Welcome to the most comprehensive Warrior RAGE pre-workout review on the web. Everything you need to know about this product to help you decide whether it’s the one to take your training to the next level.
How much of your precious time have you wasted scouring the internet for the next best supplement to boost your exercise performance only to be met with a sales pitch, or even worse, online reviews which claim to be independent but clearly have ulterior motives?!
That all changes with our Warrior RAGE review! We give you the cold hard facts backed up by the latest scientific research and let you make up your own mind! An in depth look at the key active ingredients and there doses forms the spine of an honest and thorough assessment of this pre-workout product!
About Warrior RAGE pre-workout
Described by the manufacturer as a “powerful pre workout supplement” which “supports energy, focus & endurance with beta alanine, BCAAs, creatine & caffeine.”
“If you are looking for one of the most powerful and effective pre workout supplements on the market today, then Warrior Rage is for you. It has been designed to support muscle build, control cortisol while promoting focus, pump and drive”
Now that’s a pretty impressive list of purported benefits. If you’re new to the world of pre-workout, or nutritional supplements more generally, you’re probably beginning to realise what we mean by sales pitch.
The only way of really determining whether Warrior RAGE can deliver on the promises above is to take a close look at the active ingredients included and their dosages. But before we do that, we absolutely have to address the elephant in the room…
Was RAGE ever banned?
Not as far as we can tell. There have been a number of pre-workout supplements removed from sale over the years. Almost all of these product recalls and bans have been associated with the inclusion of an amphetamine like compound known as DMAA (Dimethylamylamine).
DMAA has potentially lethal side effects including rapid heart rate and even the possibility of strokes and it’s inclusion in pre-workout supplements was eventually considered dangerous!
The good news, even if Warrior supplements have previously included this controversial chemical in it’s pre-workout range, we can categorically say that it no longer does, and is therefore safe for human consumption!
Ingredients in Warrior RAGE pre-workout explained
Before we take an in depth look at the ingredients and their quantities, it’s time for the most important question in our Warrior RAGE pre-workout review. Does the product include any proprietary blends?
Answer… NO! This is a hugely positive start. Whilst Warrior Rage does appear to be made up of three ingredient blends, the weight of every single ingredient in each of those, is listed and therefore you know exactly what you are putting in your body!
Despite what most supplement manufacturers will tell you about hiding patented details of product blends from potential competitors, there is actually only one reason why they ever make use of proprietary blends. And that’s because they want to hide underdosed key ingredients from their potential customers!
As a result, the decision of Warrior RAGE not to use any proprietary blends makes us very happy!
Creatine gluconate (2560 mg)
Now, if you reading a review of a pre-workout supplement, chances are you already know about creatine and the far reaching benefits it can have for your exercise performance. Scientifically proven to help you increase strength and lean muscle mass gains, creatine is one of the most effective nutritional supplements on the market when it comes to exercise performance.[1]
Now, the most widely researched variety is undoubtedly creatine monohydrate, which has been shown to be beneficial at doses of 5g per day over an extended period of time.[2]
As far as creatine gluconate is concerned, the theory goes that because creatine is more readily absorbed when combined with carbohydrates, attaching it to a glucose molecule may enhance it’s take up. There is, however, a distinct lack of scientific research to support this theory or to suggest whether you can take a lower daily dose as a result.
Consequently, we don’t really know what to make of the 2560 mg dose of creatine gluconate in Warrior RAGE. It could be beneficial but then again it might not. If in doubt, and if you’re really interested in the benefits of creatine for your training potential, we’d suggest plucking for a pre-workout containing the monohydrate variant. Better yet, just take a pure creatine supplement and that way you can choose exactly how much you take!
Beta alanine (1500 mg)
After creatine, the most effective nutritional training aid on the market. By increasing your muscle stores of something called carnosine, beta alanine supplementation helps you to buffer lactic acid during anaerobic exercise, therefore boosting your muscular endurance.[3] YES PLEASE!
In order to do so, however, it must be dosed correctly. Most research suggests that between 4-6g per day over a period of at least 2 weeks is sufficient to increase carnosine stores.[4] The longer you take it, the more carnosine you produce!
Unfortunately for our RAGE pre-workout review, that means Warrior’s 1.5g dose per serving comes up quite a bit short. This is hugely disappointing given how effective beta alanine can be in terms of boosting your exercise performance!
Sodium bicarbonate (200 mg)
Most studies agree that sodium bicarbonate is beneficial for exercise performance, and the mechanism in which it does so is very similar to the effects of beta alanine. By helping you to buffer lactic acid and maintaining the pH levels within your muscles, it also helps to fight fatigue.[5]
As with all nutritional supplements, however, it must be taken in the correct quantity in order to have this effect. Most studies agree that 200-300 mg per kg of body weight taken 60-90 minutes is sufficient to produce the above benefits.[6] That means the 500 mg contained in one serving of Warrior RAGE is well below optimal and probably isn’t going to be of benefit to your exercise performance at all!
