Cellucor C4 Extreme Returns: Double Nitrates & Natural Options Analyzed!

Originally launching in their delicious Icy Blue Razz flavor, Cellucor C4 Extreme will also be another naturally sweetened version shown below!

After weeks of teasing Project Clear Evolution, Cellucor has unveiled what they’ve been working on over the past few years:

The next Generation of C4 is Here for 2019!

It’s the next major revision of the highly-heralded Cellucor C4 pre workout line, and they’re throwing it back to the original name of C4 Extreme!

We had a chance to beta test a packet below, while also sharing their microsite where you can get more information at ProjectClearEvolution.com:

The product specs and images are all below, with a detailed analysis to come, but first, sign up for our C4 Extreme updates so that you get notified when we have new information and flavor reviews to come… and hopefully a giveaway:

The C4 Extreme Ingredients: Open Formula is here!

The new Cellucor C4 Extreme Ingredients in 2019 feature a unique double nitrate pump combo!

Let’s start with the big news that we have a new open formula ingredient label! Our C4 Extreme Ingredient analysis is below, but here’s a quick shot of what’s inside.

• CarnoSyn Beta Alanine – 2g

• Citrulline Nitrate [as NitraMax (NO3-C)] – 1g

• Creatine Nitrate (NO3-T) – 1g

• Caffeine (as Caffeine Anhydrous) – 200mg

• N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine – 200mg

• Huperzine A – 50mcg

This brings C4 Extreme in line with the 200mg caffeine from C4 on the Go Carbonated Drink Cans, and users should no longer need to two-scoop C4. But more exciting are the pumps users who are new to nitrates will get, as discussed in the original beta review video shown above!

The New 2019 C4 Extreme Features

Cellucor’s image below says it all:

The new Cellucor C4 Extreme Specs released in 2019

But you can also learn a ton from Mike’s interview with the Team at Cellucor’s HQ:

Clean, Clear, and Evolved

Cellucor’s touting three major points:

• Clean

  • No Artificial Colors
  • No Artificial Flavors

• Clear

  • Transparent active ingredient doses

• Evolved

  • 

    Dubbed C4 Extremer Natural Zero, the Natural version of Cellucor C4 Extreme is coming as well

    Innovative ingredients
  • Enhanced formulas

Natural Colors… and a Natural Sweetener Option too!

So as you can see, there will be Natural Colors (Icy Blue Razz will get its blue from spirulina) but there’s also a Naturally sweetened version as well, named C4 Extreme Natural Zero!

The Original Flavor Menu:

C4 Extreme Flavors:

• Icy Blue Razz
• Fruit Punch
• Midnight Cherry
• Twisted Limeade
• Watermelon
• Ultra Frost

C4 Extreme Natural Zero Flavors:

• BlueBerry Lemonade
• Cherry Limeade

We always expect Cellucor to have top-notch flavoring, so we’ll be holding them to the highest of standards, as always!

The C4 Extreme Ingredients Analyzed: Open Formula with Double Nitrates!

If you’re familiar with past versions of C4, you’ve probably seen the proprietary blend of ingredients in former products. Not anymore!!

Give this bad boy a slightly heaping scoop and wait til this double nitrate pump combo kicks in!

Consumers nowadays love to know exactly what they’re getting and putting into their bodies, and we agree. The industry has long been shifting away from these blends, with open labels becoming more and more common. In C4 Extreme, Cellucor joins the party, giving us a brand new, completely open formula! Given how popular and effective their products have been in the past, we’re incredibly happy to see this level of transparency in their newest release.

Let’s get into what each 6.4g scoop of C4 Extreme delivers, and here’s a hint: double nitrates!

• CarnoSynⓇ Beta Alanine – 2g

  When it comes to training, what often ends up being the limiting factor in either how much you can lift, or how long your session is? Your muscular endurance! If you get tired too quickly, then you won’t stimulate muscle protein synthesis to the degree needed to effectively build muscle and grow. Remember, this is largely a volume game. Luckily, there are some things out there that can help increase muscular endurance, and C4 Extreme is sure to include perhaps the best of them all!

  Beta alanine is a modified version of the amino acid alanine, which is used by the body to produce carnosine,^[1] a compound essential to various bodily processes. Perhaps paramount among them, however, is the way in which carnosine reduces lactic acid build-up within the muscles, which helps fend off training-induced exhaustion!^[2] When it comes to research directly focused on beta alanine supplementation and exercising, however, there are some quite conclusive findings out there!

