Cellucor’s C4 pre workout has been extremely popular in the industry. In fact, it’s many people’s favorite pre workout supplement as it’s very highly rated.
However, since the release of 4 Gauge, there seems to be a contender for the title of ‘best pre workout’. So today, we’re comparing both products to see which is better.
Both are claimed to promote:
- Energy
- Focus
- Strength & Endurance
We’re quite surprised to see that C4 doesn’t offer enhanced muscle pumps; only 4 Gauge advertises this benefit, but we’ll check the ingredients inside both products to see which deliver on their promises.
It’ll be interesting to see which pre workout comes out as the winner. So without wasting anymore time, let’s begin this review.
Take a look:
About The Companies
Roar Ambition
Roar Ambition are a premium supplements company known for their great customer service, and are the brand behind 4 Gauge.
As we’ve mentioned, 4 Gauge has taken the market by storm and quickly become many people’s favorite pre workout. In fact, it’s quite difficult to find a negative review of this product online – which is quite rare to see.
However, no product is perfect, and all of Roar Ambition’s supplements come with a premium price tag, including 4 Gauge. But you can’t ignore the great reviews, and we were happy after trying it for ourselves.
Cellucor
If you know about supplements, then there’s a very high chance you’ll know about Cellucor; they have a great reputation in the industry, with their C4 arguably being their best rated product.
It’s been around for a very long time, and has gained great reviews too. However, with many things, newer products have arrived on the market – with increased competition, the quality of new products has also increased.
4 Gauge is a prime example of a new product that’s aiming to take C4’s crown. So let’s see which product contains the better and more effective nutrients.
The Ingredients and How They Work
As usual, we believe that the ingredients inside supplements are key factors when determining the safety and effectiveness of them.
Ultimately, a company can advertise their products as much as they want, but they can’t lie about which ingredients are inside them. Although they can try to hide nutrients in proprietary blends – which is what Cellucor has tried to do in C4.
What are proprietary blends? They’re mixtures of numerous ingredients that are shown to you under a fancy title (in C4’s case, ‘Explosive Energy Blend’).
If you check C4’s ingredient list you’ll see that you’re not shown the individual dosages of nutrients inside the ‘Explosive Energy Blend’. This keeps you from seeing whether a supplement has been optimally dosed, and whether it actually works.
As a result, we prefer to see the exact dosages of nutrients inside. So straight away, as 4 Gauge doesn’t contain any proprietary blends, we believe that it’s drawn first blood here.
Round 1 Results: 4 Gauge
Right, so 4 Gauge has landed the first punch, but let’s see whether it can continue hitting hard below. We’ll compare the ingredients that these products have in common first, then see which contains the better unique nutrients.
See for yourself:
Caffeine Anhydrous
Caffeine anhydrous is the safest nutrient you can find in pre workout supplements; it’s a pure form of caffeine in powder form, so it’s easy to keep track of exactly how much you’re consuming.
Ultimately, knowing how much caffeine anhydrous you’re consuming can prevent side effects. So we’re glad that both 4 Gauge and C4 have provided the dosages of caffeine inside.
As both contain 150mg caffeine anhydrous, we’ll call this a draw; this is a sensible dosage that’ll ensure you experience elevated energy levels, without any jitters.
Good job by both Roar Ambition and Cellucor here.
Creatine
Both 4 Gauge and C4 pre workout contain creatine, although different forms are seen in both; 4 Gauge contains creatine monohydrate, while C4 contains creatine nitrate.
Does this make a difference? No, studies have shown that all forms of creatine offer the same benefit, and there’s no ‘best’ form of creatine.
Ultimately, if we had to choose one, creatine monohydrate has been around for much longer than creatine nitrate – so some people might say it’s more reliable.
However, we’re going to be fair here and determine this to be another draw.
Round 2 Results: Draw
Unique Ingredients
As caffeine anhydrous and creatine are the only common ingredients between the 2 products, it’ll be even easier to decide which is the better pre workout.
Now, we’ll take a look at which supplement contains the better ‘unique’ ingredients to help you determine which is better. As both contain quite a few nutrients, we’ll choose the main ingredients that’ll make the difference between them.
4 Gauge
Citrulline Malate
Citrulline Malate is a perfect addition to any pre workout, as it’s able to deliver enhanced muscle pumps while you lift weights.
How does it work? Answer: by increasing your nitric oxide levels and boosting your blood flow.
