Next-Gen Pre-Workouts: 2025 & Beyond

Posted on November 1, 2024

 

Thinking about the future of sports supplements can certainly ignite the imagination.

 

Where could the evolution of the pre-workout take us in the years to come?

 

Could we be on the precipice of radical changes in the understanding of human nutritional requirements and tailored needs?

 

Perhaps we may soon see a global shift in funding from patented products to natural ingredients.

 

You know, natural ingredients that tend to offer accessory health benefits more often than harsh side-effects.

 

If you’ve been even marginally interested in pre-workouts in recent times, you’ve probably noticed some changes already starting to take place.

 

As consumers become more research savvy, pressure is gradually been applied to sports nutrition companies to craft formulations backed by the most recent scientific evidence.

 

Sure, there will always be budget-friendly pre-workouts that deliver caffeine and flavour, with a litany of moderately-dosed active ingredients.

 

A dusting of arginine with barely enough beta alanine to give a hamster the tingles.

 

But it's great to have these types of pre-workouts available, because sometimes a scoop of flavoured caffeine is all you need to rev the engine and help you power ahead.

 

Fortunately, caffeine is in and of itself a natural ergogenic aid anyway, which drives motivation to train and promotes sports and exercise performance.

 

The sports nutrition market as a whole tends to be moving in the direction of non-generic ingredients that are scientifically justified in terms of potency and efficacy.

 

In addition, natural sweeteners and flavours are moving into more and more brand names, while creative flavour concepts are becoming widespread.

 

A solid scientific evidence base can shift consumer ingredient popularity, though it does take time- and relative to the marketing skill of the company at hand.

 

 

We’ve seen citrulline move into the lime-light instead of arginine, and new-fangled versions of arginine springing up like inositol stabilised arginine silicate—try saying that three times real quick after a set of heavy deadlifts!

 

Driven by scientific innovation and consumer demand (and the will of formulators) there is a lot to be excited about when it comes to the not-so-humble pre-workout.

 

And as your ever-present supplier of premium supplements, Sporty’s Health is here to ensure you have access to, in-store or online, the very best the Australian market has to offer.

 

Ingredient Transparency

One of the reasons natural ingredients often fail to get the research funding they deserve is the fact that they can’t be patented.

 

The manufacturing process certainly can be, however when a consumer reads a label with the same ingredient ten times cheaper, do they typically worry about how it was manufactured?

 

Plants naturally contain thousands of chemicals, such as amino acids, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

 

And when a natural amino acid like L-Theanine was first isolated from gyokuro leaf back in 1950, funding for scientific research does not come pouring in as it cannot be patented.

 

The patent would ensure exclusive rights to production, and since anyone could capitalise on their research, what’s the (financial) point, right?

 

But L-Theanine ain’t L-Theanine.

 

I.e., it might be listed as L-Theanine, L-Theanine (Green Tea Extract) or as a branded L-Theanine, such as AlphaWave.

 

While “L-Theanine” doesn’t tell us much about whether the molecule is synthetic or natural, though it will be bioidentical and safe, the other two are natural and plant-derived.

 

As consumers become more interested in the origins of the ingredients they consume, more pressure is placed on supplement companies to source ingredients of a specific grade.

 

 

 

 

The market is sure to move in the direction of complete transparency, wherein ingredient origins and manufacturers become a much larger part of the sales pitch.

 

And though in this day and age, creating such as product would often be cost prohibitive, new opportunities are sure to present themselves in the future as the market demands them.

 

Perhaps when the Australian government gets behind Aussie manufacturing, it will become more profitable to source in Australia.

 

Natural Ingredients

For most, it’s a bonus to find a supplement that has everything you want, including a reasonable price, but with all-natural ingredients.

 

Typically, this means the sweeteners are natural, as well as the flavours and colours.

 

But it can mean natural versus synthetic amino acids, produced via fermentation instead of chemical synthesis.

 

Though the end point is technically the same, a like for like molecule with the same effects, it’s nice to know what we’re consuming.

 

Again, this comes down to cost and creating the highest quality flavour as well.

 

 

Though aspartame was hailed as the best sweetener, sucralose (often with acesulphame potassium) eventually filled the void as global masses of enraged consumers rose-up in unison against evil aspartame.

 

Okay, that might be an exaggeration …

 

Now all artificial sweeteners are becoming unpopular, which means natural sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit, thaumatin, allulose and sugar-alcohols, such as xylitol and erythritol, are exploding in popularity.

 

It’s only a matter of time before natural ingredients replace their artificial counterparts, as consumers demand natural ingredients only.

 

Natural colours have been on the radar of concerned parents for a long time with the realisation that some food colourings may be adversely impacting the behaviour of their children.

 

And if little jimmy is running rings around the television while you’re trying to unwind with a hot cup of cocoa, it can certainly be a good motivation to check out the food colourings!

 

 

These days, many just like to rule out as many chemicals and “numbered” ingredients as possible, just in case.

 

Fortunately, this isn’t so difficult for manufacturers, though prices tend to be higher with more limited options when it comes to flavours.

 

But surely we will see this shift in the market speed up over the coming years.

 

Some changes aren’t that hard, such as replacing red food colouring with beetroot powder, while a yellow colour can be created with turmeric extract, and green with spirulina, and so on.

