Let’s be honest; the world of pre-workout supplements is a murky one. Each manufacturer competes for your hard-earned cash and is not afraid to lure you in with false promises and unrealistic claims! Our Limitless pre-workout review changes all of that!
Limitless is a pre-workout supplement from the company Muscle Rage. It contains ingredients that help with increasing muscle pumps, energy, focus, and performance while training. In total Limitless pre-workout contains nine ingredients in a 12.67-gram dosage. Limitless has a good dose of L-Citrulline Malate, caffeine and beta-alanine which are staples in any good pre-workout. The ingredients you need to worry about in Limitless are N-Methyltyramine and N-Phenethyl Dimethylamine as they are banned in many sports organisations
Up to date, scientifically supported information to help you cut through the mountains of bullshit online and come to a reasoned decision as to whether yet another pre-workout supplement promising the world is worth its weight!
By taking a closer look at what ingredients are included and in what kind of quantities you can rest easy knowing exactly what this Muscle Rage manufactured product is bringing to the table. Add to that, important information about how much it should cost, where you can buy it and what flavor options are available and this really is your one stop shop to Muscle Rage Limitless pre-workout!
No more painstaking hours spent doing your own online research; no more being bamboozled with marketing mumbo jumbo—just the cold, hard, scientific facts, which matter the most.
Welcome to the ultimate Limitless pre-workout review on the world wide web!
About Limitless pre-workout
According to its Muscle Rage manufacturers, “Limitless is the strongest and most complete pre-workout to date. Packing more optimally dosed active ingredients than anything else in its class.”
As a result, they suggest it offers:
- Unparalleled Focus,
- Unrivaled Power; and
- Unmatched Performance
A non-proprietary blend ( a little more information on this later), Limitless is described as a “hard-hitting pre-workout designed to not only give you intense focus and crazy energy but also improve your performance throughout your workout whilst delivering massive pumps.”
There’s only one way to determine whether all this is backed up by what Muscle Rage includes in their Limitless pre-workout or whether it’s yet more hype from another supplement manufacturer. Let’s examine how this product’s ingredients and dosages match up to the latest scientific research!
Limitless pre-workout ingredients
Serving size: 1 scoop (12.67 g) | Amount Per Serving | %Daily Value |
L-Citrulline DL Malate | 6000 mg | * |
Beta-Alanine | 3200 mg | * |
Alpha GPC 50% | 300 mg | * |
Caffeine Anhydrous | 250 mg | * |
N-Phenethyl Dimethylamine | 175 mg | * |
Di-Caffeine Malate | 100 mg | * |
Theobromine | 75 mg | * |
N-Methyltyramine | 50 mg | * |
Black Pepper Extract | 10 mg | * |
Proprietary blend?
Before we take a closer look at which key ingredients feature, it would be prudent of us to address perhaps the single most important factor to consider when buying a pre-workout supplement! Proprietary blends. As Muscle Rage is pretty keen to point out in their product blurb, Limitless is described as a non-proprietary blend formula… But what does this actually mean?!
Supplement manufacturers use proprietary blends when they don’t want you to know exactly how much of a particular ingredient or group of ingredients are in their product. Normally because they are grossly underdosed.
This means, whilst you as the consumer know which ingredients are included in these blends, you don’t know the individual weight of each component ingredient. As a result, you have no idea how much of anything you are actually putting in your body, which is never a good place to be! The easiest way to spot a proprietary blend…? Look out for groups of ingredients bulked together under terms such as ‘matrix,’ ‘complex,’ and obviously, ‘blend.’
Whatever the manufacturer might try to tell you about using proprietary blends to keep their formulas a secret from competitors, this is bullshit. Everyone knows what the optimal doses of each ingredient should be, and the only reason they have to hide that information from you is if they aren’t giving you the right amount of it in their product. FULL STOP!
Another thing is illegal ingredients; we identify two ingredients in the formula that are prohibited in many sports organizations: N-Phenethyl Dimethylamine and N-Methyltyramine. So if you are an athlete competing in sports, I would stay away from this product.
Consequently, when the manufacturer fully discloses ingredient quantities, as in the case of Muscle Rage here, this is a huge positive! A solid start to our Limitless pre-workout review.
