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Table 1 Performance outcomes in acute MIPS studies

From: Multi-ingredient pre-workout supplements, safety implications, and performance outcomes: a brief review

Study

Subjects

Design

Supplement Ingredients (Sorted by order listed on Supplement Facts label)

Timing

Performance Testing Protocol

Results (d or RE)

Ref #

Hoffman et al. 2008

8 college-aged, resistance-trained males

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

BCAAs (5200 mg)

Creatine (5000 mg)

Essential Amino Acids (4300 mg)

Taurine (1500 mg)

Glucuronolactone (350 mg)

Caffeine (110 mg)

20 min prior to exercise

6 sets of up to 10 repetitions Barbell Back Squat, 75% 1RM

↑ Repetitions during Set 5 (NA)

[16]

Hoffman et al. 2009

12 college-aged male strength and power athletes

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

Prop. Blend: (726 mg)

β-alanine

Caffeine (158 mg)

L-Leucine

B-Phenylethylamine HCl

L-Valine

L-Isoleucine

N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine

Yohimbine

5-hydroxytryptophan

10 min prior to exercise

Choice Reaction Time Test,

20-s WAnT repeated three times

↑ Number of Targets Struck (d = 0.53)

↑ Percent of Targets Stuck (d = 0.48)

↔ Peak Power

↔ Mean Power

[43]

Bloomer et al. 2010

19 resistance-trained males

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

3 MIPS Investigated, all contained the following:

Amino Acids

Creatine

Taurine

Caffeine (MIPS 3: 234 mg)

30 min prior to exercise

Bench Press Throws at 30% 1RM, 10 sets of BP RTF at 50% 1RM

↔ BP 1RM

↔ RTF

↔Upper Body Power

[35]

Hoffman et al. 2010

19 recreationally-active males and females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled design.

Acetyl-L-carnitine (500 mg)

L-tyrosine (500 mg)

Α-glycerophosphocholine (150 mg)

Choline bitartrate (125 mg)

Caffeine (60 mg)

Phosphatidylserine (50 mg)

10 min prior to exercise

Choice Reaction Time Test before and after the following:

WAnT, Maximum Pushup Repetitions Completed in one Minute, Maximum Situp Repetitions Completed in one Minute

↑ Retention of Reaction Time (NA)

↔ Peak Power

↔ Mean Power

↔ Pushups Completed

↔ Sit-ups Completed

[36]

Walsh et al. 2010

15 recreationally-trained males and females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

a Prop. Blend 1: (7900 mg)

L-Leucine, L-Arginine, L-Glutamine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine

Prop. Blend 2: (2050 mg)

Taurine, Glucoronolactone, Caffeine

β-alanine (2500 mg)

Creatine (5000 mg)

Vitamin C (7900 mg)

10 min prior to exercise

Treadmill TTE Protocol at 70% VO2max

↑ TTE (NA)

[44]

Gonzalez et al. 2011

8 college-aged, resistance-trained males

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

a Prop. Blend 1: (7900 mg)

L-Leucine, L-Arginine, L-Glutamine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine

Prop. Blend 2: (2050 mg)

Taurine, Glucoronolactone, Caffeine

β-alanine (2500 mg)

Creatine (5000 mg)

Vitamin C (7900 mg)

10 min prior to exercise

4 sets of up to 10 repetitions BP at 80% 1RM

↑ Total Lifting Volume (d = 0.30)

↑ BP Peak Power (d = 0.53)

↑ BP Mean power (d = 0.29)

[38]

Spradley et al. 2012

12 recreationally-trained males

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

bBCAAs (6000 mg)

Creatine (5000 mg)

β-alanine (4000 mg)

Citrulline malate (1500 mg)

Caffeine (300 mg)

20 min prior to exercise

LP and BP RTF Repeated 2 Times, Choice Reaction Time Test Repeated 4 Times, Intermittent Critical Velocity Test Repeated 4 Times

↑ LP RTF (T1: d = 0.42; T2: d = 0.72)

↑ Choice Reaction Time (Audio Single Step: d = − 0.47; 15 s Multi-Directional: d = − 0.46; 30s Multi-Directional: d = − 0.33)

↔ BP RTF

↔ Critical Velocity

↔ Anaerobic Running Capacity

[37]

Jacobs 2014

19 recreationally-active males and females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

Prop. Blend 1: (13,000 mg)

