Kaged Muscle offers a wide range of popular workout products. These are designed to help you achieve a number of things; from burning fat, to boosting testosterone and improving your strength/endurance.
Pre-Kaged is their latest pre-workout supp and it’s become one of the best sellers in stores. So we had to see for ourselves whether it could match-up with the highest rated pre-workouts on the market.
Claims to:
- Sharpen focus
- Boost endurance and strength
- Improve blood flow
Online reviews of Pre-Kaged are good on the whole, although it does have its detractors. With this in mind, we thought we’d check it out…
About The Company
Kaged Muscle is well-known in fitness circles for its high-grade supplements. As a result, the company’s name is probably one of the first that comes up when you search for a supp.
With endorsements from a number of big names in the world of bodybuilding and fitness, the likes of Kris Gethin, Jesse Norris and Tawna Eubanks currently fly the Kaged Muscle flag.
Pre-Kaged Ingredients and How They Work
As you’re reading this Pre-Kaged review, you’re clearly looking for a high-grade pre-workout supp. On first glance, we’re happy to see that Kaged Muscle has included some key nutrients such as l-citrulline and creatine.
Simply put, the ingredient list has a lot of what you’d expect from a premium product, but a quick glance raises some concerns.
See for yourself:
L-Citrulline
L-citrulline is a natural form of citrulline. Our body produces its own supply of citrulline – but that doesn’t mean it’s not a welcome addition to our pre-workout supp.
So what does it do? Well, it helps reduce fatigue and boost endurance in the weight room – and it’s particularly good for muscle pumps.
However, tests show that l-citruline is more effective in combination with other ingredients. For example, some of the best pre-workout supps we’ve tried add malic acid to the formula to create l-citruline di-malate.
And while this may seem like a small detail, the addition of malic acid can provide a significant boost to your overall performance.
How? It achieves this by delivering more oxygen and vital nutrients to your muscles, as well as removing ammonia from your system to reduce fatigue.
While citruline has its benefits, the Pre-Kaged formula would have benefitted from the inclusion of citrulline malate instead.
Quercetin Anhydrous
Quercetin is found in red wine, berries, green tea, onions and a host of other natural plants.
This bioflavinoid is widely proclaimed as the next big thing by a host of brands selling pre-workout products. But on closer inspection, the evidence to support such claims often turns out to be flimsy.
This fact in itself makes the inclusion of quercetin in Pre-Kaged a cause for concern. But even more worrying is that test results don’t provide convincing proof that quercetin is effective for pre-workouts.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)
Leucine, isoleucine and valine are the three a branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) which are vital for muscular health. For this reason, it’s no surprise they’re all key components in whey protein.
We don’t see the point of including leucine in a pre-workout supp, though.
If you’re serious about weight-training, it’s likely you’ll already be taking protein powders. And while some fitness brands sell their use as a dietary bonus, you may find BCAA unnecessary for pre-workouts.
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Caffeine
This product contains 274mg of caffeine, which of course aims to help raise energy levels and boost focus in time for your workout. Personally, we consider this to be too much to consume in 1 serving.
While the caffeine levels in this product aren’t unheard of (some pre-workout supps contain over 400mg), anything over 200mg is enough to make most feel jittery.
As a result, we recommend choosing pre-workouts containing under 200mg caffeine per serving to ensure you stay safe from side effects.
Beta Alanine
We’re not really sure why this product’s makers include beta alanine in the formula.
Why? Because it does the same job as creatine, but it’s just not as good.
Not only that, beta alanine can also cause paresthesia – a condition which results in itching and and tingling sensations.
Natural Betaine
Betaine (also known as trimethylglycine (TMG)), is a molecule which is supposed to improve hydration and promote cardiovascular health.
Despite this, there’s no hard and fast proof of betaine’s efficacy for these purposes. Betaine can also cause nausea, diarrhoea and fishy body odor, so it’s not suitable for everyone.
Creatine HCI
Creatine is a vital part of your body and without it, you simply wouldn’t function. This is because your body needs creatine to store and use carbs, fat and protein as fuel.
Creatine comes in different forms, but the most popular is creatine monohydrate. Pre-Kaged contains creatine HCI, which makes it more soluble and easier to mix.
However, we don’t find this relatively new ‘innovation’ to be as reliable as good old creatine monohydrate, so we’re prepared for a little extra stirring if it means using a product we know works well.
Coconut Water Powder
As you might have already guessed from its name, coconut water powder derives from coconut, a tropical fruit. Rich in electrolytes, coconut water powder helps keep you hydrated during intense workouts and promotes low blood pressure and fat loss.
Although not a key ingredient, its benefits make it a bonus feature of some high-grade pre-workout supps.
Proprietary Blend
The Pre-Kaged ingredients list also includes a proprietary blend which it calls “SPECTRA™”. A proprietary blend is a list of ingredients that doesn’t specify the amount of each component.
As you may have read in our other reviews, we’re not fans of proprietary blends. This is because without knowing how much of each sub-ingredient the supp contains, there’s no way of knowing how effective it is.
A closer looks at the list of ingredients in the SPECTRA™ blend also highlights issues. The likes of green tea extract and green coffee bean extract are thermogenics.
Their job is to help you lose fat and boost metabolism – all of which is unneeded in a pre-workout supp.
If you’re serious about bodybuilding, you should you already be using a fat-burner supplement. If this is the case, many of the ingredients in this blend are redundant.
Taurine
Many people believe taurine is a stimulant – but this is a common misconception that no doubt stems from its presence in a lot of energy drinks. If anything, taurine is a relaxant that reduces cramping.
L-Tyrosine and N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine
L-Tyrosine is an amino-acid found in protein-rich foods and helps produce dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline.
There is some evidence that it can delay the depletion of dopamine or adrenaline for better sleep. But there is little proof to suggest it can directly increase these feel-good chemicals in the body.
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Side Effects
To be fair, Kaged Muscles have been pretty careful to ensure this pre-workout supp is safe to use. But there is still a chance you’ll experience negative side effects. These may include:
- Nausea
- High-blood pressure
- Heart palpitations
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Citruline and creatine proven to help boost endurance and reduce fatigue
- Taurine reduces cramping
Cons:
- Too much caffeine gives you pre-workout jitters
- Beta alanine unnecessary for pre-workouts
- Betaine can cause itching and tingling sensations
- Proprietary blend leaves you in the dark about how it works
See SupplementTester’s Highest Rated
Highest-Rated Pre-Workouts Here
Pre-Kaged Review Conclusion
We expect a lot more from pre-workout supplements at this price range ($38.99). There are plenty of supps around the $40 mark with ingredients proven to be healthier and more effective.
While Pre-Kaged is a popular product, you may wish to look for an alternative with less caffeine (200mg or less), and one without unecessary ingredients like beta alanine.
We’re also not fans of proprietary blends because they give you no way of judging their effectiveness – and it’s always disappointing to see them in supposedly high-end supps.
Pre-Kaged definitely works for some, but there are superior pre-workout supplements out there in a similar price range.