Is Shifted Supplements Pre-Workouts one of the best on the market? Finding the best pre-workout supplements to meet your needs makes up a crucial aspect of success at the gym.
In this review, RAVE presents you with information needed to assess whether Shifted Pre-Workout will be the perfect product for you. And don’t worry, this review isn’t obligated to positivity–we level our criticisms, too, where appropriate.
Shifted calls itself a next-generation supplement company and with its first pre-workout product, and we agree with them.
What Makes Shifted Supplements Pre-Workout Special?
A new kid on the pre-workout block, we spent a month with Shifted’s two pre-workout offerings and found many things to love. What we believe separates Shifted Supplements Pre-Workout from the competition is its pleasing ingredient profile, which doesn’t lean to heavily into harsh ingredients with known side-effects.
Additionally, the flavors on offer provide an incredibly pleasing drink. In fact, all of Shifted Supplements Pre-Workouts flavors are so good, we would drink them just for the taste.
One other distinguishing element of Shifted Supplements is the team behind it and their vision. They developed this company to combat the predatory and dishonest marketing in the pre-workout supplements industry. Specifically, they have worked to remove fluff ingredients, heinous caffeine doses, and other formulation tricks designed to make you great for a 30 minute workout followed by an intense crash that last much longer.
Shifted Supplements Pre-Workout Pros and Cons
In order to evaluate Shifted’s Pre-Workout, we’ve organized all the major pros and cons to this formula. On quick scanning of this evaluation, you will see that the pros vastly outnumber the cons–and that’s our honest appraisal. Shifted Supplements brings some much needed accountability to pre-workout formulation without skimping on the tried and true ingredients known to give you a boost in the gym.
Pros:
- Smooth, great tasting flavors
- The most effective, high quality, scientifically backed ingredients on the market
- Settles in the stomach well
- Does not cause any digestive issues
- Includes all the core preworkout ingredients for increased performance
- Gets the little details right (inclusion of electrolytes, b-vitamins, CoQ10, creatine)
- Beta-Alanine tingles are kept to a minimum
- Touches on all the core modalities you want in a pre-workout: focus, pump, mood enhancement, energy, endurance, calm
- Multiple pump inducing pathways including L-Citrulline and nitrates like beet root powder
Cons:
- Beta-Alanine may be underdosed for maximal effectiveness (most studies are in the 3-5 range)
- Only two flavors (even though both are great)
The Difference Between Shifted Maximum & Premium
Shifted Maximum is the attempt to create the perfect pre-workout supplement based on the current science. Because of this, it comes in at a pretty high price point of $70 per bottle for over 18 ingredients and a whopping 30g per serving. It’s clearly built to make a statement in the industry and to attract those of us who are happy to spend on the very best health and fitness products.
Shifted Premium is still excellent at only 19.3g per serving, and while it’s missing a few of the ingredients in Maximum, some of us actually prefer the lighter doses (and these lighter doses can be perfect for smaller bodied women).
So what does Shifted Supplements Pre-Workout Maximum have that Premium does not?
While Shifted Supplements remains true to its mission of using only actionable doses of in their formulation, they have developed the Pre-Workout Maximum formula for veteran athletes. While the Premium Pre-Workout formula was designed for all-around use, Maximum was designed for men looking to push themselves in the gym.
Exclusive ingredients:
- Niacin
- B6
- B12
- Magnesium
- Red Spinach Extract
- zumXR Delayed Release Caffeine
- ElevATP (Ancient Peat and Apple Fruit Extract)
- Co-Enzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
Higher Doses:
- 8g of L-Citrulline (2 more grams than Premium)
- 5g of Creatine Monohydrate (3g more than Premium)
- 3g of Taurine (2g more than Premium)
- 2.5g of Beta-Alanine (.5g more than Premium)
- 2g L-Tyrosine (1g more than Premium)
- 300mg of Alpha GPC (150mg more than Premium)
- 248mg of Potassium (207mg more than Premium)
Same Doses:
- 2.5g of Betaine Anhydrous
- 1g of Beet Root Extract
- 250mg of Caffeine Anhydrous
- 100mg of Rhodiola Rosea
- 150mg of L-Theanine
- 100mg of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
Our Experience:
We spent one full month with Shifted Pre-Workout supplements before writing this review and perhaps the only thing you need to know is that now that we’ve tried Shifted, we have a hard time going back to our old favorites like Transparent Labs and Kaged.
