My VMI Sports VASOGEN XT Pump-Activating Vasodilator Pre Workout Review

Ben BA(Hons), PGCert

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My VMI Sports VASOGEN XT Pump-Activating Vasodilator Pre Workout Review First Look:

Yesterday evening was all a bit rushed.

I cycled home in the cold night and managed to successfully not get knockout over, and when I got home had a quick bacon sandwich, sorted out some laundry then decided I needed to hit up the gym.

I was on a strict time frame – I had items to pack for a few days away to the capitol and was heading over to the better half’s house for a massive chicken dinner…and it was amazing.

So I ripped open this sachet from VMI Sports and glugged back the solution which tasted delicious.

I wanted a burst of energy so I could power through my weights session, then trim my beard, shower and head over for the chicken.

With a warning across the front of the sachet reminding me not to exceed more than one scoop I thought I was in for a joy ride and have huge pumped, vascular veins to make me look like a freak.

I was wrong…

Ingredients: The Science

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/

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

Chloride – Chloride Ion is a chlorine anion that forms the negatively charged part of certain salts, including sodium and hydrogen chloride salts.

This is an essential electrolyte located in all body fluids responsible for maintaining acid/base balance, transmitting nerve impulses and regulating fluid in and out of cells.

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/chloride

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/

Hawthorn Berries – At best this ingredient may help with reducing inflammation and blood flow but there’s no concrete evidence to be found regarding increasing testosterone levels.

Every article relating to testosterone increases with Hawthorn berries is on a site wanting you to buy them.

Schizandrol/Schizandra – This herb appears to improve concentration, speed of thinking and even attention.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-376-SCHISANDRA.aspx?activeIngredientId=376&activeIngredientName=SCHISANDRA

Theobromine – Theobromine can reduce sleepiness and in large quantities produces a jittery sensation.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/CIIEcompounds/transcripts/theobromine.asp

Agmatine Sulfate – Agmatine is considered to be a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator.

The majority use agmatine injections, not oral ingestion and there is still no evidence that working memory is enhanced with agmatine supplementation.

https://examine.com/supplements/agmatine/

Pine Bark Extract (Pycnogenol) – This can hep with increased blood flow.

A daily dose of 100mg – 200mg seems to be effective.

https://examine.com/supplements/pycnogenol/

ViNitrox – Polyphenols are associated with numerous health beneficial effects including a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

High concentrations can be found in various fruits including apples, berries and grapes.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25890155

Dose:

6.3g mixed with water before training.

This does not compare particularly well to many of the best pre workout supplements which will offer over 15,000mg.

The taste was very nice. I really enjoyed it.

Pros:

Surprisingly there are a few ingredients present that, on paper, and in theory should be able to offer some sort of benefit.

We are looking at:

ViNitrox – associated with health benefits that can lower the risk of cardiovascular diseas.
Pine Bark – Can increase blood flow in the correct dose.
Theobromine – Can reduce sleepiness.
Schizandra – Improves concentration.
Sodium – Replaces essential lost salts through perspiration.
Chloride – Regulates fluids in and out of cells.

So, looking through that list you would be surprised to hear I think it is utter crap.

However, Sodium and Chloride are ridiculously under dosed.

The remaining ingredients are locked away in a secretive proprietary blend, this means we have no idea how much of each individual ingredient is included.

On the face of it, this pre workout supplement should be good.

How Did It Feel?

I felt fuck all.

I didn’t notice any vascularity, pump or anything.

Bag of shit.

Video:

Cons:

Okay, so we have seen and gone through the effective and beneficial ingredients…now lets see the poor, unproven ingredients.

Agmatine – Doesn’t work via an oral dose.
Hawthorn – No evidence this has any benefit.
Taurine – No real evidence of its supposed benefits.
Niacin – Too little evidence that this works.

So, what else is the issue?

The majority of the effective ingredients are either offered in extremely low doses or hidden within a proprietary blend.

Due to the lack of effectiveness from the product, I believe that the ingredients within this proprietary blend are dosed extremely low.

Therefore, it doesn’t work.

My VMI Sports VASOGEN XT Pump-Activating Vasodilator Pre Workout Review Conclusion:

On the very surface this looks like a beneficial pre workout.

Sure, it is missing some other vital ingredients to make it a more accomplished pre workout, but it was impressive to see.

However, then, when we scratched the surface a little more, it opened up a whole number of failings.

These failures are based around very low doses of the ingredients.

6.5 grams is not enough, especially when you have to consider what the other, effective and beneficial pre workout supplements offer.

Overall, there’s a good number of theoretically beneficial ingredients, however, they have not been dosed high enough to offer any real benefit.

It also omits many proven ingredients that are present in many of the best pre workout supplements.

This was absolutely clear when I tested it for my gym session I felt no effects at all. Absolutely nothing.

Therefore, as it is missing the following ingredients and not being dosed adequately I would not suggest that this pre workout from VMI Sports is worth investing in: