My Controlled Labs White Flash Pre Workout Review
My Controlled Labs White Flash Pre Workout Review First Look
Okay, I have just turned thirty four, so with a weekend away and then weights to do I found that as ever, sometimes the main battle is not the weights, but your mental demos.
If you find it hard to focus or get motivated for the gym you could probably do with a little help.
I couldn’t use my gym yesterday, in fact I can barely use my house as the kitchen is in the middle of being renovated and I cannot use the heating at the moment, either.
So I headed over to my partners house, and she only has some 12lbs dumbbells.
That meant that I had to improvise a little, and use some body-weight exercises.
The problems was that I was tired, it had been a long weekend and I was not feeling too great after a previous evening of drinking and food.
So I needed something to help me through endless reps and push-ups in the living room.
The main issue is which pre workout supplement to have..?
There are many supplements on the market that just do not offer any benefit, and far fewer than do, these reviews are here to clarify what works and what doesn’t.
That way, you can make an informed choice.
Controlled Labs are offering a pre workout with a fairly large number of ingredients, and with a name like white flash all I can think of are when your vision goes white when lifting lots of weight.
Let’s see if it can have a strong effect.
What can a pre workout really do?
The use of a pre workout supplement is traditionally to provide a more explosive and focused workout when you hit the gym.
This is achieved by providing high levels of stimulants to fight fatigue as well as increase the blood flow to the muscles and organs.
They can also include other ingredients that are known to help increase cognitive function so you can effectively zero in on your goal and help smash it.
However, they are no commonly used by students looking to concentrate while stay up late as well as gamer’s and even machine operatives or long distance drivers.
The main key benefits are:
- Increase energy – Smash your workout with more intensity
- Motivation – Get straight out of bed for an early morning gym session
- Improved focus – Zero in on your weights program or even revise harder
- Alert – Stay alert and improve concentration
However, not all pre workout supplements are equal, and some are downright terrible or contain potentially dangerous ingredients in dangerous doses, or concealed doses.
We analyse each one with an in depth review.
Ingredients: The Science
Theobromine
Theobromine can reduce sleepiness and in large quantities produces a jittery sensation.
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/CIIEcompounds/transcripts/theobromine.asp
Green Tea
A well known to have many powerful health benefits. Clinical studies suggest that green tea extract may boost metabolism and help burn fat.
One study found that the combination of green tea and caffeine improved weight loss and maintenance in people who were overweight and moderately obese.
Some researchers think that substances in green tea known as catechins are responsible for the herb’s fat-burning effect.
It has been shown to help lose almost 5% body weight over a three month period.
Green tea extract is found in many a good fat burning supplement.
Not only that, but Green Tea has demonstrated its effects at suppressing cellulite.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11924761
Int J Cosmet Sci. 2006 Jun;28(3):175-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-2494.2006.00318.x
Hericium Erinaceus (Lions Mane)
This is effective in improving mild cognitive impairment.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18844328
L-Theanine
The studies say that Theanine is great for reducing stress, reducing anxiety as well as helping alleviating 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
Caffeine
This can assist with endurance, tested athletes saw an edge from caffeine in scientific studies. In some trials, the stimulant boosted athletes’ speed.
In others, it helped them last longer before they spent all their energy.
Caffeine also raises the metabolism which means you burn more calories.
Some studies show that it can curb soreness after exercise, too. This means you could get back to your training sooner and training means more calories burnt.
This is present in all 3 of our Top Fat Burners.
Caffeine Anhydrous is the purest form so always look for that.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16076
Vitamin B12
B12 is a vital ingredient that has show to have many benefits, not withstanding cognitive function.
B12 fights fatigue, muscle wastage, boosts mood, cognition and is vital to many bodily functions including metabolism and food digestion.
Studies have shown that those lacking in B12 scored lower in cognitive testing.
With further analysis demonstrating positive effects against cellulite.
B12 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
Int J Cosmet Sci. 2006 Jun;28(3):175-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-2494.2006.00318.x
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.
It also contributes to the reduction of fatigue and if you are not getting enough B6 you can suffer from cognitive decline as well as depression.
B6 also contributes to normal and healthy hormone levels.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/
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 and not exactly formidable.
However, with that said, a dose of 12,500mg 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/
Agmatine Sulfate
Agmatine is considered to be a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator which is all about the brain.
Agmatine injections are common, but not oral ingestion and there is still no concrete evidence that working memory is enhanced with agmatine supplementation.
https://examine.com/supplements/agmatine/
L-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).
https://examine.com/supplements/l-tyrosine/
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
You can read more about Citrulline and its benefits for exercise, here.
