Kaged Muscle Pre-Workout Review — A Pre-Workout With Vegetables?

If you think you don’t need to take a pre-workout supplement before you hit the weights, the track, or a HIIT circuit, well, you’re right. You don’t need a pre-workout for performance. But taking a pre-workout supplement, like Kaged Muscle Pre-Workout (formerly known as Pre-Kaged), may help you focus and offer more energy throughout your workout. “Pre-workout supplements are designed to help you perform at your best during your workouts,” says Dr. Raj Dasgupta, MD, FACP, FCCP, FAASM. “They typically contain a combination of ingredients that can boost energy, improve focus, enhance strength and endurance, and reduce muscle fatigue.“

We’ve tried Kaged-Muscle’s intra-workout BCAAs but we wanted to try their Pre-Workout as well, which we found to be very well dosed in all the most popular pre-workout ingredients. It’s formulated with more than two dozen ingredients — including citrulline, BCAAs, creatine, and powdered vegetables — all selected to help your body perform at a high level throughout each workout. Plus, it comes in six different flavor options, so chances are good you’ll be able to find one you like. Working with our in-house dietitian, we analyzed stim level, flavor, mixability, and dosage to give you everything you need to know in this Kaged pre-workout review. 

Main Takeaways

Kaged Muscle Pre-Workout Highlights

Kaged Pre-Workout is a solid all-around pre-workout supplement that contains many of the ingredients we’re accustomed to seeing in these products at a reasonable price point. The creatine and BCAAs should help with muscle retention, and there’s a healthy dose of caffeine to help boost energy. There’s also taurine and tyrosine present, which may help with focus. Since this product contains caffeine, it may not be the best pre-workout for those who work out later in the day.

With such a wide variety of ingredients, this product is at the higher end of the average prices for pre-workouts, but for the dosages and blends of ingredients, we think it’s worth the price tag. We’ve broken down these highlights below to help you decide if this product could be right for you.

Who Should Buy Kaged Muscle Pre-Workout

• Competitive CrossFitters and lifters looking for a pre-workout boost (Kaged is Informed Sport Certified, meaning it’s been tested for banned substances).
• Anyone looking to take their workout to the next level in terms of energy, muscle retention, and focus will appreciate the creatine, caffeine, taurine, tyrosine, and BCAAs in this supplement.
• People who exercise early in the morning and may want a pre-workout that contains caffeine.
• Athletes who want coconut water powder in their pre-workout to potentially help with hydration.

Who Shouldn’t Buy Kaged Muscle Pre-Workout

• Anyone just starting to exercise more may want to establish a baseline of fitness and begin building muscle and stamina first before incorporating a pre-workout.
• Anyone who needs to exercise in the late afternoon or evening should likely avoid Kaged Pre-Workout, as its 274mg of caffeine can negatively affect sleep if taken too late in the day.

Kaged Muscle Pre-Workout Overall

This pre-workout formula may help provide athletes with extra energy to hit a workout harder and keep at it longer, which in turn could lead to more gains, enhanced endurance, and improved cardio performance, too. With citrulline, creatine, BCAAs, coconut water powder, tyrosine, and more, Kaged Muscle’s Pre-Workout certainly has a very robust ingredient list. However, it’s far from the cheapest formula you can buy for this very reason.

Price and Buying Options

As noted, the Kaged Pre-Workout is not cheap. Whether you buy it directly from Kaged Muscle or from Amazon, it costs $44.99 for a bottle of Pre-Workout powder. And as each bottle has 20 servings, that’s $2.25 per serving, which is on the high end of the pre-workout price spectrum.

Flavors

Because this formula comes in six flavors — Cherry Bomb, Pink Lemonade, Fruit Punch, Berry Blast, Krisp Apple, Orange Krush, and Grape — there’s plenty of variety to choose from. I tried the Krisp Apple flavor, and it was somewhat tasty, but it’s very strong, very sour, and had a slightly bitter aftertaste. That’s understandable given it contains branched chain amino acids, which are naturally bitter. I think it’ll go down easily if it’s mixed with at least 3 cups of water.

Mixability

The best pre-workouts need to mix quickly and easily with water, to avoid sediment or clumps floating in your shaker bottle. We found it incredibly easy to mix Kaged pre-workout within a standard shaker bottle. “It mixes very well in a shaker bottle,” said one of our testers, an ISSA-certified nutritionist. “There was no grittiness and no floaties. It did foam a bit right after shaking but it settled after a few minutes.”

Effects

Thanks to the 274mg of caffeine, we felt the effects of Kaged pre-workout pretty immediately. Right away, we noticed a burst of energy and focus, without a crash later on. “I definitely felt more energized and focused, and I only took half a scoop, so I think the effects would be even stronger if I took a whole serving,” says our tester. We didn’t notice a true pump effect, so if that’s a priority, you may choose a different best pump pre-workout.

Formulation

“Kaged Pre-Workout is packed with research-backed ingredients that have been proven to enhance your workout by supporting your body’s natural systems,” says Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, RDN, LD. “You get a dose of powerful compounds like L-citrulline, beta-alanine, creatine, amino acids, and more.“

The Pre-Woriout formula contains robust blends of ingredients, which include Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, L-Citrulline, Quercetin Dihydrate, L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, L-Valine and a whole lot more. Here are a few of the bigger ingredients and blends broken down. We were particularly impressed by the dosages in this product. A lot of pre-workouts have citrulline, beta alanine, betaine, and taurine, but they tend to under-dose them. Kaged Pre-Workout has pretty generous amounts of all of these ingredients, particularly the citrulline.