  Increases endurance

  

  Beta alanine boosts how long athletes last, which then turns into more overall workload… which, if you eat right, means more gains!

  Beta alanine is among the chief endurance-enhancing agents on the market. In a study from 2013, 20 trained rowers were given beta alanine prior to completing a 2000m race. Their performance was compared both to their time before supplementation, as well as to placebo. After 30 days of using beta alanine, the ingredient decreased their finishing time by an average of 6.4 seconds, effectively allowing the rowers to perform at a higher level for longer.^[3]

  This study isn’t alone in its conclusions, however. A meta-analysis from 2012 assessed the results of various studies focused on beta alanine and its use in enhancing training capacity. They found that the amino improves muscular endurance by almost 3% in exercises lasting between 60 and 240 seconds.^[4] That’s noteworthy, considering that an additional 3% could be the difference between hitting a new rep PR and another disappointing training session!

  More training volume!

  In being less exhausted, you can further increase your training intensity. This increase in work capacity and volume can thus lead to better results! Research has shown that prolonged use of beta alanine can increase your VO2 max,^[5] boosting your recovery capability either between sets or between workouts. This also lends credence to accumulating beta alanine within the muscles, saturating them to a point where carnosine levels are elevated.

  2g: A solid sweet-spot between performance and annoyance avoidance

  

  Clean. Clear. Evolved. Meet the New C4 Extreme.

  2g of this crucial amino acid is slightly less than the clinical 3.2g dose. However, when it comes to this particular ingredient, we’ve seen doses range anywhere from 1.6g to a massive (and uncomfortable) 6.4g. Beta alanine is something you want your muscles to saturate over a length of time – it doesn’t necessarily have to be done in an acute manner.

  There may even be an additional benefit to a 2g dose – you may get less of that divisive acute paresthesia (colloquially called “the tingles”) that beta alanine tends to bring with it!^[6] Regardless, if you want to replicate the clinical studies discussed above, you’ll need to snag another 1.2g of beta alanine elsewhere in your day.

• Citrulline Nitrate [as NitraMax (NO3-C)] – 1g

  Citrulline is one of the most familiar pre-workout inclusions out there, typically used for its ability to increase nitric oxide production via raising arginine levels within the body.^[7] This has a vasodilating effect, opening up your blood vessels to encourage better and more efficient blood flow. This increases the rate at which nutrient-filled, oxygenated blood reaches working muscles, which can significantly enhance your training. Research has shown that citrulline can increase time to exhaustion,^[8] increase exercise repetitions,^[8] and reduce muscle soreness,^[8] making this ingredient pretty powerful.

  However, what we’re dealing with here is citrulline nitrate, which is significantly different than pure citrulline or citrulline malate. In fact, it may be even better!

  Another way to boost nitric oxide levels – nitrates!

  

  The citrulline pathway we’re going for starts at the top right and goes down to the bottom right!

  Once citrulline nitrate hits your stomach, it will split off into two parts – citrulline and nitrates. We’ve already talked about the effects of citrulline, but nitrates are also highly relevant in the discussion around raising nitric oxide production!

  A meta-analysis from 2017 pooled together numerous studies in order to fully grasp the potential nitrates had in exercise supplementation. These researchers concluded that dietary nitrate consumption increases time to exhaustion and exercise capacity compared to placebo.^[9] This is due to the bodily processes that take place once nitrates are ingested, as they are directly converted into nitric oxide!

  By attacking vasodilation through two different pathways, citrulline nitrate is an incredibly potent NO-booster. While little research around this specific ingredient is out there, it has been shown to increase vascular conductance in young adults.^[10] Due to a lack of published results, there’s not yet a clinical dose for it, and we’re left to infer what’s adequate based on what we already know.

  We typically like to see at least 3g of pure citrulline, however, that’s without considering the presence of powerful nitrates in the equation. 1g of citrulline nitrate probably towards the lower end of effective dosages, but the results are still encouraging enough to believe it’ll provide enough nitric oxide enhancement to get you going!

• Creatine Nitrate (NO3-TⓇ) – 1g

  The reason we’re confident in C4 Extreme’s nitric oxide-boosting potential is the presence of nitrates in not one, but two different ingredients!

  Creatine nitrate is exactly what the name implies – creatine bonded to nitrates. Creatine is no stranger to the supplement industry, as it’s perhaps the most studied, most proven muscle-building ingredient we have. Research has demonstrated its ability to increase muscle strength, maximal training strength, and performance,^[11] in addition to boosting anaerobic power and decreasing fatigue,^[12,13] at least when you have 3-5g daily doses (which we unfortunately do not here). But again, there are significant findings that suggest creatine nitrate may be more beneficial than just creatine alone!

