The Bucked Up brand isn’t shy about the ambitions it has for its Pre-Workout supplement: to “be the best possible pre workout on the market.”
Does it achieve this bold goal?
Can you get the energy and endurance you need to take your workouts up several notches from this pre-workout powder?
Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement—Key Takeaways
- Bucked up gets its name and its deer antler logo from the inclusion of deer antler velvet extract in its formula for the purpose of supporting users’ post-workout recovery.
- The all-natural formula covers the essential bases with ingredients like caffeine, L-Citrulline, and Beta-Alanine, plus boosts from taurine, Vitamin B12, and branded supplements AstaGin, ActiGin, and AlphaSize.
- The Strawberry Kiwi flavor is one of the best-tasting pre-workout powders out there.
Bucked Up Pre-Workout Strawberry Kiwi Supplement Review Score: 40/50
- Flavor: 9/10
The taste of the popular Strawberry Kiwi flavor is so good that we would call this pre-workout powder one of the best-tasting products on the market.
- Value: 7/10
Although a little pricier than some of its competitors with a similar formula strength, the price point of the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement is reasonable. The supplement is packed with ingredients that make it a good value.
- Strength of formula: 8/10
There are more potent products on the market, but overall the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement provides a nice balance of satisfactory doses of the essentials plus a boost from featured extra ingredients.
- Quality of ingredients: 8/10
While some of the featured ingredients don’t have as much scientific evidence behind them (yet) as we would like to see, we were impressed with the quality of the formula.
- Experience: 8/10
To truly measure the experience of a pre-workout supplement, we weigh the performance of the supplement against its reported side effects. The side effects are typical of, and rarer than, other pre-workout supplements, and the performance boost it offers is impressive.
What Are the Benefits of the Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement?
The Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement aims to give users the following:
- A boost in physical and mental energy
- Increased endurance for longer and harder workouts
- Support for muscle growth and enhanced strength
- Better mental focus and concentration
With a respectable formulation that includes high-quality natural ingredients at a reasonable price point, Bucked Up’s brand of pre-workout powder is worth trying for bodybuilders and other exercise enthusiasts.
Does It Actually Work?
The best-selling Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement has a great reputation for improving workout performance, particularly when it comes to stamina and endurance. Use the supplement to keep working out harder and for longer to get more out of each workout.
Many users reported seeing exceptional results from the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement, particularly compared with other pre-workout supplements. In our experience, the supplement kicks in fast and pumps you up with plenty of energy to get your workout started. Many other users agree.
Still, the extent of performance improvement you see—and whether you see any benefits at all—depends on your starting level of strength. As such, the supplement won’t work equally effectively for every user. Some users reported finding its effects underwhelming, especially if they are used to taking pre-workout supplements with a stronger formulation.
If you’re looking for the most potent product on the market, Bucked Up’s lack of the ingredient creatine and more modest strength of ingredient dosages may not make the cut.
REDCON1 TOTAL WAR Preworkout, for example, contains a great deal more caffeine and Beta-Alanine. However, for exercise enthusiasts with more typical fitness needs, the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement’s formula is sufficient to achieve the effects most are looking for from a pre-workout powder.
Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement Formulation
Ultimately, the formulation of a supplement—including the strength of dosages and quality of ingredient sources—is what determines its effectiveness.
What Ingredients Belong in a Pre-Workout Supplement?
Most of the effective, evidence-based pre-workout supplements on the market include at least the following three ingredients:
- Caffeine, which provides a boost of energy to help you work out harder
- L-Citrulline, which improves endurance and strength while also decreasing your perception of fatigue
- Beta-Alanine, which increases blood flow to the muscles—and produces that tingling feeling pre-workout supplements are known for
Having these ingredients—in some measure and formation—is the first thing we look for when assessing the quality of a pre-workout supplement. Their potential to improve exercise performance has been scientifically proven.
Caffeine, L-Citrulline, and Beta-Alanine are some of the most widely studied ingredients of pre-workout supplements, but researchers have also studied the safety and effectiveness of other common ingredients. Two ingredients that we like to see in a pre-workout supplement are:
- Nitrates, which improve an athlete’s blood flow and are derived from sources such as red spinach and beet root
- Creatines, which supports muscle growth, increased strength and exercise performance, and better body composition
Other ingredients you might encounter in a pre-workout supplement, according to the Cleveland Clinic, include:
- Other amino acids, which help the body generate energy, grow muscles, and minimize post-exercise soreness
- Glucose or sugar, which boosts energy
- B vitamins, which serve numerous purposes, including getting energy out of food
How does the formula of the Bucked Up Strawberry Kiwi Pre-Workout supplement stack up to the best pre-workout powders on the market? Let’s find out.
Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement Ingredients
One thing we love about the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement is the transparency of its ingredient list. The company doesn’t believe in “proprietary blends,” which makes it easy to find out precisely what’s in the canister.
First off, this supplement checks off every must-have ingredient box.
- Caffeine: At 200mg, the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement has a caffeine content in the range we expect for a pre-workout supplement, if on the low side of that range.
- Citrulline Malate 2:1: Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplements contain 6g of Citrulline Malate in a 2:1 blend. Although 6g is in the range we like to see (if on the low side of that range) for pure L-Citrulline, only 2/3 of this blend is actual L-Citrulline, putting the dosage a little lower than we would like.
- Beta-Alanine: You’ll find 2g of Meta Alanine in the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement, again landing on the low end of our recommended dosage range
What else will you find? The Bucked Up Pre-Workout Strawberry Kiwi supplement also includes the following supplements:
- 50 mg of deer antler velvet extract, a supplement sourced from the covering of deer antlers
- 25 mg of AstaGin, a branded supplement that helps the body absorb nutrients from food
- 25 mg of ActiGin, a branded supplement derived from Panax ginseng and Rosa roxburghii fruit, to improve exercise performance and improve VO2 MAX, a measure of oxygen consumption during exercise
- 200 mg of AlphaSize, a branded compound intended to support brain metabolism to improve your mental focus
- 100 mg of Himalayan Rock Salt (with Trace Minerals)
- 100 mg of taurine, an amino acid found naturally in the body that is intended to reduce muscle fatigue
- 100mcg of Vitamin B12 (Methylcobalamin), the vitamin that helps keep the body’s nervous system running properly
Other ingredients in the Bucked Up Strawberry Kiwi Pre-Workout supplement include:
- Natural and artificial flavors
- Citric acid
- Silicon dioxide
- Calcium silicate
- Sucralose
- Red 40 Lake
Assessing Bucked Up’s Pre-Workout Supplement Formula
Let’s dig into how the formula of the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement compares to other top-rated pre-workout supplements on the market—and our own experience-based wishlist of ingredients and dosages.
What Ingredients Are Missing From the Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement Formula?
Even though Bucked Up’s Pre-Workout supplement formulation covers the basics, we would like to see some creatine and beet root or red spinach—for the nitrates—included. We also wish the Citrulline was pure L-Citrulline instead of a Citrulline Malate 2:1 blend, or that the dosage of this blend was high enough to reach our preferred level of L-Citrulline.
Given the ingredients already included in the supplement formulation, these ingredients aren’t crucial, but they would be nice to have.
We have mixed opinions on the extra supplements that Bucked Up Pre-Workout contains. Take the Himalayan rock salt, for example.
Researchers have found that pre-exercise salt intake itself can help prevent dehydration so athletes can work out harder, even in the heat, but Healthline reported that there is little evidence to support many of the claims pertaining to the benefits of Himalayan rock salt, specifically.
Some research does support claims that deer velvet may increase endurance and strength in certain muscles compared to a control group. Still, sources like WebMD (and even the aforementioned survey) note a lack of clear and convincing evidence that deer velvet supplements can deliver the significant athletic performance benefits sometimes claimed.
We do, however, like the fact that the pre-workout supplement includes the amino acid taurine and vitamin B12.
All in all, the formulation of the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement is solid. We give the supplement an 8 out of 10 for the strength of its formula and an 8 out of 10 for the quality of its ingredients.
Who’s It For?
You might say that Bucked Up’s Pre-Workout supplement aims to be everything to everyone. The manufacturer refers to the supplement as “the pre-workout everyone can agree on.”
So, does it succeed?
Who Should Use the Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement?
Certainly, the benefits promised by the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement appeal to a wide range of exercise enthusiasts. Who doesn’t want better focus, energy, muscle growth, and “pump”?
Still, every person’s fitness goals are different. What works best for bodybuilders looking to bulk up may not be ideal for people looking to tone muscle and slim down.
If we have to choose a group to whom we would recommend the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement, it would be the former. Although you may be able to lose weight or accomplish a generally healthy lifestyle with the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement as part of your regimen, the formula may better lend itself to building bulk over shedding inches.
Additionally, Bucked Up markets its Pre-Workout supplement to “serious athletes.” What constitutes a “serious” athlete is open to interpretation. If you self-identify as someone who is serious about their workout, you might be Bucked Up’s target audience.
The Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement is zero-calorie and zero-sugar, which is great if your overall health plan includes watching your calorie and sugar quantities. The manufacturer also bills its supplement as keto- and paleo-friendly, although the sucralose it contains doesn’t align with a strict keto or paleo diet.
Who Shouldn’t Use the Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement?
If your main goal is to lose weight, other pre-workout supplements may fit your objectives better than Bucked Up’s Pre-Workout does.
With the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement, as with all supplements containing caffeine, it’s important not to go overboard. Watch your caffeine content from other sources, including coffee and energy drinks.
Anyone with medical conditions or taking medications, in particular, should talk to their doctor prior to using Bucked Up Pre-Workout or any other supplements. So should people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
In general, people under 18 years old shouldn’t take pre-workout supplements that contain caffeine without getting cleared by their doctor first. Consulting your doctor is important for any changes you make to your health and fitness plan, including adding a pre-workout supplement, regardless of your age.
If you’re following a vegan lifestyle, you’ll want to skip this one due to the deer antler velvet extract.
Bucked Up Pre-Workout Strawberry Kiwi Supplement Flavor Review: How Does It Taste?
Bucked Up produces its Pre-Workout supplements in 16 flavors as of the time of this writing (September 2022):
- Breezy Blast (Pineapple-Cranberry-Rum Cocktail)
- Swole Whip (Pineapple-Mango-Vanilla)
- Rocket Pop (Blue Raz-Lime-Cherry)
- Blood Raz
- Blue Raz
- Blue Raz Lemonade
- Caramel Apple
- Grape
- Gym N Juice (Citrus Blend)
- Killa OJ
- Strawberry Watermelon
- Sour Gummy
- Strawberry Kiwi
- Watermelon
- Watermelon Lemonade
- Miami (Strawberry-Mango-Pineapple)
According to customer reviews, the best flavor of the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement appears to be Strawberry Kiwi.
Bucked Up Strawberry Kiwi is, in our opinion, one of the best-tasting pre-workout supplements on the market. Many users rave about the top-notch taste as well as its exceptional performance.
Bucked Up unabashedly promotes its product as “Best Tasting,” and for the most part, it delivers. Our only complaint? Despite being made with no sugar or Stevia, we found the flavor slightly too sweet.
We rated the flavor of the Bucked Up Pre-Workout Strawberry Kiwi supplement a 9 out of 10. In the world of chalky supplement powders that are sometimes hard to choke down at all, that’s not too shabby at all.
Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement Price and Buying Options
Ordering directly from the manufacturer, you will pay $49.95 (as of this writing) for a 320g (11.09-oz.) container of the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement in the Strawberry Kiwi flavor. A canister this size contains 30 scoops of the supplement powder, so the cost per dose works out to around $1.67.
Bucked Up’s Pre-Workout supplement is a little more expensive than competitors like Alani Nu. You’ll pay about $10 more per 30 doses for Bucked Up than for Alani Nu’s comparable supplement, adding up to $120 more over the course of a year.
Still, the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement is about on par with the average cost per dose among pre-workout powders, with the cost of some brands climbing well above $2. Although Bucked Up isn’t as good a value as Alani Nu, the extra cost may be worthwhile if your fitness is a priority and you prefer its effects over competitors’.
Overall, we gave Bucked Up a score of 7 out of 10 for value.
What Are the Side Effects of the Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement?
Any pre-workout powder you purchase will have the potential to cause side effects. Some of the more commonly reported side effects of Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplements include:
- Tingling, itchiness, and redness of the skin
- Jittery feelings
- Stomachaches
- Lightheadedness
These side effects are all typical for pre-workout supplements in general. If anything, users seem to experience fewer side effects using the Bucked Up Pre-Workout supplement compared with other brands.
Bucked Up Pre-Workout Supplement Pros and Cons
Pros:
- A transparent formulation that consists of natural ingredients
- One of the best-tasting flavors on the market today
- Unique ingredients like deer velvet extract and branded supplements
- A pump powerful enough to impress most users
Cons:
- Not the most potent pre-workout product on the market
- A bit more expensive than pre-workouts from brands with comparable doses of the three main ingredients (like Alani Nu)
- The evidence for the effectiveness of some of the included ingredients is weak or inconclusive
Our experience with the Bucked Up Pre-Workout Strawberry Kiwi supplement, combined with a thorough investigation of other users’ experiences, left us impressed.
Although not perfect, this is a good all-around option for those looking to start using a pre-workout supplement or shake up their established routine by trying out a new pre-workout powder. We gave it a total score of 40 out of 50 and would recommend giving it a try.
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