Myprotein The Preworkout THERMO: Fat Burning Pre that Doesn’t Break the Bank

Myprotein is well-known for their incredible protein powders, bars, and other high-protein snacks, but we’ve learned never to overlook their workout products, either! Over the years, Myprotein’s United States division (@MyproteinUS) has released The Pro Range, a series of supplements for serious athletes, equipped with powerful formulas and advanced ingredients.

Myprotein gets spicy with The Pre Workout Thermo

One such supplement is Myprotein’s THE Pre Workout, which provides a solid boost of power-boosting ingredients, but keeps the caffeine at 150mg per serving. The brand followed it up with a higher-stimulant The Pre Workout+ for those who wanted more caffeine in a time-released form.

Those pre workouts were geared more towards building muscle, and now it’s time for Myprotein to reach the other end of the spectrum – weight loss:

Introducing Myprotein’s The Preworkout THERMO

Get ready to feel the burn with this one! The latest fat-burning pre workout supplement is here: Myprotein The Preworkout THERMO. With its black label, it’s part of The Pro Range, and is highlighted by NNB Nutrition’s CaloriBurn GP Grains of Paradise extract, the brown fat activator that we’ve highlighted several times here on the PricePlow Blog.

Like the original The Pre Workout, there’s 150mg caffeine per serving against 4g citrulline and 2g beta alanine so that dieters can still get their pump and endurance on. But instead of creatine and betaine, we have weight loss agents like CaloriBurn GP and forskolin!

The details and product analysis are below, but before we head there, check out our PricePlow-powered coupons and sign up for our MyproteinUS news alerts because there’s even more coming:

The Preworkout Thermo Ingredients

NNB Nutrition’s CaloriBurn has 12.5% 6-Paradol, but uses pure grains of paradise to keep all of the active constituents

Each tub gets you 30 servings, and at 150mg caffeine per serving, nearly all consumers should be able to handle the energy. The question is, can you handle the heat? Only one way to find out.

In this article, we are going to go out of order, starting with the two “spicy” ingredients that bring great weight loss benefits that you’ll feel. It begins with our favorite one, CaloriBurn GP:

• CaloriBurn GP Grains of Paradise (Aframomum melegueta) (Seed) Extract (12.5% 6-Paradol) – 25mg

  

  The Preworkout Thermo has a similar base as The Preworkout, but with added weight loss agents like CaloriBurn rather than muscle builders like creatine!

  Myprotein decided on Team PricePlow’s favorite grains of paradise extract – CaloriBurn GP from NNB Nutrition. Also known as Aframomum melegueta, grains of paradise is actually a spice used in cooking for thousands of years, and is often a black pepper replacement. It’s a member of the ginger family, and brings benefits from both sides of its family tree.

  Research has shown grains of paradise to help induce the conversion from white adipose tissue (WAT) to brown adipose tissue (BAT).^[1] This is an excellent benefit, since WAT is generally the subcutaneous stored fat, and BAT is the metabolically-active fat that is mitochondrial-dense and more thermogenic^[2] – exactly what we want here. With more brown fat and less white fat, the body can burn more calories!^[2,3]

  This has been successfully demonstrated with weight loss and increased energy expenditure in humans,^[4,5] but one important thing to note is that those studies used either 30mg/day^[4] or 40mg/day.^[5] This means that in order to get those clinical doses, you’ll need a heaping scoop of The Pre Thermo. We believe 25mg is a great start and will yield benefits, but even more will come with a bit larger dose.

  The good news with this dose is that it may not be as spicy as some other products, although we have another spice to add to it in lower down, along with forskolin and a small black pepper extract, so things are still going to get heated here!

  Why NNB’s CaloriBurn GP?

  

  Finally, a grains of paradise extract that actually passes lab tests for all clinical constituents!

  What we’ve come to learn with many grains of paradise extracts on the market is that they’re often only standardized for one primary constituent – 12.5% 6-paradol. That’s what the research cited above mostly discusses, but a superior grains of paradise will also contain 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol, and 6-gingerdione, each with their own potent benefits.

