T E S T O S T E R O N E J U N K I E

Scitec Nutrition SLAP Head Crusher Pre Workout Review First Look:

I have a buddy who is a slap head. He’s a great guy and bald as they come. He’s also witnessed me in some absolute states. Mainly driven by the stress of high pressure commercial property sales. Great times.

However, I am guessing that this pre workout from Scitec is not referring to my actor friend.

No, I imagine they are trying to say this pre workout is like getting a slap to the face, it is that intense.

This particular pre workout is also called the “Head Crusher” which I am not particularly keen on, that sounds something like a motorcycle accident minus a helmet and making contact with an 18 wheeler.

There’s some Maori looking face tattoo branding too which turns this up to 11. Have you ever made contact with a Maori? I have and it hurts.

Have you ever witnessed 15 Kiwi’s do the Haka? It’s pretty intimidating stuff.

Enough of that though. Is this as intense of a bunch of bloody big blokes from new Zealand?

Will it rib my face off my Richie McCaw?

Will it bulldoze me like Jonah Lomu?

Let’s find out…

Ingredients:

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/

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/

L-Carnitine-L-Tartrate – Men who were supplemented 2g per day showed an increase of Insulin like growth hormone when combined with exercise.

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

L-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).

https://examine.com/supplements/l-tyrosine/

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

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.html

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.

This may assist with any impotency issues that are not helping you attain that hot chick in the gym who is 15 years your junior, but only if you have 5g a day!

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-875-l-arginine.aspx?activeingredientid=875&

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

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

Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) – One of 8 B vitamins. All B vitamins help the body convert food (carbohydrates) into fuel (glucose), which the body uses to produce energy.

These B vitamins, often referred to as B complex vitamins, also help the body use fats and protein. B complex vitamins are needed for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver.

They also help the nervous system function properly and is critical to the manufacture of red blood cells.

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/vitamin-b5-pantothenic-acid

Glutamine – It is generally touted as a Muscle Builder, but has not been proven to enhance muscle building in healthy individuals; only those suffering from physical trauma such as burns or muscular wounds (knife wounds) or in disease states in which muscle wasting occurs, such as AIDS.

Taking glutamine by mouth does not seem to improve athletic performance according to studies.

https://examine.com/supplements/glutamine/

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-878-glutamine.aspx?activeingredientid=87

Dose:

1 sachet with water which is 5000mg. That’s a small amount and much less than many other pre workout formulas offer.

I tried red currant blackberry flavor and it was weak to say the least. In fact I was unsure whether I would feel anything at all.

A really watery consistency that did not offer much confidence.

Pros:

Not many ingredients present here unfortunately.

Arginine is great for blood flow, however, we need 5000mg for it to be effective…we’re not told how much is included with this.

Carnitine is great for producing energy or it can increased insulin like growth hormone, but this is dose dependent and there is not enough here to be beneficial.

B5 and B1 are good for converting carbohydrates and glucose in to energy not to mention helping the body use fats.

Choline BiTartrate could well of been useful fro cognition if it had been dosed accordingly, as with much of this supplement it is well under dosed to be effective.

BCAA’s are good for muscular development and growth which is handy if you are lifting weights like me.

Caffeine is an extremely popular stimulant which can help provide the energy to get out there running, cycling or just head over to the gym. This only has 80mg though. I piss more than 80mg.

So how did it feel?

Pretty awful if I am honest and not in a good way.

The initial experience was pouting a very small dose in to my shaker and barely even smelling it.

Then when mixed there was no color.

The consistency was really thin and watery which led on to the taste…well, that was practically non existent.

The follow up from that was absolutely nothing.

I thought I may have felt a tiny bit of tingling on my head but I dismiss that as nothing more than worrying if I have enough eggs at work for my breakfast in the morning.

Then, I hit the gym.

To be fair, I did increase the weight for shoulders and chest, that was more to do with that fact I am nails as fuck because the only outcome from that pre workout was that I needed a great, big, dirty shit halfway though.

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

Video:

Cons:

Let’s just say my initial impressions of this pre workout from Scitec were correct.

I felt nothing at all, felt no energy, lack of fatigue, vascularity…just nothing. Not even a decent taste.

And it goes to show, dosing is everything. There are some useful ingredients here but when dosed incorrectly and inadequately they do nothing.

There’s also some worthless additions such as Taurine and B3 which are not proven to work as claimed. Then Glutamine is present which we often see…

However, it rally doesn’t benefit anyone unless they are suffering from muscle wastage due to trauma such as a knife wound.

Now, I do not know about you but I’m not suffering from AIDS or a knife wound so do not really care for it.

The amount of Caffeine is only about that of a can of Red Bull which doesn’t do much for me. More effective pre workout supplements will have 150+ mg of Caffeine.

Scitec Nutrition SLAP Head Crusher Pre Workout Review Conclusion:

This really is terrible. Not on the face of it, but once you see exactly how little of each ingredient is present.

The taste is bad, the color, the thin, watery consistency and the reallack of effects due to inadequate dosing.

It really disappointed me. I have my last rugby game of the season this upcoming weekend and was hoping to use a different pre workout to see if it was worth making a change from 4 Gauge but as of yet I haven’t found a contender that includes a wealth of good, proven ingredient in good doses.

So while there are some decent ingredients present it still misses potassium, sodium, calcium, citrulline, coconut water and even beet.

Just do not bother with it.