Welcome to the most comprehensive Kill It pre-workout review on the internet!
Everything you need to know about Rich Piana, 5% Nutrition and one of their five pre-workout products. That means a detailed breakdown of the key ingredients in Kill It, what quantities they appear in and how this compares to what the latest scientific research is telling us!
No sales pitch, no marketing BS, just the cold hard facts so that you can make up your own mind when it comes to this product and whether it meets your requirements or not.
The world of nutritional supplements, and pre-workout in particular, is a rather murky one. The line between safe supplement and dangerous drug is regularly blurred by manufacturers who seem to care more about making money than they do about providing safe and effective products!
As a result it is vitally important that you do some research before committing to a particular product. That’s where we come in. All the information you need to know in one easy to navigate article so you don’t have to waste your valuable time trawling the web!
You’re welcome!
About Rich Piana and 5% Nutrition
Rich Piana was an American bodybuilder and entrepreneur famous for his successes at the IFBB Mr Teen California in 1989 and Mr California in 1998. He began his own supplement company, named 5% Nutrition off the back of this reputation as an elite bodybuilder.
The name was based on his belief that only 5% of people have the mentality to do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals, whatever they happened to be.
He was happy to admit in the public domain that he used steroids and Human Growth Hormone throughout his career, aware of the risks to his health but also considering it a necessary part of competing at the highest level.
Whilst the cause of his death, at the tender age of just 46, was inconclusive, his heart and liver weighed over twice the average amount for an adult male!!
This isn’t exactly a promising endorsement as far as our 5% pre-workout Nutrition pre-workout review is concerned. Having said that, we will do our best to asses the kill it product based on the merits of it’s ingredients and dosages and not the association with a prolific user of dangerous and normally prohibited substances.
Kill It pre-workout ingredients
The first thing that should hit you when taking a look at the supplement facts label is that this product contains multiple proprietary blends. For those who are new to this game, that means each ingredient contained within Kill It is listed on the label but not their individual weights. That makes it almost impossible for you to know exactly how much of everything you are putting in your body.
As far as the manufacturer is concerned it also makes it very difficult for you to spot underdosed key ingredients! Not a good start to the ingredients section of our 5% Kill It pre-workout review.
NO/ Endurance blend (7.5g)
The first of this product’s blends contains a few big hitters of the pre-workout circuit in citrulline, beta alanine and caffeine. There is a wealth of research to suggest the efficacy of these ingredients for exercise performance and their inclusion is undoubtedly a positive sign!
Whilst this blend also contains a number of other ingredients, there is little if any scientific research to support their use for exercise performance so we’re not even going to waste your time with those!
L-citrulline
Citrulline helps you to raise blood levels of an amino acid called arginine which boosts nitric oxide production and leads to increased vasodilation. This means more blood flow to working muscles during exercise and a delay in fatigue.[1] In order to achieve these benefits, most studies suggest that a 3-6g dose of l-citrulline per day for a period of at least a week should be sufficient.[2]
Given that citrulline is the most prevalent ingredient in this 7.5g blend, it is possible that there is the minimum 3g serving to be effective, but without a chemistry lab in your living room, there ain’t no way of being certain!
Beta alanine
Beta alanine is perhaps an even more exciting inclusion than citrulline. Second only to creatine in terms of the level of research undertaken and the confidence in its effectiveness, this amino acid is proven to help reduce fatigue during anaerobic activity.
By increasing your muscle stores of something called carnosine, it helps to buffer lactic acid from your muscles, maintaining their contractility.[3]
The scientific research suggests that 4-6g per day for a period of at least 2 weeks is effective at raising your muscle carnosine levels sufficiently in order to have a tangible effect on exercise performance.[4] Much like with citrulline there is room in the 7.5g blend for an optimum dose of beta alanine. A meaningful serving of both, however, seems unlikely, given that there are 6 other ingredients in the blend. In all honesty, it’s hard for our Kill It pre-workout review to say for sure!
Creatine blend (1.5g)
If there was some hope that the NO/ Endurance blend may contain meaningful doses of its key ingredients, then all hope is lost when we consider Kill Its creatine blend.
It contains a mixture of magnesium creatine chelate, creatine monohydrate and creatine pyruvate. Now, pretty much all of the scientific research into creatine has been conducted using the monohydrate variety. Unfortunately for Kill It, this research agrees that you must consume at least 5g per day for a period of a number of weeks in order to experience the strength and muscle mass gains commonly associated with supplementation.[5]
As a result the total blend weight of 1.5g has nowhere near enough space for an effective dose! EPIC FAIL!
