In this article, we will show you what the best pre-workout for weight loss is.
Everyone who’s in the fitness world probably already knows what pre-workout supplements are. They give you a rush of energy and significantly improve your exercise performance. [1]
But did you know that there are pre-workouts specially designed to help you lose weight? With the correct ingredients in the correct doses, some of these supplements have the ability to maximize your weight loss efforts.
I spent many days analyzing studies on the efficacy of the compounds usually marketed as ‘fat loss’ ingredients so I could recommend you products that will really help you lose weight. And let me tell you, the vast majority of them don’t have any significant effect.
I also went through all the customer reviews to not only tell you what the brand claims but also what the customers think about the product.
If you are looking for a pre-workout supplement that will help you lose weight and has its ‘fat burning’ ingredients and doses backed up by research and studies, PreSeries Lean By Transparent Labs is the best overall choice.
But as we know people’s needs are different, we will also show you different alternatives for different needs.
Keep reading to find them all.
Best Pre-Workout Supplements For Weight Loss
- PreSeries Lean By Transparent Labs (Best Overall)
- NitroSurge Shred By Jacked Factory (Best Tasting)
- C4 Ultimate Shred By Cellucor (Best High Caffeinated)
- Explosion Ripped By Six Star (Best Cheap)
- Forge By Legion (Best Without Caffeine)
- AminoBurn By Type Zero (Best Low Caffeinated)
PreSeries LEAN By Transparent Labs
Best Overall
If you are looking for the best pre-workout for weight loss and aren’t looking for any feature in particular, Transparent Labs’ PreSeries Lean is our top recommendation.
Transparent Labs is a supplement company that aims to be fully transparent in its claims. They disclose all the ingredients present in their products and their exact dosages. This is especially nice because many pre-workout brands hide their doses behind proprietary blends.
They even go as far as explaining on the product page why they chose each ingredient, how they benefit you, and provide studies to back their claims. If you are like us and like to know exactly what you are consuming then this can be an important factor when deciding which pre-workout product to buy.
PreSeries LEAN was created with the goal of being the best “cutting” pre-workout supplement available. It helps you lose fat while maintaining as much lean muscle mass as possible.
It comes with a moderate caffeine dose of 180 mg. It may be lower than some of the products on this list but a study proved that taking 179 mg of caffeine, which is basically what’s inside the LEAN supplement, significantly improves exercise performance. [2]
It increases the number of repetitions you can do before failure, reduces your perceived exertion, and also improves some motivational factors. Consuming caffeine also can boost your metabolic rate, making it easier for you to lose weight. [2, 3, 4, 5]
This pre-workout supplement also contains 360mg of L-Theanine. Among many cognitive benefits, L-Theanine is known for promoting relaxation. This may help prevent that rush caused by caffeine because many users of this product report that they don’t feel any jittery when they drink this supplement. [6]
Most people who bought this product reported that they liked the taste or even though it wasn’t great it wasn’t bad either. But some people said it was too sweet or sour for them. The truth is that it’s hard to find good-tasting pre-workout supplements, and you’ll find complaints about the taste in almost every one of them.
We think it comes down to each person’s opinion and, unless there are a good number of people saying they threw up because of the taste of the supplement, we think you shouldn’t refrain from buying it solely based on that factor. But we know there are people who are more sensitive about the taste, that’s why we gave this heads up.
It’s also worth mentioning that this product is a completely vegan-friendly, gluten-free pre-workout. It also doesn’t contain any artificial flavors, sweeteners, coloring, or preservatives. This way you don’t have to worry about having harmful additives in your pre-workout. Also, it’s completely okay for you to consume it if you are vegan or have a gluten allergy.
This product is a bit pricey, which we think is perfectly fair considering you know exactly what you’re consuming and why. Also, the brand always goes the extra mile to provide the truth to their consumers, which is rare nowadays. At the moment of writing, the price of one tub (501g – 1.10lbs) is $49.00 and contains 30 servings, having a cost of $1.63 per serving.
