Welcome to the most comprehensive RSP Nutrition DyNO pre-workout review on the internet.
Everything you could possibly need to know about this RSP Nutrition inspired product from where’s best to purchase it, how much it should cost and what flavors are available, to a detailed ingredient breakdown based on the latest scientific research.
Pre-workout ranges are fast becoming as mainstream as products like whey protein, with most major supplement manufacturers realising that there is money to made in this sector. Marketed as a training aid to get you in the right physical and mental state for tough workouts whilst also helping you to boost the key physiological adaptations you would expect to experience with regular training, pre-workout supplements promise an awful lot!
Granted, there are some products out there which go a long way to delivering on those promises. For every effectively dosed pre-workout, however, there are dozens more which contain unoproven ingredients or mediocre dosages and will honestly give you nothing of tangible benefit.
That’s where we come in! No more hours of your precious time wasted doing research into nutritional supplements in order to find an effective pre-workout which is right for your needs. Just the cold hard facts, all in one simple article, so that you can make an informed decision in record time!
DyNO pre-workout review: my initial thoughts
The first place I look when I’m considering the merits of a pre-workout product is the Supplement Facts Label. There are a few things you can take note of even with the briefest of glances, and perhaps the single most important question you should be asking yourself is whether there are any proprietary blends included?!
For those of you who may not be 100% sure of exactly what a proprietary blend is, it can be described as a mix of ingredients where the total blend weight is given, but the precise quantities of individual component ingredients is not disclosed. This makes it very difficult for you to know exactly how much of everything you are consuming per serving.
Despite what supplement manufacturers might try to tell you about hiding their secret formulas from the prying eyes of competitors, there is actually only one reason why they make use of proprietary blends. To hide underdosed ingredients from you!
Fortunately for you, this product does not contain a single proprietary blend. A positive start to our RSP Nutrition DyNO review!
DyNO pre-workout ingredients
Beta alanine (2g)
Unquestionably one of the most exciting and well researched nutritional supplement ingredients on the market, beta alanine supplementation has tangible benefits when it comes to exercise performance!
By helping to increase your muscle stores of something called carnosine, beta alanine directly impacts on your ability to buffer lactic acid during short bouts of intense, anaerobic exercise.[1] Given that the build up of lactic acid is one of the principle causes of muscular fatigue, this has a positive impact on your endurance capabilities!
Most of the scientific research suggests that a daily dose of 4-6g for a period of at least 2 weeks is sufficient to raise your muscle carnosine stores enough to generate tangible fatigue fighting effects.[2]
That means the 2g per serving of this DyNO pre-workout comes up quite a way short of an optimum dose. Having said that, there is evidence to suggest that carnosine saturation increases the longer you supplement with beta alanine, which means that a 2g dose per day may be sufficient to generate the desired response, just over a much longer period of time!
Caffeine (300 mg)
Unquestionably the most common stimulant ingredient to be found in pre-workout supplements, caffeine can have some real benefits for your exercise performance. It has been demonstrated to increase energy levels and improve mental focus for tough sessions, as well as help you to burn more fat whilst exercising!
Most research suggests that caffeine is effective at doses as low as 100 mg and is safe to consume at levels as high as 400 mg per day.[3] That means the 300 mg serving in every scoop of DyNO pre-workout is certainly potent and should be beneficial for even the most hardened stimulant users.
Be warned, however, that such high doses of caffeine can come with some unwanted side effects… more on that a little later though!
L-arginine (1g), l-taurine (1g), choline bitartrate (1g)
We have grouped these three ingredients together because there is limited research to support their efficacy for exercise performance.
Whilst raising your blood levels of arginine can help to increase nitric oxide and therefore improve circulation and blood flow, supplementing directly with arginine is actually ineffective at achieving such results.[4] That is because, the vast majority of orally ingested arginine is broken down in the liver before ever reaching the bloodstream. As a result, research has in fact indicated that the most effective method of increasing blood arginine levels, and therefore generating the associated improvements in circulation is to supplement with another amino acid called l-citrulline. RSP Nutrition have, therefore, kind of missed a trick when it comes to their DyNO pre-workout product here!
