Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Legion Pulse vs. Pre JYM: Which Pre-Workout Is Better?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Many people claim that BCAAs can do many things for you, that they can reduce fatigue and increase muscle growth. But much of the research that is used to support these claims was done with people who didn't eat enough protein. Hello, boys and girls, my favorite boys and girls. Welcome to another episode of my podcast. And this episode is going to be a little bit different. It's going to be a product comparison. And specifically, it's going to be an in-depth science-based comparison of some piece of crap pre-workout called Legion Pulse and Pre-Gym. No, just kidding. In case you don't know, Legion's my supplement company and Pulse is my pre-workout. So yes, I'm going into this, of course, with a bias, but as you will see, I'm going to be very objective in my analysis.

Starting point is 00:00:57 I'm going to be citing a lot of scientific research and breaking down the pros and cons of both of the products. So you can make a decision as to which is probably going to be best for you. So in case you haven't heard of PreGym, it is currently one of the most highly rated and one of the best selling pre-workout supplements on the market. And that's really no surprise. It boasts a long list of active ingredients. It contains no proprietary blends and its formulation does appear to be backed by scientific research. And when you look at the formulation, you'll see that it's also quite similar actually to my pre-workout pulse because both of the products contain citrulline malate, they contain betaine, and they also contain

Starting point is 00:01:43 beta alanine. And this is why many people wonder how these products compare. I'm recording this episode because we get emailed often by people who want to know, how is Pulse versus PreGym? And they want an in-depth answer. They don't want a one line, oh, Pulse is better. So how good is PreGym? Let's start there. And the short story is this. Pre-gym's formulation is better than many other pre-workouts that are on the market. It does contain several high quality ingredients at clinically effective levels, and it will likely enhance your physical performance and mental alertness. It will likely make for better workouts. That said, Pre-Gym also contains a number of ingredients that don't really make sense given the formulation, as well as ingredients that

Starting point is 00:02:31 are included at suboptimal dosages. Now Pulse, on the other hand, it contains fewer ingredients than Pre-Gym, which some people see as a negative. It is in some ways a quote unquote simpler formulation, but each of those ingredients have been chosen for a good reason and have been chosen because in some cases they actually work synergistically and all of the ingredients are included at clinically effective levels. Therefore pulse is likely to deliver more bottom line benefits and results than pre-gym. Now that is the summary, but let's get into the details. This is where I would normally plug a sponsor to pay the bills, but I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead, I'm just going to quickly tell you about something of mine,

Starting point is 00:03:21 specifically my 100% natural weight gainer slash meal placement supplement, Atlas. Now, Atlas is a delicious powdered supplement that provides you with 38 grams of high quality protein per serving, along with 51 grams of nutritious food-based carbohydrates and just six grams of natural fats, as well as 26 micronutrients, enzymes, and probiotics that help you feel and perform your best. Atlas is also 100% naturally sweetened and flavored and contains no chemical dyes, cheap fillers, or other unnecessary junk. So if you want to gain muscle and strength as quickly as possible while also improving the nutritional quality of your diet,

Starting point is 00:04:03 then you want to head on over to www.legionathletics.com and pick up a bottle of Atlas today. And just to show how much I appreciate my podcast peeps, use the coupon code podcast at checkout and you'll save 10% on your entire order. And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to fill out forms. You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans. So you really can't lose here. Head over to www.lesionathletics.com now, place your order, and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet. And if for whatever reason, they're just not for you, contact us and we will give you a full

Starting point is 00:04:56 refund on the spot. Alrighty, that is enough shameless plugging for now, at least. Let's get to the show. Okay, so these days, everybody says that their products are backed by science, but what does that mean, really? And what it boils down to is this. For a product to really have science on its side, then every ingredient in it must be proven effective in well-designed, well-executed, and peer-reviewed scientific research. And then every dosage of every ingredient must also conform to that research. It must conform to the dosages used in the studies that proved their effectiveness. And those are known as clinically effective dosages, by the way. So if a product doesn't meet those simple criteria, if the majority of its ingredients haven't been proven effective in sound research, and if most of the dosages are actually below the clinically effective levels,

