Save your money, they are generally a marketing placebo.
Nothing that can't be achieved by a cup of coffee and a banana.

Plenty of studies out there to prove they have zero to negligible effects (not the ones posted by the manufacturing companies )

Work hard & eat well.

I use adren.o.lyn cuts and swear by it. It gives me focus and the extra energy to workout to my full potential and not have me leave the gym crying. It's just hard to find and a little pricey but I think it is worth it.

I use adren.o.lyn cuts and swear by it. It gives me focus and the extra energy to workout to my full potential and not have me leave the gym crying. It's just hard to find and a little pricey but I think it is worth it.

i've narrowed it down to a dose of carbs, ragnarok ultra and 1,3 dimethylamylamine by simply figuring out what it is i needed before my workout rather than what seemed like was working for others. since i lift very early in the morning i needed clean energy (the dimethyl helps me with that), fuel to power my workouts (the 40 some grams of carbs i take as soon as i get up provide that), and all the extra pump and drive that my ipod playlist doesn't already offer lol (the ragnarok ultra is a solid mix of just about everything you'd ever need prior to an intense physical activity)

in the end, just assess what it is you need (every body is different, after all) and address those needs.

The other day I did my upper workout with just a dose of Vega Pre-Workout (all plant based) and a geranium pill. Im really gonna try and stick with it as it is all plant based and has no artif colours, flavours or sweetners added to it. Plus its only 100mg caffeine from green tea leaf and yerba mate which are slow even stims. I used to use a full dose of razor 8 (380mg caff) plus geranium but I dont think its very good to get all jacked up on stims. So for the next few weeks I will just use Vega and see how it goes

yeah the geranium is amazing... in my entirely biased opinion, it is my preferred intake of the 1,3 dimethyl... too bad nutraplanet is already out of stock and i'm forced to go with the half as potent pill form. i love the stim i get from it... clean, slow, steady and fades so subtly, i dont even notice it.

all other stims freak out my system and make me even more manic than i already am hahaha

But didnt the fda just ban it in the us? Or did they ban it only in pre-workouts as well? Jack3d pulled out of Canada when it was banned here but I dont think they will pull out of the US now haha. I know in Canada its banned but only in pre-workout drinks and energy drinks. I can buy it in capsule form 25mg from Nutrabolics.

I take Beta-alanine before I work out. It gives me an energy boost and helps my endurance. It takes a couple of weeks to get a blood level before you see results. the National Institute of Health has the results of studies done by the College of New Jersey and the University of Oklahoma that show that Beta-Alanine helps strength and endurance.

Beta-alanine improves sprint performance in endurance cycling.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19276843

Effect of creatine and beta-alanine supplementation on performance and endocrine responses in strength/power athletes.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17136944

robert, yeah that's probably why NP sold out of it in bulk so quickly and Jack3d did have to remove it. my understanding is that the "ban date" just hasn't passed yet which is why some forms of it are still available. i stocked up on the primaforce 20mg capsules instead.

wolfgirl, i'm a big fan of beta-alanine which is part of the reason why i love going with the ragnarok ultra as my preWo. good links btw, i'm always happy to read more literature about the stuff i back

Haha ya, get it while the gettin is good.

Will Brink is a big fan of beta as well. He is a smart guy when it comes to sups and takes 3 or 4g of beta in his home made preworkout drink.

I have tried several different pre-workout supps. Currently I am combining a product called "White Flood" with Jack3D and am quite happy with it. I definitely get an energy boost, and a great pump from it. I have used NoExplode in the past, but I call that one just plain ol Explode because of the GI effect it seems to have on me... I also occasionally chug a Redline before hitting the gym, but seem to have quickly built up a tolerance to its effect.

White Flood gets good reviews. I found jack3d too costly because I had to take 3 heaping scoops so it was not a good deal.

The best pre workout for me is some organic carrot juice, but usually I end up finishing a cup of strong coffee just as the workouts starting.

I use c4 occasionally. It's very similar to jack3d but it works better for me. I'm not sensitive to caffeine at all so I don't really get the increased energy effect but it makes me more focused on my work out and gives me better pump.

So far the only one I have tried is N.O. Xplode. Personally I think it tastes horrible and it takes 2+ scoops for me to get any pump. I am not sensitive to caffeine either so I don't really feel an energy boost or an increased focus either. Definitely not worth it for me so I I know I wont be buying it again.