About
C4 Ripped is a pre-workout from Cellucor. It is a hybrid product that is designed not only to improve gym performance – it’s also intended to help you burn fat without losing muscle.
The Cellucor websites describes the product as “C4 without the creatine”. The manufacturer says that it removes the creatine because it could “add mass”, which may not be ideal if you “want to cut down”.
Cellucor says the pre-workout uses caffeine to “support an increase in energy”, while beta-alanine “helps to support muscular endurance”. C4 Ripped also features cayenne fruit extract and green coffee bean extract, both of which are said to aid fat loss.
PoppaStrouse –
C4 Ripped is a creatine-less version of C4
—-Introduction—-
This is my first review as a SR reviewer. I heard about SR by just googling around for supplement product reviews. I was not prompted to write this review for any other reason than to share some knowledge with other weightlifters. My fitness goals are to mostly gain more weight and muscle. I have always been very lean, but not as big as I would like to be. I have been weightlifting for about 5 years now and am a much different looking person now than I was. I plan on reviewing many of the other supplements I have taken over the years especially the many types of pre-workouts I have tried.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
This C4, like I said in the title, is very similar to the original C4. There are a few key differences though. C4 Ripped lacks creatine. This is for the purpose of not putting “water weight” on. C4 Ripped also adds a proprietary C4 Ripped Blend. This includes various extracts aimed at burning fat.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
The taste is very good. I had Cherry Limeade and it was very drinkable, almost enjoyable. The scoop size is just a little smaller than the original C4 ( by .5g). The serving is one scoop, but I tended to lean to about a scoop and a half.
—-Effectiveness—-
As far as effectiveness goes, I had some trouble with the Ripped formula. From the first use, I could already tell that I liked the original better. This, for whatever reason, had less ‘pop’ than the original. Even though the Explosive Energy Blend is the same, it seemed like I needed more of the Ripped to feel the effect. I did notice an uptick in the amount of sweat I was producing. This formula does seem to warm your body up and produce more sweat. I do not sweat very much naturally, but I found myself getting a nice moisen while lifting even though I don’t do real high intensity workouts. I keep it intense, but not to the point where I should’ve been sweating this much. What I love about C4 is the great energy that it does give you. Other pre-workouts I have tried have made me feel extremely jittery or even sick feeling, but C4 seems to have the perfect balance of energy without the crash and burn. It also tends to last the entirety of the workout most of the time. I have tried others that fall short of that mark.
—-Value—-
The value is less than most pre workouts. If you buy this on Amazon it runs right above $30 a can or a little more than $1 a scoop and can go higher depending on the flavor and the retailer. Regular C4 can be found for about 20% cheaper, also depending on the retailer and the flavor. This becomes a costly difference over time, especially if you are taking 2 scoops at a time.
—-Side Effects—-
A weird side-effect I experienced with the C4 Ripped that I have not had in other pre-workouts was that my tongue became very tingly. Almost like allergic-reaction tingly, but not nearly as bad. It would go away relatively quickly, and really didn’t have much effect on me or my lift, it just felt strange.
—-Conclusion—-
After taking the entire can, I was really underwhelmed by it’s performance. I just felt like I had a weak, different tasting C4. My goals are not really aimed at weight loss, but I was hoping I would look more, in it’s own words, “Ripped”. I didn’t really notice a difference. I would stick with the classic if you are wanting to go the C4 route.
bralsh513 –
Great tasting preworkout with even better results in the gym
—-Introduction—-
I am a 23 year old frequent gym goer, for about 3 years now, that am using this product while cutting. I’ve been cutting for a few weeks now and this product definitely helps boost my energy in the gym when I have low carb days. I found out about SR while browsing through some online fitness forums. I decided to write this review because I really enjoy this product and think it is one of the better preworkouts currently offered on the market. I also really enjoy and plan on reviewing Optimum Nutrition’s Essential Amino Energy to sip on throughout the day and Evlution Nutrition’s Lean Mode to assist with the cutting process. —-Ingredients—- No creatine or other ingredients that can cause bloating or holding water weight. L-carnitine tartrate, green coffee been extract, cayenne, and various other fat burning stimulants/ingredients are what gives it the ‘Ripped’ formula, which is ideal when cutting or not looking to bloat up when taking a preworkout. Also, the ingredients help with maintain muscle mass when in a significant caloric deficit for prep or just cutting calories in general.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Mixability was great and the taste was smooth and tart (cherry limeade). Cherry limeade is the only flavor I have has but they also have an Icy Blue Razz flavor available for purchase in both 30 and 60 serving containers. Just needed one scoop for it to be effective. Tastes great mixed with 6-8 ounces of water but I also recommend taking the scoop straight and swishing it around your mouth with some water. That was how I took this preworkout for the most part and thought it tasted better and was just as effective as mixing it with water beforehand.
