Homemade Preworkout Stack

noserdna

New member
Any issues stacking Beta Alanine, Citrulline Malate, ALCAR and Creatine together for a preworkout drink? I'm thinking about buying these in bulk but want to make sure they don't counteract. Thanks!
 
I see no issues. Will you be adding a flavoring?

Do research and make sure you add the proper dosing. As for creatine, it is your preference, I have seen as pre, as a post and some people do both.
 
These ingredients would work as a basic preworkout. I would also consider adding in a stimulant like caffeine. As state above, creatine isn't necessary as a preworkout ingredient, but there's no disadvantage to taking it before training either. I typically take my creatine preworkout just so I remember to take it for the day
 
They are all fine. I would consider a flavoring as the taste a little funny. Creatine isn't necessary, but you can add. SNS has all these bulks for good prices at nutraplanet.
 
Awesome! Thank you for the replies! I might just take my 5g of creatine postworkout with some protein and simple carbs.

Also, I was going to start off with 2g Citrulline and 3g of Beta Alanine and work up there. Not quite sure on the ALCAR dose still.

And as to flavoring, I'm at a loss as to what I should do? Maybe mix all this up and do body shots with my wife???
 
noserdna said:
Awesome! Thank you for the replies! I might just take my 5g of creatine postworkout with some protein and simple carbs.

Also, I was going to start off with 2g Citrulline and 3g of Beta Alanine and work up there. Not quite sure on the ALCAR dose still.

And as to flavoring, I'm at a loss as to what I should do? Maybe mix all this up and do body shots with my wife???
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What they are saying is you can dose creatine any time during the day. I dose mine with my pre workout for convenience.
 
noserdna said:
Awesome! Thank you for the replies! I might just take my 5g of creatine postworkout with some protein and simple carbs.

Also, I was going to start off with 2g Citrulline and 3g of Beta Alanine and work up there. Not quite sure on the ALCAR dose still.

And as to flavoring, I'm at a loss as to what I should do? Maybe mix all this up and do body shots with my wife???
Click to expand...

I'm personally not a huge fan of beta alanine, but that would be fine. You could bump the citrulline up to 4g+ if you wanted to, but 2g is a good start. As far as flavoring, you could use flavor drops from the supermarket, or crystal light powder. It might save a few dollars to make your own pre, but often times its more convenient and less of a hassle to buy it premade. There are a few great preworkouts available that would do better than just these few ingredients IMO. And there are also some great non-stim versions that would work for you if you don't want to use caffeine or stims
 
john.patterson said:
I'm personally not a huge fan of beta alanine, but that would be fine. You could bump the citrulline up to 4g+ if you wanted to, but 2g is a good start. As far as flavoring, you could use flavor drops from the supermarket, or crystal light powder. It might save a few dollars to make your own pre, but often times its more convenient and less of a hassle to buy it premade. There are a few great preworkouts available that would do better than just these few ingredients IMO. And there are also some great non-stim versions that would work for you if you don't want to use caffeine or stims
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Thanks a lot for all of the help man! I should have prefaced that I'm trying to take a stim break until the new year, so that's kind of why I'm leaning towards this homemade stack. Yes, a little money savings will be nice too! We have an 8-month old at home so my disposable income for stuff like supps has shrunk dramatically.
 
No stims? - then ALCAR, L-Tyrosine, Hup-A, Schisandra can be used. Basically sub some Nootropics for stimulants.

Beta Alanine, like Creatine, is a 'Saturation' supplement - so you could move that to other times of the day too (I take mine with food pre and post workout) - also, BA only really shines during exertion for an extended time period... something like over 60 seconds (check the research). So for any sets less than that, won't help. But on the flip side, it's pretty damn cheap - so loading up to cover any sprint/sled work seems fine anyway.

If you go Cit-Mal, dose at 8g - L-Cit is usually half that - I noticed no difference between them and IIRC the few performance studies were with Cit-Mal.

You could do Agamatine as well, Betaine (TMG), the list is pretty long. Just look at every supp company pre-workout, cross-check on Examine for efficacy/dosing, and grab some bulk version. 1 Packet of Crystal Light will cover your flavoring (I like Walmart's brand of it - Peach Mango)
 
The_Old_Guy said:
No stims? - then ALCAR, L-Tyrosine, Hup-A, Schisandra can be used. Basically sub some Nootropics for stimulants.

Beta Alanine, like Creatine, is a 'Saturation' supplement - so you could move that to other times of the day too (I take mine with food pre and post workout) - also, BA only really shines during exertion for an extended time period... something like over 60 seconds (check the research). So for any sets less than that, won't help. But on the flip side, it's pretty damn cheap - so loading up to cover any sprint/sled work seems fine anyway.

If you go Cit-Mal, dose at 8g - L-Cit is usually half that - I noticed no difference between them and IIRC the few performance studies were with Cit-Mal.

You could do Agamatine as well, Betaine (TMG), the list is pretty long. Just look at every supp company pre-workout, cross-check on Examine for efficacy/dosing, and grab some bulk version. 1 Packet of Crystal Light will cover your flavoring (I like Walmart's brand of it - Peach Mango)
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Spot on as always!
 
Another option is unflavored kool-aid packets. I did that with grape and concentrated stevia for flavor.

The kool-aid powder also includes ingredients that will help keep your powder from clumping. Between that and storing it in the fridge, I've had zero caking/clumping.

My "base" powder:
-500g Creatine mono
-500g Beta alanine
-250g Betaine
-227g Magnesium CITRATE (NOW brand from a different site)
-50g Ashwaganda
-40g L-theanine

From a bulk powder site I got enough for 100 servings at less than $0.70 per at "clinical" doses (per examine). I split them between PWO and bed.

