Axe & Sledge HYDRAULIC: Seth Feroce Fires Up The Pumps

Hydraulic is one of Axe & Sledge’s best selling products and it’s a must try!

Axe & Sledge is a relatively new company, but they’re making some serious waves in the supplement industry. Ever since they started, Axe & Sledge have been running at full force, pumping out awesome products with massive dosages, open formulas, and a slew of patented, trademarked, and premium ingredients.

However, when you hear the name Axe & Sledge, that doesn’t sound like it’s related to supplements at all, let alone health and fitness. And you’re definitely, right! But what they do represent is the hardest working tools that exist, an axe and a sledge hammer.

When the four owners of Axe & Sledge came together to create this brand, that seemed to be the most fitting name, since they all came from blue-collar working backgrounds. And we all know those people are the hardest workers around. And they all agreed that Axe and Sledge was going to create supplements that could meet the demands of these hard working M’Fers and we can confidently say, they definitely do!

Fire up the Hydraulics: Pumps Seth Feroce Style

Axe and Sledge has released several phenomenal product over the years, but their best selling product is none other than Hydraulic. We’ve got to try it for ourselves and it definitely lives up to the hype, this product is incredibly effective.

Axe & Sledge formulates supplements for people who want to take things to the next level.

Several of our readers and followers always ask what’s the best non-stim pre workout? Although there really is no “best” because everyone has different preferences, we can confidently say that Hydraulic is a must-try. And if you don’t beleive us yet, then keep reading because you’re about to find out what makes Hydraulic out-weigh its competitors.

In this post, we dive in and give an in-depth review of Seth’s stimulant-free pre workout formula, Hydraulic (originally titled Fuel Pump but later changed). As expected with Axe & Sledge, we have a mountain of well-dosed, patented / trademarked ergogenic and ingredients in an open-formula. The kicker is that there’s not too much sweetener, so you can actually taste the flavor system and let the drink build as it helps you build.

This is the brand built for the hardest-working athletes in the gym (like Seth himself)… and this is the product for you hard workers to get the most pump and strength out of their training.

Before we get into the meat and potatoes, be sure to check our coupon-driven deals here, and sign up for our Axe & Sledge alerts to stay up to date with this awesome brand:

Check Out Ben’s Ingredient Explanation and Mike’s Review of Hydraulic!

Axe & Sledge Hydraulic Ingredients

Note: Doses listed below are based on one full serving (i.e. two scoops, or “Extreme Pumps” per the label). Hydraulic is a 40/20 serving product meaning that a full serving is technically two scoops.

• L-Citrulline (5,000mg)

  

  Count those patented and trademarked ingredients. But look further – this brings, pumps, ergogenics, endurance, vitamins, and minerals!

  Starting off as strong as Seth himself, we have a hefty 5g dose of pure L-Citrulline, one of the best and most used pump ingredients out there. Doses around 3g are where we clinically get improved NO levels, and also see improved vascularity and a noticeably better pump than usual. But this is Seth Feroce’s brand, 3g in a full serving is obviously not enough — so here, we have a much higher dose, all the way up to 5g.

  Citrulline is the body’s precursor to the amino acid arginine, which is the molecule which stimulates an increase in nitric oxide production. Nitric oxide then causes vasodilation, or widening of the blood vessels, which increases blood flow, leading to better pumps.^[1]

  While it would originally make sense to supplement arginine for this purpose, we learned arginine had extremely poor bioavailability, since it was broken down in the intestinal tract, which limited its usefulness in the market. And 5g arginine would leave half of us on the toilet! But, consuming citrulline circumvents that issue, allowing us to boost arginine levels in a much more beneficial and efficient manner.

  Aside from giving you a nasty Feroce-style pump, citrulline also has practical advantages in the sports realm. Due to the increased blood flow, post-workout soreness and fatigue are reduced, and training capacity is increased.^[2,3] The benefit of better workouts and better recovery make this ingredient extremely valuable to use.

• GlycerPump (3,000mg)

  

  GlycerPump is a new, stable from of 65% glycerol powder made by Pinnacle Ingredients.

  Coming up next is another pump ingredient, but following a different route than nitric oxide. We have the first of our trademarked ingredients, GlycerPump, the high yield form of glycerol. Much like how arginine was plagued with issues early on, glycerol also had its fair share of problems, including low yield forms and the absolutely annoying clumping that would happen to your products no matter how tightly you sealed them.

  Thanks to Pinnacle Ingredients, we now have this new and improved form, which has been spray dried to prevent clumping, and also allows an extremely high yield of actual glycerol, over double what was possible with simple glycerol monostearate previously.

