As one of the most well-regarded ingredients in any pre-workout, caffeine is widely associated with positive health outcomes such as weight loss, improved cognitive performance, and even improved exercise performance. Since each person develops an individualized response to it, caffeine isn’t a great choice for everyone. Some people with hypersensitivity could be caffeine-intolerant, while for others it can be a totally ineffective compound. But these people have an alternative: caffeine-free pre-workout supplements.
If you can take caffeine and it fits with your health and your workout needs, you probably should. However, if you’re unable to take caffeine, know that alternatives exist. We’ve done the research and found some of the most popular stimulant-free and caffeine-free pre-workout supplements. We’ve also researched the best low caffeine pre-workout supplements, in case your caffeine tolerance is high and you could use their boost.
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Caffeine-Free Pre-Workout Supplements
One of the best things about an effective caffeine-free pre-workout is that companies have found innovative ways to counter the lack of caffeine. That said, we’ll be keeping an eye on high-importance factors like ingredient choices, dosage, or consistently-effective nutrients, but also consider the effectiveness and sheer popularity of the brands.
1. PumpSurge Stim Free Pre-Workout
We’re disappointed to see a lack of other important ingredients such as creatine, beta-alanine, and other performance ingredients. However, what this product does beautifully is to handle the mental performance and focus changes with a combination of high-efficacy choline supplementation and the use of Huperzine A.
These compounds are designed to improve mental performance by boosting the amount of Acetylcholine in the brain. This is a huge factor in your nervous system and affects your ability to control muscles, produce force, and even improves mental clarity and awareness. Combined with betaine, they provide a formidable mental focus and performance boost without any stimulants.
Stimulant free pre workout supplements are few and far between for the simple reason that the stimulants provide most of the benefits. This is something that PumpSurge handles well, even if not perfectly.
Beyond this, the choice to use L-Citrulline is a great way to improve your experience of the workout. You’ll experience increased pumps, better nutrient delivery to the muscles and a small boost to your recovery between sets.
- Effective ingredient choices
- Good dosing
- Solid all-rounder
- Misses out on some important compounds
- Could be better
2. Genius Pre Workout Powder
When compared to the previous product, it’s clear that Genius comes with a totally different set of intentions and a more well-rounded approach to pre-workout supplements.
Starting with the physical changes, Genius includes an effective dose of citrulline just like PumpSurge, but also adds beta-alanine for a boost to endurance and fatigue-resistance. This is both psychological and physical, meaning improved performance and the sensation of being stronger and more capable during exercise to exhaustion.
The rest of the ingredients in Genius are all dedicated to improved mental and nervous performance, however. Theobromine is the caffeine alternative, a low-level stimulant with fewer side-effects and less benefits than caffeine – a perfect choice for those with a low tolerance for caffeine.
The combination of a wide variety of ingredients – betaine, tyrosine, Alpha-GPC, Huperzine, and more – are all dedicated to mental focus. This cocktail of pro-brain-power compounds are going to make sure you feel great and have the best possible combination of focus and power without creatine (sadly!) or caffeine.
- Great ingredient choices
- Fantastic well-rounded mental performance complex
- No creatine
3. Evlution Nutrition Pump Mode
It’s about your individual goals, but the carryover is one way: performance Pre-workout will boost your pump and muscle gains, but a pump enhancer isn’t going to be much use unless you’re looking for a vascular, huge pump.
With a combination of vitamins C and D (irrelevant for these purposes but generally-great as nutrients), the ingredients in this pre-workout start off in a confusing fashion. This continues when this pump-enhancer is actually not going to enhance your pump at all.
The only other ingredients in this product are betaine – a compound that is used for mental performance, but often with synergistic compounds like Huperzine or choline – and glycerol. These are both designed as mental performance aids, but this is specifically labeled a pump enhancer?!
This product doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be – it doesn’t provide any of the common, effective ingredients that we’d want to see in a pump enhancer such as citrulline or even the inferior arginine. This makes no sense as a product and it’s easily out-classed by every other product on this list so far!
- None to speak of
- Very poor approach to boosting pump
- No on-label ingredients that are notable, unique, or very-effective
4. RSP Pump Boost
The main focus of this ingredient comes from two ingredients: citrulline and coconut water extract.
The citrulline in this product is designed to improve the dilation of the veins and improve blood flow throughout the body. This is an effective approach when we look at improving the pump and improving your recovery between sets. This can actually boost muscle gains, but it’s common in other products with better secondary ingredients.