Starting point is 00:05:56 then that product is not backed by science, no matter what anybody says, and it's probably not worth buying either. So PreGem and Pulse both claim to have scientifically validated formulations, and let's see how they compare in this regard. Let's start with PreGem. What does science have to say about PreGem? Well, it contains 13 active ingredients, and they are creatine, beta-alanine, betaine, taurine, acetyl-L-cysteine, alpha-GPC, citrulline malate, beetroot extract, BCAAs, tyrosine, caffeine, huperzine A, and black pepper extract. And let's look at each of those individually in the context of a single serving. So the first is creatine hydrochloride. Every serving of pre-gym contains two grams of creatine hydrochloride. Now, creatine hydrochloride, or just creatine HCL as it's often referred to, is creatine bound with hydrochloric acid,

Starting point is 00:07:00 and it's often claimed to be better absorbed and even more potent than the more commonly used form and the less expensive form creatine monohydrate. Now I wish that were true because if it were, then I would be using creatine hydrochloride in my post-workout supplement recharge. But unfortunately, these assumptions have really never been proven in any scientific research and they actually don't really make much sense either. So I don't expect that one day studies are going to show that it actually is better than creatine monohydrate because once creatine hits your stomach, which is full of hydrochloric acid, the creatine and the hydrochloride molecules separate, leaving you with the exact same result as you get when you take creatine monohydrate.

Starting point is 00:07:45 You have free creatine and a bunch of hydrochloric acid. Now, the clinically effective dosage of creatine, regardless of the form that you're using, assuming that it is a form that works, because some forms actually seem to not work at all. Like for example, liquid creatine is worthless and creatine ethyl ester, for example, has been shown to be less effective than a placebo. So again, assuming that you are taking a form of creatine that actually works, the clinically effective dosage is about five grams per day. So that means that if you want to see the most benefits from creatine and reap its maximum benefits, then you want to take five grams per day. And you actually can also load

Starting point is 00:08:25 creatine. You've probably heard that. And really what that does is it just causes it to accumulate quicker in your body. And it allows you to see the benefits a little bit faster. And for loading, you usually do 20 grams per day for about five to seven days, after which point you go down to five grams per day. Therefore, the two grams of creatine hydrochloride in a serving of pre-gym is simply a suboptimal dose. It may slightly improve your strength and muscle gain, but you definitely see better results with the clinically effective dosage of five grams per day. Now, I know one of the reasons why this product only has two grams is you're supposed to also buy the post-workout, which also has a

Starting point is 00:09:05 couple of grams. So together you get five grams a day, but that just doesn't make sense to me. You're telling people now they have to spend whatever it is, $80 a month just to get enough creatine. I don't like that. I say, if you're going to put creatine in a product, put it at the clinically effective dosage. Don't tell people that this is half of your creatine dose and you have to buy another product to get the other half. Okay. So let's move on to the next ingredient in pre-gym, which is beta alanine and a serving of pre-gym contains two grams of beta alanine. Now beta alanine is an amino acid and it can reduce fatigue associated with exercise. It can improve anaerobic workout

Starting point is 00:09:41 capacity, and it may also be able to help you just gain muscle faster, not unlike creatine. And it accomplishes all of this primarily by reducing the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles during exercise. And that is the chemical that causes the burning sensation that you feel when you are really straining in your workouts. So in terms of dosing, the clinically effective dosage of beta-alanine is two to 4.8 grams per day. And when you really look at the data, the 4.8 grams is definitely more effective than the two grams, but there isn't that big of a difference when you take

