C4® Ripped gets a C+ grade. It supplies 2 basic (but highly effective) Pre-Workouts. The formula focuses more on fat-burning, with a C4 Ripped Blend featuring 4 research-backed fat-burners. Good choices.
But when we analyze C4 Ripped, we see label shenanigans, low potencies and at least one wildly exaggerated claim… weakening an otherwise promising formula. One big DERP that really makes C4 look bad is how they do standardized herbs… but more on that later.
C4 Ripped isn’t terrible or anything, but check out the formula analysis and you’ll see why we don’t quite trust the product.
Table of Contents
About C4 Ripped
C4 Ripped is one of the many C4 sports nutrition formulas made by Cellucor. Ripped is advertised as their explosive pre-workout supplement, with an energizing-and-cutting focus. It’s designed to be stacked with other C4 formulas, but can also be taken alone. Some other key notes:
- Shed Fat, Not Muscle: This formula is designed to help you burn away extra pounds without losing muscle mass or sacrificing gym performance.
- Creatine-Free: If you’re looking to pack on mass, look elsewhere. C4 Ripped is for cutting, and is creatine-free to avoid water retention.
- Standardized Issues: They say certain herbs are standardized, but don’t reveal the active ingredient percentage — a huge red flag.
C4 Ripped Supplement Facts |
|
Serving Size: 1 scoop (6g) Servings Per Container: 30 |
|
Ingredients | Amount Per Serving |
Vitamin C | 250 mg (417% DV) |
Niacin | 30 mg (150% DV) |
Vitamin B6 | 500 mcg (25% DV) |
Folic Acid | 250 mcg (62% DV) |
Vitamin B12 | 35 mcg (583% DV) |
Calcium | 9 mg (1% DV) |
Beta Alanine | 1.6 g |
Ariginine AKG | 1 g |
C4 Ripped Blend | 1 g |
L-Carnitine Tartrate, Green Coffee bean extract (standardized for Chlorogenic Acids), Capsimax Cayenne (Capsicum annum) fruit extract, Coleus forskohlii root extract. | |
Explosive Energy Blend | 371 mg |
N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, Caffeine Anhydrous (150 mg), Velvet Bean (Mucuna pruriens) seed extract (standardized for L-Dopa) | |
Other Ingredients: Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Malic Acid, Sucralose, Calcium Silicate, Silicon Dioxide, Acesulfame Potassium, FD&C Red Lake #40, FD&C Red #40, FD&C Blue #1. |
C4 Ripped supplies some good fat-burning & performance-enhancing nutrients.
Let’s take a closer look at the key ingredients and analyze the C4 Ripped formula. The foundation of vitamins is pretty basic, and includes standards like:
- Vitamin C: Antioxidant cell protection & good for overall vascular health.
- Vitamin B6: They use this in the form of P-5-P which is a sign of high quality.
- Vitamin B12: Cell-energizer as the premium form, methylcobalamin.
Next up are the 2 heavy-hitting Pre-Workout compounds that really drive the success of this formula:
- Beta Alanine: One of the best Pre-Workouts; but that 1.6 g dosage is a bit low.
- Arginine AKG: AAKG, excellent for energy, peak circulation and big pumps.
Next is the C4 Ripped Blend which supplies ingredients for the formula’s “slicing and dicing” fat-burning effects.
C4 Ripped Blend, 1 g
- L-Carnitine: Great fat-burner & performance-enhancer; solid #1 ingredient for this blend.
- Green Coffee Bean: We like Green Coffee Bean as a fat burner, but question the form they used.
- Capsimax®: This is the good shit: Premium cayenne pepper extract with potent fat-burning activity.
- Coleus forkohlii: Another strong choice, this botanical has T-boosting and fat-burning properties
And finally, the energizing & stimulating blend, aptly named:
Explosive Energy Blend, 371 mg
- N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine (NALT): Works well with stimulants; good for mental & physical energy. NALT is the preferred “brain-booster” tyrosine form used in top nootropic supplements.
- Caffeine: Standard fat-burner, it’s great they show exactly how much per serving (150 mg)
- Velvet Bean: Maybe included for its testosterone-boosting effects? Interesting choice.
