NO-Xplode New Formula Review (2014) – BSN Falls Short

That’s about all we can say after going through more servings of BSN’s new NO-Xplode formula, released in mid-2014.

You can see our initial review from YouTube below:

We fizzled at the end of that workout, and things really only got worse with subsequent workouts.

The long story short is that there’s just too much other good stuff out there for anyone who’s looking for a next-level pre workout supplement.

Good for beginners and women, but not for us

We had a feeling that this would happen, and that’s why we asked the question in our video, “Is this good for beginners? Will it still be popular with women”

The answer to both of those questions is yes, but if you’re reading this review and you’ve already used a pre workout or two, then we suggest you graduate on to something more intense, such as what’s over in our Top 10 Pre Workout Supplements list.

The New NO-Xplode Drawbacks

Here’s where it all went wrong for us:

• Lack of pumps

  

  Despite the name, there is not much ‘NO’ boosting going on here, meaning that there isn’t much ‘Xploding’ happening either.

  First off, there’s effectively no pump in here, except for what you get with the carbohydrates and a miniscule amount of citrulline.

  Isn’t this product supposed to be called NO-Xplode? NO as in nitric oxide? So where are the nitric oxide boosters?

• Only one stimulant

  This is a reason why it’s not good for us, but why it’s good for beginners. We definitely don’t think anyone should jump into a product with massive amounts of stimulants right off the bat.

  However, our stimulant tolerance has gotten to the point where we need something more than a bit of caffeine to get amped up on a bad day. At this point, from our perspective, we could have just taken a 200mg caffeine pill, 5g of creatine, and two tablespoons of sugar at 1/10 the price of this, and been just as good.

• Opportunity cost

  It’s not that this is bad — it’s just that there’s so so much better stuff out there.

  Sure, you’ll get a decent workout when using NO-Xplode. Mix in some good motivation, music, and get enough rest the night before, and you might even have a great workout.

  But this product is nowhere close to the effect of some of those products that can pull your head out of the gutter and give you a rock star workout each and every time.

  So we don’t see a reason to use this when there’s other products that cost the same or less.

• Focus boosters can’t be felt

  Although N-Acetyl Tyrosine is a great focus booster, it’s really not felt in this product. Our guess is that it’s too small of a dosage compared to the caffeine. Take too much NO-Xplode to feel it, and then you’re getting into too high of caffeine amounts (and too expensive of workouts).

  Meanwhile, DMAE has just never done it for us.

The main point

Not really.

The stuff isn’t bad. If it’s your first time needing some energy in the gym, it is better than can of energy drink, which we still see too many people using (and overpaying for).

It tastes better too – we won’t question the great taste of this new NO-Xplode “3.0” formula.

But it’s not better than most other pre workouts, especially if you’ve been around the pre-workout block a few times.

In our opinion, BSN should keep this product, and keep marketing it to beginners. But if they want to keep the attention and respect of their userbase as their consumers get more heavily into the fitness industry, they need an “advanced” pre-workout marketed to veterans only.

And next time, add some NO boosters, please!