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I have been using a pre-workout for the past 3 years, but I'm not entirely sure why. I can drink my pre-workout 30-45 minutes before my workout starts and not feel a thing. No "tingling" that so many people talk about. No burst of energy and definitely no sustained energy. I've tried many different brands, even did the much talked about 2 scoops. Nothing. My current brand is PreKaged by Kaged Muscle, I like the flavor, but still not feeling a difference.

I do have a high tolerance to a lot of medications; Ambien did absolutely nothing. Hydrocodone just gives me cotton mouth and nothing for pain relief. I can even drink a cup of coffee or a pop and take a nap.

Any suggestions?

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  • Pre-workout usually has a diminishing effect. The first time can make you very jittery due to caffeine and other ingredients but over time you feel less of a jolt. This is mostly true if you are taking it 3 or more times a week. Also worth mentioning, genetics determine how fast your body breaks down caffeine according to this link. The link mentions that slow metabolizers have increased heart attack risk when drinking large amounts of coffee.
    – Craig
    Jan 21, 2017 at 0:32

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Using pre-workout for 3 years is way too long.

The "tingling" comes from the Beta-Alanine, if you try standalone 1-1,5gr of Beta-Alanine you will definitely get the "tingling", that doesn't mean i recommend you to do.

Pre-Workouts basically include creatine,beta-alanine,bcaa,caffeine from various stimulants and extracs, might include citruline if it's a "pump"-labeled, arginine, taurine, agmatine, etc. They might work for the first 3-4 times but for the majority of them nothing much more than that. In general they are just waste of money, a mix of cheap ingredients labeled on whatever the selling company wants to promote.

You can use a pre-workout but not for too long time and not every day. Think it as a little weapon for the hard day workout, e.g. leg day.

But.

If you want a wake up call before your workout drink a single espresso 30-45 minutes before.

If you want an energy pump, a small fresh apple is just enough also 30-45 minutes before.

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I'm using preworkouts for years too. I tried many brands and there is no magic in that stuff. Now im doing my own preworkout with my way. I like tingling feeling and i put arround 2gr of beta-alanine, cold brew coffee that contains 150mg caffeine, 5gr of creatine, 5 gr of arginine, 5 gr of bcaa, 5gr of citrulline ...etc in my shaker and voila. That's way cheaper compared with ready product and I can manipulate it as I want. But the most important thing about preworkouts, body get used to the stimulants like caffeine so i don't consume coffee in workout days and i do caffeine diet to give body a rest. If you dont mind about taste thats a great method but if you care my favorites are C4 and PRE-JYM as preworkout.

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Taking preworkout consistently for 3 years is way too long. Taking preworkout consistently for 3 months is way too long. You've probably developed a complete tolerance for any sensible amount of caffeine now and will never achieve any stimulation from it. Safe to say after 3 years your body has adapted. You have to cycle off stimulants to (attempt to) reset your tolerance. If I was in your situation, I'd take at least a couple months off any stimulants (besides coffee if you're a drinker) and see how you respond after that. And if a few months go by and when you take it you don't feel any benefits, stay off it for another while.

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