Starting point is 00:10:20 the supplement every day. There is a difference, but not a huge difference. Therefore, the two grams of beta-alanine in a serving of pre-gym is at the low end of clinical effectiveness, but it is enough to provide benefits. Okay, next up is betaine, 1.5 grams of betaine in each serving of pre-gym. Now, betaine is another amino acid, and it can boost strength and boost muscle endurance. and it can boost strength and boost muscle endurance. And how is actually not fully understood yet, but the most popular theory relates to a cellular swelling effect, which protects cells from exercise-induced damage and thereby improves performance. And the clinically effective dosage of betaine is 2.5 to 6 grams per day, which means that the one and a half grams of BTEN in each serving of pre-gym is a suboptimal dose because it is well below what has been shown to benefit physical

Starting point is 00:11:16 performance. Next up is taurine, which is an amino acid found in food, particularly in meat, and it plays a vital role in cardiovascular and muscle function. Now, each serving of pre-gym contains one gram of taurine and research shows that supplementing with one gram can decrease muscle damage and oxidative stress from exercise without interfering with the body's natural inflammatory response, which is good from a muscle building perspective, you need that inflammatory response, which is why, for example, if you take NSAIDs every day, you are going to impair muscle growth. So if the people who came up with the pre-gym formulation were including taurine for this reason, then perfect. It's not directly related to improving performance, but it is beneficial and it can help speed up post-workout recovery. And one gram in each serving is at the clinically effective level.

Starting point is 00:12:13 Alrighty, next on the list is N-acetyl L-cysteine. Each serving of Pre-Gym contains 600 milligrams of this. And N-acetyl L-cysteine, also just generally referred to as NAC, is a form of the amino acid cysteine. And it has been used in conventional medicine for quite some time, for 30 plus years now. And it's used primarily as a mucolytic, which is a mucus thinner. And it's also used to increase levels of glutathione, which is a powerful antioxidant and detoxifying agent, I guess you could say. Now, NAC has also been shown in scientific research to reduce the decline in physical performance that is usually seen with repeated strenuous training. However, it is worth noting that the study demonstrating this used a dose of about 50 milligrams per kilogram of body

Starting point is 00:13:05 weight, which would be about four grams for the average adult male. Now, as far as dosing goes, the clinically effective levels range between about 200 milligrams to about 2.4 grams. And the lower dosages are generally used for supporting glutathione and the higher dosages are usually used for cognitive disorders and attenuating fatigue. Therefore, the 600 milligrams of NAC in a serving of pre-gym is adequate to support glutathione production, but is probably too small to impact your exercise performance and therefore really has no place in the product. Okay, so the next ingredient is alpha-GPC, which is very popular these days, especially in nootropics. And alpha-GPC is a natural compound

Starting point is 00:13:51 and it can increase power output in athletes. And it also can help mitigate the cognitive decline that occurs primarily in the elderly. And each serving of pre-gym contains 150 milligrams of alpha-GPC. Now, alpha-GPC works primarily by increasing choline levels in the brain, which is a nutrient that turns into acetylcholine, which is an important neurotransmitter that's involved in learning and muscle contraction. And in terms of dosages, the research that demonstrated increased power output used 600 milligrams of alpha-GPC. And I think it's also worth noting that these effects were seen in just one study. They have not been replicated in other studies. So as of now, alpha-GPC is still largely unproven as a performance enhancer. Now, as far as cognitive enhancement goes, studies show that a daily dose

Starting point is 00:14:47 of about 1.2 grams does seem to help delay the onset of Alzheimer's, but these effects have not been tested in young, healthy people. So it really is unclear as of right now, if smaller doses would have cognitive benefits in young, otherwise healthy people. And what this all means for pre-gym is that the 150 milligrams of alpha-GPC in each serving is well below the clinically effective level. There are no studies that have shown that this dosage can provide any cognitive or performance benefits whatsoever. performance benefits whatsoever. Hey, quickly, before we carry on, if you are liking my podcast, would you please help spread the word about it? Because no amount of marketing or advertising gimmicks can match the power of word of mouth. So if you are enjoying this episode and you think of

