Core PRE offers an affordable daily driver pre-workout with clinical doses of key ingredients in delicious Fun Sweets Cotton Candy flavors for everyday training.
Core Nutritionals has built a reputation for creating supplements that deliver exactly what they claim, and now they’re expanding their pre-workout lineup with the more accessible Core PRE. This “essential” pre-workout is designed for those who want Core’s quality and effectiveness in a streamlined, more affordable daily driver.
Core PRE joins Core’s extensive pre-workout family that includes the powerhouse Core FURY v2, the creatine-inclusive Core FURY Australia, and Doug Miller’s Ascension masterpiece. But what sets Core PRE apart is its focus on delivering the core essentials without the premium price tag.
A Fun and Affordable Pre-Workout in Fun Sweets Cotton Candy Flavors!
The new supplement launches in the popular Fun Sweets Cotton Candy collaboration flavors that have been a massive hit across Core’s supplement lineup, including their Core HYDRATE Fun Sweets flavors.
Let’s dig into what Core PRE brings to the table, but first, make sure to check the PricePlow deals and sign up for Core Nutritionals news alerts so you don’t miss future flavor and product drops!
Core Nutritionals PRE – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
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Core PRE Ingredients
Each serving (17.2g scoop) of Core PRE provides a focused blend of ingredients designed to support energy, pumps, endurance, and focus:
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L-Citrulline – 6,000mg
Core PRE starts a massive 6-gram dose of pure L-citrulline, making it the supplement’s standout ingredient. This non-essential amino acid serves as a powerful precursor to L-arginine in the body, effectively boosting nitric oxide production and enhancing blood flow to working muscles.[1]
Why Citrulline Instead of Arginine?
While L-arginine is the direct precursor to nitric oxide, it undergoes significant breakdown during first-pass metabolism, with over 50% being degraded by the enzyme arginase in the intestines.[2] L-citrulline, however, bypasses this intestinal degradation and is converted to arginine in the kidneys, leading to greater and more sustained increases in plasma arginine levels than taking arginine itself![3]
Performance Benefits
At 6 grams, Core PRE provides an optimal dose that has been shown to support:[4]
- Enhanced blood flow and muscle pumps during training
- Improved workout endurance and reduced perceived exertion
- Better nutrient delivery to working muscles
- Faster recovery between sets
The 6-gram dose represents the upper end of effective dosing ranges studied in research, making Core PRE a serious pre-workout for those who want maximum pump and performance benefits without having to add additional pump ingredients.[5]
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Beta Alanine – 3,200mg
Core PRE delivers a clinical dose of beta alanine at 3.2 grams per serving, providing one of the most well-researched performance ingredients on the market. Beta alanine works by increasing intramuscular carnosine levels, which serves as a powerful buffer against lactic acid buildup during high-intensity exercise.[6]
How Beta-Alanine Enhances Performance
When you’re pushing through those final grueling reps or sprints, your muscles produce hydrogen ions (H+), causing that burning sensation that can limit your performance. Carnosine acts as your body’s natural defense against this acidic environment, but your body’s natural stores are limited. By supplementing with beta-alanine consistently, you’ll significantly increase muscle carnosine concentrations – creating a stronger buffer against fatigue.[7,8]
The 3.2g dose in Core PRE is particularly effective for:
- High-intensity exercise lasting 1-4 minutes
- Delaying muscular fatigue during resistance training
- Improving exercise capacity and training volume
The Science-Backed Benefits
Research has consistently shown that supplementing with beta-alanine at clinical doses (3.2-6.4g daily) can increase muscle carnosine by 40-60% within just 4 weeks.[9] The 3.2g in Core PRE provides a research-backed starting point for enhancing your training performance.
Most users know this by now, but you may experience a harmless tingling sensation (paresthesia) when taking beta-alanine. This is completely normal and actually indicates the beta-alanine is working in your system.[10]
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Betaine Anhydrous – 2,500mg
Core Pre’s next clinical dose is 2.5 grams of betaine, also known as trimethylglycine. This powerful osmolyte is naturally found in foods like spinach, beets, and whole grains, but rarely in amounts that would impact performance.[11] So Doug Miller and team added it for you, allowing you to avoid those bitter oxalate-bombs in order to safely get the nutrient.
