About
Beyond Raw LIT is made by GNC.
Although officially a pre-workout supplement, the GNC website states that it may be taken on both “training and non-training days”. It is designed to boost energy and focus, as well as supporting nitric oxide production.
The product contains seven ingredients. Carnosyn (a patented form of beta-alanine) is said to increase carnosine levels in the muscles to reduce acid and delay fatigue. Creatine could help increase energy in the muscles, while L-citrulline is thought to promote vascularity and muscle pumps.
Beyond Raw LIT is free from sugar and gluten.
Djpaul13 –
Great stuff if you’re serious about working out!
—-Introduction—-
(About yourself, 1-3 sentences maximum) I take pre workout before lifting. Heavy lifting only and have a high caffeine tolerance
—-Ingredient Profile—-
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Tastes great!
—-Effectiveness—-
Works great but lacks intensity factor. Not something I would take to max out. The beta alanine is strong. Feels like there’s more than 3.2g but it makes lifting so much better!
—-Value—-
You get what you pay for at GNC.
—-Side Effects—-
None
—-Conclusion—-
Good stuff! I enjoy the gym more when I take it
TKCofRedLine –
Just Beyond Average….
—-Introduction—-
Fresh off of a long hiatus from any serious lifting, what better way to get motivated to get back in the gym than with a good preworkout? In the time that I was gone, preworkouts advanced in leaps and bounds in terms of ingredients, transparency, tastes, and marketing. My first trip into GNC left me surrounded by colorful labels and flavors I couldn’t even fathom. After a quick chat with the sales rep, I sampled a few different products and settled on Beyond Raw LIT as the preworkout that would get me back on track.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
Let me just start by complimenting Beyond Raw on the ingredient profile of this product. Rather than wasting space with a handful of unproven ingredients with little scientific evidence, they stuck to ingredients that have been proven to work. Also, props for the completely transparent label and very little filler present in this product. Beta-Alanine 3.2g Beta-Alinine is a well documented workout supplement known for increasing strength and endurance. 3.2g seems to be the sweet spot in the recommended clinical dosage that allows for good results without causing you to completely claw the skin off of your body. Beyond Raw also chose to use the patented form of Beta-Alanine, CarnoSyn, which has been proven effective. Micronized Creatine 1.5g Creatine is likely the most researched and proven workout supplement on the market. It is included in the preworkout to help increase strength as well as assist in endurance. At 1.5g you should consider supplementing more creatine for best results. Recommended clinical dosage is at least 5g daily. Caffeine 250mg The essential energy supplement for every preworkout. 250mg is a good dosage for most people. High enough to provide good energy without being so high it makes you jittery and causes crashes. Personally I prefer high stim preworkouts with 300mg+, but LIT still delivered well in the energy department. ElavATP 150mg Another energy supplement. The recommended clinical dosage is 150mg, so Beyond Raw got this one just right. Neurofactor (Coffee Fruit) 100mg A supplement said to improve cognitive function and assist with brain health. Appears to be the main focus supplement in LIT. L-Citrulline 3g and Nitrosigine 1.5g Citrulline is well documented as a workout aupplement used to increase blood flow to your muscles. Nitrosigine is a complex of arganine and silicone. Both supplements are present in order to increase blood flow and vascularity to support a solid pump. Both ingredients meet the recommended clinical dosage.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Far gone are the days where preworkouts were only available in fruit punch and you had to force down a heavy layer of chalky tasting foam just to get to the liquid. Now a days unique flavors and variety are the key to success for many supplement companies, and Beyond Raw is a prime example. I purchased the Icy Fireworks flavor, as it was one of the few in stock at the time, but I also got to sample the Gummy Worms and Iced Tea Lemonade flavors while there. Taste Icy Fireworks – Beyond Raw managed to capture the very essence of the Bomb Pop popsicles in this one. The best part? You don’t even have to chase your local Ice Cream Man for two blocks in order to get it. The flavor was sweet, but not overly so and did not have that artificial flavoring after taste present in similar products. I actually looked forward to drinking this preworkout every day, which is an important factor for me. If I don’t like the taste of my preworkout I struggle to force myself to finish it. As a result, I have thrown out many half full tubs of preworkout in the past, an issue I dont see myself ever having with LIT. Although I only sampled them, I feel I need to express just how much I enjoyed the Gummy Worms and Iced Tea Lemonade flavors. Gummy Worms tasted almost exactly like the candy. Admittedly, I was skeptical about the Iced Tea Lemonade, It was hands down the best flavored preworkout I have ever tasted. Being from the south, I know a good sweet tea when I taste it, and Beyond Raw hit the nail on the head. The addition of the lemonade gave it a nice tart flavor that balanced out the sweetness well. I really wished they had this flavor in stock when I made my purchase, because I would have easily chosen this one over the Icy Fireworks. Instead, the sales rep chose to inform me that the flavor had been discontinued and was completely unavailable….. After allowing me to sample the flavor….. I dont think I’ve ever experienced such disappointment since. Colors are duller and life just isn’t as exciting. Mixability LIT mixed pretty well, although it did not dissolve completely. There were some sinkers and floaters, most likely due to the inclusion of creatine. I definitely recommend using a shaker and blender ball and giving it a few hard shakes before each sip. Compared to other preworkouts I find I did have to work a little harder to dissolve this one. Dosage I find LIT was dosed very well. One scoop in 10oz of water seemed to be the best ratio for me. I did find the product was more effective if I heaped the scoop a bit rather than leveling it off. One thing worth noting is I found this preworkout took a little longer to kick in than othera I have taken. Generally I drink my preworkout in the parking lot of my gym and by the time I get inside, weigh in, and set up for my first warm up set I can feel it taking effect. With this product I actually had to drink it about 5 to 10 minutes before arriving at the gym to time it out. Though with that said, the beta alanine tingle on my lips usually started almost instantly after drinking it.