Starting point is 00:15:41 someone else who might enjoy it as well, please do tell them about it. It really helps me. And if you are going to post about it on social media, definitely tag me so I can say thank you. You can find me on Instagram at Muscle for Life Fitness, Twitter at Muscle for Life, and Facebook at Muscle for Life Fitness. All right, next is citrulline malate. Each serving of pre-gym contains six grams of citrulline malate. Now, L-citrulline is an amino acid and it can boost muscle endurance. It can also reduce muscle soreness and enhance aerobic performance, primarily by increasing your body's production of nitric oxide. And citrulline is able to do all this because what happens is when you take it, it increases the amount of the amino acid arginine

Starting point is 00:16:32 in your blood. And it actually does it far more reliably than supplementing with L-arginine itself, which is kind of weird, but that's just how it works out. Now, malic acid is added to the L-citrulline to create citrulline malate or L-citrulline DL malate, which is the technical term. And the reason why malic acid is added is it reduces the amount of L-citrulline that is broken down in the body into other compounds. It allows you to get the maximum benefit from the citrulline. As far as dosages go, the clinically effective dosage of L-citrulline for improving physical performance is six to eight grams per day. Therefore, the six grams of citrulline malate in each serving of pre-gym is at the low end of the clinically effective range, but it is definitely enough to improve performance. Okay, moving along,

Starting point is 00:17:22 moving along to beetroot extract. Each serving of pre-gym contains 500 milligrams of beetroot extract. And the reason why beetroot extract is in the product is beetroot is rich in nitrates, which play an important role in our cardiovascular health and are also converted into nitric oxide in the body through various pathways. Now, because of its ability to replenish nitrates and therefore increase nitric oxide production, beetroot is claimed to improve physical performance. But when you look at the science, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Some studies have indeed shown small performance improvements in running and biking time trials. And other research has shown that dietary nitrate can reduce the amount of oxygen your body uses during exercise without

Starting point is 00:18:11 affecting performance, which would theoretically make it easier to maintain the same pace for longer periods of time. On the other hand, though, one study found that beetroot did not increase power output. So the weight of the evidence really hasn't swung to favor either side just yet. Now, in terms of dosing, beetroot is usually dosed based on its nitrate content, because that's really what you're going for. And a common dose of beetroot juice that you will find in studies is about 500 milliliters of juice. Now, extracts can be used, of course, but again, the dosing would have to depend on the nitrate content. And that can vary a lot from one extract to another. You'd really want to go with a standardized extract if you want to make sure that your

Starting point is 00:18:58 beetroot extract is maximally effective. And unfortunately, in the case of pre-gym, we don't know the nitrate content of the beetroot extract. All we know is there is 500 milligrams of a beetroot extract in each serving. And that means it may or may not improve our endurance. And there's very little evidence that it will improve our strength. Okay. The next ingredient is branched chain amino acids, six grams of BCAAs in each serving. Now, BCAAs are a group of three essential amino acids, which are amino acids that your body can't produce. They must come from the diet. And those are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. And leucine is really the star of the trio because research shows that it directly stimulates

Starting point is 00:19:45 protein synthesis by activating an enzyme that is responsible for cell growth known as the mammalian target of repamycin or mTOR. Now, many people claim that BCAAs can do many things for you, that they can reduce fatigue and increase muscle growth. But much of the research that is used to support these claims was done with people who didn't eat enough protein. And this is very significant because dietary protein is our primary source of essential amino acids. So yes, it would make sense that if you are not eating enough protein, your body is not getting enough essential amino acids.

Starting point is 00:20:23 Therefore, supplementing with a couple of essential amino acids would be beneficial. Now, while evidence suggests that raising plasma or blood BCAA levels before and after exercise may help us build more muscle over time, there's no evidence that a BCAA supplement is superior to just food in this regard. In fact, some research indicates that food is actually the better choice here. And of course, that's saying nothing of the reality that it's also cheaper, tastier, and more filling than a BCAA powder. Now that said, BCAAs do have a good use. They are very useful if you train fasted, meaning if you train when your insulin levels are at a low baseline level. For example, if you train first thing, meaning if you train when your insulin levels are at a low baseline level,