Here’s the part you need to know before proceeding any further:
However, you have to be careful about illegal ingredients; we identify two ingredients in the formula that are prohibited in many sports organizations, these are N-Phenethyl Dimethylamine and N-Methyltyramine.
So if you are an athlete competing in sports, I would stay away from this product as you may not get clean off a drug test while using the product.
Citrulline malate (6000 mg)
Citrulline is rapidly becoming one of the most popular inclusions in pre-workout supplements. By far the most effective pump-inducing ingredient available, it helps you to produce something called nitric oxide. Nitric oxide improves circulation by promoting vasodilation, which means more blood and, therefore, more oxygen can reach your working muscles during sessions.[1]
Not only does that mean incredibly aesthetic muscle pumps, but it should also help you to fight fatigue during particularly strenuous workouts.
Most studies suggest that a daily dose of 6-8g is optimal for producing the above effects, which means the 6g per serving in Limitless is bang on the optimum serving.[2]
The use of the malate variety of citrulline rather than pure l-citrulline is also a huge bonus as this means there is no loading phase required to see the benefits. Consume your 6g serving 30-60 mins before your workout and feel the swell![3]
Beta-alanine (3200 mg)
Perhaps, beta-alanine is the most widely researched and clinically effective nutritional supplement currently available other than creatine monohydrate. Dosed at the right levels, it helps to increase your muscle stores of something called carnosine. Carnosine plays a critical role in the buffering of lactic acid in your muscles during anaerobic activity.[4]
The more efficiently you can remove lactic acid from your muscles, the greater the delay until fatigue and the better your anaerobic performance!
The wealth of studies suggest that a daily serving of 4-6g for a period of at least 2 weeks is adequate to raise muscle carnosine stores sufficiently to generate a tangible performance benefit.[5]
That means the 3.2g serving in Limitless comes up a little short of the lower end of this recommended range. Whilst this is undoubtedly a little disappointing, there aren’t many pre-workout products on the market which dose beta-alanine at optimal levels.
Additionally, most of the research suggests that carnosine saturation increases the longer you are supplementing with beta-alanine. Consequently, the 3.2g serving will absolutely be of benefit to your exercise performance; it may just take a little longer for this dose to achieve those results in comparison to an optimum serving!
Caffeine and DI-Caffeine Malate (350 mg)
Without a doubt, the most common stimulant ingredient used in the pre-workout market. Given the name of this product, there should be no surprise that it uses a serving of caffeine.
Capable of giving you that all-important energy boost before your workout and helping you burn more fat during your sessions, caffeine has some really tangible implications for your exercise performance.
Most scientific research suggests that it is effective at doses as low as 100 mg whilst it can be consumed safely at levels as high as 400 mg per day.[6]
Limitless contains a 250 mg dose of caffeine anhydrous (the most common synthetic caffeine found in supplements) and a further 100 mg of dicaffeine malate (helps to alleviate some of the gastrointestinal issues associated with significant caffeine consumption), to create a whopping total dose of 350 mg.
That means this Muscle Rage-inspired pre-workout is absolutely not for the faint-hearted and should give even the most hardened stimulant users a buzz they’re after. It does, however, mean that this product may not be the right choice for you if you are new to pre-workouts or have a low tolerance to caffeine!
Whilst there are many other ingredients included in the Muscle Rage Limitless pre-workout formula, none of them are worth spending any time discussing due to the complete lack of scientific research into their efficacy for exercise performance!
Is Limitless pre-workout banned?
The previous formula of limitless used to contain a dose of DMHA, which is similar to DMAA but considered safer.
It appears that they have removed this potentially dangerous ingredient from the formula(DMHA).
This is, in my opinion, a step in the right direction because you don’t want to sell products that contain dangerous ingredients.
It looks like it is not banned anymore, but the old formula, which is not for sale anymore, might be banned.
However, there are still two ingredients that could get you in a lot of trouble if you compete in sports.
These ingredients are N-Phenethyl Dimethylamine and N-Methyltyramine.
In fact, on their official website, here’s what they have to say about passing drug tests:
Limitless may fail a WADA sports drug test. Limitless is highly unlikely to fail a workplace drugs test.