—-Effectiveness—-
Beyond Raw LIT is the Alex Smith of the supplement world. Consistent and effective with no glaring weaknesses or incredible strengths. While it may not blow you away in any one category, it wont disappoint you in any either. As always, I judge my preworkouts in three categories: Energy, Focus, and Endurance. Energy – 7.5/10 LIT performs well in the energy category. At 250mg of caffeine it has a solid dosage without being too stim heavy. Even with my high caffeine tolerance LIT still managed to get me going. The energy came on smooth with no jitters and lasted throughout my 1.5 to 2 hour workouts consistently. I experienced no crashes or negative side effects. Focus – 6.8/10 About average. While it did not give me that super focused tunnel vision that I like, it definitely made me want to push harder and longer. LIT helped block out other distractions and kept me locked in throughout the duration of my workout. What I did like is that LIT had this same effect everytime I used it. I knew what I vould expect from it, I had no “off” days while using this product. Endurance – 8/10 Easily my favorite thing about this preworkout. I find with products that are stim heavy they tend to cause me to burn out sooner than I would like. This was never an issue I had with LIT. Throughout the duration of my workouts it fought off fatigue like no other preworkout I have used. I never once had to reduce weight or reps due to fatigue, physically or mentally.
—-Value—-
30 servings for $40. About average for most preworkouts, especially considering it is exclusive to GNC. You can always expect to pay a few dollars more for products that aren’t widely available.
—-Side Effects—-
No negative side effects to report on this one. Although for those with a low caffeine tolerance you may experience some jitters and maybe a crash.
—-Conclusion—-
Beyond Raw LIT is an average preworkout, which provides expected effectiveness for solid results. It worked well and was sufficient in all areas with no real downside. Its effects are well balanced and it consistently performs just as you would want a preworkout to. It is a role player. Nothing flashy or extravagant, just does its job. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sethrj5 –
Got me out of a slump
MattG1 –
Good tasting, ok starter pre.
—-Introduction—-
Okay, so this is my first review so bare with me. I have been using pre workouts on and off for about 6 years and I have taken a lot of them. My favorites include Muscle Marinade, the original Jack3d and craze. I stopped taking pre workouts for almost 3 years but have began using them again. So I started with one I thought would be mild. I got it at my local Gnc. —-Ingredient Profile. With 250 mg of caffeine it’s not going to have you bouncing off the walls with energy, but it will give a decent boost. It provides 3.2 g of Beta-Alanine so the tingles are there, but about halfway through the tub they were diminished quite a bit. There is 1.5 g of Creatine Monohydrate. Also there was 150 mg of elevATP (Ancient Peat and Apple Extract). Finally closing out the Energy and mental intensity profile was 100 mg of NeuroFactor (Coffea arabica)(fruit extract). As for the Pump and N.O. Support, 3 g of L-Citrulline and 1.5 g of Nitrosigine (Arginine Silicate Inositol) as well as 10 calories. 3 g carbohydrates. 0 g sugars. 10 mg of sodium. And 90 mg of potassium. —-Taste/Mixability/Dosing/ the recommended dose is 1 scoop (13.52 g) I got the cotton candy flavor version and I enjoyed it. It tastes just like cotton candy to me so it’s got that going for it. The mix ability was fair it did settle to the bottom a bit so I just shook it up a little before each sip. I used 8 fl. oz. of cold water.
—-Effectiveness—-
In the begin when I first started the tub I could feel a good amount of energy and some tingles in my ears and face. The tingles would fade away before the end of my workout but the energy was still there, That is until about the end of the 2nd week of using this product where I would get little to no effects from it other then a slight boost in energy from 250 mg of caffeine, but that soon wore off as well. The pumps with this product were not impressive, they were there but nothing special. I typically prefer at least 6 g of L-Citrulline for a great pump. The focus was on in the beginning but just like everything else that faded to.
—-Value—-
The value was okay. About what you would expect 40$ for 30 servings. You can find better products for less though.
—-Side Effects—-
I did not experience any side effects using this product.
—-Conclusion—-
In conclusion I would say this is a pretty normal everyday pre workout I mean you could go to Walmart and buy something similar for cheaper. If you are however a fan of high stim products this is not going to get it done.
fat2ripped –
A pretty Lit pre-workout
—-Quick Summary—-
It’s a pre-workout sold exclusively by GNC I believe. It has some solid ingredients and a clear label, designed to give you energy, focus and pump.
