What Is High Stim Pre-Workout: Pros/Cons Explained

There’s no way you haven’t heard of high stim pre-workouts, unless you have absolutely zero interest in fitness supplements. However, just because you may have heard of them doesn’t mean you know exactly what they are, and that could mean – you’re missing out on something that could really help you out. 

In short, high stim pre-workout is  powerful supplement that give you a boost of energy, focus, and endurance during workouts. What makes a pre-workout high stim and how does it differ from other pre-workouts? Should you use it or not? 

Keep reading and we’ll answer all those questions!

What Goes Into the Strongest Pre-Workouts?

1. Caffeine

The most important ingredient for a strong pre-workout is caffeine. While most standard pre-workouts will have between 100-200mg of caffeine, we decided to highlight pre-workouts with high caffeine contents of 300mg+.

This amount of caffeine will provide a significant boost of stimulation, so it should only be taken by those used to high doses of caffeine. However, for those used to caffeine, this amount of stimulation will provide a meaningful boost of energy leading to more intense workouts and increased focus in the gym.

It should be noted that the most caffeine someone should have in a day is around 400mg. So, if you’re taking a strong pre-workout, consider limiting other caffeine intake. Taking more than this could cause side effects like anxiety, headaches, and insomnia.

2. Other Active Ingredients (L-Citrulline, Beta-Alanine, Betaine, Creatine)

While Caffeine is the ingredient most people look for in a strong pre-workout, you should also consider the active ingredients found in a formula. The benefits and optimal doses of each of these ingredients are broken down in the table below.

Ingredient	Ideal Dose	Effects
L-Citrulline/Citrulline Malate	3g+ of L-Citrulline/6g+ of Citrulline Malate	Improves Pumps Increases Exercise Capacity
Beta-Alanine	2g+ (or any dosage to reach ~3-6.4g total per day)	Increases power Reduces intra-workout fatigue
Betaine	1.25-2.5g	Improves force production Increases training volume
Creatine	3-5g/day	Improves high-intensity exercise performance Reduces intra-workout fatigue Improves recovery Increases lean body mass

3. Additional Ingredients (Alpha-Gpc, Taurine, etc.)

There are plenty of other ingredients that may be included in a pre-workout. These include things like Alpha-GPC and Taurine. The reason we didn’t highlight them in this list is because they don’t appear to be very beneficial for training. For the best effects, we recommend prioritizing the ingredients outlined above instead.

Our expert Jacek Szymanowski has a great idea for those, who don’t want to buy just a ready-made pre-workout, and here is his suggestion:

«Make your own. Buy single ingredient formulas like caffeine, beta-alanine, L-citrulline, taurine, tyrosine etc Choose the best dose and formula for yourself. Need extra stim – add extra caffeine pill 😉»

Why Do You Need a High-Stim Pre-Workout?

1. You’re in a Calorie Deficit

A high-stim pre-workout will be especially beneficial to those in a caloric deficit. This is because you naturally have less energy when you’re eating less. So, the high amounts of caffeine in pre-workout will help you be able to get more intense, and complete workouts – especially if you’re combining strength training with cardio.

2. You Want More Intense Workouts

Regardless of whether you’re dieting or not, using a high-stim pre-workout will help you achieve more intensity in your workouts. The combination of caffeine and active ingredients is perfect for pushing your limits at the gym, which is necessary if you want to make consistent progress.

Here is a tip from our expert Ernesto Mendez:

«Make your own. Buy single ingredient formulas like caffeine, beta-alanine, L-citrulline, taurine, tyrosine etc Choose the best dose and formula for yourself. Need extra stim – add extra caffeine pill 😉»

3. Regular Pre-Workouts Aren’t Cutting It Anymore

You may also want a stronger pre-workout because you’ve been taking regular pre-workout for a while and aren’t noticing major effects anymore. This is likely because you’ve built up a stronger tolerance to caffeine. While stronger pre-workouts are a way to get a more significant effect, an alternative would be to lower your caffeine tolerance to limit caffeine intake.

2 Benefits of Strong Pre-Workouts

✅ Greatly Improved Energy

The main benefit of strong pre-workouts is the increased energy you’ll get every time you take a serving. Most of the pre-workouts on our list contain as much caffeine as several cups of coffee, so you can imagine the level of stimulation they’ll provide. If you struggle with maintaining energy throughout your workouts, a strong pre-workout may be what you need to give it your all from start to finish.

✅ Increased Performance and Recovery From Active Ingredients

On top of the benefits of caffeine, any combination of active ingredients will likely boost your performance as well. Whether this is from the improved force production of Betaine or the increased exercise capacity from L-Citrulline. Also, Creatine and Beta-Alanine both have properties that improve recovery with consistent use, which will greatly improve performance over time as well.

How to Find the Best High-Stim Pre-Workout?

1. Caffeine Content

First, you’ll need to decide how much caffeine is right for you in each serving. Because we were highlighting the highest caffeine pre-workouts, most of the pre-workouts on our list have 300mg+. But, if you’re new to pre-workout you may want a milder supplement in the 100-200mg range.

However, if you’re an experienced user and want the most caffeine possible, consider a supplement like Pre-Kaged Elite which has 388mg per serving.

One of our experts – Dina – is not a fan of pre-workouts, but she also takes it and here is here suggestion:

«Make your own. Buy single ingredient formulas like caffeine, beta-alanine, L-citrulline, taurine, tyrosine etc Choose the best dose and formula for yourself. Need extra stim – add extra caffeine pill 😉»

2. Active Ingredient Content

Next, you’ll want to consider what active ingredients you want in your pre-workout and whether or not the supplement you’re looking at contains effective doses. The ideal pre-workout would contain solid doses of L-Citrulline, Beta-Alanine, Betaine, and Creatine, although this is fairly rare.

