Pre-Kaged

3 reviews for Pre-Kaged

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   bogusforlife – February 12, 2017

   Kaged Muscle’s Pre-Kaged – A no-nonsense, jam-packed formula that delivers
   —-Introduction—-
   In the interest of full disclosure, I received this product via a forum promotion quite some time ago. After putting it through its paces to get what I would consider a fair assessment of the product, I reviewed the supplement as agreed upon and, after doing so, I shelved a bit under half a tub (~10 servings) to work through the surplus of other pre-workouts I had accumulated through various deals (BOGO free, BOGO 50% off). After recently finishing a tub of PreSeries Bulk, I found myself looking through my pantry for something else to try instead of moving onto my second tub of Bulk and that’s when I decided it was time to finish off my Pre-Kaged. In doing so, I found myself enjoying the product even more than I did during my first go-round and felt it worthy to be reviewed on this site which has gained a ton of traction as the go-to source for unbiased feedback.

   —-Ingredient Profile—-
   For anyone remotely familiar with pre-workout supplements, it’s easy to see that Pre-Kaged is a homerun on paper. With 6.5 grams of pure l-citrulline, a whopping two grams of taurine, solid doses of two forms of l-tyrosine and a sweet spot (for my preferences) of 274 mg’s of PurCaf, which is 90.5% caffeine by weight netting ~248 mg’s of actual caffeine, the additional BCAA’s, hydration and antioxidant blends are just icing on an already ergogenic cake. Factor in the lack of artificial additives and you’ll have a hard time finding a more well-rounded product.

   —-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
   For the longest time this product was only available in fruit punch. I cannot remember a time when a fruit punch flavor would be at the top of my list of preferred flavorings so I was not overly excited about this one either. With that said, it’s a surprisingly mild flavor that is identifiable as fruit punch but not overbearing by any means. The product mixes relatively well considering the serving size but a few swirls of additional water when drinking the last few drinks is necessary to avoid leaving any residue behind. Being mindful of my caffeine intake, I did start out by measuring each scoop of powder to ensure I was getting the desired dosing. I found that filling the scoop to the top ended up being slightly more than the serving size indicated so I usually opted to fill it to the just below that to keep myself in check.

   —-Effectiveness—-
   My initial assessment of Pre-Kaged was very positive but I would be lying if I said that the original price point didn’t make it hard for me to justify buying another tub. After making my way through the second half of the tub, I found myself enjoying my workouts even more than I recalled from before. I recall having increased energy levels previously but didn’t really note much in the way of increased focus or mood improvements but, for reasons I can’t quite explain, those two aspects seemed much more prominent this time around. I look forward to the gym even more knowing that my energy, focus and mood will be boosted which carries over into the start of my work day which is always a plus.

   Additionally, I found the pumps and vascularity to be quite noticeable when training fasted previously but I am now using 25 grams of Cutler Nutrition’s Total Carb and the pumps have been taken to another level completely. The synergy between the l-citrulline and the fast-digesting carbs is a combo I don’t see myself straying from anytime soon.

   I never notice huge increases in endurance from pre-workouts as I find nutrition and adaptation to my training program are what really drive my ability to squeeze out more reps in a given workout. I do see myself recovering between sets a bit quicker when using Pre-Kaged and my recovery between gym sessions seems to have increased slightly as well. With that said, the majority of any lifter’s progress will be dictated by their training and diet so don’t expect a pre-workout (even one as well-rounded as Pre-Kaged) to be a substitute for consistency in the most important aspects of your protocol.

   —-Value—-
   As mentioned above, the price point was a barrier before simply because of the myriad of options available with competitive price points. Based on my newfound level of enjoyment of this product, I am confident that I’ll be pulling the trigger on a tub (or two) and giving their new crisp apple flavor a try in the near future. Thankfully, the sales I have seen for this product more recently have made it much more cost-effective than when originally launched and it’s obvious that Kaged Muscle did not cut any corners with patented ingredients and effective doses of all key ingredients.

   —-Side Effects—-
   No adverse side effects to be reported here.

   —-Conclusion—-
   Pre-Kaged is a winner. I can say with confidence that supporting a company like Kaged Muscle that is trying to buck all of the trends that, in my opinion, have plagued the supplement industry for some time now, is a worthwhile decision. Pre-Kaged covers all the bases you would expect a pre-workout to cover and then some. I recommend this product to anyone looking for a clean, well-rounded product that does not try to geek you out via an overload of caffeine and/or novel stimulants that may or may not be on the market a year from now.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   davidian – July 23, 2017

   Throw all your high-quality ingredients, including the kitchen sink, into a PWO and Pre-Kaged is what you get.
   When I purchase my tub of Pre-Kaged by Kaged Muscle, I was really excited to try what appeared on the label to be one of the most complete all-in-one pre-workouts on the market. Pre-Kaged is built in the mould of other all-in-one clinically-dosed PWOs such as NutraBio‘s Pre and my personal all-time favourite Muscle Marinade from Purus Labs. When it comes to full-spectrum PWOs like Pre-Kaged, you expect big things. So let’s see how Pre-Kaged fared.