A number of my ingredients don't need to be dosed PWO, but it makes life easier for me to just take them that way.

I do 1 1/2tsp PWO and add caffeine tab, cit-mal powder, hydromax powder, potassium nitrate powder, or a combo.

I also do 1 1/2tsp at bed with a melatonin tab.

I really like this as it allows me to mix and match based on my current goals while still having my "base" mix. And the cost even with the add-on's averages to be less than $1.00 per serving. Most properly dosed PWO's I find are around $1.50-2.50 per serving.
 
noserdna said:
Any issues stacking Beta Alanine, Citrulline Malate, ALCAR and Creatine together for a preworkout drink? I'm thinking about buying these in bulk but want to make sure they don't counteract. Thanks!
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Use mine ?
2 scoops SNS citrulline malate
2 scoops SNS agmatine sulfate
1 scoop SNS Focus-XT

Great pump with focus and know you're getting enough pump products in there without having a ton of Stims.
 
The_Old_Guy said:
No stims? - then ALCAR, L-Tyrosine, Hup-A, Schisandra can be used. Basically sub some Nootropics for stimulants.

Beta Alanine, like Creatine, is a 'Saturation' supplement - so you could move that to other times of the day too (I take mine with food pre and post workout) - also, BA only really shines during exertion for an extended time period... something like over 60 seconds (check the research). So for any sets less than that, won't help. But on the flip side, it's pretty damn cheap - so loading up to cover any sprint/sled work seems fine anyway.

If you go Cit-Mal, dose at 8g - L-Cit is usually half that - I noticed no difference between them and IIRC the few performance studies were with Cit-Mal.

You could do Agamatine as well, Betaine (TMG), the list is pretty long. Just look at every supp company pre-workout, cross-check on Examine for efficacy/dosing, and grab some bulk version. 1 Packet of Crystal Light will cover your flavoring (I like Walmart's brand of it - Peach Mango)
Click to expand...

Never thought of the crystal light
 
So I've decided on this preworkout stack for now:

5g creatine
4g Beta Alanine
4g Citrulline Malate
1g Taurine
500mg of Niacin

I will start off with a single ingredient, assess tolerance, and then add in an additional ingredient every couple of days. Exciting stuff! I'll let everybody know when I start the logs... thanks!
 
noserdna said:
So I've decided on this preworkout stack for now:

5g creatine
4g Beta Alanine
4g Citrulline Malate
1g Taurine
500mg of Niacin

I will start off with a single ingredient, assess tolerance, and then add in an additional ingredient every couple of days. Exciting stuff! I'll let everybody know when I start the logs... thanks!
Click to expand...

Creatine won't serve any benefits pre workout.
500 mg Niacin?? Good luck with that! Lol.
 
pro45 said:
Creatine won't serve any benefits pre workout.
500 mg Niacin?? Good luck with that! Lol.
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Thanks man. Is that too much niacin to start off with?

And on the creatine, I saw your post from a few days ago about not seeing any benefit. I'm fully aware, I just figured I'd throw everything in one shaker cup and get it down for convenience sake.
 
noserdna said:
Thanks man. Is that too much niacin to start off with?

And on the creatine, I saw your post from a few days ago about not seeing any benefit. I'm fully aware, I just figured I'd throw everything in one shaker cup and get it down for convenience sake.
Click to expand...

I would start with 50mg niacin and gauge your tolerance. The side effects can be VERY uncomfortable.
 
pro45 said:
I would start with 50mg niacin and gauge your tolerance. The side effects can be VERY uncomfortable.
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Ok cool. For some reason I thought I saw an appropriate dose for bodybuilding was 500mg, but I'll heed your advice. Thanks!
 
noserdna said:
Ok cool. For some reason I thought I saw an appropriate dose for bodybuilding was 500mg, but I'll heed your advice. Thanks!
Click to expand...
500mg is a pretty substantial dose. I've used 500mg caps, and they'd routinely make my whole body red, as if I had a sunburn, along with a similar feeling, and a warm feeling. The only use I found for them was working out in a cold gym in Ontario, where it'd normally take me a long time to warm up and not stay cold; the niacin kept me feeling warm without wearing too many layers, haha.
 
muscleupcrohn said:
500mg is a pretty substantial dose. I've used 500mg caps, and they'd routinely make my whole body red, as if I had a sunburn, along with a similar feeling, and a warm feeling. The only use I found for them was working out in a cold gym in Ontario, where it'd normally take me a long time to warm up and not stay cold; the niacin kept me feeling warm without wearing too many layers, haha.
Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks! This is definitely why I want to add in one ingredient at a time!
 
noserdna said:
So I've decided on this preworkout stack for now:

5g creatine
4g Beta Alanine
4g Citrulline Malate
1g Taurine
500mg of Niacin

I will start off with a single ingredient, assess tolerance, and then add in an additional ingredient every couple of days. Exciting stuff! I'll let everybody know when I start the logs... thanks!
Click to expand...

With bulk prices so affordable, I'd dose at highest efficacious dose used in a study: 5g Beta-Alanine (Elite Rowers), and 8g Cit-Mal (Weight Lifting Protocol).
 
The_Old_Guy said:
I love'em, but yeah, I actually take 3g with food, twice a day. Good advice.
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That's a good way to take it. It's actually best with food:
the efficiency of carnosine loading is significantly higher when PBA is coingested with a meal (+64%) compared with in between the meals (+41%), suggesting that insulin stimulates muscle carnosine loading.
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