Universal Nutrition goes BIG, Bro.
Their Animal Series is a favorite among hardcore bodybuilders and athletes, partly because of their massive dosages and serving-sizes-on-steroids.
An upgrade of the perenially popular ANIMAL RAGE formula, Animal Rage XL is another BIG formula that’s added some new and cutting edge ergogenic ingredients to release your inner beast in the gym.
So is Animal Rage XL a good successor to Animal Rage? Let’s check out the formula and find out.
Table of Contents
About ANIMAL RAGE XL
Animal Rage XL is billed as the ultimate sustained energy, focus and performance product. With the addition of premium ingredients such as Creapure®, CarnoSyn® & GlycoCarn®, this formula is already looking to be a great improvement over its predecessor. Formula notes:
- One big prop blend: It would’ve been nice if they at least put in just how much each blend weighs to give us a hint of dosages.
- Great ingredients: Several top PWOs and a few fat-burners to boot; most are top-notch material for Bros who give a damn about quality.
- Adaptogens. Impressive use of herbal stress-fighters that unleash primal gym performance while strengthening physical & mental fortitude.
Animal Rage XL Supplement Facts |
|
| Serving Size: 1 Level Scoop (~4.82 g) Servings Per Container: 30 |
|
| Ingredients | Amount Per Serving |
| Niacin | 15 mg (75% DV) |
| Vitamin B12 (as methylcobalamin) | 5 mcg (83% DV) |
| Calcium (as chelate) | 5 mg (1% DV) |
| Magnesium (as chelate) | 2.5 mg (1% DV) |
| Chloride (as sodium chloride) | 15 mg (<1% DV) |
| Sodium (as sodium chloride) | 10 mg (<1% DV) |
| Potassium | 14 mg (<1% DV) |
| Animal Rage Proprietary Formula | 3635 mg |
| Endurance & Performance Complex | |
| Creapure® Creatine Monohydrate | |
| CarnoSyn® Beta-Alanine | |
| Citrulline Malate | |
| L-Taurine | |
| Glucuronolactone | |
| Focus & Intensity Complex | |
| L-Tyrosine | |
| Choline Bitartrate | |
| N-Acetyl Tyrosine | |
| β-Phenylethylamine | |
| Sustained Energy Complex | |
| Rhodiola Rosea (root) | |
| Schizandra Berry | |
| Cordyceps Sinensis (whole plant) | |
| Panax Ginseng | |
| GlycoCarn® | |
| Quick Energy Complex | |
| Caffeine Anhydrous | |
| Coffee Bean Extract (polyphenols) | |
| Green Tea Extract (polyphenols/EGCG) | |
| Bacopa Monnieri (leaf) | |
| Other Ingredients: Natural flavor, citric acid, malic acid, silicon dioxide, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, red #40 lake, potassium chelate, FD&C Blue #1. |
|
| Directions for use: To create a concentrated Animal Rage XL “shot”, mix 1 – 2 level scoops in 4 – 8 oz. of your beverage of choice 20-30 minutes before vigorous activity. Due to the extreme potency of Animal Rage XL, it would be advised to start with 1 scoop to assess one’s tolerance. Do not consume more than two servings within a 24 hour period or within 6-8 hours of bedtime. | |
Lock yourself in a cage, Bro. Animal Rage XL might just send you into BEAST MODE.
Filled with high quality ingredients that provide pumps and boost performance plus herbs that provide sustainable energy makes this PWO truly meant to unleash the beast within you. Let’s break down the ingredients in this formula:
Vitamins and Minerals
Meh, as usual we have a hard time getting excited about the typical range of half-assed nutrients PWOs feel compelled to include.
It’s nice to see Animal Rage XL including the methylcobalamin form of Vitamin B12, but the 5 mcg dose is reaallllllyy tiny. You’d get more B12 out of a children’s multivitamin. ARE YOU A CHILD, BRO??? We thought not.
The minerals are in tiny dosages too, but it seems their purpose is different: They’re in electrolyte form, designed to keep athletes hydrated and cramp-free… so they make a lot more sense than Animal Rage XL’s weak-ass B12 dose.
Endurance & Performance Complex
Since it’s technically a PWO, we’ll mostly focus on this mini-stack within the big Animal Rage XL blend:
Creapure® Creatine Monohydrate: This is some premium-grade creatine monohydrate (the best form), by a brand that is known for its purity, safety and effectiveness. So you get the best form of one of the best PWO nutrients.
CarnoSyn® Beta Alanine: Another Best5 PWO, Beta Alanine is a balls-out muscle performance-enhancer and muscle-protector that can really supercharge workouts. CarnoSyn is the good shit.
Citrulline Malate: Fast-acting PWO multi-tasker; energizes muscles, helps with protein uptake and usage, and might even bump HGH levels.
L-Taurine + Glucuronolactone: Taurine works in conjunction with caffeine to stimulate mental and physical performance. Glucuronolactone is paired with Taurine and Caffeine in the popular energy drink Red Bull… but on its own, has zero performance benefits.
Focus & Intensity Complex
For some reason Animal Rage XL uses TWO forms of tyrosine: Plain L-Tyrosine and N-Acetyl [L] Tyrosine (NALT).
N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine is the form that works for brain benefits, and the form featured in the greatest brain-booster we’ve ever reviewed. So we have no idea why they’d water it down with plain tyrosine.
Choline is another potentially powerful brain booster. Too bad they used the cheapest and weakest form (go for Citicoline, Bro!).
β-Phenylethylamine is the blend’s “feel good” ingredient; it may help boost dopamine and serotonin. This could translate to better motivation and less stress, but other nootropics perform those functions better — β-Phenylethylamine is just not a leading nootropic, in terms of research, popularity, nothin’.