—-Effectiveness—-
One scoop was all I needed for an effective workout but definitely can handle two scoops without feeling like you are overdoing it if you feel like your tolerance has been built up over a period of time and need that extra boost.
—-Value—-
A little expensive for not a large quantity but definitely worth the price if you want to pay for a premium product. A little over a $1 per serving, which I feel like is pretty standard, especially for a product of this quality. The scoops are definitely a little other the smaller side but I believe this is because there a less filler ingredients that don’t do much for you.
—-Side Effects—-
Definitely get the tingling feeling (which I really like from a preworkout). Other than that, not many side effects that I noticed while taking this product. No heart pounding that occurs when taking some preworkouts that are on the stronger end.
—-Conclusion—-
I would definitely recommend this product if you are looking to pay for a premium product. You get 30 to 60 servings in a container even though there is less overall quantity compared to other preworkouts on the market. Maybe a little too expensive if you are on a budget. The tingling feeling was very noticeable and definitely get a jolt of energy shortly after taking it.
Zsteinf –
Can a person get “ripped” on a pre-workout that is called C4 ripped?
Introduction As a 39-year-old individual, your age impacts your workouts and runs (unless you are Tom Brady who is turning 40 soon). I had come to the realization that as I get older, I needed to find ways to improve my workouts and runs. I have seen the Cellucor C4 Ripped at Academy, but I first hesitated since it seemed a little pricey. After seeing what all was available at Academy, and learning that C4 ripped was currently on sale, I decided to give it a try. I noticed the C4 Ripped for some time and thought that since the price was a little high, probably a good purchase. But, the old saying “you get what you pay for” is not always true. Ingredient Profile: 7/10 The first part of the ingredients lists vitamins. Vitamin C 250 mg, Niacin 30 mg, Vitamin B6 500 mcg, Folic Acid 250 mcg, Vitamin B12 35 mcg, and Calcium 28 mg. The vitamins can be found in almost every multi vitamin but they are all in different milligrams so this is not a substitute for a multi vitamin. These specific vitamins will give you energy and metabolism that will convert proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into fuel. Calcium is also linked to bone strength. Vitamins are part of a healthy diet. They assist with the immune system, metabolism, energy, growth, and enzymes for body function. Without vitamins, you would not be able to function. The second part lists some amino acids. CarnoSyn Beta Alanine 1.6g and Arginine Alpha Ketoglutarate 1g. CarnoSyn Beta Alanine is an amino acid that can be found in the liver. You will also find it in a lot of pre-workouts and supplements. This amino acid leads to assist with muscle fatigue. Arginine Alpha Ketoglutarate or AAKG is important for metabolism of some amino acids and helps with energy. AAKG is also used by surgeons while performing heart surgeries that ensures no blood delivery issues during the surgery. The third section is the specific “C4 Ripped Blend 1g” which consists of L-Carnitine Tartrate, Green Coffee bean extract, Capsimax Cayenne fruit extract, Coleus forskohlii root extract. L-Carnitine Tartrate is for energy that is used in sports and fat loss. Carnitine has also been linked to heart patients. Green Coffee Bean Extract comes from Coffee Beans. Coffee Beans are one of the most popular weight loss supplements because of the energy and metabolism burst. Capsimax Cayenne Capsicum which comes from red pepper or chili pepper as an herb. This herb is also used in medicine for to help patients problems with digestion, upset stomach, gas, stomach pain, diarrhea, and cramps. It may reduce joint, low back, and muscle pains, help headaches, weight loss and help athletes. Coleus forskohlii Forskolin is found in the plant. This is another item that has been used for centuries for blood pressure, chest pain, and asthma. The last section is “Explosive Energy Blend 371mg” that is made of N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, Caffeine Anhydrous 150mg, and Velvet Bean seed extract. N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine is an amino acid that is known to have different abilities like brain function, muscle support, and recovery. Caffeine Anhydrous is what it says, caffeine. The difference that this has over caffeine is this caffeine does not contain any water. The velvet bean extract is a long used plant extract from plants that can be found in India (actually saw some while on a mission trip in India). The plant extract is used to boost mood and help concentration. It has also been linked to sex drive, lean muscle mass, and weight loss. All in all, not a bad combination of ingredients. Every company makes a pre-workout that is a little different. They all contain some change in a number of ingredients and the amount of each ingredient. Only 2 ingredients make me wonder. The