AlphaSize® is a registered trademark of Chemi Nutra LLC.

“AlphaSize® Alpha-GPC is a non-stimulating nootropic used in cognitive health products to support memory and activate mental acuity, and in sports nutrition to enhance mind to muscle power and agility.” – Chemi Nutra

To understand the benefits of Alpha-Glyceryl Phosphoryl Choline (Alpha-GPC), a quick introduction to neurotransmitters and how the body uses them to relay messages from your brain to the rest of the body. A neurotransmitter is a molecule that transmits nerve impulses between other neurons. This communication “network” is how your brain sends messages to the rest of the body.

A primary neurotransmitter is Acetylcholine. This molecule serves many roles in the body – such as muscle movement, thinking, working memory, and other brain functions. Thus, supplementation to increase the bioavailable amount of Acetylcholine has gained popularity in improving mental performance.

Clinical Dosage: 300-600 mg.

*Support studies:

1. Alpha-GPC is shown to increase growth hormone secretion and hepatic fat oxidation, while also increasing choline levels, in young adults.

Supported by over 55 studies, Beta-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid, naturally produced by the body, that is used to produce carnosine that is depleted during exercise.

In short, during exercise the following occurs:

• As the primary fuel source during intense exercise, Glucose breaks down into lactic acid.
• Lactic acid is then converted into lactate and produces hydrogen ions (H+), increasing the acidity of the muscle tissue.
• This acidic environment restricts your muscles from contracting effectively, and therefore fatigue is felt.
• Carnosine acts as a buffer against this acidic environment to allow the muscle to recover.
  

Ultimately, increasing levels of carnosine is the primary goal of beta-alanine supplementation.

Clinical dosage –  3-6 grams per day. Combination with creatine recommended.

*Support studies:

1. Increases cellular carnosine levels depleted while exercising. [A,B].
2. Delays muscular fatigue in men and women while exercising.
3. Increase overall muscle strength when combined with creatine.
4. Improved muscle endurance and capacity.
5. Known for providing users a skin tingling sensation, called paresthesia, which is normal and safe.
6. Promotes the formation of healthy proteins by scavenging free radicals.
7. Preserves loss of lean mass in wrestlers while cutting weight.

Betaine Anhydrous, also known as trimethylglycine (TMC), is a naturally occurring compound your body already naturally creates.

TMC has 3 major functions in the body:

1. Acts as an osmolyte to assist in cell volume regulation (cell hydration & sizing).
2. Stabilize protein structures under stressful conditions in the body.
3. Serve as a methyl donor in the transmethylation of homocysteine to methionine (another amino acid).

Specific to #3 above, high levels of homocysteine have been correlated to cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, liver disease, and other organ complications - which is obviously not good. Thus, your body has an existing mechanism to convert homocysteine to methionine. Further, given its osmolyte actions (#1 above), stacking with creatine monohydrate is a good idea. (see notes in Creatine about why we recommend taking creatine as a standalone supplement, instead of in a pre-workout).

From a performance perspective, betaine anhydrous is an excellent complementary ingredient to a pre-workout formula to improve body composition and muscle size.

Clinical dosage – 2-3 grams per day. Combination with creatine recommended.

*Support studies:

1. Improves body composition, muscle size, power, work capacity.
2. Increases total repetitions and volume load in the bench press exercise.
3. Improves muscle endurance and the quality of repetitions performed during weight lifting.
   

BioPerine® is a registered trademark of the Sabinsa Corporation.

“Black pepper extract (BioPerine®) is a standardized extract, prepared from the dried fruits of Piper nigrum (black pepper) and contains a minimum of 95% Piperine. It is clinically studied for its ability to enhance the bioavailability of the nutrients. It has been well recognized as a bioavailability enhancer for nearly two decades, and it is the only source of black pepper to have undergone clinical studies in the United States and several other countries, which substantiate its safety and efficacy for nutritional use.” – Sabinsa
Corporation

Clinical Dosage: 2-10mg

*Support Studies:

1. Potential improvements for athletes in the bioavailability and absorption of iron (Fe).
2. Improves the bioavailability of other nutrients such as coenzyme Q10 (Co Q10) and curcumin.
3. Piperine has been documented for its hepatoprotective, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties.  

