If there was one facet of the nutritional supplement market where product reviews are worth consulting before you buy, it would have to be pre-workouts.
Our Dr Jekyll pre-workout review aims to separate fact from sales pitch and give you the knowledge that puts the power back in the hands of the consumer… NOT the manufacturer. The way it should be!
Too long have nutritional supplement producers exploited the knowledge gap between buyer and seller. A simple analysis of all the key ingredients, plus what the science actually says about their benefits, and optimum quantities, will give you all the information you need to decide whether this ProSupps pre-workout is worth the dollar.
The research and hard work has already been done. All you need to do is read what follows and make up your own mind…
What does Dr Jekyll pre-workout do?
According to the label on the front, quite a lot it seems…!
Marketed as a low stim anabolic pre-workout powder, Dr Jekyll aims to boost muscle development and recovery, increase muscle pumps and the transport of nutrients, all whilst giving the user ‘roadmap vascularity’… whatever that means.
This ProSupps pre-workout certainly contains some high profile active ingredients but can they really achieve what this Dr Jekyll product claims they can…? There’s only one way to find out and that’s to take a closer look at these ingredients and their dosages…
Ingredients in Dr Jekyll pre-workout by ProSupps
This wouldn’t be a proper Dr Jekyll pre-workout review with out looking at the ingredients. So let’s dive in.
Proprietary blend?
On first inspection, Dr Jekyll pre-workout appears to be made up of a number of proprietary blends. Terms like ‘complex’ and ‘matrix’ send a shiver down the spine when it comes to reading a nutritional supplement label.
A closer look, however, alleviates any initial fears. Each ingredient within these blends is clearly listed along with precise quantities.
So, whilst these compound mixes remain nothing more than an attempt by supplement manufacturers to make their ingredients sound more fashionable, at least in this case, ProSupps aren’t hiding anything from their customers. A positive start to this Dr Jekyll review!
Taking this product, you know exactly what and how much you’re putting in your body every time you knock back a scoop. In fairness, that’s all anyone can ask for. It’s up to you, with our help, to determine whether that scoop is actually going to help you make gains and therefore whether it’s worth the cost!
Time for a closer look at what’s really in these blends…
Beta alanine (2.5g):
The inclusion of beta alanine in Dr Jekyll’s ‘endurance complex’ is a real positive. This is undoubtedly one of the most clinically effective supplement ingredients going, with some really well grounded research to support its use as a training aid.
By helping to produce a compound called carnosine, beta alanine limits the production of lactic acid in your muscles, which is the principle cause of fatigue. This means you can train those muscles harder for longer before they give up, particularly during intense activity which lasts between 1 and 4 minutes.[1]
At 2.5g per serving, this ProSupps pre-workout comes in a little shy of the 4-6g per day recommended by much of the scientific research.[2] Having said that, this is a better dose than you will find in many of the pre-workout supplements on the market and is certainly a good place to start.
Plus, because you know exactly how much is in each serving, you can always supplement this pre-workout with additional beta alanine from a pure source!
Creatine (1g):
Even more of a powerhouse ingredient than beta alanine and by far the most well researched compound in the world of performance supplements, creatine is a big, big player.
The sole component of Dr Jekyll’s ‘strength matrix’, creatine is included to help users boost their work volume capacity, increasing the number of sets and reps they can perform before fatigue sets in.
Unfortunately for this ProSupps pre-workout, 1g of creatine per serving isn’t going to achieve an awful lot for anyone. The science (and there is a lot of research) points to an optimum dose of 5g per day for an extended period of time.[3]
This means you would have to consume 5 scoops of the Dr Jekyll product to get your recommended dose of creatine, which just isn’t a feasible option given the dosages of other potent ingredients within the formula!
In all honesty, whenever we see creatine listed in a pre-workout formula, the alarm bells start ringing. There simply isn’t room in one serving for an optimum dose. You’re much better off sourcing a pure creatine supplement and taking that at the correct daily dose!
Leucine (500 mg):
Leucine is one of three amino acids (isoleucine and valine are the other two) which make up Branch Chain Amino Acids or BCAA’s. Supplementation with this collection of amino acids is thought to have a number of potential physiological benefits, with particular emphasis on reducing training induced muscle soreness and boosting muscle mass.[4]
However, in an ideal world, these amino acids should really appear together and in much larger quantities than 500 mg. In fact, the optimal dose of BCAA’s is believed to be between 4-6g, with a 2:1:1 split between leucine, isoleucine, and valine respectively.
This means for a total dose of 6g, you’re looking at 3g of leucine, 1.5g of isoleucine and 1.5g of valine.[5] Consequently, it seems unlikely that the 500 mg dose of leucine in this ProSupps pre-workout will have much of a physiological impact.
