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At TreadawayTraining.com, turn skinny guys into jacked men. This article is the definitive deep-dive guide to "Bulk" pre-workout, from Transparent Labs. We get into each ingredient to understand why it's included, what dosage you should expect, and whether or not it's worth your money.
What Is A Pre-Workout Drink?
A pre-workout drink is a stimulant taken before working out. It's a mix of several supplements that each do particular things to help you to achieve better performance. Individually, they may improve mental focus, increase muscular endurance, or even allow you to acquire a pump.
There are some high energy, aggressive "rage" pre-workouts out there that make you feel like you could run through walls. Others provide a pump without caffeine thus are suitable for use in evening workouts without disrupting sleep. Bulk is none of the above. It gives a "cleaner" sense of focus.
Review of The Bulk Pre-Workout Drink by Transparent Labs
Most pre-workout supplements on the market are dramatically underdosed on the ingredients that actually make the difference to your workout. Many companies that manufacture these types of supplements include a tiny amount of the critical ingredients. This way, they can say they've included it and use it in their marketing. They often also obscure the dosages behind "proprietary blends" that leave you with no idea what you're getting.
Thankfully, Bulk pre-workout from Transparent Labs does not fall into this group. Transparent Lab’s products are well dosed and clearly labeled, and almost every ingredient is included with a specific and clear purpose. Let's dive in and talk about each component.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D is "the sunshine vitamin" your body makes with the help of sunlight hitting your bare skin. When it's challenging to get enough time outdoors, taking Vitamin D as a supplement can be a good alternative. Research has shown that regular dosing of Vitamin D3 improves testosterone levels. 3,000 IU of Vitamin D, along with zinc and boron, makes up what Transparent Labs calls a "Testosterone Support Complex".
Zinc
A zinc deficiency can decrease your testosterone levels, making it harder to gain muscle and making it more likely you'll gain weight. By correcting the zinc deficiency, you can get your testosterone levels back where they need to be. Bulk contains 200% of your RDI.
There's no evidence to support further zinc supplementation as a means to raise your testosterone levels further, though. Also, there's nothing you can buy on the market legally that will significantly add to your testosterone levels, so be wary of supplements claiming they "boost" your natural levels.
Boron
There is some limited evidence to support boron being able to increase testosterone levels. Bulk contains 5mg of boron.
Citrulline Malate
L-Citrulline is one of the critical components of a good pre-workout. The role of L-Citrulline is to increase endurance to improve work capacity during the workout for aerobic athletes, to promote energy production, and to increase muscle growth.
Bulk pre-workout has 6g of this ingredient in a 2:1 ratio, meaning for every 3g of Citrulline Malate, 2g of that is L-Citrulline. That totals 4g L-Citrulline, which is good as many companies underdose this, at around 500mg. What would be even better is if it was included in its purest form, as 6g of L-Citrulline, or if the dosage of Citrulline Malate was increased to 9g, yielding 6g of L-Citrulline.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine is another ingredient that is usually underdosed in most pre-workout supplements (around 500mg-1g is typical), but to get the full benefits, you need around 4g, which you do get from Bulk. Some studies show a slight boost in lean body mass when taking beta-alanine (in college athletes, in women wanting to improve cardiovascular fitness and endurance, performance, and body composition in men).
Beta-Alanine is the ingredient that makes your skin tingle and feel itchy, though, so be aware that this is highly dosed in Bulk (between 4 and 8 times higher than average).
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BCAAs
Branched Chain Amino Acids with a 2:1:1 ratio. These have been shown to improve aerobic endurance. The main idea of BCAAs, though, is the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis. However, if you're getting adequate protein through whole foods in your diet, you don't need to rely on this. Bulk pre-workout contains 4g BCAAs.
Betaine
This ingredient has been shown to improve muscle mass and work capacity compared with groups that were not using it. Bulk pre-workout contains 2.5g.
Taurine
You may have heard that Taurine can help with muscle soreness, but this doesn't seem supported by the research. Bulk pre-workout contains 1.3g.
Tyrosine
Tyrosine helps with focus, and in the Bulk supplement, the benefits to focus are immaculate. Bulk pre-workout contains 600mg. While driving to the gym, my personal experience is that I could feel my thoughts go from scattered to clear - and I wasn't expecting this, so I don't think it was a placebo.
