Is Ladder Pre-Workout underdosed?

• Sodium (Sodium Chloride)Per scoop 75 mgStudies Not setNot gradedEvidence: Not graded

  Not graded: a vitamin or mineral. We grade a pre-workout’s ingredients against exercise studies; vitamins and minerals are graded only on their own supplement pages.

• Potassium (Potassium Citrate)Per scoop 35 mgStudies Not setNot gradedEvidence: Not graded

  Not graded: a vitamin or mineral. We grade a pre-workout’s ingredients against exercise studies; vitamins and minerals are graded only on their own supplement pages.

• L-CitrullinePer scoop 6 gStudies 4–5.33 gEffective doseEvidence: Weak

  Contains 6 g; studies use 4–5.33 g.

• Creatine MonohydratePer scoop 5 gStudies 3–5 g/dayEffective doseEvidence: Strong

  Contains 5 g; studies use 3–5 g/day.

• Beta-AlanineLabel: Beta AlaninePer scoop 1.6 gStudies 3.2–6.4 g/dayBelow research doseEvidence: Strong

  Contains 1.6 g; studies use 3.2–6.4 g/day. Beta-Alanine works through daily use over weeks; a lower amount still builds up, just more slowly.

• L-TheaninePer scoop 200 mgStudies 100–200 mgEffective doseEvidence: Weak

  Contains 200 mg; studies use 100–200 mg.

• CaffeineLabel: Caffeine (Coffee Bean Extract, Green Tea Leaf Extract)Per scoop 200 mgStudies 3–6 mg/kgBelow research doseEvidence: Strong

  Contains 200 mg (2.7 mg/kg at 75 kg); studies use 3–6 mg/kg.

Use “Check it for your dose” to see this table for your own scoops and bodyweight. Only caffeine is dosed per kilogram in the studies we cite; the other research doses are fixed amounts, so your weight doesn't change them.

How many scoops would it take?

To reach the low end of the research dose for each underdosed ingredient.

Taking more doesn't fix this product. Reaching those doses means more than 400 mg of caffeine from the scoops alone, above the FDA's 400 mg daily reference for most adults, before any coffee.

Where the reference doses come from

1. Beta-Alanine, 3.2–6.4 g/day: Harris et al., 2006Hobson et al., 2012Trexler et al., 2015.
2. Caffeine, 3–6 mg/kg: Guest et al., 2021.
3. Creatine Monohydrate, 3–5 g/day: Kreider et al., 2017.
4. L-Citrulline, 4–5.33 g: Gough et al., 2021Vårvik et al., 2021.
5. L-Theanine, 100–200 mg: Owen et al., 2008Payne et al., 2025.
6. Daily caffeine reference, 400 mg: US FDA, Spilling the Beans.
7. Label data: National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Dietary Supplement Label Database, 2026. https://dsld.od.nih.gov/. Label 296436.

Methodology 1.11. Read the full methodology or the corrections log.