first is Capsimax Cayenne which is used in medicine to help people stomach issues which include cramps and diarrhea. The second was Coleus forskohlii that has been used for blood pressure, chest pain and asthma. Why would the C4 Ripped mix contain these items that have been linked to treating bad side effects? These side effects are not as bad as some side effects seen on commercials for doctor scripts that treat depression, brain issues, and pain problems. On a positive note, some ingredients are tied to sex drive! Taste/Mixability/Dosing: 10/10 I tried the raspberry lemonade, which is my favorite flavor. When it comes to drinking mixes of raspberry lemonade, you sometimes get a bitter lemonade or little taste of raspberry at all. This one was definitely a good flavor of raspberry lemonade. The instructions call for 6 fluid ounces of water, but I usually use 8 since that is usually the amount of water I have ready to mix with. Regardless of 6 or 8 ounces, the flavor was always good. The C4 Ripped mixed well when stirring, but as usual, always better when shaken. There are 2 other choices which are cherry limeade and fruit punch. Effectiveness: 6/10 This is where things get a little off. The instructions say to start off taking mix 30-45 minutes prior to work out with 1 scoop and after getting used to the 1 scoop, you may go up to 2 scoops. At 1 scoop, I had a small boost that quickly went away. At 2 scoops, I got tingly and felt a little dizzy. The best was 1.5 scoops. I would take the 1.5 scoop about 30-45 minutes before a normal workout day of less than 1 hour. On days that I had a workout longer than an hour, I would take it right before my workout to give the energy needed to get through a long workout. That may seem pretty easy to figure out, just take 1.5 scoops when needed. As time went on, 1.5 scoops started to wear down, but I wanted to avoid taking 2 scoops. The problem for me is that in 2014, I had a brain hemorrhage. My hemorrhage happened in the gym, where I had taken a pre-workout prior to the workout. The hemorrhage was something other than the pre-workout. I had a pre-existing known as an AVM and it had caused my head to bleed and was putting pressure on my brain. I passed out at the gym and was in a coma for 4 days. As you may be able to tell, regardless of why the hemorrhage, I am a little afraid of using a pre-workout. When it comes to a pre-workout, I do my research. I want to avoid anything that may cause a side effect that could impact my now delicate system. I do take a lot of medications now that stop me from having seizures and help control the brain pain that I deal with daily. Ever since the surgery, I have had a headache every single day. I know some people say that and it means they have a few headaches a week. I have had a headache every single day for over 2.5 years. I just need to be careful of what I put into my body. I can handle caffeine without problems. I just need to keep caffeine low to avoid the headaches getting worse. The thing that bothers me is the Coleus forskohlii. The Coleus forskohlii research shows that it has been used for blood pressure, chest pain and asthma. If this is true, should I be using a product that may cause blood pressure, chest pain, and asthma? I lack problems with this side effects, but you can understand why I worry about this. When taking C4 Ripped, I did not notice any of those side effects regardless of 1 or 2 scoops. The only side effects I noticed was aggressive tingles after using 2 scoops. A slight tingle at 1.5 scoops was noticed, but this tingle is a good feeling like after a good cup of coffee. I first wanted to stop taking pre-workouts because most of them have some sort of side effects, but I soon realized not as worse as what most prescribed medical medications might have. I am just a little more careful about these things. So, as far as it goes with effectiveness, I found C4 ripped to be effective at 1.5 scoops but after a few weeks, I noticed a decrease in energy. Value: 5/10 At first glance, the cost of one container is around $40. The catch on this one is how much is it per serving. 30 servings in one container which workouts to $1.33 per serving. The problem is that I would take 1.5 scoops per workout so the servings then go down to 20 servings. This now takes it down to $2 per serving. I have found other pre-works that I like at about $20 – $30 for 30 servings and it provides me the energy I need with one serving. This works out to $0.67 – $1 per serving. Overall, a small difference in price per serving, but this can add over time. Side Effects: 9/10 No real side effects noticed other than the tingle I would get after using 2 scoops. Conclusion 6/10 The C4 Ripped is an ok product. I did get some energy but it eventually wore down. The ingredients were not bad and contained ingredients that can be found in other pre-workouts. The 30 servings are more like 20-15 because you might need more than 1 scoop to get the boost you need. If you workout 5 times per week, you won’t make it a month before you need another C4 Ripped. If you can get it on sale, you might want to try it to just see what happens.
