in terms of cost per serve, ingredient quality, dosage and effectiveness.
Figure 2: Altered State vs Chemist Pre-Workout Doses
Even if you were to double the serving of Chemist Pre Workout M to match the quantity of Altered State, Altered State would still outperform Chemist Pre Workout M in every ingredient. Each component in Altered State is included at optimal dosages, ensuring that users receive the maximum benefits for energy, endurance and focus.
Whilst Chemist Pre Workout M may seem like a cost-effective choice, Altered State provides a much more valuable product with its superior quality and comprehensive formulation. Even if you were to double the serving of the chemist pre-workout, you would still be missing out on 8 key performance ingredients, would only get 12.5 servings out of the tub and end up paying the same price because you’d have to buy another one to match the servings in Altered State!
Best Pre Workout option?
As we’ve explored, the world of pre-workout supplements is vast and varied. While chemist pre-workouts like the above mentioned may seem appealing due to their low cost, they lack the quality and effectiveness found in premium options. The price difference reflects the value of research-backed ingredients, optimal dosages, and the overall experience that premium pre-workouts provide.
For those serious about getting results, investing in a premium pre-workout can lead to significant improvements in performance and results. Remember, in the real of fitness supplements, cheaper doesn’t always mean better—sometimes, quality truly is worth investment.