Platinum Labs AWAKEN Pre Workout Review
Platinum Labs AWAKEN Pre Workout Review First Look:
With a bank holiday weekend over, I needed nothing more than to hit the weights.
I was a little hungover, a little jaded and had been in the yard constructing a bike shed to get all the crap out of my house and locked away.
However, if I hadn’t had hit the gym yesterday this week would be tricky and I may only get 1 more opportunity to work out so I needed to make the time.
Plus, tonight I am off to watch Terminator 2 in 3D so was desperate to feel jacked.
To be honest, I am never a fan of exercise the day after a boozy night, I find that my performance is severely diminished and it almost seems counter productive.
In that case, a little extra help can, well, help.
I decided to look through my sachets of pre workout and pick 1 out that looked appealing.
The name ‘AWAKEN’ grabbed me as I was pretty tired after wrestling with sheets of steel and a drill.
So, I devoured a bit of quick food, ordered a bathroom suite online (as you do when hungover) then empty the contents in to a shaker and mixed with water.
I didn’t read what flavor it was so found a raspberry vanilla style cocktail flavor a bit of a surprise but it wasn’t unpleasant.
Ingredients:
Vitamin B6 – Vitamin B6 helps testosterone levels by stimulating androgen (a steroid hormone that acts as a precursor for testosterone) receptors in your body, making your testes produce testosterone.
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/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6727359
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
Caffeine Anhydrous – The purest form of caffeine available. 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.
This is found in Instant Knockout which is the best fat burner available at present.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-979-caffeine.aspx?activeingredientid=979
L-Theanine – Beneficial for stress reduction, decreasing generalized anxiety, and reducing the severity of insomnia.
If caffeine is present too, IQ scores have known to increase – so grap a cup of coffee, quick.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17182482
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
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/
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
Theobromine – Theobromine can reduce sleepiness and in large quantities produces a jittery sensation.
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/CIIEcompounds/transcripts/theobromine.asp
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/
Synephrine – This increases fat oxidation rate whilst reducing carbohydrate oxidation rate during low to moderate exercise.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27038225
Higenamine – Data shows an increase in energy expenditure and kilocalorie expenditure. It also results in a moderate increase in heart rate and systolic blood pressure similar to caffeine.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24139127
Dose:
The sachet was raspberry vanilla swirl. It tasted okay, I do find cocktail flavors a bit odd but it was fine..
The sachet was 56053.04mg does not compare well at all to most of the best pre workout supplements we have tried.
Video:
Effects & Benefits:
There’s 8 beneficial ingredients present.
These range from the B vitamins which help your body provide energy.
The Higenamine and Caffeine to stimulate your central nervous system, then Theobromine, Tyrosine and Theanine which can reduce sleepiness.
Plus, as with the B6, Synephrine can help burn fat.
READ: Read about our favorite pre workout that turned me in to a beast on the rugby pitch
How did it feel?
I thought it felt quite effective at getting me ready and focused for a session in the gym.
I seemed to make light work of any of the weights I lifted and I felt good at the end of my workout.
This is much better than many of the other pre workout supplements I have tried.
Negatives:
It could be higher dosed, many pre workout supplements come in doses of 15000mg or even more.
Hordenine, Beta-Alanine and Taurine do not have conclusive evidence to prove they are effective or offer any benefit.
The Beta-Alanine at best offers a feeling on pins and needles or a tingly sensation which acts almost as a placebo making you think energy and aggression is coursing through your veins.
Platinum Labs AWAKEN Pre Workout Review Conclusion:
I like the way this felt, immediately this felt better than so many of the other pre workout supplements I have tried which offer so very little.
This made me want to get in the gym and lift the weights with some good focus and energy.
It is a little low dosed compared to some other products and there’s a few ingredients that would be better omitted and replaced by something like coconut water powder (I sweat like a bastard), Carntine and Citrulline as found in 4GAUGE which really impressed me when playing rugby.
However, overall it performed rather well.
Score:
3/5
