Bodybuilding.com Elite Ultimate Pre-Workout

If you are looking for a high quality supplement to help you perform at your best, you should try Bodybuilding.com Elite Ultimate Pre-Workout. This formulation has gone through a rigorous certification process by Informed Sport to ensure quality of its ingredients and that it is free of any banned substances (1). This preworkout stands above the many commercial sports nutrition products that are potentially contaminated with banned substances or dangerous chemicals (2)(3)(4).

Studies have shown that a pre workout supplementation can increase aerobic performance, training volume, and lean muscle mass (5). Bodybuilding.com Elite Ultimate Pre-Workout was scientifically designed to help prime your body and mind before your toughest workouts. It will provide you with an exciting new combination of ingredients to boost energy, increase blood flow to muscles, combat muscular fatigue, and improve your mental focus.

Energy Boosting

This pre-workout contains 300mg of caffeine, 400mg of PEAK ATP®, and 1,000mg of GlycerSize™ to give you the energy to crush your next workout.

Caffeine has been scientifically proven to boost your aerobic and anaerobic performance by increasing your muscular endurance, power output, high-intensity interval training, and resistance to fatigue (6)(7)(8)(9).

PEAK ATP® is relatively new but clinically validated to help increase your energy, muscular power output, and blood flow. This patented form of Adenosine 5’-Triphosphate (ATP) Disodium has a functionally identical structure to your body’s naturally forming ATP (10). A randomized, placebo-controlled study involving 20 trained males found that 400mg of ATP supplementation significantly increased resistance training performance and perceived rate of exertion over the placebo group (11).

Glycerol is a naturally-occurring sugar alcohol involved with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. GlycerSize™ is a stable form of 65% glycerol powder that has the advantage of less clumping. When you consume glycerol, your body will rapidly absorb water, which will improve hydration, decrease urination volume, and improve muscle fullness (12). It can also improve your aerobic endurance by attenuating the effects of dehydration, reducing heart rate, and allowing better thermoregulation of heat (13). Studies have shown that glycerol supplementation can increase total body water by up to 700ml and can increase time to exhaustion during endurance events by 24% (13)(12).

Nitric Oxide Increasing Agents

This pre-workout will provide you with 6000 mg L-Citrulline, 1500 mg of Nitrosigine® Arginine Silicate Inositol, and 2500 mg of Betaine Anhydrous to help increase blood flow and improve muscular growth. All of which match the scientific literature for effective dosing (14)(15)(16).

Citrulline is an amino acid found primarily in watermelon, which promotes the synthesis and bioavailability of nitric oxide (17). A double-blind placebo controlled study found supplementing a single dose 6,000 mg of citrulline significantly increased nitric oxide bioavailability (14). These elevated nitrogen levels increase vasodilation and blood flow to your muscles, leading to better athletic performance in high intensity anaerobic exercises and less post-exercise muscle soreness (18).

Arginine is an essential amino acid found in various nitrite-containing foods, such as celery, lettuce, and spinach (19). Arginine is an essential substrate for the synthesis of nitric oxide and creatine (20). It also helps in regulating carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, lowering arterial blood pressure, and alleviating symptoms of type 2 diabetes (21). Arginine Silicate Inositol is a safe and stable glucose-like structure, making it easier for you to consume and absorb (22). A double-blind placebo-controlled study found that a 1,500 mg daily dose of arginine led to heighten pre-workout energy levels, greater muscle pump immediately following a workout, and decreased biomarkers of muscle damage during recovery (23). A meta-analysis found that 15 studies demonstrated that both acute and long term arginine supplementation improve aerobic and anaerobic performance (24). One study found arginine to increase muscle blood volume through the production of nitric oxide, which demonstrates its ability to help you feel that muscular pump during exercise (25).

