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If you’ve ever flipped over the label of a pre-workout powder, you’ve probably seen a wall of unpronounceable ingredients. From artificial colors and sweeteners to unnecessary stimulants and mystery “blends,” most pre-workouts on the market today are more chemical cocktail than clean fuel.
Here’s what we don’t love about the majority of pre-workouts:
🚫 1. Artificial Sweeteners and Flavors
Many pre-workouts are loaded with sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and artificial flavors to make them taste like blue raspberry candy. While the taste might be appealing, these additives can irritate the gut and disrupt the microbiome over time.
🚫 2. Proprietary Blends (aka: What are you actually taking?)
“Proprietary blend” is a fancy way of saying: “We’re not telling you how much of each ingredient is in here.” That means you could be getting underdosed on the good stuff and overloaded with the junk.
🚫 3. Cheap Ingredients
From low-quality caffeine sources to synthetic amino acids, most pre-workouts are built for margin, not performance. They’re often missing key electrolytes, use low-bioavailable forms of vitamins, and don’t prioritize ingredient sourcing or purity.
So What Should You Look For In a Pre-Workout?
If you want to fuel your workout with clean energy and ingredients that actually support performance (without the crash), here’s what to look for:
- Natural caffeine from sources like green tea or coffee bean
- L-citrulline or beta-alanine for blood flow and endurance
- No artificial sweeteners, flavors, or dyes
- Full transparency on ingredient amounts
Kyle’s Clean Picks for Pre-Workout Powders
After testing a bunch of different options, here are my personal favorites that I’d recommend to anyone looking for a clean pre-workout:
✅ Just Ingredients (Code: CLEANKITCHEN)
Just Ingredients Pre-Workout is packed with real, recognizable ingredients and uses natural caffeine from green tea. It gives me a smooth energy boost without the crash or jitters, and it’s free from artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors.
✅ Kono Nutrition (Code: CLEANKITCHEN)
Kono Nutrition Pre-Workout is another solid option made with clinically dosed ingredients like L-citrulline to support blood flow and endurance. They also use organic guayusa extract, providing 100mg of naturally occurring caffeine per serving for smooth, focused energy without the jitters. It’s fully transparent (no proprietary blends), naturally sweetened, and designed to fuel your workout with clean energy.
Final Thoughts
Pre-workout doesn’t have to mean a tub of neon powder with ingredients you can’t pronounce. The cleaner your fuel, the better your performance — and the better you’ll feel after. Ditch the artificial junk and try one of these instead. You can also just go for a clean, toxin free coffee or tea. You can find my favorite coffee/tea brands here.
Have a favorite clean pre-workout I should check out? DM me on Instagram — always down to test something new 💪
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