This pre workout caught our attention when we saw the word ‘superhero’; we all grew up idolizing comic-book superheros, so we had to check this out.
Claimed to promote:
- Focus
- Energy
Instead of Batman, this pre workout has Shawn Rhoden on the container – who’s bigger and more shredded, so this was a good start. However, we noticed that Scitech hadn’t tried to enhance your muscle pumps with this pre workout (which is one of the key benefits of taking these products).
We’ll expand on this in this review. Take a look:
About The Company
Scitec are a USA-based supplement company that claim to be one of the largest whey protein sellers in the world. However, we’re here to look at their pre workout, Superhero.
Let’s see what’s inside.
The Ingredients and How They Work
In total, Superhero pre workout contains 15 main ingredients – which is a huge amount to have in 1 supplement. Personally, we’d prefer to have 5-7 main ingredients in optimal dosages that are proven to work (rather than more ingredients in smaller dosgaes.
It looks like Scitec has taken the second option by adding the massive 15 ingredients – so let’s see whether the nutrients inside show whether Superhero can compete with the best pre workouts on the market.
See for yourself:
L-Glutamine
Simply put, this is an amino acid that’s only beneficial to people with a low protein intake (eg. vegetarians, vegans or people who don’t consume dairy products).
Ultimately, it’s not needed in a pre workout.
Beta-Alanine
This molecule always causes mixed reactions as it causes a side effect known as paresthesia – which is a tingling on the skin of your face, chest, hands and fingertips.
Although it can improve your endurance in the gym, it’s not worth suffering this side effect; ingredients such as Creatine Monohydrate offers the same benefit without causing any side effects.
L-Citrulline
Citrulline is a great ingredient to have in a pre workout; it’s shown to raise our nitric oxide levels, which enhances your muscle pumps.
However, you need a dosage of 3,000mg L-Citrulline for it to work – as there’s only 1,000mg in Superhero pre workout, it’s not likely to do much.
We prefer Citrulline Malate (which is L-Citrulline with added Malic Acid), as it’s shown to have a positive effect on your strength too.
Taurine
Many wrongly believe that Taurine boosts your energy levels as it’s inside energy drinks. While it has no effect on your energy, Taurine has shown to help reduce cramping.
Not a key pre workout ingredient, but there’s nothing wrong with having this inside a pre workout.
Micronised L-Arginine
This is a new form of L-Arginine that’s believed to enhance your muscle pumps. However, L-Arginine isn’t fully utilized by your body – meaning it’s useless in supplements.
As a result, this Micronized L-Arginine is a waste of space here.
- Read more: Pre Workout Ingredients That Work
Caffeine
Caffeine is one of the best stimulants on the market – it’s proven itself to be safe and effective as it’s consumed in everyday products (eg. tea & coffee).
However, it’s important to check the dosage of Caffeine in pre workouts; in a nutshell, it can cause side effects like jitters in large dosages (over 300mg).
Scitech Superhero pre workout contains an overall caffeine dosage of 300mg, so those sensitive to this stimulant might experience jitters. As a result, we prefer Caffeine dosages under this amount – so everyone experiences benefits without any side effects.
L-Carnitine
L-Carnitine is one of our favorite pre workout ingredients, as it’s shown to reduce fatigue while being to boost your focus in the gym – 2 great benefits from taking these supplements.
But there’s a problem – optimal dosage of L-Carnitine begin at 500mg; Scitec Superhero only cntains 383mg, meaning you’re not likely to experience all the benefits of this ingredient.
See SupplementTester’s
– Highest Rated Pre Workouts Here –
Green Tea Extract
Green Tea Extract benefits almost every organ in your body and has shown to have a positive effect on your fat levels. However, this is exactly why it’s not needed in a pre workout supplement.
As you’ll only take Scitec Superhero pre workout once per day, you won’t even experience Green Tea Extract’s full benefits anyway – studies have shown that you need to consume this ingredient in 3-4 separate servings throughout your day.
Beetroot Extract
This is another of our favorite pre workout ingredients; like Citrulline, it’s shown to enhance your muscle pumps, due to containing high amounts of nitrates (the rpecursor to nitric oxide).
L-Tyrosine
L-Tyrosine is a ‘brain-booster’ that’s shown to improve your focus. However, Caffeine offers this benefit, so there’s no need for L-Tyrosine.
- Read more: Pre Workout Ingredients To Avoid
Citicoline
Also known as CDP-Choline, this is another ingredient that’s believed to improve your focus. But as we’ve already established, there’s no need for more ‘brain boosters’ as Caffeine improves your cognition.
L-Theanine
We’re impressed that Scitec’s included Theanine in Superhero pre workout, as it’s not a common ingredient – but it’s one of our favorites.
Basically, L-Theanine is a relaxing agent that can enhance the benefits of Caffeine in smaller dosages (meaning companies can add less Caffeine, which significantly reduces the risk of side effects).
However, Scitec has added a large dosage of Caffeine, so L-Theanine won’t do much to save those sensitive from the stimulant from jitters.
Cocoa Seed (Theobromine)
Theobromine is another stimulant, adding to the already high amount of stimulants in this pre workout. The only thing Theobromine is doing here, is increasing your risk of jitters.
Astragin
This is a patented ingredient that’s believed to enhance the absorption of supplements that it’s inside. For this reason, it’s more of a bonus rather than a key ingredient.
L-Glutathione
This is a fairly new ingredient in the supplements industry; it’s believed to benefit your general health. However, as this doesn’t really lead to direct improvements during your workout, it’s not necessary in a pre workout product.
Check out which ingredients work and which don’t in our
– Pre workout ingredients guide –
Side Effects
We’re glad to see that Scitec’s Superhero pre workout doesn’t contain any banned ingredients such as Yohimbine or Synephrine. However, this pre workout still comes with risks of side effects (such as jitters, due to containing large amounts of stimulants).
As a result, we always recommend that you choose supplements that only contain Caffeine as their source of stimulant – Caffeine is the safest and most reliable stimulant available (as long as you consume under 300mg per serving).
Anyway, here’s the side effects you might suffer with Superhero pre workout:
- Jitters
- Energy Crashes
- Anxiety
- Paresthesia (tingling on the skin of your face, chest, hands, fingertips and toes).
Not what you’re looking for? See Our
– Top Rated Pre Workout Supplements Here –
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Contains some key pre workout ingredients ()
- ‘Smart-Caffeine’ combo of L-Theanine & Caffeine
Cons:
- Contains an overload of stimulants
- Risk of causing numerous side effects
- Ingredients underdosed (meaning they might not work)
- Not good value for money
Review Conclusion
Scitec has actually done quite well to research which ingredients are good in pre workout supplements; they’ve included some key ingredients, such as Beetroot Extract, Citrulline, Caffeine L-Theanine & L-Carnitine – which not alot of companies do.
However, they’ve made a mistake adding too many ingredients in here. If Superhero pre workout only contained the key ingredients in optimal dosages, then this would’ve been one of the best pre workouts on the market.
Unfortunately, as Scitec added an overload of ingredients in Superhero pre workout, they underdosed important ingredients (which makes them likely to be ineffective).
As a result, we can’t recommend you to try this product, as we know there are better options available.