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Do you take a pre-workout supplement? If so, what’s your reason for taking it?  Do you like that extra boost of energy? Maybe you just have been told it is needed by a supplement store worker? Although whole food is always recommended before taking a supplement, pre-workout can sometimes be beneficial.
With pressure from strong marketing and sponsored Instagram-influencers, it can be nearly impossible to determine what is actually proven by science to be beneficial for performance and what is a waste of your money.  There is a lot of research out there about pre-workouts, but unfortunately many are low-quality studies due to small sample sizes and a wide variety of formulations.  If you do decide to take a pre-workout or just take individual supplements to potentially enhance performance, let’s take a deep dive in the science to discuss what ingredients are effective, not effective, and simply dangerous!
Ingredients that are research-backed and that may potentially be beneficial and safe include creatine monohydrate, beet root extract, HMB, beta-alanine, caffeine, and sodium bicarbonate.
Beet root may increase nitrates and improve aerobic endurance performance by increasing time to exhaustion at less than or equal to VO2max intensity when consumed 90 minutes before training. Nitric oxide helps with vasodilation (the widening of vessels) to improve delivery of oxygen and nutrients to working muscles.  An important factor to point out when choosing beet root is not all supplements are created equal.  Research shows that there is large variation in nitric oxide content between beet root products, even variation within the same product! Makomas Ginger Beet juice, James White Beet It Organic Beetroot Shot and the Pro-Elite Shot, and Pomona Organic’s beet juice were found to have appropriate doses of nitric oxide in them. If packaging specifies, you should look for concentrations of nitric oxide between 6-8 mmol and consume 90 minutes before training.  This dose has been found to be most effective, with a higher concentration not showing additional benefits.
There are several products that are popular but ineffective in pre-workouts.  Although these won’t necessarily harm you, they just aren’t proven to be effective in pre-workout and are likely a waste of your money.
Arginine can actually blunt growth hormone (GH) release during workouts.  GH is important in exercise because it supports the building of skeletal muscle and eliminates body fat, so if this response is blunted, your progress will slow.  In addition, research is inconclusive that arginine increases nitric oxide release or that in increases muscle creatine levels.
BCAAs are thought to work preventatively against muscle breakdown when taken pre-workout, but there is no concluding evidence.
L-carnitine could be more beneficial post-workout and is not necessary in a pre-workout. L-carnitine can lessen the side effects of high-intensity training by improving exercise induced oxidative stress levels and muscles injuries, leading to a better recovery.
Glutamine is also a common ingredient, but it is more beneficial for immune health should be easy to get enough of in a well-balanced diet.
We discussed the effective and ineffective ingredients, but there is one more category, the dangerous ingredients.  Some of these may be effective, but there are serious consequences.  A supplement is dangerous when it has the potential to cause severe or permanent harm to the body, may result in death, or could lead to a career-ending positive drug test.  Some ingredients to steer clear of include:
Did you know the FDA is very limited in what it regulates for supplements?  Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the FDA regulates products once they have hit the market.  If a product is adulterated or misbranded, the FDA is responsible for taking action.  This means that any company can make claims about their product’s effectiveness, manipulate ingredients and dosages, and not disclose ineffective or even dangerous ingredients added and will not potentially be investigated by the FDA until after the product has already been on the market.
This is very unsettling for sports dietitians, considering an athlete’s whole career can be halted if caught [knowingly or unknowingly] taking an illegal substance during a random drug test.   To ensure that your pre-workout is clear of banned substances, look for the BSCG, Informed Choice, or NSF seal (gold standard). This means that the product has been tested by a legitimate testing agency. A substance becomes NSF certified after passing a label claim review, toxicology review, and contaminant review.  NSF screens for banned substances, undeclared ingredients like stimulants, narcotics, steroids, diuretics, beta-2 agonists, masking agents and other substances.  However, NSF does not test for efficacy, meaning it cannot test to see if the product will provide the desired results or if the dosage of each ingredient is effective in improving performance.  You should also look to see if the company follows the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations (cGMP).  This ensures the product is following FDA guidelines for safe manufacturing.
A red flag you should also be aware of is vague nutrition labels, like proprietary blends or generic ingredients. When I see “proprietary blend” on a label, I immediately think, “We have these ingredients in this product [maybe] but we are not going to disclose the actual dosage of each ingredient because it is likely formulated in insufficient amounts.” To ensure an ingredient is potent, pure, and safe, choose branded ingredients [especially patented ones] over generic ingredients because it can be very hard to tell if generic ingredients are what they claim.  Patented supplements are manufactured with strict quality control and have been scientifically proven for efficacy.
Do you need a pre-workout?  Not exactly.  If you are interested in taking one, question your products and read the label! Some of the ingredients could be to your benefit, and some may not.  The majority of current research shows minimal significant results from using a pre-workout, so spending your money on a well-developed workout and diet regimen may be a better option! Just because your favorite sponsored Insta-model is shredded from supposedly taking a product does not mean they weren’t shredded before.  If you have questions about your pre-workout want further information, consult with a Sports Dietitian over at Power Portions to get the evidenced-based facts.  Happy training!