   INGREDIENT PROFILE – 9.2/10

   On the surface, this ingredient profile looks amazing. The label is so comprehensive they need to put it sideways to fit all the info in. There’s sticker after sticker of high-quality, patented ingredients. There’s stickers telling you that it was made in the best facilities in the universe, and that no dumbbells are harmed in the production of this product. It’s almost too good to be true. But when you dig into it, it’s not all what it seems. Don’t take that the wrong way, I still give the ingredient profile 9.2/10, which is a great score, but I feel like there are some things that could be improved/changed. I’ll break them down below:

   Pro-Pump complex – The level of L-Citrullene is great, but that’s it. If you don’t respond to it, then you’re going to be hard pressed to get a pump. In all honesty though, I do respond to L-Citrullene so I don’t have an issue with this blend.

   Muscle Fuel Matrix – In other words, BCAAs. 3.5g of them. But it’s a bit tricky, cos the next complex is 3g L-Leucine. So really, 6.5g of BCAAS, right? If that’s true, then this is a good amount.

   Endura-Burn Matrix – Beta alanine at half the clinical dose. Even though it’s the patented Carnosyn, I still feel you need the clinical dose for maximum effectiveness. The capsicum extract didn’t do much for me, apart from giving me a funny aftertaste.

   Strength & Power – A bit underwhelming. 2g of BetaPower is nice, I would like 2.5g in my PWOs though. The Creatine HCl is also under-dosed IMO, I feel with creatine you gotta put in 5g of creapure, or none at all.

   Hydrate & Defend – As others have said, 500mg coconut water extract is about half what most people want. I didn’t feel a hydration benefit from Pre-Kaged, so im going to agree with them. The other ‘stuff’ is just that, ‘stuff’.

   Neuro-Focus Matrix – The taurine is good, the caffeine is a little bit below pare for most people. I would have liked to have seen some other focus ingredients in here, as I didn’t feel the tunnel-vision focus I was expecting from this sort of product.

   There are minimal dyes and flavours, meaning your shaker and insides don’t get stained, which is always a plus. I have to give it to Kaged Muscle for being able to pack so much into a PWO and still make it 1 – mix well and 2 – taste bearable.

   Taste – 7/10

   I had the fruit punch flavour. It tasted good, but was not amazing. I got through the tub without hating it, but without loving it, hence the middle of the road rating.

   Mixability – 8/10

   Pre-Kaged mixed up well in a shaker cup, although there was some grit down the bottom that could be swirled up, but you could never leave your shaker completely clean. Not that all unexpected with such a comprehensive ingredient profile.

   Dosage – As this is a true one-scooper that’s how I dosed it. If you need to take more than 1 scoop of a PWO that is 32g then the PWO just isn’t effective in my opinion.

   Effectiveness – 8.8/10

   The effectiveness of Pre-Kaged is broken down into the respective categories that a PWO should have:

   Energy – 8/10

   With not enough caffeine in my opinion, and not many supporting energy or focus ingredients, it was always going to struggle to blow you away. And so it was. The focus and energy was increased, and there was no jitters or crash, but it just wasn’t ‘enough’ for me and I assume for many other (as I am not a stim junkie).

   Pump – 9.5/10

   The pump was real, and I attribute a lot of that to me responding well to L-Citrullene. If you didn’t respond well to L-Citrulline then you might not see the same results.

   Endurance & Hydration – 8/10

   With the BCAAs and the coconut extract, I was expecting more from the endurance aspect of Pre-Kaged. I was a little disappointed in this regard. The endurance and hydration was no better than your standard intra BCAA drink, which you can pick up for really cheap.

   Strength & Power – 8.5/10

   Again, nothing earth-shattering, but competent. I didn’t feel like I was hitting extra reps or doing heavier weight because of Pre-Kaged. I think a lot of this component ties in with the energy, if you are in the zone and focused then you tend to lift more weight or lift more reps. If you don’t have that tunnel-vision focus, then I don’t think you can truly benefit from extra reps/weight.

   Recovery – 8/10

   I didn’t feel an increase, or decrease, in my recovery from normal with Pre-Kaged. I must point out that half way through my tub of Pre-Kaged I added in BioGro into my recovery stack, which I respond really well too, and it was noticeable within a week that my recovery was improving. That’s the benchmark for me, and although Pre-Kaged is not touted as a recovery product, the addition of the BCAAs should
   improve your recovery. They did, but I wouldn’t say any more than your standard intra BCAA product.

   Side Effects – 0/10

   Nothing to report here, all good as you would expect with high-quality ingredients.

