Read a pre-workout label like an auditor. The front panel says 'fully loaded'; the supplement facts say otherwise — a 2019 audit of the top 100 products (Jagim et al., Nutrients) found 44.3% of listed ingredients buried in proprietary blends, doses undisclosed. Where doses were printed, they often failed scrutiny: mean beta-alanine 2.0 g against the 4–6 g the ISSN calls efficacious. Price of admission: $1.50–3.00 per scoop.
The counter-label is below. Four builds, every ingredient disclosed, every dose printed in grams and milligrams, every line priced. Nothing in a blend, nothing rounded away — because this label is a weigh-in, not a marketing claim.
The full-disclosure builds
The $0.60 base
START HERE| Citrulline malate 2:1 | 6 g | $0.30 |
| Beta-alanine | 3.2 g | $0.10 |
| Caffeine anhydrous | 200 mg | $0.07 |
| Creatine monohydrate | 5 g | $0.20 |
≈ $0.67 per serving
Mix in 300–400 ml of water 30 minutes out. This is the community's canonical stack — everything in it is evidence-dosed.
Full clinical
STIM| Citrulline malate 2:1 | 8 g | $0.40 |
| Beta-alanine | 3.2 g | $0.10 |
| Caffeine anhydrous | 200–400 mg | $0.10 |
| Creatine monohydrate | 5 g | $0.20 |
| L-Tyrosine | 2 g | $0.20 |
≈ $1.00–1.20 per serving
What the $45 'fully loaded' tubs claim on the front and dilute on the back — at actual studied doses.
Stim-free pump
NON-STIM| L-Citrulline | 6 g | $0.30 |
| Creatine monohydrate | 5 g | $0.20 |
| Glycerol powder | 2 g | $0.05 |
| Taurine | 2 g | $0.10 |
≈ $0.65 per serving
All pump, no ceiling-stare. For evening sessions or caffeine resets. Optional add: agmatine 1–1.5 g.
Loaded nootropic
FOCUS| The $0.60 base | 1 serving | $0.67 |
| Alpha-GPC | 300–600 mg | $0.50 |
| L-Tyrosine | 1–2 g | $0.20 |
| Huperzine A | 200 mcg | $0.15 |
| Rhodiola rosea | 300 mg | $0.40 |
≈ $1.90–2.60 per serving
Still under the $3 'nootropic' tubs — and every dose is on the label because you wrote the label.
Red flags on the supplement facts panel
- 'Proprietary blend' with a single combined weight — individual doses inside it are undisclosed by design
- An ingredient the front panel advertises at a studied dose listed inside a blend — the front claims, the blend conceals
- Beta-alanine below the 4–6 g studied range; the category mean is 2.0 g
- Caffeine disclosed only as part of a stimulant blend — you cannot manage a dose you cannot read
- A $1.50–3.00 scoop price buying ingredients that cost $0.67 weighed at home
Flavoring, disclosed
Full disclosure: unflavored citrulline malate is sour, beta-alanine is bitter, and no label hides that from your tongue. Two documented fixes — MiO or Crystal Light drops (~$0.16 per drink), or stevia plus citric acid; a squeeze of lemon masks the citrulline with its own tartness.
One rule with no exceptions: every powder unflavored. Stacking two flavored products produces something worse than either alone — print that on the jar if you have to.
Batch math, shown
The line between batchable and per-serving is arithmetic. Gram-scale ingredients — citrulline, creatine, beta-alanine — homogenize well enough to pre-mix in a jar and scoop. Sub-gram doses do not: 200 mg of caffeine dispersed in a 500 g tub is a 1:2,500 ratio, and stirring cannot close it. Weigh micro doses per serving or use geometric dilution — procedure documented in the setup guide.