For many people, taste is a crucial factor in deciding on a pre-workout or any supplement for that matter. Because let’s face it, pinching your nostrils together to avoid gagging isn’t enjoyable, especially if you have to do it a lot.
And while many supplements seem to fit the bill of being simply unpalatable, pre-workouts tend to be among the offenders. Hence, this is what motivated us to put together a list of what we (and others) believe to be the best tasting pre-workout supplements.
Some we’ve tried personally and others we chose based on the fact that they’re popular among the general supplement user population.
Taste can be subjective, especially when it comes to supplements. But, in general, if most users are satisfied with a specific flavor/product, then it’s safe to say that we’d recommend it.
And, of course, it also has to give you the boost that you need to get through your sessions as well (we didn’t forget about that).
Best Tasting Pre-workouts
Editor’s Choice: 4 Gauge Pre-Workout– Buy here
“4 Gauge uses dextrose, erythritol, xylitol, and monk fruit extract, which are natural sweeteners. It also has natural flavors, and the ingredients are based on natural sources.”
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Women’s Pre-Workout: Powher Pre-Workout Review – Buy here
“Powher women’s pre-workout is a clinically-dosed, easy-on-the-caffeine supplement for women that has become quite the buzz.”
Best Pre Workout Without Caffeine: Performance Lab Sport– Buy here
“Performance Lab Sport Pre-workout stands out from the rest of our best tasting pre-workout picks because it’s in capsule form.”
Best Pre Workout for Men: Transparent Labs BULK – Buy here
“Transparent Labs BULK designed to support muscle gains through enhanced recovery, while still providing you with energy and increasing mental performance so that you can train harder and longer.”
Best Pre Workout for Weight Loss: Transparent Labs LEAN – Buy here
“Transparent Labs LEAN is formulated to support fat loss efforts with a high dose of proven ingredients to support increased energy expenditure. “
Best with Caffeine Energy: Beyond Raw Lit –Buy here
“Lit gives a nice kick with 250mg caffeine and several other flavors to choose from”
Best for Sustained Energy: MTN Ops Yeti Monster – Buy here
“Strengthens body with explosive sustained energy, increasing performance and endurance levels”
Best Pre Workout for Women & Men: Cellucor C4 – Buy here
“0 Sugar and 0 Calories Per Serving”
Best Pre Workout for Running: Bucked Up Pre-Workout – Buy here
“6,000mg citrulline to ramp up blood flow, plus 2,000mg beta-alanine, and several ingredients that support optimal performance”
Gold Standard Pre-Workout: Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout – Buy here
“ON’s Pre-Workout unleashes amplified energy, focus, and supports enhanced endurance to help you reach the pinnacle of your game.”
Best Pre Workout for Endurance: Rivalus Powder Burn 2.0 – Buy here
“Fourteen key ingredients including, immune health, plus vitamins B6 and B12, Carnosyn, L-arginine, L-citrulline, betaine, tyrosine, taurine, agmatine sulfate, and, of course, caffeine.”
Best All Natural Pre Workout: Old School Labs Vintage Blast – Buy here
“Vintage Blast by Old School Labs is best all natural pre workout supplement with no artificial flavors, sweeteners and colors.”
[Related: 11 Strongest Pre-Workout Supplements in 2021.]
1. 4 Gauge
4 Gauge by the UK-based company Roar Ambition is one of the coolest pre-workouts because of its shotgun shell-shaped bottle design. Oh… and it also contains several intriguing ingredients that enhance both physical and cognitive performance. In other words, it has some firepower!
But what’s great about 4 Gauge is that (at least in my opinion) it tastes pretty darn good, and I didn’t get an aftertaste from it.
4 Gauge comes in only one flavor (Fruit Blast), but there’s a reason for that of which the company explained in the frequently asked section on their website.
This was their response to why they just have one flavor…
“We like to keep things simple and offer you the best.
We spent months testing flavor combinations. We found that our unique fruit explosion flavor was the best tasting by far. It beat many of the leading brands on the market. It tastes so great, which is why we only offer the one flavor.”
4 Gauge uses dextrose, erythritol, xylitol, and monk fruit extract, which are natural sweeteners. It also has natural flavors, and the ingredients are based on natural sources.
Caffeine content per serving: 150mg
Check out our full 4 Gauge pre-workout review for more details on this product.