Starting point is 00:21:06 for example, if you train first thing in the morning and you don't like to eat anything before you go to the gym, then BCAAs can be useful because studies show that when you train in a fasted state, muscle breakdown rates are generally higher than normal. And especially after your workout, they really start to ramp up after the workout. And as muscle growth over time really is just the difference between protein synthesis and protein breakdown, having higher than normal muscle breakdown rates is generally not desirable. And you can take BCAAs to counter this because of the leucine, which can suppress muscle breakdown rates. Now, that said, I actually don't prefer leucine for this purpose. I prefer HMB, but that's another

Starting point is 00:21:52 discussion. Now, to do this, to significantly reduce muscle breakdown rates with BCAAs and with leucine in particular, you need about three to five grams of leucine, which usually comes out to about 10 grams of a BCAA supplement because most BCAA supplements have two grams of leucine for every one gram of isoleucine and valine. Therefore, the six grams of BCAAs in a serving of pre-gym is not going to boost your performance. It is not going to boost your muscle growth so long as you eat enough protein, which isn't very hard to do. I'm talking about 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day or less if you're overweight. If you're overweight, we could probably simplify it to about 40% of your daily calories and you'll be eating enough protein. However, the six grams of BCAs in each serving of pre-gym will help reduce muscle

Starting point is 00:22:46 breakdown rates if you're training in a fasted state. Okay, let's move on to the next ingredient here, which is tyrosine. Each serving of pre-gym contains 1.5 grams of tyrosine. L-tyrosine is yet another amino acid and it can reduce stress and improve mood and cognitive function, and it can reduce stress and improve mood and cognitive function, but research shows it does not improve exercise performance. Now, despite the fact that the body uses L-tyrosine to create powerful neurotransmitters like epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine, research shows that supplementing with it only seems to improve mood and cognition during times of extreme stress, including extreme altitude and cold exposure. Tyrosine, however, has not been proven to improve strength, focus, or mood under normal conditions. Now, you could say, I guess, that

Starting point is 00:23:39 even if a tough workout isn't the physiological equivalent of subjecting yourself to like five hours of oxygen deprivation and freezing temperatures, it could theoretically deplete your tyrosine levels to some degree. And that's fine. If you want to make that argument, then the clinically effective dosage for counteracting the negative effects that are associated with tyrosine depletion is 100 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, or about seven grams for a 150 pound men, or just 10 grams per day. That also has been shown effective. Therefore, the 1.5 grams of L-tyrosine in a serving of pre-gym is just far below the clinically effective amount and is not going to produce any noticeable improvement in mood or cognition. Okay, next up is the one and only caffeine. Each serving of

Starting point is 00:24:32 pre-gym contains 300 milligrams of caffeine. And as we all know, caffeine is a stimulant and it increases our resistance to fatigue. It does boost strength and power. And it of course improves cognition and alertness. And studies show that the clinically effective dosage of caffeine for improving physical performance is three to six milligrams per kilogram of body weight, which comes out to about 200 to 400 milligrams for a 150 pound man, which means that the 300 milligrams of caffeine in a serving of pre-gym is definitely enough to increase performance for most people. The next ingredient that we need to discuss is

Starting point is 00:25:10 huperzine A because each serving of pre-gym contains 50 micrograms of huperzine A. Now, this is a compound that inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine, which you might remember is a neurotransmitter that's involved in learning and muscular contraction. Now, huperzine A accomplishes this by blocking an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down acetylcholine. So by preventing the breakdown of acetylcholine, huperz ZNA is theoretically able to cause a relative increase of this neurotransmitter in your brain. And studies have shown in both young people and the elderly that it probably can do this. So theoretically then Hooper's ZNA could improve your learning and