Caffeine / Theanine + 2:1
Caffeine is a stimulant that gives you energy and focus, but a lesser-known fact is that it reduces perceived effort, which can help you squeeze out those last few reps. At 180mg, Bulk contains around the same amount of caffeine as 16 fl oz of coffee.
Theanine is another of those supplements that most companies typically underdose, and it helps you relax without feeling drowsy. This may sound counterproductive to include in a pre-workout supplement but it works synergistically with caffeine, so you get energy and focus without the jitters.
Bulk pre-workout contains 360mg theanine, which means both ingredients are dosed in decent quantities. Plus, in a reversed ratio to most companies, the experience is a steady focus rather than an amped-up, jittery feeling.
Mucuna Pruriens
This ingredient is odd in the quantities it's present (70mg) in Bulk pre-workout. It has been shown to improve a feeling of well-being, but in much higher doses (5g). With other ingredients being included in scientifically proven dosages, I’m unsure why this particular ingredient is present in such a low dose.
L-norvaline
This is one of the ingredients included for muscular endurance. Bulk pre-workout contains 60mg.
Synephrine & Hordenine
These are stimulants. Synephrine is present at 50mg, and hordenine at 25mg.
Bioperine®
Bioperine is the patented version of black pepper extract, which helps you absorb the other ingredients effectively. Bulk pre-workout contains 5mg.
My Take on the Ingredients List
In an ideal world, there are some ingredients I'd change slightly. The Citrulline Malate I already mentioned above, and I'd like to see 5 or 6g of Beta-Alanine. These ingredients' increased cost could have been offset by not including the Mucuna pruriens or the BCAAs.
However, Bulk by Transparent Labs is probably the best pre-mixed pre-workout on the market. When I mixed my own, the ingredients I chose were very similar. In some ways, Bulk is better because the company can buy ingredients in large quantities and mass-produce the pre-workout to save money. To achieve this same blend yourself would be expensive and time-consuming.
How About the Taste?
The taste is good, but not great - I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10. I've not looked forward to drinking it, but I do not have to force it down either. They use Stevia for sweetness and no artificial sweeteners or colors. I've tried every flavor and strawberry lemonade is the best, with green apple coming in a very close second. The sour hit from the malic acid (Citrulline Malate) feels like it belongs in a sour flavor. Next is the blue raspberry, and tropical punch would come in a close fourth. Orange wasn't as good as the others, and sour grape I didn't really enjoy.
Cost/Value
Bulk is one of the more expensive pre-workouts on the market. Still, with a solid dosage of the ingredients, no artificial ingredients, and the biggest scoop I've ever seen, it certainly feels like you're getting value for money. It works out at $1.63 per serving (most others are around $1).
Transparent Labs offers discounted pricing if you buy two or three tubs at a time. Also, since recording the original video review, I applied to become a Transparent Labs affiliate so you can save an additional 10% by using discount code: TREADAWAY
This brings the price per serving down to $1.19.
Additionally, Transparent Labs provides third party testing for their supplement batches - and they publish certificates of analysis and composition on their website.
The Verdict
In conclusion, I would definitely recommend Bulk pre-workout from Transparent Labs. It's slightly more expensive than other leading pre-workout supplements. Still, the generous dosing of ingredients, as well as the openness of their testing and analysis, makes this justifiable - especially if you need the reassurance of batch testing for your sport.
As previously mentioned, if you'd like to buy using my affiliate link, you can collect 10% off your purchase using the code TREADAWAY. It doesn't give the absolute most intense pumps, but for the long term, real results, that isn't important.
Remember, supplements are the cherry on top of a proper nutrition and recovery protocol. These foundational elements must be appropriately in place first to see the full benefits of a supplementation program. If you want more support with your long-term results, we can talk about whether online coaching with me is the right option for you.
Thank you so much for reading! If you found this information helpful and want to help the Treadaway Training blogcast grow, simply share this post with a friend. If you like what I have to say, join the Skinny-to-Jacked Society Facebook group or check out my YouTube channel. I will be back here Saturday with another body transformation topic. As always, God bless you AND your family and I'll see you Saturday.
