pre-workout powders

Clements315

Need a powerful pre-workout supplement. I used a pre-workout before and totally forgot the name of it, my friend told me it was white flood, but I know hes wrong. Also I heard 1MR is amazing, but the price tag scares me. What pre workout are you using?

FitBeto

Cocaine. Pretty powerful stuff.

I only use whey, I dont plan on supplementing my whole life, I'd rather do things raw and honestly. If its not me doing it I feel like I'm cheating.

FullOfWin

caffeine and vitamin B.

mustgetmuscles1

Need a powerful pre-workout supplement. I used a pre-workout before and totally forgot the name of it, my friend told me it was white flood, but I know hes wrong. Also I heard 1MR is amazing, but the price tag scares me. What pre workout are you using?

Go down to the local supplement stores and ask for some samples.

Preworkouts are not necessary but I have tried a few and noticed improved workouts with some of them. If I buy any more of them I will probably make my own or buy either Totalis (Smart powders) or Tier 1 (Citadel Nutrition). I like that they tell what and how much of each ingredient is in them. None of that proprietary blend nonsense.

Leadfoot_Lewis

I unfortunately can't take any of the powders because they all have Sucralose in them (which I'm allegic to). So I make my own:

Creatine
Beta Alanine
Hemavol

Vonwarr

My favorite is Cellucor C4 - the Icy Blue Raspberry tastes pretty damn good. 1MR worked really well at first but I built up a tolerance fast. And it tasted like garbage.

A friend of mine (ContingencyPlan on MFP) reviewed a bunch for me previously:

Optimum Nutrition AmiNO (creatine-free)
BSN HyperFX (creatine-free)
BSN NO Xplode 2.0
Bodybuilding.com Build XS (caffeine-free)
Bodybuilding.com Build NO
GNC Ravage (creatine-free)
GNC Amplified Muscle Igniter 4x (creatine-free)
ProMera Beta-Cret
Cellucor C4 (both before and after the formula change)
MusclePharm Assault
Driven Sports Craze

Beta-Cret was the worst out of all of them as it did absolutely nothing. Felt nothing from it.
MusclePharm Assault worked GREAT (probably one of the best) in the beginning but I built up a tolerance to it at an alarmingly fast rate, faster than any other one I've ever used. I couldn't even get through a whole tub (which is basically a 1 month supply) before it started feeling like it was doing practically nothing at all.
Build NO is decent, not great
Build XS is the single best one I've ever tried and I don't know how considering it's caffeine-free but it still gives you a rush of clean, non-jittery energy.
Craze is . . weird. In a way that I don't know whether to say is good or bad. It doesn't have Beta-Alanine in it so you can't really FEEL it kicking in like you can with others (they left that out because an extremely large number of people have abnormally high sensitivies to it). It gives you 4 hours of good energy and focus but when it wears off you crash and hard. As in it's nap time, whether you want to or not. I highly recommend it for people who work out in the evenings because you can time it right so that it wears off just in time for bed and then you get a GREAT night of sleep after a rough workout. Not for AM exercises, though.
The GNC ones taste just awful. They're the only ones on the list that taste SO bad I feel the need to mention it. It's a struggle just to get them down. As far as how good they work I would say Ravage works a little bit better but also tastes even worse. It tastes like somebody pissed in a glass of fruit punch flavored kool-aid that was made with 4x the amount of kool-aid mix you should use.
C4 is a decent but not great one that I would highly recommend to someone who is looking for just one they can use year-round without having to cycle because like I said, it works good but not great, but you just don't seem to EVER build up a tolerance to it. It tastes good, there's no crash once it wears off, and unlike the others I would say it's also suitable for cardio.
BSN HyperFX is my personal favorite out of all the creatine-free ones. Works great but you build up a tolerance pretty quickly. Not quite as bad as with the Assault but close to it. You more than likely won't get through a whole month's supply before you feel like you need to cycle to something else.
BSN NO Xplode 2.0 was another decent but not great one, but I would rate it below the C4 because it makes you jittery and there's a bit of a crash when it wears off.
AmiNO is another creatine-free one. Works well enough but again, did not impress amazingly well. My biggest complaint with this one is that this is one of those ones where they flat out lie about how much you're getting. Not worth paying money for.

IronSmasher

A sammich or muesli if I have time, whey and fruit if I don't.

SyStEmPhReAk

I've tried a bunch and have had different experiences using all of them... Dymatize Xpand, Jack3d regular and Micro, 1mr, White flood... currently, I'm using a stack of either Craze + Hemavol OR Lecheek x3 + Hemavol...

1mr was great, but wasn't a great friend to my stomach! Lecheek has been my favorite so far. Hemavol is great if you aren't looking for a stimulant based PWO. That's why i stack it with Craze or lecheek currently.

I will say that everyone reacts differently to a PWO and these have been my experiences. also, i don't believe they are completely necessary, but I'm up at 4am and i need a little wake up before my morning workout.

bpmartyr

I don't find them necessary but I like me some White Flood.

dzarello

Need a powerful pre-workout supplement. I used a pre-workout before and totally forgot the name of it, my friend told me it was white flood, but I know hes wrong. Also I heard 1MR is amazing, but the price tag scares me. What pre workout are you using?

Black coffee is good! :-)

I use on a regular basis Optimum Nutrition amiNO energy. 2 scoops gives me plenty of focus and good recovery without the crash. $17.99+shipping for 30+ servings. Not bad.