   VALUE – 7.5/10

   When you’re talking a PWO that’s going to cost you $1.50 a serving, you’re talking top tier. When you’re talking top tier pricing, you demand top tier performance. I have no issues paying $1.50 a serving of PWO if the performance warrants it. For the profile of Pre-Kaged you’d go yeah sure, all those quality ingredients cost a lot, I’m happy to shell out for it. BUT it must perform to a level that matches 1 – the quality of the ingredients and 2 – the price. Otherwise you could just get a high stim PWO and some intra product for the same price and get a better result. I felt for the price Pre-Kaged did not perform to a standard I would expect, hence the middle of the road rating. I have not really seen Pre-Kaged on sale, so the $1.50 a serving price tag seems to be the standard. I’d pay that much per serving for my absolute top PWOs, I would not pay that much again for Pre-Kaged.

   CONCLUSION – 8/10

   I was really excited to get into Pre-Kaged. I like the comprehensive PWOs that have everything included and use high-quality ingredients. Pre-Kaged worked well for me, but I was a little disappointed with the overall performance for what promised to be the top level of PWOs, among the best I’ve ever used. I was happy to pay the extra for this product, if the performance warranted it. In the end I have to admit that while I did enjoy my time on Pre-Kaged, I will be looking elsewhere for my next full-spectrum PWO. Would I buy this again with my own money? Probably not unless it was on special. Would I recommend this product to others? To serious experienced gym goers? Probably not. It would be a good PWO for someone who just goes to the gym and wants an everything in one PWO.

3. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Logandemky – January 21, 2018

   YOU WILL BE UN-CAGED WITH PRE-KAGED, BUT BEWARE OF THE PRICE
   —-Introduction—-
   With this being my first review, I thought I would start off with my favorite pre-workout to date. I have gone through 2 tubs now, and the results are even better the 2nd time around.

   —-Ingredient Profile—-
   HIGH QUALITY INGREDIENTS!! The backside of the tub contains both the ingredient profile and an explanation of why you should Pre-Kaged. There are stickers talking about how there is a quality guarantee. The label also lists out all of the parented ingredients. Everything is disclosed
   Ingredient Profile:

   Pro Pump:
   The “Pro-Pump” contains 6.5g of l-citrulline, which proves to be a great amount. I found good pumps (not the best, but still pretty darn good). 6.5g is more than enough and it shows.
   Muscle Fuel Matrix (3.5g):
   There are 1.75g of L-Leucine and 875mg of both L-Isoleucine and L-Valine. This makes 3.5g of BCAAs here which is a good amount.
   Anabolic Activator:
   There are another 3g of L-leucine, making 6.5g of total BCAAs
   Strength & Power Matrix:
   1.6g of CarnoSyn (Beta-Alanine) and 2g of Betaine; Also, 1.5g of Creatine HCl. I do feel that both the Beta-Alanine and Creatine HCl are underdosed.
   Hydrate & Defend:
   500mg of Coconut Water powder and 100mg of SPECTRA Total ORAC Blend to help fight dehydration.
   Neuro-Focus Matrix
   2g of Taurine, 1g of N-Aceytl-L-Tyrosine, 850mg of L-Tyrosine; 274mg of caffeine is not too much, not too little. Just the right amount
   —-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
   I tried both the Krisp Apple and Fruit Punch flavors. Because the flavors were natural, I feel that this drastically changed how they tasted compared to other pre-workouts. For example, I do feel that the Krisp Apple tasted real and not artificially flavored. However, it was very tart, so some may not enjoy it. More water would neutralize a bit of the tartness. 8/10 for Krisp Apple; 9/10 for Fruit Punch.
   Mixability was meh for Pre-Kaged, because some of the powder did not mix fully, and this sometimes led to flaky crystals after mixing. 7/10

   —-Effectiveness—-
   Ahhh, here is where Pre-Kaged shines. I do consider myself quite a stim junkie, so I did not know what to expect with 274mg of caffeine. However, immediatey upon taking it, I could start to feel my energy rising and I knew I was gonna kill it in the that session. It was not so much of a raging, instant energy like you would feel from some pre-workouts. I would sip this 20 minutes before working out, and I would not feel very different. It was not until I started to warm up that I started to feel anything. The energy was a steady increase until reaching its peak, not like it hit you at once, like a freight train. I think this is what makes it so great. With 6.5g of L-Citrulline, I did notice a pretty decent pump, but it was not the greatest pump ever. I felt super locked im during all my sets, and this provided some of the best focus that I have experienced.
   Energy 9.5/10
   Pump 8/10
   Focus 10/10
   —-Value—-
   Unfortunately, this is the only drawback to Pre-Kaged. You can get 20 servings for around $35. This comes out to $1.75 a serving, which would normally be way too much for me. However, this might be the best pre-workout out there, so if you the money, then by all means buy it. If you can get it cheaper than buy it.

   —-Side Effects—-
   None

   —-Conclusion—-
   So far, Pre-Kaged is my favorite pre-workout. It provides a great, clean energy and laser sharp focus. However, it is very pricey, so beware. However, if you have the money to spend, then buy this pre-workout. It is a true one-scooper and you won’t feel let down.