However, we reached out to the brand saying we were writing an article including one of their products and asked if they could provide us a discount code to share with you. They were very gentle and promptly created an exclusive discount code. You can now use the code DREAM10 on the checkout page to enjoy a 10% discount.
Pros
- You know exactly what you’re consuming
- No jitters and crashes caused by the caffeine
- Vegan friendly
- Gluten-free
- No harmful additives
Cons
- Pricey
NitroSurge Shred By Jacked Factory
Best Tasting
If you want an effective pre-workout supplement that will help you lose weight but it’s also important to you that it tastes good, then NitroSurge Shred pre-workout from the popular supplement brand Jacked Factory might be a great choice.
NitroSurge Shred is one of the many pre-workout products that Jacked Factory has to offer. What makes it different from the others is its formula designed especially to promote fat burn.
It comes with a moderate caffeine dose of 180mg just like the one we’ve seen above in the PreSeries Lean supplement. As we’ve seen above, a study proved that taking 180 mg before working out has many benefits to your workout performance. It makes you do more repetitions, reduces your perception of fatigue, motivates you, and even boosts your metabolism. [2, 3, 4, 5]
This supplement also contains 2 g of L-Citrulline. This ingredient increases your exercise performance and helps you recover. It’s also known for improving blood flow but the studies aren’t conclusive. [7]
Also, this pre-workout comes with 90 mg of L-Theanine. It makes you feel more relaxed without taking away the benefits of caffeine. One of the things customers usually say in their reviews is that they don’t feel any jitters or crashes when they take this supplement. [6]
The general consensus of the users of this supplement is that it tastes great. I could find a few people that didn’t like the taste of this product at all, but compared to the other pre-workouts on this list, this one is undoubtedly the one with the highest percentage of customers satisfied with its taste.
Just keep in mind that it’s always normal to see some people complaining about the taste. After all, we all have different tastes.
Tip: Watermelon and Orange Pineapple seem to be the most liked flavors by the customers, so you may want to start with one of them.
Some people complain that you’ll need to take two scoops of this product because one is not enough to feel its effects, doubling the cost per serving. We don’t think this is going to be a problem for you unless you already have a high caffeine tolerance.
And even if you think you have a high tolerance, keep in mind that this supplement contains 180mg of caffeine, which is equivalent to ~2 or 3 espressos. Thus, we think you should only refrain from buying this product if you don’t feel anything when you take that amount of coffee.
This product is sweetened with sucralose. This isn’t directly a good or bad thing but as we know some people care about if the products they buy are 100% natural we thought it was a good thing to note.
Pros
- Tastes good
- There are no jitters or crash
Cons
- There aren’t really cons to this product but keep in mind it contains artificial sweeteners.
C4 Ultimate Shred By Cellucor
Best High Caffeinated
If you have a high tolerance to caffeine or want to have the most intense workouts of your life, then C4 Ultimate Shred By Cellucor might be exactly what you are looking for.
The C4 Ultimate Shred is Cellucor’s best pre-workout supplement for fat loss. Almost everyone who is in the space of the pre-workout supplementation for at least some time already heard about the C4 pre-workout supplements. It is undoubtedly one of the most popular brands of pre-workouts and the favorite of many people.
If you are looking to burn fat, then C4 Ultimate Shred is the C4 that will help you the most.
This pre-workout comes with a brutal dose of 300 mg per serving. This amount of caffeine is the same as what’s present in ~3 to 5 espressos. We can only recommend this supplement to people who don’t feel enough energy when they take pre-workouts with the usual moderate doses of 100 to 200 mg.
Our recommendation is to take half a scoop the first time you take this supplement and see how your body reacts. Then you can increase or decrease the dose accordingly.
There are many customers who reported that this product gave them jitters so it’s really important to start with little doses. If you still feel any jittery, then you need to cut your dose even more. Fortunately, almost no one complained about feeling a crash after taking this supplement, which is a pretty common complaint in high-caffeinated pre-workouts.
