Apollon Nutrition Cyclone: A Powerful Creatine-Driven Pre-Workout for Feel-Good Gains

Apollon Nutrition Cyclone enters a new lane for a brand well-known for "clinical-plus" dosing and full label transparency: a pre-workout built on real doses of well-studied active ingredients rather than a stimulant redline. Apollon's fans love their stims, but sometimes you need a toned-down product that brings some research-backed gains. This is that formula.

Apollon Nutrition Cyclone is a pre-workout built on doses instead of stimulants. 5,000mg Purest Creatine, 5,000mg tyrosine, 2,500mg betaine, 450mg Peak ATP, 500mg CDP choline, and 200mg natural caffeine. No beta-alanine, no niacin, no tingles.

The formula is pharmacist-formulated by Dr. Marina Samborsky, Pharm.D., who's also co-architect of the brand's health-focused lineup. Cyclone ships in an 18g scoop with 20 servings per container, launching in Peach Mango and Strawberry Lemonade.

How Apollon Nutrition Does a 200mg Natural Caffeine Pre-Workout

Where Cyclone gets interesting is where it sits inside Apollon's own pre-workout lineup. On one end is Bare Knuckle, the brand's fully disclosed, zero-stimulant option. On the other is Hooligan, their legendary flagship high-stimulant pre-workout built for lifters chasing maximum caffeine load. Cyclone splits the difference: 200mg of natural caffeine from coffee bean, noticeable energy without chasing the redline, backed by a set of non-stimulant actives dosed at levels that would headline most standalone products on their own.

That non-stimulant backbone starts with 5,000mg of Pürest Creatine™ (the industry's more pure creatine according to lab tests), a sizeable 5,000mg of tyrosine, and 2,500mg of betaine anhydrous, the same clinical range used across the bulk of the published research behind each. Layer in Peak ATP®, enXtra®, CDP choline, and organic lion's mane for focus and cellular energy, plus Senactiv® and AstraGin® rounding out recovery and absorption, and Cyclone reads more like a stack that happens to include caffeine than a stimulant product with a few extras bolted on.

This looks like a fun, feel-good pre-workout that's still going to be very experiential, even at a smaller-than-expected caffeine dose from the stim kings. We dive in below, but first, check prices and availability on PricePlow:

Apollon Nutrition Cyclone Ingredients

Each 18g scoop serving provides the following:

• Pürest Creatine™ (Creatine Monohydrate) - 5000mg

  Pürest Creatine™ is a creatine monohydrate supplied by NNB Nutrition and dosed at a full 5,000mg per serving, the same range used across most creatine research. Creatine works by replenishing phosphocreatine stores, which regenerate ATP during short, intense efforts like heavy sets and sprints. A comprehensive review addressing common questions and misconceptions about creatine confirms this mechanism supports strength, power, and lean mass, and notes creatine carries one of the best safety records of any sports supplement.^[1]

  At this point, there's not much more needed to be said about creatine's effects, but we like to bring up the rule of 5-15%:

  The rule of 5-15%

  A major review found that short-term creatine monohydrate supplementation typically leads to:^[2]

  • 5-15% improvement in max power/strength
  • 5-15% increase during max-effort muscle contraction based sets
  • 5-15% boost in work performed during repeated sprint bouts
  • 1-5% improvement in single-effort sprinting performance

  We've seen a ton of additional research since then, but that's basically the reasonable outcome to expect.

  Beyond the gym, a systematic review of randomized trials found creatine can support short-term memory and reasoning, an angle that fits naturally with the rest of Cyclone's cognitive-leaning formula.^[3]

  

  NNB built this superbly-tested ingredient around a higher-purity manufacturing process, and we've covered Purest Creatine's third-party testing story in detail. Long story short - this has the lowest amount of impurities the industry's ever seen, to the point where the labs had to improve their testing methods in order to accurately measure just how good it is.

• Tyrosine - 5000mg

  Tyrosine is the amino acid precursor to the catecholamine neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, converted through the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase in a step that becomes rate-limiting specifically when neurons are firing harder than normal.^[4] That's important because raising tyrosine availability does little in a resting brain, but demanding physical or cognitive stress draws down local catecholamine stores fast enough that supplemental tyrosine can help maintain output.^[5] Perfect for a pre-workout application, even more perfect at this dose for an insane-training Apollon athlete.

  A review of the clinical and healthy-population literature found tyrosine reliably supports cognitive performance, including working memory and mental flexibility, under acute stress or heavy cognitive load, with little effect at rest. Evidence for tyrosine directly boosting physical exercise output is a bit weaker and more inconsistent, so Cyclone's 5,000mg dose is better understood as backing mental resilience through a hard session than adding raw horsepower on its own. The dose is awesome. We usually see 1-2g here. Not with Apollon.

• Betaine Anhydrous - 2500mg

  Betaine Anhydrous, also known as trimethylglycine, is a naturally-occurring compound that works two ways:

  1. as a cellular osmolyte that helps cells hold water under stress, and
  2. as a methyl donor that converts homocysteine to methionine.

