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Best pre-workout supplements: A complete guide on why, when & what to buy
The truth behind what works, and what doesn't, according to our testers
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The best pre-workout supplements can be game-changing, but with so many powders and drinks on the market, filtering the failsafe from the fails can feel like a minefield. That's where we come in...
The WH team called on various nutrition and fitness experts to weigh in on the merits of pre-workout supplements and whether you should be factoring them into your routine.
We also put a range of leading pre-workouts through some pretty rigorous testing for our annual Women's Health Sports Nutrition Awards to see which came out on top. Here are the crème de la crème:
Best pre-workout supplements
What is a pre-workout?
A pre-workout supplement can come in various forms – a powder, shake, pill or processed snack like a bar – that you take around 30-45 minutes before you exercise.
'Ideally, it should stimulate you sufficiently enough to improve performance without any negative side effects,' explains Sarah Lindsay, three-time Olympian, nutritionist and trainer at Roar Fitness.
How we test
As part of our 2024 Sports Nutrition Awards, the WH team sourced the hottest pre-workouts on the market right now and presented them to a panel of renowned sports and diet nutritionists, made up of Sinead Roberts, Lee Amico, Rob Hobson, and Tai Ibitoye.
They judged each product based on its nutritional make-up, quality of ingredients and formulation in line with its intended use, and only the ones that met their sky-high standards were shortlisted for further testing.
Back in the lab, our expert panel, made up of fitness pros and editors, rated each contender for flavour, texture and ease of use, as well as the impact it had on athletic performance.
To keep things fair, brand names, packaging and any other identifiable elements were removed, and preparation instructions were followed to a tee. We then collated all the feedback from our nutritionists and panel members to award each product a final score.
Our winning pre-workout supps are stamped with the Sports Nutrition Awards logo below. All remaining products have been hand-picked by our editors, so there’s something for every need and budget.
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Yanar has spent 15 years as a health and wellness editor and writer for national titles such as Women’s Health, Men’s Health and Runner’s World. Yanar is a 580-hour yoga therapist, 200-hour yoga teacher and level 3 personal trainer at Yanar Mind & Movement. After years of running races and marathons, she discovered CrossFit and Olympic lifting in her mid-30s and fell in love with training and competing. She now advocates strength training for women to build a stronger body for life and the benefits of nervous system regulation for better physical and mental health. When not training, teaching or writing, she can be found experimenting in the kitchen.
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