Roar Ambition have done a great job here by adding an optimal 6,000mg dosage in 4 Gauge. Good start by them.
L-Theanine
When consumed with caffeine, l-theanine forms a ‘smart-caffeine’; this is able to enhance the benefits of the stimulant, without increasing your risks of side effects.
How? Answer: l-theanine is a calming agent that keeps you focused, so this is why you won’t suffer from jitters when consuming this nutrient.
Not many pre workouts contain this ‘smart-caffeine’ combo, so it shows that Roar Ambition have really done their research here.
They’ve dosed l-theanine correctly too; studies have proven that you need to consume more l-theanine than caffeine for it to work.
L-Carnitine
L-carnitine is another great addition to any pre workout, as it’s known for reducing muscular fatigue and damage.
As well as that, l-carnitine has also shown to improve your focus in the gym – which is great for strengthening your mind-muscle-connection.
Learn more about 4 Gauge’s ingredients here: www.4gauge.com/ingredients/
C4
Beta-Alanine
Many people have mixed reactions to this ingredient, as it’s infamous for causing paresthesia, which is a tingling and itching sensation on your skin.
But the good news is that beta-alanine has shown to increase your muscular endurnace in the gym – helping you train for longer.
Personally, as C4 already contains creatine (which offers enhanced endurance), we don’t feel that beta-alanine is necessary here. So removing beta-alanine would have removed the risk of you suffering from itchy and tingly skin.
Theacrine
The addition of theacrine is a bad move by Cellucor; it’s another stimulant, and consuming this alongside caffeine seriously increases your risk of suffering from jitters.
Personally, we feel that 150mg caffeine anhydrous is enough to fuel your workouts. So theacrine is over-the-top here that only puts you at risk from side effects.
Not a good decision by Cellucor to add this in C4.
Arginine Alpha Ketoglutarate
This is extracted from l-arginine and has been believed to increase your nitric oxide levels for a long time.
However, recent studies have shown that AAKG it’s unreliable at offering this benefit, due to having a poor absorption rate. As a result, AAKG is an unreliable ingredient that’s not guaranteed to be effective.
Learn more about C4’s ingredients here: www.cellucor.com/products/c4-original
Summary of Unique Ingredients
As you can see by our analysis, 4 Gauge contains the better unique ingredients between the 2 pre workouts.
Cellucor have made small mistakes by adding beta-alanine and another stimulant; together, these are additions likely to cause paresthesia and jitters, which will negatively affect your gym session.
As a result, 4 Gauge has knocked C4 to the floor with this punch.
Round 3 Results: 4 Gauge
Pros and Cons
4 Gauge Pros:
- Optimal dosages of key nutrients
- Sensible dosage of caffeine (only 1 stimulant)
- Not likely to cause any side effects
C4 Pros:
- Creatine enhances strength & endurance
- Beta-alanine improves muscular endurance
4 Gauge Cons:
- Premium price – more expensive than less effective pre workouts
- You can only buy on official website: www.4Gauge.com
C4 Cons:
- Contains 2 stimulants, increasing risk of jitters
- Missing key pre workout ingredients
- Beta-alanine can cause paresthesia (itchy skin)
Side Effects
4 Gauge
Roar Ambition have formulated 4 Gauge very well, and as a result, it’s not likely to cause any side effects by itself. Good job here.
C4
Unfortunately for Cellucor, they’ve made some mistakes while formulating this product; they’ve added 2 stimulants, which makes this pre workout likely to cause jitters.
Not only that beta-alanine is known for causing itching and tingling on your skin.
Round 4 Results: 4 Gauge
Summary: 4 Gauge Pre Workout vs C4
We’ve been very non-bias here during this review, but 4 Gauge has won most of the rounds in this battle; as you can see yourself, it contains the better ingredients and isn’t likely to cause side effects as a result.
The main things that let C4 down, are that it contains 2 sources of stimulants – caffeine and theacrine. Just 1 is enough to give you a ‘boost’ to kickstart your gym session, and having both only increases your risk of suffering from side effects.
Not only that beta-alanine is known for causing your skin to feel itchy and tingly, which is why we try to avoid it when we can.
It’s easy to see that 4 Gauge has been formulated much better, but it also means that it costs more than C4. Personally, we’d rather save up extra cash and go for a product that’ll actually work – 4 Gauge.
Winner: 4 Gauge
To Buy, Visit: www.4Gauge.com