PMP Pre-Workout
$29.99
Pros
- Contains proven ingredients
- High caffeine dosage
Cons
- Contains proprietary blends
- Under-dosed ingredients
- 8.5 grams is low dosed for 13 ingredients
- Weak formula
Everything you need to know about this supplement, from where to buy it and how much it costs to detailed assessments of its key ingredients and their dosages. By the time you get to the end of this review, we guarantee you’ll have all the information you need to determine whether GAT Sport’s PMP is the right pre-workout for you!
PMP (Peak Muscle Performance) from the company GAT is a pre-workout formula that is designed to help enhance muscle pumps, energy, and focus. PMP pre-workout contains 13 ingredients in 4 different proprietary blends. This means that you don’t know exactly how much of each ingredient you receive, however, the serving size is 8.5-grams which is quite low for a 13 ingredient formula.
The days of trawling through page after page of online research to work out whether a supplement is actually going to benefit your training performance are over. A concise, simple, and easy-to-understand review of yet another pre-workout product, and all backed up by the latest scientific research!
There is no doubt that pre-workout supplements can play an important role in helping you reach your training goals, but that doesn’t mean that every single one that is available for purchase will be effective or even safe, for that matter.
If PMP by GAT Sport has taken your fancy and you’re considering making a purchase, be sure to read what follows before making that final decision!
About GAT Sport
“20 years of excellence satisfying our customers and retailers around the world… has been achieved through trusted products that deliver results. They’re backed by premium ingredients, proven formulas backed by science, research, and clinical studies.”
“To compete effectively in the gym or on the field, it takes hard work, dedication and the right sports supplement. That’s why GAT Sport provides well-designed formulas to help any athlete or fitness enthusiast to reach their individual goals. We have been adding new products over the past few years to meet the needs of athletes in all sports and fitness endeavors.”
“The GAT Sport product line will blow you away with its diversity. Among the multifunction, power-packed offerings include TRANSPARENT, clean formulas with the most popular flavors and stim-free selections.”
“GAT Sport is dedicated to your success. We’re on the road to continuing to develop the best, most effective products in the industry. We’ll continue to do our job in supporting you to be your best.”
A typically generic ‘About us’ section from GAT Sport there, with plenty of superlatives and some bold promises… more on that a little later!
PMP pre-workout ingredients
| Serving size: 1 Scoop (8.5 g) | Amount Per Serving | %Daily Value |
| Thiamine (as thiamine mononitrate) | 20 mg | 1333% |
| Niacin | 25 mg | 125% |
| Vitamin B-12 (as cyanocobalamin) | 50 mcg | 833% |
| Calcium (as calcium lactate) | 26 mg | 3% |
| Sodium (as sodium chloride) | 78 mg | 3% |
| NO Enhancers (Beta-Alanine (Carnosyn®), L-Arginine Malate, L-Citrulline, L-Citrulline Malate, L-Norvaline) | 3.125 g | * |
| Pump Accelerators (Agmatine Sulfate, Glycerol Monostearate, L-Arginine Ketoglutarate, Calcium Lactate) | 900 mg | * |
| PMP™ Focus and Cognition Modulators (N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, L-Theanine) | 700 mg | * |
| PMP™ Energetics (Caffeine Anhydrous, Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl) | 525 mg | * |
As with any nutritional supplements, particularly those which contain a mixture of ingredients, like pre-workouts, there is one question we must ask ourselves above any other! Does the product make use of any proprietary blends…?
For the uninitiated among you, a proprietary blend is a mix of ingredients where the total weight of the blend is disclosed but not the weight of each part of that blend. That means you have no way of being certain about how much of any ingredient you are actually consuming per scoop! Not particularly helpful when all of these ingredients have optimum dosages that are important to adhere to!
Despite what supplement manufacturers might try to tell you about why they use proprietary blends, there is actually only one reason. To hide underdosed key ingredients from YOU, the consumer.
As a result, whenever you see a product that includes any number of proprietary blends, then the alarm bells should start sounding in your head!
And guess what…?! PMP by GAT Sport contains not one but 4 separate proprietary blends, which contain no fewer than 13 individual ingredients. That means you have no idea how much of any of those 13 ingredients you are consuming every time you take a scoop on board!!!
Not a good start to this section of our PMP pre-workout by GAT Sport review!
NO Enhancers (3.125g)
The first of PMP’s 4 proprietary blends contain some very effective ingredients in beta-alanine and citrulline. By increasing your muscle stores of something called carnosine, beta-alanine supplementation helps you to buffer lactic acid during short periods of intense anaerobic activity.[1]
Citrulline has similar fatigue fighting benefits. By increasing your blood levels of an amino acid called arginine, it helps you to produce more nitric oxide which in turn allows for increased vasodilation and better blood flow![2]
Although we don’t know exactly how many of these ingredients are included, we can be certain that they don’t appear in optimum or even effective dosages! Why..?! Because the optimum doses of both beta-alanine, l-citrulline, and citrulline malate all exceed the total 3.125g weight of the blend. It’s simply mathematically impossible to squeeze 4-6g of beta-alanine or 6-8g of citrulline malate, for example, into such a small blend!
This is a pretty poor effort all around from GAT Sport, to be honest!