Citrulline

Kaged Pre-Workout contains 6.5g of citrulline, which may increase blood flow, and help with power output and endurance during workouts. It’s found in nature in legumes, organ meat, and watermelon, and is also produced in the body, and this pre-workout provides a generous dose. However, “research often indicates that 8 grams of L-citrulline is ideal for increasing nitric oxide production,” says Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, RDN, LD.

Creatine

The 1.5g of creatine used in Kaged Pre-Workout is Creatine HCl. The HCl means hydrochloride, an acid salt that may help make the substance easily soluble and quickly absorbed into muscle cells, thus helping you build and retain muscle fiber. Creatine may also help increase athletes’ ability to improve power output in the gym, and this dosage is double what comes in one dose of Kaged Muscle’s standalone creatine hydrochloride supplement.

Caffeine

Kaged Pre-Workout packs a whopping 274mg of caffeine into their formula, which is almost three times as much as you’ll find in one cup of coffee. While that may just provide a solid energy boost for some, it may cause unpleasant jitters for others, which is something you’ll want to consider before buying this product. “If you’re sensitive to caffeine, be mindful of your portion sizes,” says Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, RDN, LD. “Each scoop contains 274 mg of caffeine, almost 70 percent of the recommended daily limit.“

Tyrosine

The one gram of N-Acetyl-L Tyrosine and 850mg of L-Tyrosine are both included in this blend to potentially help with focus. A proper dose is anywhere between 500mg and 2,000mg before exercise, so Kaged Pre-Workout’s number hits that mark.

Niacin

Niacin is known for its potential to help turn carbs, fats, and proteins into energy your body can use, and Kaged Pre-Workout includes 30mg of niacin (which is 188 percent of your recommended daily intake) — this may help provide energy during intense workouts.

Beta-Alanine

Kaged Pre-Workout contains a typical dose of beta-alanine — 1.6 grams. This amino acid is one of the most common pre-workout ingredients due to its ties to improved performance, especially for sprinters and lifters.

Antioxidants

The formula also contains a hefty dose of antioxidants that can contribute to enhanced overall health by combatting the free radicals that cause oxidative stress in muscles during exercise and can contribute to serious disease development in the bigger picture. These antioxidants come in the form of a greens powder of fruit, vegetable, and herb extracts and concentrates.

Blends

These individual ingredients are grouped into six categories (or blends) designed around and named for their potential effects we just discussed. Normally, we’re a bit wary of blends, since they can obscure ingredients and dosages. However, Kaged prioritizes transparency, which we love to see.

“I like that even though this pre-workout contains several blends, Kaged is diligent about its transparency,” says Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, RDN, LD. “You know exactly how much of each ingredient is in the product, and its doses are based on clinical research. It’s also vegan-friendly, which isn’t always the case for products that contain BCAAs, and it’s third-party tested for safety.“

• The Neuro-Focus Matrix has the caffeine — 274 milligrams, or a little more than you’ll find in 2.5 cups of coffee — plus taurine (2g), and 1.85 grams of tyrosine from two sources.
• Pro-Pump has citrulline (6.5g) and quercetin (200mg).
• The “Muscle Fuel Matrix” is a 3.5-gram blend of the branched chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine
• The “Anabolic-Activator” section has an extra three grams of leucine. (That’s 4.75 grams of leucine all together)
• The “Strength & Power Matrix” has beta alanine (1.6g), betaine (2g), and creatine HCI (1.5g).
• The “Hydrate & Defend” blend has coconut water (500mg) and a 100-milligram blend of greens called SPECTRA™, which contains dozens of concentrated vegetables and herbs including broccoli, spinach, turmeric, and oregano.

What To Consider Before Buying Kaged Muscle Pre-Workout

One thing you need to keep in mind, along with the benefits of Kaged Pre-Workout, is that this potent formula may be too strong for some athletes— especially beginners — if taken in full dose. Outside of that, you’ll also want to weigh the product against your individual goals and budget before deciding if it’s right for you.

Ingredient Variety

This pre-workout has a particularly robust ingredient list. It contains most ingredients people look for in pre-workouts — caffeine, beta alanine, citrulline, tyrosine, taurine, betaine, creatine, B-vitamins — and a lot of ingredients people may not typically look for, like the greens powder and the BCAAs. If you don’t need or want all of these ingredients, you can definitely find smaller ingredient lists out there for consideration.

Price

You can pick up 20 servings for $39.99, so it’s about $2.00 per serving. That’s pricier than most pre-workouts, which average at 80 cents to $1.50 per serving. However, Kaged Pre-Workout is a combination pre-workout, BCAA supplement, and (low dose) greens powder, plus it’s better dosed than most of its competitors. If these aspects aren’t a priority for you, however, you can definitely find less expensive options out there that can still be effective.

Flavor

If flavor is a priority to you, Kaged Pre-Workout has six varieties, all of which are objectively tasty. You’ll definitely want to find a flavor you can stick to if you’re going to implement a pre-workout into your everyday supplement regimen.

Final Word

Taking a 30-gram dose of Kaged Muscle pre-workout supplement blended into about 20 ounces of water about 40 minutes before the start of a workout can help make the most of your session. It may help you feel more energized, allow for higher power output, and solid muscle retention.

All told, Kaged Pre-Workout is a very effective supplement. It contains just about every ingredient most people look for in pre-workouts — caffeine, beta alanine, citrulline, betaine, tyrosine, taurine, betaine, creatine, B-vitamins — and a lot of ingredients people don’t usually look for, like the greens powder and the BCAAs.

It is pricier than some competition and the caffeine content is high enough that you may prefer a different product or a diluted serving if you’re sensitive to its effects. But in our opinion, the price is completely justifiable for such a versatile, innovative product.

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