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Performance Charge is a stimulant heavy, pre-workout powder from Bodybuilding Warehouse that may be useful to you if you’re looking for enhanced focus, energy and performance in the gym…but is worth the money?
In this review, we will share our full experience of this pre-workout supplement along with what others are saying about it and where to pick it up at the best price.
Delivery, Packaging And First Impressions…
The item was delivered really quickly, just a day or two after ordering which was a good start.
The order was well packaged and arrived in perfect condition.
The item itself was just as pictured in the product listing.
Nothing fancy, but we didn’t buy it for the label anyway.
The label itself is pretty cheap looking compared to most other brands in this price range, and has all the usual product information, the number of servings, how much there is in it, how to take it etc.
Ingredients…
When it comes to what’s in it, Performance Charge has pretty much all the basic ingredients needed to get the job done that you will find in the majority of pre-workout.
Here’s what’s in it…
- Caffeine-you get 275mg of caffeine per 6.5g serving for improved energy, focus and performance
- Bitter Orange Powder- there’s also 50mg of bitter orange powder which works alongside caffeine to improve blood circulation, mental focus and energy, plus it’s also used for improved weight loss too.
However there are some health risks associated with bitter orange as it contains syneprine, which is similar to ephedra, and is known to cause high blood pressure and increased heart rate in some people so be sure to check it out before using.
- AAKG-1g of AAKG (Arginine Alpha Ketoglutarate) for increased muscle pumps along with enhanced delivery of blood, oxygen and nutrients to muscles during workouts.
- Creatine Nitrate-750mg of creatine nitrate for increased athletic performance.
- Vitamin B6-plus 25mg of vitamin B6 which helps with protein absorption and prolonged energy release.
The only thing we didn’t like is that the writing on the label is so small you need a magnifying glass to read most of it, and the ‘endurance and anti-fatigue system’ part of the ingredients list is what’s known as a ‘proprietary blend’ meaning they don’t disclose exactly how much of certain ingredients it contains…
These Proprietary Blend Ingredients Are…
- Beta-alanine-for enhanced performance and fatigue reduction
- Citrulline malate-for improved athletic performance and blood flow to working muscles
- Taurine-reduces fatigue increases fat burning and decreases muscle damage during workouts
- Sodium bicarbonate-improves muscle coordination and increases strength.
Plus it also contains flavourings, colourings and sweeteners etc which you can see in the pic above.
We looked online at why this is done and the 2 main reasons seem to be to protect the exact formula so it can’t be copied, and too boost the perceived value of the product so they can charge more for it.
In this case it would seem to be the first option.
On opening the tub we were pleased to see that it came with a security seal to protect against tampering.
Plus it also came with a silica pouch to protect against moisture, and a scoop.
The powder also had a nice fresh berry smell to it, natural not artificial, and wasn’t clumped together or caked so that it had to be separated.
Mixing…
The label says to mix 1 scoop/6.5 g with 150ml water.
We never go by the scoop as we have found them to be inaccurate on too many occasions in the past.
You can read more on scoop accuracy here.
We took a level scoop and weighed out the powder on a set of digital scales and it actually weighed 8.54g (including the scoop) which was 5.11g of actual powder.
So, we weighed out the correct dose at 6.5g, added it to 150ml of cold water in a standard shaker and gave it a good shake for 20-30 seconds.
The powder completely dissolved which we weren’t expecting to be honest so that was a bit of a bonus.
Taste…
The drink itself was smooth, no gritty bits or lumps and it tasted pleasantly of mixed berries.
The flavour was pretty natural with no artificial aftertaste, and sweet but not too sweet.
There were also no gritty bits stuck to the sides of the shaker cup after drinking it down.
And nothing much happened after that.
Effects…
We noticed nothing to tell us that the pre-workout was kicking in not even the tingling you usually get from the beta-alanine.
After warming up for around 20 mins, still nothing and were were beginning to think this one was a non-starter at this point.
It wasn’t until we were actually working out that we noticed it working, it seems as though this stuff only works when you do, which is fair enough.
After that we still didn’t get the ‘kick’, however we did notice that we were able to squeeze out an extra rep or two on most sets, we seemed to be more focused, and the whole workout seemed to require less effort than normal, and rest time between sets was reduced.