aleexz –
C4 ripped…? More like ripping your wallet
—-Introduction—-
Cutting seasons is over, time to do the incredible bulk.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
DISCLAIMER: I’M REVIEWING THE EUROPEAN VERSION, THERE MAY BE A FEW DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THIS ONE AND THE AMERICAN. Average scoop is about 6.0 grams (regular C4 is 6.5g), lets take a deeper look: – Beta-Alanine (1.6g): Half of the clinical dose, you will get the full effect if you double scoop. B-Alanine has been shown to enhance muscular endurance, specially being able to perform 1 to 2 reps more when staying at an hypertrophy range (8 to 15 reps). It’s remarkable to say that it’s Carnosyn Beta Alanine so it’s the highest quality available. – Arginine AKG (1g): Standard pre workout dose is 3 to 6 g. Outdated nitrix oxide booster, most companies have moved to agmatine but it seems like Cellucor is still stuck in the past. – Vitamine C (250mg): Good dose of vitamin C, it helps your body absorb those active ingredients. – Caffeine anh. (160mg): Caffeine is a powerful stimulant and it can be used to improve physical strength and endurance. It is classified as a nootropic because it sensitizes neurons and provides mental stimulation. – L-Tirosine (150mg): L-Tyrosine minimum dose is between 100 to 150 mg, it is a mental booster and assists with mental focus. – C4 Ripped special blend (1g) made of L-Carnitine Tartrate, green coffee extract, capsicum extract, Coleus forskhohlii: Tricky tricky stuff, first of, its a propietary blend so we don’t know the amount of ingredients that are in it. But according to the 1 g, I can say it’s heavily underdosed. This ripped blend is supposed to act as as a fat burner and energy inducer thanks to the use of Carnitine and its fat metabolising capability but the dose is less than 1 g and the recommended dosage should be between 1 and 4g by itself. Green coffee extract aids with energy and capsicum extract with fat burning but we don’t know the mg of each. There are a bunch of vitamins added to the product to make your body not experience a crash afterwards and help with mood.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
– One good thing about cellucor is, without a doubt, their flavor system, this product offers a range of flavors like: fruit punch, pink lemonade… the one that I tried was Cherry Limeade, and it indeed had a cherry taste to it. It’s important to remark that capsicum tends to make the product have a bit of a spicy taste if you mix a scoop with water and then let it sit. If you can’t stand sweet, spicy flavors you may need to chug it as quick as possible. – Mixability is great as always, no sinkings or floating particles. – About dosing… it’s pretty underdosed, but we are going to go deep in the “efectiveness” section below.
—-Effectiveness—-
Lets break it down based on the scoops you take: – 1 scoop: A lot of the ingredients in one single scoop are underdosed, in my case this resulted in low to mild energy, caffeine low content doesn’t give a boost and the ripped blend doesn’t aid that much. Strength wasn’t there as creatine content is literally non existant. Pumps don’t live to their own expectations, you may get a bit of a pump going but it’s NOT skin tearing. Focus is not there either. Endurance is ok, half the standard dose of beta alanine gives a bit of an edge when going for a long working set. However, if you have never taken a pre workout this is gonna give you an energy rush and a bit of focus plus the itching skin coming from the Beta-Alan. – 1.5 scoops: You start to hit almost the recommended dose on everything (looking at you Beta-Al and L-Carnitine). Energy gets better, caffeine hits harder and for longer. Strength and muscle power are not there. Pumps get a bit better but it’s nothing mindblowing, same as focus, no “tunnel vision” but you are slowly getting in the zone. Endurance increases as well and tingles come back if you’ve never taken that big of a dose. If you’re somehow used to taking preworkous this should be your starting point. – 2 scoops: Here is where the magic happens, but the magic comes with a dilema. If you take a 2 scoop serv. you are gonna hit a clinical dose of almost every single ingredient (I repeat, ALMOST). For me, this translated into a nice tingling feeling from Beta-Alanine that comes with a huge increase in muscle endurance and a huge decrease in fatigue. Pumps and muscle power did not increase. Vitamins had a huge role as I didnt experience any crash. BUT, you are hitting 320 mg of caffeine PLUS whatever amount of green tea extract they threw in there and that may be too much for some. Energy for me was clean, through the roof and long lasting (I have a high stim tolerance), focus, however, was severely compromised and nothing to write home about.
