PRE-WORKOUTS

“This is a really interesting and varied category,” says Lovell, “and it was hard to pick a winner. In testing, I was looking for a prolonged effect, without much of a ‘come down’ – although some levelling off is inevitable after taking stimulants. I was also looking for products without too many added artificial sweeteners, which can be unavoidable in sports nutrition. It would be great to see more of a shift towards natural sweeteners.”

foodspring Energy Aminos £29.99 (20 servings), foodspring.co.uk

What I really like about foodspring’s pre-workout offering is the mix of the amino acids L-arginine and L-citrulline, which contribute to better muscle pumps. Energy Aminos also contains higher levels of beta alanine than other preworkouts, which has been shown to increase exercise capacity and reduce fatigue.

WHY WE LIKE IT

• Prolonged effect

• Nothing nasty

• Added vitamins

WHAT YOU GET

• 170mg caffeine

• 8.8g protein

• Essential aminos

SCI-MX X-Plode Pre-Workout £15.99 (20 servings), sci-mx.co.uk

A really well-constructed pre-workout, containing high levels of L-citrulline and beta alanine (3.2g per serving), alongside brain-supporting nootropics DMAE and choline. Magnesium is nice to see in there, too, for heart health. Worth noting that 250mg caffeine per serving is a lot, so not one for the caffeine-sensitive.

WHY WE LIKE IT

• Good source of performance-boosting L-citruline

• Most noticeable stimulant effect

• Best use of multiple ingredients

WHAT YOU GET

• 250mg caffeine

• 3.2g beta alanine

• 6g L-citruline malate