Citrulline Malate 2:1 is an ingredient that has taken the pre-workout industry by storm recently by combining Citrulline (aka L-citrulline) and Malate in a 2:1 ratio, respectively.

Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid, naturally produced by the body, that plays a role in many important processes in the body. Among these roles, citrulline acts as the precursor to L-arginine creation that is later converted into nitric oxide (N.O.) by the kidneys. N.O is a vasodilator, meaning it widens blood vessels and increases the volume of blood flow. Since our muscles require oxygen and blood flow to them as efficiently as possible, encouraging production of higher levels of N.O. accomplishes this goal. This is the “pump” most lifters feel (and desire) during exercise.

Malate is an essential intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), which is the process that converts fats and carbohydrates from your diet into the primary energy molecule (ATP) that your body can use. In short, malate is essential to ensuring effective energy production from your diet to fuel your workouts!

So why Citrulline Malate 2:1 over just taking N.O or L-arginine, and why the combined form?  It’s all about half-life and efficiency!

Citrulline Malate 2:1 has a longer half-life, and therefore will circulate longer in your system than by supplementation of N.O. or L-arginine alone. Furthermore, your body’s natural processes run longer, increasing the total net yield of L-arginine and N.O. production over direct supplementation of each. Lastly, the more efficient energy production of your body, the longer you can train without fatigue.

Clinical Dosage – 6-8 grams per day. Combination with branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s) recommended.

*Support studies:

1. Enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness.
2. More effective than L-arginine direct supplementation at elevating nitric oxide production.
3. Improves aerobic energy production while reducing muscular fatigue.
4. Enhances the use of amino acids, especially the branched chain amino acids, during exercise.

L-theanine is an amino acid found in green tea leaves and various mushrooms. Many of us have indulged in a hot cup of tea to help feel at ease, relax the mind, and decompress after a stressful day. L-theanine is responsible for this benefit.

 Thus, L-theanine is commonly used as a nootropic alongside caffeine to help promote a “calmness” to balance the focus and attention effects of stimulants.

Clinical Dosage: 200 - 400 mg per day.

*Support Studies:

1. Promotes stress reducing benefits, improved anxiety and stress management, and potential to lower blood pressure (hypertension).
2. Shown to decrease stress related symptoms (depression, anxiety-trait, and sleep) and improve cognitive functions after 4 weeks of L-theanine ingestion.

L-Tyrosine is found in many foods, including cheese (“tyros” actually means “cheese” in Greek) , dairy products, chicken, turkey, and fish. It’s an amino acid that is also naturally produced by the body from phenylalanine; therefore, deeming it as a non-essential amino acid.

Tyrosine’s role in the body is to contribute to making important neurotransmitters (molecules that chemically signal or stimulate other neurons or cells).

Thus, supplementation of L-Tyrosine is intended to aid your body in times of stress (like intense exercise) by increasing the levels of these neurotransmitters:

• Dopamine: regulates the reward, motivation, and pleasure centers of the brain. Plays a role in memory and motor skills.
• Adrenaline and Norepinephrine (USA)/Noradrenaline (UK): commonly known as the “fight or flight” hormones that are responsible for your body’s/brain’s response to
  stressful situations.

 Clinical Dosage: 500 – 2000 mg per day.

*Support Studies:

1. Helps promote “cognitive flexibility”, aiding in faster task switching performance.
2. Promotes memory and cognitive enhancement.  

PurCaf® is a registered trademark of Applied Food Sciences, Inc.

“PurCaf® is simple by nature. It’s just USDA certified organic caffeine powder from green coffee beans.” – AFS, Inc.

1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, commonly known as Caffeine, is one of the most widely consumed substances in the world. It’s a xanthine derived alkaloid stimulant found in coffee beans, cacao beans, green tea leaves, and other common food sources. While Caffeine can be found in numerous forms in dietary supplements, we choose PurCaf® for it’s simplicity and numerous certifications (USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project verified, Gluten Free, GRAS, etc.).

Caffeine is highly water soluble, and therefore rapidly absorbed by the body. It appears in the bloodstream within 5-30 minutes, reaching a peak between 45 and 60 minutes after ingestion, and a resulting half-life of 3-7 hours. Compared to theobromine, which is fat soluble; therefore, having a slower absorption rate that reaches a peak between 2-3 hours after ingestion, and a resulting half-life of 6-12 hours.

