Pre-Kaged Sport Pre-Workout Review

This Pre-Kaged Sport pre-workout review summarizes the overall product and discusses its energy, endurance, pump, strength, and focus ingredients.

Kaged Muscle is one of the heavy hitters in the supplement industry, and there’s a reason – they make good products. We have also reviewed the Pre-Kaged Stim Free pre-workout and the Hydra-Charge from Kaged Muscle. Pre-Kaged Sport is a popular pre-workout supplement from one of the top names in the business, so it’s time for Pre-Workout World to take them to task. And it is also one of the healthiest pre-workout supplements.

Our reviews are based on testing with our unique, multi-point methodology. We may earn a commission on your purchase of some products. 

FunctionGood ingredient selection, good dosage, all-natural Score
EnergyOrganic Caffeine (Purcaf)90
FocusCaffeine, L-Tyrosine80
PumpL-Citrulline, Taurine70
EnduranceBeta-alanine, Taurine80
MoodL-Tyrosine90
Strength & Body CompBetaine Anhydrous75
Flavors5 flavors as of this review100
Ingredient QualityGood ingredient selection, good dosage, all natural 80
Feel/VibeGreat feeling of energy and well-being 90
Overall Score84

After a trial, I can confidently say Pre-Kaged Sport gets the job done. It’s a good, versatile supplement that doesn’t go overboard. It’s perfect for exactly what the name tells you – sports. If you’re looking for energy, endurance, and mood elevation for athletics or cardio workouts, Pre-Kaged Sport has just the right balance to help you without side effects.  

Our ratings are based on the following factors:

  • Ingredients: Scientifically back – effectively dosed – transparent and honest
  • Flavors: Range of choices – enjoyable taste – well-balanced
  • Overall Effect: Energy – mood elevation – pumps 

Pre-Workout World’s team of athletes, experts, and fitness fans have one mission – to help you find the pre-workout supplement that’s right for you.

Medical Disclaimer: This article is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Its sole purpose is to educate and inform. Consult a licensed healthcare provider before beginning any fitness or nutritional program. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

One thing you can say about Kaged – they know packaging. Pre-Kaged Sport has a simple, clean design, with minimal color and eye-catching lettering. It’s a design that looks classy and cool. The tub also feels substantial, like a product that has been considered from all angles. Nice to see such thought-out packaging for a reasonably-priced product. 

Something that gets my goat is a seal that doesn’t unseal smoothly. But Kaged does theirs right. It’s a thick seal but comes off cleanly in one pull. 

Right on top of the powder, the scoop and desiccant are easy to access without having to fish around in powder. There’s a really inviting smell as soon as I break the seal, so that gives me hope for a good flavor. 

For those of you who take dosing seriously, a single, level scoop is a perfect 13g serving, so Kaged has designed that well too. 

Kaged specifically says that unlike pre-workouts “designed for bodybuilding, not athletics,” Pre-Kaged Sport is “specifically formulated for cross-training, cardio” and athletes who want low stimulants. 

THE FIRST SIP of PRE-KAGED SPORT

I always go with the suggested serving so I know I’m using the product right. Pre-Kaged Sport has a wide range, recommending one scoop in 8-12oz of water. For my review, I went with 8oz because I don’t want a lot of sloshing around when I work out. 

The color surprised me – I expected more green, like the packaging, but it’s actually a very natural-looking mango orange. That must be the beta-carotene they use for color.

What can I say about the taste? Kaged knows flavor, and whatever combo of natural flavorings they used for the Mango Lime was the right choice. The taste is really, really good – maybe the best pre-workout I’ve tasted (out of so, so many). I get maybe 49% mango and 51% lime – a really enjoyable mix of sweet and tangy. Even though they use sucralose as a sweetener, I didn’t get the bitter aftertaste I usually notice. 

THE BIG 3 CORE INGREDIENTS in PRE-KAGED SPORT

At Pre-Workout World, we call these the Big 3:

  • Caffeine
  • Citrulline
  • Beta Alanine 

Our philosophy says we can judge a pre-workout formula first and foremost by how they handle these crucial ingredients. We want to see pump, we want to see focus, but above all, we want to see the Big 3 in good, effective dosages. Pre-Kaged Sport doesn’t go overboard, but they’ve got the right mix for their purposes. 

ProductCaffeineCitrullineBeta-Alanine
Kaged Pre-Kaged Sport188mg3.5g1.6g

ENERGY INGREDIENTS IN PRE-KAGED SPORT 

Pre-Kaged Sport has 188mg of caffeine. Now, normally I love a high-stim pre-workout, and 188mg isn’t nearly the amount of caffeine I’d usually go for. But I’m not mad at Pre-Kaged Sport, for a couple of reasons. 

