Today, teens are more likely to be exposed to exercise much earlier than the last generation.
From social media trends to the internet, we have access to information (and misinformation) like never before.
With this comes misinformation, which can be risky especially if it's about supplements.
While teens won't need supplements to exercise, they aren't bad in general.
With responsible use and with the right pre-workout, it can do more good than harm.
But using the wrong supplements and abusing them can be dangerous for anyone at any age.
If you're wondering what's the best pre-workout for teenagers, it's Transparent Labs Bulk.
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All-Natural
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Safe PIck
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Affordable
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4.7
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4.5
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4.0
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N/A
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N/A
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$29.99 ($3.42 / Ounce)
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Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Stimulants:
180mg Caffeine Anhydrous, 50mg Theobromine, 30mg Infinergy Caffeine
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Stimulants:
188mg Caffeine
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Stimulants:
360mg Caffeine, 100mg Theobromine
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The problem with supplements is that there are many options that are plain outrageously overpriced and underdosed.
That's why we created this list.
Small blends and overpriced supplements may have been easy to get away with years ago, but these days it's a little easier to find out what's the best pre-workout for teens.
Here we've broken down the best options and will explain why.
Here's what the best pre-workouts are for teenagers:
We picked these pre-workouts because they don't contain more than 200mg of caffeine, are fully disclosed (no proprietary blends), and do not have exotic stimulants like DMAA, DMHA, DMBA, yohimbine, etc.
Whether you're at the age of 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17 years old, these are the best pre workouts for teens.
Containing over 22g per serving, Bulk contains full doses of ergogenic aids and a range of nootropics as well as stimulants to help enhance energy.
Bulk is a solid pre-workout from Transparent Labs.
Transparent Labs is one of the best and first companies to create fully disclosed labels without using artificial sweeteners or coloring.
Although they are vegan-friendly and naturally flavored, they still create some of the best premium formulas.
The best example of this is with their Bulk Pre-Workout.
This is the best pre-workout for teenagers as it has a label that doesn't hide any dosages, contains the right amount of caffeine, and uses full clinical doses of useful ingredients.
Although it doesn't have the strongest formula, it still has 200mg of caffeine, which exceeds the 100mg recommendation by the AACAP.
As long as the teenager isn't used to drinking loads of caffeine from coffee, then Bulk is a great choice.
And more is not always better as you want to make sure the caffeine doesn't interfere with your sleep and recovery.
Pre-Kaged Sport is made with just the right formula to improve hydration, nitric oxide and performance.
Kaged is one of the cleanest companies and a great choice for teens.
This company takes it one step further by using 3rd party testing and Informed Choice to prove their supplements are free of banned substances.
Informed Choice is a globally recognized program for quality assurance in dietary supplements to ensure it doesn't contain any banned or illicit substances.
It does contain a little over the 100mg caffeine limit recommended by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for children aged 12-18 as it has 188mg caffeine per serving.
Kaged is made for serious athletes who are likely competing, and Pre-Kaged Sport is created for athletes who want to improve their mental and physical abilities.
It's also an affordable option that is priced at 25 dollars for 20 servings.
Jacked Factory NitroSurge features ingredients to support strength and muscle building with the perfect ratio of caffeine to theanine for smooth and long-lasting energy.
Nitrosurge is very similar to Transparent Labs Bulk except it's a lot cheaper, and the formula is much smaller.
It's still a great choice, as you don't need a big pre-workout sometimes.
Jacked Factory is a well-known brand that has blown up on Amazon and they've been in the supplement industry for a while now.
While you can take two scoops for a full serving, we would recommend taking one scoop or less for teens as it has 360mg per serving.
So per scoop, a teen would be getting 180mg of caffeine, which is still higher than the recommended caffeine limit for teens between 12-18.
If you can handle the 180mg caffeine, then this is a decent choice that's also fairly priced at 30$ for 30 scoops.
The best pre-workouts we would recommend for teens are as follows:
While these contain caffeine higher than the recommended limit, they are good safe options for teens.
When it comes to buying pre-workouts for teens, there are a few things that should be considered first.
The first thing is the reviews; if there are no reviews for a pre-workout and the other supplements from the same company don't have reviews, then it's a red flag as you'd likely be looking at something that hasn't been tried and tested by the community.
Another thing to look out for is exotic stimulants.
Stimulants like DMAA, DMHA, yohimbine and eria jarensis are too much for teens.
Here are more things to look out for...
Proprietary Blends
It doesn't matter how popular a pre-workout is, if it has a proprietary blend, then it's likely not suitable for teens and most probably doesn't use good dosages of the ingredients in the blend.
There isn't any guesswork when it comes to using the appropriate doses for ingredients so there aren't any reasons why a company should use a proprietary blend.
By getting a pre-workout with a fully disclosed label then you'd be making a wiser choice as you'd know how much of each ingredient you'd be getting.
High Caffeine Dosages
More is not always better especially when it comes to pre-workouts.
It seems to be a trend to see more and more companies using higher dosages of stimulants.
Tolerance will be an issue whether you're using 100mg of caffeine or 600mg so it makes sense to try to use the lowest amount of caffeine.
The recommendations from AACAP for teens aged 12-18 are not to exceed 100mg of caffeine per day.
Caffeine Isn't Required in a Pre-Workout
You can use a pre-workout that doesn't contain caffeine or stimulants at all.
Stim-free pre-workouts exist and these are great for teens.
Pre-Workouts Aren't Required
If you can exercise without a pre-workout then you'll likely be better off as you'll be safer and you'll get a proper nights of rest without interference.
If you have questions about pre-workouts for teens then we likely have the answers...
No, pre-workouts aren't bad for teens.
But they can be if they are abused and overused.
If the instructions and recommendations on the label aren't followed then it can be an issue and a risk for anyone at any age.
No, caffeine doesn't stunt growth for teens.
Researchers at Harvard Health Publishing have not found any links to caffeine stunting growth.
Teens shouldn't exceed 100mg of caffeine per day.
According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, children aged 12-18 shouldn't exceed 100mg of caffeine per day.
Pre-workouts without stimulants are perfect for teenagers as they don't have stimulants.
Teenagers should naturally have enough energy to workout anyway.
Here are the best pre-workouts without stimulants, and you can also check out the nitric oxide boosters that we recommend.
No, we don't recommend Ryse for teenagers, they shouldn't use it.
Because it has multiple stimulants and a high caffeine dosage.
Pump Daddy would be the better option for teens.
No, we don't recommend Herolean or anything by Dark Labs for teens.
Teens should avoid exotic stimulants and Dark Labs uses exotic stimulants in their pre-workouts.
Yes, it is legal for teenagers to buy pre-workouts in any country.
In the U.S., it's legal to buy in 49 States.
Yes creatine is completely safe for teenagers.
Yes but we recommend keeping the limit to 100mg of caffeine per day.
On another note, 12 year olds shouldn't seek out energy supplements because they should have plenty of energy already.
Yes but 11 year olds definitely don't need energy supplements or drinks.
Teenagers can safely use supplements but it's important to be educated before making a decision.
The pre-workouts we listed above are great for teens and are safe to use.
Check out our other lists for more recommendations and resources.