There are suggestions that l-taurine may have benefits for endurance but the studies are limited at best, with research indicating that supplementing with 1-6g before exercise does not improve overall performance.[5]
Choline bitartrate is believed to increase cognition and memory, improve focus and motivation, and reduce fatigue, but once again studies are far from unequivocal.
Our RSP DyNO review prefers to focus on proven nutritional ingredients with a good track record of bringing users some tangible benefit and as a result, the inclusion of ingredients which lack that kind of evidence is extremely frustrating!
DyNO pre-workout side effects
There are two ingredients included in this pre-workout that you should be mindful of when it comes to potential 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.
The good news is this side effect is completely harmless and should in fact be taken as evidence that you are consuming a meaningful dose of beta alanine and not something entirely useless. In all honesty, however, we’re not sure whether the 2g dose contained within this product is going to be enough to elicit such a response anyway!
Consumed at high doses such as the one contained in DyNO, caffeine can cause a number of mild side effects, including diarrhea, vomiting, the jitters and even anxiety. Our advice would be start with a half dose of this product in order to test your caffeine tolerance levels, particularly if you are new to pre-workouts or generally don’t consume much caffeine in your day to day life!
Pros and cons of DyNO pre-workout by RSP Nutrition
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How much does RSP Nutrition DyNO pre-workout cost?
At $24.97 on the official RSP Nutrition website, DyNO comes in at a very reasonable $0.83 per serving. This puts it kind of in the middle of the road, if not towards the cheaper end of the pre-workout market!
There are only 3 flavor options available in DyNO with typical pre-workout classics: Lemonade, Fruit Punch and Wild Berry all featuring. That means if you’re a little fussy about the taste of your pre-workout supplement then you might struggle to find an option to your liking!
In addition to the official RSP Nutrition website, DyNO pre-workout is also available for purchase at global online retail giant Amazon, and third party supplement websites including bodybuilding.com and samedaysupplements.com, so be sure to shop around for the best price!
Summary:RSP DyNO review conclusion
The major positive of this DyNO pre-workout review has to be the fact that the product doesn’t contain a single proprietary blend! That means, as a user, you know exactly how much of any given ingredient you are consuming per serving. We can’t stress enough how important this is.
Not only does it mean the supplement manufacturer isn’t trying to hide underdosed ingredients from you, but it also means you can successfully manage your doses of each of the key ingredients. As a result, even if a product doesn’t contain an optimal serving of a particular ingredient, at least you know, and can take action to remedy the situation!
This, unfortunately, is about where the positives start and finish for this product though. A mediocre dose of beta alanine is probably the headline. Whilst it is a great ingredient to be included in any pre-workout supplement, 2g per serving is well below the recommended 4-6g and means if the beta alanine in this product is going to be of benefit to you, they are going to take a lot longer to materialise than they should do!
300 mg of caffeine is, without doubt a significant dose. This isn’t necessarily a positive, however, and unless you are a pre-workout veteran, then this might be a little potent! The inclusion of multiple ingredients which have little if any actual evidence to support their efficacy for exercise performance adds to the negatives, and the availability of just 3 flavors rounds things off not so perfectly.
Admittedly, the $0.83 price tag per serving makes DyNO relatively economical at least, but considering all you’re getting for your money is a whopping dose of caffeine and a mediocre serving of beta alanine, calling this a positive is clutching at straws slightly!
Our RSP Nutrition DyNO review final verdict…? If you’re looking for a pre-workout which is going to offer you more than a short term stimulant fix then we suggest you continue your search. You can definitely do better with a little more financial outlay, and to be honest you may even be able to get more for the same price!
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: Beta-Alanine- J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015; 12: 30.
[3] Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fat metabolism- Obesity Reviews 2011
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124046306000531
[5] https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1024/taurine
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