BEYOND RAW LIT AF Review

This pre-workout review is about GNC's own, store brand, pre-workout supplement - Beyond raw lit AF.

VW Fitness, an up and coming supplement vlogger (video above) reviews Beyond Raw lit AF and covers three main factors - price, label, and taste. This review will be covering those factors he mentions as well as the feeling while using the supplement. This product would best fit well with an entry-level supplement stack. For someone who is experienced with using pre-workout supplements, I would not recommend Beyond raw lit AF. It has nothing special to it and like VW Fitness states in his video review, "this product was targeted for the masses, there's nothing really special pertaining to its ingredients." It would be a good choice for someone who is starting out and wants a well dosed, great tasting pre-workout.

Label: What's inside? - VW Fitness does an excellent job of covering how Beyond raw lit AF is dosed with a good balance of all the contents many people look for in a pre-workout. He explains that it is considered a high-stim pre-workout with 300mg of caffeine. The supplement contains 8 grams of L-Citrulline malate, 3.2 grams of Beta-Alanine, 2.5 grams of Beta-Anhydrous, 2 grams of creatine monohydrate, 1.5 grams of nitrosigine, 1 gram of taurine, and 400 mg of peak ATP. Some people may prefer L-Citrulline compared to L-Citrulline malate. The difference is that L-Citrulline malate contains malic acid which helps to promote energy in the cells of muscles and as due to its antioxidant properties, it may assist the body in hydration. There really isn't too much of a difference between the two but it’s important to know for dosing purposes. The 3.2 grams of Beta-Alanine and 2.5 grams of Beta-Anhydrous are properly dosed like VW Fitness also explains. Nitrosigine is another ingredient related to the pump and energy effects but doesn't cause the itchiness feeling of Beta-Alanine. Like VW Fitness says, anywhere between 1.5 to 2 grams is a good dose of nitrosigine. The taurine works well with the caffeine in creating energy and focus. Lastly, PEAK ATP is a "patented form of Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) disodium shown to improve body composition and athletic performance by increasing muscular excitability, blood flow and recovery"(PEAK ATP®). VW Fitness advocates for having creatine in the mix. As a supplement containing creatine already in the blend, 2 grams is not nearly enough for a good dose. When it's mixed into the blend, the problems of making sure you are getting the right dose and for someone who does not want to use creatine arise. It's recommended to take 5 grams of creatine daily, so in order to get the correct dose you would need to take roughly an additional 3 grams to meet the recommended amount. This is why it I HIGHLY recommend pre-workouts without creatine already in the blend if you are someone who really wants to use creatine. Take your creatine separately!

The flavor - VW Fitness sampled the apple juiced flavor and he reported that it tasted like it was advertised, and was pleasant taste (from a supplement pallet, of course). I have been using is the gummy worm flavor. The supplement also comes in ice tea lemonade, grape, sweet and tart, lemon ice, apple juiced, cotton candy, and icy fireworks. I loved the flavor of this pre-workout. Now I wouldn't say it tasted like gummy worms, but more like those rocket pop popsicles but, it does taste similar to what is advertised. So far, the flavors seem to provide what is expected.

The Performance - VW Fitness expresses that during his work out, he wasn't able to keep up like he would while using other products. He noticed a weak onset of the feelings while using this supplement and not a noticeable blood rush. WV Fitness also used the supplement on leg day, and thats when I used it as well. I noticed it did not have a hard onset either. It was pretty gradual and the itchiness of the Beta-Alanine didn't really feel like it kicked in. I stayed moderately energized and the fatigue usually paired with leg day was mildly dampened. After hitting leg work outs, I wasn't feeling the expected prolonging of effects and was only able to finish with some arm maintenance. What I didn't like about this product is the intensity and crash. It was not intense enough from a focus and power perspective. The crash was tiring. The soreness didn't come with the crash, but the lack of energy did.

The price - The last down-fall factor to this supplement is the price. WV Fitness says it is one of the worst pricing he has ever seen and is above 90% of all the reviews he has done.It tastes good and is very well dosed, but it costs roughly $45 for only 20 servings! That is a lot to pay for only 20 servings of a product that has pretty much baseline ingredients and has nothing special to it.

Personal Ratings:

Pump: 4/10

Energy: 5.6/10

Focus: 5/10

Intensity of Crash: 7.9/10

Itchiness: 7.4/10

Flavor: 9/10

Price: 3/10

Overall Rating: 6/10

References:

PEAK ATP®. www.tsiinc.com/products/peakatp.

VW Fitness, director. How Good Is GNC's Pre-Workout? | Beyond Raw Lit AF Review. 6 Dec. 2019, How Good is GNC's Pre-Workout? | Beyond Raw Lit AF Review.