Coconut water is actually synergistic with this set of ingredients, even if it’s not nearly as effective as something like creatine or other actually-beneficial performance-boosters. Coconut water – and its powder – improve the delivery of water and electrolytes to the muscle, keeping performance up and reducing cramping/fatigue on a modest level.
Overall, this is another stimulant free pre workout that has poor balance and is easily out-classed: citrulline is contained in many other products and isn’t enough to rely on by itself.
- Better than the Evlution pump booster
- Rehydration and pump can improve muscle-repair signalling for better recovery
- Easily out-classed by other products like Genius
5. Six Star Nutrition Workout Booster
While it may be well-received on the market, it doesn’t actually compare to anything else on this list. There is a simple reason for this: it contains 4 versions of the same, poor-quality, inferior ingredient.
If you’re going to pick a single ingredient to make up your pre-workout supplement, you want it to be effective. Arginine is not this: it’s a less-effective version of citrulline since it breaks down in the body and you’re not likely to see much benefit from one version of this, with 4 versions being a matter of marketing, rather than scientific benefits.
Citrulline is an objectively superior choice for improving your serum arginine (the bit that matters), is widely available from other companies and would be better-purchased by itself than getting this product. Not only does it use an inferior ingredient, it has very low levels of arginine to begin with, and no other ingredients.
To put the icing on the cake, you are actually advised to get past this poor dosing and ineffective ingredients by taking these pills up to 4 times throughout the day. This is a great way to burn through your supply of poor-quality supplements, make no progress, and have to buy more of this product sooner.
- Absolutely nothing
- Expensive per serving
- Ineffective ingredient choices
- Poor dosing
- Makes absolutely no sense when better products are everywhere on the market
3 Best Low Caffeine Pre Workout Supplements
While they are non stimulant and zero-caffeine pre-workout supplements (the ones listed above), they may not suit everyone. We’re going to cover some additional low caffeine pre workouts – enough to avoid any serious problems with tolerance or sensitivity.
These products provide some of the positive benefits associated with a caffeinated pre-workout, with a much smaller dose to ensure that you’re well-prepared for your workout with less risk of side effects or excessive response.
1. ProSupps Jekyll NitroX
Jekyll might be lacking the standard dose of caffeine, but it provides a variety of well-balanced ingredients that are going to ensure you’re getting the best possible experience for your money. It provides a balance of the ingredients we’ve mentioned as crucial above.
To start with, the combination of creatine and beta-alanine ensures that you’re getting reliable benefits to performance across the whole spectrum of exercise. This is paired with an effective and predictable pump-boosting matrix including citrulline, a valine adaptation, and others. The citrulline is the crucial aspect here, even if the dose is a little below what pump-specific pre workout on this list may include.
Finally, the mental performance ingredients are both reliable and well-combined. They include cholinergic compounds – like choline bitartrate – and traditional compounds such as caffeine (though in very low dose) and theacrine.
Overall, we’re big fans of this product and the example it sets for a well-balanced pre workout.
- Effective ingredients
- Well balanced
- Low concentration of Caffeine
- Citrulline dosing is a little low, probably due to the inclusion of arginine.
2. Cellucor C4 Original
With 150mg of caffeine per serving, well below what we’ve seen in other pre-workouts, though slightly more than Jekyll’s 100mg. This comes with additional benefits, but it may also be a little high for those who are very sensitive to caffeine.
The rest of the ingredients in C4 are predictable and don’t break the mold. While they include effective doses of both creatine and beta-alanine, the rest of the products do very little to commend C4 above others in the field.
For example, the mental performance complex doesn’t include any cholinergic compounds and other mood-adjusting compounds are relatively weak and found in comparable levels in food. We don’t dislike C4, but we do think that there’s a standard that it has set but not improved upon.
A great all-round supplement but lacking a definitive presence on the market or unique value… Read our in-depth review
- Effective and well-balanced
- Respected and reliable
- Uninspiring in the modern market
- Provides very little above and beyond other staple supplements
- Leaves much to be desired outside of basic ingredients
- Out-classed in recent years
3. Cobra Labs: The Curse 
The first problem with The Curse is that the most important compounds in the product are hidden behind proprietary blends. This is a common problem, but without values on individual ingredients like creatine and beta-alanine (which are combined, but also very important), it’s hard to say whether doing is effective at all.
