Research-Based

Best Pre-Workout Without Creatine

Photo of author

By Jack Cincotta, MS

Reviewed by Juliana Tamayo, MS, RDN - Last Updated

best pre workout without creatine

There are a lot of pre-workouts now with added creatine in them. However, some people may not want creatine in their pre-workouts. For example, some lifters may prefer to take creatine on its own, and it can be often used at higher doses when consumed as a standalone supplement.

Otherwise, some gym-goers simply might not want the effects of creatine and/or don’t feel that it’s needed.

Whatever the case, there still are a bunch of different pre-workouts without creatine that you can use! 

And in this article we’ve listed off the best pre-workouts without creatine to help you pick a truly effective supplement so you can dominate your workouts!

Best Pre-Workouts Without Creatine

When choosing the best pre-workouts without creatine, we aimed to find supplements that had several effective compounds, optimal (or close to optimal) doses, as well as those that took steps for quality and safety, such as third-party testing. 

The top pre-workouts without creatine that we found are:

  • Transparent Labs Bulk
  • Wrecked Pre-Workout
  • CrazyNutrition Intensive Pre-Train

Transparent Labs Bulk

Best Overall

Transparent Labs Bulk lives up to its name as it’s loaded with quality pre-workout compounds. In each serving you get 8,000mg of citrulline malate, 4,000mg of beta alanine, 2,500mg of betaine, and other superstar ingredients such as theanine, caffeine, and alpha-GPC. In total, it’s a 20g dose per serving to help you reach the pinnacle of strength, energy, pumps, and endurance.

Additionally, Transparent Labs Bulk is Informed Sport Certified and doesn’t contain any artificial colors, sweeteners, or flavors. It’s available in seven flavors, such as Peach Mango and Strawberry Kiwi.

Transparent Labs Bulk

Wrecked Pre-Workout

Most Potent

Wrecked Pre-Workout by Huge Supplements is one of the most potent pre-workouts out there. It packs a massive 30g of ingredients (per two scoops) including 8,000mg of citrulline, 3,500mg of beta-alanine, and 250mg of caffeine. But there are many other ingredients too, such as betaine, tyrosine, and alpha-GPC. 

This well-rounded formula is likely to offer many benefits, such as focus, strength, energy, and muscle endurance.

Wrecked Pre-Workout is made in the USA in a cGMP, FDA-registered facility. And it comes in six different flavors.

wrecked pre workout

Crazy Nutrition Intensive Pre-Train

Best for No Crash

CrazyNutrition Intensive Pre-Train contains a mammoth 23 ingredients per serving, including pre-workout superstars like citrulline malate, beta-alanine, betaine, arginine, and taurine. It also has 200mg of caffeine but comes paired with a slow-release form of caffeine to ensure longer energy without the crash or jitters. 

All in all CrazyNutrition Intensive Pre-Train is designed for maximum energy, focus, pumps, and drive. It’s also suitable for vegetarians and vegans. And they have a caffeine-free option too. 

crazy nutrition intensive pre train

What are Pre-Workouts Without Creatine?

Pre-workouts without creatine are any supplements that have common pre-workout ingredients just without creatine in any of its forms.

You’ll commonly find caffeine, beta-alanine, betaine, citrulline, taurine, theanine, and other pre-workout staples in these formulas. 

These are sought after by many weightlifters, bodybuilders, and other athletes looking to improve focus, energy, pumps, strength, endurance, and overall workout performance.

People may specifically look for a pre-workout without creatine for a few reasons:

  1. They already take creatine and like using their own individualized dose
  2. They like to take creatine post-workout or at a different time than pre-workout
  3. They don’t think creatine is necessary for their individual goals
  4. They don’t tolerate creatine well

Benefits of Pre-Workouts Without Creatine

Pre-workouts without creatine have a number of different benefits. Due to a lack of creatine, they may not have AS much of a specific benefit for high-intensity, explosive/powerful workouts. But they still can offer some benefits in that area, as well as:

  • Increased Energy
  • Dialed In Focus
  • Enhanced Pumps
  • Better Endurance
  • Improved Mood & Motivation
Benefits Of Pre-Workouts Without Creatine

Increased Energy

Many pre-workouts have caffeine, tyrosine, and other stimulants that affect the central nervous system and lead to a boost in energy and alertness. This can delay fatigue and give you the energy you need to power through tough workouts.

Dialed In Focus

Pre-workouts without creatine may also help improve focus, especially if they include common nootropics such as theanine, alpha-GPC, or Huperzine A. These ingredients can potentially boost alpha waves in the brain, and brain chemicals such as acetylcholine, which can enhance focus and concentration.