  

  It’s as easy as that and powerful workouts are on their way!

  Research from 2015 tested two different creatine nitrate supplements (either 1g or 2g) on athletes performing the bench press. Their marks were compared to both a placebo group, as well as a group receiving creatine monohydrate. After 28 days of supplementation, the groups receiving either 1g or 2g of creatine nitrate improved peak power output, average power output, average velocity, and lifting volume relative to the other groups.^[14] Creatine nitrate also happens to be more soluble than other forms of creatine, allowing for easier mixability. So, not only will you get increased pumps thanks to nitric oxide production, but you’ll also feel a bit more powerful, too!

  Considering that both the 1g and 2g dose yielded significant increases in power in the aforementioned study, C4 Extreme’s 1g hit of creatine nitrate is a fantastic dose of the ingredient, especially given the gram of citrulline nitrate above. Just make sure you thank Cellucor for using this double nitrate technology when you hit that new bench PR!

• Caffeine (as Caffeine Anhydrous) – 200mg

  In order to help power you through your training session, Cellucor is using caffeine to provide that extra push! Let’s be honest for a second here – we’re not only talking about C4, but we’re talking about an Extreme branding of it – of course we’re going to find caffeine on the label! That’s fine by us, as the stimulant has established a tried and true effectiveness in workout supplements! And gone are the days of 150mg and double-scooping C4!

  

  In line with their extremely popular C4 on the Go Cans, C4 Extreme is also at 200mg caffeine now

  Caffeine anhydrous is the quickest-hitting form of caffeine you can get, digesting extremely quickly to yield fast results. This stuff has been proven to increase exercise performance,^[15] increase mental alertness,^[16] decrease perceived exhaustion,^[17] and boost training volume!^[18] When it comes to augmenting your training, there isn’t much else that can do what caffeine can!

  200mg is actually a great dose of the stimulant, and is somewhat conservative compared to other products these days. We’ve seen some really aggressive doses upwards of 350mg plus, so seeing a lower, yet still-effective 200mg dose is always refreshing. It’s just enough to give you that jolt you need, the kick that C4 has become known for!

  Our take? This is smart, as it’s in line with the C4 on the Go Carbonated cans, and now we can comfortably take a heaping scoop for a solid bit of energy and even crazier pumps!

• N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine – 200mg

  Tyrosine is an amino acid that functions in a way that makes it unique when compared to other amino acids. While amino acids are typically associated with the muscles, tyrosine would rather work its magic elsewhere – like in the brain!

  

  We were honored to be the first to beta test C4 Extreme!

  It’s a catecholamine producer,^[19] meaning that it helps the brain produce a number of neurotransmitters. Primarily, tyrosine helps increase the production of dopamine, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter. However, it also helps boost the rate of production of adrenaline and noradrenaline.

  In addition to having this effect on its own, research has even shown that tyrosine can further boost catecholamine production when teaming up with caffeine!^[20] Either way, having more of these neurotransmitters helps enhance cognition, not only helping you focus while training,^[21] but also providing a bit of a euphoric feeling, too!

  200mg is a little below what’s commonly used, with science defining a clinical dose somewhere between 500mg and 2000mg. That being said, 200mg can still yield some of that euphoria we mentioned, and that’s a result we’ll still take! Some is better than none, but this is undoubtedly the weak spot on the open label.

• Huperzine A [from Toothed Clubmoss (Huperzia serrata) aerial parts extract] – 50mcg

  Huperzine A is a compound that helps inhibit acetylcholinesterase,^[22,23,24] the enzyme responsible for breaking down choline within the body. Although we don’t necessarily have choline elsewhere on this label, that doesn’t mean it’s not already in your body – you can consume it through food!

  

  See our Cellucor page to save on all Cellucor Supplements and get Cellucor news alerts!

  Keeping choline around is hugely beneficial, as it can vastly improve your focus and cognition, really helping you zone in while training. Huperzine A has been shown to improve memory,^[25] which lends credence to the theory that it can elevate the mind in order to improve the mind-muscle connection while training. Using huperzine A to help encourage that level of focus, C4 Extreme is looking to play active defense against choline breakdown!

Long story short? One heaping scoop and you’re going to get energy and pumps well beyond the previous C4 generations!

As always, sign up for PricePlow’s Cellucor news alerts and check out the full labels below!

The Full Cellucor C4 Extreme Label

The Cellucor C4 Extreme Natural Zero Label