  NNB Nutrition’s CaloriBurn GP includes all four bioactive grains of paradise constituents, not just 6-paradol, like you may get with some of the competition. This provides a more potent blend that is also more true to nature. However, you still get the clinically backed 12.5% 6-paradol in CaloriBurn, making it what we believe to be the industry-best grains of paradise extract by a longshot.

  You can learn more about this incredible spice grains of paradise in our article titled Grains of Paradise: Fat Fighting Spice of the Goddesses and some details and lab tests on CaloriBurn in our article titled CaloriBurn: NNB Takes Grains of Paradise to Hot New Heights.

• CapsiMax (Capsicum annuum) Extract (Fruit) (2% Capsaicinoids) – 25mg

  The second spice included in The Pre Workout Thermo, CapsiMax is a red hot pepper extract standardized for 2% Capsaicinoids – capsaicin is a highly-concentrated form of capsicum extract from OmniActive Health Technologies. This is popular in fat burners, but we don’t often see it in pre workouts, even some of the other fat burning pre workouts. This leads us to believe that we’re going to take the thermogenic heat to another level here.

  

  Capsimax is an encapsulated cayenne pepper extract that prevents the side effects of taking capsaicin directly (like heartburn).

  Research has demonstrated that capsaicinoids such as those in CapsiMax increase core temperature, which may help expend more calories.^[6] There’s also an improvement in fatty acid oxidation when taken during a caloric deficit.^[6] Another study has also shown a drop in blood sugar levels with high-dose capsicum extract.^[7]

  CapsiMax, however, was developed to yield a bit less spice, as it’s encapsulated so that it doesn’t break down until later on in the gut. This may give a bit less burning, but alongside grains of paradise, forskolin, and black pepper extract (added for better ingredient uptake), we’re expecting some spice from The Pre Workout Thermo.

  Now on to the rest of the label starting from the top:

• L-Citrulline – 4g

  The Preworkout Thermo kicks things off with L-citrulline at an above-clinical dose for athletes to get a nitric oxide pump going. Realize that this is pure L-citrulline, not citrulline malate, so we have 4g of the active booster.

  L-citrulline is an amino acid found in watermelon that serves as a precursor to L-arginine production. L-arginine goes on to produce more nitric oxide (NO) by an enzyme known as nitric oxide synthase.^[8] The nitric oxide causes the blood vessels to relax and widen, allowing more blood to move through them.^[8] The added blood flow not only adds more nutrient delivery to the muscles, but more pumps.

  Endurance and recovery boosts atop nitric oxide pumps

  

  Myprotein’s The Pre Workout has a similar base, but chases muscle instead of fat

  Ultimately, this leads to an increase in ATP production, enabling more work production and accelerated recovery.^[9-11] The 4g dose is above the clinical level, which is either 3g of straight l-citrulline or 6g citrulline malate.^[12]

  A recent 2020 meta-analysis even showed that citrulline’s blood flow boost helps the body remove metabolic waste! Collecting data from 13 different studies, scientists concluded that l-citrulline significantly lowers perceived exertion and soreness after workouts!^[13]

  More endurance and less soreness means more training capability, which, all other things equal, should equal more weight loss for dieters who have properly leveraged protein in their diets and don’t overcompensate with too many extra calories!

• Beta Alanine – 2g

  Just like with The Pre Workout, Myprotein included 2g of beta alanine to help prolong your endurance.

  This non-essential amino acid is a building block for carnosine — a molecule made from histidine and beta alanine.^[14] Research has consistently shown that taking beta alanine results in increased carnosine levels in the muscle tissue.^[14,15] This is important because carnosine helps buffer lactic acid, decreasing lactic acid build-up during prolonged exercise. This means less muscle burn, and longer sets!

  

  L-Histidine joins forces with beta alanine to create carnosine. Beta alanine is the rate-limiting part of this equation, so supplementing more will yield greater carnosine levels.