How Betaine Works
Betaine serves two primary functions that benefit athletes. First, as an organic osmolyte, it helps maintain cellular hydration during intense exercise, protecting proteins from denaturation and helping preserve muscle function even as metabolic stress increases.[12,13]
Second, betaine acts as a methyl donor in the transmethylation of homocysteine to methionine, which ultimately supports protein synthesis and muscle recovery.[12,13]
The Performance Benefits
Research shows that 2.5g of betaine (exactly what’s in Core Pre) can significantly boost workout performance. In a study with handball players, just two weeks of betaine supplementation enabled athletes to perform more repetitions during resistance training while maintaining lower post-exercise lactate levels.[14]
Multiple studies demonstrate betaine’s ability to enhance muscle endurance, power output, and work capacity, especially during high-volume, metabolically demanding training sessions.[15] There’s even body composition effects (fat loss) in women![16]
Paired with Fun Sweets Cotton Candy flavoring, Core Pre gives you clinically-dosed betaine in a delicious, no-nonsense pre-workout formula built for performance.
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N-Acetyl L-Carnitine Hydrochloride – 1,000mg
Core PRE delivers a solid 1,000mg dose of N-Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl (ALCAR), making it a standout ingredient in this formula. ALCAR is the acetylated form of L-carnitine that offers superior bioavailability and can cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively than standard L-carnitine.[17]
What does ALCAR do for your workouts? This powerful amino acid derivative plays a crucial role in energy metabolism by shuttling long-chain fatty acids into your mitochondria where they’re converted to energy.[18] This helps your body optimize fat as fuel during training sessions, potentially sparing muscle glycogen and extending endurance.
Beyond its metabolic benefits, ALCAR has been shown to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage and accelerate recovery by decreasing markers of cellular damage and free radical formation.[17] Studies indicate that L-carnitine supplementation can attenuate muscle soreness after intense training, letting you bounce back faster for your next workout.[19]
The 1,000mg dose provided in Core PRE aligns with clinically effective amounts used in research showing improvements in exercise capacity and recovery. Combined with the other performance-enhancing ingredients in this formula, ALCAR helps make Core PRE a comprehensive pre-workout that supports both performance during your training and recovery afterward.
We also like that ALCAR isn’t used in many pre-workout supplements lately (we’re not sure why), it’s a great “nootropic” form of L-carnitine.
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Alpha-GPC 50% – 300mg
Core PRE includes a solid 300mg dose of Alpha-Glycerylphosphorylcholine (Alpha-GPC), providing 150mg of actual Alpha-GPC due to its 50% concentration. This powerful cholinergic compound serves as an excellent precursor to acetylcholine, often called the “learning neurotransmitter” that’s crucial for both cognitive function and muscle contraction.[20]
Alpha-GPC rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier after ingestion, where it’s converted to phosphorylcholine and can serve as a source of choline for acetylcholine synthesis.[21] This translates to both better focus during training and potentially enhanced neuromuscular connection for improved strength and power output.
Recent research demonstrated that just a single high dose of Alpha-GPC significantly improved cognitive performance in healthy men, enhancing mental processing speed and total Stroop test scores when compared to placebo.[22] However, that was a higher dose at a higher percentage yield than what we have here, so you’d need more to get those types of effects. Point being, however, that this ingredient can get people going in one use when enough is used.
The 300mg dose in Core PRE strikes a great balance, providing enough Alpha-GPC to notice improved focus and mind-muscle connection during workouts, while keeping the formula economical. When combined with the 200mg of caffeine, you should experience enhanced mental clarity and focus throughout your training session without any jittery feeling.
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Caffeine Anhydrous – 200mg
Core PRE delivers 200mg of caffeine anhydrous per serving, making it a well-calculated dose that strikes an ideal balance between performance enhancement and avoiding unwanted side effects.
Why 200mg Works So Well
This moderate caffeine dosage provides several performance benefits:
- Enhanced Endurance Performance: Research consistently shows caffeine can improve aerobic performance by 2-4% at doses between 3-6mg/kg body weight.[23]
- Strength and Power Support: Caffeine has been shown to produce small but significant improvements in muscular strength (3-4% improvement) at doses between 3-6mg/kg.[24]
- Cognitive Benefits: Beyond physical performance, the 200mg dose enhances focus, alertness, and reaction time – critical factors during intense training.[23]
Perfect For Everyday Training
The 200mg caffeine dose is particularly ideal for:
- Afternoon/evening training sessions where higher caffeine doses might disrupt sleep
- Caffeine-sensitive individuals who want performance benefits without jitters
- Daily users who want to avoid tolerance build-up
The most delicious hydration ever?! Core Nutritionals Fun Sweets HYDRATE flavors may just be…
For a 150-pound athlete, 200mg represents approximately 3mg/kg bodyweight — right within the research-backed effective range while minimizing potential side effects like anxiety or sleep disturbances.[25]
Caffeine anhydrous is rapidly absorbed, reaching peak blood levels within 30-60 minutes, which is perfect timing for pre-workout consumption.[23]
Core PRE provides just enough caffeine to maximize performance benefits without going overboard. Exactly what you’d expect from a “daily-driver” pre-workout formula.
