Pre workouts typically have one thing in common...

They use caffeine. 

But the real ones know that the real energy comes from the combination of various stimulants. 

Some of those stimulants include exotic ones like DMAA and DMHA. 

These two stimulants are what separates the average pre workout to the really good ones. 

Here we'll discuss what the differences are between DMAA and DMHA, if they are worth using and if they are allowed to be used in supplements. 

Buying bulk DMHA or DMAA from BulkStimulants is fairly easy in (we recommend that you use a scale).

The biggest difference between DMHA and DMAA is that DMAA is much stronger in smaller dosages and takes much more DMHA to achieve similar results as DMAA. 

Both of these stimulants can increase alertness, energy and enhance mood but DMHA does it in a much smoother way. 

WADA does not allow both DMHA and DMAA to be used and are not approved by the FDA to be used in supplements.  

Both DMAA and DMHA work in a similar way in that they can increase dopamine production and can increase blood pressure. 

DMHA has been in supplements since 2016 and was hyped up to be the next best alternative to DMAA as it has roughly 80% of the power of DMAA with the right dosages.

Both of these stimulants can activate the fight or flight reaction due to their ability to mimic adrenaline. 

DMAA has been around in supplements since 2005 and how it works exactly isn't completely understood.

Although DMAA is stronger, a pre workout with DMAA doesn't make it better just because of that. 

In fact, there are supplements without either of these stimulants that are still very strong, some of which are said to be stronger than ones with DMAA or DMHA. 

Since there are no studies that recommend dosing for these stimulants, we can only give rough estimates. 

We have seen DMAA on the market since 2005, and DMHA since 2016, we can only use what other people and companies widely accept as effective dosages. 

Of course there are a number of factors that also come into consideration...

Since DMHA and DMAA are not regulated like any supplement, they can come with various quality levels and without any way to reliably check and test, it's up to the labs where they come from to ensure it's quality. 

DMAA's recommended dosages vary from 50 to 75mg, and anything higher than 75mg can increase the risk of elevated blood pressure. 

But we've seen companies put as much as 120mg DMAA (like Crack) and have included nitrates to help subside the issue of elevated blood pressure. 

You don't have to guess though. 

We've collected the best and added them to the lists of DMHA pre workouts and the best DMAA pre workouts.

Marketing in supplements can have you believing in their hype but can end up being a complete miss... 

For example some pre workouts claim to have DMAA and DMHA but are not that great.

This could be due to the quality of the ingredients, or some combination of factors. 

The FDA are generally not able to keep these stimulants off the market as companies find the gray area of adding them in the supplements. 

Companies will change the names to help them keep off the crosshair of the FDA, and are generally only included in the most hardcore pre workouts. 

Here are some common names for these stimulants:

DMAA:

• Geranium Extract

DMHA:

• Kigelia Africana Extract
• Octodrine
• Juglans Regia Extract
• English Walnut Extract

As we mentioned earlier, it's still possible to find pre workouts without these stimulants and still be stronger.

These pre workouts have hit our top list for strongest pre workouts and they don't have either of these stimulants:

• Wrecked
• Hooligan
• Crack Reloaded

This is due to the fact that there are other stimulants that can be combined with caffeine to make it a much stronger pre workout. 

There are still lots of great options for DMHA and DMAA pre workouts. 

You don't need to have either of these stimulants to have a great pre workout. 

And disappointing pre workouts with DMHA or DMAA also exist. 

Stimulants are a way to increase energy but they aren't the end all solution for a great workout. 

Proper recovery, nutrition and programming are even more important. 

Most of the legal drama for these stimulants occurs in the United States. 

The FDA has been taking companies down to keep DMHA and DMAA out of supplements. 

Hi-Pharmaceuticals is one company that has been fighting the FDA from 2013, all the way through 2020 and have taken it all the way up to the Supreme Court.

They had their supplements seized by the FDA and it was one of the most known cases. 

Hi-Tech Pharma has sold close to 4 million units of DMAA containing supplements from October 2010 through 2015, and only 35 adverse event reports were associated with their products.

That's more than 200,000,000 servings taken in just 5 years.

Only six of those adverse event reports mention DMAA, and the other ones are unknown. 

Compare that to vitamin C, which had close to 5000 AERS in two years (from 2012 through 2014) and half of those were considered to be life threatening or required hospitalizations. 

And multivitamins have even higher numbers. 

The rate for cases for DMAA is so low and Hi-Tech was one of the companies to prove this. 

While DMHA is newer than DMAA, it's considered to be much more milder and has even less side effects. 

While it's not illegal to posses or buy them, they are illegal to be sold in the market as dietary supplements. 

So if you're not selling these as dietary supplements, in the U.S., then you don't have to worry about anything. 

Companies will always find ways to include these hardcore stimulants in their pre workouts.