  There have been many clinical trials with it, generally at 3.2g beta alanine spread throughout the day in four doses, where the supplement gives the best endurance-boosting effects in exercises ranging from 1-4 minutes,^[14,15] but further research (in a major 2016 meta analysis) showed that the best endurance-boosting effects are actually from 30 seconds to 10 minutes long!^[16]

  With 2g here, we are confident that there will be a boost of carnosine, but in order to get the clinical benefits cited above, you may need to get additional elsewhere in the day.

  The long story short, however, is that beta alanine increases your ability to perform longer, which can lead to more weight loss — all other things considered equal!

• N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine – 750mg

  Another ingredient carried over from The Pre Workout, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine (NALT) brings feel good focus to assist with our thermogenic and endurance effects.

  

  Have you tried Myprotein’s Protein Brownies yet?

  Tyrosine is an amino acid that takes on several roles, but when it comes to pre workout supplements, we are excited about its function as a precursor to certain neurotransmitters. The body utilizes these chemical messengers to relay signals from the central nervous system (CNS) to the peripheral nervous system (PNS), and tyrosine helps us build more.

  Tyrosine is a precursor to dopamine, a “feel-good” neurotransmitter that plays a role in the pleasure, reward, and motivation.^[17,18] More dopamine often means more intense and prolonged bouts of exercise.^[17,18] Tyrosine can also help produce more noradrenaline, which can improve focus and cognition from its stimulated flight-or-fight response.^[19]

  This all means that tyrosine can improve cognitive function and mood during stressful situations,^[17,18] and we qualify exercise during a diet to be one of those times.

  We enjoy the 750mg dosage, but do note that N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine may not yield as much plasma tyrosine levels as straight L-tyrosine, although it is more water soluble.

• L-Carnitine L-Tartrate – 500mg

  L-Carnitine L-Tartrate, or LCLT, is a great version of L-carnitine that is bound to tartaric acid. As years have gone by with more and more dieters becoming deficient in this amino acid, supplementation has become increasingly important to us.

  

  After reading a new review based upon 100 citations, we are finding fewer and fewer reasons not to take ~2g L-Carnitine each day

  L-carnitine works to get fatty acids transported to the mitochondria, which we refer to as the cells’ “powerhouses” — where the fat gets converted and “burnt” for energy.^[20] When we’re carnitine deficient, the fatty acid utilization slows down, and we ultimately burn less fat because of that. This makes supplementation incredibly important.

  Carnitine is most commonly naturally found in meat, and it’s vegetarians, vegans, and seniors who often get the best fat loss effects from its supplementation^[21,22] (since they have the lowest stores of the amino). In addition, however, are athletes, who often have low carnitine status and could use more toi supplement and get improved recovery.^[20,23]

  LCLT is a great ingredient, but it’s worth noting that clinical doses are generally 2g/day, and if you’re not eating meat, fish, and eggs, you should take even more. If you do eat those, you may not need as much additional carnitine.

• Caffeine Anhydrous – 150mg

  Myprotein once again added in 150mg of the fast-acting caffeine anhydrous for your pre workout energy boost. 150mg is low these days, but this was appreciated in the original The Pre Workout for those who are stimulant-sensitive and others who wanted to use a strong fat burner or other stim-based product on the opposite end of the day.

  

  Want more pumps or a totally stim-free pre workout? THE Pump from Myprotein features a solid blend of ingredients that boost pump, performance, and focus.

  Caffeine is incredibly well-researched, and it functions as a performance-enhancer in several activities, including training.^[24] Also known as trimethylxanthine, this incredible molecule can cross the blood brain barrier and amongst other effects, it inhibits adenosine and phosphodiesterase,^[24] giving you the wake up call.

  With adenosine inhibited, you get less downregulated neural activity and less fatigue.^[24] It may also boost free fatty acid turnover and fat oxidation, which is important in dieting – now you just have to burn the fatty acids when training!^[25-27]

  Overall, it makes great sense to include caffeine in a fat burning pre workout – the question is, is 150mg enough, or are you going to have to heap that scoop or add something else to get your fix? Of course using more pre workout powder will increase your CaloriBurn dosage, but it’ll also increase your costs in making the tub disappear quicker!