  

  Unlike this formula's stimulants, betaine's research base runs on consistent daily use rather than an acute kick. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 studies found chronic betaine supplementation significantly increases maximal strength, an effect driven mainly by the lower body, though the researchers noted the finding was sensitive to which individual trials were included.^[6] Cyclone's 2,500mg matches the daily go-to dose used across most of the supporting research, so consistent use, not a single big scoop before a max attempt, is what the evidence actually supports.

• Organic Lion's Mane - 1000mg

  Organic Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is a mushroom whose hericenone and erinacine compounds stimulate nerve growth factor production, a protein involved in the survival and plasticity of brain cells.^[7] The strongest human evidence comes from older adults with mild cognitive impairment, where 750mg per day of fruiting body powder improved memory scores over 16 weeks compared to placebo.^[8]

  Evidence in healthy younger adults, however, is more preliminary: A small pilot study in adults aged 18 to 45 found a single dose improved Stroop task speed within an hour, with a trend toward reduced stress after 28 days of daily use.^[9]

  This is a solid ingredient that supports nerve growth factor, and it pairs very well with the cognitive benefits of creatine, tyrosine, and CDP-choline below:

• CDP Choline - 500mg

  CDP Choline, also called citicoline, is a compound your body already makes to build phosphatidylcholine, the main structural fat in neuron membranes, and it also feeds into dopamine and norepinephrine production.^[10] In a 12-week randomized trial, 500mg of citicoline daily improved episodic memory scores in older adults with age-related memory complaints, the exact dose found in Cyclone.^[11]

  

  That same 500mg dose has also shown benefits in healthy, non-impaired adults over shorter windows. A two-week trial in young volunteers found 500mg daily improved reaction time and working memory accuracy while reducing a marker of oxidative stress compared to placebo.^[12]

  While there's good research on citicoline at 250mg, 500mg is where it gets interesting because of the research above. Leave it to Apollon to do it their way - dosed strong.

• Peak ATP® - 450mg

  TSI Group's Peak ATP® is a disodium salt of ATP studied for effects beyond simple intracellular energy currency. Once in circulation, extracellular ATP also acts as a signaling molecule at purinergic receptors involved in blood flow, muscle contraction, and neurotransmission.^[13] A 12-week trial in resistance-trained athletes found 400mg daily produced significantly greater increases in total-body strength and vertical jump power compared to placebo.^[14] A single acute 400mg dose has also been shown to increase total weight lifted during lower-body resistance training compared to placebo, alongside greater oxygen consumption during the session.^[15] Cyclone's 450mg sits right around this studied range.

  We've also written about the synergistic opportunities between creatine and Peak ATP, so that article's worth reading too, since you're getting both here as well. But continuing on the experiential side:

• enXtra® - 300mg

  enXtra® is a standardized extract of Alpinia galanga (galangal, a ginger relative) studied specifically as a caffeine companion rather than a caffeine substitute. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial using the exact combination found in Cyclone, 300mg enXtra plus 200mg caffeine, measured mental alertness and fatigue across both a single dose and 28 days of daily use in healthy adults.^[16]

  

  In-vitro receptor-docking work suggests part of the mechanism involves blocking dopamine reuptake, working the same alertness pathway as caffeine through a different door.^[17] A separate 28-day trial found enXtra improved reaction time, accuracy, and self-reported energy and fatigue scores against placebo, with no adverse events reported.^[18]

  For a formula built around a moderate 200mg caffeine dose, that combination extends alertness without stacking on more stimulants. This is how Apollon does lower caffeine -- with dopamine-boosting and dopamine-prolonging ingredients like tyrosine, citicoline, and alpinia galanga.

• Natural Caffeine (from Coffee Bean) - 200mg

  Natural Caffeine (from Coffee Bean) works primarily by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain, the same receptors that build up drowsiness signals throughout the day, which is why blocking them increases alertness and lowers the perceived effort of exercise.^[19] The International Society of Sports Nutrition's position stand puts the effective dose range at 3 to 6mg per kilogram of body weight, with doses as low as 2mg/kg sufficient for some people and doses above 9mg/kg mostly adding side effects rather than benefit.^[19] At 200mg, Cyclone sits at the moderate end of that range for most adults, which tracks with a formula built around clean energy rather than maximum stimulation. Caffeine's most consistent benefit is aerobic endurance, though meta-analytic work also shows smaller but real improvements in strength and muscular endurance.^[20]

• MicroActive® CoQ-10 - 100mg

  MicroActive® CoQ-10 uses a solubilized delivery system built to address coenzyme Q10's inherently poor water solubility, a well-documented delivery challenge for this nutrient.^[21] This is a unique addition that we don't generally see in pre-workouts, but it's one that's great for mitochondrial energy alongside the Peak ATP and creatine.

  

  Zero stimulants. Ten grams of citrulline. Apollon Nutrition Bare Knuckle V6 sits at the research ceiling on nearly every ingredient, plus 508mg VasoDrive-AP for a pump pathway most non-stims skip.

