Selecting the right pre-workout supplements can be overwhelming. With so many options, it can be tough to separate the effective ones from those that are useless or even harmful. Do you know what to look for before spending your hard-earned money?
If not, good news. In this non-biased article, you’ll discover the pros and cons of the best keto-friendly pre-workout products, so that you can pick the one that’s optimal for your personal goals and situation.
The products outlined below contain scientifically proven ingredients – in the right dosage! – that can take your gym performance and fitness results to the next level.
In a rush? Check our recommended products here!
Why Take a Pre-Workout Supplement?
We all know inhaling a bag of Doritos before attacking your workout isn't the most efficient strategy.
Instead, to kick ass in the gym and maximize your fitness results, you must supply your body with the right nutrients. A pre-workout supplement can help you with this.
A well-formulated pre-workout product contains ingredients that raise energy and motivation, elevate fat burning, improve blood circulation, and boost strength and endurance.
As a result, you can push yourself harder in the gym and make better progress towards your fitness goals.
Do You Need A Pre-Workout Supplement?
Although a pre-workout can be a nice boost to your energy levels before it’s time to hit the gym, you absolutely do NOT need one. A pre-workout supplement is just that- a supplement to your diet.
You can get the energy and motivation you need to nail your workout without supplemental help by eating the right keto foods, staying hydrated, and getting enough rest. A pre-workout supplement can have adverse effects if you’re not taking proper care of yourself.
For example, many pre-workouts contain large amounts of caffeine or other ingredients that act as a diuretic and can dehydrate you before your workout. This can make your workout even more challenging than it’s intended to be because you’ll be fighting fatigue and dehydration, which can feel a lot like the keto flu!
If you’re not a fan of taking a pre-workout, then try increasing your calorie intake before you exercise. This might include getting in an extra serving of fat or protein and increasing your fluid intake.
This would also be a good time to eat some low-carb fruit or vegetables. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables can help you recover by reducing oxidative stress, which can reduce muscle soreness in between workouts and allows you to emerge a better athlete.
A proper warm-up can also help get you energized for your workout. Consider doing breathing exercises, a few minutes of stretching, or light cardio to get your body ready for what’s to come.
What follows are the three best keto-friendly pre-workout options and the pros and cons of each product.
#1. Perfect Keto Perform Sports Drink (Best Choice)
Why does Perfect Keto Perform deserve the first spot on our list? Well, there are various reasons why this product is the Royal Royce of the keto-friendly pre-workout supplements.
First off, Perfect Keto Perform is designed explicitly for trainees on a ketogenic diet.
It contains zero carbs and zero grams of sugar. (In contrast, many other pre-workout products are loaded with sugars which can impair ketosis).
Even though Perfect Keto Perform is carb-free, it’s still a powerful energy booster, primarily because it contains 7.7 grams of Beta-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB) per serving.
BHB is a compound that your cells’ mitochondria can use to produce energy when glucose is absent.
Besides, each serving contains:
5 grams of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) for rapid digestion and readily available energy
Caffeine derived from green tea for prolonged alertness and increased fat burning
L-citrulline for improved blood flow and better muscle pumps
Creatine for increased power output, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) to support muscle performance
Beta-alanine to aid muscular strength and endurance
What about the taste though? Does Perfect Keto Perform also tick the boxes in that area? The answer to that is yes. It contains a delicious lemon flavor that makes the drink taste better than most other pre-workout products on the market.
THE GOOD
- Boosts energy and performance
- Supports fat burning
- Enhances blood flow
- Contains zero carbs and zero grams of sugar
- Has no additives or fillers
- Tastes great
- Provides clean and smooth energy, without ever leaving you jittery
THE BAD
Offers a limited choice of flavors
Usage:
Take ½ to 1 serving 15 to 30 minutes before your workout, blended into 8 to 10 ounces of water or sports drink for maximum results.
Our thoughts:
Excellent! With its wide range of scientifically-proven nutrients and its delicious lemon flavor, you can’t go wrong with choosing Perfect Keto Perform. Whether your goal is losing fat, building muscle, improving endurance, or something else, Perfect Keto Perform will aid your gym performance and your quest to conquering your fitness goals.
Here are the customers' reviews:
#2. BPI Sports Pre-Workout
The pre-workout from BPI Sports contains zero carbs and is explicitly designed for trainees on a ketogenic diet.
Each serving gives you a considerable amount of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) – a type of fat that is rapidly broken down and absorbed, which means your body can use it as an instant energy source.
What’s more, BPI Sports pre-workout also contains BHB – a molecule that aids energy production when glucose is absent – and caffeine. Both boost your vigor and workout performance so that you can push your workout to its fullest potential.
To top it off, the pre-workout by BPI Sports contains CDP-Choline, a nootropic compound that acts as an acetylcholine precursor.
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter (brain chemical) that plays a crucial role in focus, clarity, and alertness.
By supplementing with CDP-Choline, acetylcholine levels rise, which sharpens focus and increases alertness during your workout [1].
THE GOOD
- Boosts energy and performance
- Aids focus and alertness
- Keto-friendly
- Available in four delicious flavors
THE BAD
- Contains no ingredients to enhance blood flow
Usage:
Blend one scoop into eight ounces of water (or sports drink) and drink it around 15 to 30 minutes before your workout.
