8 Best Thermogenic Pre-Workout Supplements

Thermogenic pre-workout supplements do the same thing as normal pre-workouts, with the bonus of burning fat. If you’re looking to lose weight and boost your metabolism while having an intense workout, give them a try. 

This article will break down the ingredients and best uses for each. You can decide which is the best thermogenic pre-workout for your needs. 

If you just want to know what our top recommended products are, they are:

• Overall Best Thermogenic Pre Workout: Superhuman Burn – Alpha Lion
• Best High-Stim Thermogenic Pre Workout: Black Tulip – Apollon Nutrition
• Best Stim-Free Thermogenic Pre Workout: Superhuman Burn Stim-Free

If you’d like to see more pre-workout recommendations, check out our analysis of the best pre-workout supplements.

The 8 Best Thermogenic Pre-Workout Supplements

1. Superhuman Burn Pre Workout – Alpha Lion
2. Superhuman Burn Stim-Free Pre Workout – Alpha Lion
3. Black Tulip Pre Workout – Apollon Nutrition
4. Nitro Surge Shred Pre Workout – Jacked Factory
5. Defiant Shredded Pre Workout – Muscleforce
6. CaloriBurn Gains Candy – Alpha Lion
7. Darkside Onslaught Pre Workout – Alpha Neon
8. Darkshred Pre Workout – Alpha Neon

Here are the best thermogenic pre-workouts and how they can help you meet your fitness goals.

Superhuman Burn Pre Workout – Alpha Lion

Overall Best Thermogenic Pre Workout

This pre-workout promises to increase strength and endurance and provide laser-like focus without a crash. It includes two forms of caffeine and L-theanine, providing powerful energy to get you through intense workouts.

S7 is used to increase nitric oxide levels. Increases nitric oxide improves blood and nutrient flow to the muscles and provides a better pump in the gym.

Key Ingredients:

• Niacin 12.5 mg
• Caffeine Anhydrous 150 mg
• L-citrulline Malate 3500 mg
• L-taurine 500 mg
• Nitrosigine 375 mg
• S7 50 mg
• Beta Alanine 1600 mg
• Betaine Anhydrous 1250 mg
• L-Theanine 175 mg

Superhuman Burn Pre Workout (Stim-Free) – Alpha Lion

Best Stim-Free Thermogenic Pre-Workout

This fat burning pre workout delivers a powerful pump for those looking to take a break from caffeine or are working out late at night. By providing a max dose of non-stimulant ingredients, a stimulant-like pump is felt when supplementing this product. Lion’s Mane is a nootropic that will provide extensive focus during the workout.

Key ingredients:

• L-Citrulline Malate – 8000 mg
• S7 – 150 mg
• HydroPrime – 3000 mg
• Beta-Alanine – 3500 mg
• Pink Sea Salt – 350 mg
• Organic’s Lion Mane – 600 mg
• AlphaSize – 300 mg

Black Tulip – Apollon Nutrition

Best High Stim Thermogenic Pre-Workout

This product is fully loaded to provide maximum thermogenic effects as it contains many key fat burning ingredients. It has zero fillers and maximizes cardio and endurance while accelerating fat loss. It is highly stimulant-based and will wake you up and make you want to train hard.

Key Ingredients:

• Beta Alanine – 3200 mg
• Betaine Anhydrous – 2500 mg
• L-tyrosine – 2000 mg
• L-Carnitine – 2000 mg
• Caffeine Anhydrous – 175 mg
• Di-Caffeine Malate – 135 mg
• Synephrine HCL – 120 mg
• Hordenine HCI – 100 mg
• AstraGin – 50 mg
• Noopept – 30 mg

Nitrosurge Shred Pre-Workout Fat Burner – Jacked Factory

Best Value Thermogenic Pre-Workout

Nitro Surge Shred provides a thermogenic boost that helps burn fat faster while maintaining lean muscle mass. It also boosts nitric oxide levels to provide powerful pumps. 

Key Ingredients:

• L-Citrulline – 2 g
• Beta-Alanine – 1.6 g
• Acetyl – L-Carnitine – 1 g
• Caffeine Anhydrous – 180 mg
• L-Theanine – 90 mg
• Theobromine – 50 mg
• BioPerine – 2.5 mg

Defiant Shredded – Muscleforce

Best Hardcore Thermogenic Pre-Workout

Defiant Shredded provides ingredients to optimize fat loss and increase the intensity of your workouts. Defiant will boost the metabolism and speed up the thermogenesis process, providing a boost through challenging workouts without a crash afterward. This allows increase their mental focus on their training while building lean muscle.

