I love pre-workout just as much as anyone else but lets be honest, its expensive as fuck! The average leading pre workouts cost around $36 for a small container that usually only have 30 servings and unless you are sensitive to caffeine, most people are going to use more than only one damn scoop.
The other problem is that a lot of PWOs are very under dosed on the ingredients that actually work. The very select few that do have the proper clinical doses that are needed to actually work, cost just as much and will only have around 20 servings. The less expensive PWOs are usually masked with a proprietary blends on the labels which make it impossible to really know what the hell you are really getting.
There is an alternative to forking out a shit-ton of your hard earned money to get that kick ass, hyped up feeling that only PWOs can provide.
Make your own…
There was a 6-month period where I didn’t have to go out and buy preworkout because I purchased enough of the raw materials to last me that long and it was in doses that worked! I had to spend a ton of time researching what the most beneficial compounds where that went in to these containers of powdered heaven and just how much of each ingredient the human body requires to actually be effective.
Caffeine- Increases mental focus and cognitive awareness. It also aids in thermogenic fat loss as well as an overall increase in energy. The effective dosage is between 200mg and 375 mg.
Beta Alanine-This is what gives that tingly feeling that you get when you know your preworkout has kicked in. Its main purpose is to decrease muscle fatigue which helps athletes train harder and longer by acting as a lactic acid buffer. The effective dosage is between 1500mg and 2000mg.
Creatine- Creatine Monohydrate is probably one of the most researched supplements with tons of studies to back up its numerous benefits. Creatine basically pulls water into the muscle cells, which increases protein synthesis thus allowing for faster recovery and accelerated growth in muscle tissue. The effective dosage is 5grams(5000mg).
Flavor-You are going to have to get some sort of flavoring because most of these raw materials are going to taste like shit without it.
Citrulline Malate- We have all heard how arginine gives you a pump because it increases nitric oxide. Well, the studies that they did with arginine were done in an excessively dosed liquid form that were administered with an IV drip and not ingested with a pill or powder. Citrulline is what the body converts arginine into in order to actually work and cause vasodilatation, or what most of us know as a sick fucking pump. This is a very awesome compound that is a little more expensive and not something I always use unless I’m really try to go for a serious pump. This is a bit more expensive compound as the effective dosage is between is a whopping 6 to 8 grams! Therefore, I’m going to leave this out of the ingredient list for the homemade preworkout, but still keep it in mind. http://www.strongsupplementshop.com/citrulline-malate-by-primaforce
All of the ingredients can be purchased in their raw form at http://www.strongsupplementshop.com
Ingredients
Caffeine 120 pills 200mg each at $12.95 http://www.strongsupplementshop.com/caffeine-by-serious-nutrition-solutions
Beta Alanine (Primaforce) 200grams or 100 to 133 servings at $17.95 http://www.strongsupplementshop.com/beta-alanine-by-primaforce
Creatine Monohydrate (Vital Labs) 600 grams or 120 servings at $15.95 http://www.strongsupplementshop.com/vital-creatine-by-vl
Koolade squirts 24 serving for $2.78 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kool-Aid-Tropical-Punch-Liquid-Drink-Mix-1.62-fl-oz/23598042
Cost Per serving
200 mg of Caffeine= $ .10
2grams of Beta Alanine= $ .18
5grams of Creatine= $ .13
1 Squirt of Koolade=$ .12
The total cost for 1 serving of effectively dosed Homemade PWO is only $ .53 as apposed to an average $1.25 per serving of the average brands. The end result is that you save a shit load of money and know exactly what you are putting into your body.