AstraGin
It is a 100% natural food ingredient that has shown in cell, animal, and human studies to support the absorption of many essential life supporting and health promoting nutrients, such as amino acids, glucose, and vitamins into human cells.
- Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus) – Supplementation can provide a variety of health benefits, but may not actually prolong lifespan. It has a low bioavailability, meaning it doesn’t circulate well through the body after being ingested.
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/astragalus
- Panax Notoginseng – An important herbal medicine for cardiovascular protection; nevertheless, it could also be used as an anti-hypertensive agent on the basis of clinical experience.
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/204840/
How To Take My Controlled Labs White Flash Pre Workout
We are instructed to take one scoops per day.
This would provide us with 2040.75mg .
That doesn’t compare very well to many of the best pre workout supplements which will offer over 15,000mg.
Price
$34.99
Pros
There are twelve ingredients included in this pre workout supplement from Controlled Labs which provides a bit of confidence.
This would suggest that the included plethora of ingredients can benefit us and get me from feeling sluggish and unmotivated to actually hitting the body weight workout in my girlfriends kitchen.
And by referencing the clinical studies, it seems we are on to a bit of a winner here with ten of the ingredients offering proof that they can benefit our physical performance.
So, with this in mind, let’s run through these ingredients to see exactly what the studies have unearthed.
Caffeine is a biggie. Lots of pre workout supplements contain Caffeine for its widely praised stimulant effects that can help energise and focus.
Theobromine has been able to show that it can help reduce sleepiness. Something I need right now.
Green Tea has many proven benefits, no less than weight loss and cellulite treatment. It can raise the metabolism and contains caffeine for energy and focus.
Hericium acts as a nootropic able to improve brain function.
Theanine is able to reduce stress, anxiety and alleviate insomnia so you can get some decent sleep to recover.
Vitamin B12 has many benefits which include fat burning but also providing energy. B12 has been proven to improve brain function and prevent muscle wastage.
Vitamin B6 has similar benefits to B12, B6 is also able to improve hormone balance, reduce fatigue and help reduce depression.
Citrulline is a fantastic ingredients which provides many benefits, no less increasing blood flow.
Yet, it is dose sensitive.
When dosed correctly Citrulline will increase physical performance, increase nitric oxide and promote growth hormone production during exercise.
However, we need to ensure there’s 6000mg per dose for the benefit.
Tyrosine has the ability to reduce stress, increase alertness and help you stay awake.
Panax Notoginseng has evidence supporting its use as a cardiovascular treatment to help reduce high blood pressure.
Cons
While Citrulline is a very beneficial nutrient to have for enhancing physical exercise, you need a minimum of 6,000mg.
This only offers 5,000mg, so while it is nearly there, it also is not there at all.
That means we will not really benefit from it.
That seems like a very big oversight by a brand that has done enough research include a large number of proven ingredients.
Then there is a couple of included ingredients that are not proven to be effective such as Agmatime and Betaine.
These two ingredients are quite common in similar supplements, however, this is usually due to the anecdotal analysis rather than science.
However, overall, as we have touched upon earlier, the dose is rather low.
What improvements could be made?
This does have a good number of proven and effective ingredients.
However, I would have preferred to have seen more stimulants or those that are able to increase physical performance.
A major issue is also the inadequate dose of Citrulline. It is barely worth having it included if the dose is not high enough, and the dose just isn’t high enough to be truly effective.
Plus, then, overall, the dose is quite low at barely scraping 3000mg while other pre workout supplements offer five times as much as this does.
Therefore, in essence, in terms of a pre workout supplement to increase physical performance it would have been beneficial if it included the ingredients below for more impact:
- Beet
- Coconut Water
- Carnitine
- Creatine
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Sodium
My Controlled Labs White Flash Pre Workout Review Conclusion
Overall, this is quite an impressive product.
There are, after all, ten ingredients that can benefit your mental and physical performance be it in the gym, on the field, track or even for long distance driving.
However, where it lets itself down is the low overall daily dose.
This is just not competitive compared to other pre workout supplements which is many cases offer five times the dose.
There are a couple of areas whereby it could improve by adding other, proven ingredients too in order to provide a better performance and also by losing a couple of ingredients that do not add any positive benefit.
Any final word for this review?
The dose on this is too low to be beneficial, a huge oversight by Controlled Labs. Clearly the research committed to the development of the product was not entirely thorough.
There is another product that will get you fired up and cause hell in your chosen sport.
