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Optimum Nutrition
Gold Standard Pre-Workout
Our analysis — editorial take, not from the label
Moderate 175 mg of caffeine with pump ingredients well below studied ranges; a predictable label from an established brand.
- Caffeine
- 175 mg
- Citrulline
- 1.5 gmalate
- Beta-alanine
- 1.5 g
- Servings
- 30
Price tier: Mid-range · relative cost per full serving across this database
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Mild, familiar flavors from a long-established brand.
Label verified: July 2026 · View supplement facts image
Label data
Per full serving · 30 servings per container · from the manufacturer's panel
| Caffeine | 175 mg |
|---|---|
| Citrulline Malate | 1.5 g |
| Beta-Alanine | 1.5 g |
| Creatine Monohydrate | 3 g |
| Proprietary blend | No |
Cautions
- Pump ingredients are well under studied doses
- Moderate caffeine still adds up if you also drink coffee
Formulated for healthy adults — not intended for anyone under 18. Full health & safety notes
Product details
Where this label sits
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout sits in the moderate stim tier of the Scoop Sense pre-workout database, which spans 0–400 mg of caffeine per serving. It runs 30 servings per container at the full labeled serving. Everything on this page comes from the manufacturer's supplement facts panel as of July 2026 — never from the marketing page.
Key ingredients & studied doses
- Citrulline Malate · 1.5 g. Well below the 6–8 g range used in most citrulline studies.
- Beta-Alanine · 1.5 g. Under the 3.2 g/day amount used in beta-alanine research.
- Creatine Monohydrate · 3 g. At the low end of the standard 3–5 g range.
Flavors & sweetener
Mild, familiar flavors from a long-established brand.
Who it's best for
Most regular gym-goers — the caffeine dose is in the range of about two cups of coffee. A sensible first tub — nothing on the panel that catches a new user out. Derived from the label figures above — not medical advice.
How we log this label
Every entry is built the same way: we read the current supplement facts panel, log each disclosed dose, compare it against the amounts used in published research, flag proprietary blends, and state the cautions plainly. The full methodology explains each step.
This label against the research
How we evaluate labelsEach bar shows the amount commonly used in published human research, and where this label's dose falls against it. Research amounts are context, not a recommendation — they are not doses, and nothing here is medical advice.
-
Citrulline1.5 g
25% of the low end of the studied range0studied range 6 g–8 g10 g
Studies use about 6 g of pure L-citrulline, or 8 g of citrulline malate — which is about 5.3 g of citrulline at the usual 2:1 ratio, and closer to 4 g if the label is 1:1.
Source: Gough et al., European Journal of Applied Physiology 2021 — “The most commonly employed dose of CM is a single acute 8 g dose”
-
Beta-alanine1.5 g
47% of the low end of the studied range0studied range 3.2 g–6.4 g7 g
Studied as a daily loading protocol of 3.2–6.4 g taken for four weeks or longer. A single serving below that range still counts toward the daily total, but one scoop is not a studied dose on its own.
Source: Rezende et al., Frontiers in Physiology 2020 — “It seems that substantial amounts of BA are required to increase MCarn, with most studies using doses of ~3.2–6.4 g·day−1, for periods ranging from 4 to 24 weeks.”
-
Creatine3 g
At or above the studied amount0studied range 3 g–5 g6 g
Maintenance dosing in the research is 3–5 g a day of monohydrate, every day, not only on training days.
Source: Kreider et al., Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2017 — “Once muscle creatine stores are fully saturated, creatine stores can generally be maintained by ingesting 3–5 g/day”
-
Caffeine175 mg
88% of the low end of the studied range0studied range 200 mg–400 mg450 mg
Performance studies most often use 3–6 mg per kg of body weight, which works out to roughly 200–400 mg for most adults. The FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects in healthy adults.
Source: Guest et al., Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2021 — “Caffeine has consistently been shown to improve exercise performance when consumed in doses of 3–6 mg/kg body mass.”
Common questions about Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout
How much caffeine is in Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout?
175 mg per full labeled serving — roughly 1.8 small cups of coffee. Within the Scoop Sense pre-workout database (0–400 mg per serving) that places it in the moderate stim tier. The FDA cites about 400 mg per day as an amount generally not associated with negative effects in healthy adults, and coffee, tea, and energy drinks count toward the same total.
Why does Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout make my skin tingle?
The 1.5 g of beta-alanine. The prickling (paresthesia) in the face, neck, and hands is generally considered harmless, is dose-dependent, and fades on its own — typically within about an hour. Most beta-alanine studies use 3.2 g per day.