• Green Coffee Extract (50% Chlorogenic Acid) – 100mg

  Green coffee bean extract (GCE) is a great source of chlorogenic acid, a polyphenol With several beneficial properties such as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-obesity.^[28]

  

  Take a scoop of Myprotein Clear Whey Isolate for an extra 20g of protein post workout!

  Research has demonstrated that chlorogenic acid helps the body regulate its glucose and lipid metabolism.^[28] A large 2011 meta-analysis showed that green coffee bean extract reduces glucose absorption in the intestine while limiting triglyceride accumulation in the liver. The scientists believe that the ingredient lowers fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis while simultaneously boosting fatty acid oxidation,^[28] making it a great ingredient to include in a fat-burning pre workout like this one.

  Additional research showed that chlorogenic acid helps free fatty acids from human adipose tissue, and caffeine isn’t needed for the mechanism to work.^[29]

  Overall, this is a safe and underrated ingredient that we enjoy seeing a lot – it doesn’t make the product, but is always a fantastic support compound.

• Theacrine (as TeaCrine) – 50mg

  For an extra mood, focus, and energy boost, Myprotein put 50mg of theacrine in The Pre Thermo.

  Theacrine can enhance energy levels, mood, physical performance, and cognitive function.^[30] Research has shown it to have a synergistic effect with caffeine, showing that they work better together than alone.^[30] Interestingly, theacrine doesn’t affect the cardiovascular system, which is unlike high amounts of caffeine (which we don’t have here in The Pre Thermo anyway).^[30]

  

  Theacrine is similar to caffeine, but definitely not the same, providing a possibly far longer lasting effect.

  Theacrine is a long-lasting ingredient that seems to provide a bit of a nootropic edge. 50mg doesn’t seem like much, but is at a good ratio with 150mg caffeine here. Just like caffeine, Theacrine functions by blocking adenosine receptors and activating dopamine receptors while modulating neurotransmitters.^[30]

  This takes the mood-boost to a new level, which is always great for diet-based supplements, since we often need that lift during a caloric deficit.

• Coleus forskohlii (Root) Extract (10% Forskolin) – 50mg

  Coleus forskohlii is a member of the mint family, and is often used for its forskolin content. Forskolin is a compound that stimulates cAMP levels and increases fat oxidation.^[31] Alongside CaloriBurn and CapsiMax, this may add a touch more “burn” to the supplement, although it’s not a spice.

  

  This chart shows that even without a workout routine, forskolin provides mild regional fat loss for most users.

  A 2015 study showed that individuals in a calorie-restricted diet alongside forskolin saw better insulin sensitivity than those that did not receive the herb, with body measurement and lipid profile improvements as well.^[32]

  This is a supplement we’re seeing make a resurgence lately, especially in powdered applications, which is good to see given the cAMP activity.

• Garcinia cambogia (Fruit) Extract (50% Hydroxycitric Acid) – 50mg

  

  Crush your cravings and goals with the Myprotein Layered Bar!

  Garcinia cambogia fruit extract is a great source of hydroxy citric acid (HCA), the primary bioactive constituent credit to garcinia’s health-benefits. Like chlorogenic acid, it has many incredible anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic effects,^[10] and studies show that it inhibits the adenosine triphosphate citrate lyase enzyme, which helps synthesize and store fatty acids, triglycerides, and cholesterol.^[10]

  Because of this mechanism, scientists believe that HCA can decrease fat storage through this enzymatic deactivation. But one of the most important effects is that it can help control blood sugar and decrease appetite while increasing fatty acid oxidation,^[10] and the appetite control effects are often what get people most excited.

  The only question is, at what dose we see these effects at. Like green coffee bean extract / chlorogenic acid, this is a supportive ingredient we’re happy to see so long as we have other thermogenics like CaloriBurn, CapsiMax, and weight loss agents like forskolin alongside.

