Pre is marketed as a “premium women’s pre-workout” supplement by PrettyFit. It comes in one flavor – cherry ice, and is sold at $29.99.
Claimed to promote:
- Energy
- Metabolism
- Focus
- Endurance
We’ve taken a look at whether this pre-workout aimed directly at women can compete with the unisex products on the market.
Take a look:
About the Company
PrettyFit is a supplements company that focus all of their attention on creating products for women. They offer a range of supplements, from fat burners to pre-workouts, aiming to deliver the highest quality products and results.
The Ingredients and How They Work
It’s great to see a pre-workout that’s transparent and gives you the exact amounts of each individual supplement. Pre by PrettyFit contains some great ingredients suited to a pre-workout, such as L-Citrulline, Caffeine, and Rhodiola Rosea.
However, there is also some cause for concern about the additions of such ingredients as DMAE Bitartrate, Huperzine A, and Beta-Alanine. We’ll explain why below.
See for yourself:
L-Citrulline
PrettyFit has made a strong start by including this ingredient. L-Citrulline is one of the best additions to any pre-workout, as it turns into L-Arginine in your kidneys after oral supplementation. Boosting your L-Arginine levels results in an increase in nitric oxide levels, meaning you’ll experience great muscle pumps during your workout.
It’s better than taking L-Arginine, because L-Citrulline has a great absorption rate, meaning your body can make use of more of it. On the other hand, L-Arginine has a poor absorption rate so taking L-arginine directly doesn’t actually lead to an increase in L-Arginine levels.
However, here’s the problem with this pre-workout. There’s only 1g of L-Citrulline contained inside, and the optimal amount of is between 5,000mg-8,000mg – the L-Citrulline in this pre-workout is very underdosed.
This means that you’re not likely to experience the full benefits of this nutrient – it’s worth searching for a pre-workout supplement that contains 5,000mg-8,000mg of L-Citrulline to experience great muscle pumps in the gym.
Beta-Alanine
While Beta-Alanine enhances muscular endurance and anaerobic running capacity, it comes with a risk of paresthesia.
Paresthesia is a tingling on the skin of your face, chest, hands, and extremities – this would definitely ruin your workout and progress in the gym.
We recommend that you avoid this nutrient on your search for a quality pre-workout supplement. An ingredient such as Creatine Monohydrate would have given you the same benefits, but without the risk of suffering from Paresthesia.
BCAA’s (Brached Chain Amino Acids)
All BCAA’s are made up of three amino acids (L-Leucine, L-isoleucine, L-Valine) and can be found in any protein sources, such as eggs or meat.
While BCAA’s can increase muscle endurance and recovery, it’s not vital. It’s possible to consume enough naturally through a well-planned diet.
The problem with PrettyFit’s pre-workout is that BCAA’s take up over half of this supplement. PrettyFit should’ve kept BCAA’s out of this pre-workout and replaced it with a nutrient like L-Theanine.
L-Theanine works synergistically with Caffeine to form a ‘smart caffeine’, which provides heightened benefits of Caffeine while protecting you from its side effects like jitters, insomnia, and energy crashes.
L-Tyrosine
This is an amino acid that reduces your stress levels, as a result of producing noradrenaline and dopamine. L-Tyrosine has also shown to improve your mental function (memory and reaction time), so there’s not really any negatives to including this.
However, it’s not vital to a quality pre-workout and is better suited to a Nootropic supplement.
Rhodiola Rosea
This is a herb used traditionally in Chinese medicine and is proven to reduce fatigue and exhaustion in prolonged stressful situations. However, studies have shown that you only need 50mg of Rhodiola Rosea to experience its full benefits.
This pre-workout contains 200mg which is more than you need – PrettyFit should’ve reduced the amount of Rhodiola Rosea and increased the quantity of other ingredients that are key to a pre-workout, especially L-Citrulline which is severely underdosed.
See SupplementTester’s
– Highest Rated Pre Workouts Here –
Caffeine
This is a great ingredient to include in a pre-workout, as it’s a strong stimulant with numerous benefits. Studies have shown Caffeine to deliver such benefits as increased physical strength & endurance, as well as boosts in mental function (memory and reaction time).
You should definitely look for a pre-workout containing Caffeine on your search for a quality product.
DMAE Bitartrate
This is a compound that’s believed to promote mental health and function (memory and reaction time). However, nothing’s been proven to back these claims in any studies.