This is extremely concerning, and if you play any competitive sports, you should stay away from this product.
Limitless pre-workout side effects
There are probably four ingredients included in this Muscle Rage pre-workout that may cause side effects in some users.
Beta alanine normally causes a mild tingling sensation on the surface of the skin (face in particular) which ordinarily subsides after around 20 minutes. The good news is this symptom is completely harmless and should in fact be taken as a sign that you are consuming a meaningful dose of beta alanine. The 3.2g in every scoop of Limitless should be enough to elicit such a response!
350 mg of caffeine is 100% sufficient to cause some of the unwanted side effects of significant intake. You can expect to experience diarrhea, and in severe cases, vomiting, jitters, and even anxiety. If you are new to pre-workout supplements or have a low tolerance to caffeine generally, then this product may not be for you. If you do take it, we would definitely advise you to start with a half serving at most to test the waters!
Not to mention there are two illegal ingredients included in the formulation N-Phenethyl Dimethylamine and N-Methyltyramine; these two substances have been banned from use in sports, so be careful with that.
If a product contains illegal ingredients, we cannot recommend using it as there is a reason why ingredients are banned.
We don’t feel like taking chances with our health, and we’re not sure about the side effects of the banned ingredients.
So for safety reasons, we would have to advise against using Limitless pre-workout based on potential side effects the illegal ingredients come with.
Pros and cons of Muscle Rage Limitless pre-workout
Pros | Cons |
|
|
How much does Limitless pre-workout by Muscle Rage cost?
At £29.99 on the official Muscle Rage website, Limitless comes in at around £1 ($1.30) per serving.
This puts it pretty much in the middle of the road as far as cost goes, perhaps a little towards the more expensive end of the market. Given the optimum dose of citrulline malate, an effective serving of beta-alanine, and a huge caffeine hit, this seems like relatively good value for money, to be honest!
With just 4 flavors to choose from, including pre-workout classics Fruit Punch and Cotton Candy, the fussy among you may struggle to find an option to your liking!
In addition to the official Muscle Rage website, as mentioned above, you can also purchase Limitless pre-workout from global online retail giant Amazon and third-party supplement websites, including onlyapproved.com, so be sure to shop around for the best price!
Summary: Limitless pre-workout conclusion
All in all, this has been a very positive Limitless pre-workout review. An optimum dose of citrulline malate and an effective serving of beta-alanine should never be underestimated and mean this product will absolutely be of benefit to your exercise performance.
Depending on what you are looking for from your pre-workout and your general tolerance of stimulants, the whopping 350 mg serving of caffeine per scoop is either a huge positive or a bit of a negative. Either way, it’s difficult to argue with a well-proven ingredient dosed at optimum levels and beyond. If you are new to pre-workouts, though, just a little bit of friendly advice… Start with a half dose of this product if you don’t want some of the negatives associated with significant caffeine consumption!
The only clear-cut negatives in this product are using a few too many ingredients, which have very little if any scientific research to support their efficacy for exercise performance, and the slightly limited flavor options. Having said that, if you’re choosing a pre-workout based solely on taste, then you are probably in this game for the wrong reasons.
Overall, we think the $1.31 price tag per serving offers pretty good value for money, especially when compared to dozens of other pre-workout products on the market which don’t offer anywhere near this kind of bang for their buck!
A big downside to this product is illegal ingredients, if you compete in sports you cannot use it because you might fail a drug test.
Our final verdict?
Even though the formula is decent and will probably work well we have to advise against using it for two reasons, First of all, you can get a more effective pre-workout for a similar price that doesn’t contain illegal ingredients.
Secondly, the formula contains illegal ingredients that can be harmful to your health and make you fail a drug test.
It’s up to you, you will probably not be disappointed with the effectiveness of Limitless however it can come with risky side effects.
References:
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124046306000531
[2]Pérez-Guisado, J., & Jakeman, P. M. (2010). Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(5), 1215-1222.
[3]Pérez-Guisado, J., & Jakeman, P. M. (2010). Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(5), 1215-1222.
[4] 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
[5] International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine- J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015; 12: 30.
[6] Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fat metabolism- Obesity Reviews 2011
Leave a Reply