I’m not a fan of pre-workouts. I’ve tried A LOT of them over the last six or seven years while losing weight and trying to maintain and I’ve yet to find one that I feel is worth using and that I’ve loved.
My biggest issue with pre-workouts is the way they make me feel mentally and physically. I can’t focus or hold a conversation, I feel half drunk and they usually make me feel like my skin is crawling. I hate not being comfortable in my own skin and trying to workout when your mind is fuzzy and your skin is tingling is not fun.
All of that being said, I’m still here to test out new products for your benefit and give you a review, even if it kills me… Well not quite kill me, but even if I don’t like it.
Enter the new pre-workout from the GNC Beyond Raw line, Ravage.
I’m not going to beat around the bush and get right to the point; Ravage is intense.
RAVAGE. Even the name is intense and I’m going to assume that a big part of that is because of the 200mg of caffeine that they pack in to one scoop.
I’m going to be 100% honest here and tell you that the first time I took the Ravage, unfortunately, I did get the itchy, skin crawling feeling I feared I would. I actually had it happen the first three times I took Ravage. However, every time it only lasted about 20 minutes and then it went away, and like I said, it was only the first three times I took Ravage and I’ve been taking it now for a month and haven’t experienced since. I’m not sure what it was, but I break it down to my body not being use to it and needed an adaption period.
So, even though I did have the weird itchy skin feeling the first few times I tried Ravage, I didn’t have that lack of focus or drunk/brain fuzziness that I usually get from pre-workouts and I could have a normal conversation with someone, which I don’t usually get from pre-workouts. This was a bonus because I could think straight and I felt like myself and all I wanted to do was pump some iron.
And pump some iron I did.
I’m not sure if it was the caffeine, the L-Taurine, L-Arginne or the 5 types of creatine, but holy crap could I ever lift some weight. I set five new personal records while taking this stuff while weight training. Three of which were in the same leg workout doing barbell squats. I was able to add 80lbs to my squat in one session. I was just able to keep pushing myself.
Not only was I able to push myself with the weight I was lifting, when in the gym, I actually had to make myself leave the gym because I could just keep going and wasn’t fatigued. I wasn’t wired like I had chugged an entire pot of coffee, I just felt like I took a 20-minute power-snooze for 2 hours straight. Also, my soreness was minimal the few days after my workout and we all know day two is usually brutal.
I also tried some Ravage this weekend before my volleyball tournament and again, it didn’t make me jittery and all over the place, it just gave me the energy I needed to get through 15 sets of volleyball. Take a second to think about that.
Conclusion:
As far pre-workouts go, this one is my Top 3 for reasons outside of what a lot of people are looking for in their pre-workouts. I don’t care about “the pump” or my veins popping and I don’t want to be jittery or angry, which is what most do to me. I want my pre-workout to help me lift more, longer and recover well and I feel that Ravage does a good job of doing this as is proof in my training over the last 3 weeks.
As always, I’m going to tell you that before you start taking any supplement, reviewed by me or anyone else (or suggested by the dude at the gym) do your research and consult with your doctor.
Source: http://www.yourinnerskinny.ca/gnc-beyone-raw-ravage-review/