The ingredients used in this pre-workout are pretty standard and don’t seek to break into new territory. The physical performance blends, while hidden proprietary blends, are relatively simplistic. The standard combinations of creatine, beta alanine, and citrulline are present. The only other relevant ingredient is L-Arginine – something we’ve shown to be inferior to citrulline!
Finally, the “mind control matrix” – supposed to provide the cognitive performance benefits to the user – is incredibly weak. The caffeine content is 146mg, comparable to C4, but there are no mental performance compounds like tyrosine, choline, Huperzine, or any others.
Overall, this product is uninspired. Despite the branding as a hardcore pre-workout, it falls in the “low-caffeine” category but without providing additional benefits. The effects are likely to be comparable to any other product, but it is easily out-classed by Jekyll, as well as a variety of other products on the market.
- There’s nothing wrong with it…
- …but this product is not as effective as others on the market.
- The proprietary blends hide the quantities of essential ingredients like creatine
Pre Workout Without Caffeine: Quick Buyer’s Guide
Given the importance of a stimulant-free pre-workout not containing caffeine, it’s clear that the main challenge was finding an adequate replacement for this powerful psycho-active compound.
Thus, the most important factor was how well a pre-workout can be used to provide the benefits associated with caffeine.
These benefits are broken down into a few central benefits that you are going to look for in a pre-workout supplement.
- Improving power output and short-term explosive exercise performance (*)
- Improving focus, cognitive performance, and reaction times (*)
- Boosting mood and wakefulness to ensure a better sense of being “ready” for training (*)
Key Ingredients for an Effective Stimulant Free Pre Workout (Zero Caffeine)
There are a few key ingredients to look out for when you’re perusing a stimulant free pre workout supplement.
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Creatine
Creatine is a strength supplement that boosts your power, as well as how long you stay strong during a workout. It also has a bunch of other effects and is often considered to be a pseudo-vitamin for the all-round health benefits it provides.
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Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine is a pure-endurance supplement. It improves your time to exhaustion, as well as how you recover between sets of shorter, higher-intensity exercise like sprinting.
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Citrulline
Citrulline boosts the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscles – this might bring some recovery benefits, but it’s mostly popular because it increases the intensity of the ‘pump’. This is a secondary process in building muscle, so it’s all beneficial.
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Choline and Cholinergic Compounds
Choline and Cholinergic Compounds are nutrients that makeup neurotransmitters in the brain. Consuming them provides your body with raw materials for acetylcholine, a key player in mental health, neuromuscular efficiency, and even power output.
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Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and Minerals are cool – and we love seeing supplements that provide these alongside effective pre-workout ingredients – but they’re not a big factor. They can be a bonus to a good PWO supplement, but they should primarily come from your diet, with only vitamins C and a few of the B vitamins being important for workout performance in most people.
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Piperine
Piperine is a pre-absorption compound extracted from black pepper that increases the effectiveness of other ingredients by boosting the amount that makes it into your bloodstream. This is great for improving the effectiveness of a pre-workout supplement.
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Betaine
Betaine is an amino acid the maintenance and repair of muscle tissue, with benefits to both physical and cognitive performance.
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Theobromine
Theobromine is a non-caffeine stimulant that plays a similar role in the body but has an overall-milder effect in the doses seen in these pre-workout supplements.
Healthy Pre Workout Solutions, Conclusion
The overall trend of these products is to minimize the amount of caffeine you ingest to ensure that you’re healthy and have options whatever your personal needs and conditions.
Do pre workouts without caffeine work?
For the caffeine-free pre-workout supplements, we’re inclined to split the field into two areas: a performance supplement and a focus supplement.
- Genius provides the best cognitive performance supplement for those who are already taking creatine or aren’t solely focused on workout performance.
- On the other hand, PumpSurge provides a well-rounded product that provides for both your mental and physical needs in a balanced way. It’s not perfect, but of those we’ve looked at today, it provides the best value for money.
Do low caffeine pre workouts work?
When it comes to low-caffeine pre-workouts, we’re inclined to lean towards Jekyll – this is an exemplary approach to providing an effective pre-workout supplement without relying solely on caffeine.
The caffeine levels are low enough to be healthy for those with lower tolerances, while the ingredient profile is an outstanding example for all pre-workouts on the market.