Starting point is 00:25:58 improve your cognitive performance, but research has not confirmed that just yet. Now there's something else that you need to know about Hooperzine A because after you take it, blood levels rise very quickly and they peak after about an hour, but the half-life, which is the amount of time that it takes for half of it to be removed from your body is about 12 hours. So what that means then is Hooperzine A remains in your body for a very long time. And if you take it every day, you'd basically never stop blocking the activity of this acetyl cholinesterase enzyme. And while doing that may be helpful for treating certain medical conditions

Starting point is 00:26:38 like Alzheimer's, it definitely would not be ideal for otherwise healthy people. In fact, your body may adapt to having huperzine A constantly in it by simply creating more of the enzyme, more of the acetyl cholinesterase to try to restore the natural order of things, try to restore homeostasis. And if your body did that, then your acetylcholine levels would crater once you stopped taking huperzine A because you'd have highly elevated levels of acetylcholin levels would crater once you stopped taking huperzine A because you'd have highly elevated levels of acetylcholinesterase, which would all of a sudden kick in full power once the huperzine A is taken out. And that, of course, that effect, how that would make you feel is the opposite of why you'd want to even be taking it in the first place. Okay. So in terms of dosing,

Starting point is 00:27:23 the clinically effective dosages range from about 200 micrograms at the lowest to about 800 micrograms at the highest. And those doses have been shown to increase acetylcholine levels. And I would say that 400 micrograms is probably a reasonable middle ground between the high and the low. And therefore the 50 micrograms of huperzine in a serving of pre-gym is far below the clinically effective level. And you know, this may have been intentional. It may have been to reduce the risk of the fallout that I was just talking about that can happen when you stop taking it, but regardless, it's just a suboptimal dose and it's not likely to provide much benefit at all.

Starting point is 00:28:06 And therefore probably should just be left out of the product. Okay. So the last active ingredient to discuss is black pepper extract because each serving of pre-gym contains five milligrams of black pepper extract. Now, black pepper is a spice that naturally contains a molecule called piperine that prevents certain enzymes from breaking down various substances in the body. And the reason why you will find it in some supplements is it can increase the bioavailability of certain ingredients that would normally just be disposed of before being absorbed by the body, like curcumin, for example. If you take curcumin by itself,

Starting point is 00:28:45 it's basically worthless. If you combine it with black pepper extract, it is very effective. Now, most supplements have a chemical structure that allows them to be absorbed without the help of piperine. And that is the case with every ingredient in pre-gym. So what that means is that nothing in pre-gym is going to be enhanced by the inclusion of black pepper extract. And black pepper extract and piperine also don't enhance performance. So I just don't really see a reason for it to be here. All right. So that is a detailed analysis of pre-gym. Let's now talk about pulse. What does science have to say about pulse? Now pulse contains just six active ingredients and they are citrulline malate, beta-alanine,

Starting point is 00:29:30 betaine, L-ornithine, caffeine, and L-theanine. So let's break down each of them. Let's talk dosages and, of course, the ingredients themselves. So first is caffeine, 350 milligrams of caffeine per serving of pulse. And you'll remember that caffeine not only increases alertness and makes us feel more awake, it also increases our resistance to fatigue and it boosts strength and power. And the clinically effective range is about three to six milligrams per kilogram of body weight, or about two to 400 milligrams for a 150 pound man, which means that the 350 milligrams of caffeine

Starting point is 00:30:06 in a serving of pulse is going to be effective for most people. Next up is citrulline malate. And each serving of pulse contains eight grams of citrulline malate, a bit more than pre-gym. Pre-gym has six grams. And we recall that citrulline is an amino acid that can boost our muscle endurance. It can reduce muscle soreness and it can enhance aerobic performance. And that the clinically effective range of citrulline is about 6 to 8 grams a day. So we went with the high end of the clinically effective dosage range to make sure that you get the maximum benefit from citrulline. Next up is beta-alanine. Each serving of Pulse contains 4.8 grams of beta-alanine, which is the high end of that clinically effective dosage range, which goes from 2 to 4.8 grams. And again, the reason why

