REPP Sports REACTR Pre Workout Review
REPP Sports REACTR Pre Workout Review First Look:
Like many other adults, I have limited time during the day due to work commitments plus other stuff.
However, I still want to hit the gym with vigor and with purpose, otherwise, what’s the point?!
I want to make steady and sustainable progress in the gym that will last me a lifetime if possible whereby the end result is that I will still be an active weightlifter well in to my senior years.
However, sometimes, when you return home from work or if you have been looking after children until the late hours the last thing you want to do is jump in the car and drive to the gym for the twilight hours.
Yet, this is the only choice for may and I find it hard enough to crawl in to my basement to hit the weights let alone drive for 15 minutes at 10pm.
So what is required is a pre workout which can energize, get you focused and provide the extra power and aggression to rip the gym up and hit a new PB.
Unfortunately, what so often sees to be the case is that many pre workout supplements are really lacking these basic checks and balances.
So many do not seem to offer much in the way of benefit at all and leave me feeling disappointed and disillusioned.
Hence why I am always on the lookout for a new contender. So far I have managed to unearth the best 3 pre workouts which I have listed, here.
I am hoping this number from REPP Sports can at least topple one of them as I am about to hit some deadlifts this evening before a guy comes round to hopefully buy a bike from me.
So, with this in mind I have slugged the Rainbow Burst flavored mixture as quick as possible and hoping for gainz!
Although I have to bare in mind how crap the testosterone booster from REPP Sports is…
Ingredients: The Science
L-Citrulline
This is used as a sports performance and cardiovascular health supplement. L-Citrulline supplementation results in reduced fatigue and improved endurance for both aerobic and anaerobic prolonged exercise.
An increase in growth hormone has been noted with exercise, but not at rest.
L-citrulline boosts nitric oxide production in the body. Nitric oxide helps your arteries relax and work better, which improves blood flow throughout your body.
Supplementing can help lower blood pressure in people with pre-hypertension.
This is often found in the best pre workouts.
To supplement L-citrulline to enhance sports performance, take 6,000 – 8,000 mg of citrulline malate about an hour before exercise.
https://examine.com/supplements/citrulline/
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/l-citrulline-uses-and-risks#1
Taurine
It has been touted that Taurine can help mental performance.
Early clinical research suggested that taurine, in combination with caffeine, glucuronolactone, and B vitamins, can improve attention and reasoning in adolescents, but does not improve memory.
However, there is insufficient evidence to prove this is always the case.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1024-taurine.aspx?activeingredientid=1024
Vitamin B6
Using it in its most natural form, pyridoxine, B6 is an essential nutrient to raising the body’s metabolism and aiding the fat burning process.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/
Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)
Gives you more energy and boost your metabolism, helping you shed unwanted pounds. Ensure you are not deficient in Vitamin B12 so you can do that quick 10 miler at 5am…
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/vitamin-b12-cobalamin
Beta-alanine
Supplementation of this non essential amino acid aids the production of carnosine.
That’s a compound that plays a role in muscle endurance in high-intensity exercise.
That said, studies have not exactly been positive nor entirely conclusive.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1222-beta-alanine.aspx?activeingredientid=1222&activeingredientname=beta-alanine
Caffeine
It stimulates the central nervous system (CNS), heart, muscles, and the centers that control blood pressure to give you an extra boost and hit that PB.
Caffeine Anhydrous is the purest form of caffeine so always look out for it.
This is found in 4 Gauge which is the best pre-workout.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-979-caffeine.aspx?activeingredientid=979
Betaine (trimethylglycine)
This has been recommended as a compound that will increase athletic performance.
However, results from studies have been quite unreliable thus far of Betaine.
A dose of 12500mg has been linked to increased power output, very minimal increase of workout volume and slight endurance. Then again studies have showed no increase of any of the aforementioned parameters.
https://examine.com/supplements/trimethylglycine/
Tyrosine
Tyrosine is taken for depression, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the inability to stay awake (narcolepsy), and improving alertness following sleep deprivation.
It is also used for stress, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS).
Acetyl Tyrosine is a more soluble form of tyrosine.
https://examine.com/supplements/l-tyrosine/
Bitter Orange (Citrus Aurantium)
At present, Citrus aurantium may be the best thermogenic substitute for ephedra. However, more studies are needed to establish this definitively.
Bitter orange is possibly unsafe when taken as a supplement for a medical purpose such as weight loss.
Bitter orange, particularly when taken with stimulants such as caffeine or caffeine-containing herbs, increases the risk for high blood pressure, fainting, heart attack, stroke, and other severe side effects.
There are reports that bitter orange can trigger headaches, including migraine and cluster headaches, in some people.
Bitter orange can cause sensitivity to the sun. Wear sunblock outside, especially if you are light-skinned.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12939122
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/grp/2011/382852/
Hordenine
Technically Hordenine can be used as a stimulant and fat burner due to its associated with tyramine and noradrenaline, but not enough evidence exists currently to support its usage as nutritional supplementation.
https://examine.com/supplements/hordenine/
L-Dopa (Macuna Pruriens)
This is actually good for treating people with Parkinsons. There’s a mixed bag of results for testosterone but look mainly positive.
