Best Pre-Workout With Creatine

Working out can sometimes be a drag, especially if there isn’t any motivation or some sort of driving force that’ll get you in the mood to work out. If you’re like me, pre-workout often gets the blood flowing and the heart pumping to get me ready to work out.

Pre-workout, along with other supplements, can help you feel ready for an intense workout. Most of that boost comes from caffeine.

One supplement that comes to mind to a lot of people and especially those of you that are serious about working out and getting in the best physical shape possible, Creatine is something that is very familiar to you. Creatine is a supplement that has been around in the fitness industry for quite a while and has been a staple of both pre and post-workout regimens.

Want to know if Creatine is safe for teens? Read this article

What is Creatine and How Does it Help?

Creatine is actually found in the human body, mostly in your muscle cells. A supplement raises the amount of creatine stored in your muscles, which can help with short, intense efforts.

Your body makes creatine from the amino acids arginine and glycine, with a methyl group supplied by methionine.

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According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand, creatine loading generally improves high-intensity or repeated exercise performance by 10 to 20%.

Once your muscles are saturated, 3 to 5 grams a day maintains those stores. Combined with training, creatine can also add to gains in muscle mass.

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The NIH's NCCIH puts it more cautiously: creatine may somewhat enhance the effects of exercise on strength, muscle mass, and endurance.

It also notes there are no data documenting creatine's safety in children or teens, and people at risk of kidney problems should talk to a provider first.

Know the Caffeine Before You Buy

The FDA says 400 mg of caffeine a day is an amount not generally linked to negative effects in healthy adults. Some scoops below use most of that, so count your coffee and energy drinks too.

Pre-workouts are dietary supplements, and the FDA does not approve supplements for safety or effectiveness before they are sold. Many also contain beta-alanine, which commonly causes a harmless tingling feeling.

The caffeine and creatine figures below come from product labels when we reviewed them. Formulas change, so check the current label.

C4 Extreme Pre Workout Powder Watermelon

C4 is one of our most recommended brands for supplement products. Being a big player in the workout scene for a while, they’ve come out with C4 Extreme, which, if you’ve had the original C4. The extreme take the pre-workout to another level.

Having 200 mg of caffeine, it also features beta-alanine, and of course, creatine. The amount of creatine is only 1 g, well below the 3 to 5 g a day used in research, so you may want to take extra creatine on its own.

This pre-workout has some serious caffeine and comes with a lot of additional supplements to help in addition to the caffeine.

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Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout

Optimum Nutrition's “Gold Standard” line is well known for protein powder, and this pre-workout is a solid option.

This pre-workout doesn’t sport the same 200 mg of caffeine as the C4, but it comes with 3g of creatine, as well as Vitamin D and Beta-Alanine.

This pre-workout comes with 30 servings, as do many pre-workouts, but it also comes in a keto-friendly form. Optimum Nutrition also uses caffeine from natural sources in this product.

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C4 Sport Pre-Workout

Similar to the other C4 Extreme product on this list, C4 has another incredible product with slightly less of a punch with less caffeine but still implementing creatine.

This product with 135 mg of caffeine and for some, that is preferable to the 200 mg from the previous C4 product. This C4 also comes with other vitamins and supplements that make a supplement blend.

The blend includes creatine but also some other supplements, I recommend referring to the ingredients list on the listing in order to see what else is in the blend. Overall, the blend comes to about 4.9g of supplements.

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Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout Advanced

Yet again, Optimum Nutrition has another great product that not only provides 300 mg of caffeine but also supplements such as L-Citrulline, Beta-Alanine, and of course, Creatine.

Again, this has 300 mg of caffeine, which is three-quarters of the FDA's 400 mg daily figure in one serving. Skip other caffeine that day, and avoid it late in the day and it also comes in at a little bit of a more pricey price range, with fewer servings, coming in at 20.

It has 5g of creatine, 6g of L-Citrulline, 3.2g of Beta-Alanine, and 1.2g of creatine nitrate. It also has some more added sodium and other ingredients, so it may be worth giving the ingredient list a look.

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Proven4 Pre-Workout for Men and Women

Holding an impressive customer review status on Amazon, Proven4 has really come out with an incredible option for those looking for a clean source of energy and pre-workout supplement intake.

Coming in with 2000 mg of creatine and 150mg of caffeine, this pre-workout also comes with a whole list of additional helpful supplements.

The pre-workout also comes packed with Tyrosine, Arginine, Creatine, and Beta-Alanine.

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ProSupps Mr. Hyde Signature Pre-Workout

Coming in with 169 mg of caffeine, Mr. Hyde’s pre-workout has an interesting flavor assortment to get you the pre-workout you need if you are interested in some of the more unique flavor combinations.

Not only does it has a unique flavor assortment, but it comes with 2.5g of creatine, as well as featuring beta-alanine, arginine, and many other supplements.

Coming with 30 servings, this for sure is a bit of a more budget-friendly pre-workout, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that it isn’t a good choice. This is a great choice for a pre-workout and most definitely will get you the workout you need.

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PreFuel Pre-Workout Energizer

Being a bit of an outlier on this list, PreFuel comes with a unique assortment of blends marketed for energy, recovery, and antioxidants.

This pre-workout has the vegan stamp of approval on it and although I won’t go into the extensive list of supplementary benefits that this pre-workout has, it aims to do more than just give you energy.

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Sources

• International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (PMC)
• Bodybuilding and Performance Enhancement Supplements: What You Need To Know, NIH NCCIH
• Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much?, FDA
• FDA 101: Dietary Supplements, FDA