Enhanced Pumps

Another possible benefit of these pre-workouts is enhanced pumps. Many of them include citrulline, arginine, and other nitric oxide boosters which leads to vasodilation and enhanced blood flow.

This not only increases muscle pumps and aesthetics. The resulting blood flow and nutrient delivery can also enhance performance and even improve recovery.

Better Endurance

Pre-workouts can also improve endurance, including both aerobic and muscular endurance. Beta-alanine, betaine, citrulline, and taurine are just a few of the compounds that may help enhance endurance and delay fatigue

This might help you get more reps on a given exercise or allow you to workout harder for longer.

Improved Mood & Motivation

Many pre-workouts can also improve mood and motivation. This is in part by increasing energy and alertness which we mentioned above. 

Many of the same stimulants, such as caffeine, tyrosine, and theobromine, can enhance dopamine, noradrenaline, and other brain chemicals that may give you a better mental outlook and enhance motivation and drive. 

How to Choose the Best Pre-Workout Without Creatine

There are a lot of pre-workouts that don’t have creatine, so it’s necessary to understand how to pick the best ones.

One thing to consider is your preference for or sensitivity to stimulants. That is, think about whether you want a product with a lot of caffeine and stimulants, just a little bit, or none at all. 

Overall ingredient quality is absolutely essential too, since you don’t want ingredients that aren’t proven to do anything. That’s why you want to make sure your pre-workout contains a solid line-up of well-researched ingredients, such as:

  • Caffeine (if tolerated)
  • Beta-alanine
  • Betaine
  • Taurine
  • Citrulline
  • Arginine
  • Theanine
  • Alpha-GPC/other choline compounds

But they can’t just have the right ingredients; the doses need to be good too! That’s why it’s important that the pre-workout you get has a fully transparent label, so you can see the doses for each ingredient.

Other beneficial factors of pre-workouts to look for are:

  • Free of artificial ingredients
  • Made in a cGMP, FDA-registered facility
  • Third-party tested
  • Variety of available flavors
  • Generally affordable (typically no more than $2 per serving)
  • Organic, non-GMO, vegan, etc. (depending on your preferences and needs)
  • Free of any allergens you have

Stay away from pre-workouts that have a lot of artificial ingredients, use proprietary blends, have overhyped claims, and don’t have a proven company track record. 

Pre-Workout Powder Without Creatine

Additional Information (FAQ)

Listed below is additional information to further inform you on pre-workouts without creatine so you can make the best possible decision.

Are pre-workouts without creatine effective?

Yes. Of course, it depends on the exact supplement, as well as individual differences. But when we’re talking about the top pre-workout supplements (such as those in our list here), they are most likely to offer benefits due to the wide variety of research-backed ingredients and effective doses.

Keep in mind that no pre-workout supplement will turn you into a superhuman or anything crazy. But many people notice mild to moderate improvements in energy, focus, endurance, strength, pumps, and overall workout performance. 

Do pre-workouts without creatine have side effects?

There are several potential side effects of pre-workouts without creatine, just like all pre-workouts. Some of the top ones that may occur are:

  • Anxiety
  • Jitters
  • Insomnia
  • Headache
  • Dizziness
  • Upset stomach & other digestive problems
  • Increased heart rate & blood pressure

Always talk with your doctor or healthcare practitioner before taking any supplement, especially if you have any medical conditions or take prescription meds. 

Who should take pre-workouts without creatine?

There are a few categories of people who may want to take pre-workouts without creatine. What all these people have in common is they want to improve workout performance, such as energy, strength, endurance, and focus.

But you may not want to include creatine in your pre-workout if you:

  • Already take creatine on its own/want to use your own dosage
  • Like to take creatine post-workout or at another time besides pre-workout
  • Don’t respond well to creatine/don’t think it’s necessary for your goals
  • Have adverse reactions to creatine

Again, you can get great results with your pre-workout without creatine. In fact, many of the pre-workouts out there DON’T have creatine anyway, so it’s certainly not a necessity.

Are pre-workouts without creatine worth the money?

This depends on the benefits you get from them. Ultimately, it’s up to you after trying a pre-workout to decide whether or not the performance benefits you get are worth the price.

We will say that, at the very least, they’re worth trying out for a while, especially if you’ve never taken one before. After that period, you then at least have the experience to judge whether it’s worth the money or not. 

Photo of author

Jack Cincotta, MS

Jack Cincotta is a certified holistic health coach through AFPA and a board-certified holistic health practitioner through AADP. He has written hundreds of articles on nutrition and supplementation. Jack has a M.S. degree in Psychology and is passionate about researching the science behind nutrition. He often uses research-backed supplementation protocols for many of his clients to optimize results.