JYM is the supplement company founded by Dr. Jim Stoppani, who holds a PhD in exercise physiology with a minor in biochemistry and worked as the science editor at Muscle & Fitness for about ten years. We’ve tried his protein powder Pro JYM and his branched chain amino acid supplement Post JYM, but we wanted to try his pre-workout — which is called Pre JYM, naturally. Here’s what we thought of the Refreshing Melon flavor.
Exceptionally well dosed and very high in caffeine, Pre Jym shines for both its ingredient profile and its range of delicious flavors.
Pre JYM Nutrition & Ingredients
One serving is 80 calories, which is relatively high in calories since most pre-workouts are between 0 and 5 calories a scoop.
First up is the caffeine: 300 milligrams, a little over what you’ll find in 3 cups of coffee. (If that’s too high for you, Stoppani suggests using Post JYM as a caffeine-free pre-workout instead.)
There’s also 6 grams of branched chain amino acids: 3 grams of leucine and 1.5 grams each of isoleucine and valine.
Then there’s creatine (2g), citrulline malate (6g), taurine (1g), betaine (1.5g), tyrosine (1.5g), n-acetyl l-cysteine (600mg), alpha GPC (150mg), beet root extract (500mg), toothed clubmoss extract (50mcg), and black pepper extract (5mg).
Pre JYM Benefits and Effectiveness
So what do these ingredients do? For starters, it’s pretty remarkable that this is a pre-workout with branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). A lot of folks like to take BCAAs with a pre-workout, since BCAAs are linked to improved muscle retention, focus, and endurance. So this makes Pre JYM something of a two-in-one supplement.
The caffeine, of course, is great for energy during a workout, and the taurine helps to reduce the jitteriness and lack of focus that can accompany a big caffeine hit. (It might also help with post-workout cramps too, since it draws water into your cells.)
What’s cool about Pre-JYM is that a lot of the ingredients are present in pretty high amounts. The 6 grams of citrulline is a good example: studies suggest that 1 gram is good for circulatory health, but 6 grams is ideal for the purposes of boosting blood flow for a workout. Most supplements with citrulline leave the dose at 1 gram.
The two grams of beta alanine is also a pretty large serving size, so while that should help your endurance, you may not be crazy about Pre JYM if you don’t like the “tingly” feeling that beta alanine tends to produce.
The tyrosine is linked to focus and may reduce the stressful effects of the workout, the cysteine has an antioxidant effect that may reduce the cell damage associated with workouts, and the beet root extract is linked to nitric oxide production, which could boost your endurance as well. The toothed clubmoss extract is associated with focus while the black pepper extract helps all the ingredients absorb more effectively.
The betaine (a.k.a. trimethylglycine) and the alpha GPC are both linked to extra power output and focus, but these two ingredients seem slightly underdosed: the most popular betaine study showed results with two daily doses of 1.5 grams (the dose in this product) and the alpha GPC is probably more effective at doses closer to 50 to 100 percent higher than what’s in Pre-JYM. They probably still have a positive effect on your workout, since any of the other ingredients are linked to power and focus, too.
Pre JYM Price
You can pick up 20 servings for $38 ($1.90 per serving) or 30 servings for $50 ($1.66 per serving). This is on the pricier side, since most pre-workouts fall between 80 cents and $1 per serving. That said, since Pre JYM doubles as a BCAA supplement, it might be worth the cost.
Pre JYM Taste
I got the Refreshing Melon flavor, which did indeed taste like a mixture of canteloupe and honeydew. It’s delicious, but since the product contains BCAAs — which are naturally quite bitter — Pre JYM is quite sour. It’s a pleasant kind of sour (like most BCAAs) but note that the serving size is very large and should probably be mixed with at least two cups of water. With one cup of water, the flavor was a little too strong.
The Takeaway
Pre JYM has what look like effective doses of caffeine, BCAAs, and all of the most popular ingredients in pre-workouts: citrulline, beta alanine, tyrosine, and taurine. While it may have been a little low in betaine and alpha GPC, I don’t doubt that they exert a positive effect on the workout, too. The main issues are the strong taste and the relatively high price, but as a combined pre-workout and BCAA supplement, the price could be right for you.
Pre JYM
Per Serving: $1.90
Pros
- Very high doses of most of the ingredients
- Doubles as a BCAA supplement
- No proprietary blend
Cons
- Expensive
- Contains artificial flavors and sweeteners
- May be a little low in betaine and alpha GPC
