The Best Pre-Workout for Women’s Weight Loss

The 9 Best Pre-Workouts for Women’s Weight Loss of 2024

The main job of a pre-workout is to provide you with the physical energy and mental intensity to have a great workout. Some pre-workouts, however, do more – they actually boost your weight loss. In this article, we focus on the best fat-burning pre-workouts specifically for women. I’ll also provide you with a buyer’s guide and answer the most common questions to do with weight loss pre-workouts for women. 

A Quick Overview of the Top 3

Cellucor C4 Ripped

  • Fat burning blend
  • Boost endurance
  • Explosive energy

Kino Octane

  • Mild caffeine dose
  • 6 grams citrulline
  • Nice taste

Onest Hyperburn

  • Thermogenic booster
  • Suppresses cravings
  • Boosts metabolism

The 9 Best Pre-Workouts for Women’s Weight Loss:

1. Cellucor C4 Ripped

Cellucor C4 Ripped

Pros:

  • Fat burning blend
  • Boost endurance
  • Explosive energy

Cons:

  • Limited focus benefits

Cellucor C4 is an extremely popular pre-workout that is produced by the Texas-based company Nutrabolt. It is designed to improve your workouts by boosting energy, improving mental focus, enhancing endurance, and promoting a pump effect. It also increases your fat burn by enhancing the thermogenic effect.

Cellucor actually produces 5 types of pre-workout powder. C4 Ripped is the one that burns fat while it gets you ready for your workout. In addition to all of the pre-workout ingredients contained in its other pre-workouts, this version includes a unique weight loss blend that includes Capsimax Cayenne, L-Carnitine, Green coffee bean, and Coleus forskohlii. This is a zero sugar supplement that will ignite your fat burn while it fuels muscular endurance and explosive energy levels.

2. Kino Octane

Kino Octane

Pros:

  • Mild caffeine dose
  • 6 grams citrulline
  • Nice taste

Cons:

  • Only 21 servings per container

Kino Octane is a zero-calorie combination pre-workout and fat loss supplement that is specifically geared towards women. It contains only completely natural ingredients, with no artificial sweeteners. It contains 150mg of caffeine, which is enough to provide a thermogenic boost without providing a wired, unnatural effect. 

Kino Octane also provides you with 6 grams of L-Citrulline, which boosts blood circulation and decreases the burn sensation while working out so that you can train harder for longer. You also get 300mg of Siberian Ginseng in this product to provide mental focus and clarity for your workout. 

This is an officially keto-friendly pre-workout that comes in some tasty flavors, mixes well, and is relatively cost-effective. You won’t notice much in the way of strength gains with this product, but it will deliver a noticeable energy kick while also ramping up your fat burn. 

3. Onest Hyperburn

Onest Hyperburn

Pros:

  • Thermogenic booster
  • Suppresses cravings
  • Boosts metabolism

Cons:

  • No focus boosting ingredients

Onest Heath is one of the largest supplement companies in Australia. Hyperburn is Onest Health’s signature elite fat burner / pre-workout that increases thermogenesis and boosts metabolism. It also has a powerful appetite suppressant effect. 

The combination of caffeine anhydrous, di-caffeine malate, and capsicum extract promotes a thermogenic effect by increasing your body’s internal temperature.

Hyperburn’s ability to blunt your appetite is due to the synergistic action of the key compounds bitter orange extract and capsicum extract. Their natural appetite suppression effect will keep you feeling full to help you maintain the caloric deficit that will catapult you toward your fat loss goals. 

Central to Hyperburn’s ability to ramp up the metabolic rate is an ingredient called Capsimax. Capsimax is a concentrated form of natural capsicum extract derived from red hot chili peppers. The patented form of this compound found in Capsimax provides you with this vital fat burner without the intense burn that you get when you consume chilies.

4. Alani Nu Pre-Workout

Alani Nu Pre-Workout

Pros:

  • 200mg caffeine
  • All natural
  • Enhances focus and energy

Cons:

  • Beta alanine may cause tingling of the extremities

Alani Nu Pre-Workout is a no-frills pre-workout for women that delivers five of the most researched and attested energy boosting and fat enhancing ingredients known to men. You get 200 mg of caffeine, 200mg of L-Theanine, 6 grams of L-Citrulline, 1.6 grams of beta-alanine, and 500 milligrams of L-Tyrosine. You won’t find any fillers or additives in this product. At 200mg, there’s just the right amount of caffeine to propel your workout without any fear of that dreaded post-exercise crash. 

