Performance Lab SPORT Pre-Workout Review
Pros
- Vegan halal kosher etc friendly
- Ultra high quality
- Allergen free
- Proven ingredients
- Slow release effects
Cons
- Lower dose
When looking for a supplement, quality and safety is paramount. This is where Performance Lab excel.
Using the purest ingredients and plant based capsules opens up the benefits of a numerous supplements to a wider audience.
Where quality is key, Performance Lab are here every step of the way.
LAST UPDATED: September 2019 by Ben.
Performance Lab SPORT Pre-Workout Review
Will this pre-workout help my sweaty gym performance?
Summary: If you are a vegan, vegetarian or have strict dietary requirements, Performance Lab excels. It provides many beneficial compounds usually found in meat sources that are highly beneficial to exercise performance.
It has been really warm recently and I have been sweating loads when exercising.
These lost fluids can have a negative impact on physical performance.
As such, it is important to re-hydrate effectively.
So, this pre workout supplement from Performance Labs could be a convenient and effective answer.
It looks good in its premium packaging, plus being tablets means that it can be easily taken with a drink of water.
This differs from many other pre workout supplements because they normally feature as a powder that you mix with water.
Mixing the powder with water brings a few inconveniences, these being:
- Messy
- Inaccurate
- Have to drink the whole lot before exercise
- Can cause stomach bloat
- Some strange flavors
- Immediate or short term effects
So, as you can see, there’s a niche here that Performance Lab are filling.
Those who want convenience, accuracy and potentially, longer term effects.
Who are Performance Lab?
Performance Lab are new to the market.
However, that has not stopped them releasing a full range of healthcare supplements.
This range of supplements is designed to help enhance your overall health.
They look as if they are aimed at a wiser crowd. Those willing to spend a little extra for premium products devised to get the best from your exercise regime.
Key points of Performance Lab:
- Non-GMO
- Gluten free
- No caffeine
- Allergen free
- Free of banned substances
As you can see, Performance Lab are passionate about quality.
Furthermore, a bit of additional research shows that the company behind Performance Lab are called Opti-Nutra.
They are based in Central London, and very close to many respected higher education, research and medical facilities.
Reading more about Opti-Nutra on their website shows just how committed they are to providing a quality product.
Just a small snapshot shows what lengths they have gone to.
Notable points are that all of their products in the range are Halal and Kosher Certified.
This level of detail, is lacking in so many areas of supplement manufacturing.
For those that either have strict dietary requirements or are particularly conscious of what the consume, Performance Lab clearly stand out as a responsible company.
With all of that in mind, let’s take a look what the ingredients are.
Performance Lab Pre-Workout Ingredients: The Science
Let’s take am intelligent view of these ingredients.
– Sodium (Salt)
Sodium has many benefits for bodily function, and while too much salt can be harmful to your diet, if you are an athlete you will lose lots of minerals from sweat.
As such, those who perhaps runs long distances, play intensive sports such as squash or do CrossFit will benefit from providing their body with sodium.
Sodium helps to improve performance by providing electrolytes that help with muscle contractions, re-hydration and normal physiological function. [1]
> Himalayan Pink Salt
Is there any additional benefit from using Himalayan pink salt instead of normal ‘table’ salt?
To a degree, yes.
As we have already noted and discussed, the company behind Performance Lab are strict on quality and manufacturing processes. This is what really differentiates them from many other companies.
And, using Himalayan pink salt is just another example of these high standards.
While there appears to be very little benefit overall from pink salt to normal salt, there are fewer processes involved, particularly from the mining to the end product.
Pink salt also contains slightly more additional natural minerals.
Therefore, while it may not be overly more beneficial for re-hydration and replacing lost electrolytes in a performance quantity, it can be considered a high quality and grade of product. [2]
– Citrulline
Citrulline can be found in Watermelon. Although you would need to eat lots of it to reach the amounts provided in Performance Lab’s offering.
So, what are the benefits of citrulline, and particularly for a pre workout sports supplement?
Evidence has demonstrated that citrulline can increase nitric oxide levels in the blood stream. By doing so, it can help prevent diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even, but not limited to high blood pressure. [3]
Citrulline is also able to increase physical performance while reducing the muscle soreness that can be associated with post exercise. [4]
You can read more about Citrulline and its benefits for exercise, here.
