C4Performance Energy Drink

Overview

C4 comes from the brand behind one of the best-known pre-workout powders, and its Performance Energy can is built for training. Cellucor's current label for Frozen Bombsicle shows a 16 oz can with 200 mg of caffeine, 5 calories, 0 g of sugar and carbs, 55 mg of sodium, 85 mg of potassium and 250% of the Daily Value for vitamin B12. The performance ingredients are CarnoSyn beta-alanine and BetaPower betaine, and it's sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame potassium with no artificial colors. Cellucor also lists the drink as NSF Certified for Sport.

On paper, it's the most workout-specific formula here. One caution: the redesigned can moved to 200 mg of caffeine, but older 150 mg cans with different ingredients are still around, so check the can you receive.

What reviewers say

Energy drink reviewer CaffeineMan praised the Jolly Rancher collaboration for tasting remarkably like the candy, while warning that the beta-alanine brings the familiar tingles. BestPriceNutrition's John and Jeff liked Mango Fuego more than Cereal Killer and called C4 a solid daily energy drink with 200 mg of caffeine and zero sugar. Eric Partridge's blind ranking of the regular flavors found them solid but less exciting than specialty and collab flavors. On TikTok, a firefighter creator calls it his go-to zero-sugar energy drink.

Who it's for

Lifters who want a grab-and-go pre-workout, drug-tested athletes who need NSF certification, and people who enjoy the beta-alanine buzz. If tingles bother you, choose Celsius or Ghost.

Bottom line

The best pre-workout replacement in a can, with a certification serious athletes can rely on.