Here are the best pre-workout alternatives that you can make at home. These pre-workout substitutes contain a lot of the same ingredients that regular pre-workouts do but in a completely natural form.
Pre-workout supplements are meant to boost your energy levels, improve your focus, mental clarity and cognition, and improve your pump and endurance. But a lot of people find that pre-workouts make them jittery and overstimulated.
So do we really need pre-workout, and are pre-workouts worth it?
Both yes and no. Pre-workouts work very well for what they are intended for. They contain a lot of great ingredients that boost your energy and improve your muscle pumps. But the same ingredients can be found naturally in food as well.
But it can be a bit difficult to pick the right foods to get the right ingredients. So in this article, I’ve made the process much simpler!
Here are the best natural pre-workout alternatives to improve your training and diet!
Table Of Contents:
What Can I Use To Replace Pre-Workout?
There are a lot of great pre-workout substitutes that are both tasty and easy to prepare. For example regular coffee, bananas, green tea and peanut butter.
When picking pre-workout alternatives I’ve chosen ingredients that mimic or have the same effects as pre-workout ingredients.
What Should A Pre-Workout Contain?
A good pre-workout should boost your energy levels, increase your strength, improve your focus and pump, and decrease fatigue.
Here are the most important pre-workout ingredients that do just that:
Caffeine: Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and a cognitive enhancer. Caffeine boosts your energy levels and improves your focus and cognition. It’s a no-brainer to include in a pre-workout. [1]
Creatine: Creatine is one of the most researched supplements on the planet. Creatine improves strength and increases muscle size by increasing ATP levels in your body. ATP is used by your muscle cells to create energy while exercising. [2]
Citrulline: Citrulline is a Nitric oxide booster. Nitric oxide dilates your blood vessels and allows more blood to flow into your muscles. This improves your endurance but most importantly gives you a massive pump. [3]
L-Tyrosine: L-Tyrosine is a cognitive enhancer that improves your focus, mental clarity and mood. L-Tyrosine regulates the levels of dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenalin in your brain which improves your cognitive functions. [4]
Betaine: Betaine helps to hydrate your muscles by drawing in water into your muscle cells. Hydrated muscles have better endurance and also appear larger. Betaine increases your endurance and improves your pumps. [5]
Can I Replace Pre-Workout With Coffee?
Yes! Coffee is a great pre-workout alternative. One 8-ounce cup of coffee contains up to 100 mg of caffeine which will give you a really good energy boost before your workout.
Coffee will only give you a mental boost and improve your focus and cognition. But it doesn’t help with endurance or muscle pumps.
Best Natural Pre-Workout Alternatives
Now you might be wondering, “What should I put in my homemade pre-workout?”.
Here are the best natural pre-workout alternatives to make at home to give you the same effects as a regular pre-workout.
These natural pre-workout substitutes will boost your energy levels, increase your strength, improve your focus and pump, and decrease fatigue.
Pre-Workout Alternatives With Caffeine
- Coffee – One 8-ounce cup of coffee has about 80-100 mg of caffeine
- Green tea – One 8-ounce cup of green tea has about 30-50 mg of caffeine. Green tea, especially matcha green tea, also contains L-Theanine which helps to improve focus and cognitive performance. [6]
- Chocolate – Chocolate contains a stimulant called Theobromine which has similar effects as caffeine. One ounce of dark chocolate has 130-450 mg of Theobromine. The recommended dose of Theobromine is about 250 mg. [7]
Pre-Workout Alternatives With Creatine
The recommended daily dose of Creatine is 5 grams/day. Here are some creatine-rich pre-workout alternatives.
- Pumpkin seeds – Pumpkin seeds contain 7.8 grams of Creatine per 100 grams
- Hemp seeds – Hemp seeds contain 7.1 grams of Creatine per 100 grams
- Peanuts – Peanuts contain 5 grams of Creatine per 100 grams [8]
Pre-Workout Alternatives With Citrulline
- Watermelon – Watermelon has the highest Citrulline content out of all fruits.
But it’s only 0,02 grams per 100 grams of watermelon. Since the effective dose of Citrulline is 4 grams you would need to consume 20 Kg of watermelon to get enough Citrulline! [9]
This is of course impossible, but another food that contains a lot of nitric oxide is beets. Nitric oxide dilates your blood vessels and improves your muscle pumps which make beets a good pre-workout alternative to Citrulline.
Pre-Workout Alternatives With L-Tyrosine
Most pre-workouts contain 500 mg to 1.5 grams of L-Tyrosine. Here are some great pre-workout alternatives that contain L-Tyrosine.
- Milk – 16 ounces of milk contains 833 mg of L-Tyrosine.
- Yogurt – 1 cup of yogurt contains 650 mg of L-Tyrosine.
- Pumpkin seeds – 2 ounces of pumpkin seeds contain 600 mg of L-Tyrosine. [10]
Pre-Workout Alternatives With Betaine
The recommended dose of Betaine is about 2 grams. Here are some great pre-workout alternatives that contain Betaine.
- Wheat bran – 100 grams of wheat bran contains 1.3 grams of Betaine.
- Spinach – 100 grams of Spinach contains 0.6 grams of Betiane. [11]
Other Pre-Workout Alternatives
Bananas – Bananas contain a lot of carbohydrates that can quickly enter your bloodstream and supply you with energy. Bananas also contain a lot of Potassium which helps with hydration and proper muscle and nerve function.