—-Introduction—-
So I’m a guy who likes to feel my pre-workout working, I want to know it’s there. Sometimes I want that tingling feeling, I want explosive energy. I’m coming back to working out after a long hiatus so I need that energy, I been a couch potato for awhile. I also like caffeine more than I probably should and I like it in my pre-workout. I also basically try a new pre-workout every month just because I like variety but if I like a pre-workout i’ll most likely buy it again some time down the road and that’s basically where this sits for me. I feel pretty good about this one and I’ll buy it again I’m sure. It’s decent and reliable and that’s basically all I need.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
So it’s got a clear label, tells you exactly what’s in it, I believe the quote from the pre-workout is “If It’s On Our Labels, Then It’s In Our Bottles. ” CarnoSyn Beta Alanine 3.2 g ** This is responsible for that tingling feeling I was mentioning earlier, but it doesn’t just give you a case of the feels, it also improves muscle perfomance and muscle power output. It improves your physical endurance. So this contains 3.2 g per serving, which is a great amount, when I researched it, it said around 2-5 g is good for pre-workouts. Micronized Creatine (as Creatine Monohydrate) 1.5 g ** Well this is Creatine, it helps incease your muscle size and strength. I think it’s one of the safest researched supplements there is out there. I believe a good dosage is around 3-5 g daily so this is a little under dosed and should be taken alongside additional Creatine. Caffeine Anhydrous 250 mg ** I like a lot of caffeine in my pre-workout and this is a good amount for me. I used to drink a lot of energy drinks when I was younger and I need a good amount to make me feel it these days and that amount is usually around 200 to 300+ so this is decent and I can feel it. elevATP (Ancient Peat & Apple Extract) 150 mg ** I researched this and basically it helps improve energy levels and increase muscle growth and performance, kind of similar to Creatine. It also said an effective dosage is 150 mg, which is exactly how much is in a serving of this. NeuroFactor Coffee Fruit Extract 100 mg ** It’s said to improve brain function and cognitive. I think it’s responsible for the focus you get using this product. Pump & N.O. Support 4.5 g ** L-Citrulline ** Nitrosigine (Arginine Silicate Inositol)** L-Citrulline 3 g ** It helps with fatigue and soreness and it’s also supposed to increase Nitric Oxide levels and increase blood flow. Nitrosigine (Arginine Silicate Inositol) 1.5 g ** This is for your pump and I believe it helps increase your blood flow. It’s also a good dosage according to the article I found.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Ok so this is one those rare pre-workouts that actually taste good! I had the gummy worm flavor and it was actually pretty good, I enjoyed it and I didn’t have to chug it down. It mixed pretty well initially, but I noticed that there was some settling in the bottom of my drink, I usually mix it about 30- 60 minutes before my workout and sometimes I would let it sit a bit so maybe that’s why. I mixed one full scoop in water and took it about 15 minutes before my workout and that seemed to be the perfect dosage for me. I never did more than one scoop because that’s what worked for me.
—-Effectiveness—-
So it gave me good energy levels and I need it because these days I do a lot of cardio before I lift anything and I need that boost. I liked the energy feeling it gave me and it helped me push through my cardio. It was great for energy and I liked it. When it came to focus, it helped me concentrate when I was doing cardio, I usually get bored and tend to want to just quit early and move on to something else, but I didn’t find myself doing that with this. I did what I intended to and I pushed through it. Good focus, I enjoyed it, not too much focus but not too little either. So like I said before I do a lot of cardio before I hit the weights and the problem I run into is that by the time I’m done with my cardio the pre-workout tends to wear off and I never get to that pump aspect of the product but this pre-workout was decent in this category for my particular need. It wasn’t so bad that I wouldn’t use the product, it had just a decent pump for me and maybe it’s because I wait too long to lift but I’m not sure.
—-Value—-
So I rated this least of all 3 ratings because I’m a pretty cheap dude and that’s just me but anyway the cheapest I can find this product is for $39.99, I see one for 29.99 but it has $10 shipping. It’s priced pretty regular for pre-workouts to be honest, around that range, I bought this one because a cute GNC saleslady kinda pushed it in my face, but I tend to buy cheaper products. I won’t rate it super low just because i’m cheap so I believe it’s a little on the pricier side but decent value for what you get.
—-Side Effects—-
Tinging feeling and sort of a itching feeling, if you don’t like that you might feel it so I’m just letting you know.
—-Conclusion—-
It tasted great and it worked well in what I needed it for, energy and focus with some pump on the side. What more can I ask for? I enjoyed using it and I could feel it working. Good product and it will likely enter my rotation somewhere down the road. A little pricey but you get what you pay for right, it’s a reliable pre-workout and I would take it any day of the week. It also has a clear label that shows everything in the bottle. One drawback I forgot to mention that might hurt its overall rating for you is that it’s only available through GNC and GNC suppliers.