Many of you who have arrived here from our best stimulant-free fat burner page will no doubt be wondering whether you can take pre-workouts and fat burners together to take advantage of energy-boosting pre-wrokout supplements while you cut. The majority of you though are porbably wondering whether you can take pre-workouts and fat burners together at all.
Worryign about stacking pre-workouts and fat burners makes sense. Most of the claimed benefits of fat burners and pre-workouts are the same. Take a look at the box of any fat burner or pre-workout and you’ll see the same claims being made: “faster fat loss”, “supercharged energy”, “better workouts”, etc.
Obviously, there are big differences between fat burners and pre-workouts. They are, after all, different supplements. They are designed to do different things. But is there too much overlap?
In other words, can you take fat burners and pre-workouts at the same time? Or can you accidentally double up on effects and trigger side effects? Let’s take a closer look at pre-workouts and fat burners to answer this question in full.
What’s the difference between a pre-workout and a fat burner?
The first thing we need to make clear is the differences between a pre-workout and a fat burner.
So what is the difference between a fat burner and a pre-workout?
The difference between a fat burner and pre-workout is their ingredients. A fat burners ingredient panel will reflect a formula that targets fat burning, while a pre-workout will contain ingredients that boost energy, increase pump and boost motivation.
While both supplements may be sold in similar ways, they are each designed for different purposes, and are thus used in different circumstances to different ends.
A fat burner will primarily focus on increasing fat loss. It can do this in anumber of different ways: by stimulating lipolysis directly; by suppressing appetite; by increasing energy during fasted training, or by helping preserve lean muscle mass for the duration of a cut.
A pre-workout, on the other hand, will first and foremost focus on enhancing your workouts. They will generally work by inducing a pump, flooding your muscles with blood. This stretches your fascia, allowing for greater growth. Pre-workouts will also rapidly increase energy, motivation and drive to help you give 100% during your workouts.
Some fat burners will deliver similar benefits as pre-workouts, and vice versa. This is because many of the ingredients that make a great fat burner will also make fora great pre-workout.
This begs the question, should you take pre-workouts and fat burners if they have similar effects? What pre-workouts stack well with fat burners?
Can you take pre-workouts and fat burners together?
Whether or not you can take a fat burner with a pre-workout depends entirely on the supplements you intend to use. Some fat burners will not be suitable for use at the same time as certain pre-workouts, and vice versa.
The main thing to look at when stcking pre-workouts and fat burners is caffeine. Many fat burners contain caffeine, and almost all pre-workouts contain at least some caffeine. Most contain several sitmulants and other ingredients which amplify the effects of caffeine. Obviously, this makes it very easy to wind up taking huge doses of cafeine every day without thinking too much about it.
For the vast majority of people, a caffeine-free fat burner is the best way to go. This not only allows you to stack your fat burner with any pre-workout of your choosing, but it means you can take it before bed without worring about it interfering with your sleep.
Avoid mixing fat buners and pe-workouts that contain multiple different sitmulants, as this can make side effects much more likely. The most common side effects of consuming too many stimulants are:
- Jitters
- Hypertension
- Heart palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Irritability
Using large doses of stimulants on a regular basis over long periods can cause serious adverse effects, such as raising your risk of heart disease and stroke. It is really important to calculate your current caffeine consumption and add that to any more caffeine you might start consuming through pre-workouts and fat burners.
Pavel Sadovnik is a leading biochemical scientist with a PhD in biochemical engineering. He has spent decades working in industry as a chemist and pjharmaceutical consultant. He has extensive experience with the supplement industry, and specialises in supplement tsting and formulation consultancy. He is the Editor of NARSTO.