The best pre-workouts we would recommend for teens are as follows:
- Transparent Labs Bulk – Best for overall muscle-building support
- Kaged Pre-Kaged – Best for hydration and workout performance
- NitroSurge – Best budget pre-workout
While these contain caffeine higher than the recommended limit, they are good safe options for teens.
When it comes to buying pre-workouts for teens, there are a few things that should be considered first.
The first thing is the reviews; if there are no reviews for a pre-workout and the other supplements from the same company don’t have reviews, then it’s a red flag as you’d likely be looking at something that hasn’t been tried and tested by the community.
Another thing to look out for is exotic stimulants.
Stimulants like DMAA, DMHA, yohimbine and eria jarensis are too much for teens.
Here are more things to look out for…
Proprietary Blends
It doesn’t matter how popular a pre-workout is, if it has a proprietary blend, then it’s likely not suitable for teens and most probably doesn’t use good dosages of the ingredients in the blend.
There isn’t any guesswork when it comes to using the appropriate doses for ingredients so there aren’t any reasons why a company should use a proprietary blend.
By getting a pre-workout with a fully disclosed label then you’d be making a wiser choice as you’d know how much of each ingredient you’d be getting.
High Caffeine Dosages
More is not always better especially when it comes to pre-workouts.
It seems to be a trend to see more and more companies using higher dosages of stimulants.
Tolerance will be an issue whether you’re using 100mg of caffeine or 600mg so it makes sense to try to use the lowest amount of caffeine.
The recommendations from AACAP for teens aged 12-18 are not to exceed 100mg of caffeine per day.
Caffeine Isn’t Required in a Pre-Workout
You can use a pre-workout that doesn’t contain caffeine or stimulants at all.
Stim-free pre-workouts exist and these are great for teens.
Pre-Workouts Aren’t Required
If you can exercise without a pre-workout then you’ll likely be better off as you’ll be safer and you’ll get a proper nights of rest without interference.
If you have questions about pre-workouts for teens then we likely have the answers…
No, pre-workouts aren’t bad for teens.
But they can be if they are abused and overused.
If the instructions and recommendations on the label aren’t followed then it can be an issue and a risk for anyone at any age.
No, caffeine doesn’t stunt growth for teens.
Researchers at Harvard Health Publishing have not found any links to caffeine stunting growth.
Teens shouldn’t exceed 100mg of caffeine per day.
According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, children aged 12-18 shouldn’t exceed 100mg of caffeine per day.
Pre-workouts without stimulants are perfect for teenagers as they don’t have stimulants.
Teenagers should naturally have enough energy to workout anyway.
Here are the best pre-workouts without stimulants, and you can also check out the nitric oxide boosters that we recommend.
No, we don’t recommend Ryse for teenagers, they shouldn’t use it.
Because it has multiple stimulants and a high caffeine dosage.
Pump Daddy would be the better option for teens.
No, we don’t recommend Herolean or anything by Dark Labs for teens.
Teens should avoid exotic stimulants and Dark Labs uses exotic stimulants in their pre-workouts.
Yes, it is legal for teenagers to buy pre-workouts in any country.
In the U.S., it’s legal to buy in 49 States.
Yes creatine is completely safe for teenagers.
Yes but we recommend keeping the limit to 100mg of caffeine per day.
On another note, 12 year olds shouldn’t seek out energy supplements because they should have plenty of energy already.
Yes but 11 year olds definitely don’t need energy supplements or drinks.
Teenagers can safely use supplements but it’s important to be educated before making a decision.
The pre-workouts we listed above are great for teens and are safe to use.
Check out our other lists for more recommendations and resources.
