Welcome to this Beyond Raw Lit pre-workout review; if you are looking for information about this supplement on how well it works if the ingredients are good, it is optimally dosed, and does it come with any side effects.
Then you’re in the right place.
Lit is a pre-workout from the company Beyond Raw. Lit pre-workout contains 7 ingredients and the formula comes without any proprietary blends. The highlights of the Lit formula are the 3.2-gram beta-alanine, 250 mg caffeine, 3-gram citrulline, and 1.5 g Nitrosigine. The formula works well to increase energy, nitric oxide and boost performance. The drawback is that the dosage is over 14-grams but you only get just under 10-grams in the form of active ingredients with each serving.
This LIT pre-workout review will give you all the information you need to decide whether this product is right for you. Plus, it should help debunk some of the sciencey jargon, which most supplement brands like to hide behind when marketing their products.
Ingredients
Serving size: 1 Scoop (14.14g) | Amount Per Serving | %Daily Value |
Calories | 15 | |
Total Carbohydrate | 4 g | 1%* |
Sodium | 15 mg | 1% |
Potassium | 100 mg | 2% |
Energy & Mental Intensity | 5.2 g | * |
CarnoSyn® Beta-Alanine | 3.2 g | * |
Micronised Creatine (as Creatine Monohydrate) | 1.5 g | * |
Caffeine Anhydrous | 250 mg | * |
elevATP® | 150 mg | * |
Neurofactor® | 100 mg | * |
Pump & N.O. Support | 4.5 g | * |
L-Citrulline | 3 g | * |
Nitrosigine® | 1.5 g | * |
The only ingredients we are going to discuss as part of our LIT pre-workout review and therefore the only ingredients you need to concern yourself with are: beta alanine, creatine monohydrate, caffeine, l-citrulline and arginine. Whilst there’s other stuff in LIT pre-workout, it is these ingredients, which are intended to have the most significant effect on your physiology, that are the most important for the brand to get right!
1. Beta-alanine (3.2g):
One of the most scientifically proven nutritional supplements going and an absolute must in any pre-workout supplement worth it’s salt. Beta-alanine is a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid found in meat, fish, and poultry.
Why so important, you ask? Well, beta-alanine helps your body to produce something called carnosine, which reduces lactic acid build-up in your muscles during anaerobic activity lasting 1-4 minutes, like weight lifting or sprinting. Seeing as it’s lactic acid, which causes that horrible burning feeling in your muscles when you’re working hard in the gym, anything which can reduce its build-up is definitely going to help your performance.
At 3.2g per scoop, LIT pre-workout is a little shy of the 4-6g daily dose recommended by a decent chunk of scientific research. Having said that, it isn’t far off, and given that beta-alanine is very much a long-game kind of supplement, provided you take it consistently at this dose, then you’re going to see the benefits. After that, it will just take a little longer.
2. Creatine monohydrate (1.5g):
If beta-alanine is ONE of the most researched supplements out there, then creatine is definitely THE most researched.
Generally speaking, if you’re serious about training and looking to make tangible gains in the gym, or you’re trying to squeeze everything out of your physical performance on the sports field, then creatine supplementation should most definitely be on your radar.
Creatine is a naturally occurring non-protein amino acid found mainly in red meat and seafood. 95% of your body’s stores can be found in skeletal muscle, and its number one role is to help form phosphocreatine, which is used to provide energy to your working muscles.
This is really important when you want to perform short bouts of high-intensity work when your body uses something called the ATP-PC energy system. ATP is comfortably the quickest energy source in your body, but you have a minimal supply, which tends to run out pretty quickly.
The phosphocreatine stored in your muscles essentially allows you to create more ATP to be used for energy. As a result, the more creatine you absorb, the more phosphocreatine you have stored in your muscles. This means you can generate more ATP and therefore have more energy available to exercise at high intensities. Sounds useful, right?!