  Hyper-hydrate your muscle cells

  Glycerol acts as a sponge in your muscles, drawing up water and providing us with a state of extreme hydration.^[4] This water flow further increases our pump, but as a different kind which we call the “water pump.” In order to reap the full advantage of this product, you better make sure to drink plenty of water before and during your workout (Axe & Sledge has The Grind for your intra workout amino acids).

  So long as you’re chugging the fluids, you will find the effects to be quite noticeable, especially at such a nice dose. In addition, we have another product that acts similarly up next.

• Taurine (2,000mg)

  

  Taurine’s Benefits (endurance-wise) can be seen after a single use!

  Another ingredient for our water pump, taurine functions as an osmolyte, which simply means it helps to facilitate the movement of water in between cells, which gives us the benefit of improved training and endurance while keeping our cells topped off with hydration. 2 grams is a large sledgehammer of a dose, and especially since it is being combined with the hefty dose of glycerol, so staying insanely hydrated is a must with Hydraulic.

  If your hydration is where it should be, expect some killer water-driven pumps. Guys like Seth get a huge “swole factor” from the glycerol/taurine combination here.

  On top of its improvements in focus, hydration, and general well-being, taurine actually turns out to be way more beneficial than anyone had thought, providing acute benefits for endurance,^[5] even at doses as low as 1,000mg.^[6] This means it works well for endurance, even on the FIRST use!

• Beta Alanine (2,400mg)

  Beta Alanine, as the patented CarnoSyn, is an ergogenic aid commonly seen in many pre workouts, and is the ingredient responsible for the tingles some people experience. A great ingredient to stack next to the endurance benefits of taurine, beta alanine bonds to the amino acid histidine in your muscles, and the resulting product is carnosine. This carnosine acts as a buffer for lactic acid in your cells. Buffering our lactic acid reduces fatigue, increases work capacity, increases athletic performance, and increases peak power output.^[7-10]

  

  Stack Hydraulic with Ignition Switch if you want to add some stims!

  Due to its qualities as a lactic acid buffer, it really shines when your sets are within the 1-4 minute range, making it more of a muscular endurance enhancer.^[11,12] Due to increased training capacity, it may also indirectly help with fat loss as well.^[13]

  We are getting 2,400mg here, which is ⅔ of the 3.2g that was clinically studied. Most stim-free pump supplements don’t even bother with beta alanine, so we’re happy with any dose as it is. This lower dose may also help prevent the tingly feeling many get, but to get that full clinical dose, you may want to cover your bases by getting another 800mg some other time during the day.

  The successful research often uses dosages spread out over the day anyway, so this may actually be better if you have another beta alanine source. And if not, many may stay saturated at 2.4g/day anyway (we just can’t officially make research-backed claims on it)… and beta alanine seems to be an ingredient that’s all about saturation – just like creatine, which is up next!

• Creatine MagnaPower (1,500mg)

  Next up, our third patented ingredient is Creatine MagnaPower, which is a chelated magnesium creatine sold by Albion Human Nutrition. By chelating the creatine and magnesium, we have a high bioavailability in this form, but the process also happens to be extremely expensive, which is why we don’t see it often. This also provides us with a most excellent 30% of our RDA for magnesium, something far too many people are deficient in, so we will take the extra benefits on top of the performance benefits of the creatine.

  

  Shark Bite (orange mango) is one of their most popular flavors!

  Magnesium: so important, it makes Creatine MagnaPower underrated

  Our take on various forms of creatine has bounced around over time. While creatine monohydrate is the most time-tested, research-backed form, we can possibly say that magnesium creatine chelate may just be the best form — at least for those who get enough of it, are magnesium deficient, and aren’t otherwise supplementing magnesium.

  The added 1.5g Creatine MagnaPower on top of your usual 2-3g creatine monohydrate per day makes for a win-win. Not too much magnesium, but definitely not too little. Getting magnesium in line has so many benefits (from sleep to anti-anxiety to hormonal health to insulin sensitivity to preventing cramps) it’s ridiculous that more people don’t utilize it. Here, Seth and team are forcing you to!

• Agmatine Sulfate (1,000mg)

  Trademarked ingredient number four incoming. Agmatine Sulfate, as AgmaMax, is yet another ingredient for our pumps, acting as the defensive aid to the nitric oxide buildup from our citrulline.

  Once the body recognizes the increase in arginine from citrulline, it wants to start breaking it down by producing arginase, the enzyme that breaks down arginine, which we simply do not want if we want to keep our pump for as long as possible.^[14,15] Agmatine sulfate acts as an inhibitor to arginase, allowing us to maintain our elevated arginine levels, and thus, the amount of nitric oxide we are producing for our pump.

  A full gram is a perfect dose for us, giving quite noticeable effects, especially when it is combined with such a high dose of citrulline. Seth would have it no other way.

• L-Tyrosine (1,000mg)

  

  Long story short from our analysis — For the best effects from tyrosine, choose the regular L-Tyrosine version! But guys like Seth ask, Why not do both?!