Alani Nui comes in ten tasty flavors, including Rainbow Candy, Mimosa, and Aloha Pineapple. There are more than 7000 online reviews for this product, with the vast majority being positive about the product and the company’s level of service. 

5. Ladder Pre-Workout

Ladder Pre-Workout

Pros:

  • Boost pump effect
  • Boosts energy
  • Increases thermogenic effect

Cons:

  • Contains creatine

Ladder Pre-Workout is a relative newcomer to the market that contains the following fat loss and energy enhancing ingredients:

  • Creatine Monohydrate 5g
  • Beta Alanine 3g
  • Betaine Anhydrous 2.5g
  • Citicoline 500mg
  • L-Theanine 250mg
  • Green Tea Leaf Extract 100mg

You will notice that there is no caffeine in this product. The other ingredients are all proven in their ability to increase blood flow, enhance energy levels and increase your thermogenic effect. However you do have 5 grams of creatine, which may result in some water retention and bloating. 

Ladder Pre-Workout comes in some very tasty flavors. That is impressive since it is virtually free of sugar and extremely low in calories. 

6. Organic Muscle Pre-Workout

Organic Muscle Pre-Workout

Pros:

  • Metabolic enhancer
  • Antioxidant blend
  • Vegan

Cons:

  • No amino acids

Organic Muscle Pre-Workout is a herb-based pre-workout that steers away from high stim ingredients in favor of clean, natural organic compounds that deliver results without any side effects. This is also one of the few vegan pre-workouts that you can buy.

Organic Muscle Pre-Workout, despite its name, is not specifically a muscle-building supplement. Rather, its focus is on energy and cognitive enhancement, along with fat burning. It includes some powerful natural metabolic enhancers as well as a strong antioxidant blend. This includes beetroot, pomegranate, goji berry, matcha, acai, and cranberry extract. 

This pre-workout is very good for long, endurance-type workouts but not so effective for shorter, more intense workouts. 

7. Raw Synergie ThermoPre

Raw Synergie ThermoPre

Pros:

  • Fat burning + energy boosting
  • 250 mg coffee
  • 1.6 grand beta-alanine

Cons:

  • Only available in one flavor

Raw Synergie ThermoPre is a 2-in-1 supplement designed to boost your workout performance while simultaneously helping you to strip off unwanted body fat. To achieve these goals it brings together a blend of proven fat burning, energy-enhancing, and mental focus boosting ingredients. 

The main ingredients in this supplement are beta-alanine, dated at 1.6 grams, acetyl-l-carnitine at 1 gram, MCT powder (375 grams), and 250 mg of caffeine. This is a solid profile that provides you with proven ingredients that are dosed in scientifically proven quantities. At 250mg the caffeine dose is on the high end of what a woman should be taking, equating to about 3 cups of coffee. 

This product is completely free of artificial fillers, sweeteners, and colors. The sweeteners used are stevia and monk fruit.

8. RedLeaf Pre-Workout Energizer

RedLeaf Pre-Workout Energizer

Pros:

  • BCAAs
  • Stim free
  • Antioxidant blend

Cons:

  • Need higher doses over time.

Red Lead Pre-Workout Energizer is a female-specific supplement that is popular with CrossFitters, gym-goers, and endurance athletes. It includes branch chain amino acids to provide fuel to your muscles while training, as well as Beta-Alanine and L-Arginine, to increase blood flow and promote a pump effect while you are working out. 

Red Leaf Pre-Workout also includes green tea leaf extract, caffeine, and l-theanine, along with an antioxidant blend. It has a proven ability to boost energy levels, enhance focus and produce a thermogenic, calorie-burning effect. The caffeine level is modest so you will not suffer any jittery side effects when you take this product.

Despite being free of artificial colors and sweeteners, Red Leaf Pre-Workouts come in some very tasty flavors. It also mixes easily and is easy to digest. One thing worth noting is that some reviewers have commented that the energy-enhancing effects of this supplement wear off over time, requiring higher dosages to get the same effect.

