Protocols / TRAINING

Pre-Workout Protocol

Build your own pre-workout for a fraction of the price.

Most of what a pre-workout does comes from caffeine and a decent meal. This protocol doses caffeine by body weight, covers the non-stimulant options with real trials behind them, explains nitrate's small but real effect, and matches your pre-training meal to the session.

€5 · one-time payment · instant PDF · by Anthony Falcone

What's included

  • Caffeine: 3-6 mg/kg, about 60 minutes before
  • Stimulant-free options
  • Beetroot and nitrate: what 80 trials found
  • Your pre-workout meal by session type
  • How to read a pre-workout label
  • 10 peer-reviewed references

Built for

Build Muscle · More Energy · Peak Performance

Inside the PDF: 6 chapters

  1. Caffeine Strategy: Caffeine is the most effective legal performance enhancer. But most people use it wrong — building tolerance, disrupting sleep, and getting diminishing returns.
  2. Stimulant-Free Pre-Workout: For evening training, caffeine-sensitive individuals, or on caffeine-off days, these compounds deliver real performance benefits without stimulants.
  3. Training-Type Pre-Workout: Different training goals require different pre-workout strategies. A hypertrophy session needs different priming than a heavy strength day or endurance workout.
  4. DIY vs Commercial Pre-Workouts: Most commercial pre-workouts are underdosed, overpriced, and filled with proprietary blends that hide how little of each ingredient you're actually getting.
  5. Beetroot & Nitrate: Nitrate, found in beetroot juice and leafy greens, is one of the few legal performance aids with a large body of trials behind it. The effect is real, but small.
  6. The Pre-Workout Meal: Food before training matters more than any powder. What you eat depends on how long and how hard the session is.

Safety notes

  • Beta-alanine causes harmless tingling (paresthesia) at doses above 2g. This is NOT an allergic reaction — it's beta-alanine binding to nerve receptors in the skin. It lasts 30-60 min and has zero health risk. Split your dose (2 × 1.6g) to reduce tingling if it bothers you.
  • If you take blood-pressure medicine, nitrates or drugs for erectile dysfunction, ask your doctor before using concentrated nitrate shots: nitrate lowers blood pressure.

References (10)

  1. Trexler, E.T. et al. (2015). International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12(1). doi.org/10.1186/s12970-015-0090-y
  2. Pérez-Guisado, J. & Jakeman, P.M. (2010). Citrulline Malate Enhances Athletic Anaerobic Performance and Relieves Muscle Soreness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(5), 1215-1222. doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181cb28e0
  3. Bellar, D. et al. (2015). The effect of 6 days of alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine on isometric strength. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12(1). doi.org/10.1186/s12970-015-0103-x
  4. Haskell, C.F. et al. (2008). The effects of l-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. Biological Psychology, 77(2), 113-122. doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.09.008
  5. Cholewa, J.M. et al. (2013). Effects of betaine on body composition, performance, and homocysteine thiolactone. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(1). doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-10-39
  6. Xue, R. et al. (2025). Effects of Caffeine Dose and Administration Method on Time-Trial Performance: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 17(23), 3792. doi.org/10.3390/nu17233792
  7. Goldstein, E.R. et al. (2010). International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 7(1). doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-7-5
  8. Senefeld, J.W. et al. (2020). Ergogenic Effect of Nitrate Supplementation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 52(10), 2250-2261. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002363
  9. Kerksick, C.M. et al. (2017). International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutrient timing. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 33. doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0189-4
  10. Guest, N.S. et al. (2021). International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and exercise performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 18(1), 1. doi.org/10.1186/s12970-020-00383-4

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General education, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, take medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor before you start.