  Next, it’s time to amplify things:

• AstraGin (Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng) Root Extract – 25mg

  Made by NuLiv Science, Astragin is a popular blend of two plants, Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng, combining to give you a nutrient absorption booster. AstraGin upregulates mRNA and its key transporters, and these transporters carry glucose, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals throughout the body.^[33]

  

  AstraGin hits nutrient transportation from multiple angles!

  Studies have shown that AstraGin uses this mechanism to amplify the absorption of several ingredients, many of which are in The Pre Workout Thermo! For instance, AstraGin works on the following:

  

  AstraGin is a combination of Astragalus and Panax Notoginseng that’s been shown to increase ingredient absorption, especially of amino acids!

  • Increased the absorption of key amino acids leucine, arginine, and tryptophan by 58%, 66.7%, and 53%, respectively.
  • Enhanced uptake of amino acids commonly found in supplements, citrulline and beta-alanine, by 45% and 26%.
  • Increased creatine absorption by 33%.
  • Boosted vitamin and mineral absorption by 50%.
  • Increased glucosamine uptake by 23%.
  • Enhanced omega fatty-acid absorption by 37%.^[33]

  Bolded is the one that’s most important for our use in this pre workout. In addition, AstraGin may improve muscle growth and recovery by increasing leucine uptake, regulating insulin levels, and stimulating mTOR thanks to the properties in astragalosides and ginsenosides.^[34,35]

• BioPerine (Black Pepper Fruit Extract) – 2.5mg

  

  Bioperine is the trusted, trademarked form of black pepper extract that promises 95% or greater piperine, the part of black pepper with all the activity!

  One more pepper – but this time it’s not for thermogenesis, it’s for improved absorption! Excellently paired with AstraGin, BioPerineⓇ, is another patented absorption-enhancing agent in the form of piperine coming from black pepper extract. This ingredient can also seriously enhance nutrient uptake!

  Research found that piperine inhibits P-glycoprotein and CYP3A4 in humans,^[36] which are important enzymes that metabolize various drugs and nutrients. By limiting their effect, we get more of the active compounds into our bloodstream, where we can use them.

  We often see 5mg of BioPerine, but alongside AstraGin and the rest of the peppery ingredients, we’re pretty sure we have plenty of spice inside The Pre Workout Thermo!

A solid, heated lineup. We believe this is the first time we’ve seen both CaloriBurn and CapsiMax used together, and it should call for quite a heated workout – make sure you drink plenty of water with this one!

Available flavors

The list below will remain up-to-date, and features our coupon-based prices:

Myprotein and NNB Nutrition Come Together for a Solid Fat Burning Pre Workout

NNB Nutrition’s CaloriBurn has 12.5% 6-Paradol, but uses pure grains of paradise to keep all of the active constituents

We’ve been excited about CaloriBurn GP for well over a year now, promoting its superiority and the general benefits of grains of paradise. It’s a spice, no doubt, so there will be some burn in this pre workout.

The good news is that Myprotein’s done incredible with the flavoring game, with their original The Pre Workout having one of the best ever pre workout flavor systems in Black Cherry Vanilla. We’re hoping for similar here – only a bit spicier and a lot more thermogenic for those of you interested in heating things up and sweating.

Myprotein has a ton of supplements in Europe, and has brought many of them to the America shores at incredible deals!

Overall, we have a great fat burning pre workout combination that doesn’t break the bank. The last few products in this category that we’ve covered have been excellent, but they’re literally twice the price of this. That may work for you if you’re cash rich and enjoy 300mg caffeine and enough beta alanine to tingle your face off. In contrast, Myprotein’s The Preworkout Thermo is a bit easier on the stims, yet still brings plenty of pumps, endurance, and fat burning support for their audience.

With this first-time combination of CaloriBurn, CapsiMax, and forskolin, Myprotein’s put together a lively pre workout here — exactly what most dieters needs when the diet gets tough.