One, they’re using PurCaf, a trademarked, natural caffeine derived from organic green coffee beans. That gives me a really nice, good-feeling energy that’s totally different from the experience of artificial caffeine anhydrous. It’s more like a cup of coffee than a shot of adrenaline. 

Secondly, 188mg of real, natural caffeine is perfect for Pre-Kaged Sport, because of what they’re trying to accomplish. Athletes who are looking for a cardio workout, or actually competing in a game, don’t need the kind of stimulation you get from 350mg of caffeine anhydrous. They’re getting their heart rate up enough already! 

188mg of natural caffeine is the sweet spot for those users. Studies have shown that low-dose caffeine really does improve athletic performance, and Pre-Kaged Sport has an ideal clinical dose. In fact, I’d happily use this myself when I need to give my caffeine tolerance a break.

ENDURANCE INGREDIENTS in PRE-KAGED SPORT

Beta-alanine is one of Pre-Workout World’s Big 3, because it’s the best-researched and most effective endurance supplement. It’s also one of the most controversial – with athletes especially. 

What’s the beef? The beta-alanine tingles are a love or hate proposition for a lot of pre-workout users. Some users feel the tingle as invigorating; some feel it as skin-crawling.  

The 1.6g of beta-alanine (trademarked CarnoSyn) isn’t an especially big dose, as pre-workouts go. It’s enough to give you a tingle, though, so Pre-Kaged Sport could work as a first pre-workout for beginners to find out how they respond. 

For me, I felt the little beta tingle, but not at all overwhelming. For users who hate when a pre-workout goes overboard on beta-alanine, Pre-Kaged Sport looks like a happy medium. 

PUMP INGREDIENTS in PRE-KAGED SPORT

With the last of our Big 3, L-citrulline, I see a pattern that I think is worth mentioning. All of the Big 3 are in about half the dose that a higher-performance pre-workout would generally have. That’s true of the caffeine, the beta-alanine, and the L-citrulline. 

3.5g of L-citrulline is less than what we usually consider optimal at Pre-Workout World, but when you look at the full picture, it makes sense. An athlete in competition or a cardio workout isn’t looking for crazy pumps or vascularity like a bodybuilder or powerlifter might be. They’re looking for good blood flow and oxygen to the cells. 

For that, 3.5g is exactly on point according to scientific research. It just goes to show that more isn’t always better. Kaged also makes a good choice in using a fermented citrulline, which our bodies absorb much better. 

And if you want a better pump, you could very easily add on a non-stim pump stack to get that added effect. The medium doses of everything in Pre-Kaged should make it pretty safe to supplement your supplement. 

STRENGTH INGREDIENTS in PRE-KAGED SPORT

Pre-Kaged Sport’s strength support ingredients back up my theory. Bodybuilders and powerlifters are going to want a lot of strength support. In a lot of pre-workouts, that means adding a dose of creatine. 

The kinds of athletes Pre-Kaged Sport appeals to aren’t necessarily looking for crazy muscle gain. They’re looking for increased strength and improved body composition, and that’s what betaine is best for, according to studies

Pre-Kaged Sport includes 1.25g of betaine anhydrous (trademark BetaPower® Betaine) – exactly half what we would consider the optimal dose. But it’s right in line with the minimal effective dose, just like all of the other ingredients in Pre-Kaged Sport. 

Betaine has essentially no scientifically documented side effects, so most pre-workouts throw caution to the wind and max out the dose. But with any supplement, you should know what you’re getting, and Kaged is doing a good job there. 

FOCUS INGREDIENTS in PRE-KAGED SPORT

Besides caffeine, we like to see focus and mood ingredients in a pre-workout. Energy’s great, but a good workout is just as much in your head as the rest of your body. 

Pre-Kaged Sport’s Energy & Focus Matrix includes 500mg of L-tyrosine. We have good evidence from scientific studies that tyrosine supplements have a positive effect on muscle memory and performance. That makes L-tyrosine a great choice for a pre-workout geared to endurance and cardio. 

On the downside, the L-tyrosine dose is a lot lower than our optimal (which is 2g). One the other hand, Pre-Kaged Sport chose a fermented tyrosine, which, like the fermented citrulline, gets absorbed by our body more effectively. 

Pre-Kaged Sport also uses 2g of taurine. They list taurine under “Cellular Hydration Matrix,” because taurine does have a good effect on recovery according to studies. But taurine also has energy and mood-enhancing effects – that’s why they use it in energy drinks. In fact, Pre-Kaged Sport might be a good replacement for an energy drink.