That being said, high caffeinated pre-workouts aren’t all about precautions and bad things. This powerful pre-workout supplement has the potential to give you the most focus, alertness, and energy you ever felt after taking one. And it will certainly help you if you have a high tolerance to caffeine.
This product also comes with a high beta-alanine dose of 3.2 grams per serving. A study proved that supplementation with beta-alanine can help you gain lean muscle mass, even when you are losing weight. This way, it helps you lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. [8]
Also, another study proved that the consumption of this amino acid improves the muscle endurance of elder people (55-92 years). This helps them live a healthier life, preventing falls, and helping in their independence in general. [9]
Beta-alanine is also the cause of many complaints about this product. Many users report they feel a tingling sensation after drinking this pre-workout. This is a side effect of beta-alanine and to this day there’s no indication that it isn’t safe. [10]
Another common complaint about this product is that it’s super spicy. Some customers reported that they got their mouths burning after drinking this supplement. But you should take this complaint with a pinch of salt because most reviews said nothing about this. If you are thinking of buying this product I would say do it unless you are sensitive to hot food.
Pros
- No complaints about customers having a crash caused by caffeine after taking this supplement which is really rare in a high caffeinated pre-workout supplement
Cons
- Causes jitters
- May be spicy
Explosion Ripped By Six Star
Best Cheap
If you want a good pre-workout formula that helps you lose weight but also don’t want to spend much money then Explosion Ripped By Six Star is a really good option.
It comes with a low-to-moderate caffeine dose of 135 mg. This amount of caffeine may not be enough for some people, so keep that in mind when buying this product.
A recurring complaint about this product is that you need to take 2 servings at once to feel its effects. This is most likely due to the amount of caffeine. Thus, we think this supplement is best suited to caffeine-sensitive people. The reason is that although there isn’t any problem in taking 2 servings at once it would double the price per serving, making it not so cheap anymore.
Aside from being a cheap pre-workout, it’s also a good-tasting one. Most reviews say good things about the taste, and while there are still some people who don’t like it, the majority do.
Pros
- Cheap
- Tastes good
Cons
- You may need to take more servings if you have some tolerance to caffeine, making it more expensive
Forge By Legion
Best Without Caffeine
Maybe you’re super sensitive to caffeine, or maybe you like to take another form of caffeine. Either way, if you are looking for the best pre-workout to help you lose weight but also don’t want any caffeine included in it, then Forge By Legion may be your best shot.
This pre-workout comes with no caffeine so you won’t feel any of its usual effects. No added mental focus, alertness, or energy levels. But you also won’t have to worry about jitters or crashes.
This supplement comes with 10 mg of yohimbine. Supposedly this compound helps you lose fat but over the years some studies showed mixed conclusions. Some studies concluded that it helps you in fact burn fat while others concluded that it has no effect on fat burn. [11, 12, 13, 14]
This pre-workout also contains 250 mg of CDP-choline. This compound improves attention and memory. [15, 16]
At the end of the day, we only recommend this type of supplement to specific groups of people. We recommend it to people that are highly sensitive to caffeine or that can’t consume caffeine for any other reason. And we also recommend it to people that take an isolated caffeine supplement or like to drink coffee instead of taking the caffeine in a supplement.
Otherwise, if you aren’t in either of these groups, we recommend that you take a complete pre-workout formula with caffeine instead. Your performance will be much more improved.
Pros
- Helps you feel focused without caffeine
Cons
- Not suited for the regular person
AminoBurn By Type Zero
Best Low Caffeinated
Above we showed you a product with no caffeine that was suited to people highly sensitive to caffeine. But, as we know everyone’s needs are different, we decided to show you AminoBurn By Type Zero. This low caffeinated supplement is a great option for people who are sensitive to caffeine but still want to consume some to feel that boost and enhance their athletic performance.
