Got a one rep max coming up? Struggling to grow your arms and want to do a solid 2-hour arm destruction day? Regardless of your goals, sometimes we need a pre-workout that really kicks us in the ass.
Below we share our “go-to” for such occasions, how it feels, how long it lasts, and how it stacks up against other popular pre-workouts.
***Disclaimer: We are not doctors and this is not medical advise. Consult with your physician before trying any sort of pre-workout.***
A Pre-workout For Every Occasion
If you’ve been going to the gym for more than a couple years then you have no doubt become good friends with the staple chemical caffeine.
We all do get it, sticking to a strict workout regimen requires loads of discipline, and sometimes that discipline can benefit from a swift kick in the butt. That’s where preworkouts come into play.
Conneseurs of pre-workouts may have a couple on hand for various circumstances.
Workout out early in the morning and need a strong jolt of caffeine?
There are preworkouts for that. B-Nox from Androrush is a great early morning kick in the butt and has the added benefit of incorporating a ton of essential vitamins and minerals to kickstart your day.
Workout out in the afternoon with plenty of time to kill? There are pre-workouts with less caffeine and more longevity extending ingredients like beta alanine and L-citrulline.
One example of a solid mid-day longevity booster would be Prolific by PEScience or Musclepharm Assault Black, both of which are Skinny Yoked approved.
Workout out late at night and don’t want to drink a bunch of caffeine because it will keep you up at night? There are plenty of great stimulant-free supplements for that situation as well.
Don’t like man-made chemicals and artificial colors and flavorings? Then maybe kratom might be more to your liking. Kratom powder is derived from plants from Southeast Asia and have been used locally for years as stimulants. They are just now making their way into western bodybuilding circles and we personally are big fans of the energy and focus provided by these natural powders.
The rest of this post though will focus on the man-made and synthetic, one of the most powerful over-the-counter supplements we’ve tried… we’re talking about GAT’s Nitraflex.
Introducing The “Go Ham” Blend from GAT
Today’s review is for GAT Nitraflex, which in our 5+ years of experience is one of the most reliably potent preworkouts when it comes to making us want to destroy everything around us.
- NOW WITH NITROSIGINE FOR EVEN GREATER PUMPS!
Caffeine heavy pre-workouts like BSN Explode can leave you feeling amped but jittery. Milder preworkouts with more pump inducing components like PESciences’s Prolific (link to page) get you focused and in the zone. Nitraflex though is a different beast.
The Energy 5/5
The energy of GAT’s Nitraflex is kind of in a goldilocks zone where it’s strong enough to light a fire under your ass and make you anxious to actually get in the gym and start lifting some iron, but not too much that you get jittery or shaky.
One full scoop will fuel 2+ hour long workouts for us no problem and if we’re working out any shorter than that, or after 2PM in the afternoon, then we drop the serving down to half a scoop and we’re all good.
The energy builds gradually and is lasting. The come down is not abrupt and chances are your muscles will give out before the Nitraflex does. At 325mg of caffeine per serving, you’re looking at multiple cans of energy drink or over 3 cups of strong coffee’s worth of energy.
Also, factor in the vein-dialating pump ingredients below and you have massive amounts of caffeine coursing unhindered throughout your body. YEAAAAH BUDDDY!
Hows The Pump? We Give It 3/5 Stars
The pump from Nitraflex is solid, but doesn’t really come close to blends that are engineered for nitrous oxide fuelled, vein-popping pumps.
Still, GAT does still incorporate a pump element into the blend containing 3g of citrulline, 1.5g beta-alanine, and 1.5g l-arginine , which definitely helps fuel the workout and make you look pumped up.
How much of this is from the chemicals and how much is from the fact that the energy has you crushing heavy weight is hard to say.
Still, with the standard pump ingredients listed above in addition to the more unique inclusion of resveratrol and pterostilbene we get pretty impressive vein popping action on a solid chest/arm day.
GAT does offer a pump-focused product called PMP we are eager to try. Stay tuned for a review on that.
How’s The Intensity & Focus? We Give It 4/5
Although intensity and focus kind of overlap with energy we feel they are different enough to warrant a stand alone grading section.
While caffeine alone can make you get off your ass and to the gym, other components are required to keep you focused and zoned-in on your training.
Nitraflex is great for intensity and focus, although we feel it really shines in intensifying workouts. For pure calm focus we would say other preworkouts beat it like PEScience’s Prolific, which we’ve reviewed here.
Still, Nitraflex gets a solid 4/5 here because the intensity is so long and so enduring. We attribute this to some relatively unique components including DMAE bitartate, and GAT’s exclusive “Clinically-Studied Testosterone-Enhancing Complex” calcium fructopyranose borate.
This may be hype, but it does actually have a US patent, so we’ll stay optimistic that it’s a contributing factor.
How’s The Flavor & Mixability? We Give It 4/5
We have bought 3 tubs of Nitraflex over the last few years and every time we get the blue raspberry flavor because it’s absolutely perfect. It kind of tastes like the blue raspberry runts (do they still make runts?).
Mixability is decent when mixing with water with a spoon. There are always a few little stragglers at the bottom of the glass but with a second dash of water those can easily be downed without much issue.
Yeah But How’s The Price? We Give It 4/5
In the day and age of $60 pre-workouts we think Nitraflex is a relative steal at around $30 give or take depending on where you buy.
Factor in you get 30 servings, meaning you’re only dropping $1/serving, which again, is a pretty good deal given the price of some more mainstream supplements out there.
The cool thing is the powder is highly concentrated so you don’t need massive quantities. The scooper is pretty small and it only takes one to make you destroy your local gym.
Skinny Yoked Final Word
Overall Nitraflex by GAT is one of our top 5 favorite pre-workouts. It is quickly becoming our “gold standard” for intense workouts, replacing O.N’s Gold Standard in that ranking.
Warning: We do NOT recommend Nitraflex to those who are highly sensitive to stimulants or have heart conditions as this stuff is one of the more intense blends on the market.
Last update on 2024-09-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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