WHAT ARE STIMULANTS IN PRE-WORKOUT?

Written by: ASN

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Time to read 4 min

What is Pre-Workout?

If you’ve been to the gym before, you’ve probably heard all about pre-workout, but if you’ve been living under a rock, we’ll lift the lid.

Pre-workout is one of the Essentials to Take to the Gym, providing you with energy, aiding endurance and helping build power. If you struggle to ‘get in the zone’, feel overly tired and lethargic, or want to push yourself to perform harder, you might want to add a pre-workout to your stack.

Pre-workouts contain a core of powerful ingredients, spearheaded by caffeine (unless you get a non-stimulant pre-workout) and supported by an ensemble of components like creatine, beta-alanine, BCAAs, nitric oxide precursors and more (Landes, E et al. 2021).

What are Stimulants in Pre-Workout?

Caffeine is the primary stimulant used in pre-workouts due to its energy and focus-boosting properties. Caffeine can help to improve alertness and exercise performance and may help you train for longer while delaying fatigue (Landes, E et al. 2021).

Because the major stimulant in pre-workout is caffeine, you may experience side effects if you consume too much. So, if you love your early morning coffee (and your mid-morning, late-morning, and early lunch coffee, too), then it may be safe to choose a pre-workout with a lower dosage of caffeine.

A typical pre-workout will generally contain between 150mg to 300mg of caffeine per serving, which is close to the same force as three cups of coffee (caffeine content in a cup of coffee varies based on the type of bean, roast style, serving size and preparation, but a typical shot of espresso contains about 63mg of caffeine) (Bjarnadottir, A. 2017).

If you’re a heavy coffee drinker, don’t worry; caffeine isn’t the only stimulant used in pre-workouts! There are a number of natural stimulants that are included in pre-workouts that can still boost your energy the same way caffeine does. Ginseng, L-Theanine, Guarana, Theobromine and others can naturally stimulate and boost your cognitive function (Shields, T. 2022).

High-Stim Pre-Workout

If your tolerance to stimulants is high and you’re no longer feeling the power of your standard pre-workouts, then you might find you need something that packs a little more punch.

Among our range of Pre-Workouts at ASN, we offer a range of the Strongest Pre-Workouts that you can get your hands on.

Crank yourself up with Crank pre-workout, one of our most popular powerups that can enhance your muscle pumps, lift your mood and enhance your performance without causing any jitters. Faction Labs can deliver razor-sharp focus with Disorder while helping to increase your strength and supporting superior muscle pumps. They have also released a special edition Silver Bullet flavour that you don’t want to miss out on.

We know you want to bring the heat when you train, and with a powerhouse like War Machine, you can do that. This full-strength formula is built with highly effective and trademarked ingredients that can boost your cognitive function, intensify your energy and give you the strength to persevere through even the toughest of workouts.

Low-Stim Pre-Workout

Sometimes those stims can pack a little too much punch, especially if you’re not willing to sacrifice your daily coffee. That's okay; we also offer Low-Stim Pre-Workouts to feed you a healthy bout of energy without any unwanted jitters.

Naked Harvest has formulated a Natural Pre-Workout that can invigorate you with a blend of plant-based amino acids, vitamins and green tea extract to give you a natural, low-stimulant boost.

PranaOn has weighed in with Pure Boost, a low-stimulant pre-workout formula that is scientifically formulated to help reduce fatigue and promote a healthy response to stress while improving cognitive function and focus. Pure Boost built its blueprint with 3000mg citrulline malate to increase nitric oxide levels while utilising caffeine anhydrous and a range of other ingredients to deliver the best recipe for a successful performance.

Non-Stim Pre-Workout

Whether you’re sick of caffeine, find yourself suffering jitters or a post-training crash, or prefer the late-night gym sessions and want to actually get some sleep afterwards, you need a Non-Stimulant Pre-Workout.


You have your pick of the best when it comes to non-stimulant pre-workouts, with our stores only supplying the highest quality supplements to enhance your performance. If you’ve tried Faction Labs Disorder before but want a stimulant-free alternative, Bulge by Faction Labs is the perfect replacement.

Ghost Pump is a game-changing alternative that harnesses nitric oxide to create the best muscle pump. This stimulant-free strategy for success is fast-absorbing, smooth in texture and designed to enhance your performance and endurance.

Muscle Nation’s Three-D contains zero caffeine or stimulants and aims to fight fatigue while elevating your performance to the next level. Speaking of ‘next level’, Axe & Sledge’s Hydraulic Pre-Workout is designed for the hardest workers in the gym, working to increase blood flow to the muscles, boost power and strength and create fuller muscles. Using patented ingredients to deliver a revolutionary formula that you wouldn’t believe is stimulant-free, Axe & Sledge can help you shatter your goals.

The Run Down

If you’re not already enjoying the performance-bolstering effects of pre-workout, then you’re missing out. Whether you like a high dose of stimulants or you want nothing to do with them, we have you covered with a comprehensive catalogue of high-stim pre-workouts, low-stim pre-workouts and no-stim pre-workouts.

Don’t let fatigue, lethargy and a lack of motivation prevent you from hitting your stride in the gym, pick up a pre-workout, mix it before you train and unleash the best version of yourself upon the gym floor. For energy, focus and an elevated experience, take pre-workout and don’t look back.

Whether you need help finding the best stimulant-free pre-workout supplements to suit your needs or you’re looking for more information, our friendly team can help you online or in-store at one of our 32 Australian stores.

References

Landes, E et al. 2021, ‘Should You Take Pre-Workout Supplements?’ Healthline, accessed 8 November 2022, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pre-workout-supplements#downsides

Bjarnadottir, A. 2017, ‘How Much Caffeine in a Cup of Coffee? A Detailed Guide’ Healthline, accessed 8 November 2022, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-caffeine-in-coffee

Shields, T. 2022, ‘11 Natural Stimulants for Energy and Focus that aren’t Coffee’, Fresh Cap, accessed 10 November 2022, https://learn.freshcap.com/tips/natural-stimulants/