Ultimate Guide to the Best Non-Stim Pre-Workout Supplements

Edge Pump by Psycho Pharma. L-citrulline malate 4000 mg a scoop. 40 scoops. $33.50.

What makes a pre-workout non-stim?

“Caffeine is a methylated xanthine naturally found in variable amounts in coffee; tea; cacao pods (the source of chocolate); and other herbal/botanical sources, such as guarana, kola (or cola) nut, and yerba mate.” That’s the ODS exercise fact sheet.

The ODS weight loss fact sheet says some labels list only the herbs, so “consumers might not be aware that the presence of certain herbs means that a product contains caffeine and possibly other stimulants.”

Edge Pump has no caffeine line. Its 75mg S7 blend does name green coffee bean extract and green tea extract, with no caffeine figure for either.

Pump Igniter Black, a stim formula: “Caffine Anhydrous 200mg.” Their spelling.

What is in Edge Pump?

Edge Pump: 1 scoop per serving, 40 per tub. L-citrulline malate 4000 mg. HydroPrime glycerol powder 1000 mg. Taurine 500 mg. AAKG (L-arginine alpha-ketoglutarate) 500 mg. S7 75 mg. AstraGin 25 mg, from Panax notoginseng and Astragalus membranaceus. $33.50.

How much citrulline malate is in a non-stim scoop?

Ecto-Plasm: 8,000 mg in 1 scoop. 20 servings.

ABE Nation Stim-Free Pump: citrulline malate 2:1, 9000 mg. 2 level scoops (25g).

Hemavol: 4.1g Hemodynamix Matrix. No citrulline figure.

ODS: citrulline malate “is 56.64% citrulline by weight so, for example, 1 g citrulline malate provides 566 mg of citrulline.” Edge Pump’s 4000 mg, about 2,266 mg citrulline.

Watermelon has “about 365 mg citrulline” in 1 cup diced, per ODS.

What are creatine, beta-alanine and betaine?

ABE Nation: creatine monohydrate 5000 mg. Beta-alanine 3000 mg.

“The liver and kidneys synthesize about 1 g/day creatine from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine,” says ODS.

Beta-alanine is “the rate-limiting precursor to the synthesis of carnosine.” ODS again. “Four to six grams of beta-alanine for 10 weeks, for example, can increase muscle carnosine levels by up to 80%.”

Ecto-Plasm: betaine anhydrous 2,500 mg. Glycerpump (65% glycerol powder) 2,000 mg. Nitrosigine 1,500 mg. Agmatine sulfate 1,250 mg.

“Betaine, also known as trimethylglycine, is found in foods such as beets, spinach, and whole-grain breads,” per ODS. Food gives “100 to 300 mg/day.”

Where are the non-stim pre-workout numbers listed?

Citrulline malate runs 4000 mg to 9000 mg a serving on three of these labels, with Hemavol’s inside a matrix. Each shop page prints its Supplement Facts panel. ODS keeps the exercise fact sheet with the studies. Edge Pump, Ecto-Plasm, ABE Nation and Hemavol sit in one pre-workout category.