Click here for the lowest price
2. Powher Women’s Pre-Workout
Powher pre-workout is a clinically-dosed, relatively low-caffeine supplement for women, a good mix of science backed ingredients that could help with sustained energy, performance and focus throughout your workout and the day.
Powher pre-workout formula is different from a lot of similar products that we’ve seen on the market, while some of the ingredients aren’t as proven, this is exactly what makes it stand out.
Click here for the lowest price
Read our complete Powher pre-workout review!
3. Performance Lab Sport
Performance Lab Sport Pre-workout stands out from the rest of our best tasting pre-workout picks because it’s in capsule form. That’s right… many people would prefer to swallow a few capsules over drinking a powdered mix. So, in this case, no flavor is a good thing.
It’s a stimulant-free pre-workout that’s also one of the cleanest formulas out there. Plus, there are several effective ingredients, including a blend of nitric oxide boosting compounds in L-citrulline and L-glutathione. As a result, you should experience big pumps, increased performance, and protection against the potential physiological damaging effects of intense training.
Not to mention, every serving has 1250mg of Creapure creatine, which supports muscle growth, increased strength and power output, and improved performance.
Carnosyn (beta-alanine) increases work capacity, endurance, and performance by acting as a buffer against lactic acid in the muscles. Himalayan pink salt hydrates with electrolytes (potassium. magnesium, and calcium). NutriGenesis® Iron helps to maintain healthy oxygen levels in the blood and muscles, which is crucial for sustaining more prolonged periods of performance. (1, 2)
Caffeine content per serving: 0mg
Read the full review of Performance Lab Pre-workout and also check the 10 Best Caffeine-Free Pre-Workouts
Click here for the lowest price
4. Transparent Labs Bulk
Transparent Labs Bulk is, you guessed it, a bulking formula. It’s designed to support muscle gains through enhanced recovery, while still providing you with energy and increasing mental performance so that you can train harder and longer.
Vitamin D3 and zinc are added to support healthy testosterone levels. Plus, you get a loaded 6,000mg citrulline, 4,000mg beta-alanine, 180mg caffeine for energy, and focus w/ l-theanine to enhance mental effects. (3, 4)
L-norvaline extends nitric oxide production from the citrulline, which maintains pumps for longer. Tyrosine enhances cognitive function and improves stress management. Synephrine has been shown to help with fat loss, cognitive function, and performance. Bioperine enhances nutrient absorption. (5)
Bulk comes in several flavors such as blue raspberry, strawberry lemonade, sour grape to name a few. It’s naturally-sweetened with Stevia and contains natural flavors.
It’s a little sour, but the flavor is relatively mild and very pleasant. It’s like premium rocket fuel for your workouts too!
Caffeine content per serving: 180mg
Read more: Transparent Labs BULK Pre-Workout Review – A Truly Transparent Option
Click here for the lowest price
5. Transparent Labs Lean
Lean is the other pre-workout by Transparent Labs that is formulated to support fat loss efforts with a high dose of proven ingredients to support increased energy expenditure.
It contains most of the same ingredients as Bulk, with a few minor differences.
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Lean offers the same flavors as Bulk and is also sweetened with stevia and contains natural flavors.
Caffeine content per serving: 180mg
Read more: Transparent Labs LEAN Pre-Workout Review
Click here for the lowest price
6. Beyond Raw Lit
Apparently, this product in the ‘Gummy Worm’ flavor, is one of the next best things since sliced bread. Many have raved about this pre-workout, which is a GNC product, and it certainly has the right stuff to get you fired up for any intense physical activities.
Lit gives a nice kick with 250mg caffeine. You also get 3.2g Carnosyn, 1.5g creatine, elevATP, which enhances physical performance and may help to improve body composition. (6, 7)
Neurofactor improves brain function and has neurodegenerative properties. (8)
Nitrosigine showed in one study to significantly enhance pre-workout energy levels, pumps, and muscle damage. (9)
Aside from Gummy Worm, there are several other flavors to choose from, such as blue raspberry, Icy fireworks, iced tea lemonade, cotton candy, orange mango, and sour gummy to name a few.
Lit contains natural and artificial sweeteners and the artificial sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium.
Caffeine content per serving: 250mg
Check out our Beyond Raw Lit review
7. MTN Ops Yeti Monster
Not only does MTN Ops Monster offer some of the best-tasting options available, but it also seems to be a crowd favorite for providing a boost without the crash.
