How to choose your pre-workout: the complete guide

You are standing in front of a wall of colourful tubs, punchy names, promises everywhere. And underneath it all, one simple question still has no clear answer: which one is made for you? The truth is that most pre-workouts on the market are not designed for one particular athlete. They are designed for the average. And the average does not exist on a bench press or on the start line of an interval session.

At MyNutriLab, a French brand, we start from one simple conviction: the best pre-workout is not a brand, it is the one calibrated for you. Here are the criteria that really count.

1. Real doses: the criterion that changes everything

An active is only worth having at the dose it was studied at. Below that, you are paying for a name on a label, not for an effect. A few studied-dose benchmarks, purely as facts:

• Creatine monohydrate: from 3 g/day. It is the only pre-workout active with a health claim authorised in Europe — it “increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise” (EFSA, Regulation 432/2012).
• Beta-alanine: generally studied at around 3,2 g/day, on a build-up logic over several weeks (a precursor of muscle carnosine).
• Citrulline (L-citrulline or citrulline malate): protocols often around 6 to 8 g.
• Betaine (trimethylglycine): the studied dose most often quoted is around 2,5 g/day.

These benchmarks are given for information about research protocols (documented by the ISSN), not as promises of an effect. The key point: if a formula contains a tenth of those amounts, you are potentially below the threshold that means anything.

“Proprietary blend”: why you should run from opacity

A “proprietary blend” shows a list of ingredients and a total weight — “energy complex: 5 000 mg” — but not the mg-by-mg breakdown of each active. There is no way to know whether the creatine weighs 3 g or 200 mg. A formula that stands behind transparency shows every ingredient with its exact amount.

2. The actives that match your goal and your sport

There is no “good” pre-workout in absolute terms, because there is no single type of effort. Asking the same powder to serve a powerlifter and a distance runner inevitably means over-dosing some actives and under-dosing others.

• Strength and short, heavy sets: creatine is the reference active, precisely on the register of short, intense, repeated efforts described by the EFSA claim.
• Hypertrophy and training volume: the actives studied for local muscular endurance (such as beta-alanine and its buffering mechanism) are often discussed here.
• Citrulline: an amino acid and precursor of L-arginine, studied in the context of the nitric oxide pathway (factual description, no claim).
• Stimulation before training: caffeine is the most widely used stimulant — to be dosed according to your tolerance (ANSES safety framework below).

A generic formula settles those trade-offs for you, knowing nothing about your discipline. Made-to-measure does the opposite.

3. Your caffeine tolerance: a personal criterion

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant: it works notably by blocking adenosine receptors. That is a pharmacological fact, not a health claim — and no health claim is authorised for caffeine. Sensitivity varies enormously from one person to the next. Hence the ANSES benchmarks for an adult:

• No more than 200 mg per serving.
• No more than 400 mg per day, from all sources combined.

A standard pre-workout imposes a fixed dose, identical for a habituated 95 kg lifter and for someone who is sensitive. Being able to set the caffeine yourself — or take it down to zero for an evening session — is a matter of common sense and safety.

4. Transparency and quality: what you are really buying

• Full labelling: every active quantified in mg, with no opaque blend.
• Clear ingredient forms: creatine monohydrate, L-citrulline or citrulline malate clearly stated.
• Manufacturing and compliance: a French brand that respects the European regulatory framework.
• No magic promises: an honest player describes mechanisms and doses, not quantified miracles.

Why made-to-measure solves the underlying problem

The flaw in a standard pre-workout is not a botched ingredient: it is the very principle behind it. One powder, one dose, for thousands of different bodies, sports and tolerances. Made-to-measure flips the logic: the formula adapts to you, quantified to the milligram and completely readable. That is the whole conviction behind MyNutriLab: every athlete deserves their own formula. Not a compromise. Yours.

FAQ

Is a higher dose always better?

No. The aim is to reach the studied doses for the actives that match your effort, while respecting the safety benchmarks — notably ANSES for caffeine (200 mg per serving, 400 mg per day). Correctly dosed for you is better.

How can you tell if a pre-workout is under-dosed?

Look at the label. If every active is quantified in mg, compare it with the documented doses (3 g of creatine, for example). If you land on a “proprietary blend” that gives nothing but a total, that is your red flag.

Does creatine have to be in the pre-workout?

Creatine monohydrate “increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise” (EFSA, from 3 g/day). Including it makes sense if your training rests on that type of effort — made-to-measure lets you add it at the useful dose.

How do you handle caffeine if you are sensitive to it?

Set the dose yourself: start low, stay under 200 mg per serving and 400 mg per day (ANSES), and lower it — or remove it altogether — for late-in-the-day sessions.

👉 Build my formula — to the milligram, matched to your sport and your tolerance.