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

SciTec Nutrition Superhero Pre Workout First Look:

Presented with Shawn Roden on the tub, this is part of SciTec’s new Superhero line of supplements with many ingredients that have never been used before.

This could be good, more likely it may be bad. If they were that good we would have seen them in other supplements. No doubt, much of the evidence will be on the basis of anecdote rather than scientific evidence from studies.

The product and brand has a ‘hardcore’ element to it which means business. Well, that is alt least the image I conjure up taking a look at this. Let’s look deeper in to the profile of this pre workout.

Ingredients:

Cocoa Bean Extract – Studies show that cocoa extract may provide cardiovascular and cognitive benefits through improved blood flow and antioxidant effects.

https://examine.com/supplements/Cocoa+Extract/

L-Theanine –  Beneficial for stress reduction, decreasing generalized anxiety, and reducing the severity of insomnia. If caffeine is present too, IQ scores have known to increase – so grap a cup of coffee, quick.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17182482

Cognizin (citicoline) –  Studies have shown that it can have beneficial effects both in degenerative and in vascular cognitive decline.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4562749/

Green Tea – well known to have many powerful health benefits. Clinical studies suggest that green tea extract may boost metabolism and help burn fat. One study found that the combination of green tea and caffeine improved weight loss and maintenance in people who were overweight and moderately obese. Some researchers think that substances in green tea known as catechins are responsible for the herb’s fat-burning effect.

http://news.psu.edu/story/310179/2014/04/02/research/research-suggests-green-tea-exercise-boost-weight-loss-health

Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) – Epidemiological studies have indicated that pronounced cardiovascular and metabolic health benefits can be obtained by regular consumption of 5-6 or more cups of green tea per day. Furthermore, intervention studies using similar amounts of green tea, containing 200-300 mg of EGCG, have demonstrated its usefulness for maintaining cardiovascular and metabolic health.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17906191

L-Carnitine – Shown to be very effective at alleviating the side effects of aging, like neurological decline and chronic fatigue . Doses are usually in the 500-2000mg range.

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

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.

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

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/

Beta Vulgaris (Beet) –  Beet can also increase nitric oxide in the body. This chemical can dialate blood vessels and was popular with athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-306-beet.aspx?activeingredientid=306&activeingredientname=beet

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&

Caffeine – This can assist with endurance, tested athletes saw an edge from caffeine in scientific studies. In some trials, the stimulant boosted athletes’ speed. In others, it helped them last longer before they spent all their energy.  Caffeine also raises the metabolism which means you burn more calories. Some studies show that it can curb soreness after exercise, too. This means you could get back to your training sooner and training means more calories burnt. This is present in all 3 of our Top Fat Burners.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16076989

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 been small and not entirely conclusive.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1222-beta-alanine.aspx?activeingredientid=1222&activeingredientname=beta-alanine

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/

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.

https://examine.com/supplements/citrulline/

https://examine.com/supplements/citrulline/

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 but only if you have 5g a day!

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

L-Glutathione – There’s no significant promise for a dietary supplement due to rapid digestion.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2329270/

Dose:

1 big ass scoops with water which weighs in at 9.5g! That’s almost the weight of a baby otter.

Effects:

There are 11 good, useful, safe and effective ingredients found here out of 16 for this pre workout formula from SciTec.

There are even a couple which will assist with cognitive health, although if you are wishing to read about cognitive health supplements, look here.

Caffeine is found in many supplements, however, not usually in the purest form as found here. Caffeine is probably the most popular and widely used stimulant in the Western world.

Tyrosine offer’s cognitive function improvement plus anti-fatigue as well as improving attention.

Citrulline again is good for endurance and combating fatigue.

Beet helps with nitroc oxide which provides a nice pump and allows the blood to flow more freely feeding your organs and muscles with the required nutrients.

I like the inclusion of Arginine which is great for blood flow but we are about 4500mg short of the required amount here.

All things considered, Vitamin C is often overlooked, but it has some great benefits and it worth the shout here.

READ: Read our favorite testosterone boosters for muscular size and strength

Negatives:

Carnitine and Arginine are not dosed appropriately to be effective, in fact they are way off the mark in that respect which means their inclusion is positively worthless.

There are 5 ingredients that are lacking the evidence to support the purported benefits.

A good number of effective and well regarded ingredients are missing from this formula that could improve the products performance and yours.

If I was being a pedantic ass, I would suggest that Caffeine Anhydrous would have been a better addition due to it being the purest form of caffeine available.

SciTec Nutrition Superhero Pre Workout Review Conclusion:

First things first, some of the doses are not adequate to be effective, there’s also a few ingredients that have no scientific evidence backing their supposed uses, while the supplement also omits vital ingredients such as B Vitamins, Creatine and BCAA’s.

That said, there are some magnificent ingredients here, in fact, overall the ingredient profile is impressive and this is a good pre workout supplement well worthy of a top 3 spot.

Score:

4/5