Reaction Nutrition RECOR PRE ACTION Pre Workout Review
Reaction Nutrition RECOR PRE ACTION Pre Workout Review Review First Look:
I had loads of house chores to do yesterday and also had a friend come over in the evening so needed to quickly eat, sort the house then lift some big bastard weights in the coal cellar gym I have beneath my lounge.
To get me in the spirit of things I went to my little box of tricks and dug out a sachet of pre workout.
Most of the packages are black and very much alike, this one though, stood out like a sore thumb being quite bright.
Immediately I grabbed this and mixed it with water which not only mixed well but didn’t taste too bad for what is labelled as ‘blue glacier’.
No idea what a blue glacier should taste of if I am honest but I chugged it quickly enough and with no drama then headed deep in to the abyss beneath the floor boards…
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/
Niacin (B3) – Higher amounts of niacin can improve cholesterol levels and lower cardiovascular risks. However, the jury is out on these real benefits.
https://examine.com/supplements/vitamin-b3/
Magnesium – Research into magnesium supplementation also increased testosterone production in men.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20352370
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
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
L-Arginine – This is found in many pre workout supplements or products designed to make you more vascular.
L-Arginine opens up the blood vessels and arteries to assist with blood flow, nothing really to do with testosterone but may assist with any impotency issues that are not helping you attain that hot chick in the gym who is 15 years your junior.
However, you will require 5g per day alone!
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-875-larginine.aspx?activeingredientid=875&
Lysine – It seems to have more effect at treating the spread of Herpes rather than offering any benefit whatsoever for athletic performance.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-237-LYSINE.aspx?activeIngredientId=237&activeIngredientName=LYSINE
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
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-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
Leucine – Leucine is an activator of the protein known as mTOR, which then induces muscle protein synthesis.
https://examine.com/supplements/leucine/
Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin – This supposedly lowers stress hormones after bouts of exhaustive exercise.
This carbohydrate can also pass through the stomach much quicker than other carbohydrates if the sales pitch is anything to go by.
The study does show that rated perceived exertion was maintained at a lower level for participants who ingested it prior to endurance exercise when compared to maltodextrin.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25080121
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
Choline BiTartrate – Choline is mostly used for either its cognitive boosting properties or as a liver health agent, able to reduce fatty liver buildup.
It may also be a stimulant although this is based on anecdote. Requires around 250-500mg per day for cognitive benefits.
Choline does not offer any significant benefits for aerobic capacity, fatigue or training capacity.
https://examine.com/supplements/choline/
Hordenine – Technically Hordenine can be used as a stimulant and fat burner due to its associated with tyramine and noradrenaline, but not enough evidence exists currently to support its usage as nutritional supplementation.
https://examine.com/supplements/hordenine/
Huperzine A – Some research shows that taking huperzine A by mouth for 4 weeks improves the memory older children and teenagers who complain of memory problems.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-764-huperzine%20a.aspx?activeingredientid=764&activeingredientname=huperzine%20a
Dose:
One sachet of this blue glacier flavored powder amounts to 8400mg which is about half of what I would really like, especially when compared to some of the better pre workout supplements available.
The taste was nothing particularly special or different, it went down the hatch well enough though.
Video Review:
Effects & Benefits:
Caffeine is probably the most well known ingredient found in here and its ability to give you a buzz and some energy is renowned, most used by people who work long hours or are hungover.
Beta-Alanine does nothing other than provide a tingling sensation which makes you think your veins are coursing with energy.
Creatine is a well renowned supplement which can help improve strength and performance.
Sodium will replace the lost salts from excessive sweating when working out, however, too much salt is bad for your health and many western diets provide too much salt as it is.
Citrulline can improve performance and increase nitric oxide production when dosed the required 8000mg which this has not because it falls within a proprietary blend of just 1587mg.
Tyrosine will help with alertness which is required when you are deadlifting twice your body weight.
Arginine is great to assist with increased blood flow when dosed at 5000mg or more.
Carnitine is another dose dependent ingredient that can aid with muscle function and insulin like growth hormone but only with the correct dose of 2000mg or more.
Leucine induces muscle protein synthesis.
Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin is advertised as a radical breakthrough in carbohydrate delivery. The study I found does show that it can lower the rated perceived exertion during long spells of exercise.
Choline BiTartrate can assist with cognitive function and so can huperzine in children…not sure they should be taking this though.
READ: Read about our favorite pre workout that turned me in to a beast on the rugby pitch
How did it feel?
I only really felt the Caffeine but felt no other effects.
No vascularity, no aggression, no focus or desire to basically go crazy in the gym at all.
I wasn’t really impressed and I think I know why.
Negatives:
There’s plenty of great ingredients present but it is all in low doses.
This means Carnitine, Citrulline and Arginine can have no beneficial effect at all because of the low dose.
There’s no point including it other than just to have it on the ingredients panel and people assume it will work.
Then there’s the proprietary blend which actually conceals the amount of each ingredient that is included. This means we may only be getting trace amounts and the rest consisting of a bulking agent.
Then there’s a lack of evidence supporting the effectiveness of Hordenine, Lysine only seems to help if you have herpes, too much sodium can be bad for you health and western diets are laden with sodium.
Plus Choline BiTartrate offers no athletic enhancement at all.
Niacin hasn’t been proven to offer any lessening of cardiovascular risk at all.
Reaction Nutrition RECOR PRE ACTION Pre Workout Review Conclusion:
The main problem with this pre workout supplement is not the ingredients included but the actual doses, the concealed proprietary blend is also a problem, why they felt the need not to disclose the amount of each ingredient doesn’t fill me with confidence.
Then, when I tried the product I didn’t feel a great deal of benefit except from the Caffeine which was disappointing.
So overall, it reads good. However, the performance does not live up to the content.
We have listed the top 3 performing pre workout supplements which you can read about further, here.
Score:
2/5
