How To Make Your Own Pre-Workout At Home (Save 90%)

Making your own pre-workout at home is something a lot of people have never thought to try, and it turns out the process is simpler than most would expect. The idea is that you buy each ingredient separately in bulk, and because you are cutting out the branding and the packaging and the marketing costs, you end up spending a fraction of what you would on a commercial tub. Josh Holyfield puts the total spend at around a hundred dollars for roughly six months of supply, so the savings add up fast.

The first ingredient on the list is L-Citrulline, and the specific form you want is called Citrulline Malate, with a ratio of two parts citrulline to one part malate, which is usually written as 2:1 DL-Malate. The dose he recommends is nine grams, and that is actually a meaningful amount because research has looked at citrulline malate in the context of aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance and found it can support blood flow and reduce the buildup of ammonia in muscles during hard training. A 2025 study published in Scientific Reports looked at the acute effects of citrulline malate supplementation on exercise performance and found positive outcomes across multiple training styles, and a separate double-blind trial from the same year compared L-Citrulline to L-Citrulline DL-Malate specifically in resistance-trained men over six weeks and tracked performance and perceived exertion as well as blood markers.

Beta-alanine comes next at three grams, and this one is well known in sports nutrition circles for causing a tingling sensation on the skin called paresthesia, which is harmless but noticeable. The International Society of Sports Nutrition published a position stand on beta-alanine that confirmed it increases muscle carnosine levels, and carnosine acts as a buffer against the acid that builds up in muscles during high-intensity exercise. A separate review updated the research by looking at how beta-alanine supplementation affects athletic performance and concluded that consistent use over several weeks tends to produce the most reliable results because the carnosine loading takes time.

Taurine comes in at one gram, and it is an amino acid that shows up naturally in the body and in certain foods, and it plays roles in hydration, electrolyte balance, and nervous system function. Including it in a pre-workout blend makes sense because training depletes taurine stores and having it available during exercise may help with endurance and muscle function. The gram-level dose is modest but reasonable for a daily use formula.

N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, also at one gram, is a more bioavailable form of the amino acid tyrosine, which the body uses to produce neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. These are the chemicals involved in focus, motivation, and the mental drive that makes a tough workout feel manageable rather than miserable. So including it in a pre-workout blend makes sense from the standpoint of cognitive support during training.

Beetroot powder at one gram rounds out the non-stimulant performance ingredients, and beetroot is interesting because it is naturally high in dietary nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide causes blood vessels to relax and widen, and that means more blood and oxygen can reach working muscles during exercise. A comprehensive review of ergogenic supplements for cycling performance noted that nitrate-rich foods like beetroot have solid evidence behind them for improving endurance.

Caffeine is the stimulant anchor of the formula, and Josh suggests 200 milligrams, which is a pretty standard dose and roughly equivalent to two cups of coffee. The research on caffeine and exercise performance is some of the most consistent in all of sports science, and a foundational paper from 1995 in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition established that caffeine works by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain, which delays the feeling of fatigue and allows athletes to sustain effort longer. A more recent review from 2025 in Sports Medicine looked at how caffeine enhances performance while also raising the important point that taking it too close to bedtime can hurt sleep quality, so timing matters.

Sodium and potassium are added in small amounts and they serve as electrolytes, which are minerals that carry electrical charges and help regulate fluid balance inside and outside of cells during exercise. When you sweat, you lose both of these, and replacing them proactively helps prevent cramps and supports muscle contractions throughout a workout. They are cheap and easy to add to the mix.

Baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate, rounds out the formula and it is a surprising ingredient to a lot of people because it is sitting in most kitchens already. Sodium bicarbonate works as a buffering agent in the blood, and the International Society of Sports Nutrition has a full position stand on it, concluding that it can improve performance in high-intensity exercise lasting one to seven minutes because it helps the body clear acid more quickly. The effective dose in research is typically around 200 to 300 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, so the amount you add would depend on your size.

When you mix all of these ingredients together you essentially have a formula that covers the major bases of what a commercial pre-workout is trying to do. You have a pump ingredient in citrulline malate, an endurance buffer in beta-alanine, a focus component in tyrosine, nitric oxide support from beetroot, a proven stimulant in caffeine, electrolytes from sodium and potassium, and an additional acid buffer from baking soda. A 2022 study in Nutrients that looked at multi-ingredient pre-workout supplements and caffeine together for bench press performance found that combining these kinds of ingredients can produce real improvements in workout output.

The whole point of this approach is that the science behind each ingredient is available and understood, and you are not paying for a brand name to do the research for you and then mark up the price significantly. Buying in bulk powder form means each serving costs a small fraction of what a single serving of a branded product would cost, and because you are controlling each ingredient yourself you can also adjust doses up or down based on your tolerance and your goals. So if you are serious about your training and you want to stop overpaying for pre-workout, mixing your own at home using these ingredients is a practical and well-supported option.

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