Kill It pre-workout side effects
There are a few ingredients included in this Rich Piana 5% Nutrition Kill It pre-workout which have the potential to cause some minor side effects.
Caffeine, when consumed in significant quantities can lead to diarrhea, vomiting, the jitters and even anxiety. The 250 mg serving in this product shouldn’t present too many problems unless you are new to pre-workouts or have a low tolerance to caffeine. If this is the case, it may be prudent to start with a half dose of this supplement in order to test the waters. Only when you do not have an adverse reaction to this should you begin to slowly increase your serving.
Beta alanine normally causes a mild tingling sensation on the surface of the skin (most prominently in the face) which lasts around 20 minutes. The good news is that this reaction is completely harmless and should be taken as a sign you are consuming a meaningful dose of beta alanine and not something entirely useless!
Finally, creatine can cause bloating and general gastrointestinal discomfort. However, this is associated with large single doses of the amino acid, and the 1.5g included in Kill It is very unlikely to cause you any problems, nor any benefits for that matter!
How much caffeine is in Kill It by 5% Nutrition?
The one ingredient in the NO/ Endurance proprietary blend which does actually have its quantity listed is caffeine. Probably the most common stimulant ingredient currently found in pre-workout supplements, caffeine is capable of increasing your energy levels and ensuring you’re properly focused for your session. Moreover, there is also evidence to suggest that it can help you to burn more fat whilst working out.
The science tells us that caffeine can be effective at doses as low as 100 mg and is safe to consume at levels as high as 400 mg per day.[6] That means the 250 mg serving in Kill It is definitely going to be effective, and should give you the benefits without some of the negative side effects associated with extremely high doses of caffeine.
Pros and Cons of Kill It by 5% Nutrition
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5150 vs Kill It pre-workout: what’s the difference?
The most significant difference between these two 5% Nutrition pre-workout products is that Kill It hides its ingredient dosages behind a number of proprietary blends whereas 5150 discloses the precise quantities of each of its key ingredients!
Other than that, the two products actually contain a number of the same ingredients including: l-citrulline, beta alanine and caffeine, as well as the largely ineffective tyrosine, taurine and choline bitartrate. Kill Its use of proprietary blends, however, makes it impossible for us to compare dosages of these ingredients!
Kill It also includes a dose of creatine, which 5150 does not. But in all honesty, it’s such an insignificant serving that it won’t make a tangible difference.
Pricing
At $33.95 on the official 5% Nutrition website, Kill It comes in at $1.13 per serving which puts it kind of in the middle of the road as far as cost goes!
Where to buy Kill It pre-workout?
In addition to the official 5% Nutrition website, Kill It can also be sourced at global online retail giant Amazon, as well as trusted third party supplement sites including: XXL Nutrition, GNC and Bodybuilding Warehouse. As a result be sure to shop around for the best price!
Is Kill It pre-workout in Canada?
The official 5% Nutrition website has an international shipping selection so presumably they deliver to Canada.
Failing that, it can also be sourced from a number of Canadian supplement sites including: supplementsource.ca, supplementking.ca and befit.ca.
Flavor options
There are 6 possible flavors to choose from including pre-workout classics Blue Raspberry and Fruit Punch, and the slightly more obscure Southern Sweet Tea. That means there should be a taste to your liking no matter what your preferences.
Summary
Despite the inclusion of some real nutritional supplement heavy hitters in the form of citrulline, beta alanine, caffeine and creatine, our Kill IT pre-workout review can only really have a negative conclusion. Why…?! The use of two proprietary blends!
This factor makes it impossible for us to properly evaluate the ingredients included and to determine whether they appear in effective quantities. The only ingredient that we know for certain is included at these levels is caffeine, and for a product containing over 10 ingredients, that simply isn’t good enough!
Whilst it is mathematically possible for there to be an effective serving of both l-citrulline and beta alanine within Kill It, the fact that 5% Nutrition make use of proprietary blends indicates that they are attempting to hide underdosed ingredients. As a result we wouldn’t be surprised if the servings of both l-citrulline and beta alanine were equally as disappointing as the serving of creatine.
Consequently, we would suggest you continue your search for the perfect pre-workout and give Kill It a wide berth as you do so!
References:
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124046306000531
[2]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.
[3] beta-Alanine supplementation augments muscle carnosine content and attenuates fatigue during repeated isokinetic contraction bouts in trained sprinters- J Appl Physiol (1985). 2007 Nov;103(5
[4] 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.
[5] Creatine supplementation with specific view to exercise/sports performance: an update- journal of international sports science and nutrition.
[6] Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fat metabolism- Obesity Reviews 2011
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