The NO blend does contain a couple of other ingredients, including arginine. Unfortunately, whilst raising your blood levels of arginine is definitely an effective way of increasing nitric oxide production, as mentioned above, supplementing directly with arginine is not an effective method of achieving it. That’s because the liver metabolizes the vast majority of orally ingested arginine before ever reaching the bloodstream!
Pump Accelerators (900 mg)
This blend literally contains nothing of note, so we’re not even going to waste your time on it. Way too many ingredients with limited if any scientific research to support their efficacy for exercise performance!
PMP Focus and Cognition Modulators (700 mg)
This blend contains a dose of l-tyrosine. Whilst research into this ingredient is still limited. With mixed results, there is some belief that it is of benefit to cognitive performance and energy metabolism, mainly due to its relationship with important hormones like adrenaline![3]
Because of the limited amount of research, however, there isn’t a recommended optimal dose. Not that we would compare it to anything like the precise quantity of tyrosine in this product isn’t disclosed anyway. Pesky proprietary blends!!
PMP Energetics (525 mg)
The main ingredient of concern in this blend has to be caffeine. Undoubtedly, the most popular stimulant ingredient on the market as far as pre-workout goes, caffeine is particularly effective at boosting energy for tough sessions and can even help you burn more fat.
It is also the only active ingredient with its precise weight per serving disclosed, and at 325 mg, it is a significant dose! The scientific research suggests 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.[4]
That means the dose in PMP will absolutely be of benefit, with even the most hardened stimulant users feeling the effects of 325 mg. Such a high dose may come with some minor side effects, however, but more on that a little later!
This blend also contains a dose of l-carnitine, purported to have some potential benefits for weight loss and fat burning. There is only limited research, however, and it is far from unequivocal. As a result, dosage information is a little thin, with most studies agreeing that 2-3g per day with at least 30-40g of carbohydrates is effective.[5] Given that the total blend only weighs 525 mg and 325 mg is caffeine, there is no way this product contains a meaningful dose!
PMP pre-workout side effects
As with most pre-workout products, some ingredients can result in some minor side effects!
Beta alanine tends to cause a mild tingling sensation on the surface of the skin (particularly the face) which normally subsides after around 20 minutes. This symptom is completely harmless, however, and should be taken as a sign that you are indeed consuming a worthwhile dose of beta alanine and not something entirely useless! To be honest, though, we’re not even convinced that this pre-workout contains enough beta alanine to cause these symptoms anyway!
The ingredient which is most likely to cause you some problems has to be caffeine. At 325 mg per scoop, there is the potential for diarrhea, vomiting, jitters, and even anxiety! This serving may not phase. While particularly hardened stimulant users, if you are new to pre-workouts or have a low tolerance to caffeine, it may be good to test the waters with an initial half dose of this product. If you don’t experience any difficulties, then you can always gradually increase to a full dose!
Pros and cons of PMP by GAT Sport
| Pros | Cons |
|
|
PMP pre-workout vs. Nitraflex: what’s the difference?
There isn’t a huge difference between these two product ranges regarding the stuff that matters. Both are made up of proprietary blends, making it impossible to determine how much of anything you are taking per serving. Both contain a rather potent 325 mg serving of caffeine, and both contain a number of the same ingredients, including citrulline, beta-alanine, and tyrosine, among others.
The most significant difference is probably the price, with Nitraflex coming in around 20 cents cheaper per serving, and in flavor options, again with Nitraflex coming out on top with double the number of choices for consumers.
Where to buy PMP pre-workout?
In addition to the official GAT Sport website, you can also find PMP pre-workout for sale at global online retail giant Amazon, as well as third-party supplement websites such as bodybuilding.com and iherb.com.
There are 4 flavor options for PMP, including pre-workout classics Berry Blast and Raspberry Lemonade. That means you may struggle to find a taste to your liking, particularly if you’re a little fussy!
Summary
All in all, there’s only really one factor that matters to our GAT PMP pre-workout review, and that’s the use of multiple proprietary blends! It doesn’t matter how many high-quality ingredients are included, and believe me, citrulline and beta-alanine are very effective. If you don’t know how much of each you are consuming, it’s largely irrelevant, particularly when there isn’t enough room in each scoop for anywhere near an optimal dose of everything!
As we have already mentioned, supplement manufacturers use proprietary blends for one reason and one reason alone, and that’s to hide underdosed ingredients from you! If you ever needed a case in example of this, PMP pre-workout by GAT Sport is it!
The potent dose of caffeine (which is actually disclosed) is a slight redeeming feature, but only if you are a hardened stimulant user and are looking for a strong buzz during your workout. If your new to pre-workout or prefer to avoid such heavy doses of stimulants, then even this isn’t great news!
Add to that the fact there are only 4 flavor options to choose from, and even the aesthetics of this product seem to let you down. At $1.17 per serving, PMP at least doesn’t break the bank, but considering all you’re getting for your money is a big hit of caffeine, you may as well buy a caffeine supplement, which would cost you an awful lot; less!
Final verdict from our GAT Sport PMP pre-workout review…? If you’re looking for transparency from your supplement manufacturer and a pre-workout you know will be effective, then we’d suggest you keep looking, as PMP is not it!
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] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124046306000531
[3] Biomedical Research 2017- effects of tyrosine supplementation ration on anaerobic sports capacity and plasma catecholamine levels in soccer athletes.
[4] Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fat metabolism- Obesity Reviews 2011
[5] https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/your-expert-guide-to-l-carnitine.html
Leave a Reply