Product Breakdown
To start off, we have our three main ingredients. The supplements which are the most convincing, and promising in our eyes.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a staple in every energy product. It blocks the hormones that says we are tired, and gives us the feeling of an energy surplus.
But what many people do not know is that caffeine is directly performance enhancing. It once was banned in sports, because of its effect on performance. But now is llegal, as it is not to the athlete’s harm, or is unethical. Science has a clear answer that 3-5mg of caffeine per kg bodyweight directly boost your training performance. So therefore our products contain 200mg caffeine per scoop.
Your body will over time get used to the energy boosting effect of caffeine. And you will then not get the same effect. We suggest, if you want to regenerate the full effect after building up a tolerance. Take 1 week of caffeine, or take 3 days off every month, to ensure prime effect.
Citrulline Malate
Citrulline malate is an exciting product in many ways. But it all stems from the ability to increase nitric oxide synthesis. The citrulline is turned into arginine in the kidneys, which raises the amount of nitric oxide in the blood, causing the inner muscle of the blood vessels to relax, and the vessel widens. This causes an elevated level of blood flow, and lowered blood pressure. This being temporary of course.
We choose citrulline instead of arginine, as studies show citrulline raises the levels of arginine better then arginine supplementation itself.
All our products contain 2 parts citrulline and 1 part malate. This being a more expensive and more effective alternative. The studies suggest citrulline being the main driver of the results, but the malate may contribute to some of the results, as most of the studies have both citrulline and malate.
You can find l-Citrulline naturally in foods like watermelon.
Beta alanine
Known as the reason behind the tingling. Paresthesia is a common, normal and harmless side effect of beta alanine.
For us personally, beta alanine is such an important part of the pre-workout ritual, we couldn’t leave it out. It is the trigger of ´´go time´´.
The most effective use of beta alanine is in work in the time perspective of 60-240 seconds.
On the science side, we actually have some promising studies coming up showing promising result. But we will await more results before drawing a conclusion.
Maybe one of the more promising feedbacks on beta alanine is the five time Crossfit champion Mat Fraser stating supplementation ´´gives him a third lung´´. He has no idea how much he takes, so his statement may be weakened. But he has no financial stake in promoting supplementation, and is now retired. So we find his experience very exciting.
Beta Alanine is naturally found in foods like chicken.
Now covering some of our experimental ingredients
AAKG
AAKG is mostly a test in our new product, as we would like to test alternatives to citrulline. Because the citrulline requires a higher percent weight in our products, and raises the acidity in the products, which limits the taste-range we can create. AAKG shows promising results in nitric oxide production, similarly to Citrulline. But AAKG has also shown anti aging effects in rats, so we know some results are surfacing from supplementation.
Trimethylglycein
Trimethylglycein, also known as TMG or Betaine is an exciting new addition to the formula. Acting in the same pump inducing category. There is very exciting studies showing promise in power output after TMG supplementation.
We can only label Betaine as promising for now. As nothing is conclusive yet. But we are very excited to try out this ingredient, and hear your feedback.
Sodium
Sodium, or salt, may be one of the most underrated supplements. It has such a crucial role in fluid balance. Increasing blood volume, sodium will help deliver oxygen and nutrients to the cells. And allows athletes to hold more water in the muscle. All this resulting in great performance increases, and bigger pumps.
l-Tyrosine
l-Tyrosine is a naturally occurring amino acid with some exciting properties. It is a substance used in production of both noradrenaline and dopamine. Helping you get hyped for your workout, relieve stress and boost mood. It seems to be very active in the brain, with research suggesting an increase in working memory and raised attention.
l-Theanine
Theanine is one of my personal favorites, found naturally in green tea. It seems to work well alongside caffeine as they are synergistic. Theanine is shown to increase relaxation, decrease stress and anxiety. Theanine seems to be effective reducing the ´´jitters´´ in high doses of caffeine. So, if you are a person that handles caffein poorly, theanine may just be the thing helping you ground the unwanted effects.
Schisandra extract
Schisandra is one of our wildcards in our new formula. Naturally grown as a berry in asia. There are limited studies on this compound in the western world. As most of the studies are from Russia several decades ago, out of public access. This may be the big sign that it actually works. We do have one study showing raised nitric oxide levels in young athletes. Which means greater pumps. But other than that, we only have some good personal experiences to rely on.
Rhodiola rosea
Rhodiola rosea is an herb known for its ability to reduce fatigue and reduce mental stressers. Increasing cognition and aiding as an adaptogen.
Cayenne pepper
Cayenne pepper, with the acting compound capsaicin, may be the most exciting ingredient on this list. But has its obstacles. It is used as pain relief, and may contribute to performance in the gym as studies show an increase in reps, and therefore total weights lifted in a workout. Interestingly, there was a notable decrease in RPE (rating of perceived exertion). This may be the pain relief doing its thing. And we must not forget, the mind has such a vital role in our physical potential, so capsaicin could help remove some of these limitations.
As of the obstacles of supplementation, the main thing is, cayenne pepper is very spicy. Therefore, it may cause stomach discomfort in higher doses, and will effect the taste of the product. Because of these reasons, our product does have a very small amount of the ingredient. But from personal experience, the small dose may serve some effect either way. Adding the spice in creating your new favorite Pre-Workout product.
Black pepper
Black pepper, contains the molecule piperine. Piperine may enhance the absorption of other supplements. I personally prefer a Pre-Workout containing piperine, as it feels like the other ingredients effects are heightened.
So thats about it, for now at least. We have some exciting new formulas in the works. Follow us @whitelionutrition on instagram for updates. Please shoot us a DM or email post@whitelion.no if you have any questions or suggestions. We would be more than happy to hear from you.
I see u doing ur research. My guy!