Results have shown an increase in testosterone levels in infertile men, however, results are very limited for fertile men.
It is effective to reduce cortisol levels – high stress levels can harm testosterone production.
https://examine.com/supplements/mucuna-pruriens/
Choline BiTartrate
Choline is mostly used for either its cognitive boosting properties or as a liver health agent, able to reduce fatty liver buildup.
It may also be a stimulant although this is based on anecdote. Requires around 250-500mg per day for cognitive benefits.
Choline does not offer any significant benefits for aerobic capacity, fatigue or training capacity.
https://examine.com/supplements/choline/
Yohimbe
Related to Yohimbine, Yohimbe is a powerful stimulant and used to increase fat loss as well as assist with erectile dysfunction. Can cause a host of other problems though, this is in out supplements to avoid list.
https://examine.com/supplements/yohimbine/
BioPerine
The extract of piperine, called BioPerine® in the patented form, has been clinically tested in the United States.
BioPerine® significantly enhances the bioavailability of various supplement nutrients through increased absorption.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9619120
2-AMINOISOHEPTANE DMHA Octodrine
This seems to be the industry’s reaction to the widespread banning of DMAA. However, due to its fairly recent emergence on the supplement scene there is very little in terms of human studies or effects.
It is a stimulant which was briefly studies in the 1950’s but seemed them seemed to disappear.
However, in 2015 it re-emerged as a possible therapy for Candida albicans which is a fungal inflection.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4462072/
Vitamin C
Its antioxidant properties mean vitamin C provides neuroprotective effects and benefits for blood flow. By protecting the testes from oxidative stress, vitamin C can also preserve testosterone levels.
https://examine.com/supplements/vitamin-c/
Dose:
The sachet was rainbow burst flavor. I have no idea what rainbow’s taste like so I have nothing to compare it against.
However, I must say that it was very tasty. I really enjoyed it.
The sachet was 9000mg which isn’t massive compared to some of the best pre workout supplements we have tried.
Video:
Pros:
Salt is required because we lose this vital mineral through perspiration, however, a typical Western diet is laden with lots of salt already.
Citrulline requires 6000mg to be effective at reducing fatigue, increasing endurance and producing more nitric oxide.
Therefore, if dosed correctly, this is a great addition to have.
The B vitamins help the body produce energy, they can also increase your metabolism helping you burn more calories if you are looking to lose weight.
Caffeine is a great and widely popular stimulant that is able to energize, keep us awake, focus and raise the metabolism.
Tyrosine can also help curb sleepiness so you can pick yourself up from the sofa and srive to the gym.
L-Dopa can reduce stress levels which can inhibit testosterone production.
Choline Bitartrate when dosed correctly can help with cognitive function which is never a bad thing, who doesn’t want a bit of a brain boost?
READ: Read about our favorite pre workout that turned me in to a beast on the rugby pitch
How did it feel?
This did feel good.
I felt strong, I felt energized and focused. I felt like I could lift the weight staring straight at me and I did.
I really liked the taste of rainbow burst and from now on I will try to lick a rainbow if I see one.
Cons:
Part of this pre workout supplement consists of a proprietary blend.
Taurine is not proven to help when taken orally.
Too much salt isn’t healthy, and, Western diets are laden with salt so you probably get enough in your diet.
Citrulline and Choline BiTartrate are dose sensitive, and they are all hidden within a proprietary blend which means we have no idea if we are being dosed an adequate amount.
Plus for Citrulline to be effective we need 6000mg and the blend it is within only consists of 6000mg
Beta-Alanine isn’t proven to offer any other benefit that make you feel the tingle sensation, I could just tickle my perineum to get that sensation or cat my cat to lick it.
While Betaine has been linked to increased power output it needs to be around 12500mg and this whole sachet is only 9000mg.
L-Dopa can reduce stress which helps testosterone levels but only seems to increase testosterone production if you are one of the globally 12% infertile men.
Hordenine isn’t proven to be effective.
DMHA appears to have very little research and evidence of it being beneficial unless of course you have a fungal infection.
Now, the biggest problem is with Citrus Aurantium and Yohimbe. Both are strong stimulants which I could feel, however, they can both cause a number of health issues, no less cardiovascular problems which can lead to death in extreme circumstances.
REPP Sports REACTR Pre Workout Review Conclusion:
This is a good pre workout supplement.
I felt good using it and my lifts were strong, this provides the experience so many other so called pre workout supplements miss by a mile.
However, it uses some dangerous ingredients as well as ingredients not proven to work. Or, wrose still they include ingredients that are under-dosed to be effective, this renders them useless. A bit of simple research could have avoided that.
It also employs the use of a secretive proprietary blend, this makes me lose further confidence.
So while it is good, there are other pre workout supplements which are just as effective yet omit the dangerous and ineffective ingredients.
Instead they include a number of proven and safe ingredients that will not potentially cause any harm.
What I cannot quite understand is why Repp Sports could not have replicated a similar formula meaning we can all benefit and use the supplement without any worries or potential health concerns.
