Do Pre-Workout Supplements Actually Work?

Introduction

Walk into any supplement store or scroll through fitness content online, and you’ll quickly get the impression that pre-workout supplements are the key to better training. More energy. More focus. More gains. It’s an appealing promise—especially on the days when motivation is low and the weights feel heavier than usual.

But here’s the truth: most supplements don’t do very much. That’s not a knock against them—it’s just reality. They’re called supplements because they’re meant to fill small gaps, not carry the entire load.

Pre-workouts are a bit different. They don’t really “supplement” a deficiency. Instead, they’re designed to stimulate—usually by delivering a hefty dose of caffeine along with a mix of other ingredients that claim to boost performance and delay fatigue.

So the real question becomes: do these products actually improve your results over time, or do they just make your workouts feel better in the moment?

A recent study took a closer look at that question by examining whether a popular style of pre-workout supplement could meaningfully improve strength, body composition, and performance over several weeks of training.

The results offer a clear—and surprisingly grounded—perspective on what these products can and cannot do.

What the Science Says

In this study, researchers recruited 43 healthy, active adults with an average age of 53. All participants had at least six months of resistance training experience and followed a structured program three times per week for six weeks.

They were split into two groups:

• One group consumed a multi-ingredient pre-workout supplement before training, which included 406 mg of caffeine (roughly the equivalent of a large coffee or two smaller ones), along with small amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and other common ingredients like citrulline and betaine.

• The other group consumed a non-caffeinated carbohydrate drink matched for calories, taste, and appearance.

  
  

Both groups trained under the same conditions, and researchers measured changes in body composition, strength, power, and muscular endurance before and after the program.

The Outcome

Both groups improved.

Participants:

• Lost small amounts of body fat

• Gained small amounts of lean mass

• Increased strength and performance

But here’s the key point:

There were no meaningful differences between the groups.

While the pre-workout group showed slightly better improvements in some areas, those differences were small and not statistically significant in most cases. In practical terms, both groups got similar results.

Why Didn’t the Pre-Workout Make a Bigger Difference?

At first glance, this might seem surprising. After all, caffeine is one of the most well-researched performance-enhancing substances available.

Caffeine can:

• Increase alertness and focus

• Enhance short-term performance

• Reduce the perception of effort during exercise
  

However, context matters.

Most participants in this study were already consuming 3 to 5 cups of coffee or tea per day. That means they likely had a tolerance to caffeine, reducing the potential impact of adding more through a supplement.

Beyond caffeine, the other ingredients in the pre-workout were either:

• Underdosed (below levels shown to be effective in research), or

• Unnecessary, given that participants were already eating adequate diets
  

What Actually Drove Progress?

The biggest driver of improvement wasn’t the supplement—it was the training itself.

Participants:

• Showed up consistently

• Followed a structured program

• Applied effort over time
  

That combination is what led to better strength, improved endurance, and modest changes in body composition.

Two Important Observations

1. Protein intake was likely too low

Participants averaged about 1.1 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, which is below the commonly recommended range for muscle growth (1.6–2.2 g/kg).

A higher protein intake would likely have had a more meaningful impact on results than the pre-workout supplement.

2. The training program wasn’t optimized for muscle growth

The workouts emphasized high-repetition circuits, which are better suited for muscular endurance than for building strength or size.

Even with a perfect supplement, the structure of the program itself limits how much muscle and strength can be gained.

Actionable Insights

If you’re trying to decide whether pre-workout supplements are worth it, here’s a practical way to think about it.

1. Understand what you’re actually buying

Most pre-workouts are built around caffeine.

That’s the primary ingredient doing the work. The rest often contributes very little, especially when included in small doses.

If you already drink coffee regularly, you’re likely getting the same effect.

2. Separate feeling from results

Pre-workout can make you feel:

• More energized

• More focused

• More ready to train

  
  

And that has value.

But feeling better during a workout doesn’t necessarily translate to better long-term progress.

Progress comes from:

• Consistency

• Progressive overload

• Recovery

• Nutrition

• 
  

3. Prioritize what actually moves the needle

If your goal is to improve performance and body composition, focus on:

• Getting enough protein

• Following a structured program

• Sleeping well

• Managing stress

• 
  

These factors will outperform any supplement, every time.

4. Use pre-workout intentionally (if at all)

There’s nothing inherently wrong with using pre-workout.

It can be helpful:

• On low-energy days

• Before particularly demanding sessions

• When you need a mental boost

  
  

But it shouldn’t be something you depend on just to train.

Closing Thoughts

Coaching has taught me that people rarely struggle because they’re missing the perfect supplement. They struggle because they’re searching for something to replace consistency.

I’ve worked with clients who believed they needed the right pre-workout to get results, only to discover that what they really needed was a repeatable routine they could stick to. And once they built that, progress followed—often faster than they expected.

What still stands out to me after years in this field is how simple the formula really is. Show up. Do the work. Fuel your body well. Recover. Repeat.

Pre-workout can add a bit of energy to the moment. But it doesn’t build the habit, and it doesn’t replace the process.

Health—and progress—are built on what you do consistently, not what you take occasionally.

Your health is your wealth

- Michael Beiter

Personal Trainer

Nutrition, Sleep, Stress management, and Recovery coach

References / Resources

• Puente-Fernández, J., Larumbe-Zabala, E., Roberts, J., & Naclerio, F. (2025). Pre-Workout Multi-Ingredients or Carbohydrate Alone Promote Similar Resistance Training Outcomes in Middle-Aged Adults: A Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 22(1), 2519515.

• Guest, N. S., VanDusseldorp, T. A., Nelson, M. T., Grgic, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., Jenkins, N. D. M., Arent, S. M., et al. (2021). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Caffeine and Exercise Performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 18(1), 1.