When caffeine is combined with theobromine (such as in our PRE-S Pre-workout), the longer half-life of theobromine aids in preventing the hard crash or jitters that caffeine users can experience, especially in longer or higher volume workouts.

NOTE – consumers of caffeine stimulants should be aware of sleep disturbances if consumed too late into the evening.

Clinical Dosage: 0-400mg/daily. Recommended combination with L-Theanine and Theobromine.

*Support Studies:

1. Shows overall positive effects on sustained high-intensity exercise.
2. Shown to increase the time to exhaustion in runners.
3. Shown to enhance fat utilization as fuel during submaximal aerobic exercise.
4. Evidence that the combination of l-theanine and caffeine may improve the mood and general performance of the consumer on cognitively demanding tasks by improving focus, information processing, and attention switching situations.

Senactiv® is a registered trademark of NuLiv Science USA Inc.

“Muscle, like all tissue, is made of a network of cells. These cells are constantly dividing and regenerating to maintain the health and function of the tissue. Although, at a certain point, these cells may stop regenerating and become senescent. This means the cell is no longer a functioning part of the muscle tissue, but instead of “dying” and being replaced by a healthy cell, it stays put taking up space where a healthy and contributing cell could be. The higher density of senescent cells in a tissue, the lower the tissue can perform.

Taking Senactiv® before intense physical activity or exercise helps to activate the body’s pathway to clear senescent cells, allowing for new muscle cell generation. Younger muscle cells work harder, and recover faster than older muscle cells because they have higher mitochondria counts which produce energy, greater ATP energy production capacity, and higher glycogen storing capacity.”    – NuLiv Science

Clinical Dosage: 50mg

*Support Studies:

1. Increases endurance performance at high intensity exercises.
2. Rg1 supplementation demonstrates elimination of senescent cells in exercising human skeletal muscle.
3. Rg1 shown to enhance aerobic performance and deplete satellite cells of skeletal muscle.
4. Rg1 shown to reduce stem cell aging in exercised human skeletal muscle.

Taurine is a semi-essential sulfur-containing amino acid that is found in many foods and is naturally produced by the body. This “semi-essential” designator means that our bodies produce it in small quantities to support daily function (whether you ingest it from your diet or not), except under times of stress or illness.

The main roles of taurine in your body are:

• Regulating immune system health and antioxidant function
• Supporting the general function of your central nervous system and eyes
• Maintaining hydration and electrolyte balance in your cells
• Forming bile salts, which play an important role in digestion
• Regulating minerals such as calcium within your cells

Studies have also shown the beneficial effects of taurine on athletic performance, making it a common staple pre-workout ingredient in many products.

Clinical dosage: 500 mg – 3,000 mg

*Support studies:

1. Taurine supplementation has been shown to improve performance and capacity in endurance athletes. [A, B]
2. Taurine supplementation in experimental models of obesity and diabetes suggests evidence for its effects in the prevention of metabolic syndrome- associated memory dysfunction, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and vascular dementia.

Theobromine is a xanthine derived stimulant found in cacao beans (used to create chocolate). While caffeine and theobromine are the most abundant methylxanthines in cacao, theobromine is found in higher amounts, respectively.

What’s the difference between Caffeine and Theobromine?

Caffeine is highly water soluble, and therefore rapidly absorbed by the body. It appears in the bloodstream within 5-30 minutes of ingestion, reaching a peak between 45 and 60 minutes, and has a resulting half-life of 3-7 hours. Comparatively, theobromine is fat soluble, therefore having a slower absorption rate that reaches a peak between 2-3 hours after ingestion, and a resulting half-life of 6-12 hours.

The takeaway here is that theobromine is slower digesting than caffeine and has a longer half-life – serving as a great complement to caffeine in pre-workout formulas. When combined with caffeine, the longer half-life of theobromine aids in preventing the hard crash or jitters that caffeine users can experience, especially in longer or higher volume workouts.

The result is a sustained balance of energy throughout the entire workout.

Clinical Dosage:  50 –200 mg when combined with Caffeine. 300-600 mg when alone.

*Support Studies:

1. Theobromine exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, has been shown to enhance fat breakdown and cognitive function.