Brown rice extract

β-alanine

Agmatine sulfate

Grape seed extract

Caffeine

20 min prior to exercise

Maximum Bodyweight Exercise Repetitions Completed during a 20-min Exercise Bout

↑ Repetitions Completed (d = 0.33)

[40]

Jagim et al. 2016

12 resistance-trained male NCAA Division III football players

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

cBCAAs (6000 mg)

Citrulline Malate (6000 mg)

Creatine (2000 mg)

β –Alanine (2000 mg)

Betaine (1500 mg)

L-Tyrosine (1500 mg)

Taurine (1000 mg)

N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (600 mg)

Caffeine (300 mg)

30 min prior to exercise

CMVJ, 5 × 5 bench press at 85% 5RM, 1 set of RTF at 85% 5RM, Anaerobic treadmill sprint test.

↑ BP RTF During Set 5 (d = 0.38)

↑ BP Total Volume Load (d = 0.19)

↑ Mean Sprint Power (d = 0.25)

↔ BS RTF

↔ BS Total Volume Load

↔ Lower Body Power

[5]

Magrini et al. 2016

31 recreationally-active males and females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design.

Prop. Blend: (350 mg)

Caffeine (158 mg)

L-Leucine

B-Phenylethylamine HCl

L-Valine

L-Isoleucine

N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine

Yohimbine

5-hydroxytryptophan

30 min prior to exercise

Pushup RTF

↔ Pushup RTF

[34]

Martinez et al. 2016

13 recreationally-trained males

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

b Prop. Blend 1: (3500 mg)

β-alanine (2000 mg)

L-Tyrosine

Prop. Blend 2: (2000 mg)

Creatine

Arginine

BCAAs

Prop. Blend 3: (1750 mg)

Choline Bitartrate

Glucuronolactone

Caffeine

20 min prior to exercise

Medicine Ball Put, VJ, BP 1RM, WAnT

↑ WAnT Peak Power (d = 0.30)

↑ WAnT Mean Power (d = 0.24)

↔ MBP Performance

↔ VJ

↔ BP 1RM

[41]

Collins et al. 2017

25 recreationally-active males and females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

β-alanine (2100 mg)

Arginine nitrate (1300 mg)

Folic acid (325 mcg)

Caffeine (200 mg)

Niacin (65 mg)

Vitamin B12 (45 mcg)

30 min prior to exercise.

BP and LP 1RM,

2 × 10 BP and LP at 70% 1RM,

BP and LP RTF at 70% 1RM, 4 km cycle TT

↑ BP RTF (d = 0.57)

↑ LP RTF (d = 0.55)

↑ BP Volume (d = 0.34)

↑ Total Lifting Volume (d = 0.50)

↑ Retention of LP Force Production (NA)

↔ Retention of BP Force Production

↔ TT Performance

↔ LP Volume

[23]

Jung et al. 2017

25 recreationally-active males and females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

Supplement 1:

β-alanine (3000 mg)

Creatine (2000 mg)

L-arginine (2000 mg)

N-Acetyl-L-tyrosine (300 mg)

Caffeine (284 mg)

Mucana pruitiens extract (15 mg)

Supplement 2:

Supplement 1 + Citrus aurantium extract (20 mg)

60 min prior to exercise.

2 × 10 BP and LP at 70% 1RM, BP and LP RTF at 70% 1RM, WAnT, Stroop Test

Supplement 2: ↑ Resting Metabolic Rate (d = 0.71)

↑ Respiratory Exchange Ratio (d = 1.14–1.66)

↑ Stroop Test Performance (d = 0.36–0.69)

↔ BP RTF

↔ LP RTF

↔ WAnT Power

[39]

Tinsley et al. 2017

21 resistance-trained males and females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

Supplement 1:

Creatine (3000 mg)

Betaine (2500 mg)

L-Carnitine L-Tartrate (1000 mg)

Rhodiola rosea extract (180 mg)

Huperzine (200 mcg)

c Supplement 2:

BCAAs (6000 mg)

Citrulline Malate (6000 mg)

Creatine (2000 mg)

β –Alanine (2000 mg)

Betaine (1500 mg)

L-Tyrosine (1500 mg)

Taurine (1000 mg)

N-Acetyl L-Cysteine (600 mg)

Caffeine (300 mg)

30 min prior to exercise.

Isokinetic squat MVC, 4 × 6 isokinetic squats

↔ Squat MVC

[32]

Bergstrom et al. 2018

12 resistance-trained males

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

Citrulline Malate (6000 mg)

L-Leucine (4000 mg)

D-Aspartic Acid (3000 mg)

Creatine (2000 mg)

β-alanine (1600 mg)

L-Tyrosine (1200 mg)

Caffeine (350 mg)

30 min prior to exercise.

