About
Epik Blue Blood is a pre-workout manufactured by USN. It was created to enhance exercise performance, enhance muscle pumps and promote recovery.
The product contains 13 ingredients. These include L-citrulline and glycerol (as GlycerPump™), which are intended to promote muscle pumps through increased hydration and improved blood flow.
β-alanine (also known as beta-alanine) is commonly used to delay fatigue and improve stamina in the gym, while L-tyrosine, caffeine and L-theanine could improve concentration.
Epik Blue Blood is – or has been – available in four flavors: “Blue Voltage”, “Green Power”, Electric Current” and “Electro Blast”.
Each 420g container holds 20 full servings.
FRIDGE –
Much love for blue blood!
—-Introduction—-
Hi guys, it seems as though I am a man on mission – cause I am! Anyways missions aside I was very excited for our local market as USN launched their Epik range. I was pleased because the products looked quite good – naturally the preworkout caught my eye so let’s see what it did for me:
—-Ingredient Profile—-
I won’t lie guys this profile was a lot better than any USN pre I have ever seen! And it’s a beautiful thing to see it ain’t a prop blend!
Serving size: 1 scoop (19g)
Sodium 51mg
Cell vollumax stack
L-Citrulline 5000mg
Glycerpump (65% glycerol monostearate) 2000mg
Anabolic nitro pump complex
Betaine anhydrous 2000mg
Agmapure 500mg
Anabolic power, performance recovery complex
Beta alanine 3200mg
Taurine 1000mg
Vitamin B3 35mg
Superior focus & energy stack
L-tyrosine 1000mg
Caffeine anhydrous 300mg
Dynamine methylliberine 150mg
L-theanine 100mg
Astragin 50mg
Quick Ingredient spotlight
Dynamine : boosts energy and focus (first time a local company has used this ingredient)
L-tyrosine: personally I love L-tyrosine but everyone has their preference- this improves focus and mood. I like 500mg but 1000mg may work better for you – it’s an individual thang.
Betaine Anhydrous: increase power out put and improves strength.
Agmapure: Great for muscle pumps and improves insulin sensitivity
Glycerpump: muscle pumps and vasodilation
L-citrulline: improves blood flow and great for pumps, clinical dosage is around 6-8g but this is a saturation supplement so you don’t have to use it pre workout only.
Beta alanine: Improves endurance and helps keep lactic acid build at bay. A clinical dosage is 3.2g and higher – depending on training.
Caffeine: improves energy and focus this again is personal preference as some are stim sensitive I prefer 200/250mg pre workout but at 300mg it’s quite a kicker.
Taurine: is a widely used ingredient due to the fact it’s cheap af – but this stuff isn’t too bad since it helps with anxiety and stress but improves alertness as well! Max dosage is about 3G, I personally never go over 3G.
Astragin: improves absorption and uptake.
L-theanine: improves focus and reduces stress as well, also commonly used to help prevent crashes from stimulants.
Okay… that was a run through… well a walk I suppose. Anyways this stuff is well dosed – USN is playing it smart by making this go hand in had with their blue juice (contains that missing 1g of dang L-citrulline) so it’s basically a marketing game BUT as a simple pre this stuff is really good. There’s not much room for improvement but I feel caffeine didn’t have to be that high, since you wanna gauge the effects of dynamine and tyrosine. I learned a while back that stims are overrated at the end of the day it’s YOU that can make the difference. The beta Alanine is not Carnosyn which is a pity as it’s pretty evident. But this is just my 2 cents… nothing is perfect.
—-Taste—-
Electric current flavor
5/10
Damn man I aint gonna lie I was bitterly upset that this tasted the way it did. This way like a super chemical punch and for a brand that always tries to innovative with flavors – it was a flop. Its basically a bitter tasting pre that has you cringing more often than not. This is why people chug a scoop in their mouth and down it with water.
—-Mixability—-
This mixed pretty easily, not much to really fuss about. Just a blender bottle and water… and your good! Not much to complain about except the slight grit and the bottom of the shaker which is so nasty!
—-Dosing—-
1 scoop in 200/300ml water 20 mins before you hit the gym. This was perfect for me. I really love the fact it’s a single scoop servings and none of this 3 heaped scoops pres… 1 and done.
—-Effectiveness—-
I’d simply like to give a rating overall in effective because this was a combined experience that I wanna touch on.
[b]Energy[/b]
I liked this aspect because the energy was smooth, not a sudden burst where you basically go all out and fade at the end. I was impressed by the overall smoothness during my sessions.
[b]Focus[/b]
This was definitely the best part of Blue Blood. I feel the focus was on point and I was able to think clearer and really hit the weights harder due to the improvement of concentration… it basically made me feel like I had a mission and purpose which I really appreciated due to the fact that training at 4am is a bit of a mission especially when your mind is foggy as hell on cold mornings. The ability to zone in and push harder was amazing and the fact it did it every time was great.
[b]Endurance[/b]
I felt this was good. I did gauge this without an intra and felt the effects first hand… it certainly is good. I would say I wasn’t blown away the difference between carnosyn beta alanine and plain beta alanine was apparent here. I was able to train longer but lemme say at the end of the workout I pretty much was spent. This stuff makes you push hard, reps were higher than normal so in that regard it does work.
[b]Strength[/b]
Surprisingly this was one of the most apparent effects here, due to the amazing focus I really pushed myself hard and felt like I could lift heavier… it is a mind over matter game and I was ready to put the heavier weights to shame. Basically every lift slightly increased and in turn I felt like this is one of the best parts of blue blood.
[b]Pump[/b]
This stuff produced some really good pumps, it’s one of better pre workouts out there and the pump was really intoxicating to say the least. I would definitely advise Blue blood for those seeking bursting pumps, I won’t lie the more unbearable the pumps were the more I loved blue blood.
[b]Intensity[/b]
I won’t lie I was nearly drenched every workout with the fact I was pushing harder and heavier it did help the intensity even more. I’d have to say it was one of the more intense pre workouts I have used.
A very smooth operator to say the least. This isn’t some dimeth induced pre workout formula but it certainly gives you that feeling that you are using something special and worthwhile. Although I felt a endurance could need a review and the minor fact that it was missing 1g of citrulline (cause let’s face few are gonna buy the intra just to get 1g if citrulline) this needs to be revised.
—-Value—-
8/10
At R500 locally ($34+-) Is actually really well priced considering the unique and pricey ingredients used to make it what it was. A tub contains 20 servings which is $1,70 a serving which sounds like a bit but considering near everything was clinical its definitely worth it! I have not seen this anywhere online so I am unsure as to why but this is available at Dischem pharmacy so I cant really give much insight as to where to find this online etc but from the look of things this is only avail to the South African market.
—-Side Effects—-
5/10
I did experience a few sides whilst on Blue blood – mainly the crash that would last a couple of hours – this was an issue as I was training in the mornings and lets just say its not the best thing to have happen especially if you are on the road.
Another side I noticed was the jitters that would be nearly constant, it’s not something I am proud to admit but heck it happened. I would say that anything under a scoop is more or less a waste – but you have to gauge your personal preference.
—-Conclusion—-
Well with the terrible taste, jitters and crash aside I do feel that this is by far the best pre workout ever made by USN, 3xt was good but this is next level. The pumps and focus are the best aspects not to mention the strength! It’s worth assessing your tolerance, I felt anything other than a scoop is a waste as the performance was no where near a full scoop… Coupled with a solid intra and post you will definitely reap the rewards of gainz and more! No product is perfect but if this is the shape of things to come it will be exciting for all of us – local and abroad!
Fridge