  L-Tyrosine is an organic amino acid that is a precursor to our energetic and mood boosting chemicals, known as catecholamines. This includes norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine.^[16] An increase in these chemicals will give you a boost in both focus and mood, which is especially important in these non-stimulant formulas, making this a great addition at a respectable dose. Interestingly enough, the effects of tyrosine go beyond that. In fact, it seems to help with minimizing stress and anxiety as well.^[17,18]

  Interestingly, for fans of both forms of L-Tyrosine, we have the N-Acetyl version coming in a little bit later, so you’re actually getting over a gram of tyrosine in Hydraulic!

• Nitrosigine (1,000mg)

  

  Nutrition 21’s claims have stood the test of time with Nitrosigine. This ingredient is way too underrated!

  Our last patented ingredient is yet another addition for pump, inositol-bound arginine silicate as Nitrosigine. Now this is how you arginine!

  While regular old arginine has mostly been tossed away in the pre workout industry, the modified form coming from Nutrition 21 — known as Nitrosigine — is here to stay, and for good reason. Nitrosigine is actually inositol arginine silicate, and does a much better job than arginine at boosting nitric oxide levels. In fact, it not only boosts nitric oxide, but keeps it elevated for up to two weeks after supplementation!^[19]

• N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine (250mg)

  Last, we have another form of L-Tyrosine, as N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine or NALT for short. Originally touted as being more bioavailable than tyrosine since it is more water soluble, NALT seemed to lose popularity as straight tyrosine was seen as a better form.^[20] That debate still continues in some circles, and many like this one better in powders.

  Seth doesn’t have time to debate, so he just put both of them in and now everybody’s happy. Thankfully, we are also getting a high dose of what we consider to be the better form, but some extra tyrosine as NALT thrown in certainly won’t hurt. Count us in.

• The B-Vitamins

  Generally not seen as nearly as interesting as everything else on the label, we’re glad to see Axe & Sledge include over 100% of the RDA for niacin, B6, and B12. These “B” vitamins are necessary for energy conversion, so they are a good addition, even if they aren’t the ones stealing the spotlight. They are all water soluble, so don’t worry about taking in such high amounts, since your body will simply excrete them via urine anyway.

Hydraulic Flavors

Below is an up-to-date list of all Hydraulic flavors and their coupon-powered prices on PricePlow:

Seth isn’t a fan of the overly sweet flavor systems, so his products use a much lower amount of sucralose than much of the competition. We love this refreshing change since it allows us to actually taste the flavor system, which gets much better near the end of drinking it down. This is a change nearly no one else is doing, so we’re happy to see Seth tackle this one.

If you need to have your nuts knocked off with sucralose, then this won’t be for you. But as of right now, there’s seriously something awesome to be said about this — at least the Scorpion Venom (mixed berry) flavor system, which we’re reviewing right now.

The Ultimate Pump Stack

Want the ultimate stack? Pair Hydraulic with Demo Day and just watch what happens!

Hydraulic may be phenomenal on its own, however if you’re looking to get an even bigger pump and boost in performance, then we highly recommend paring Hydraulic with Demo Day!

Here’s what Axe & Sledge suggests if you choose to use this epic stack: take 1-2 scoops of Hydraulic with 1 serving of Demo Day 30 minutes pre workout, then take 1 more scoop of Demo Day intra-workout. Lastly, if you’re really crazy take one more scoop of Demo Day post workout to fuel recovery!

And if you’re looking for some stims to add alongside Hydraulic, then look no further than either Ignition Switch or Seventh Gear to get you up and running on full speed!

Final Thoughts: Hydraulic Is One Of A Kind

With five patented ingredients, and a killer profile for pump, Hydraulic seems to be a top tier option for those looking for non-stimulant formulas. Clearly this product is living up to Pumpmaster Seth’s belief that blood flow = nutrient flow = growth, since we are hitting citrulline, glycerol, taurine, agmatine, and Nitrosigine. Expect some absolutely wicked pumps with this killer formula.

Axe and Sledge Hydraulic gives you skin splitting pumps and laser focus, without any stimulants!

But besides being awesome for pumps, the addition of the mood boosting tyrosines and ergogenic aids like creatine and beta alanine make this a well rounded product, not just a one trick pony. We’re always down for something different, and here we’re getting it in the form of tons of trademarked / patented ingredients, added ergogenics, vitamins, minerals, and a refreshing take on flavor.

Axe & Sledge has some big things planned for the future and although we can’t share all details yet, you can be the first to know by subscribing down below. After trying some of their products, we’ve been extremely impressed with everything Axe & Sledge has released. It’s hard to explain what makes Axe & Sledge stand out, but after you try their supplements, it’s not hard to tell that they put their hearts and souls into every aspect of the brand.