You can’t always expect to rock up to the gym four or five days per week full of energy, motivation, and drive each time. At times, you’ll get to the gym feeling a little run down, tired, and unmotivated. If this sounds familiar, a pre-workout supplement may be just what you need!
Pre-workout supplements are intended to boost energy and support workout performance, helping you get the most out of your training sessions.
Key Takeaways
- Women’s pre-workouts should prioritize effective dosing, clean ingredients, and digestive comfort.
- Key benefits: steady energy, nitric-oxide support, focus, and recovery—without crash.
- Moderate caffeine plus nootropics can enhance performance while keeping jitters low.
- Look for transparent labels, third-party standards, and stim-sensible options.
Pre-workout is one of the most popular types of sports supplements in the fitness industry, and is considered a dietary supplement.
Many studies have reported the numerous benefits of combining pre-workout supplements with resistance training, high-intensity training, and many other training modalities, particularly when it comes to boosting performance and increasing fat burn.
There are many notable benefits of taking a pre-workout supplement, though it’s still a supplement you should be open to learning more about, particularly when it comes to how to take it smartly and safely, as well as ingredients, dosage, and side effects.
Pre workouts may help...
Pre-workout supplements may help you achieve your fitness goals by enhancing workout performance and boosting energy, making them a valuable addition to your overall fitness routines.
While the noted benefits of pre-workout supplements apply to both males and females, it is still worth exploring some of the frequently asked questions surrounding pre-workout supplements for women.
Are pre-workout supplements safe for women? Do women have to follow the same guidelines when it comes to dosage? Are the side effects any different? What are the best pre-workout supplements for women?
While there are physiological differences between men and women, does that mean the effects of a pre-workout for women would be different from that of a man?
This article answers everything you need to know about pre-workout for women and the best pre-workout supplements to consider!
A pre-workout supplement is designed to help push you through a training session. It usually supplies your system with a selection of ingredients, commonly labeled as “ergogenic aids”. When evaluating pre-workout supplements, it's important to check the amount of each ingredient per serving to ensure you are getting effective dosages.
In the context of sport and training, an ergogenic aid is a substance or a technique that is said to enhance performance. This includes substances such as caffeine and creatine, techniques such as carbohydrate loading, or more unsafe strategies, such as the use of anabolic steroids.
Caffeine is usually the key ingredient in pre-workout supplements amid claims that it may offer multiple benefits such as increasing energy, alertness, and overall athletic performance.
You may also find a mix of ingredients in pre-workout supplements, including creatine, beta-alanine, B-vitamins, and nitric oxide boosters like L-arginine and L-citrulline. (1)
L-arginine and L-citrulline are often included for their potential to enhance blood flow, potentially helping muscle pumps, and overall workout performance. These ingredients are claimed to support both muscle performance and physical performance, contributing to improved endurance, recovery, and workout effectiveness.
Choose a Clean Pre Workout
Pre-workout supplements are commonly found in powdered form which is mixed with water and consumed around 30-60 minutes before a workout, depending on the guidelines of the supplement.
SUMMARY: What to Look For in a Pre Workout
When considering ingredient quality, look for products that are free from artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, and unnecessary additives to ensure a cleaner, more natural supplement. Opt for products that don't hide their ingredients and dosages behind proprietary blends - Pre Lab Pro is upfront about all its ingredients.
For safety and quality, it's also important to choose products that undergo third-party testing, as the FDA does not directly regulate supplements. Third-party testing helps regulate supplements by verifying purity, label accuracy, and the absence of harmful contaminants, providing greater consumer trust and safety.
So, pre-workouts may sound pretty beneficial for helping you through a tough workout, but are they really a necessary part of your supplement stack?
Do You Need a Pre-Workout Supplement?
While a pre-workout supplement sounds like something you may want to add to your supplement stack, is it really needed for your development and progression as an athlete or gym-goer?
As with all supplements, they are called supplements for a reason. Defined as a thing you add to something to enhance it, supplements are not required to achieve any health or fitness goal.
They may simply give you a boost, provided the fundamentals are dialed in (such as nutrition, sleep, and training).
Pre-workouts are not necessary for you to achieve your goals, nor are they required for you to have a successful training session. However, many people swear by them, saying they give a bit of a boost!
Some people have a go-to pre workout or high stim pre workout that they rely on for consistent results, while others may prefer to compare pre-workout supplements to other pre-options to find what works best for them.
For those who want to avoid stimulants, there are non-stim pre-workout options available, including caffeine-free pre-workout supplements, which are suitable for individuals sensitive to caffeine or looking to avoid stimulant effects.
With that being said, there are still a number of benefits to consider when it comes to taking pre-workouts, and there are some scenarios where they could prove very useful.