Caffeine (100 mg):
Whilst Dr Jekyll’s pre-workout contains quite a bit less caffeine than the 250 mg we recommend, it is marketed as a low stim product and therefore we can’t really complain too much.
If you’re new to the world of pre-workouts or generally have a low caffeine tolerance then this moderate dose offers a great starting point for you and should definitely be enough for you to feel the effects.
If, however, you’re an experienced supplement user, then 100 mg may not be quite punchy enough for you. Even if it doesn’t get you buzzing quite how you like, however, this dose should still give you the metabolic effects associated with caffeine.
This Dr Jekyll pre-workout review should be telling you that it’s not really a good product unfortunately.
L-citrulline (1.5 mg):
An integral part of this products ‘pump matrix’, citrulline has been demonstrated to help generate some pretty impressive gym swell. It does this by boosting your body’s production of nitric oxide, which in turn causes increased vasodilation and allows more blood to be circulated around your body.
Not only does this mean your muscles look bigger whilst you work out, it should also help you fight fatigue by delivering more oxygen and nutrients to where it’s needed most!
Unfortunately, the scientific research suggests you need at least 3g of l-citrulline per day to achieve these physiological effects. 1.5 mg per scoop is, therefore, the definition of a token effort![6]
WASTE OF TIME!
Pros and cons of ProSupps pre-workout Dr Jekyll
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Benefits of Dr Jekyll by ProSupps
Whilst many of the key ingredients in this ProSupps pre-workout are underdosed, it does still have some major benefits.
The manufacturers unwillingness to hide behind proprietary blends is a huge positive.
Every ingredient is listed, along with how much of it is included, which means the consumer is 100% aware of exactly what they are putting in their body. We can complain as much as we like about suboptimal doses, but at least we have the knowledge to complain.
The low dose of caffeine (100 mg) means this product can generally be consumed at any time of the day without the fear of not being able to switch off when you go to sleep.
Perfect for those among you who like to bust through their workouts in the evening after a long day at work!
Pricing
At $29.68 on muscleandstrength.com Dr Jekyll comes in at just under a buck per serving. This puts it pretty much in the middle of the road as far as value for money goes.
Summary
There’s only one word that can sum up our Dr Jekyll pre-workout review and that’s average… With big hitters like beta alanine, creatine, citrulline and caffeine all included, this ProSupps pre-workout promises so much but fails to really deliver.
You can combine all the best ingredients under the sun but if none of them are dosed optimally, then their effects are going to be minimal.
It’s only saving grace is that it doesn’t try and con customers with the use of proprietary blends. Our advice would be to look for a pre-workout product which may focus on a few less key ingredients but gives you as close to optimum quantities of those ingredients as possible!
FAQ
Dr Jekyll pre-workout recall
Back in 2016, ProSupps recalled a number of products in their Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ranges as a result of the inclusion of an unapproved dietary ingredient called Picamilon.
Dr Jekyll pre-workout caffeine content
Despite being marketed as a low stim pre-workout product, Dr Jekyll does contain 100 mg of caffeine. For the seasoned pre-workout users out there this is a very moderate dose and is unlikely to have significant effects.
However, if you really are looking for a stimulant free product and have very low tolerance levels to caffeine then this probably still isn’t the right product for you!
How do you take Dr Jekyll pre-workout?
As a dietary supplement, mix 1 to 2 scoops of Dr Jekyll with 8 oz. of cold water and consume 15 to 30 minutes before exercise.
This concludes our Dr Jekyll pre-workout review, please leave your own review in the comments below.
Resources
[1] Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis
[2] Stellingwerff T, Anwander H, Egger A, Buehler T, Kreis R, Decombaz J, et al. Effect of two beta-alanine dosing protocols on muscle carnosine synthesis and washout. Amino Acids. 2012;42(6):2461–72. doi: 10.1007/s00726-011-1054-4 and Harris RC, Jones GA, Kim HJ, Kim CK, Price KA, Wise JA. Changes in muscle carnosine of subjects with 4 weeks of supplementation with a controlled relase formulation of beta-alanine (CarnoSyn), and for 6 weeks post (Abstract) FASEB J. 2009;23:599.4.
[3] Creatine supplementation with specific view to exercise/sports performance: an update- journal of international sports science and nutrition.
[4] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/bcaa#section4
[5] https://www.jimstoppani.com/supplements/best-bcaa-ratio
[6]Bailey, S. J., Blackwell, J. R., Lord, T., Vanhatalo, A., Winyard, P. G., & Jones, A. M. (2015). L-citrulline supplementation improves O2 uptake kinetics and high-intensity exercise performance in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology, 119(4), 385-395.
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