Why Does My Pre-Workout Clump?

Anyone who's been taking supplements for some time has probably at one time or another run across a clumpy pre-workout. When pre-workouts become clumpy many users become concerned and wonder if it's still safe to use, and if it will still be effective.

One of the most common calls our customer service team fields is calls asking about clumpy pre-workouts, as well as other powdered supplements. For that reason I wanted to take a moment to put together a guide about clumpy pre-workouts and other supplement powders.

In this post we'll be discussing...

1. What Causes Pre-Workouts to Clump?
2. How to Prevent Pre-Workouts & Powdered Supplements from Clumping
3. Are Clumpy Pre-Workouts and Supplement Powders Still Safe to Take & Effective?

Pre-Workouts and other supplements which come in powdered form have a tendency to clump up. Pre-Workouts made with Natural Ingredients tend to have even more of a tendency to clump up than pre-workouts made with chemicals and artificial sweeteners.

The reason pre-workout supplements clump is because they contain ingredients which attract water molecules at room temperature, this is referred to as hygrosopic ingredients. Pretty much any pre-workout or powdered supplement will eventually turn clumpy and hard if left unused for extended periods of time, so even more reason not to slack on going to the gym.

Below we're going to share with you a few tips for not only how to prevent your pre-workouts from getting clumpy, but also what to do with them if they've already turned.

You ever notice how when you buy clothes, shoes, beef jerky, or other foods they often have these little silica packets in them as you see above. When pre-workout powders, or really any powder or hygroscopic ingredients are at room temperature they begin to attract moisture from the air. Short of moving to the Arizona desert there's not much you can do to prevent this.

That said if you leave the silica packets buried in your pre-workout powder it will attract moisture preventing your pre-workout from turning clumpy. Kind of the same concept as putting a piece of bread into a tin of fresh baked cookies, the bread attracts the moisture.

Many people upon opening a pre-workout take the silica packet out and throw it in the garbage as they find it gets in the way of scooping out their pre-workout powder. Don't do this, keep the silica buried in your pre-workout.

Unlike protein powders which most of us take everyday, many of us only take pre-workouts on days we "need" them or days we need a bit of extra energy. Most of us also try to take pre-workouts 8 weeks on and 8 weeks off so we don't build up a tolerance to the pre-workout. Because of this pre-workouts aren't used as frequently as something like protein powders, and other supplements.

Because pre-workouts tend to sit unused for periods of time they are more likely to absorb moisture, and begin to turn clumpy. Because of this it's important to occasionally shake or agitate your pre-workout container.

While you may feel like a character from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, stabbing at your pre-workout can actually be very effective in breaking up the chunks and hardness. A butter knife is probably safer to do this with than a sharp knife. It's pretty self explainatory but use your butter knife like an ice pick and breakup the chunks in your pre-workout. This is a great option if you don't own a blender or food procesor, which is actually the next tip we have.

You're a fitness buff and you're into health and wellness, I'm guessing you have a Blender, NutraNinja, or NutraBullet lying around. This is probably the most effective way to deal with a chunky pre-workout. Simply stick your clumpy pre-workout into a blender, and blend until it's turned back into a powder.

Many people wonder why their pre-workout go hard and worry about the safety of taking a clumpy pre-workout, and we get it, who wants to take something that looks like your kitties cat litter box. That said chunky or clumpy pre-workouts are completely safe to consume.

As mentioned previously in this article, pre-workouts and any powdered supplements can absorb moisture from teh air, but this does not affect the safety or effectiveness of the formula. The only potential problem is if you're unable to breakup the chunks, it could be hard to get an accurate dose which could lead to taking too much pre-workout and feeling jittery. If you follow the tips above and breakup the chunks, your pre-workout is completely safe to take.

So in this article we covered why pre-workouts turn clumpy. What you can do to prevent it from happening. And, how to fix your clumpy or chunky pre-workout if it's already become that way. We also covered whether it's safe to continue to take a clumpy pre-workout.

Check out this blog to help figure out if your pre-workout has gone bad, or if it's just clumpy.

If you'd like to checkout our entire line of pre-workout supplements you can do so below.