DMAE also comes with the risk of a severe side effect, as it may be teratogenic (it could cause defects in unborn infants). It’s alarming to see this ingredient in a supplement targeted at women, as it’s strongly recommended that DMAE shouldn’t be orally supplemented by women who are attempting to conceive.
You should definitely avoid this ingredient and search for a pre-workout that only contains 100% natural ingredients that’s free from side effects.
Phosphatidylserine
This is an amino acid that’s found in high amounts in your brain and contributed to mental function (memory and reaction time). However, this is where the problems start.
In order to experience the benefits of Phosphatidylserine, you’d need to take this ingredient 3 times per day in 100mg doses – PrettyFit’s pre-workout only contains 50mg of this ingredient, meaning you’re not likely to experience a boost in mental function.
Also, like L-Tyrosine and Rhodiola Rosea, this ingredient is more suited to a Nootropic supplement than a pre-workout. PrettyFly shouldn’ve replaced this ingredient with something more effective in a pre-workout, such as Beetroot Extract – this increases your nitrate levels, leading to a boost in nitric oxide levels and great muscle pumps in the gym.
Huperzine A
This is another cognitive enhancer contained in PrettyFit’s pre-workout supplement. It’s a compound extracted from Huperzine Serrata, which is a plant that promotes mental function (memory and reaction time).
It works by inhibiting the enzyme that degrades the learning neurotransmitter (acetylcholine). However, it comes with the risk of numerous side effects, such as vomiting, nausea, sweating, blurred vision, high blood pressure and slowed heart rate.
This would definitely ruin your workout and we recommend avoiding this ingredient to stay away from the possible side effects.
Black Pepper (BioPerine)
This is a great ingredient to have in any pre-workout, as it improves the absorption rate of all ingredients that it’s consumed with. This means that the overall effectiveness of a supplement that Black Pepper is included in is increased.
Although it’s not key to a quality pre-workout, it definitely improves a supplement it’s included in.
Pre by PrettyFit has more ingredients suited to a Nootropic than a pre-workout supplement. Also, the best ingredient inside (L-Citrulline) is seriously underdosed.
Check out which ingredients work and which don’t in our
– Pre workout ingredients guide –
Side Effects
Pre by PrettyFit contains a few ingredients that come with a risk of severe side effects, such as Huperzine A, DMAE, and Beta-Alanine.
Here’s a list of all the potential side effects you could experience from taking this product:
- Defects in unborn infants (DMAE)
- Nausea (Huperzine A)
- Sweating (Huperzine A)
- Blurred Vision (Huperzine A)
- High blood pressure (Huperzine A)
- Presthesia (Beta-Alanine)
Not what you’re looking for? See your best options in our
– Top 3 Pre Workout Page –
Pro’s and Con’s
Pro’s
- Contains a few great ingredients for a pre-workout (L-Citrulline & Caffiene).
Con’s
- Comes with the risk of severe side effects, such as defects in unborn babies due to the DMAE inside.
- L-Citrulline is seriously underdosed (1g) – the optimal amount of this ingredient is 5,000mg-8,000mg (5g-8g).
- Most ingredients inside this pre-workout are better suited to a Nootropic.
PrettyFit Pre Review Conclusion
While it contains a few great ingredients for a pre-workout such as L-Citrulline and Caffeine, its ingredients list also includes potentially dangerous nutrients like DMAE (birth defects), Beta-Alanine (Paresthesia), and Huperzine A (Nausea).
Also, the L-Citrulline is seriously underdosed at 1,000mg (1g) – the optimal amount of this nutrient is 5,000mg-8,000mg (5g-8g), so you’re not even likely to experience any benefits of this ingredient.
Most of the ingredients in PrettyFit’s Pre are more suited to a Nootropic. It seems like this company have focused on giving you a boost in mental function, instead of providing more beneficial advantages to help you during your workout.
We recommend that you search for a product containing the optimal amount of L-Citrulline (5,000mg-8,000mg), as well as other quality ingredients for a pre-workout such as Beetroot Extract (promotes muscle pumps), Creatine Monohydrate (increases strength and endurance), and L-Theanine (works syngetically with Caffeine to form a ‘smart caffeine’, giving you heightened benefits of Caffeine without the risk of jitters, insomnia, or energy crashes).