Barbell Brigade typically sells fitness apparel, not supplements. However, they recently announced a pre-workout to go alongside their gymwear.
Their sour gummy flavor, specifically formulated for athletic performance, is currently available.
On the back of the label, they group their ingredients into “blends” – Endurance and VO2 max blend, CNS Support blend, a Focus blend, and an Energy blend.
They claim these blends will support all facets of athletic performance. Let’s see if they’re right.
Table of Contents
Barbell Brigade Pre-Workout Supplement Facts
Barbell Brigade’s pre-workout contains the following ingredients:
- 500mg Vitamin C
- 15mg Niacin
- 5mg Vitamin B6
- 25mg Calcium
- 3g Beta Alanine
- 2g Betaine
- 5g Glycerol Monostearate
- 250mg Reishi Mushroom Powder Extract
- 250mg Lion’s mane mushroom powder extract
- 200mg Cordyceps mushroom powder extract
- 200mg Eleutherococcus root extract
- 350 mg Caffeine
- 3g Tyrosine
- 200mg Theanine
- 6g L-Citrulline
Vitamin C
An important vitamin for immune health, vitamin C supplementation actually dampens cellular adaptation to exercise, according to research. It’s interesting that this is part of their “endurance and VO2 max” blend, as it’s been shown to slow mitochondrial biogenesis. The rationale behind adding vitamin C usually follows its antioxidant properties. And that’s true – vitamin C can reduce some of the oxidative stress caused by exercise.
Niacin
Niacin is just another name for vitamin B3. This B vitamin rules tons of functions within the body, but most pre-workouts include it for one reason – vasodilation. Your muscles need oxygen to create a maximum amount of energy during exercise. When your output outweighs the oxygen levels, duration of max effort drops drastically. Niacin helps open up your blood vessels, facilitating faster and easier transfer of oxygen.
However, these results often come with negative side effects. Niacin is known to cause rapid heart rate, flushed skin, and hot flashes.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is vital to your bloodstream – it helps create new red blood cells. Therefore, it’s essential to getting oxygen to working muscles. It even makes dietary iron more available, adding hemoglobin to literally carry oxygen. Additionally, it provides a nutrient for neurotransmitter formation. Increased levels of GABA, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin all rely on vitamin B6.
Calcium
As an important electrolyte, calcium works to facilitate muscle contraction. When signaled by a motor neuron, calcium gets released within the muscle. There, it binds to troponin, changing its shape. Since it no longer fits in the binding site, it’s removed, opening up a binding site for muscle fibers. This cycle of release and rebinding is how muscles contract, and it continues until calcium and energy depleted (or, the stimulus stops). More calcium means longer time to failure, in theory.
Beta Alanine
Beta alanine supplementation has been shown to improve muscular endurance in anaerobic conditions. It does so by combining with histidine and forming carnosine, a pH bufferer. After a critical loading period, there’s enough beta alanine to stop limiting muscle carnosine levels. Lactic acid, as a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism, starts to build within our muscles during high intensity or long duration exercise. Carnosine attaches to it and shuttles it out of the muscle, limiting the burning sensation and drop in performance. Therefore, athletes take less time to fatigue.
Be careful if you’re sensitive to supplements, however. Beta alanine is often followed by tingling in the skin and extremities. This could be problematic if you need to take it for weeks before getting results.
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Betaine
A natural element in beetroot, betaine is assumed to reduce exercise-related fatigue. By donating a methyl group to the methionine cycle, it naturally creates creatine. It’s an alternative to taking creatine monohydrate outright. One week of betaine ingestion showed improved sprint time in cyclists, so it’s a decent supplement for power output.
It’s been shown in some studies to elevate oxygen levels in muscle tissue. According to that result, it makes sense that it would raise aerobic endurance. Oxygen also helps clean up behind anaerobic metabolism, so betaine could help with recovery. Still, the studies on betaine are small. Whole beetroot juice is probably a better option – the nitrates facilitate blood flow.
Glycerol Monostearate
Glycerol monostearate is an emulsifier, which helps water and fat soluble things mix.
Reishi Mushroom Powder Extract
Reishi mushroom has been used in Eastern medicine for centuries. Its rich antioxidant profile protects against exercise-induced oxidative stress. Other properties of Reishi mushroom are used for immune health. Research shows it’s also a hypoglycemic agent, raising plasma insulin levels, promoting glucose uptake into the muscle.
Lion’s mane mushroom powder extract
Lion’s mane mushroom features a powerful antioxidant as well – amycenone. It’s especially valuable against dangerous inflammation in the nervous system. It also synthesizes something called nerve growth factor. This protein contributes to nerve health, maintenance, and generation of new neurons.
