A typical pre-workout contains 18 to 22 ingredients. Only four have studies showing measurable effects. The rest is marketing architecture — coloured powders, tingling tongues, the feeling of taking something potent.
The four ingredients with real evidence
Caffeine (3–6 mg per kg of bodyweight): boosts performance and perceived effort, well-established since the 90s. Beta-alanine (3.2–6.4 g daily): only works after a 4-week loading period, extends time-to-failure in the 1–4 minute range.
Creatine monohydrate (3–5 g daily): timing doesn't matter, but it belongs in your stack. Citrulline malate (6–8 g per dose): evidence for better rep counts in hypertrophy ranges, stronger data than the related arginine.
Where you can save
Proprietary blends without dose disclosure are a hard pass. If a brand won't tell you how much beta-alanine is in the powder, it's too little. "Pump matrices" with eight different amino acids in micro-doses don't replace a full dose of citrulline.
The cheap alternative
An espresso, 5 g of creatine, 6 g of citrulline malate, and — if you take it consistently — 4 g of beta-alanine. Costs less than 50 cents per serving and outperforms 90% of ready-made pre-workouts on the market.
