Granite Supplements Vaso Blast: The Mountain Dog’s Stim-Free Pre

Introducing GX Pre-Workout, John Meadow’s new advanced formula!

A few months ago Granite Supplements, founded by IFBB Pro John “Mountain Dog” Meadows, made the switch to eco-friendly packaging. Now, every one of Granite’s products comes in “post-consumer recycled” resealable zip-lock bags, rather than large, wasteful plastic tubs.

Granite chose to do this for a few reasons:

1. It’s better for the environment
2. Easier to pack in a gym bag and take on-the-go
3. Saves money, which allows Granite to reinvest in their products

Soon after switching to eco-friendly packaging, Granite launched GX Pre-Workout. The stimulant-based supplement was launched to replace an earlier pre-workout called PRE-MIUM. Not only did Granite give the updated supplement a new name and packaging, but they also improved the flavors, and formula.

By reducing the cost of packaging, Granite was able to spend more on the formula, which contains efficacious doses of ingredients.

Granite Supplements Vaso Blast: All About the Pump

Turn up the pumps with Granite Supplements Vaso Blast!

During the month of October Granite released another pre-workout known as Vaso Blast. Vaso Blast is a pump formula that contains no stimulants whatsoever, so you can take it any time of day.

Vaso Blast was designed to support vascular health, improve performance, and increase nitric oxide production and muscular pumps. It’s made up of five clinically-studied ingredients at efficacious dosages, including L-citrulline, VasoDrive-AP, arginine nitrate (as NO3-T), taurine, and grape seed extract.

Since John is a professional bodybuilder and coach, he understands how beneficial the pump is for overall muscle growth and mind-to-muscle connection. At the same time, he doesn’t like to take stimulants every day, so having a product like Vaso Blast on hand is a great way to boost performance, but without caffeine.

Keep reading to learn more about Vaso Blast and sign up for Granite Supplements news and deal alerts to get notifications when new products, flavors, and sales are available.

Granite Supplements’ Vaso Blast Ingredient Breakdown

Vaso Blast is great on its own, but since it’s stimulant-free, you can easily add one to two scoops to other Granite products, such as Essential Aminos or Intra-Carb. We wouldn’t recommend adding it to GX Pre-Workout since it already contains a good amount of pump ingredients.

For best results, Granite recommends taking one to two scoops with 8 to 16 ounces of water and consuming it 15 to 30 minutes prior to training. Vaso Blast’s supplement facts panel shows the dosages of each ingredient for two serving sizes: one and two scoops For this ingredient analysis, we’re analyzing two scoops.

Here’s what one serving (14.5g/two scoops) of Vaso Blast contains:

• L-Citrulline – 6g

  

  Vaso Blast is formulated to deliver maximum pump!

  L-citrulline is one of the most popular nitric oxide boosters in the sports supplement industry. It’s mainly used in pre-workouts to promote blood flow and nutrient and oxygen delivery to working muscles. L-citrulline indirectly increases nitric oxide production by boosting L-arginine levels.^[1]

  After the body absorbs L-citrulline, it travels to the kidneys where it’s converted into L-arginine, and then the nitric oxide synthase enzyme converts the L-arginine into nitric oxide.^[1] As a result of increased nitric oxide levels, blood vessels expand—a process called vasodilation. This allows a greater amount of blood to flow throughout the body and not only increase pumps but improve overall performance as well.

  Furthermore, your body will be more efficient at shuttling metabolic by-products away from muscles due to the increase in blood flow, allowing you to continue to produce adenosine triphosphate (the cell’s energy currency) at a faster rate. A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that in just one week, L-citrulline supplementation (6g) improved participants’ blood pressure, exercise performance, and VO2 kinetics.^[1]

• VasoDrive-AP (providing Lactotripeptides as Valine-Prolyl-Proline and Isoleucine-Prolyl-Proline) – 254mg

  

  Add a scoop of Vaso Blast to Intra-Carb for an insane workout!

  The first trademarked ingredient in Vaso Blast is VasoDrive-AP, which was developed by Novanutri. It’s made up of two low-molecular-weight lactotripeptides — valine-prolyl-proline (VPP) and isoleucine-prolyl-proline (IPP). Both VPP and IPP have been shown to inhibit the angiotensin-converting (ACE) enzyme that’s responsible for vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels). ^[2]

  John specifically selected VasoDrive-AP because its mechanism of action is completely different from the supplement’s other ingredients. In fact, Vaso Blast is formulated with ingredients that have a synergistic effect but work through various pathways, so users are more likely to get better pumps and experience improved performance.

  Another reason John chose VasoDrive-AP was for its ability to support arterial health. A study published in the journal Nutrients found that lactotripeptides (VasoDrive-AP) supplementation is effective at decreasing blood pressure.^[2]

  It’s important to note that VasoDrive-AP is made from hydrolyzed milk casein, so if you’re allergic to dairy this is something that you should be aware of before taking Vaso Blast.