Now, pretty much all of the scientific research points to an optimal dose of 5g per day after an initial week-long loading phase of a whopping 20g a day. This is significantly higher than the rather stingy 1.5g per scoop offered by LIT pre-workout. It’s gonna take a hell of a long time to saturate your muscles taking this product, so if creatine intake is one of your main concerns, there’s little point in choosing LIT.
3. Caffeine Anhydrous (250 mg):
A 250 mg dosage of caffeine is perfect going and will undoubtedly give even the most seasoned stimulant users a pretty good kick!
In addition to the energy boost, caffeine can also help you burn more fat during your session. By stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, it increases adrenaline levels and, in turn, helps to make stores of fatty acids in your muscles available for use as fuel. Winner!
4. L-citrulline (3g) & Nitrosigine (1.5g)
Citrulline is yet another nonessential amino acid. Its most significant benefit as far as exercise is concerned is in helping to delay fatigue. But, for the vain among you (let’s be honest, you wouldn’t be going to the gym if you weren’t at least a little bit), it also helps you to get one hell of a pump on. It does this by increasing your nitric oxide levels and causing your veins and arteries to expand, allowing more blood to flow through them.
Scientists suggest that 3-6g per day is an optimal dosage, which means that LIT pre-workout creeps in at the lower limit of that range. Ideally, it would contain a little more, but there should be enough for you to feel the effects. The only real negative is that citrulline malate is probably a better option than pure l-citrulline because it can help to improve endurance and energy production.
Nitrosigine is the patented version of Arginine Silicate, which has been shown to help boost nitric oxide levels fat better than the stand-alone arginine.
Pros and cons
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Pricing
LIT pre-workout is listed on the official GNC website at $39.99, and that gets you 30 servings. That works out at approximately $1.30 per serving, which puts this product at the more expensive end of the market.
Summary
Overall, we can’t really argue with the key ingredients in LIT pre-workout. It contains two heavyweights of nutritional supplements in creatine and beta-alanine alongside a great dose of caffeine and a solid amount of citrulline.
Unfortunately, it is hard for our LIT pre-workout review to look beyond the quite frankly laughable dosage of creatine.
Having said that, If you’re new to the world of pre-workout supplements, then the caffeine content alone in this product makes it a viable starter option. If, on the other hand, you’re already well versed in this marketplace, then you can probably find a product with better quantities of the ingredients which are really going to help you make gains in the gym.
Our final verdict…? There are almost certainly better pre-workout products out there in this price range, so be sure to shop around and do your research!
FAQ
Does LIT pre-workout have caffeine?
In a word… yes! To be precise, it contains a whopping 250 mg of the stuff, which is great news for anyone looking for a buzz during their workout. For more information on caffeine, its optimum dosage, and why it’s such an important part of pretty much all pre-workouts, check out the rest of the article above.
How long does LIT pre-workout take to kick in?
As with the vast majority of pre-workout supplements on the market, LIT pre-workout should be taken somewhere between 30 and 90 minutes before starting your session. This gives plenty of time for the active ingredients, especially the caffeine, to reach optimum levels in your blood.
Because the vast majority of the caffeine you consume is metabolized, with only 1-3 % lost as part of your pee, it remains in your system for an incredibly long time (4-6 hours), which means you only really need to be worrying about taking your pre-workout too late.
How do you use LIT pre-workout?
Mix one scoop in 8 fl. oz. of cold water and consume pre-workout. You can also consume one serving on non-training days for additional energy and focus. Be sure to take on plenty of water whilst using this product due to the diuretic effect of ingredients such as caffeine.
References
1. 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)
2. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine- Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 201714:18
3. Francaux M, Poortmans J.R., Effects of training and creatine supplement on muscle strength and body mass. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1999 Jul;80(2):165-168
4. Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fat metabolism- Obesity Reviews 2011
5. https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/l-citrulline-or-citrulline-malate-n-o-content.html
6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124046306000531
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