3. Value for Money

You’ll also want to consider the caffeine and active ingredient content alongside value for money. While Pre-Kaged Elite is the strongest option on our list, it’s also easily the most expensive choice. Something like Transparent Labs likely offers better value for money, despite having slightly weaker overall formulas.

4. Flavor

Finally, although this is the least important factor to consider, you should try to find a pre-workout supplement you’ll enjoy drinking. We recommend looking through the product reviews to see which flavors people prefer, and whether people seem to enjoy the taste of any given supplement. It may take some trial and error to find a pre-workout you enjoy drinking, but it’s worth it considering if you’ll be drinking it nearly every day. 

If you’re mainly after caffeine, Bulk Black delivers 275mg of caffeine anhydrous, as well as 30mg of dicaffeine malate. For active ingredients, you can expect high doses of citrulline malate, beta-alanine, and betaine. Consistent doses, although they may also demonstrate benefits with acute doses as well.

Bulk Black contains 8g of citrulline malate, 4g of beta-alanine, and 2.5g of betaine, which are all effective doses for their desired effects. 

You can get this product in 5 different flavors which is around the average for our list. Also, like all Transparent Labs products, Bulk Black is made with no artificial ingredients whatsoever, which is fairly uncommon for a pre-workout supplement. 

In terms of price, each serving of Bulk Black will cost you around ~$1.83. This makes it one of the cheaper products on our list, offering excellent value for the money list considering its exceptional quality.

The Impact of Pre-Workout on Hydration

Because caffeine is a diuretic, it will lead to increased urination. However, this effect is largely offset by the liquid taken in alongside caffeine. Caffeine is unlikely to cause dehydration in large doses, especially if there is adequate fluid intake.

Still, with hydration being one of the most important factors in exercise performance, this is something you’ll need to keep in mind. We recommend drinking water before, during, and after your workout, especially if you’re exercising for longer than an hour at a time.

High-Stim Pre-Workout Tips

One of the main things you’ll have to keep in mind when using extreme pre-workouts is your total daily caffeine intake. The FDA recommends that you don’t exceed 400mg of caffeine per day. With some of the supplements on our list approaching this amount, you may want to limit your other caffeine intake when taking a high-stim pre-workout.

As for the dosage, our expert Sergii Putsov gives his recommendation:

«Make your own. Buy single ingredient formulas like caffeine, beta-alanine, L-citrulline, taurine, tyrosine etc Choose the best dose and formula for yourself. Need extra stim – add extra caffeine pill 😉»

If you’re a daily coffee drinker, you may want to opt for a milder pre-workout instead to not exceed 400mg a day. Also, with any pre-workout over 200mg of caffeine, you shouldn’t double the dose. Doing so could lead to side effects like anxiety, headaches, and insomnia.

In terms of timing, we recommend taking your pre-workout between 30-60 minutes before your workout to optimize effects. Caffeine takes around an hour to kick in, or less depending on how full you are, making this the ideal timeframe for ingesting pre-workout.

If you’re wondering how to take pre-workout, we recommend following the instructions on whichever product you buy. Typically, this will look something like mixing 1 scoop of pre-workout with 1-2 cups of water. If your pre-workout isn’t mixing properly, we recommend using warm water as this should increase solubility.

FAQ

Can You Take High-Stim Pre-Workout Everyday?

While there are some benefits to taking strong pre-workout every day, especially if it contains ingredients like creatine, betaine, and beta-alanine, you may not want to because of the high caffeine content. Especially if you enjoy drinking coffee or tea throughout the day, you may want to limit high-stim caffeine use to only when you really need it.

Is 400 mg Caffeine Too Much Pre-Workout?

400mg in one serving is a lot even for the most experienced pre-workout users. However, this is right around the recommended maximum daily intake, so it shouldn’t cause serious adverse effects as long as you’re not taking any more caffeine throughout the day.

Still anything over 200mg at once is considered a high dose of caffeine, and may cause side effects in sensitive individuals. Such a high dose is also not recommended for adolescents or pregnant individuals. Overall a supplement with 400mg of caffeine should only be used by the most hardcore pre-workout users.

Is 700mg of Caffeine Too Much?

Yes, 700mg is nearly double the recommended daily limit of caffeine intake. If this were in a single dose, it would be one of the most dangerous and craziest pre-workouts available. Ideally, you shouldn’t be exceeding 400mg of caffeine throughout the day, so 700mg is far too much.

Why Should I Choose a Strong Pre-workout Over a Regular Strength Supplement?

A pre-workout with high caffeine is only necessary if you’re used to taking regular pre-workouts and have gotten used to its effects. High-stim pre-workout can then help you get a more noticeable hit of energy before your workout. If you’re new to pre-workout, there’s no reason to choose an incredibly high-stim supplement, with 100-200mg of caffeine likely being sufficient for noticeable effects.

Conclusion

While a high-stimulant pre-workout won’t be for everybody, for those used to standard pre-workouts, these options can provide a more substantial boost in the gym.

If you’re looking for the best overall strong pre-workout, we recommend checking out Bulk Black by Transparent Labs.

Are you an experienced pre-workout user looking for a stronger supplement? What pre-workout do you currently use? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

References:

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4. J Luke Pryor “Effect of betaine supplementation on cycling sprint performance” J Int Soc Sports Nutr.  2012 Apr 3.
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14. Photos made by Torokhtiy Media Team