• Arginine Nitrate (as NO3-T) – 2g

  The second trademarked ingredient in Vaso Blast is NO3-T as arginine nitrate from ThermoLife International. As we mentioned in the L-citrulline section, while arginine is a direct precursor to nitric oxide production, it has poor bioavailability on its own due to the first-pass effect.^[1] Therefore, instead of pure L-arginine, sports nutrition companies use L-citrulline to boost arginine levels.

  

  The Machine is licensing this ingredient from ThermoLife International and it’s a whopper

  Arginine nitrate works differently than pure L-arginine (due to the nitrate group). Arginine nitrate is made up of an arginine molecule bound to a nitrate molecule. There are actually multiple ingredients under the NO3-T name, including sodium nitrate and betaine nitrate, which is included in GX Pre-Workout. The only difference is the molecule nitrate is bound with.

  NO3-T stands for nitrate technology. Nitrates (NO3-) are polyatomic ions that are produced in the body and also found in various vegetables, such as beets, spinach, and kale.^[3] When you supplement with nitrates, the body converts them into nitrites and then uses them to produce nitric oxide.^[3] A study published in the journal Nutrients found that inorganic nitrate supplementation seems to help improve exercise performance and supports cardiovascular health by reducing blood pressure and enhancing blood flow.^[3]

  Here’s another instance where Vaso Blast contains two ingredients that act synergistically to maximize pumps, but they work through a slightly different mechanism of action.

• Taurine – 2g

  John is a huge fan of taurine, not only for performance but for its known benefits for overall health. Taurine is classified as a semi-essential amino acid because the body can produce it from other substrates. Under extreme conditions (intense training, illness, etc.), it’s beneficial to also supplement with taurine.^[4]

  

  Vaso Blast supports cardiovascular health with five potent ingredients.

  Taurine helps with multiple physiological processes, including:

  • Produce bile salts to metabolize lipids
  • Osmoregulation (the balance between intracellular and extracellular fluid)
  • Stabilize cell membranes
  • Calcium signaling
  • Fights off free radicals and oxidative stress^[4,5]

  Recently, a systematic review of taurine, published in the journal Sports Medicine, found that the compound is an underrated endurance supplement.^[6] It turns out that for active individuals, supplementing with 1 to 6 grams of taurine can significantly increase endurance.^[6] More research is needed to completely understand how it works, but researchers theorize that taurine maintains calcium levels in skeletal and cardiac muscles, which leads to more efficient muscular contractions.^[6]

  A study published in the journal Life Sciences found that taurine can boost cognition by:

  • Restoring the function of taurine transporters and GABA (?-aminobutyric acid) receptors
  • Decreasing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress
  • Activating physiological pathways
  • Stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis and synaptic function ^[5]

  Some preliminary studies suggest that taurine increases nitric oxide levels by activating nitric oxide synthase and enhancing the bioavailability of nitric oxide.^[7] The compound may also benefit people who have hypertension.

• Grape Seed Extract (Vitis vinifera L.) (std. to 90% proanthocyanidins) – 400mg

  Vitis vinifera, commonly known as grape seed extract (GSE), is produced by removing seeds from grapes, letting them dry out, and pulverizing them into a fine powder. Grape seed extract is rich in flavonoids, phenolic acids, and proanthocyanidins, which are powerful antioxidants. As you can see from the label, Vaso Blast uses a GSE that’s standardized to contain at least 90% proanthocyanidins.

  

  Take your recovery seriously.

  Proanthocyanidins are a group of polyphenols that are present in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Proanthocyanidins possess antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and neuroprotective properties.^[8]

  Studies show that GSE supplementation:

  • Decreases blood pressure
  • Enhances blood flow
  • Defends against oxidative stress
  • Supports brain, liver, and kidney health
  • Promotes bone mineral density^[9-14]

  Even though GSE offers numerous benefits, Granite primarily uses it for its vasodilating properties.^[15] The journal Medicine found that GSE supplementation has a beneficial effect on blood pressure, which is attributed to its high proanthocyanidin content.^[15]

Vaso Blast Flavors

Here’s an updated list of all available flavors for Vaso Blast:

Check Out This Podcast to Learn More About John Meadows

Granite Supplements: Committed to Quality

Granite Supplements is built on transparency, effectiveness, and honesty.

Granite Supplements was founded in 2017. In a relatively short period of time, the company built an impressive line of high-quality supplements and a team of elite athletes. Over the past year, they redesigned their website and packaging, improved product formulas, and launched multiple new products.

Some of the company’s more notable releases are:

• Granite Protein: a sustained-release blend containing five protein sources
• GX Pre-Workout: a stimulant-based pre-workout
• Vaso Blast: a stimulant-free pre-workout

We appreciate Granite’s commitment to full label transparency, sourcing ingredients supported by multiple scientific studies, and their efficacious dosages. Not to mention, several of the company’s supplements are formulated with cutting-edge patented and/or trademarked ingredients, such as NO3-T and VasoDrive-AP.

“Granite Supplements were developed to bring athletes better ingredients, formulas, and outcomes. People should know exactly what they’re taking, so we dedicate ourselves to producing quality products and delivering them with transparency.”

– John Meadows, Founder & Partner

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