Cordyceps mushroom powder extract
Cordyceps helps revive ATP within the mitochondria. By doing so, it naturally increases your aerobic capacity and energy levels. However, as it’s a part of the CNS blend, it’s likely included for its neuroprotective qualities. In rat studies, cordyceps has proved effective against cell death, even improving spatial memory.
Eleutherococcus root extract
Eleutherococcus root, also known as Siberian Ginseng, has adaptogen properties as a supplement. It helps the body adapt to stress by mitigating the corticosteroid response. After a demanding, high-intensity lift, this extract helps you recover quicker.
Caffeine
350 milligrams of caffeine is a lot – six shots of espresso or four cups of coffee. There’s tons of research, however, about the effects of caffeine on improved performance. Not only does it energize, it increases endurance, power output, and muscular strength. Experts recommend somewhere between 3-9 mg/kg, depending on tolerance, as a pre-workout supplement an hour before exercise. Barbell Brigade hits that target for most.
Tyrosine
Tyrosine helps with focus. As a precursor to dopamine, adrenaline, and norepinephrine, it stimulates neuronal communication. Therefore, it aids reaction time and attention by shutting down excess noise. One study on military cadets showed tyrosine supplementation improved visual tracking performance, memory, and blood pressure.
Theanine
Theanine works to relax and over-anxious or excited feelings. It works by controlling alpha brainwaves, a frequency associated with meditation. Therefore, theanine stimulates a controlled, calm alertness. It’s an ideal state for performance, especially for skilled activity.
L-Citrulline
Although citrulline is considered a non-essential amino acid, adding more can elevate performance. It not only enhances the effects of other amino acids during exercise, but it also increases blood flow. By raising the production of arginine, it’s the lead domino in a cascade of events. Arginine signals the production of nitric oxide, which in turn tells the blood vessels it’s time to expand.
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Barbell Brigade Pre-Workout Formula Analysis
We really like Barbell Brigade Pre-workout. It looks like they’ve done their research with natural health in mind. Athletes thrive with healthy amino acids, plant-based ingredients, vitamins and minerals. Moreover, many are subject to drug testing to ensure clean competition.
There are some concerns, however. It has a lot of caffeine, for one.
Personally, we love caffeine, as it’s got a strong base of evidence, is relatively ubiquitous in the sports world, and doesn’t set off any alarms on a drug test. But we do know some people don’t respond well to it.
How? Well, some people with a low tolerance to caffeine will be at increased risk of suffering jitters and energy crashes. This is why we’ve come to prefer non-stim pre-workouts.
Barbell Brigade includes higher doses of niacin and beta alanine – both supplements that are associated with tingly and flushed side effects. Betaine won’t cause any harm, but research is still building on its effects on creatine and blood flow.
Overall, Barbell Brigade offers a solid balance of nervous system support, blood flow stimulation, and elevated energy.
It’s not a bad pre-workout if you have a very high tolerance to caffeine. But we feel 350mg caffeine per serving is too much for most people in our honest opinion.
Hopefully they get some third-party testing on their production too.
Barbell Brigade Pre-Workout Benefits
Barbell Brigade Pre-workout provides lasting, clean energy. It can help you recover from intense CNS workouts, like heavy lifts or sprints. It’ll also stimulate blood flow, and (with time) help increase aerobic and anaerobic endurance.
Who takes it?
It’s designed for all kinds of athletes – CrossFitters, boxers, basketball players, powerlifters, and more. No one outside of the company’s inner circle has access to it as of yet. At the time of this writing, preorders just closed. So a select few will let us know their experience soon – stand by.
Any Potential Side Effects from Barbell Brigade Pre-Workout?
Side effects associated with the ingredients in this supplement include:
- Flushed skin
- Tingling sensation
- Jitters
- Elevated heart rate
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Barbell Brigade Pre-Workout Summary
Pros:
- Great source of citrulline
- Appropriately dosed caffeine
- Tyrosine, theanine, and mushroom extracts are strong nootropics
- Helps prevent nervous system damage
- Long-term supplementation could stimulate creatine or endurance improvements
Cons:
- Doesn’t include creatine monohydrate, which is heavily backed by science
- Niacin and beta alanine tend to yield side effects
- Contains emulsifiers, which could negatively affect the gut
- Some studies equate vitamin C supplementation with decreased performance
Barbell Brigade Pre-Workout Price & Where to Buy
Grab it at $45 for tub of 20 scoops.
Barbell Brigade Pre-Workout Review: Final word
We’re excited for this pre-workout to hit the ground running. Any completely new addition to the supplement world should be approached with caution. But early signs point to a quality product.
However, the huge dosage of caffeine (350mg) is likely to cause most people jittery side effects in our honest opinion. Especially if you’ve been drinking coffee throughout the day before taking a hit of Barbell Brigade.
As a result, we don’t believe that it beats our favorite Pre-Workouts this year.
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