Warrior RAGE Pre Workout Review // Effective Or Not?
My Warrior RAGE Pre Workout Review First Look
Right, I have just got home after a long day at work and a 2 hour drive back to the ranch.
I have forgotten to do any food shopping yesterday because I was hungover to shit.
So I have literally just rammed a slice of toast with cheese on and 2 fried eggs down my throat hoping for some sort of sustenance plus a couple of handfuls of peanuts…what a life I live, eh!
With empty cupboards, only a few hours left before bedtime and a pile of pre workout sachets in front of me what better to smash up international chest day with a new product to review?
After all you can tell whether a pre workout supplement will work or not almost instantaneously.
With that in mind I fill my skaer with water and drop the sachet.
This particular supplement is from Warrior, it is called RAGE and it instructs the user not to consume more than 1 serving at a time for the first 3 months of use.
Naturally I have just nailed 2 servings at once…
Before the effects take shape lets look at the packet.
Yes, all the cliches have been ticked off.
it looks crazy, called a crazy and aggressive name so should make you in to some sort of beast.
Let’s hope so because training late on a Monday evening is sometimes the least appealing thing to do when sometimes you just want to hit the sack.
What can a pre workout really do?
The use of a pre workout supplement is traditionally to provide a more explosive and focused workout when you hit the gym.
This is achieved by providing high levels of stimulants to fight fatigue as well as increase the blood flow to the muscles and organs.
They can also include other ingredients that are known to help increase cognitive function so you can effectively zero in on your goal and help smash it.
However, they are no commonly used by students looking to concentrate while stay up late as well as gamer’s and even machine operatives or long distance drivers.
The main key benefits are:
- Increase energy – Smash your workout with more intensity
- Motivation – Get straight out of bed for an early morning gym session
- Improved focus – Zero in on your weights program or even revise harder
- Alert – Stay alert and improve concentration
However, not all pre workout supplements are equal, and some are downright terrible or contain potentially dangerous ingredients in dangerous doses, or concealed doses.
We analyse each one with an in depth review.
Ingredients: The Research
Creatine
A well regarded supplement.
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
Malic Acid
In high doses, it has been reported to cause diarrhea, nausea and even panic attacks.
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/malic_acid#section=Chemical-Vendors
Arginine-alpha-ketoglutarate (AAKG)
Tests on supplementation draw no real benefit that would not be found from resistance training itself.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21813912
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
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
Vitamin B6
This helps the body use and store the energy from protein and carbohydrates.
http://www.webmd.boots.com/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b6-pyridoxine
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/
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
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.
https://examine.com/supplements/citrulline/
Sodium
There are mechanisms in place for sodium bicarbonate to be a fat-burning agent (it increases ketone production and lipolysis and causes a minor increase in metabolic rate), but these have not yet been linked to actual weight loss in trials.
https://examine.com/supplements/sodium-bicarbonate/
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/
Dose
1/2 sachet with water which is 8700mg.
This is not a massive amount and doesn’t compare particularly well to the most potent pre workout supps.
It tastes like shit, but a lot of these do.
Effects
It is good to see vitamin C, both have fantastic benefits for general health and also for neuroprotective and oxidative stress protection properties.
Vitamin C also helps with blood flow too.
B6 is great for extracting the energy from food to fuel physical activity.
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. Here it is in Cocrystal form which is more soluble and has a better rate of bioavailability
Tyrosine offer’s cognitive function improvement plus anti-fatigue as well as improving attention.
Creatine is sometimes found in pre workouts, however at this dose, it may as well be omitted as 5000mg is usually required and that is after a loading phase of 20000mg.
Sodium is great when combined with coconut water. This lacks coconut water though.
So how did it feel?
Like a shovel to the face if I am honest, especially for the first 10 or 15 minutes.
It felt like double dropping ecstasy when the initial stages of regret start to check in.
You wonder what the hell you have done and why.
My head was in my hands for a while and I did think maybe taking the full sachet which equates to 2 servings was such a good idea…especially since I had mocked how bad it tasted and how I thought nothing would come of it.
I pulled my self to the gym in hope that burning some of the energy would help.
It did thankfully, as the feeling of insects under my skin was not on the correct side of pleasant.
Alas, it did wear off, but a bit too quickly for my liking.
The candle did shine way too brightly and like myself on a drinking session it was all intense at first starting off strong but then after a short period of time the momentum had gone and the feeling of energy was no longer to be seen.
The last sets of bench press and cable rows were a long hard slog.
READ: Read about our favorite pre workout that turned me in to a beast on the rugby pitch
Negatives
There’s a secretive proprietary blend for part of the ingredient profile present which means we do not know the exact breakdown of the ingredients listed.
Ingredients such as creatine are too low dosed to be useful.
Taurine may not always produce good effects. Nor is AAKG or Beta Alanine according to studies.
The initial hit was a HUGE surprise, especially if you double dose like I did which is probably not advised.
However, it soon wore off leaving you with a feeling of emptiness and a lack of energy to finish the work out with much intensity.
If the taste is a big concern I cannot really deduce what it is supposed to taste of.
I think this has limited availability, I know it is available in the UK but unsure of US etc.
It does state on the packet that you’ll be full of rage…well I didn’t wander down the street foaming at the mouth to find the nearest person and smack them in the face.
Nope, I wandered off the the gym and just started off with shoulder press at 112kg/246lbs and ended with bench at 175kg/385lbs – both on an iso-lateral machine.
Warrior RAGE Pre Workout Review Conclusion
Without wanting to sound like George W Bush this did have a certain ‘shock and awe’ about it. Probably too much for most if they are not used to pre-workout supplements.
In fact you may feel worried and need to lay down, it is very intense. However, like most stars which shine the brightest, they also shine the for the shortest amount of time as this did.
That initial burst was quickly followed up by emptiness and a real lack of energy as well as desire to carry on and complete my workout.
There’s not a bad overall dose per serving although nowhere near the best, plus there’s the unfortunate use of a proprietary blend which drags the score down.