Betaine is a naturally-occurring compound found in seafood, spinach, beets, and whole grains (26). Betaine supplementation can improve exercise performance involving power output, muscular endurance, and overall body composition (27)(28)(29). Betaine may accomplish these effects by increasing rates of creatine synthesis, enhancing protein synthesis, elevating levels of blood nitric oxide, and promoting fluid and thermal homeostasis (30). A study found that taking 1,250 mg of betaine twice a day for a total of 2,500 mg was an effective dose to raise blood serum levels (31). A randomized placebo-controlled study found that 6 weeks of betaine supplementation improved body composition, muscle size, work capacity, and improved power in resistance trained men (32).

Combatting Muscular Fatigue

This pre-workout provides you 3,200 mg of CarnoSyn® Beta-Alanine and 1,000 mg of Taurine, which match the scientific literature for effective dosing to reduce muscular fatigue during exercise.

Beta Alanine is a precursor to carnosine, which can help you delay muscular fatigue during high intensity exercise by acting as an intracellular pH buffer (33). CarnoSyn® is a high quality patented version of beta-alanine certified to be pure and safe for sports. A published, self-funded study found that CarnoSyn® supplementation specifically was shown to effectively increase muscle carnosine content in an elderly population, leading to improved exercise capacity for resistance and reduced muscular fatigue (34). This has been verified by other studies (35). A scientific study demonstrated that a daily dose of 3,200 mg of beta-alanine was able to delay the onset of neuromuscular fatigue during exercise (36). Other studies have shown that beta-alanine is safe, effective, and can increase lean body mass, number of repetitions performed, and overall training volume (37). It has also been shown to lower perceived fatigue during high volume workouts (38).

Taurine is a semi-essential nutrient found in meat, fish, and dairy products (39). Taurine supplementation can help improve your muscular strength by reducing muscle fatigue from oxidative stress and lactic acidosis. Taurine plays a beneficial role in your metabolism, glucose regulation, energy levels, anti-inflammatory modulation, and antioxidant actions (40). A meta-analysis found that a 1-3 gram daily dose of taurine supplementation can improve VO2 Max, time to exhaustion, anaerobic performance, peak power, muscle recovery, and decrease metabolic markers, such as lactate, creatine kinase, and phosphorus (41).

Mental Focus

This pre-workout provides you with 300mg of caffeine, 1,000mg L-Tyrosine, 50mg of Cognizin® (Citicoline), and 20 mcg Huperzine A to help keep you mentally in the zone.

Caffeine can improve your mental focus during physical activity by directly affecting your central nervous system. It blocks your adenosine receptors, leading to increases in neurotransmitter release, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, glutamate, and adrenaline, thereby boosting energy levels, motor unit firing rates, and mental acuity (42).

Tyrosine is a precursor of dopamine and norepinephrine, found in various foods, such as meats, fish, eggs, nuts, and beans. This compound has been shown to increase dopamine levels in the brain, which can lead to an increase in cognitive function in both memory and lateral thinking (43). Tyrosine supplementation has been shown to effectively enhance cognitive performance, particularly in short-term, stressful, and cognitively demanding situations (44). One clinical study demonstrated that subjects taking tyrosine were able to exercise longer in a heated environment (45).

Citicoline is a naturally occurring chemical in the brain that is theorized to play an important part in memory formation (46). Cognizin® is a patented pure form of citicoline that supplies your brain with the energy it needs to stay sharp (47). Citicoline supplementation is thought to promote synthesis and transmission of neurotransmitters important to memory (48). A systematic review found that Citicoline was useful in preventing dementia progression as well as enhancing cognitive and learning functions among healthy individuals (49).

Huperzine A (HupA) comes from an alkaloid plant used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat fever and inflammation (50). HupA supplementation has been used to help treat Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia (51). HupA is now being marketed as a dietary supplement in the U.S. because of its neuroprotective qualities that significantly slow down the course of neuronal death (52)(53).

B Vitamins and Electrolytes

As an added bonus, this pre-workout provides you with B Vitamins and electrolytes. Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 are required for healthy functioning of your metabolism, neurological function, blood cell creation, and repair and synthesis of your DNA. Electrolytes, including sodium, calcium, and magnesium, have been proven to help prevent dehydration and muscle cramps during exercise (54). Maintaining proper hydration and electrolyte balance can help with cardiovascular and thermal strain during aerobic activity (55).

Works Cited