What’s in AMPED™ Nitro? An In-Depth Look

If you’ve ever set a training goal or followed a fitness programme, you’ll already know that the time before a workout is perfect for priming the body with the right nutrients to you can get the most out of your session.

Whether that’s building up to run a 5K, or competing in body building competitions…we all want to get the most out of our training. That’s why we developed AMPED Nitro, a pre-workout supplement formulated to help you to push harder, train better and go further. AMPED Nitro contains a combination of ingredients including creatine, L-arginine, beta-alanine, L-citrulline, taurine, and naturally occurring caffeine from tea leaves.

Creatine

Creatine is one of the best-studied sports ingredients available. It’s a compound naturally produced by the body in small amounts, and you can also get from eating foods like meat, poultry and fish. However, this isn’t enough creatine to support optimal levels for improving workouts.

Creatine has long been used by bodybuilders, but anyone can benefit from it. Especially people who naturally have lower levels of creatine, such as those limiting the consumption of meat.

Creatine helps to increase the amount of energy that’s available to your muscles, which can help no matter what you’re training for; it helps weight lifters lift heavier and longer, and sprinters to run faster and further. This can result in increased muscle mass, power, strength and speed (1, 2). Creatine can also help to improve your recovery after an intense training session (3).

L-Arginine and L-Citrulline

Arginine and citrulline are both naturally occurring amino acids that increase levels of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide boosts athletic performance by increasing blood flow, which means more oxygen and nutrients can be delivered to your muscles when you’re training (4). Citrulline has also been shown to improve short bursts of performance and can help to activate the pathways to help you build muscle (5-8).

Beta-alanine

Beta-alanine is a naturally occurring amino acid that combines with histidine to form carnosine in the body. Carnosine helps by creating a buffer in the muscle to prevent the buildup of lactic acid, which contributes to early fatigue and exhaustion. Studies have also shown that supplementing with beta-alanine can help you to go longer before feeling fatigued, which can improve your endurance (9, 10).

Caffeine

Caffeine is commonly used to enhance performance, whether that’s endurance or high-intensity training, for elite athletes or recreational runners. Caffeine can help you to feel alert, give you that competitive edge, or give you the boost you need to get through your workout after a long day. One scoop of AMPED Nitro provides 80mg of naturally sourced caffeine from tea leaves.

We wanted to put AMPED Nitro to the test with our Associates, whether they were a rugby player, or a keen gym goer. Here’s their verdict…

Andoni Torres, marathon runner

“AMPED Nitro gives me the energy and concentration I need to do the job. It’s amazing how well I recover my daily training. I’m very happy with Nitro!”

Gail Nicholls, triathlete and part of Team GB

“I just had a 10 mile run with AMPED Nitro, I picked up my pace for the last mile just to see how my energy levels were and I felt great!”

References

1. van Loon LJ, Oosterlaar AM, Hartgens F, et al. Effects of creatine loading and prolonged creatine supplementation on body composition, fuel selection, sprint and endurance performance in humans. Clin Sci. 2003 Feb;104(2):153-62.

2. Aguiar AF, Januário RS, Junior RP, et al. Long-term creatine supplementation improves muscular performance during resistance training in older women. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013 Apr;113(4):987-96.

3. Deminice R, Rosa FT, Franco GS, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on oxidative stress and inflammatory markers after repeated-sprint exercise in humans. Nutrition. 2013 Sep;29(9):1127-32.

4. Presley TD, Morgan AR, Bechtold E, et al. Acute effect of a high nitrate diet on brain perfusion in older adults. Nitric Oxide. 2011 Jan 1;24(1):34-42.

5. Pérez-Guisado J, Jakeman PM. Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 May;24(5):1215-22.

6. Cynober L, de Bandt JP, Moinard C. Leucine and citrulline: two major regulators of protein turnover. World Rev Nutr Diet. 2013; 105:97-105.

7. Suzuki T, Morita M, Kobayashi Y, et al. Oral L-citrulline supplementation enhances cycling time trial performance in healthy trained men: Double-blind randomized placebo-controlled 2-way crossover study. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2016 Feb 19; 13:6.

8. Hickner RC, Tanner CJ, Evans CA, et al. L-citrulline reduces time to exhaustion and insulin response to a graded exercise test. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Apr;38(4):660-6.

9. Van Thienen R, Van Proeyen K, Vanden Eynde B, et al. Beta-alanine improves sprint performance in endurance cycling. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Apr;41(4):898-903.

10. Hobson RM, Saunders B, Ball G, et al. Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis. Amino Acids. 2012 Jul;43(1):25-37.