Disclaimer: This ingredient is the one ingredient that's dosage does not meet the dosages of all the studies provided. This is because we wanted to balance out the paresthesia effect (itchy sensation) with the performance benefits. However, we believe the studies above our given dosage are still worth noting, and our dosage still provides muscle endurance benefits.
What it is: Beta-alanine is the building block of carnosine, a molecule that helps buffer acid in muscles. Beta-alanine supplementation improves performance during high-intensity exercise lasting from 1 to 10 minutes.
Efficacious Dose: 3.2-6.4 grams
Study 1: Muscular Endurance
Benefit: Improved muscular endurance during resistance training.
Study Link: Beta-alanine and the hormonal response to exercise
Study 2: Exercise >60 seconds
Benefit: Exercise lasting >60s saw an improvement in exercise measures.
Study Link: Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis
Study 3: Neuromuscular Fatigue
Benefit: May delay onset of neuromuscular fatigue.
Study Link: Effects of twenty-eight days of beta-alanine and creatine monohydrate supplementation on the physical working capacity at neuromuscular fatigue threshold
Study 4: Resistance training
Benefit: Increase in resistance training volume without increasing perceived exertion. (Made more volume not feel any more difficult)
Study Link: Beta-alanine Supplementation for Four Weeks Increases Volume Index and Reduces Perceived Effort of Resistance-trained Men: A Pilot Study
Study 5: Muscle Carnosine
Benefit: Increases in muscle carnosine at an average of 57%. Carnosine improves muscle elasticity and delays or prevents muscle fatigue by safeguarding against lactic acid buildup.
Study Link: The absorption of orally supplied beta-alanine and its effect on muscle carnosine synthesis in human vastus lateralis
What it is: Glycerol hyper-hydrates the muscle with water meaning it increases muscle volume in a different method than a traditional pump product that increases Nitric Oxide production and dilates your blood vessels such as Nitrosigine or S7.
Clinical Dose: 2,000-10,000 mg
Study 1: Aerobic and anaerobic power
Benefit: increases in aerobic and anaerobic power output, and increase endurance time by as much as 24%.
Study Link: The Effect of Glycerol Supplements on Aerobic and Anaerobic Performance of Athletes and Sedentary Subjects
Study 2: Hyperhydration
Benefits: Hyperhydration of muscle resulting in bigger, longer lasting pumps.
Study Link: Hyperhydrating with glycerol: implications for athletic performance
What it is: Betaine is a vasodilator that does not increase Nitric Oxide production or hyper-hydrate the muscle. This means it increases blood flow to your muscles in a different way than both Glycerol and Nitrosigine. Along with this, it is also an osmoregulator like creatine, which means it helps control the water regulation in your body.
Clinical Dose: 1,500-3,000 mg
Study : Muscle Endurance
Benefits: Statistically Significant increase in muscle endurance.
Study Link: Effect of betaine supplementation on power performance and fatigue
Study 2: Body Composition
Benefits: Statistically significant improvement in body composition (muscle thickness, body fat percentage, fat mass) compared to placebo.
Study Link: The effects of chronic betaine supplementation on body composition and performance in collegiate females: a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled trial
Study 3: Peak power, and average peak power
Benefits: Statistically significant increases in maximum peak power, and average peak power in cyclists.
Study Link: Effect of betaine supplementation on cycling sprint performance
Study 4: Power, force
Benefits: increases in power, force.
Study Link: Ergogenic effects of betaine supplementation on strength and power performance
Study 5: Decreases homocysteine
Benefits: Significant decrease in homocysteine.
Study Link: Betaine supplementation decreases plasma homocysteine concentrations but does not affect body weight, body composition, or resting energy expenditure in human subjects
What it is: Increases Nitric Oxide (NO) production. NO plays a major signaling role in vascular relaxation, and elevated levels are associated with better blood flow and lower blood pressure.
Clinical Dose: 1500mg
Study 1: Vasodilation effects
Benefit: 1.5g of Nitrosigine just as effective as 8g of 2:1 L-Citrulline in vasodilation.
Study Link: Nitrosigine Put to the Test Against Citrulline Malate: New University Study
Study 2: Endothelial Response
Benefits: 1.5g of Nitrosigine has an equivalent endothelial response (associated with blood flow) as 8g of L-Citrulline Malate, (2:1).
Study Link: Acute effects of Nitrosigine® and citrulline malate on vasodilation in young adults
Study 3: Long Lasting
Benefits: Effects start within 15 minutes and last up to 6 hours, much longer than L-Citrulline.
Study Link: Nitrosigine Put to the Test Against Citrulline Malate: New University Study
What it is: A cholinergic compound that is used for cognitive-enhancement, and to increase power output in athletes. It appears to also support cellular membranes, and may help prevent cognitive decline.
Clinical Dose: 300-600 mg
Study 1: Increased bench power output
Benefit: 14% increase on peak bench press force.
Study Link:Acute supplementation with alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine augments growth hormone response to, and peak force production during, resistance exercise
Study 2: Increased vertical jump power
Benefit: 8.5% Increase in Vertical Jump Peak Power.
