Pre Kaged Pre Workout Review

Pre Kaged is a pre workout supplement made by Kaged Muscle. It’s a well-rounded pre workout, offering a wide variety of ingredients including caffeine, creatine HCL, BCAAs, and L-Citrulline.

New: Check out Pre-Kaged Elite Pre-Workout, the upgraded cousin of the original Pre-Kaged!

Kaged Muscle was nice enough to send me a tub to test out and review.

For me, Pre Kaged is a solid pre workout as a daily driver. It’s an excellent pre workout for beginners, but is also a good pick for anyone who wants a fully loaded formula without any exotic stimulants or banned substances. When I want a break from hardcore pre workouts, Pre Kaged is one my preferred options.

For a full review and ingredient breakdown, keep reading.

My Experience

Overall, I really like Pre Kaged as a daily driver. I’d recommend it to those seeking a solid pre-workout that doesn’t contain any banned ingredients or any beginners seeking a well-rounded, effective pre-workout.

In fact, Pre Kaged is so effective and well-balanced that we proudly feature it on many of our “best of” lists, including the best pre-workout for teens, the best pre-workout for cardio, and the best pre-workout for MMA fighters.

Flavor

I tried the Cherry Bomb flavor and it’s pretty good. It’s a pretty strong cherry flavor, so if you don’t like cherry I wouldn’t recommend it. I enjoy it.

Effects

Pre Kaged kicks in pretty quickly, with an energy kick coming in within 20 minutes. Energy and motivation are not off the charts, but are definitely solid. Focus is dialed up too, helping build that mind to muscle connection.

The 6.5 grams of L-Citrulline and 2.5 grams of betaine combine to create respectable pumps.

Pre Kaged lasts for a solid 2-3 hours for me. This could be even longer for those who don’t have a significant caffeine tolerance.

Side Effects

Pre Kaged provides a very smooth, clean experience. There aren’t any negative side effects after it wears off.

Pre Kaged Ingredients

L-Citrulline – 6.5 g

L-Citrulline is one of the most common pre workout ingredients. It has extensive evidence supporting its effects on increasing nitric oxide production, power output, and endurance.

Although most research uses a variation known as L-Citrulline Malate (2:1), anecdotal evidence supports that L-Citrulline delivers much of the same benefit.

When included as pure L-Citrulline, we like to see 4 grams as the dosage. Each serving of Pre Kaged includes a massive 6.5 grams of L-Citrulline.

BCAAs (2:1:1) – 3.5 g

BCAAs are L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, and L-Valine, amino acids required for protein synthesis.

BCAAs are typically supplemented when they aren’t already being provided through normal diet. For example, if an individual is cutting then they may need to supplement BCAAs in order to maintain muscle mass.

Typical doses range from 3 grams to 5 grams, so the 3.5 grams of BCAAs included in each dosage of Pre Kaged are in line with that guidance.

L-Leucine – 3 g

In addition to the 3.5 grams of BCAAs, an additional 3 grams of Leucine are included. This is probably overkill, but certainly doesn’t hurt.

BetaPower Betaine – 2.5 g

Betaine is included to help increase your power output and reduce fatigue. However, research is pretty inconsistent around these claims.

2.5 grams is a solid dose of this ingredient. (More info: Examine)

CarnoSyn Beta Alanine – 1.6 g

Regular usage of beta alanine has been shown to increase power output. That means it must be taken daily, not just with a pre workout.

3 grams to 4 grams is a clinical dosage for beta alanine, so Pre Kaged is a bit underdosed here. This is kind of surprising, as most of the ingredients in this pre workout are fully dosed.

Creatine HCL – 1.5 g

Creatine HCL has higher bioavailability than creatine monohydrate (i.e. it gets absorbed more easily by the body), so you need to ingest less of it to achieve similar effects. Like creatine monohydrate, creatine HCL helps the body create more ATP, allowing the muscles to create more power output.

1.5 gram is the clinical dosage of creatine HCL. It should be taken daily in order to be effective, so I typically don’t look for creatine in my pre-workouts – I take it separately, usually mixed in with a protein shake.

If you do like creatine in your pre-workout, then Pre-Kaged is a good choice. In fact, it is featured on our list of the best pre-workouts with creatine.

Coconut Water Powder – 500 mg

Coconut water powder contains significant amounts of electrolytes that help maintain hydration during intense workouts.

SPECTRA Total ORAC Blend – 100 mg

SPECTRA is an antioxidant blend that supports the immune system. It can help reduce the amount of oxidative stress placed on the body during intense training sessions.

Taurine – 2 g

Taurine is kind of a “miscellaneous” pre workout ingredient with a range of potential, albeit limited, physical benefits. It can aid in blood flow, reduce cramping, and act as a booster to anti-oxidant defense systems (Examine). It’s a pretty insignificant ingredient in pre workout compared to other ingredients, but doesn’t hurt anything either.

2 grams is a solid dosage of taurine to achieve any effects it has to offer.

N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine – 1 g

This is one of the few missteps of Pre Kaged. While L-Tyrosine is a great ingredient for enhancing focus and reducing stress, NALT (N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine) is less bioavailable then pure L-Tyrosine.

Since Kaged Muscle is also providing 850 mg of L-Tyrosine, I wonder why they didn’t just provide more of that ingredient instead of blending it with N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine.

Transparent Labs claims that “…the acetylation improves the absorption and effective period of L-Tyrosine…”, but Examine claims there is “limited practical evidence on NALT as an alternative to L-Tyrosine.”

L-Tyrosine – 850 mg

L-Tyrosine helps “smooth out” some of the harsher effects of stimulants and increase focus. Some limited research also shows it can act as a cognitive booster in stressful environments.

850 mg is a bit below recommend dosage for use in an exercise setting (source). I’d love to see this reformulated as 1.5 g of pure L-Tyrosine instead of the NALT and L-Tyrosine combination.

PurCaf Organic Caffeine- 274 mg

This is the standard form of caffeine. You know what it is. It delivers all of the expected benefits: mental focus, energy, motivation, a will to live, etc.

274 mg is a decent medium dosage. I really like my pre workouts to dose caffeine between 300 mg and 400 mg, but this is a great dosage for when I want to reduce my caffeine intake a bit. For most people, 274 mg is plenty.

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.