Overall our first workout using this stuff was pretty enjoyable and more productive.
For our nest workout we upped the dosage to 7g, mixed it with 250ml of cold water and this made a pretty noticeable difference.
We could feel it kicking in, not massively but it was there, and we smashed the workout with some still left in the tank.
Side Effects…
None in the beginning, however as we got further down the tub we noticed feeling a bit jittery on some days later in the day.
As we neared the bottom of the tub these jitters began to feel more like a full blown hangover/energy crash.
This lasted for around 3-4 hours and according to some digging we did online could have just been us having an adverse reaction to the bitter orange powder.
So, How Do We Rate This One…
We give Performance Charge 4.0 out of 5 stars.
Here’s why…
We like everything about this one apart from the hangover/energy crash effect we got from it, probably due to the bitter orange.
It mixes really easily and it’s easy to drink-no gritty bits or anything like that, and it tastes pretty good too, there’s no nasty chemical aftertaste to it.
And most importantly, it gets you through pretty tough workouts.
That being said there are far better pre-workouts out there for the same money, and which don’t contain bitter orange powder.
If you’re ok with heavy stimulants and don’t mind mid-afternoon ‘hangovers’ give it a go, otherwise give it a miss, it’s just not in the same league as ON Advanced Pre-Workout, Cellucor’s C4, or Applied Nutrition’s All Black Everything, etc.
Click here to check it out for yourself on Amazon…
Click here to compare the price on eBay…
And Here’s How Others Are Rating It…
At the time of writing up this review Performance Charge has an average customer rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon where 69% of customers are giving it the full 5 stars, and the other 31% are giving it 4 stars.
We should mention that there are only 8 reviews to go on right now, there were far more when we ordered ours so what’s happened to them is anyone’s guess.
Click here to see all the reviews being left for Performance Charge…
So, do we think it’s worth buying…
Not at this price.
It does taste pretty good, it mixes really well, and once you get the dosage right it’s pretty effective too…
Other than that it just lacks the quality you get from the more established brands, it’s harsher, the powder itself is not as refined, and it’s far heavier on stimulants.
Another thing that puts us off is the proprietary blend bit and not knowing exactly how much of certain ingredients are in it…
And the ‘hangovers’ we suffered towards the end of the tub.
We’re also not too keen on the bitter orange peel in it.
And obviously we’d have liked a 6.5g serving to be as effective as a 7g serving, other than these small points we think it’s definitely worth trying.
The bottom line for us with this one is that in our opinion you’d be far better spending your money on a more established brand pre-workout such as C4 or All Black Everything.
Check it out here for yourself on Amazon…
Best Place To Buy Your Performance Charge Pre-Workout…
First of all we recommend going over to Amazon and checking out the product listing, in particular the latest customer feedback to see how it is performing in the real world for real people.
Next we recommend going over to eBay and comparing prices.
Remember that pretty often eBay sellers off free delivery while Amazon often require you to spend a minimum of £20 to qualify for free delivery so comparing prices on eBay can make quite a bit of difference.
Click here to check it out on Amazon…
Click here to compare price on eBay…
Recommended Alternative Choices…
If Performance Charge Pre-Workout isn’t quite what you’re looking for we recommend taking a look at a couple of alternatives we’ve hand picked for you…
Cellucor C4 Original Pre-Workout…
This one has been around for a while now and still manages to hold it’s own against the competition.
- 150mg caffeine
- 1600mg beta-alanine
- 1500mg creatine
- 1000mg AAKG
- 200mg N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine
- 37.5mg Vitamin C
When using C4 you can expect explosive energy, improved performance, reduced fatigue, increased rep counts. Read the full review here.
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout…
This is another well established pre-workout that’s also stood the test of time and continues to be extremely popular among professional athletes and recreational gym-goers the world over.
- 175mg naturally sourced caffeine
- 3.4g creatine
- 1.5g beta-alanine
- 750mg citrulline
- 375mg ALC
- 250mg N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout offers increased mental focus, improved physical performance, elevated blood flow to the working muscles, plus it’s also banned substance tested making it a good choice for pro-athletes. Read the full review here.
Click here to check it out on Amazon…
Click here to compare prices on eBay…