Study: The effects of alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine, caffeine or placebo on markers of mood, cognitive function, power, speed, and agility
Study 3: Increased endurance
Benefit: 10.5 - 18.1% faster scores in SST (steady state training), this is training where exercise intensity stays within the same range for the duration of your workout (typically 60-80% of your maximum heart rate for 20-30 minutes). This is usually cardio like jogging, dancing, cycling, swimming, etc.
Study Link: The effects of alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine, caffeine or placebo on markers of mood, cognitive function, power, speed, and agility
What it is: A powerful stimulant used to improve energy and reduce fatigue, can be used to improve physical strength and endurance. Caffeine and caffeine anhydrous are derived from the same plant. They differ in the fact that caffeine anhydrous goes through a filtering process which removes the water and other chemicals from it. this dehydration process means caffeine anhydrous is more concentrated and, therefore, more potent than regular caffeine.
Clinical Dose: 100-400mg or 3mg/kg
Study 1: Increased power
Benefit: A caffeine dose of at least 3 mg/kg in the form of an energy drink is necessary to significantly improve half-squat and bench-press maximal muscle power.
Study Link: Dose response effects of a caffeine-containing energy drink on muscle performance: a repeated measures design
Study 2: Increase in running capacity
Benefit: 8.5% greater total amount of sprint work, 7% greater mean peak power score during sprinting, significant enhancement of prolonged, intermittent-sprint ability.
Study: Effects of caffeine on prolonged intermittent-sprint ability in team-sport athletes
Study 3: Increase in aerobic exercise capacity
Benefit: 4.2% increase in cycling performance with no effects in rate of perceived exertion (RPE).
Study Link: The effects of different doses of caffeine on endurance cycling time trial performance
Study 4: Increase in reaction time
Benefit: 3.9% increase in reactive agility and 9.3% increase in decision time (increases in reactive agility).
Study: Effect of caffeine on reactive agility time when fresh and fatigued
Increase in total training volume
Study 5: Increase in aerobic exercise capacity
Benefit: Significantly greater weight lifted, and significantly more repetitions to failure with no increase in rate of perceived exertion (RPE).
Study Link: The effect of caffeine ingestion on mood state and bench press performance to failure
What it is: L-theanine is a naturally occurring, non-protein amino acid found in tea that promotes relaxation by reducing stress and anxiety levels. Although L-theanine is not a sedative and does not cause drowsiness, it may help improve sleep quality by promoting a more relaxed state. L-theanine supplementation has also been shown to have positive effects on aspects of cognitive function, especially when taken with caffeine.
Clinical Dose: 100-200 mg
Study 1: Cognition, memory, mood
Benefit: When taken in combination with caffeine it can improve cognition, memory, mood, sleep.
Study Link: The effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood
Study Link 2: The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood
Study 2: Reduces Caffeine Vasoconstricting
Benefit: Limits, or completely eliminates the vascular constriction elements of caffeine.
Study:A double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the effects of caffeine and L-theanine both alone and in combination on cerebral blood flow, cognition and mood
Study 3: Limits Jitters and Anxiety
Benefit: Limits jitters, anxiety in combination with caffeine.
Study Link: L-theanine relieves positive, activation, and anxiety symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: an 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-center study
What it is: Combination of caffeine and malic acid, increasing the half-life of caffeine by 2-3 hours, creating a long lasting energy boost and soothing the dreaded “crash”.
Clinical Dose: N/A
Study: Few studies exist on di-caffeine malate. This is partially due to the fact that it is just a combination of caffeine and malic acid, meaning not much research is required to see the benefits outside of the research of the individual chemicals themselves
Benefit: Longer lasting energy helping avoid a caffeine crash. Dicaffeine malate is a combination of approximately 75% caffeine and 25% malic acid. While it’s a buffered form of caffeine, it still has the same stimulant effect on the nervous system. The benefit comes from the inclusion of malic acid which protects the stomach from the digestive distress often experienced with caffeine anhydrous. This means you likely won’t run the risk of ruining your workout or cutting it short due to feelings of nausea, stomach cramps, or dizziness. In addition to this benefit, malic acid yields further advantages for anyone needing a sustained boost in energy. As mentioned, caffeine anhydrous gets to work quickly, but it also drops quickly. Dicaffeine malate is regarded for its smoother, long-lasting energy increase, so users don’t feel a hard crash in energy. Where caffeine anhydrous looks like a steep spike, dicaffeine malate is a more gradual increase with a plateau and gradual decrease.
What it is: S7 is a plant-based blend of 7 extracts including green tea, kale, blueberry, etc. S7 is a natural nitric oxide booster which aims to increase vasodilation, similar to Nitrosigine. We used 3x the clinical dose to ensure the nitric oxide production matches that of the claim made in the study.
Clinical Dose: 50-150 mg
Study: Increase Nitric Oxide concentration
Benefit: 1.7-2.3x increase in bioavailable Nitric Oxide concentration.
Study Link: Oxidative stress or redox signalling – new insights into the effects of a proprietary multifunctional botanical dietary supplement
