MyProtein Pulse Gel Pre Workout Review

Ben BA(Hons), PGCert

Contents show

MyProtein Pulse Gel Pre Workout Review First Look:

I felt dreadful all Sunday evening, I felt dreadful all of Monday during the day and after a quick cycle home in the evening I was starting to feel a bit better.

I went to the grocery store and ended up buying lemon sorbet, not that I did anything with it and then I hit the weights.

I was a little in doubt of my performance, I had cycled hard and was sweating like an absolute bastard by the time I had returned home so I was worried this may have weakened me slightly.

So I decided to eat a nutritious meal of noodles and 2 croissants…haters gonna hate.

However, I find a bit of food like that is easily digested and gives you the carbohydrates required for a bit of blood pumping exercise without risk of throwing it back up.

That said, I have never eaten that concoction before sex. In that case you let me know and report back to me please.

Not long after this I decided to use the little sachet I had my eye on, this isn’t the usual sachet of powder to mix with water, this is a highly convenient gel that you just squeeze and drink.

It tastes good too.

However, one thing to note is that one of the benefits of mixing a powder with water is the hydrating effect, this cannot offer that so you’ll need to be extra sure you have water available.

Overall it is an attractive little offering, highly convenient to use just before about of sport of lifting weights.

Ingredients:

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/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19099204

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

Niacinamide (Vit B3) – Higher amounts of niacin can improve cholesterol levels and lower cardiovascular risks and maybe symptoms for Alzheimer’s . However, the jury is out on these real benefits.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/924.htm

Riboflavin (B2) – Important for body growth and red blood cell production. It also aids in the release of energy from proteins.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002411.htm

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

Thiamine (Vitamin B1) – Thiamine is required by our bodies to properly use carbohydrates.

Some research suggests that taking thiamine together with pantethine and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) does not improve muscle strength or endurance in athletes.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-965-thiamine%20vitamin%20b1.aspx?activeingredientid=965&activeingredientname=thiamine%20vitamin%20b1

Arginine-alpha-ketoglutarate (AAKG) – Tests on supplementation draw no real benefit that would not be found from resistance training itself.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21813912

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

L-carnitine – Carnitine comes in many guisess. It helps toward the body producing energy.

Carnitine can help your brain work effectively, it can aid muscle movement as well as many other bodily functions and processes. It is usually found in meats.

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/carnitine-lcarnitine

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Carnitine-HealthProfessional/

Men who were supplemented with 2000mg per day showed an increase of Insulin like growth hormone when combined with exercise. This is good.

http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2003/08000/The_Effects_of_L_Carnitine_L_Tartrate.5.aspx

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/

L-Norvaline – L-Norvaline showed significant improvement in serum nitrates, urea, LDH, testosterone and testicular protein level in diabetic rats.

There seems to be lots of information on the web about L-norvaline being a wonder drug, however, very little can be found from reliable, scientific sources i.e websites that are not trying to sell it to us.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26671005

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/

Protein – Protein is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. Along with fat and carbohydrates, protein is a “macronutrient,” meaning that the body needs relatively large amounts of it.

http://www.webmd.com/men/features/benefits-protein

Dose:

The sachet I had was berry blast flavor and tasted amazing.

There’s a total of 50000mg which is a good amount.

It was really easy and convenient to consume, perfect for a gym or kit bag.

Video:

Effects & Benefits:

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.

A host of 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.

Carnitine and Citrulline can be great additions, in particular for nitric oxide production and energy plus muscle function notwithstanding an increase in growth hormone. However, they both are dose sensitive, so large doses of each are required.

Again, Guarana is dose sensitive for it to be effective, once again, we do not know of the dose.

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.

Not many pre workout supplements include protein, however, even with just under 4g it will help with muscle repair and recovery.

READ: Read about our favorite pre workout that turned me in to a beast on the rugby pitch

How did it feel?

This didn’t really offer much.

I felt a tiny bit of the Beat-Alanine, and I mean a very slight tingle, however, it lasted about a minute.

I felt awake and I hit the gym not feeling lethargic.

However, I didn’t feel like I was able to tear someone’s face off or charge through a brick wall…or a bunch of rugby players and that’s what I am after, otherwise I may as well just have a strong coffee.

Negatives:

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, Guarana and Carnitine are all 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.

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.

AAKG and Norvaline isn’t proven scientifically to be beneficial either.

MyProtein Pulse Gel Pre Workout Review Conclusion:

While this has some good, proven ingredients contained within, there’s also a lot of issues that cannot be merely looked over.

The ingredients that are particularly dose dependent are hidden within a proprietary blend which does not reveal how much of each ingredient is included. I never understand the secrecy unless they are hiding some sins.

Then there’s couple of ingredients lacking scientific evidence and research to qualify how much benefit they can really offer the user.

Realistically, when I used it, while I didn’t feel lethargic nor sleepy, I didn’t have the massive amount of energy or aggression that I need and want from a pre workout, that’s exactly why I buy them in the first instance.

I want to push and lift more, I want to tackle harder and run faster when playing rugby..this doesn’t offer that though.