Pre-workouts can help you achieve that extra edge over your competition, help give you the boost you need to achieve a new PR, or simply help you push out a couple of extra reps.
Let’s look at what the science says about the benefits of a pre-workout supplement!
Pre-Workout Benefits: What the Science Says
There are multiple benefits of a pre-workout supplement. Depending on the type of training you do, a pre-workout supplement may be taken to support endurance and stamina, or they may be more focused on muscle growth, ideal for strength training.
Many pre-workouts provide a noticeable caffeine boost to enhance energy levels, and some formulas are designed to give you an extra kick for more intense workouts. Cognitive benefits are also common, with ingredients that may help improve mental focus during exercise. (2, 3)
For muscle benefits, pre-workouts often promote increased blood flow and a strong muscle pump, contributing to muscle fullness and performance.
When it comes to flavor, tasty pre workout options are important for user satisfaction, and you'll find pre workouts with flavors such as tropical punch, peach mango, blueberry lemonade, fruit punch flavor, green apple, blue raspberry and strawberry lemonade.
For those with dietary restrictions, many pre-workout supplements are available in gluten free options. Look for supplements that are verified to be free from banned substances, especially if you are an athlete or health-conscious consumer.
Pre-Workout for Muscle Growth
One of the main ingredients in a pre-workout supplement could be the amino acids, which may help promote muscle gains, muscle strength, and lean body mass. You will either see a selection of essential amino acids, or the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). These amino acids work directly with muscle protein synthesis, the process of building and repairing muscle.
In addition to amino acids, pre-workouts may also contain other amino acids and dietary nitrates that potentially help increase blood flow to the muscles, thus boosting oxygen levels and helping to carry essential nutrients to the muscles as they undergo the stress of a workout.
This may result in the muscles working longer for harder doing more intense workouts, therefore providing the stimulus and progressive overload required for building muscle. (4)
Pre Lab Pro includes both caffeine and nitric oxide boosters.
Pre-Workout for Enhancing Strength
A pre-workout supplement seeking to enhance strength may include creatine. On a cellular level, creatine can increase the biochemical mechanisms in your body that enhance energy - in other words, increasing ATP production (adenosine triphosphate, your body's energy currency). This can help enhance strength, muscle mass, and endurance.
Another way in which a pre-workout supplement can fortify your metabolism for increased strength during your workout includes the presence of nitrates. Nitrates, such as from beetroot extract or the amino acid arginine, allow your body to carry more nutrients to your working muscles.
This can often result in increased strength as you exert yourself during training, while nitrates are feeding your muscles the necessary nutrients needed to perform optimally. (5)
Pre-Workout for Boosting Endurance
The main way to boost endurance is to remove the mechanisms that eventually cause fatigue, and pre-workout supplements can achieve this in two ways:
The first is caffeine, a common pre-workout ingredient, which gives you energy by suppressing the production of adenosine in the brain, the chemical that causes us to feel sleepy.
The second way is to block muscle fatigue and soreness caused by a build-up of acid in the muscles. To combat this, you may find beta-alanine listed in the ingredients, which is a chemical that eliminates acids from your muscles.
Beta-alanine reduces acid accumulation that causes the “burn” feeling in your muscles from intense training, and as a result, can allow you to push harder for longer throughout your workouts and increase overall exercise performance. (6)
Are There Specific Benefits of a Pre-Workout for Women?
To put it simply, there are no specific benefits to women taking pre-workout supplements. While it is no secret that many nutrition and fitness strategies and supplements are tailored to male physiology, they often provide the same benefits to females.
While it is true that males and females have different chemical needs, and women often need to think about additional factors such as pregnancy and menstruation when it comes to certain strategies and supplements, on a general level, it doesn't make any difference!
Pre-workouts are suitable for all healthy adults and may provide performance-enhancing benefits across the board, regardless of sex.
Is Pre-Workout Safe for Women?
Pre-workouts are perfectly safe for females provided they are healthy individuals, but the same can also be said for males.
If you have specific health issues that would not agree with the use of caffeine or any other ingredients found in a pre-workout, it would be a good idea to consult your doctor or a registered nutritionist before taking it, especially for pre-workout newbies.
Ingredients to Look for in Your Pre-Workout Supplement
Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that increases carnosine in the muscles, thus acting as a pH buffer to help reduce acid accumulation. Lactic acid is the “burn” you feel in your muscles during intense exercise! (7,8)
Caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant that can increase mental alertness and energy. Caffeine often forms the foundation of any pre-workout supplement, being the most researched ergogenic aid in the industry. You may see it in many forms, including caffeine anhydrous, green tea extract, or Coffea robusta beans. (9)
Nitric Oxide
This may be seen in the form of concentrated beetroot extract, which is a natural source of nitrate. Dietary nitrate raises nitric oxide production in the body, which in turn relaxes and dilates blood vessels, increasing blood flow throughout the body.
