NO3 Chrome is a pre-workout supplement designed to give you increased muscle pumps without the use of any stimulants. It’s marketed by well-known company, Cellucor.
Claimed to promote:
- Muscle pumps
- Blood Flow
From it’s claims, we can see that it’s supposed to be a product focused on providing intense muscle pumps. We’ve analyzed NO3 Chrome, so you can make your own decision on it.
See for yourself:
About the Company
Founded in 2002, Cellucor are well-known for their “Chrome Series” of supplements – which this NO3 Chrome is part of. Cellucor markets a range of products, from pre-workout to protein suppelements.
The Ingredients and How They Work
NO3 Chrome has quite a small nutrient profile as it’s focused on providing muscle pumps in the gym. But at $29.99 for 30 servings, Cellucor should’ve included more ingredients that provide a range of benefits.
However, straight away there’s a negative – NO3 Chrome contains a proprietary blend. But you might be thinking, what is a proprietary blend?
A proprietary blend is a mixture of numerous ingredients that are shown to you as one quantity. This means you’ll never know the exact amount of each individual ingredient inside – which is a problem if you’re sensitive to any ingredients inside.
We’ll take you through the ingredients list, so you can see whether it’s an effective product – with only one benefit (muscle pumps), Cellucor should’ve ensured that it delivers very well.
Take a look:
Arginine Nitrate
This is a mixture of L-Arginine and Nitrate. Both are important for increased nitric oxide production, which leads to vasodilation and muscle pumps.
Nitrate is a great nutrient for muscle pumps, as it converts to nitric oxide in your body. However, L-Arginine has a bad absorption rate, meaning it doesn’t actually incease your nitric oxide levels when orally supplemented.
This means that Arginine Nitrate will have a bad absorption rate, and may not be fully utilized by your body to deliver muscle pumps – which is worrying as most of NO3 Chrome consists of Arginine Nitrate.
Cellucor should’ve simply replaced Arginine Nitrate for Beetroot Extract – Beetroot Extract contains a high amount of nitrate and is proven to promote intense muscle pumps.
See SupplementTester’s
– Highest Rated Pre Workouts Here –
Extreme Vascularity Complex
This is the proprietary blend in NO3 Chrome. The overall quantity of the blend is 750mg, but you’ll never find out the exact amounts of each individual ingredient inside.
Inositol-Stabilized Arginine Silicate
This is simply a mixture of L-Arginine and Silicon. L-Arginine is ineffective when orally supplemented due to its poor absorption rate, which leaves us to analyze Silicate’s effectiveness.
Silicon is present in your arteries, and allows more blood to flow through them – ultimately, Silicon works to improve blood flow. However, it’s most commonly used in hair, skin, and nail products, not in gym supplements.
Citrulline Malate
This is the best ingredient you can find in a pre-workout to boost muscle pumps in the gym.
Citrulline Malate turns into L-Arginine in your kidneys, which in turn boosts your nitric oxide levels, dilating your blood vessels and increasing blood flow. This results in you experiencing intense muscle pumps while lifting weights.
If you’re wondering, why not just take L-Arginine, here’s why; L-Citrulline has a much better absorption rate than L-Arginine, meaning it’s more effective at increasing your nitric oxide levels and delivering muscle pumps.
Cellucor should’ve increased the amount of Citrulline Malate to 6,000mg-8,000mg (its optimal amount) to provide ensure you experience intense muscle pumps in the gym.
Grape Seed Extract
This is believed to have an anti-estrogenic effect and enhance blood flow. It’s shown to be effective in delivering improved blood flow, but there’s no evidence that it has reduces estrogen levels.
However, as it’s part of the proprietary blend, you’ll never know the exact amount of Grape Seed Extract in NO3 Chrome – if it’s not in its optimal amount (150mg-300mg), you won’t experience any of its benefits.
NO3 Chrome doesn’t have large amounts of ingredients that are proven to deliver intense muscle pumps. The most useful ingredient for this is Citrulline Malate, but it’s in a proprietary blend so there may be a minimal amount inside.
Check out which ingredients work and which don’t in our
– Pre workout ingredients guide –
Side Effects
One of the positives of NO3 Chrome is that it doesn’t come with any risks of side effects in a healthy person. However, looking at it’s ingredients list, this product doesn’t seem very reliable in delivering intense muscle pumps during your workout.
Not what you’re looking for? See your best options in our
– Top 3 Pre Workout Page –
Pro’s and Con’s
Pro’s
- No risk of side effects
- Contains Citrulline Malate
Con’s
- The best ingredient in NO3 Chrome, Citrulline Malate, is part of a proprietary blend – meaning there may be a minimal amount inside.
- Contains a few ingredients that include L-Arginine – this is bad as L-Arginine is ineffective due to its poor absorption rate.
- Expensive for a product only providing one benefit.
- Not good value for money.
NO3 Chrome Review Conclusion
For a product that’s specializes in delivering muscle pumps, its doesn’t seem to be very effective at all.
After analyzing its ingredients, there’s a few that contain L-Arginine – this is bad, as L-Arginine has a poor absorption rate, meaning it’s ineffective in boosting nitric oxide levels and delivering muscle pumps.
There are already quality pre-workouts on the market that are effective in delivering intense muscle pumps, as well as a range of other benefits – so there’s no need in buying a product specifically for muscle pumps.
We recommend looking for a pre-workout that contains an optimal amount of Citulline Malate between 6,000mg-8,000mg, as well as other key ingredients – such as Beetroot Extract (contains high level of nitrate which boosts nitric oxide production and delivers intense muscle pumps).
Caffeine is also a key ingredient that’s missing in NO3 Chrome – if you’re afraid of stimulants, don’t be. Just make sure that caffeine isn’t part of a proprietary blend, so you know the exact amount inside a supplement. Look for a dose of 150-200mg per serving to avoid any side effects like jitters, energy crashes and insomnia.