 

In terms of natural flavours, there are already many available from manufacturers for supplement creators to experiment with.

 

However, we will eventually start to see a shift to more transparent natural flavours, wherein each ingredient within the natural flavour will be delineated clearly in terms of what it is and where it comes from.

 

Because most natural flavours have their own ingredients list (undisclosed on labels), each with their own country of origin.

 

Don’t stress, but it’s true …

 

These might seem like trivial changes when it comes to supplements, but the ramifications can be enormous when it comes to personal health and financially supporting local supplement creators and manufacturers who are doing the most diligent work.

 

Scientifically Justified

Deciding on an ingredient isn’t so hard, is it?

 

All you need to consider is …

 

… the right ingredient for the right person engaged in the right form of exercise, consumed at the right time, at the correct dosage over a sufficient amount of time to elicit the desired result.

 

Okay, so the science of nutrition is kind of complex.

 

As we move forward in scientific understanding, more research will pour out examining the results of ergogenic ingredients on human performance.

 

This will drive innovations in manufacturing, with consumer demand growing naturally for what works.

 

Perhaps the disconnect between consumer and scientist will shrink over time, creating informed consumers that demand products that are scientifically validated and updated.

 

Manufacturers would then have to follow suit, providing ergogenic supplements in alignment with current scientific understanding.

 

This process is already beginning, as supplement companies share scientific research to back up their formulations.

 

However, consumers informed directly by scientists would certainly be ideal.

 

This would ensure science-sounding language and technical jargon aren’t wielded upon trusting consumers to drive up profits for products that may not be as validated as they could be.

 

Surely, the best way forward for manufacturers is complete transparency with a high degree of business ethics, literally ingrained in every aspect of their business.

 

Independent testing or perhaps an independent auditing system are certainly aspects that can drive up consumer trust.

 

Ultimately, give the consumers what they want and they come in droves. But if you take short-cuts and choose your own agenda, then sales will plummet.

 

Just look at the Marvel franchise, despite hundreds of millions spent on marketing campaigns.

 

 

The consumer wants what they want and they are becoming more informed and ethical.

 

So there is a natural pathway there for savvy businesses to capitalise on.

 

Holistic Health Inclined

The last thing on most gym-junkies minds as they guzzle down an ice-cold pre-workout, battle some brain-freeze, then pound out their first set like the fate of the world depends on it, is how their long-term health will be impacted by the supplement.

 

But as the world gradually becomes more health conscious, more and more weightlifters, bodybuilders and exercise enthusiasts are starting to ask the question: is this product actually any good for me?

 

The inclusion of health-promoting ingredients into pre-workouts is a bonus that is often overlooked.

 

For instance, ViNitrox^TM is a natural dietary supplement produced from apple and grape polyphenols, and is found in some pre-workouts.

  

At 500mg daily, ViNitrox^TM has been shown to increase nitric oxide production, as well as boost physical training time and increase the time to fatigue.

 

Though these may seem like exercise specific benefits, this is in fact a natural supplement consisting of plant polyphenols.

 

Though natural nitric oxide support offers its own set of potential benefits, such as reduced blood pressure and increased peripheral circulation, ViNitrox^TM may offer benefits to overall health through reducing oxidative stress.

 

Natural ingredients that not only enhance physical performance, but offer accessory benefits to long-term optimal health are certainly going to explode over the coming years decades.

 

Because … why not?

 

Epic Flavour Concepts

If you’re a long term protein powder consumer, you’ve probably experienced the delight of discovering a new flavour—especially when on a calorie restricted diet.

 

It can be like all of your Christmases coming all at once—and birthdays too.

 

Flavour fatigue and disinterest can negatively impact how much of a supplement we use over time and how often we return to store to buy some more.

 

So it’s only natural that manufacturers are trying to spice things up with some epic flavours.

 

And if you’re one of those businesses that sticks to standard flavours, like fruit punch, lemon lime and mixed berry, you run the risk of falling behind on the flavour wars.

 

Not that there’s anything wrong with a well-crafted basic flavour—they can still be exceptionally refreshing.

 

But they don’t tend to generate the excitement that creative new flavours do.

 

And when a sports nutrition company teams-up with a famous candy brand or well-known nostalgic flavour, look out!

 

 

Conclusion

The sports nutrition is slowly evolving, which may be a reflection of the lack of funding in natural ingredients that cannot be patented.

 

We may see a shift in this paradigm over the coming years, and as a result see the available level of scientific research into natural chemicals increase dramatically.

 

As a result, pre-workout formulations may begin to change rapidly, with heightened results and a greater degree of accuracy.

 

Sure, this could be wishful thinking.

 

It could be prophecy too (lol).

 

As consumers become more health conscious, demand for natural ingredients, including sweeteners, flavours and colours will likely expand, along with flavour ingredient breakdowns.

 

In addition, we may start to see individual ingredients that can be easily tracked and traced through the use of QR codes on labels.

 

This may provide ingredient country of origin, manufacturing details and complete ingredient listings for individual ingredients.

 

Transparency from manufacturers is sure to continue to increase, satisfying consumers who simply want to invest their hard-earned dollars in an ethical company they can trust.

 

With changes like these to pre-workouts, expect to reach your performance goals faster while bolstering optimal health and wellness.

 

It all starts with the consumer though.

 

It starts with you.