This can have a profound impact on an athlete's performance, helping to push their hard-working muscles to their limits, no matter the training modality. (10)
Arginine & Citrulline
On the topic of increased blood flow, arginine and citrulline are also two key players when it comes to increasing nitric oxide production in the body. Arginine specifically has been shown to promote blood flow, while citrulline is an arginine precursor, so essentially has the same effect. (11)
L-Theanine
L-theanine is an amino acid that can help reduce the jittery effects of caffeine, as well as promote a calm and clear-headed mindset. When taken as part of a pre-workout, it can strengthen the mental aspects of exercise, supporting relaxed alertness, positive mood, and cognitive clarity. (12)
L-Tyrosine
Similar to the effects of L-theanine, L-tyrosine can help sharpen focus under stressful situations, such as an intense workout, by maintaining neurotransmitters that are often depleted by caffeine and intense training.
This amino acid can essentially recycle all catecholamine neurotransmitters, such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. (13)
Creatine
Creatine monohydrate is often taken as a stand-alone supplement and is incredibly effective at improving high-intensity exercise performance, and may even assist post-exercise recovery. This supplement is arguably more researched than caffeine, and its efficacy has been proven countless times. (5)
Essential Vitamins & Minerals
B-vitamins are essential for energy production, so can have a significant impact on overall athletic performance. Vitamin D3 can also have a big impact on performance due to the critical role it plays in overall health and wellbeing.
Some key electrolyte minerals also play a big role in athletic performance, such as iron, potassium, and magnesium!
Pre-Workout and Nutrition: Timing, Meals, and Maximizing Results
When it comes to getting the most out of your pre workout supplement, timing and nutrition are just as important as the ingredients themselves. To maximize the energy boost and performance benefits of your pre workout powder, it’s essential to consider how it fits into your overall fitness routine and daily meals.
Timing Your Pre Workout for Peak Performance
For best results, most experts recommend taking your pre workout powder about 30 to 60 minutes before you start exercising. This window allows your body to absorb the key ingredients like caffeine, amino acids, and nitric oxide boosters so you feel energized and ready to tackle your workout.
If you’re training early in the morning, you can take your pre workout on an empty stomach for a quicker effect, but if you’re sensitive to stimulants or prone to an upset stomach, having a light snack beforehand can help.
What to Eat Before Taking Pre Workout
Pairing your pre workout supplement with the right pre-workout meal can make a big difference in your exercise performance. Aim for a balanced snack that includes complex carbohydrates and a moderate amount of protein - think oatmeal with berries, a banana with nut butter, or Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of granola.
These foods provide steady energy and help prevent muscle fatigue, while also supporting muscle recovery and growth. Try to avoid heavy, high-fat meals right before your workout, as they can slow digestion and leave you feeling sluggish.
Integrating Pre Workout into Your Fitness Goals and Routine
To truly maximize results, make your pre workout supplement a consistent part of your fitness routine. Whether you’re lifting heavier weights, pushing through cardio, or working on endurance, taking your pre workout at the same time before each session helps your body adapt and perform at its best.
Remember...
Supplements work best when combined with a balanced diet, proper hydration, and adequate rest. Listen to your body, and if you have any pre-existing health conditions, consult a healthcare professional before adding new supplements to your regimen.
By paying attention to timing, nutrition, and consistency, you’ll unlock the full potential of your pre workout powder and set yourself up for success in every workout.
The Best Pre-Workout Supplements for Women
Here are a couple of the best pre-workout supplements for women:
Pre Lab Pro®
Pre Lab Pro® is the next-gen pre-workout formula, an all-around ergogenic that may help to increase strength, speed, stamina, endurance, cardio, and recovery.
This nootropic-enhanced formula can provide the most optimal effects from caffeine, as well as the other ingredients - beetroot powder, L-tyrosine, L-theanine, arginine, and citrulline.
The low caffeine content allows you to dose appropriately to your personal needs.
Definitely a nice clean energy, makes a big difference in my workouts. I like the fact it doesn't have artificial flavors.David F
Performance Lab Caffeine 2™
Performance Lab Caffeine 2™ provides a hit of clean, healthy caffeine without the side effects, ensuring a fast bounce back and less burnout.
This supplement offers greater dosing precision than many pre-workout powders, resulting in superior performance-tuned stimulation.
This would be a great option alongside Pre Lab Pro®, much like a pre-workout booster, if you require a higher caffeine dose before training, but with the option to dose more accurately and with fewer side effects.
Performance Lab® Caffeine 2
Smooth energy. Clarity. Focus. No jitters. No burnout. No crash.
