If you’ve ever felt tired before a workout, then you’ve probably thought about taking a pre-workout. I remember feeling super unmotivated after work one day and reaching for a sachet of the stuff en route to a boxing class, hoping that it’d give me a little extra zing. Fast forward an hour and I felt like I was on the verge of a heart attack; my heart raced, face sweated and I was punching like an erratic, hyperactive rat. Suffice to say, I drank too much pre-workout. Since then, I’ve swerved taking anything artificial before a session - instead plumping of a cup or two of coffee.

I’m not the only person who’s experienced this kind of side-effect; the pre-workout “itch” is pretty common, as is racing heart and insomnia. So why do so many of us continue to take pre-workout, how long does pre-workout last and how healthy can it really be?