Shifted is an experience:
- You get in the zone.
- You feel good.
- Your mood improves.
- You get that drive and that focus.
- The feeling that you can conquer the world.
- And yet the feeling is super smooth and non-jittery (thanks to L-Theanine maybe?)
Here’s What You’ll Notice When Using Shifted Supplements Pre-Workout
One thing you will notice about Shifted is that they got the details right.
The bottles are beautiful. The supplement powder mixes really well with very little residue. There is no clumping in the container (at least after a month of usage). It’s super easy to drink for a 30g (or 20g) product. Both flavors (berry and tropical) go down easy and settle in the stomach well. And well, it doesn’t cause the sh*ts–which if you’ve ever used an overly aggressive pre-workout formula is a real risk.
From a performance perspective, it’s all there.
We noticed a distinct anti-fatigue effect, getting to that extra rep or two or three. The focus was through the roof. The pump was insane. Clarity and calmness of mind throughout. Even some moments of euphoria (whether this was Shifted or endorphins, we can not know.)
Throughout the past month, strength and mass gains were clear and evident. We felt more energetic in the gym without the jitters and without the post-workout crash. Workouts felt more comfortable and more pleasant because our energy levels were stable instead of ebbing and flowing.
Why We Love Shifted Supplements Pre-Workout:
Beyond the overall experience, it’s the fact that Shifted hits all the functional modalities we care about in a pre-workout.
- Energy (caffeine)
- Focus and drive (tyrosine, theanine, choline as alpha gpc)
- Mood-boosting (Rhodiola Rosea)
- Pump (citrulline and natural nitrate sources like beetroot and red spinach)
- Endurance and anti-fatigue (beta-alanine, ElevATP, taurine, CoQ10)
- Strength, and body composition (creatine monohydrate, betaine)
Sure some pre-workout formulas have gotten some of these things right, but in our opinion–few, if any, companies have nailed all of these modalities in a single product. In short, we believe Shifted Supplements Pre-Workout offers some of the greatest value on the market.
Because additionally, at this price point you simply will not find all of these ingredients formulated in perfected balance in any other product. We’re not sure how Shifted Supplements pulled this off, but we love it.
Our Biggest Criticism
The Maximum formula had to make a compromise on Beta-Alanine. It’s obvious that Shifted chose to throttle down on the tingles to focus on an overall positive experience rather than put the full maximally effective dose of 3-6g of Beta-Alanine.
We can forgive this. Although it is a little disappointing because otherwise, their Maximum product hits every other dosing out of the park for maximum scientific effectiveness. And if it wasn’t for this one defect, it would be the true all-in-one daily product for your workout performance needs (other than of course protein… which you can and should get from real food as much as possible!)
The Bottom Line:
Shifted’s two pre-workouts (Premium and Maximum) taste great, settle well, and are chock full of functional ingredients with scientific backing. Its Maximum formula blows all other pre-workouts out of the water at this point in time (Fall 2021) and is basically an all-in-one nutritional supplement for active people who want to perform at their very best.
The Maximum formula sets the industry standard for what’s possible in a pre-workout supplement and we hope that it raises the bar in an industry that could use some innovation. The Premium pre-workout product from Shifted stands out as an exceptional entry-point for the price-conscious, loaded with an amazing array of functional ingredients and a tropical flavor that may be the tastiest pre-workout flavor we’ve ever encountered.
RAVE’s Related Rankings
If you’re still on the hunt for other pre-workout supplements or have some lingering questions about these kinds of products in general. Consider our other informational articles and rankings on the topic below:
What Are Pre Workout Supplements?
Are Pre Workout Supplements Bad For You?
The 10 Best Pre Workouts for Women
The 10 Best Organic Pre-Workout Supplements