– Creatine
Since the early 20th century, creatine has offered those who wish to build muscle an added advantage.
That is because it has been discovered that creatine can increase lean body mass, increase strength, power in explosive exercise regimes. [5]
This is due to creatine being connected to increasing ATP stores which are broken down to produce energy. The point being, that you will break down more ATP during exercise than your body can replenish.
Creatine also boosts the formation of proteins which in turn create new muscle fibers.
Therefore, it seems like a credible inclusion to a pre workout supplement.
Especially when it is considered to be safe and with very limited side effects. [6]
Creatine can also increase testosterone levels.
– Cordyceps
Few people seem to understand or know much about how cordyceps can benefit exercise performance.
However, there are some interesting scientific results from studies.
Again, just like creatine, it seems to be able to increase levels of ATP. This can help with energy production, or replenishing the stores to produce energy.
Interestingly there is evidence that demonstrates cordyceps has increased and improved the VO2 max of study participants. [7]
A higher VO2 max essentially means that you are fitter.
– Glutamine
There are many perceived and proven benefits of glutamine, but we are particularly interested in how this amino acid can advance our physical performance.
So it is pleasing to see that an oral dose of glutamine was able to increase the replenishment of muscle glycogen. This is key because when you partake in high intensity exercise, your muscles rely on glycogen. Less glycogen means increased fatigue and this is linked to poor performance. [8]
Another study examined the effects of recovery rates and soreness when glutamine was supplemented. It demonstrated that when compared to a placebo, glutamine helped decrease muscle soreness and promote muscle recovery. [9]
– Carnosine
A natural antioxidant that can be found in high concentrations in the brain and muscles.
Studies have discovered that high substantially high levels of carnosine can improve the performance of those participating in high intensity exercise.
Furthermore, because it is often provided from the beta-alanine from meat, vegetarians are often lacking carnosine. [10]
– Pinus Pinaster (Maritime Pine)
Decreases the amount of circulating inflammatory substances in the blood stream. Pinus is also an effective anti-oxidant. [11]
This is important, because research shows us that high levels of anti-oxidant supplementation can result in improves physical performance by reducing oxidative stress. [12]
Performance Lab Pre-Workout Dose
Four plantcaps contain 3390mg.
Being a capsule and ‘solid’ means that your body will benefit from a slower release of the nutrients and therefore longer lasting effects.
Performance Lab Pre-Workout Price
$35 / £25
There’s also multi-buy offers available making it better value per unit.
Free delivery is also available depending on order value.
Pros
Performance Lab offer the highest grade of nutrients.
There’s no allergens, no risk of going against any religious or self imposed dietary restrictions.
Just top quality nutrients and manufacturing processes, so you know it is safe for you to use, with no untoward side effects.
In addition, this is is capsule format, so offers a different kind of energy release.
If you know your workout is going to be a long drag, perhaps a long endurance event the slower digestion and absorption rate is going to be more ideal instead of using a soluble supplement.
This just means you will not feel a sudden jolt, more a longer sustained less obvious effect.
However, look at those nutrients…
All of them have evidence proving that they work and that they will assist in improving your physical performance.
Cons
This just could do with a few more ingredients.
Some pre-workout supplements offer huge amounts of ingredients.
Yet, this is limited, no doubt down to the capsule size.
However, what Performance Lab do offer is an alternative product, for those who have different goals or different dietary requirements.
Performance Lab Side Effects?
This is safe to use.
The fact that the highest grade of nutrients and manufacturing processes involved is a testament to this supplement having no side effects.
Performance Lab SPORT Pre-Workout Review Conclusion
This is useful and effective to improve your performance.
Furthermore, this product caters for a market that demand the highest levels of quality, safety and dietary requirements.
It also caters for those that do not necessarily need a large hit of ingredients after 20 minutes of taking the supplement. This delivery method could prove to be much more beneficial for those who need advantages over a much longer period of time.
This could be those involved in marathons running, triathletes, cycling or even swimming, plus many more sports I am sure I have missed.
Summary
This is the only pre workout supplement I could trust that is ideal for those on special nutritional diets or those needing a much slower release of the nutrients.
References
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17617999
[2] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-459X.2010.00317.x
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6073798/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20538154
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3080578/
[7] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02836405
[8] https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jappl.1999.86.6.1770
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20199122