A dose serves up 5g arginine and L-citrulline for pump-support plus creatine, Carnosyn, and glutamine. There’s also a nice range of vitamins such as C, D3, B6/12, in addition to folic acid and chromium.
A few of their popular flavor options include blue raspberry, green apple, watermelon, and Tiger’s blood. The product contains natural flavors and the artificial sweetener sucralose.
Caffeine content per serving: 200mg
8. Cellucor C4
C4 has been around for many years now, and although there are different versions, it’s a product that has consistently made it on many best tasting pre-workout supplement lists.
The original had many popular choices from pink lemonade to blue razz, fruit punch, and strawberry margarita. But, if you decide to go with any of the C4 pre-workout variations, just check in with some of the user reviews to make sure that you get a flavor that most are usually satisfied with. Although, you can’t go wrong with the flavors mentioned above with the original C4.
Caffeine content per serving: varies depending on the version of C4
9. Bucked Up Pre-Workout
If we’re talking taste, Bucked Up definitely has to be in the conversation. It’s a product known for its superior flavor, and it also happens to be popular because it works!
A serving provides a large dose of B12, which is vital for cell energy and health. You also get 6,000mg citrulline to ramp up blood flow, plus 2,000mg beta-alanine, and several ingredients that support optimal performance, along with Alphasize for sharper focus during your physical endeavors.
So, in other words, it’s more than just a tasty pre-workout as you’ll get the performance benefits too.
The product comes in red raz, blue raz, pink lemonade, grape, strawberry kiwi, and watermelon. You probably can’t go wrong with any of these. The product contains natural and artificial flavors and sucralose, which is a natural sweetener.
Caffeine content per serving: 200mg
10. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout
Optimum Nutrition is known for its top-notch products with very good flavors, and we didn’t expect much to change with their pre-workout. It’s a hot seller with a lot of happy users, which means that most of the flavors should be acceptable. But choose based on your usual preference.
A serving provides several essential vitamins such as vitamin D, B6, B12, and a few others that support good health. There’s 3g of creatine monohydrate and Astragin as a muscle support matrix. Not to mention, it contains Carnosyn and L-citrulline for pumps and performance and an energy complex with caffeine and L-carnitine to name the most notable ingredients.
Products are naturally and artificially flavored and are sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame potassium.
Caffeine content per serving: 175mg
11. Rivalus Powder Burn 2.0
Rivalus has a pretty impressive lineup of flavors to go with their very good pre-workout formula.
Fourteen key ingredients are included to elicit impressive energy-boosting, performing-enhancing, and cognitive function supporting effects. These include Carnosyn, L-arginine, L-citrulline, betaine, tyrosine, taurine, agmatine sulfate, and, of course, caffeine.
There are a few other welcome ingredients such as vitamin C for immune health, plus vitamins B6 and B12.
Their flavor options include raspberry, knockout punch, orange, and watermelon. Based on user reviews, they seem to have done an excellent job with all flavors, so choose whichever sounds most appealing to you.
The powder contains natural flavors and the artificial sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium.
Caffeine content per serving: 200mg
12. Old School Labs Vintage Blast
A go-to for an overwhelmingly large percentage of the workout enthusiast population, Vintage Blast is a natural pre-workout formula that simply kicks butt! Oh… and your taste buds will be pleased with most of their flavor offerings.
Besides containing several vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes to support overall and optimal hydration, Vintage Blast delivers two stages of performance-boosting ingredient combinations to ensure you experience the desired effects.
- Stage 1 ingredients include 5,000mg citrulline malate, 1,000mg beta-alanine, arginine, carnitine, and 150mg caffeine anhydrous.
- Stage 2 ingredients include 2,000mg D-aspartic acid, which increases strength and recovery, L-tyrosine, and 100mg encapsulated caffeine.
They offer one flavor, which is blueberry lemonade, but most users seem to be very happy with it. There are absolutely no artificial flavors or sweeteners, and the powder is 100% sweetened with stevia.
Caffeine content per serving: 250mg
Read more: Old School Labs Vintage Blast – What is This Pre-Workout Supplement a Top Choice?
Wrapping Up
That wraps up our list of best tasting pre-workout supplements on the market for 2021. While we were able to try out some of these flavors personally, we did thorough research to ensure that our picks were as accurate as possible.
Because while people may not be all that concerned about the taste as long as the product does its job, we completely sympathize with those who need a palatable option. Not to mention, these products should give you the effects that you expect from a quality pre-workout.
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