  CoQ10 itself is a core component of mitochondrial electron transport, and supplementation reliably raises blood CoQ10 levels.^[22] A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 24 studies found those effects were small and inconsistent, however, but may lead to some support.^[23] The more dependable benefit shows up around recovery. A dose-response meta-analysis of 28 trials found CoQ10 reduced post-exercise creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and other markers of muscle damage, with larger doses producing larger reductions.^[24]

• Senactiv® - 100mg

  Senactiv® is a patented blend from NuLiv Science combining ginsenoside Rg1 (from Panax notoginseng) with Rosa roxburghii fruit extract. Its research centers on clearing senescent, low-function cells that build up in exercised muscle, making room for fresher tissue as the immune system's macrophages step in.^[25] In a placebo-controlled crossover trial, a 5mg dose of Rg1 increased cycling time to exhaustion at 80% VO2max by about 20% and reduced exercise-induced lipid peroxidation.^[26] A separate trial in trained men found the same dose lowered perceived exertion during a squat session while reducing markers of cellular aging in muscle tissue.^[27]

  We always consider Senactiv to be an "endurance-friendly" ingredient that supports VO2. This is also the dose we like - some brands combine 50mg here and 50mg there... Apollon Nutrition needs you to combine nothing because they knock it all down in one product!

• AstraGin® - 50mg

  AstraGin®, also from NuLiv Science, combines extracts of Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng and is designed to support nutrient absorption rather than deliver an effect of its own.

  

  In a 2026 pilot study, four weeks of supplementation alongside whey protein significantly increased the absorption of valine and leucine compared to placebo, with faster time-to-peak concentration for several amino acids.^[28] A separate crossover trial found AstraGin significantly increased arginine absorption and the arginine-to-ADMA ratio, a marker tied to nitric oxide availability, when paired with an oral arginine dose.^[29]

  While we don't have whey or arginine here, there are amino acids in the form of tyrosine as well as whatever else you get in during your day, so it's great to have at least one solid clinical dose of AstraGin each day, and this provides just that.

Flavors Available

Here's an up-to-date list of all flavors of Apollon Nutrition Cyclone:

Both Peach Mango and Strawberry Lemonade launched on the same base formula above, with natural flavors doing the work on taste.

Stacks Well With

• Apollon Nutrition From Dusk Till Dawn: Even a moderate-stim pre-workout still leaves room for a dedicated sleep and recovery formula on the back end of a hard training day, and Dusk Till Dawn is built for exactly that role in Apollon's lineup.
• Apollon Nutrition Collagen: With 5,000mg of creatine already doing plenty of heavy lifting for muscle tissue, a dual-source collagen stack covers the connective tissue side of hard training that a pre-workout formula doesn't touch on its own.

Who It's For

• Lifters who want more than zero stim but less than a redline: If Bare Knuckle feels too mellow and Hooligan feels like too much, Cyclone's 200mg of natural caffeine sits in a middle ground built for consistent, everyday training rather than occasional max-effort days.
• Anyone who checks doses against the research: With clinical or near-clinical amounts on nearly every line, from the 5,000mg creatine and tyrosine down to the 50mg AstraGin®, Cyclone is built for the reader who checks label amounts against the literature before buying.
• Creatine pre-workout lovers: For whatever reason, creatine pre-workouts aren't as common as they should be, so this is for those who enjoy it. Stacking in Peak ATP makes it all that much better.
• Beta-Alanine haters: Meanwhile, it's a rare beta-alanine-free pre-workout. Don't like the tingles from beta-alanine or niacin? Well this has neither.

Conclusion: The Case for the Muscle-Building Middle Ground

Robert "Robik" Samborsky, founder of Apollon Nutrition and owner of the legendary Apollon Gym in Edison, NJ, shares his full origin story from Soviet-era Ukraine through Muay Thai title fights in Thailand to building one of the most trusted hardcore supplement brands in the industry on Episode #211 of the PricePlow Podcast.

Cyclone doesn't try to out-stim Hooligan, and it isn't chasing Bare Knuckle's zero-caffeine blast of pumps promise either. Instead, it puts a genuinely clinical set of non-stimulant actives, led by 5,000mg creatine, 5,000mg tyrosine, and 2,500mg betaine anhydrous, behind a 200mg caffeine dose most people can run daily without a second thought.

This is a true muscle-building pre-workout. One that adds a lot of focus, too.

Dr. Marina Samborsky's fingerprints are all over the formula's structure. For the fuller story behind her role at Apollon alongside founder Robert Samborsky, Apollon's own podcast episode covers both her background and Hooligan's own history in detail.

Cyclone is available now in Peach Mango and Strawberry Lemonade, and we hope this one does well so more flavors can come, as this is our style of feel-good muscle-building pre-workout these days. Check PricePlow for current pricing and availability, and sign up for Apollon Nutrition alerts to catch future flavors and formula updates as they land.