BCAA’s (1500 mg at 8:1:1)
BCAA’s or branch chain amino acids are a group of 3 amino acids (Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine) thought to improve endurance, reduce mental and physical fatigue and limit muscle soreness in the aftermath of intense activity.[7] Sounds pretty useful to us!
Most studies seem to agree that BCAA’s should be consumed in a 2:1:1 ratio of Leucine: Isoleucine: Valine, and the recommended total dosage for optimum effect seems to be somewhere between 5-20g.
Warrior RAGE ticks neither of these boxes unfortunately. With a bizarre ratio of 8:1:1 and a minuscule total serving of 1500 mg, it seems very unlikely that this ingredient is going to be of any benefit to your exercise performance or recovery at all!
Citrulline malate (500 mg)
The hot ‘pump’ ingredient on the market at the moment, citrulline supplementation helps you to produce more nitric oxide, which boosts circulation and increases blood flow and oxygen transportation to working muscles during exercise.[8]
The science tells us that 6-8g per day is considered the optimal clinical dose. Yet again then, another really effective ingredient is grossly underdosed in this product. 500 mg just isn’t going to do anything for you!
Arginine (500 mg) and Taurine (500 mg)
Arginine supplementation is supposed to achieve similar benefits to citrulline, helping to boost nitric oxide production and is in fact the key by product of citrulline ingestion. However, when consumed orally, the vast majority of arginine is broken down in the liver and thus it is completely ineffective at raising nitric oxide levels.
As a result, the 500 mg dose per serving in Warrior Roar is completely inconsequential!
There is no evidence to suggest that supplementing with taurine is beneficial to exercise performance, so the 500 mg dose per serving is also largely irrelevant to our Warrior RAGE pre-workout review.
Caffeine (300 mg)
Now this is where RAGE really springs to life. 300 mg is a whopping dose of caffeine and will, without doubt, give you an almighty buzz for your workout.
Not only that, it should also give you that extra bit of energy to smash your session out the park and may even help you to burn more fat whilst you do!
Whilst this serving is a little higher than our preferred 250 mg dose, caffeine can be safely consumed at levels of up to 400 mg per day so you’re not going to be doing yourself any harm by taking such a big hit.
There may, however, be a few unwanted side effects from such a large dose, but more on that a little later!
Are there any side effects?
The high caffeine content in Warrior RAGE is likely to cause minor side effects for most users.
Let’s face it, 300 mg is a pretty significant punch in the face unless you are a hardened stimulant user. As we mentioned above, we aren’t talking about significant or long lasting harm but you may experience diarrhea, anxiety, the jitters or even vomiting.
Beta alanine tends to cause a tingling sensation on the surface of the skin immediately after consumption, normally lasting around 20 minutes. This is in no way harmful and should be taken as a sign that you are taking a solid dose of beta alanine and not something entirely ineffective. In all honesty, however, the 1.5g per serving in this pre-workout is unlikely to even register in this way!
Creatine can cause bloating, but that is normally associated with the monohydrate variety and in larger doses than the 2.5g included here.
Pros and cons
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Pricing
At $26.18 on Amazon, Warrior RAGE comes in at a bargain price of $0.58 per serving making it one of the cheapest pre-workout supplements around.
Flavor options
There are 6 typically whacky flavor options to choose from which should mean even the fussiest buyers out there will be able to find a taste to their liking. They are: blazin berry, blazin blue razz, krazy cola, lightning lemonade, savage strawberry and wicked watermelon.
Where to buy Warrior RAGE?
Warrior RAGE seems to be available at most major online supplement retailers and can be found at Amazon, Bodybuilding.com and even ebay.
Summary
There is no denying that this pre-workout includes a number of clinically effective ingredients such as: creatine, beta alanine, sodium bicarbonate, citrulline malate, BCAA’s and caffeine. The fact that there isn’t a proprietary blend in sight is also a major positive!
Unfortunately for this Warrior RAGE review, however, the only one of those effective ingredients which is dosed optimally is caffeine. The other major components will struggle to generate the benefits for exercise performance that they are supposed to because there simply isn’t enough of each of them included.
The array of flavor options and low price admittedly limit the damage to a certain extent, but in all honesty if you purchase this product you may as well just be buying a pure caffeine supplement. And if you did choose that option, it would be a darn sight cheaper.
Realistically you’re going to need to get hold of pure sources of creatine, beta alanine, sodium bicarbonate, BCAA’s and citrulline malate in order to bridge the gap between the dosages of this pre-workout and optimum servings.
Our final verdict…? Good attempt, but if you’re in the market for a really effective pre-workout supplement, look elsewhere!
Resources
[1] Grindstaff PD, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on repetitive sprint performance and body composition in competitive swimmers. Int J Sport Nutr. 1997;7(4):330–46.
[2] Creatine supplementation with specific view to exercise/sports performance: an update- journal of international sports science and nutrition.
[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] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/baking-soda-and-performance#section3
[6] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/baking-soda-and-performance#section7
[7] Administration of branched-chain amino acids during sustained exercise–effects on performance and on plasma concentration of some amino acids- European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology.
[8] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124046306000531
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