9. FitMiss Ignite

FitMiss Ignite

Pros:

  • Proven ingredients
  • Only 5 calories
  • 100mg caffeine

Cons:

  • Proprietary blend

FitMiss Ignite is a very popular female-specific pre-workout that is part of the MusclePharm stable. Each serving of this product contains 5 sugar-free calories and is made up of a FitMiss Ignite blend of proven energy boosting and fat burning ingredients. Unfortunately, this is a proprietary blend so we do not know the specific ingredient quantities. 

The ingredient profile in FitMiss includes the following compounds:

Beta-alanine, choline bitartrate, tyrosine, glycine, taurine, carnitine, betaine anhydrous, hawthorn berry, agmatine sulfate, caffeine, and huperzine A.

Even though it is not stated on the label, the Amazon page tells us that there is 100 mg of caffeine in this product. That is a conservative amount that will help to produce an energy-boosting, thermogenic effect without producing any side effects. This product comes in two tasty flavors and is priced very well, coming to around 55 cents per serve. 

Buyer’s Guide

There are a dizzying array of pre-workout formulas on the market. Each of them naturally claims to be the ideal solution for your pre-workout needs. When it comes to an effective fat-burning pre-workout for women, however, we need to look beyond the marketing and drill down on the ingredients. Here’s what you should look for in a top-notch weight loss pre-workout for women …

Also Read:   The 10 Best Low-Calorie Protein Powders of 2024

Low Calorie

Your overriding goal in losing weight is to end up with a negative calorie balance each day. That means that the total number of calories consumed will be less than the exercise you perform and the calories your body burns to maintain itself.  The last thing you want is to take a high-calorie pre-workout. 

Creatine Free

Creatine is a popular pre-workout ingredient for men thanks to its ability to increase strength and prolong training intensity. However, creatine also leads to water retention, which is the last thing that your body needs when you are working to get as lean as possible. Look for a pre-workout that does not contain creatine.

Sweetener Free

People want a pre-workout that tastes great, which leads manufacturers to add artificial sweeteners into the product. That is not good news for people who are trying to lose weight. That’s why you have to look carefully at the ingredient label. Look for natural sweeteners that will not interfere with your weight loss goals, such as stevia or monk fruit. Be prepared, however, to sacrifice a little on the taste side in order to achieve your weight loss goals.

Energy Producing Ingredients

The main job of a pre-workout is to enhance your energy and mental focus ahead of your workout. Here are the main ingredients you should look for to achieve those results:

  • Beta-Alanine – This amino acid buffers lactic acid and hydrogen, both of which cause workout fatigue. As a result, you are able to train with greater intensity for longer. There is also some evidence that beta-alanine can boost strength levels.
  • Caffeine – There are literally thousands of studies confirming the ability of caffeine to improve energy, sharpen mental focus, increase endurance and boost aerobic capacity. It also has a thermogenic effect to boost the metabolism and increase fat burn.
  • Citrulline Malate – Citrulline boosts the body’s levels of arginine which, itself, boosts nitric oxide production. This leads to enhanced blood flow to produce an enhanced pump effect. The enhanced oxygen supply that comes with better blood flow also boosts energy levels. Pairing citrulline with malate increases its absorption.
  • Betaine Anhydrous – Betaine comes from beetroot juice. It has been shown to boost strength and performance, increase muscle mass and decrease fat levels.
  • L-Theanine – Theanine is a nootropic boosting amino acid that improves focus and calmness when you’re in the gym.

Thermogenic Ingredients

Thermogenic fat-burning ingredients can enhance your caloric deficit by increasing your metabolic rate. The word thermogenic comes from thermogenesis or heat production. By increasing the internal temperature of the body, thermogenic fat burners induce a response by which the body has to produce energy in order to return the body to a state of normal body heat, or homeostasis.

Thermogenic fat burners include specific ingredients that have been shown to increase the body’s temperature in order to bring about this response. Some of these can result in an increase of between 10-15 percent in metabolism over several hours.

So thermogenic fat burners that have the right ingredients at the right amount will cause your body to burn more calories, both while at rest and during exercise.

Here are the key ingredients that scientists have identified as producing the most potent thermogenic effect …

  • capsicum extract
  • Bitter orange extract
  • Caffeine anhydrous
  • Dicaffeine malate. 

The Differences Between Male & Female Supplements

The idea of taking the same supplement as guys is quite scary for some women. After all, most supplements are promoted with images of hulking males and vein-popping muscles. That’s probably why a lot of women are confused as to whether they should be taking the same type, different, or no supplements at all.