Key ingredients:

• L-carnitine – 1500 mg
• Beta-alanine 800 mg
• Caffeine – 150 mg
• L-Theanine – 100 mg
• 2-aminoisoheptane – 62.5 mg
• InnoSlim – 62.5 mg
• NeuroFactor – 50 mg
• AstraGin – 25 mg
• Synephrine – HCL 15 mg
• Alpha-Yohimbine – 0.5 mg

CaloriBurn Gains Candy (Grains of Paradise) – Alpha Lion

Most Versatile Thermogenic Supplement for Burning Calories

While this product is not a pre-workout, you can combine it with your favorite pre-workout. CaloriBurn activates good metabolic fat tissue, elevates energy expenditure, and increases calorie burning effects. 

The powerful natural extract, Grains of Paradise, provides a thermogenic effect without using stimulants. 

Key Ingredients:

• Grains of Paradise Seed Extract (6-Paradol 12.5%) – 40 mg

Alpha Neon – Darkside Onslaught Pre-Workout – Best Thermogenic Pre-Workout Without Beta-Alanine

Best Thermogenic Pre-Workout Supplement without Beta-Alanine

Darkside Onslaught is for experienced pre-workout users who want to up their stimulant intake and have an insane workout. It has all the best stimulants, nootropics, and pump ingredients combined. 

Key Ingredients:

• L-Citrulline – 7000 mg
• Glycerol Monostearate – 2500 mg
• N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine – 1000 mg
• Alpha GPC – 500 mg
• Caffeine Anhydrous – 300 mg
• Lion’s Mane – 300 mg
• N-Methyltyramine HCL – 120 mg
• L-Theanine – 50 mg
• Paradoxine (grains of paradise) – 45 mg

Alpha Neon Darkshred Pre-workout – Best Thermogenic Pre-Workout Without Pump Products

Best Thermogenic Pre-Workout Supplement without Pump Ingredients

This fat-burning pre-workout provides extreme pumps and blood flow in the gym with its high stimulant dose. It has a few different extracts to help boost the metabolism and burn fat. Taurine and guarana are ingredients in energy drinks that are great for providing long-lasting energy.

Key Ingredients:

• L-carnitine – 1.5 g
• Grains of paradise – 50 mg
• Caffeine – 350 mg
• L-theanine – 200 mg
• Guarana – 200 mg
• Taurine – 1.6 g
• White willow bark – 200 mg
• Dandelion extract – 700 mg
• Horsetail extract – 500 mg

The Calorie Burning Thermogenic Effect

The main goal of a thermogenic pre-workout is to create the process of thermogenesis in the body. Thermogenesis is a metabolic process where the body burns calories to produce heat. The increase of core body temperature leads to the burning of calories which is the primary goal when trying to burn fat.

The ingredients found in thermogenic pre-workouts increase the process of thermogenesis, leading to increased fat burning. They also boost the metabolism to break down food faster, which increases the body’s ability to convert fats into energy.

Should You Switch to a Thermogenic Pre-Workout?

Thermogenic pre-workouts are great because they do the same thing that a pre-workout is supposed to, while additionally burning extra fat. Anything looking to increase the intensity of their workouts while burning fat should try one.

If you are in a cutting or dieting phase then a thermogenic pre-workout is a great choice for you. If you struggle with weight gain then these products are not for you. If you are caffeine or stimulant sensitive, then they are also not a good idea.

General Advice for Purchasing a Thermogenic Pre-Workout

It’s important to remember that a thermogenic pre-workout is not a magic pill. If you are eating healthy and in a caloric deficit, they will aid the body’s ability to burn fat. However, you cannot eat a poor diet and expect them to work.

Don’t exceed the recommended serving size on the ingredient label. Stimulants can be dangerous if taken more than needed. Don’t take pre-workout products at nighttime unless they are stim-free as they will mess up your sleep schedule.

Key Thermogenic Pre-Workout Ingredients

Here is a list of the best ingredients to promote thermogenesis in the body while working out. Look out for these when buying a thermogenic pre-workout supplement!

MitoBurn

MitoBurn or L-Baiba is known as an exercise mimicking supplement that boosts the metabolism. It has proven to increase fatty acid oxidation, increase BHB levels, and improve insulin sensitivity. The recommended dose range is 250-500mg

Synephrine

Synephrine plays a role in sports performance, appetite control, energy, mental focus, and cognition. All aid in workout performance and fat loss. This ingredient exerts metabolic enhancement without acting as a central nervous system stimulant. 