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AstraGin (Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng Root Extracts) – 50mg
AstraGin is a patented combination of plant extracts from Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng,[26-30] two herbs with long histories in traditional medicine. Core PRE includes AstraGin with the purpose of potentially enhancing nutrient absorption and bioavailability of other ingredients in the formula.
By supporting the active transport mechanisms in the intestinal lining, AstraGin attempts to boost the uptake of amino acids and other compounds. The 50mg dose aligns with the amount typically used in pre-workout formulations to support ingredient efficacy.
Core PRE Flavors Available
Core PRE launches with the delicious Fun Sweets Cotton Candy flavor collaboration that has proven extremely popular across Core’s supplement lineup:
With additional flavors on the way, you’ll have plenty of options to keep your pre-workout routine fresh and exciting.
Perfect Stacking Options
Core PRE is designed to be effective on its own, but Doug Miller’s brand is known for their comprehensive approach to supplementation. For those looking to enhance specific aspects of their training, consider these stacking options:
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Stack with Core PUMP for Maximum Vascularity
If you’re chasing skin-splitting pumps, add Core PUMP to your Core PRE. This stimulant-free pump product brings VasoDrive-AP and additional pump-enhancing ingredients that complement Core PRE perfectly. The Fun Sweets flavors pair together beautifully for a taste experience that makes your pre-workout ritual something to look forward to.
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Stack with Core PEAK for Nitric Oxide Overload
For those who want to maximize nitric oxide production, Core PEAK makes an excellent addition. This stim-free nitric oxide booster can take your vascularity to new heights when combined with Core PRE.
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Stack with Core HYDRATE for Complete Training Support
Don’t forget about hydration! Core HYDRATE provides comprehensive electrolyte support with impressive doses of sodium, potassium, and other minerals that are vital for performance and recovery. The Fun Sweets flavors in HYDRATE make for a delicious combination with Core PRE.
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Don’t forget your Creatine
CORE Nutritionals also recently launched a bunch of new flavors in Core Nutritionals Creatine, which also includes Fun Sweets Cotton Candy flavors, so be sure to check those out too!
Conclusion: Core PRE Delivers the Essentials Without Compromise
Core Nutritionals continues to demonstrate why they’re a leader in the supplement industry with Core PRE. This essential pre-workout delivers clinically-effective doses of key ingredients without unnecessary fillers or exotic compounds that drive up costs.
Core Nutritionals continues to level up their supplement line!
Core PRE is perfect for:
- Everyday training sessions
- Those new to pre-workouts who want quality without overwhelming stimulants
- Experienced users who want a reliable daily driver
- Anyone who wants Core quality and Fun Sweets flavor at a more accessible price point
- Afternoon trainers who need moderate caffeine (200mg)
True to the Core Nutritionals ethos established by Doug Miller, Core PRE doesn’t cut corners even while aiming for a more accessible price point. You still get clinical doses of citrulline, beta-alanine, and betaine — cornerstone ingredients of any effective pre-workout.
With the delicious Fun Sweets Cotton Candy flavors that have become synonymous with many of Core’s releases, Core PRE isn’t just effective, it’s a treat for your taste buds too. Whether you choose Cherry Berry, Blue Raspberry, or Orange Cream, you’re in for a nostalgic flavor experience that makes supplement time enjoyable.
Check out PricePlow’s price comparisons below to find the best deals, and don’t forget to sign up for Core Nutritionals alerts to stay updated on future releases and flavor expansions.
Core Nutritionals PRE – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
Get Price Alerts
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Disclosure: PricePlow relies on pricing from stores with which we have a business relationship. We work hard to keep pricing current, but you may find a better offer.
Posts are sponsored in part by the retailers and/or brands listed on this page.
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