It comes with a low caffeine dose of 100 mg. Our usual recommendation for the amount of caffeine you should take before a workout to get its full effectiveness is 180-300 mg. That’s why we only recommend this product to caffeine-sensitive people. [2]
But that doesn’t mean this pre-workout is useless.
If you are sensitive to caffeine you will probably feel energetic and have an improved workout performance. You may just not feel the same metabolic and cognitive effects that you would with a higher caffeine dose.
The majority of customers of this supplement report that it has a bad taste. While the taste is subjective, keep that in mind if this is an important factor to you.
Pros
- Suitable for caffeine-sensitive people who still want the benefits of caffeine
Cons
- May have a bad taste
Which Ingredients Should You Look For In A Pre-Workout Supplement For Weight Loss?
If you want a great pre-workout that will help you with your fat loss journey, you should be aware of a few ingredients. Below are listed the key pre-workout ingredients that will help you the most in losing weight.
Caffeine
It’s no surprise that caffeine is the most consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Its consumption comes with a lot of benefits like reduced risk of chronic diseases and depression. But the reason why it appears on this list is its capacity to help you lose weight. [17, 18]
Caffeine makes you feel more active and eliminates fatigue, which helps you exercise more time and with more intensity, making you burn more calories. Also, consuming caffeine increases your resting metabolic rate. This means that it increases the number of calories your body burns at rest. [2, 3, 4, 5, 19]
However, don’t rely on caffeine alone to burn fat as it won’t do the job. As with any supplement, an appropriate diet and exercise plan are required to see noticeable changes.
EGCG
Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) is a compound found in green tea extract. It has many benefits like improved brain and cognitive health and reduced inflammation. It also boosts metabolism and its effects may even be increased when taken with caffeine. [20, 21, 22]
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can I Lose Weight Effectively?
Losing weight is all about losing more calories than the ones you eat. There are substances that speed up your metabolic rate but, at the end of the day, if you don’t follow a diet that makes you eat fewer calories than the ones your body burns, or you don’t exercise to burn the extra calories, then you won’t see any significant difference.
That being said, we always recommend that you follow a good fitness plan and a healthy diet. Don’t start a diet that leaves you in a calorie deficit just for the sake of losing weight as it could be unhealthy. Always consult a nutritionist first! In our point of view, there’s no need to starve if you follow a good exercise plan because you will burn the extra calories through exercise.
What Do Pre-Workout Supplements Do?
Pre-workout supplements are nutritional supplements made of many ingredients. When taken before working out, this type of supplement will make you feel more energetic. It helps you exercise with more intensity and for longer periods of time. Ultimately, this leads to increased gains.
Do Pre-Workouts Help Burn Fat?
Yes, they do! But not directly. As we already mentioned above, caffeine and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) can increase your metabolic rate. This makes your body burn calories at a higher rate. But that boost may not be enough to see any noticeable difference. [3, 4, 5, 22]
The way pre-workout supplements really help you burn fat is by giving you the mental focus and energy levels you need to work out longer and harder. Obviously, this ends up leading to more burned fat.
Some manufacturers market some of their supplements as ‘thermogenic’ pre-workout supplements. This type of supplement is supposed to boost your metabolism and, therefore, make you lose weight. However, there is hardly any proof showing that they significantly help your weight loss efforts.
The Verdict
A good supplement needs to have effective ingredients that are well researched. Don’t be fooled by the so-called ‘thermogenic’ pre-workouts that make you lose weight just by speeding up your metabolism. There is little to no research proving that they work.
If you want a supplement that will help you lose weight then caffeine and its amount should be your main focus. Our verdict is that PreSeries Lean By Transparent Labs is overall the best pre-workout for weight loss. This brand is 100% transparent about what they put in their supplements. Also, all their ‘fat burning’ ingredients are backed up by research and studies.
Talk to your nutritionist so you can find a combination of diet, supplements, and exercise that will help you the most in your weight loss efforts.