—-Value—-
Regular size is 30 servings. I bought it for 25 but, some websites are selling it for $40, which is about $1.33/per 1 scoop, which is already expensive. If you are used to preworkout you are gonna go directly to 2 scoops and thats about $2.66/per serv… absolutely outrageous.
—-Side Effects—-
I built tolerance to it so quickly that it started becoming ineffective after a few days plus it’s pricey for two scoops and focus wasn’t there. You have to play with the dosages if you want the right ammount of stims and right ammount of the rest of ingredients and you may not be looking to do maths every single day you want to take it.
—-Conclusion—-
Not good/10, the “RIPPED” thing is just a gimmick for another underdosed cellucor product (they do love their underdosed stuff apparently). Not even worth spending money on this product, buy your own L-Carnitine and green tea extract if you wish and just take them by their own.
BlakePullen –
C4 RIPPED? Nah more like beginner’s Gainz
—-Introduction—-
(About yourself, 1-3 sentences maximum) My name is Blake Pullen and I am earning my bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science at Kennesaw State University. I’m in love with weight lifting/bodybuilding and supplements! My reviews are always 100% unbiased because I use all of yall’s reviews myself to help me decide where to put my hard earned cash. Once again Cellucor pulled me in with the shiny label and the ‘pretty words’, at my local GNC, to try another one of their mainstream pre-workouts.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
Right off the bat you notice that they do have traditionally good pre-workout ingredients: Beta-Alanine, a form of Arginine, along with a “Ripped energy blend (Prop blends as usual leave me wanting more LITERALLY) And this is no exception because every major ingredient is clearly underdosed, which means for me to get the desired effects of a good pre-workout I would need to take 2 scoops. They have a few pretty good ingredients, just poor doses ArnoSyn Beta Alanine: 1.6 Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate: 1g C4 Ripped Blend: 1g L-Carnitine Tartrate, Green Coffee bean extract, (standardized for Chlorogenic Acids), Capsimax Cayenne (Capsicum annuum) fruit extract, Coleus forskohlii root extract Explosive Energy Blend: 371mg N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, Caffeine Anhydrous (150mg), Velvet Bean (Mucuna pruriens) seed extract, (Standardized for L-Dopa)
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
The cherry limeade flavor was actually very enjoyable for me. Very tangy and no bad aftertaste. Taste: 7.5/10 Mixibility: 8/10 I never once had any issues with clumping while shaking it for 10 seconds in my traditional blender bottle Doses: 1 scoop was ineffective for my energy needs, so because of the underdosing I had to take 2 scoops before every workout
—-Effectiveness—-
1 scoop did virtually nothing for me. I have a very high caffeine tolerance so 150mg is like me getting ready for bed. The other ingredients were just too underdosed to give me that real “edge” that I was looking for so I turned to 2 scoops. 2 Scoops gave me a little bit of that wonderful Beta-Alanine feeling and 300mg of caffeine to give me an immediate boost. I felt it come on after about 20 mins and the double scoop did just about everything that the label claimed it would do with one scoop! It gave me lasting energy throughout my entire workout and I was overall very pleased. The endurance also became much more evident with 2 scoops as my muscles had that “fresh feeling” without any immediate soreness. I felt like I could train harder and longer than when I was only using one scoop. The pump was improved with 2 scoops but wasn’t immaculate, which I guess is to be expected as there is no big doses Citrulline on the label besides the other underdosed ingrediants.
—-Value—-
The cheapest price that I could currently find on this stuff is $34.99 at Allstarhealth.com for 30 servings. Anything over $1 per serving better be giving you clinical doses and solid results and sadly 1 scoop of this product wouldn’t do that for me so it was basically like paying $35 for 15 servings. Not a good value in my book
—-Side Effects—-
NONE
—-Conclusion—-
This is a product that is only effective when doubling up on your servings, but for the price it just doesn’t seem worth it if you’re looking for clinical doses and big results