This means it will not increase blood pressure or negatively affect the heart. Defiant Shredded and Black Tulip both contain this ingredient. The recommended dose range is 30-60mg, meaning Defiant Shredded falls below this range while Black Tulip goes beyond.

Grains of Paradise

This aromatic spice helps heal wounds, provides antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory properties, and aids in weight loss. Clinical trials have shown that grains of paradise reduce white adipose fat tissue.

Grains of paradise are found in Darkside Onslaught and Alpha Lion products. The recommended dose range is 40-50mg, meaning that all of the pre-workouts listed fall in the correct doing range.

5-HTP

5-HTP has many benefits, such as increasing serotonin production in the brain. High serotonin levels affect mood, sleep, and weight loss. It also helps increase feelings of fullness, allowing the consumer to eat less.

Testosterone and growth hormone are released during sleep, so sleep is very important for anyone in the gym and is also when the muscles rebuild. 5-HTP should be dosed at around 100mg.

White willow bark

Willow bark acts similarly to aspirin as it is used to treat pain, which helps with muscle soreness and recovery after a challenging workout. It is found in Alpha Neon Darkshred. The recommended dosage is 120-240mg, meaning that Darkshred falls in the proper range.

InnoSlim

InnoSlim is used to manage weight, blood sugar levels, and energy levels. It helps fight metabolic imbalance, allowing the metabolism to break down foods faster. InnoSlim also improves insulin sensitivity, which aids in fat burning. 

It is found in Defiant Shredded. The recommended dosage is 250mg, meaning that Defiant Shredded is underdosed.

Capsaicin

Capsaicin has been shown to increase energy metabolism and exercise endurance in studies, which allows you to work out longer and harder, breaking down more muscle fibers. 

EGCG

Supplementation with the green tea extract, EGCG increases fat oxidation during exercise. It does so by inhibiting enzymes that reduce the degradation of catecholamines.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline are catecholamines that use fat for fuel during exercise, saving muscle glycogen during workouts and instead burning fat.  

L-carnitine

When supplemented, l-carnitine has been shown to improve exercise performance, recovery, reduce muscle soreness, and increase oxygen supply to muscles, which allows the muscle to recover and grow faster. 

L-carnitine is a very popular and well-researched supplement, as it is found in every thermogenic pre-workout listed above. It is not found in Alpha Lion Superhuman as it is stim-free. The dosage range varies from 1000-4000mg to be effective, and all pre-workouts fall in that range.

What to Look for When Buying a Thermogenic Pre-Workout

Fully disclosed ingredient label

If the nutrition label contains a proprietary blend, that is a red flag, which means they are not stating what exactly is in the formula. They can be underdosing ingredients or using cheap fillers to save on money. 

Check that an ingredient label reads full disclosure, meaning that they label every ingredient found in the pre-workout.

Decide how much caffeine you want to consume

Nowadays, supplement companies constantly add more caffeine into their pre-workout supplements. Every new version has an added caffeine boost. 

Caffeine is suitable for many people to consume. However, if you are caffeine sensitive, you may want to choose a pre-workout with lower caffeine content. The best way to find out is to start small. Start with a half dose of pre-workout and see how it affects you. Then assess your tolerance.

Make sure ingredients aren’t significantly underdosed

Decide how much of each ingredient the pre-workout should contain. Research and compare the amount of each ingredient to other pre-workouts.

Go with a brand you trust

Reading ratings and reviews are a great way to see if customers are happy or have issues with the company. It is a good sign if they have a website with a phone number and email listed.

It is most likely a good product to purchase if their pre-workout supplement is available at multiple supplement retailers.

FAQs about Thermogenic Pre-Workout Supplements

Conclusion

Our best thermogenic pre-workout is Alpha Lion Superhuman. This product’s ingredients are in the recommended dosage ranges with a double dose of L-citrulline. It also features a couple of thermogenic ingredients that no other product on this list has, including Nitrosigine and S7. 

Our two runner-ups are Defiant Shredded and Black Tulip. Both feature many of the prominent thermogenic pre-workout ingredients that we have listed. These ingredients are not underdosed and do what they are supposed to.

About Kyle Risley

Kyle Risley founded Lift Vault in 2016 to make finding great powerlifting programs easier. Since then, the site has grown to include hundreds of programs for strength, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and more. He currently lives in Massachusetts and continues to compete in powerlifting.