MCT oil – MCT oil is a great source of fat and it provides quick and long-lasting energy. Your body can use the fatty acids in MCT oil as a fuel source very effectively which makes it a great pre-workout substitute.
Pink Himalayan Salt – ¼ of a teaspoon of Pink Himalayan salt gives you about 500 mg of sodium and a bunch of other important electrolytes.
Having a little bit of salt before your workout improves your muscle pump and hydrates your muscles with important electrolytes.
Water – 20 ounces of water can improve your physical performance significantly. Staying hydrated is super important for having optimal energy levels. But also for getting better muscle pumps and vascularity.
Peanut Butter – Peanut butter is another great source of fat and it also contains a lot of protein to help with muscle recovery. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter helps to keep your energy levels up during your workout.
Best Pre-Workout Snack
Here are 3 great best pre-workout snacks to substitute your pre-workout with.
Pre-Workout Snack 1:
- An 8-ounce cup of Coffee with a tablespoon of MCT oil added to it.
- 1 large banana
- 1 handful of peanuts and pumpkin seeds each
- 12 ounces of water with ¼ tablespoon of Pink Himalayan Salt
This pre-workout alternative snack supplies you with Caffeine, L-Tyrosine, Creatine, lots of fluid and quick carbohydrates for fast energy and hydration.
Pre-Workout Snack 2:
- An 8-ounce cup of matcha green tea
- 1 cup of yogurt with 1 handful of pumpkin seeds and wheat bran
- 1 tbsp of peanut butter
- 12 ounces of water with ¼ tablespoon of Pink Himalayan Salt
This pre-workout alternative snack supplies you with Caffeine, Theanine, L-Tyrosine, Betaine, Creatine, and lots of fluid for hydration and electrolyte balance.
Pre-Workout Snack 3:
- 1 ounce of dark chocolate
- 12 ounces of milk
- 1 handful of pumpkin seeds and peanuts each
- 12 ounces of water with ¼ tablespoon of Pink Himalayan Salt
This pre-workout alternative snack supplies you with Theobromine, L-Tyrosine, Creatine, and water with salt for hydration and electrolyte balance.
Best Pre-Workout Meal
A nutritious pre-workout meal is a great pre-workout alternative. But there are some things to consider when preparing a pre-workout meal.
Have your pre-workout meal 1-2 hours before the gym. If you eat too close to your workout might not have time to digest the meal properly.
Don’t make it too filling. A pre-workout meal should be light on the stomach and easy to digest. Having lots of food in your stomach while training is uncomfortable and will impair your performance.
Keep it simple, every ingredient should earn its place in your stomach. Don’t saturate your pre-workout meal with lots of unnecessary ingredients.
Here are 3 pre-workout meals to substitute your pre-workout with.
Pre-workout meal 1:
- Omelette or scrambled eggs with
- 3 eggs
- ¼ tablespoon of Pink Himalayan Salt
- 1 handful of spinach
- 4 turkey slices
- ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds
- 6 ounces of baked sweet potato baked
Pre-workout meal 2:
- 6 ounces of chicken
- 6 ounces of cooked white rice
- 1 banana
- 1 handful of peanuts
Pre-workout meal 3:
- 6 ounces of herring fillets
- 6 ounces of white rice
- 1 handful of spinach
- ½ avocado
All of these pre-workout meals have a great balance of protein, carbs and fat. The ingredients that I chose also contain lots of important minerals and vitamins, as well as L-Tyrosine, Creatine and omega-3 fatty acids to help improve your performance in the gym.
They are excellent pre-workout alternatives and the serving sizes can be adjusted to your liking. You can always have a cup of coffee for dessert to get an energy boost before your workout.
What Can I Drink As A Natural Pre-Workout Alternative?
A homemade pre-workout smoothie is a great natural pre-workout alternative. It works great as a pre-workout without caffeine if you want to avoid jitters and overstimulation as well. Here is a simple smoothie recipe that you can make as a pre-workout substitute at home.
- 2 cups of milk
- ½ cup of orange juice
- 1 large banana
- 1 handful of spinach
- 1 tbsp of peanut butter
- ½ tbsp of MCT-oil
- 1 handful of pumpkin seeds
- ¼ tablespoon of Pink Himalayan Salt
This smoothie contains fast carbohydrates for quick energy, proteins for muscle repair and fats that can very effectively be used for energy. The smoothie also has lots of L-Tyrosine and Creatine to heighten your mood and focus and improve your strength.
How Can I Get Energy Without Pre-Workout?
There are lots of ways to get energy without using pre-workouts. A simple way to get more energy before the gym is by having a cup of coffee. An 8-ounce cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine which will get you hyped up for your workout.
Another way to get energy without a pre-workout is by taking a short 20-minute nap before going to the gym. 20-minute naps allow you to get some rest and boost your alertness and energy levels without entering deep sleep.
What To Do Now?
Now that you’ve found the best pre-workout alternatives it’s soon time to hit the gym! But before that here are some more recommendations.
If you’re new to pre-workouts and still on the fence about whether or not to try a pre-workout I recommend that you read my article about the best pre-workouts for beginners.
I’ve also written an article about the best cheap pre-workouts, if you don’t want to spend your hard-earned money on supplements.
Sources:
- 1 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22349085/
- 2 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10919967/
- 3 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20386132/
- 4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25598314/
- 5 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19250531/
- 6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4787341/
- 7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6254055/
- 8 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Creatine-Content-in-Select-Foods_tbl3_227249571
- 9 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16007998/
- 10 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/tyrosine-foods#foods
- 11 https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/80/3/539/4690529