Our thoughts:
The pre-workout by BPI does a fantastic job of boosting physical and mental performance. The latter is what makes this product unique on the market. And since this product is available in four delicious flavors – apple pear, blue lemon ice, tropical freeze, and watermelon ice – it will also satisfy your sweet tooth.
#3. Sheer Strength Labs - KETO Pre Workout Powder
Sheer Keto Pre-Workout is a well-rounded product that can rev up your workout performance and support fat burning. How? First off, this product contains caffeine, which improves the use of fat for fuel and aids alertness, strength, and endurance.
Besides, Sheer Keto Pre-Workout is loaded with beta-alanine, a molecule that’s scientifically proven to improve muscular endurance by buffering acid in your muscles [2]. As a result, your lifting performance in the 8 to 15 rep range increases.
What’s more – and this makes Sheer Keto Pre-Workout unique – the product also contains calcium, magnesium, and sodium. These three minerals are classified as electrolytes, which are substances your muscles need to contract. Having enough of them in your system supports strength, power, and endurance performance and decreases the risk of muscle cramping.
THE GOOD
- Effectively boosts energy and performance
- Contains electrolytes
- Is Keto-friendly
- Has an amazing sweet taste
THE BAD
Only one flavor available
Taste can be too sweet and overpowering for some
Usage:
Take one serving 15 to 30 minutes before your workout training, blended into 8 ounces of cold water or beverage, or as suggested by a qualified healthcare practitioner.
Our thoughts:
If you're looking for a sweet pre-workout that can boost your performance to the next level, then Sheer Keto pre-workout is an excellent option. The watermelon taste will make you look forward to your next workout, and the added electrolytes are great for those who tend to suffer muscle cramping during their workouts.
Homemade Pre-Workout Drinks
If you’re not big on pre-formulated products, then you can always create your own pre-workout drink. This allows you to fully customize the ingredients to your needs, and you can experiment with combinations and dosages to find what works best for you.
You can design your own pre-workout supplement in several ways.
There are so many pre-workout recipes you can find online. Make sure to experiment to find the right one for you.
Below is our version that you might try. What follows is a simple but effective DIY recipe that can help you power through your next workout.
Here are the ingredients:
- Coffee beans
- MCT Oil (Read our Best MCT Oil Reviews for more)
- Beta Alanine Powder
- Citrulline Malate Powder
First off, brew 12 to 15 ounces of coffee. This will not only ensure you're properly dehydrated (which aids performance), but also supplies you, on average, with 142 to 178 grams of caffeine. Research shows caffeine can boost muscle strength, aid fat burning, raise metabolism, improve focus and alertness, and enhance aerobic and anaerobic performance [3].
Secondly, stir one or two teaspoons of MCT oil into your coffee. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are quickly digested, providing an available energy source that perfectly fits a ketogenic diet.
Thirdly, add five grams of citrulline malate. This is an amino acid that boosts your nitric oxide level, which leads to increased blood flow, enhanced muscle pumps, and decreased fatigue [5].
At last, add 2.5 grams of beta-alanine powder – an amino acid that gets converted into carnosine in your body. Carnosine is a molecule that helps buffer acid in your muscles. As a result, muscular endurance improves, and you’ll experience less fatigue during your workout.
Pros:
- You can customize the ingredients and dosages to your needs
- No sweeteners, binders, fillers, and coloring agents
- Cost-efficient (when ingredients are bought in bulk)
Cons:
- Takes longer to prepare
- Can come at the expense of taste
Our thoughts:
Creating your own pre-workout allows you to maintain full control of the ingredients of your pre-workout drink and their dosages, which is great if you want to customize your pre-workout to your personal situation and needs.
What is the Best Pre-Workout for Keto?
The supplement industry is loaded with garbage pre-workout products. When we read the ingredient lists of many of them, we felt that swallowing the labels would do more than the products themselves.
The good news? There are excellent keto-friendly options on the market that can catapult your workout performance and fitness results to new heights of success.
Which one do we recommend? For most readers, hands-down the one by Perfect Keto. It not only has a delicious lemon flavor but is also loaded with scientifically proven ingredients that can boost energy levels, support fat burning, enhance blood flow, and aid strength and power.
You can learn more about Perfect Keto Perform, taste the delicious lemon flavor, and experience the proven benefits first-hand by clicking the red button below.
References
1. McGlade, E., Locatelli, A., Hardy, J., Toschikazu, K., Morita, M., Morishita, K., . . . Todd, D. Y. (2012). Improved Attentional Performance Following Citicoline Administration in Healthy Adult Women. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 3, 769-773.
2. Hobson, R. M., Saunders, B., Ball, G., Harris, R. C., & Sale, C. (2012). Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis. Amino Acids, 43(1), 25-37.
3. Adrian B. Hodgson, Rebecca K. Randell, and Asker E. Jeukendrup. The Metabolic and Performance Effects of Caffeine Compared to Coffee during Endurance Exercise. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3616086/
4. Sureda, A., Cordova, A., Ferrer, M. D., Perez, G., Tur, J. A., & Pons, A. (2010). L-citrulline-malate influence over branched chain amino acid utilization during exercise. European journal of applied physiology, 110(2), 341-51.
5. Perez-Guisado, J., & Jakeman, P. M. (2010). Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(5).