This is especially important when it comes to pre-workout nutrition. What you put into your body in a couple of hours before your workout will be directly related to the quality of your training session. We need to get some clarity on this issue of pre-workout supplementation for women to enable you to fuel your body for optimum performance. 

There are a lot of similarities between men and women when it comes to a pre-work-out supplement stack. Some notable differences are that women’s pre-workout 

supplements leave out such substances as . . .

  • D-aspartic acid
  • Tribulus Terrestris
  • Fenugreek

That’s because the above compounds are all testosterone boosters. Testosterone, of course, is a male growth hormone. Ladies don’t want it and don’t need it. 

Women’s pre-workout supplements generally avoid creatine in favor of ingredients that focus on endurance and fat metabolism. 

The Best Weight Loss Plan for Women

A weight-loss pre-workout is a good supplement to a weight loss program for women. However, it should be considered the icing on the top of a solid weight loss program rather than its mainstay. The most important factor is what you eat. You will never lose weight unless you are consistently ending up with a negative calorie balance. That means that your calories out are greater than your calories in. 

Reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories per day below your maintenance level each day. You can work out your daily maintenance level here. In addition, you should cut back on your consumption of high glycemic index carbohydrates. Instead focus on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Aim to consume 20-30 grams of protein with each meal and get plenty of fats through foods like nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil. 

Intermittent fasting has proven itself both scientifically and in the real world to help millions of women to lose fat and keep it off. The most popular intermittent fasting protocol is called 16/8 and involves not eating for 16 out of each 24 hour period. In practice, this simply means that you skip breakfast. So, if your last meal is completed by 7 pm, you have your next meal at 11 am the following day.

In terms of exercise, focus on high-intensity interval training that burns calories not only while you are exercising, but for the next 24-36 hours through the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption effect.

You should not take a weight loss pre-workout unless you have already got your eating plan and exercise regimen solidly in place. A fat loss supplement in and of itself will not help you to lose weight. 

FAQs

How do weight loss supplements work?

Weight loss supplements are designed to do just what their title suggests – act as a supplement to your main fat loss plan. They are not meant to act as a stand-alone fat loss mechanism. They will act on one or all of the following mechanisms …

  • Boosting your metabolism
  • Ramping up your body temperature to produce a thermogenic effect
  • Suppressing your appetite to control your food cravings

Can weight loss pre-workouts help to stop cravings?

Yes, some pre-workouts for women that have fat loss properties may include ingredients that help to suppress cravings. The combination of Capsicum and Bitter Orange Extract will reduce appetite, increase fullness and stop cravings at the source. Capsicum is especially high in fiber and Vitamin B6, which help to maintain blood glucose levels and prevent blood sugar spikes. Those spikes are what trigger food cravings. 

Balancing your blood sugar is the key to killing your cravings. Bitter orange extract is rich in the bioactive alkaloid p-synephrine, which boosts energy, ramps up the metabolism, and suppresses the appetite. When paired with capsicum, the bitter orange extract provides the one-two combination to flatten your cravings!

What supplement ingredients ramp up the metabolism?

There are a number of natural supplement ingredients that ramp up your fat burn. These include capsicum extract, which is rich in capsaicin and capsinoids. These compounds come from chili peppers and are responsible for their hot taste. They increase the internal temperature of the body. To bring that temperature back down to a homeostatic level, your body needs to burn a lot of calories.

Another key metabolism-boosting ingredient is a bitter orange extract. A number of studies have shown this extract, which comes from the bitter orange fruit. The key active ingredient synephrine is able to increase the resting metabolic rate (RMR).

Bioperine is the third ingredient with metabolic boosting activity. Bioperine consists of black pepper extract derived from the Piper nigrum plant that has also been shown to ramp up the metabolism.

Conclusion

Amongst the throngs of pre-workouts for women that have saturated the market, there are a few that stand out for having the ability to boost your fat loss while also delivering the energy and mental focus you need to own your workout.

Each of the products featured in this article has been proven to deliver and you can purchase any of them with confidence. Remember, though, that these products are supplements to your main fat loss efforts. Make sure that you have the two vital pillars of reduced-calorie clean nutrition and regular HIIT cardio exercise in place before you add a weight loss pre-workout to the mix. 

This article was last updated on July 19, 2024 .

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Written by
Steve Theunissen

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