8 resistance exercises, 4 sets of RTF at 75% 1RM followed by:

Isokinetic MVC, VJ, Bench Throw, Cycle Critical Power and Anaerobic Capacity Tests

↑ Total Exercise Volume (d = 0.42)

↑ Lower Body Exercise Volume (d = 0.57)

↔ Upper-body Exercise Volume

↔ Isokinetic MVC

↔ Bench Throw

↔ Critical Power

[33]

Cameron et al. 2018

15 recreationally- active females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

Prop Blend: (5850 mg)

β-alanine

Choline Bitartrate

L-Tyrosine

L-Glycine

Taurine

L-Carnitine

Betaine

Hawthorn Berry

Agmatine Sulfate

Caffeine

60 min prior to exercise.

BP and BS RTF at 85% 5RM, CMVJ, Treadmill Sprint Test

↑ Bench Press RTF (RE = 107.66)

↑ Total Work during Sprint (d = 0.14)

↑ Resting Metabolic Rate (d = 1.64)

↔ Back Squat RTF

↔ CMVJ

[4]

Erickson et al. 2018

12 aerobically-trained females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

d Prop. Blend 1: (1000 mg)

L-Carnitine

Green Coffee Bean Extract

Cayenne Fruit Extract

Forskolin

Prop. Blend 2: (371 mg)

N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine

Caffeine (150 mg)

Mucana pruitiens extract (15 mg)

β-alanine (1600 mg)

Arginine (1000 mg)

30 min prior to exercise.

30 min constant velocity treadmill running at 90% VT

↔ Fat oxidation

[47]

Hahn et al. 2018

14 recreationally-active males

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

L-Tyrosine (500 mg)

Taurine (200 mg)

Caffeine (120 mg)

L-Carnitine (10 mg)

Vitamin B6 (15 mg)

Vitamin B12 (45 mcg)

20 min prior to exercise.

CMVJ, Treadmill Sprint Test

↔ Average Power

↔ Peak Power

[42]

Lane et al. 2018

23 recreationally-active males

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

L-Citrulline DL-Malate (3000 mg)

β-alanine (2000 mg)

BCAAs (1500 mg)

Creatine (1500 mg)

Caffeine (300 mg)

Vitamin B6 (20 mg)

Vitamin B12 (500 mcg)

20 min prior to exercise.

CMVJ, Repeated Cycle Sprint Test, 10 × 3 bench press at 80% 1RM

↑ Bench Press Peak Velocity (d = 0.83)

↑ Bench Press Mean Velocity (d = 0.86)

↔ Cycle Sprint Power

↔ CMVJ

[6]

Musgjerd et al. 2018

20 aerobically-trained males and females

Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design.

d Prop. Blend 1: (1000 mg)

L-Carnitine

Green Coffee Bean Extract

Cayenne Fruit Extract

Forskolin

Prop. Blend 2: (371 mg)

N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine

Caffeine (150 mg)

Mucana pruitiens extract (15 mg)

β-alanine (1600 mg)

Arginine (1000 mg)

30 min prior to exercise

Simulated 5 km running race

↔ Running performance

[45]

  1. ↑ = MIPS was significantly greater (p < 0.05) than control; ↓ = MIPS was significantly less (p < 0.05) than control; ↔ = No significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed between MIPS and control; 1RM 1 repetition maximum, BP Bench press, BS Back Squat, CMVJ Countermovement vertical jump, d Effect Size, km kilometer, LP Leg press, MBP Medicine ball put, mg milligram, mcg microgram, MVC Maximal voluntary contraction, RE Relative Effects, RTF repetitions to fatigue, VO2max maximal oxygen consumption, VJ Vertical jump, VT Ventilatory threshold, TT Time trial, TTE time to exhaustion, WAnT Wingate anaerobic cycle test
  2. aStudies used an identical MIPS containing BCAAs, β-alanine, caffeine, and creatine
  3. bStudies used similar formulations of a MIPS containing BCAAs, β-alanine, caffeine, creatine, and citrulline malate
  4. cStudies used an identical MIPS containing BCAAs, β-alanine, caffeine, creatine, citrulline malate, betaine, and tyrosine
  5. dStudies used an identical MIPS containing β-alanine, caffeine, L-arginine, L-tyrosine and Mucana pruitiens extract (15% L-Dopa)