Starting point is 00:30:59 beta-alanine is there is it is amino acid and it reduces fatigue associated with exercise. And it also improves anaerobic workout capacity and may also help you just gain muscle faster. And scientists aren't quite sure as to how that works just yet, but those effects have been seen. So again, Pulse contains 4.8 grams of beta alanine per serving, which is the high end. Again, when you look at the data, 4.8 grams is slightly more effective than the lower end of two grams. So we decided to, again, go for maximum effectiveness. Okay, next up for pulse is another ingredient that it shares with pre-gym and that is betaine. We recall that this is an amino acid that boosts strength and muscle endurance. And each serving of Pulse contains

Starting point is 00:31:45 2.5 grams of betaine. And the clinically effective dosage range is 2.5 to 6 grams. And the reason why I went with 2.5 grams is most studies have shown that this is sufficient for the exercise-related benefits that we're after. And the only study that used six grams was on obese people who didn't lift weights. So we can't be too sure as to how those findings translate to those of us who are experienced weightlifters and if it is worth the cost of going from two and a half to six grams per day. And we suspect it's not, which is why we are at two and a half grams. Now, if more research comes out in the future that shows that there are good reasons to go up to six grams, then we would look at doing that. So the two and a half grams of betene in a serving of Pulse is enough to produce

Starting point is 00:32:38 a noticeable boost in strength and muscle endurance. Next up for Pulse is L-ornithine, which is yet another amino acid. And research shows that it can reduce fatigue during long workouts in particular. So during prolonged exercise in particular, ornithine is very good because it helps reduce the buildup of ammonia in your body that occurs during exercise. And ammonia is toxic and studies also show that it appears to reduce performance. And if that is the case, then taking L-ornithine should allow you to train longer before you get tired. Now we decided to include ornithine in pulse for two reasons. One, there is enough evidence to

Starting point is 00:33:17 suggest that it could improve your performance. And two, it's completely safe and it's also relatively inexpensive. So we just liked the odds basically. And in terms of dosing, the clinically effective dosage of L-ornithine depends on how quickly you want to reduce ammonia levels in your body. So if you're willing to wait a month to see results, then you really probably only need like 400 milligrams per day. But if you want to reduce ammonia levels in a matter of hours, then you need a higher dose of around 8 to 14 grams. Therefore, the 2.2 grams of ornithine that is in a serving of Pulse is enough to start enhancing performance within about a week of regular use. Okay, moving on to the final ingredient in Pulse, L-theanine, one of my favorites actually, because this is amino

Starting point is 00:34:06 acid that many people haven't heard of. It's found primarily in tea and it reduces stress and it also increases focus. It increases alertness. It increases mood. And it does this by increasing the production of various calming neurotransmitters. And studies show that it can also increase nitric oxide production, which means better blood flow while you work out and also better pumps. And L-theanine can actually do all of these things by itself, but it works even better with caffeine. They work synergistically. And actually L-theanine helps kind of take the edge off of caffeine. It helps you reap the benefits of caffeine without feeling overstimulated. Now, as far as dosing goes,

Starting point is 00:34:50 the clinically effective dosage of L-theanine is 100 to 200 milligrams per day. And for studying purposes, it's usually included in supplements at about twice the amount of caffeine. So you'd have like 100 to 200 milligrams of L-theanine to every 50 to 100 milligrams of caffeine. But considering that Pulse is a pre-workout and we don't necessarily want to chill people out before their workouts, we decided to include L-theanine and caffeine in equal amounts. So you get the cognitive benefits, you get the improved focus, you get the improved alertness, you get the improved mood, and you get the synergistic effects with caffeine without going as far as feeling mellowed out. So what that means then is the 350 milligrams of L-theanine in a serving of Pulse

Starting point is 00:35:37 is enough to improve focus, mood, and alertness, and also to reduce the risk of overstimulation from the caffeine. So the bottom line with these products is this. PreGym contains several high quality ingredients like caffeine, creatine, beta-alanine, betaine, and citrulline malate, but some of the dosages are lower than what they should be. So out of its 13 ingredients, six are at clinically effective levels and seven are not, including key ingredients like creatine, beta-alanine, and betaine, which does significantly detract from PreGym's overall value proposition. Furthermore, several ingredients in PreGym are just unlikely to provide any noticeable benefit whatsoever and really should have just been left