Shop Now
Conclusion
Pre-workouts may offer many benefits to overall exercise performance and recovery by offering ingredients that may help to:
- Improve lean muscle mass
- Reduce the onset of fatigue during high-intensity workouts
- Increase energy production
- Boost mental energy and cognitive function
- Improve muscular endurance
- Enhance muscle recovery
- Assist weight loss
The benefits of a pre-workout supplement would be the same for both men and women. While women may need to consider some factors unique to their sex, such as menstruation and pregnancy, the effects are generally no different from that of men.
Yes — women can safely use many of the same pre-workouts as men. The key difference lies in dosage and ingredients. Women typically benefit from pre-workouts that are lower in caffeine and free from artificial stimulants, while including ingredients that support energy metabolism, endurance, and recovery such as L-citrulline, beta-alanine, and B-vitamins.
Women should avoid pre-workouts that contain excessive caffeine (over 200 mg per serving), artificial sweeteners, proprietary blends without transparency, and synthetic colorants. These can trigger side effects like jitteriness, hormonal imbalance, or digestive discomfort. A clean, stimulant-free or moderate-caffeine formula with evidence-based nutrients is ideal.
Taking pre-workout on an empty stomach can help ingredients absorb faster, but it may also increase sensitivity to caffeine or other stimulants. For women who experience nausea or lightheadedness, it’s best to take pre-workout 30–60 minutes after a small snack containing carbohydrates and protein.
References
- Antonio, J., Pereira, F., Curtis, J., Rojas, J., & Evans, C. (2024). “The Top 5 Can't-Miss Sport Supplements.” Nutrients, 16(19), 3247. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16193247
- Kedia, A. W., Hofheins, J. E., Habowski, S. M., Ferrando, A. A., Gothard, M. D., & Lopez, H. L. (2014). “Effects of a pre-workout supplement on lean mass, muscular performance, subjective workout experience and biomarkers of safety.” International Journal of Medical Sciences, 11(2), 116–126.
- Martinez, N., Campbell, B., Franek, M., Buchanan, L., & Colquhoun, R. (2016). “The effect of acute pre-workout supplementation on power and strength performance.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 13, 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-016-0138-7
- Gonzalez, A. M., Townsend, J. R., Pinzone, A. G., & Hoffman, J. R. (2023). “Supplementation with Nitric Oxide Precursors for Strength Performance: A Review of the Current Literature.” Nutrients, 15(3), 660. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030660
- Forbes, S. C., Candow, D. G., Neto, J. H. F., Kennedy, M. D., Forbes, J. L., Machado, M., & Antonio, J. (2023). “Creatine supplementation and endurance performance: Surges and sprints to win the race.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2023.2204071
- Sale, C., Hill, C. A., Ponte, J., & Harris, R. C. (2012). “β-alanine supplementation improves isometric endurance of the knee extensor muscles.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 9(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-9-26
- Trexler, E. T., Smith-Ryan, A. E., Stout, J. R., Hoffman, J. R., Wilborn, C. D., Sale, C., Kreider, R. B., Jäger, R., Earnest, C. P., Bannock, L., Campbell, B., Kalman, D., Ziegenfuss, T. N., & Antonio, J. (2015). “International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Beta-alanine.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12, 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-015-0090-y
- Culbertson, J. Y., Kreider, R. B., Greenwood, M., & Cooke, M. (2010). “Effects of beta-alanine on muscle carnosine and exercise performance: A review of the current literature.” Nutrients, 2(1), 75–98. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu2010075
- Guest, N. S., VanDusseldorp, T. A., Nelson, M. T., Grgic, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., Jenkins, N. D. M., Arent, S. M., Antonio, J., Stout, J. R., Trexler, E. T., Smith-Ryan, A. E., Goldstein, E. R., Kalman, D. S., & Campbell, B. I. (2021). “International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Caffeine and exercise performance.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 18(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-020-00383-4
- Suzuki, I., Sakuraba, K., Horiike, T., Kishi, T., Yabe, J., Suzuki, T., Morita, M., Nishimura, A., & Suzuki, Y. (2019). “A combination of oral L-citrulline and L-arginine improved 10-min full-power cycling test performance in male collegiate soccer players: A randomized crossover trial.” European Journal of Applied Physiology, 119(5), 1075–1084.
- Razazan, R., Hemmatinafar, M., Imanian, B., Jahaniboushehri, N., Rezaei, R., & Nazemzadegan, G. (2025). “Performance-enhancing effects of caffeine and L-theanine among Iranian elite wrestlers: A focus on cognitive and specific physical performance.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 22(1), 2564238.
- “L-Tyrosine.” Examine.com. https://examine.com/supplements/l-tyrosine
