Is there anything more frustrating than finally giving in to that sales person and best GNC pre-workout supplement they claim you simply have to have?… Only to get home and figure out it doesn’t actually work.

While vitamin stores are great and offer a huge selection, there is certainly a downside that comes along with it. After there, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. And when you walk into your local GNC or drug supplement store, you may be overwhelmed with options.

The salespeople at these companies are way too happy to take advantage of this. They’re trained to sell you on what they call the latest and greatest – but odds are, it’s just the supplement company paying off GNC to sell their product. That means they’re going to be a lot more inclined to sell you the one they make more money off of, not necessarily the one that is the better choice for you.

Did we mention that employees of GNC get a commission for certain supplements?

So without an honest opinion on what actually works – and what doesn’t – how can you make the best choices for your pre-workout supplements?

Here are the ones we’ve given a try for ourselves from GNC. Check out our reviews and save yourself the money!

Cellucor C4 Extreme

We’re going to start with this because, because it is rated so highly. It’s a powder that you mix with water about half an hour before you start any exercise.

But what’s so great about it?

In terms of caffeine, it has about a cup of a strong coffee. But what sets it apart is that the caffeine is mixed with an ingredient known as Synephrine HCL. You may know this ingredient, even if the name doesn’t sound familiar, because it is also called bitter orange.

What is Cellucor C4 Extreme?

It’s actually an alkaloid that will give you stimulant-like effects. That means that when this duo (caffeine and Synephrine HCL) are mixed with the other ingredients you will find in Cellucor C4 Extreme, you will find you have a ton of energy. And it really does do the trick. When we took it before our workout, we found a huge surge in energy.

If you decide to purchase this product at GNC, you can expect to pay about $60 for a package with 60 servings. It’s a little on the pricey side but if you’re looking for high energy, this is it.

BPI’s 1MR

Next up on the list is BPI’s 1MR. You may have guessed what 1MR stands for – 1 more rep. We speak from experience when we say you’re going to want to do more than just “1 more” with this supplement.

Something you’ll find in this supplement (and not the one above) is Yohimbine HCL. This is also mixed with caffeine, but it gives you a surge of energy like no other. Plus, you will find a big increase in concentration and focus. While there are other ingredients, these are the two big ones.

One thing you want to keep in mind while taking Yohimbine is that is can come with some risks, like headaches or fever. You also want to check with your doctor, because it can interfere with certain medicines.

ACG3

The next pre-workout supplement we gave a try was ACG3. If this rings a bell, you must be a frequent shopper at GNC. It’s one of the products the salespeople are quick to push on you. Take a look around your store during your next trip and you will find endless shelves of it.

The ingredients list include things like beta-burn for amino acids, Magna-3 complex (creatine), and a blend of energy ingredients like caffeine and guarana extract. All of these ingredients point to one thing: a quick boost.

Even though the directions say to take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes before your workout, we found it kicks in within 10 minutes!

However, there are two downsides with this one: the crash is pretty hard and the taste isn’t that great. We weren’t fans of the watermelon flavor, but we did hear good things about the blue raspberry and the pink lemonade.

Since the crash is intense, you may want to plan to have an hour or two of downtime afterward.

Force Factor 2

The fourth supplement we tried was Force Factor 2. This one, unlike the other three listed above, actually comes in pill form. So if you hate downing powders before the gym, this may be the answer for you.

Since it isn’t a powder, it does take longer to get into your system, so you may want to take it an hour or so before. Impressively, this product came from two Harvard University rowers. The two were looking for something to give up a leg-up on their competition and this is what they came up with.

While you won’t find any stimulants on the list, you will see products like lovage root, CoQ10, and L-Citrulline.

One quick search of this product and you will find endless reviews that all say positive things about it. There isn’t a crash, there’s no nasty taste since it’s a pill, and it gives you the right amount of energy to focus through a killer workout.

NitroCM

Finally, our last supplement is NitroCM, which is another pre-workout pill, not powder. It’s pretty new in the supplement world, so you may not have heard much about it. But one of the biggest perks is, like Force Factor 2, it doesn’t have any stimulants in it. You also won’t find any creatine in it either, Instead, it has a ton of healthy antioxidants, amino acids and arginine.

The downside to this one: It took nearly two hours for it to kick in! That wasn’t good enough for us, so we did something a little off the charts. We broke open the pills and mixed it in water. While the taste was pretty bad, we found it kicked in less than 20 minutes later. While it lasted for hours, it wasn’t too much and there wasn’t a killer crash.

Conclusion

Armed with this information, you can go into GNC and pick the right products for you, instead of wasting time and money trying out all the different options. While results vary per person, you will find the above products to be exactly what you’re looking for.

-Terry Asher