Starting point is 00:36:23 out of the formulation. Now, Pulse, on the other hand, contains fewer ingredients, but all of them are scientifically validated and are included at dosages that have been proven effective in scientific research. Pulse also contains two ingredients that you will not find in pre-gym, theanine and ornithine, which I believe contributes significantly in the case of theanine and mildly in theine and ornithine, which I believe contributes significantly in the case of theanine and mildly in the case of ornithine to the overall effectiveness of the product. And you have to experience the caffeine-theanine combo to understand why that is. It really is much nicer than caffeine alone. And in the case of ornithine, yes, it is not the strongest

Starting point is 00:37:04 performance enhancing ingredient in Pulse, but it does have good evidence behind it, especially for people who do long cardiovascular workouts in particular, and the ornithine is properly dosed. the two products is how much do you care about natural ingredients? Because when it comes to choosing a pre-workout supplement and just supplements in general, sometimes what is not in the product is just as important as what is in the product. And in this case, like most pre-workouts, pre-gym is artificially sweetened, it is artificially flavored, and it is artificially colored, whereas Pulse contains none of those chemicals. Actually, it contains no artificial chemicals whatsoever. It is naturally sweetened, it is naturally flavored, and it is naturally colored. Now, artificial sweeteners are, of course, man-made chemicals that taste like sugar but contain little or no calories. And two of the most popular ones are

Starting point is 00:38:03 sucralose, which is also often referred to as Splenda, and acesulfame potassium, otherwise known as ACE-K. And both of those are found in pre-gym. Now, these chemicals are probably not as dangerous as some people would have you believe, but studies do suggest that regular consumption of these chemicals may be more harmful to our health than is generally recognized. And as far as coloring goes, Pre-Gym contains the artificial food dyes F, D, and C, red 40, blue 1, and yellow 5, depending on the flavor, whereas Pulse gets its coloring from fruit extracts. And like artificial sweeteners, chemical food dyes are not as harmful as the internet alarmists claim, but there is evidence

Starting point is 00:38:51 that they also may not be as safe for regular consumption as we once thought. Now, the downside to being 100% natural, so in the case of Pulse, the downside is while it tastes good, some people do prefer the taste of artificial sweeteners and artificial flavors over natural ones. So if that's you, if you really do not like how naturally flavored and naturally sweetened products taste, then you might like Pre-Gym more. If however, you don't mind the taste of naturally sweetened, naturally flavored products, and if you want to minimize your exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, then Pulse is probably the better choice. So in the end, the choice is yours.

Starting point is 00:39:34 If you're not worried about artificial chemicals and you feel particularly drawn to pre-gym for whatever reason, or if you just really are happy with it already, then it may be the better choice for you. However, if you want a 100% natural pre-workout supplement with scientifically proven ingredients and dosages and nothing else, then I think you are really going to like Pulse. And if you want to learn more about it, you can head over to legionathletics.com slash pulse. iTunes, or wherever you're listening from. This not only convinces people that they should check the show out, it also increases its search visibility and thus helps more people find their way to me and learn how to build their best bodies ever too. And of course, if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then just subscribe to the podcast and you won't miss

Starting point is 00:40:41 out on any of the new goodies. Lastly, if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email at mikeatmuscleforlife.com and share your thoughts on how you think it could be better. I read everything myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback. So please do reach out.

Starting point is 00:40:58 All right, that's it. Thanks again for listening to this episode and I hope to hear from you soon. And lastly, this episode is brought to you by me. Seriously though, I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead I'm going to just quickly tell you about something of mine, specifically my 100% natural weight gainer slash meal placement supplement Atlas. Now Atlas is a delicious powdered supplement that provides you

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Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Legion Pulse vs. Pre JYM: Which Pre-Workout Is Better?

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