The world of nootropics is flooded with many products that contain proprietary blends. The products’ labels and marketing are centered around a claim frequently not scientifically supported. Along with false marketing, these blends are often underdosed, and the formulation teams seem to add numerous vitamins and other nonsensical compounds in small doses to confuse the general population. This brief paper aims to dispel many myths about products on the market, including an ingredient breakdown of a popular pre-workout supplement. 

An important concept to remember is that these products are not regulated by the FDA. They are also not required to have third-party testing. In theory, these companies can fill their products with anything and sell them for a price. Fortunately, there are third-party companies who purchase these products and test them themselves. One such company is Labdoor.

The blend consists of 2.5 grams of creatine. The efficacious dose supported by research is 5 grams, which puts this product at half its effectiveness for creatine consumption. The next ingredient is beta-alanine at 1.5 grams. Not only is this ingredient not extremely effective due to the required build-up period, but it also causes paresthesia or irritation on the skin. Even if the customer enjoys beta-alanine, it should be consumed at 3 grams daily, not 1.5 grams. The next ingredient is nitrosigine, or arginine silicate inositol, at 250 mg. The ingredient is a good choice for vasodilation. However, at 250 mg, this might as well be excluded. The optimal dose of arginine silicate inositol is between 1,000 mg and 1,500 mg. The next ingredient is L-citrulline: L-aspartic acid at a 1:1 ratio and a total of 250 mg. Another extremely poor dose. L-citrulline is effective at 5-10 grams, which is more than a whole serving of this pre-workout. This is a very poor choice. 

The next section is labeled “intensity matrix”. The first ingredient is chole bitartrate at 250 mg. While choline is crucial for cognition and muscle-mind connection, this is a poor form of choline. A better choice would have been alpha-GPC at a similar dose or double the dose. The next ingredient is L-theanine at 26 mg. Again, another ingredient at such a small and ineffective dose should be excluded. L-theanine is an amazing molecule. However, it is more commonly used at 100-250 mg. The next ingredient, N-acetyl L-tyrosine, follows the same pattern. At 26 mg, this ingredient is worthless. Instead, a dose of 350 mg would have been much better for dopamine production. The last ingredient in this matrix is GABA, at a whopping 13 mg. This is such a small dose of GABA, that the manufacturer most likely pays more money to include this in the product than the profitability of including it on the label. The entire purpose of this “intensity matrix” was to trick the consumer into thinking that if the pre-workout has a lot of ingredients, then it is good. In truth, this blend is terrible, extremely suboptimal, and completely ineffective. 

The last blend is titled the “energy matrix." The first ingredient, as expected, is caffeine anhydrous at 169 mg. This ingredient is properly dosed and no problems arise here. The next ingredient is dicaffeine malate, which is oftentimes referred to as slow-release caffeine. The rationale for this ingredient is to prevent the crash from caffeine. However, since 169 mg of caffeine anhydrous is present, a caffeine crash is still likely. If the product was aimed at properly providing sustained energy, a lower dose of caffeine anhydrous and a higher dose of dicaffeine would have sufficed, along with a much higher dose of L-theanine. The last ingredient is Theacrine at 16 mg. Yet another severely underdosed ingredient. The effective dose of theacrine ranges from 100 to 300 mg.

In conclusion, this product is a 2/10. This is due to extremely underdosed ingredients. While the choice of ingredients is not terrible, the doses are ineffective. A better pre-workout would be any energy drink at a supermarket, because at least then there is sufficient caffeine to throttle the workout. This is yet another product that tries to trick the market by filling “empty” ingredients. Even with a terrible product, it is one of the highest-rated supplements. This goes to show how little consumers analyze their pre-workout formulas. Fortunately,  with a little research and time, anyone can gain the skills to evaluate the efficacy of a product.