CytoSport Products Monster Initiate Pre Workout Review
CytoSport Products Monster Initiate Pre Workout Review First Look:
I’ve recently been training my legs more since getting the weights and Powertec Iso lateral lever gym in my living room/lounge. It takes up a bit of space but fuck it, I live by myself so can do what I like I guess. That also includes storing wet and dirty bikes in my kitchen too.
However, my legs are aching quite a bit continuously at the moment due to the cycling that I am doing everyday to work. It will subside I know this but at the moment with the aching it is very easy to just skip the weights for a session, the next thing you know you have skipped all of the weights, all of the sessions and you are a fat cunt crying into a KFC mega cunt bucket.
This will literally happen if you skip the weights.
So, with this in mind I decided to apply to the Army Reserves (a bit random, I appreciate that) and once the online application had been completed I necked a sachet of this Monster Initiate pre workout from CytoSport Products.
It tasted nice, that i cannot complain about, it was a bit lumpy like breast milk but that’s another fetish for another time.
Either way, fetishes aside, the packet is bold if not basic but it does draw you in slightly, so much so, of all the sachets I have to review I decided to review this one.
Ingredients:
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/
Calcium – Results show that training results in increased testosterone levels in athletes and that the increase is greater if accompanied by calcium supplementation.
However, calcium supplements are also known to increase artery plaque which in the long term can cause cardiovascular problems.
Read more about that, here.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19099204
Salt (sodium) – An essential mineral; its consumption is critical to our health. However, Americans plus a lot of Western countries 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/
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
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
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
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
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/
Leucine – Leucine is an activator of the protein known as mTOR, which then induces muscle protein synthesis.
https://examine.com/supplements/leucine/
Glucuronolactone – This is found in many energy drinks yet there’s a scarce amount of studies and information that has been carried out to prove it is effective.
https://examine.com/supplements/glucuronolactone/
Dose:
One sachet and serving is 20000mg.
This is more than most pre workout supplements available.
It was blue raspberry flavor which I found very icet but it didn’t seem to mix that well in my shaker. As a result I was left with a bit of a gritty residue.
Video Review:
Effects & Benefits:
Citrulline helps blood flow however, to enhance performance from Citrulline a massive dose of 6000-8000mg is required. There’s only 4000mg included in this.
We need salt for our bodies to function properly and we lose salt when we sweat a lot during sport. However, a Western diet tends to be laden with much more salt than we require.
Potassium helps keep your muscles working properly and can help prevent cramp.
Then we have ingredients such Calcium, Vitamin C, B6 and B12 which are able to preserve and help raise testosterone levels as well as produce and provide more energy as well as raise the metabolism.
Betaine is able to increase power output which is ideal for lifting weights but only in much higher doses than we have here.
Leucine also induces muscle protein synthesis This basically means it helps construct muscle and repair.
READ: Read about our favorite pre workout that turned me in to a beast on the rugby pitch
How did it feel?
I felt no other benefit other than the Caffeine which dosed at 150mg is a fair amount to have at 11pm.
Then again, I didn’t cramp up so the Potassium could have helped but I usually only cramp after 60 minutes of playing rugby.
Negatives:
The Citrulline is not dosed enough to increase performance. It is at least 3000mg short of the required amount.
This is repeated with Betaine which requires a huge 12500mg to be effective in power output and we only get 2000mg with this.
Taurine looks to be bullshit with very little supporting evidence to back up its claims of improved attention.
Beta-Alanine offers little more other than a tingling sensation and I didn’t even experience that with this so realistically there could be less included in the sachet than stipulated on the packet. This means my confidence is lost in the rest of the supplement…
Glucuronolactone is a very popular ingredient and is found in many energy drinks but the evidence just isn’t available to prove its worth.
We can very easily consume more salt than is healthy with just our diets alone, this may not offer any benefit unless you know exactly the amount of salt you consume daily.
Too much supplementation of Calcium can cause artery plaque that over a long period of time can cause cardiovascular problems.
CytoSport Products Monster Initiate Pre Workout Review Conclusion:
The most I felt from this was the Caffeine but I felt no other benefit and I didn’t even feel the Beta Alanine which I found to be odd, this is usually the first hint that I am taking a pre workout for those that include it, not that it really offers any benefit anyway.
So what do we have here, in summary?
A fair amount of ingredients that are under dosed to be effective basically.
A couple of popular ingredients that are not proven to work or offer any benefit.
A further couple of ingredients that may be harmful if supplemented regularly and in high doses.
And again, I felt very little. No surge of energy, no surge of aggression and no surge of power.
Take a look at the best rated pre workouts, here.
Score:
0/5