Written By: Francine Hoffman CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Blake, M., Johnson, N., Trautman, K., Grier, J., Stastny, S., & Hackney, K. (2020, February 1). Neither a Multi-Ingredient Pre-Workout Supplement nor caffeine were effective at Improving markers of blood flow or Upper-Body resistance exercise performance. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7039476/
Bobos, P., Nazari, G., Ziebart, C., MacDermid, J. C., & Kostopoulos, N. (2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of Multi-ingredient Preworkout supplementation on Strength, Exercise volume, and anaerobic capacity in healthy Resistance-Trained Individuals. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 43(1), 37-62. doi:10.1519/ssc.0000000000000537
Dolan, E., Swinton, P., Painelli, V., Stephens Hemingway, B., Mazzolani, B., Infante Smaira, F., Gualano, B. (2019, May 1). A systematic risk assessment and meta-analysis on the use of oral B-alanine supplementation. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520041/
Domínguez, R., Cuenca, E., Maté-Muñoz, J., García-Fernández, P., Serra-Paya, N., Estevan, M., Garnacho-Castaño, M. (2017, January 6). Effects of beetroot juice supplementation on cardiorespiratory endurance in athletes. a systematic review. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5295087/
Gallardo, E., & Coggan, A. (2019, July 01). What is in your beet juice? Nitrate and nitrite content of beet juice products marketed to athletes. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/29/4/article-p345.xml
Guest, N. S., VanDusseldorp, T. A., Nelson, M. T., Grgic, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., Jenkins, N. D., Campbell, B. I. (2021). International society of sports nutrition position stand: Caffeine and exercise performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 18(1). doi:10.1186/s12970-020-00383-4
Huerta Ojeda, Á, Tapia Cerda, C., Poblete Salvatierra, M., Barahona-Fuentes, G., & Jorquera Aguilera, C. (2020, August 19). Effects of beta-alanine supplementation on physical performance in aerobic-anaerobic transition zones: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551186/
Kaczka, P., Michalczyk, M., Jastrząb, R., Gawelczyk, M., & Kubicka, K. (2019, August 21). Mechanism of action and the effect of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (hmb) supplementation on different types of physical performance – a systematic review. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6724588/
Krustrup, P., Ermidis, G., & Mohr, M. (2015, June 4). Sodium bicarbonate intake improves high-intensity intermittent exercise performance in trained young men. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4475610/
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ASSOCIATE DIETITIAN, RD, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Francine Hoffman graduated with her Master’s in Nutrition with an Exercise Science specialization from South Dakota State University. She plans on working towards the sports nutrition specialization (CSSD) as she continues on her path of being a Dietitian!
Francine is passionate about helping athletes with several aspects of performance.  She enjoys educating on proper fueling and seeing that translate to success on and off the field. In addition, Francine is looking forward to building her clinical nutrition skills to better serve future athletes and clients.  She also has her CSCS, NSCA-CPT and she’s experienced with training a variety of individuals!
Francine loves spending her free time in the gym, exploring the outdoors, cooking, and playing the piano!
Stefanie is a University of Southern California graduate with a degree in human performance, having played women’s college basketball at both USC and New Mexico State University. She went on to play professional basketball for two years in Portugal and Germany. After spending her off-seasons in advertising at Gilbreath Communications Inc., Stefanie took on a full-time position as director of social media marketing and accounting at Gilbreath. In pursuit of another passion, Stefanie joined forces with her sister, Briana, to launch Power Portions, a healthy meal prep company developing nutritional meals for the athletic community as well as the general public. With her experience in business, accounting and athletics, Stefanie brings an excellent multi-faceted dynamic to Power Portions.
She has maintained a dedication to community service dating back to her college years, having been a volunteer for organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Monica (as a nutrition leader), Sports Buddies (Jewish Boys and Girls Club of Glendale), Elementary School Girls Basketball Camps in Lousada, Portugal, Feeding America, Save the Children and Ascent Humanity Outreach, among many others. Along with her dedication to healthy meal prep, Stefanie believes her faith has led her to serve children struggling with obesity and applies her experience in this area into Power Portions’ efforts to give back to society.
CEO, MCN, RDN, LD
Briana Butler is a registered dietitian nutritionist and former professional athlete serving the Houston area. Briana holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Performance from the University of Southern California and a masters’ degree in Clinical Nutrition from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The latter of which she received after playing in the WNBA and overseas for three years. Upon retirement from professional sports, Briana followed her passion for health and athletics by pursuing a career in performance dietetics, believing from experience that nutrition efforts and performance are congruous. Since switching careers, Briana has worked with collegiate, professional (NFL, NBA, WNBA, NBA G-League, Ultra Marathon & Cyclist), NFL combine, NBA combine, and health and wellness clients in private practice and under world-renowned brands such as Southern Methodist University, EXOS, Gatorade Sports Science Institute, and the Dallas Cowboys. Above all, Briana finds purpose in being a wife to her husband Brice and full-time mom to her son Braiden.
ASSOCIATE DIETITIAN, MS, RD, LDN
Marissa is a registered dietitian from the Philadelphia and New Jersey areas with a passion for helping individuals reach their goals with an ALL foods fit mentality. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Nutrition & Dietetics from Immaculata University, Marissa went on to receive her master’s degree in Nutrition & Food Science from the University of Southern Mississippi. While completing her undergraduate degree, Marissa was a part of the women’s volleyball team and quickly implemented her knowledge learned in the classroom into personal goals of achieving success on the volleyball court. Witnessing small changes in her own lifestyle make large impacts on the court, strengthened her passion for sports nutrition and educating others to fuel their own athletic performances. Throughout her time as a registered dietitian, Marissa has worked in a variety of diverse settings while impacting the lives of individuals to meet their goals, large or small. Most recently, in her position as a sports & performance nutrition fellow at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, she was exposed to many experiences with both collegiate and professional athletes. Including but not limited to, team-wide and athlete-specific nutrition education, management, and administrative duties in order to provide all teams with the attention they need to thrive. Her specialties include individual and group nutrition counseling on sports nutrition, weight-related goals, gastrointestinal diagnoses, diabetes, allergies, and much more! When not immersed in the nutrition and sports world, Marissa finds herself cooking up new recipes in the kitchen, enjoying quality time with friends and family, or discovering new hiking trails to explore with her puppy, Miley!