Sustained Energy Complex
We freakin’ love this complex, and here’s why:
Rhodiola, Schizandra, Cordyceps and Ginseng are all classified as adaptogen herbs. That means that they share the ability to strengthen the body’s resistance to stress, including physical, toxic, and mental stress you probably deal with every time you hit the gym.
Adaptogens also do help with energy, working to bust stress-related fatigue, and are legendary in their ability to enhance strength, endurance and overall physical performance… which is why this class of herbs has legendary popularity among Russian athletes, including powerlifters and Biathletes.
The GlycoCarn® is a nice Animal Rage XL addition, too. A patented blend of glycine propionyl-L-carnitine HCL (GPLC), this premium ingredient has a ton of PWO benefits, but is mostly used as a Nitric Oxide-booster and to relax blood vessels. Seems out-of-place in an “Energy” complex, but whatever.
Quick Energy Complex
For the most part, pretty standard energizing & fat-burning compounds in this Animal Rage XL blend:
- Caffeine Anhydrous. Energizing standard; we have no official dosage but they claim each scoop is worth 2 cups of coffee, and that’s about 190 mg.
- Coffee Bean Extract. Another caffeinated energizer/fat burner; interesting how it’s stacked with caffeine anhydrous for 2X synergy.
- Green Tea Extract. Not an energizer, but a solid metabolism-booster and our #1 Best Fat Burner.
- Bacopa Monnieri. Our #3 Best Nootropic… but it’s not standardized here, and is not an “energizing” herb…. doesn’t make sense.
Formula Analysis
Animal Rage XL has most of the makings of a truly potent PWO. Not only does it provide proper formula structure, it also doesn’t shy away from including premium brands, which means you’ll be paying good money for a quality product.
Animal Rage XL starts with an awesome Performance & Endurance Complex that supplies two of the best PWOs in the market, CreaPure® and CarnoSyn®, along with other great PWOs. The Taurine works well with Citrulline for huge NO boosts while Beta Alanine and Creatine work hand in hand to give you more reps, explosive power, and bigger gains.
The Focus & Intensity Complex is where Animal Rage XL starts to weaken a bit. They use two Tyrosines, one cheap and the other premium, and we don’t see why aside from cost-reduction purposes. It’s a shame too since the NALT form is a great brain-booster. It’s the same with the plain “downgraded” choline they use. Don’t expect to much focus or intensity from this blend.
Sustained Energy Complex is a different story: FOUR outstanding herbal adaptogens stacked up will obliterate stress, boost both physical and mental energy, and impart superhuman strength and endurance. Sustained energy is just one performance benefit of this awesome herbal mini-stack.
As for the Quick Energy Complex, we have no issues with their use of Caffeine, Coffee bean extract, and Green tea extract as these are good ingredients that act as the PWO’s “batteries” — they will pump up energy and help fat-burning.
We have to wonder why they put Bacopa Monnieri in the Quick Energy Complex, though. It’s not even standardized for the active bacosides. Bacopa’s interaction with caffeine helps hinder dopamine and serotonin, so maybe this is why it’s included in Animal Rage XL…to reduce crashing. Still seems a weak choice to us.
Dammit Animal Rage XL, SHOW US THE DOSAGE.
We have to note the lack of transparency in Animal Rage XL’s label. No dosages. Not even dosages of their 4 blends!
This leaves us with no idea about how much of each nutrient is in there — all we have to go on is 3,635 mg per serving. And with 18 ingredients, many of which require BIG doses to work, the lack of transparency makes us suspicious about how many Animal Rage XL ingredients actually hit Critical Mass dosage.
Still, all in all, Animal Rage XL is smartly formulated, high-quality PWO formula with more than enough positives to outweigh the drawbacks.
Animal Rage XL Benefits
The formulation speaks volumes of what Animal Rage XL can do: From boosting reps and lift strength to giving you focus and good energy without crashing, this PWO is well rounded for serious athletes. And when you stack up its muscle-energizers, adaptogens, and stimulants, you will almost certainly achieve…
ANIMAL RAGE XL BEAST MODE, BRO!!!!
Who Takes It?
It’s definitely not for newbies as the ingredients might just confuse their puny little bodies and be too much to handle. Animal Rage XL is for serious athletes who know their way around PWOs and are looking for something new to try.
Any Side Effects?
The website claims it has no side-effects at all and user reports tell the same. We actually believe this. The key might be Animal Rage XL’s 4-adaptogen stack, which likely helps keep a user’s response to the formula balanced and tolerable.
ANIMAL RAGE XL Summary
Pros
- Intelligent formulation. 4 blends make sense, and work well together.
- Quality Ingredients. Many are in preferred or premium forms.
- Adaptogen herbs. Boost mind-body performance & reduce stress.
- Crash-free. A PWO that works, but won’t crash you post-exercise.
- 3 funny flavors: Promote whoever came up with “Mango Unchained.”
Cons
- 1 big prop blend. No dosages, so we can’t know if the ingredients will work.
- Underdosage? Compounding the 1st “con,” the scoop serving size looks small.
- Expensive. If you take two scoops, this makes Animal Rage XL a 15-day PWO.
- Lack of standardization. Weakens their otherwise excellent herbal choices.
- Synthetic blah blah blah. A lot of artificial colors and flavors to be found here.
Pricing & Buying Info
- 1 bottle (30 servings): $44.95
- Available online & in retail locations
Final Word on Animal Rage XL
Animal Rage XL is a smartly-designed PWO that works. However, it fails to reach its massive potential due to some off-target ingredients, a few crappy ingredient forms, and hidden dosages that makes us suspect low potency. Despite these formula flaws, Animal Rage XL is worth a try.
[yasr_overall_rating]
Leave a Reply