Formula Analysis
Most ingredient choices for C4 Ripped make sense. Beta Alanine and AAKG, 2 of the biggest ingredients, are both good all-purpose Pre-Workouts. But that Beta Alanine dosage needs to be higher for performance benefits.
When you get into the blends, things get a little hazier. The Ripped Blend is 4-for-4 on ingredient choices; all are effective for fat-burning and cutting. Spread among 1 g total, it’s possible they hit decent dosages.
But the Explosive Energy blend is much smaller: only 371 mg total, 150 mg of which is Caffeine. That leaves only 221 mg for both the NALT and Velvet Bean… which means both are dosed so low, they are probably ineffective. But still, we gotta hand it to ’em for using the NALT form of Tyrosine; this is the good shit for crushing stress and unleashing brain energy that is used in nootropic stacks for mental domination.
It’s good to see that a couple of nutrient forms C4 Ripped uses–Methylcobalamin B12 and Capsimax cayenne–are premium quality.
But there’s a big derp in C4 Ripped’s herbal ingredients that we can’t wrap our brains around:
C4 Ripped = Standardized Shenanigans.
C4 Ripped says its Green Coffee Bean is standardized for Chlorogenic Acids, and its Velvet Bean is standardized for L-DOPA. This is good; they standardize to supply the right active compounds.
The problem? They don’t tell you the standardization levels… which defeats the whole purpose of standardization!
Here’s how it works: Standardized Velvet Bean is great because it supplies an exact level of L-DOPA, which is considered its active constituent.
An example might be, “Velvet Bean Standardized to 15% L-DOPA.” This is why standardization is a stamp of Quality.
C4 Ripped on the other hand, just says “Standardized Velvet Bean” with no level specified.
So for all we know, C4 Ripped’s Velvet Bean could be standardized to .000001% L-DOPA, or some other ridiculously low level.
This is either a damn sloppy label mistake, or an attempt to “fake out” the consumer into thinking their standardized herbs are more potent than they actually are. Either way, it’s a red flag.
Overall, the C4 Ripped formula looks OK, but is held back by its standardization issues and its apparently low-dose proprietary blend ingredients. Label transparency and accuracy would make this Pre-Workout a hell of a lot more attractive.
C4 Ripped Benefits
The formula’s “explosive energy” benefits aren’t going to shock your balls off. That particular blend is small and weak, so we think “explosive energy” is a ridiculous claim. We see more stimulation from the caffeine–but even that is a mid-range dosage, nothing crazy. The benefit there is, C4 Ripped probably won’t turn you into a raving man-beast.
C4 Ripped can charge up and prime muscles for peak performance, then flood them with robust circulation for pump support. Based on the ingredients, this formula will deliver fat-burning activity that will help to advance your cutting phases. True to the name, it’ll help you get ripped.
Who Takes It?
C4 Ripped is made for those who are on their cutting cycles. It’s for serious “sliced and diced” bodybuilders, but not really for mass-driven behemoths who want to be swole as fuck.
Any Side Effects?
Aside from the well-known tingling sensation caused by Beta Alanine, C4 Ripped has no known side effects. The caffeine may cause jitters, but the 150 mg dosage–which they kindly share–isn’t way high or anything.
C4 Ripped Summary
Pros
- Ingredient choices. Good mix of effective pre-workouts & multiple fat burners
- Quality forms. NALT, AAKG are premium; Capsimax® is a top-shelf fat burner.
- Combinations. C4 Ripped’s stack strategy flawed, but headed in right direction
- Flavors, Bro! Raspberry lemonade, cherry limeade, and fruit punch.
Cons
- Proprietary blends. Hidden dosages; Explosive Energy Blend looks really tiny.
- Filthy label. Is it really necessary to have THREE artificial colors? Boooo.
- Standardized derps. Incriminating, whether they intended it or not.
- Expensive. At about $2/serving, C4 Ripped doesn’t deliver much of an ROI.
Pricing & Buying Info
- 1 bottle (30 servings): $59.99
- Available online and in retail stores
Final Word on C4 Ripped
C4 Ripped is a decent formula for boosting gym performance while burning fat… but its “Explosive Energy” claim is WAY exaggerated, and a few ingredients’ dosage and quality appear weak. Not bad, but you can do better, Bro.
[yasr_overall_rating]
Leave a Reply