When we started Kaged back in 2015, one of the most obvious ways we told consumers to see the difference was just to look at the scoop size. Our original Kaged Pre-Workout was well over twice the size of the most popular pre-workouts at the time.
We argued that unless you were a training nerd, checking out the supplements scoop size was an easy way to judge the quality and ingredients of products.
This is still true to an extent, but it's much more nuanced than it was a decade ago. After all, it's not just the amount of ingredients, it's the quality too.
So let's talk about the art and science of pre-workout scoop size.
Understand The Bare Minimum Scoop Size
A big scoop doesn't mean it's a good pre-workout, but a scoop size that's too small is a good sign you're getting caffeinated water.
That's because the core ingredients should hit certain doses, and if it doesn't, well, it's just not going to do that much for you beyond caffeine.
Here are the key ingredients, backed by the most research, that you'll see in many pre-workouts. Make sure you pay attention to the minimum required dose, as, when combined, you can quickly see the minimum total serving size required for a well formulated pre-workout that actually works!
• Caffeine: minimum dose required: 150mg
• Creatine HCI or Monohydrate - minimum dose required: 1.5g, idealy 3-5g
• Citrulline - minimum dose required: 3.5g
• Beta-Alanine - minimum dose required: 1.6g
• Betaine - minimum dose required: 1.25g
• Flavours, Sweeteners and Binders etc - minimum dose required: 2 - 3g
= ~10 Grams Minimum
This is the minimum. Our beginner-friendly pre-workout, Pre-Workout Sport, which has lower doses, has a 13g scoop.
Anything under this, and there's no mathematical way to be getting efficacious doses from your pre-workout.
This is more common than you would think. Take a look at some pre-workouts over on Amazon or bodybuilding.com and compare the serving size and per product ingredients to the list above.
20g-35g Scoop Size: For Serious Workouts
While there are good, moderate-intensity pre-workouts in the 10-15g range (like our Sport version), intense pre-workouts built for serious training sessions should be higher.
Our original Pre-Workout has a ~29g serving, and Pre-Workout Elite has a ~33g serving.
If you're looking for serious performance, it's hard to get it under 20g. Pre-Workout Elite has 10g of L-Citrulline alone, the upper end shown to bring even more muscle pumps and endurance support.*
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Beware of the "Price Per Serving" Marketing Trick
Supplement companies will often try to trick you by promoting the price per serving and neglecting the scoop size, too.
There's nothing wrong with promoting the price per serving. We do too. However, it's the dose per serving that really matters more. $1 per scoop is useless if there's very little you're getting for that dollar.
So focusing on price per serving alone can be deceiving, as the smaller the scoop size normally matches with the price per serving.
So while you may get a cheap deal, you are basically paying for a product that is guaranteed to have missing ingredients or be severely underdosed. Either way, you are wasting your money, not saving it.
Ask yourself, is it best to pay $1 per serving for a product that does not work, or pay $2-$3 per serving for a product that actually has a scoop size 3 - 4 times bigger and works?
Scoop Size is A Good Benchmark, But Then Go Deeper
Scoop size is a great way to get a general assessment of a pre-workout. If you're just looking for a daily-driver pre, then the 10-20g range will suit your needs. For serious performance, look in the 25-35g range.
But go beyond this. 3.2g of CarnoSyn® Beta-alanine has more research backing than 3.2g of generic Beta-alanine. 10g of L-Citrulline provides more actual citrulline than 10g of citrulline malate. So, while a great starting point, look for quality.
At Kaged, we've done that for you. We pride ourselves on choosing patented, research-backed ingredients at the doses shown in scientific studies.
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