DSC Nutrition TOP FUEL Pre Workout Review
DSC Nutrition TOP FUEL Pre Workout Review First Look:
It isn’t often that I get to do weightlifting on a Friday evening but I managed to leave work on time and there was barely any traffic, I put the foot down and managed to get home about 40 minutes earlier than usual.
This has given me plenty more time to get the things done that I needed to and seeing as the rugby season has finished for a few months this gives me ample opportunity to get in the gym prior to the weekend.
However, Fridays are always difficult once you get over 30.
Far from having the energy of smashing it up in town on the booze or even heading out for dinner with wine, nope these events now end up with me coming home early and straight to bed for about 12 hours.
So while it is great I am home earlier than usual on a Friday night I am still tired, unbelievably tired even.
Most recently as well I have not been able to park where I normally do, this has increased the walk from the lot to the office by an additional 10 minutes. That around a 2 mile walk before I even get in to the office or back to my car in the evening…all of these little additions catch up with you.
If I had children I would probably foster them out…
Alas, no kids, no energy but a free Friday evening.
So what can I use to get me in to the gym before I fall asleep on on the toilet?
Here is a pre workout from a UKbased company, it comes in no nonsense packaging and a double dose of lemon rush flavor Top Fuel.
Ingredients:
Branch Chain Amino Acids – BCAAs (typically a combination of L-Leucine, L-IsoLeucine and L-Valine) play a critical role in muscle development because they are metabolized in the muscle rather than the liver.
Because BCAAs are metabolized in the muscle, they can be used for building new proteins or for energy.
However, Supplementation is not necessary if you eat eggs and meat regularly.
https://examine.com/supplements/branched-chain-amino-acids/
Potassium – Potassium levels change with sodium levels to keep muscles working properly throughout your body, especially your heart.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/potassium-directory
Salt (sodium) – An essential mineral; its consumption is critical to our health. However, Americans do consume double the recommended daily intake.
Excess sodium may not raise blood pressure, but it is associated with other health issues, such as kidney damage and an increased risk of cognitive decline.
https://examine.com/nutrition/awful-nutrition-myths/
Paullinia Cupana (AKA Guarana) – Studies note that 75mg guarana (9mg caffeine) was able to enhance cognitive scores related to memory and reaction time with a subsequent dose-response study noting that 75mg was more effective than higher (150-300mg) and lower (37.5mg) doses.
https://examine.com/supplements/paullinia-cupana/
Cacao – Cocoa helps in weight loss by improving mitochondrial biogenesis. It increases muscle glucose uptake by inserting glucose transporter 4 in skeletal muscles membrane.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24100674
Green Tea – 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. Green tea extract is found in many a good fat burning supplement.
http://news.psu.edu/story/310179/2014/04/02/research/research-suggests-green-tea-exercise-boost-weight-loss-health
Beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) – HMB is a metabolite of the essential amino acid leucine, is one of the latest dietary supplements promoted to enhance gains in strength and lean body mass associated with resistance training.
Test results suggest that an HMB-FA supplement can enhance adaptations in strength, power, and hypertrophy following a 12-week, periodized resistance training program when supplemented with 3000mg daily.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10966150
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-9-S1-P5
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
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
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 been small and not entirely conclusive.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1222-beta-alanine.aspx?activeingredientid=1222&activeingredientname=beta-alanine
Beta Alanine does give many users that tingly/itchy feeling. Some love it, others hate it.
I think it is best described at Chillblains – i.e when you go in to a warm room after your hands have been exposed to the cold and they start to feel itchy.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3491570/
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. This is found in Instant Knockout.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9619120
Creatine – A well regarded supplement overall!
Supplementation increases creatine storage and promotes a faster regeneration of adenosine triphosphate between high intensity exercises.
These improved outcomes will increase performance and promote greater training adaptations.
http://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-9-33
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/creatine.html
Dose:
1 sachet with water is 34000mg.
That is a double dose by the way.
It should only be 17000mg but fuck knows why they put 2 servings in a sachet, it’s not exactly easy trying to measure this shit out.
So I am doubling up….mutha fucka. (I hope I don’t die).
If I don’t die from the double dose, I may die from the taste. It is fucking horrible.
It is Lemon Rush flavor but it is disgusting. I don’t often have to hold my nose and throw the liquid back but I would rather drink horse diarrhea than this.
Effects:
There’s 12 ingredients present which is a nice number, plenty of opportunity to keep the user invigorated, motivated and energized to have the gym session of their life!
However, I feel a trick has been missed here…
So there’s a healthy dose of Caffeine present which always helps and it is almost always present in pre workouts unless they’re stimulant free.
Creatine is dosed much larger in this than most pre workouts seen before, this is useful if you are a regular user as it can help with strength and muscular size.
Beta-Alanine was felt, although the actually benefits of this are not exactly confirmed. It is one of those ingredients that makes you feel like something is going on, but nothing really is.
Potassium is a great addition especially when you are playing an intense sport, I always take it before rugby to prevent cramping in my calves.
Sodium again is great when you are sweating as it replaces the lost salts required for bodily function.
The benefits of Guarana appear to be optimal at 75mg per day. This has 50mg. When adequately dosed it helps cognitive function.
Cacao and Green Tea are best used as a fat burner, but are effective as fat burner ingredients.
HMB is not entirely conclusive but testing suggests that strneght can be increased when 3000mg per day for 3 months is ingested, it is a shame we only get 1000mg in this per serving.
So how did it feel?
As terrible as the taste.
It tastes vile, really bad. I could barely stomach it and I felt really bloated which is probably down to the high Creatine content.
Considering I had 600mg of Caffeine I can’t really tell.
I did not feel anymore willing or able to hit the gym any harder than normal and the whole session felt like a chore.
It all felt like a lot of hard work and I didn’t feel explosive nor particularly powerful.
Let’s be honest, a pre workout is all about feeling explosive, powerful and like a deranged mutant for 60 minutes.
It was difficult to keep my eyes open and I was finding it hard to find the motivation to carry on, in fact I skipped an exercise too.
Check out my thoughts in the video below.
READ: Read about our favorite pre workout that turned me in to a beast on the rugby pitch
Video:
Negatives:
I just didn’t feel any benefits. It’s all about the feel, and I didn’t feel like being in the gym after taking it, that to me speaks volumes.
It begs the question regarding quality control and whether their products are batch tested.
I felt lethargic, un-enthused and weak.
Even though some of the ingredients do stack up, it is missing many that are found in the best pre workouts.
And there’s also ingredients found in this that are not particularly helpful in this application.
Guarana and Green Tea should be left with the fat burners.
BCAA’s are usually found with post workout recovery drinks and Taurine with Beta-Alanine aren’t exactly conclusive in their results.
DSC Nutrition TOP FUEL Pre Workout Review Conclusion:
Okay, so this didn’t really have the desired effect.
Even when double dosed to a whopping 34000mg.
I had 600mg and didn’t feel a thing, I did feel like throwing up though because of the vile taste.
So while it has 12 ingredients, not too many of them are beneficial when it comes to providing an explosive workout.
There’s nothing for Nitric Oxide, not a great deal for energy such as b vitamins or L-carntine either.
Yet we are dosed fat burner ingredients…something has gone wrong here.
The ingredients should be re-evaluated and improvements made.
As is, I wouldn’t bother touching it, there’s too many alternative pre workouts which are effective.
Score:
0/5