Considering the lower doses of everything else, it’s kind of surprising to see a high dose of taurine – actually a little more than our optimal. That might account for the nice sense of well-being I get from Pre-Kaged Sport. 

ELECTROLYTE INGREDIENTS in PRE-KAGED SPORT

The other ingredient in the Cellular Hydration Matrix is 500mg of coconut fruit water powder, which is an interesting choice. Coconut water is one of the most popular hydration sources out there. It’s considered a healthy alternative to sports drinks since it naturally includes beneficial vitamins and minerals. 

It’s hard to say how effective coconut fruit water powder (that’s a mouthful) might be. There are no serious scientific studies of that ingredient in particular. 

Pre-Kaged Sport also throws in vitamins:

  • Vitamin B6 – 50mcg
  • Vitamin B12 – 42mcg
  • Magnesium – 20mg 
  • Sodium – 50 mg

Nothing particularly special about that, except for 10 times the daily requirement of B12. Since vitamin B12 is tied to cell formation and nerve function, Kaged is looking out for your recovery. 

FLAVORS of PRE-KAGED SPORT

Kaged offers Pre-Kaged Sport in 5 flavors: 

  • Fruit Punch
  • Watermelon
  • Glacier Grape
  • Blue Raspberry
  • Mango Lime 

I tried Mango Lime, and if the others are half as tasty, Kaged has an amazing lineup of flavors. 

SWEETENERS IN PRE-KAGED SPORT

Most pre-workouts are very intentional about keeping down the calories, so artificial sweeteners are the name of the game. A lot of the time, that means having to live with a slightly bitter aftertaste from artificial sweeteners like ace-K and sucralose

Pre-Kaged Sport uses sucralose as its sweetener, and I’m surprised I don’t get any of the bitterness I usually expect. 

DOES PRE-KAGED SPORT HAVE ANY SIDE EFFECTS?

The dosages of the main ingredients are at a medium-low level, so I wouldn’t expect many side effects. If you’re extremely sensitive to caffeine, 188mg might still be too much. Otherwise, Pre-Kaged Sport should be a safe, effective product for just about any user. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

Pre-Kaged Sport gets my vote as a top-tier daily driver. If you’re using it for bodybuilding, you might be a little underwhelmed, but it should be great for sports or endurance workouts. With bare minimum dosages, it should help with energy, blood flow, endurance, and power output without getting your heart rate up too high. For the right user, it should provide a feeling of being awake and alert, but safer than a high-stim pre. 

WHAT WE LOVE about PRE-KAGED SPORT

  • Excellent mix of ingredients
  • A strong feeling of well-being
  • Great flavor 

WHAT WE’D IMPROVE in PRE-KAGED SPORT

  • Nothing – it does exactly what it’s made for

WHO IS PRE-KAGED SPORT FOR?

  • Beginners
  • Endurance athletes
  • Actual athletic competition 
  • Users looking for reduced caffeine or a tolerance break

WHO IS PRE-KAGED SPORT NOT FOR?

  • Bodybuilders
  • Stim junkies 

Scientific Studies

1. Javier Zaragoza, Grant Tinsley, Stacie Urbina, Katelyn Villa, Emily Santos, Angelie Juaneza, Matthias Tinnin, Cory Davidson, Susan Mitmesser, Zhiying Zhang, and Lem Taylor. Effects of acute caffeine, theanine and tyrosine supplementation on mental and physical performance in athletes

2. Eric T. Trexler, Abbie E. Smith-Ryan, Jeffrey R. Stout, Jay R. Hoffman, Colin D. Wilborn, Craig Sale, Richard B. Kreider, Ralf Jäger, Conrad P. Earnest, Laurent Bannock, Bill Campbell, Douglas Kalman, Tim N. Ziegenfuss, and Jose Antonio. International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine

3. Timothy D. Allerton, David N. Proctor, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Tammy R. Dugas, Guillaume Spielmann, and Brian A. Irving. L-Citrulline Supplementation: Impact on Cardiometabolic Health

4. Van Every, Derrick W.; Plotkin, Daniel L; Delcastillo, Kenneth; Cholewa, Jason; Schoenfeld, Brad J. Betaine Supplementation: A Critical Review of Its Efficacy for Improving Muscle Strength, Power, and Body Composition

5. Jennifer A. Kurtz, Trisha A. VanDusseldorp, J. Andrew Doyle & Jeffrey S. Otis. Taurine in sports and exercise



Ingredients