Mega Pre RED: Primeval Revamps Their Stim-Based Pre-Workout!

Primeval Labs has always had the great quality of staying up to date with the times. They re-invent, re-formulate, and create new products to stay ahead of the game in the constantly changing world of supplements. Their newest addition to the Mega Pre line, Mega Pre Red, is a prime example of just that. Replacing Mega Pre Black, this stimulant-based, loaded formula joins the original, non-stimulated Mega Pre “White”.

The Mega Pre series boasts some of the best pre-workout formulas we’ve seen in the industry, which speaks to the level of quality Primeval Labs routinely injects into their products. Mega Pre Red is no different – this stim-powered label containsa bit of everything, providing everything you need to get a great training session!

In this post, we’ll break down the latest iteration’s ingredients, as well as highlight the differences between Red and the label it’s replacing!

Before we get into the ingredients, be sure to take a moment to sign up for PricePlow’s coupon-driven deals, and don’t forget to sign up for our Primeval Labs alerts to stay up to date with this awesome brand.

Mega Pre Red Ingredients

There are certainly some shared similarities between the old and new iterations, but the label has nonetheless changed quite a bit. We believe that these are not just changes, but improvements, and create a pre-workout experience we can’t wait to get our hands on!

In each container, you get either 40 1-scoop servings or 20 2-scoop servings. Here’s what you’ll be getting in each full, 2-scoop dose:

• L-Citrulline – 6,000mg

  

  Compared to Mega Pre Black, gone is norvaline, but so is the Dynamine too

  Holding a place amongst the most widely-used, trusted supplement ingredients, L-citrulline kicks things off here. Citrulline has been the go-to pump ingredient for some time now, dethroning the slightly inferior, yet still useful, arginine. Since arginine boosts nitric oxide (NO) levels via increased blood arginine levels, we had previously assumed taking it would maximize NO production. Long story short, we were wrong, and arginine turned out to have terrible bioavailability. To circumvent this, we now have citrulline, arginine’s natural precursor in the body.

  Supplementation with citrulline has several benefits. First and foremost, it boosts plasma arginine levels, which then leads to a noticeable boost in NO levels.[1] But besides giving you sweet pumps, citrulline has several athletic enhancing capabilities as well. Research has shown it can reduce fatigue and soreness, as well as increase total training capacity.[2,3]

• Beta Alanine – 3,200mg

  Another common ingredient in pre-workouts, we have the tingle-inducing beta-alanine. Beta-alanine works by bonding to the amino acid histidine, which forms the compound carnosine. Carnosine is an acid buffer, making it perfect for preventing lactic acid buildup in our muscles. Supplementing with beta-alanine has been shown to improve athletic performance, increase power output and work capacity, and reduce fatigue.[4,5,6,7]

  The effects of beta-alanine best shine when the duration of an exercise falls between 1-4 minutes, making it more of a muscle endurance-boosting ingredient.[8,9] In addition, by increasing total volume, beta alanine may actually help you burn more fat than usual as well.[10]

• Betaine Anhydrous – 3,000mg

  

  From the MEN’s study: The arms don’t lie! Here’s one place where placebo doesn’t rule: arm size! Betaine built bigger arms… in trained subjects![12]

  Betaine, also known as trimethylglycine, has been growing in popularity as of late, finding its way into an increasing number of formulas. It comes with a nice list of associated benefits, including increases in lean muscle mass, power, endurance, and strength.[11,12,13] Betaine, along with creatine, is one of the daily ergogenic aids that we love for natural muscle-builders. 2.5g is the clinical dose, and with 500mg more than that here, Primeval is delivering an absolutely stellar hit of the power-enhancing ingredient!

  Betaine also acts as an osmolyte, facilitating the movement of water between cells. Pair that with good hydration and the taurine further down the label, and you have a great water pump coming your way.

• Choline Bitartrate – 2,000mg

  Choline is the precursor to acetylcholine, our “learning neurotransmitter”, which acts as a natural nootropic. Supplementation with choline generally boosts focus and our mind-muscle connection, allowing you to get more “in the zone” during your workout. At a huge 2 gram dose, we have double what we typically see in other products. Knowing that, in addition to the presence of another choline source a bit lower on the label, and Mega Pre Red packs quite the nootropic punch!

• Taurine – 1,000mg

  While the past four ingredients have been carried over from the Black version, taurine is actually a new addition to the label. An exceptionally useful amino acid, taurine has several functions in the body, yielding benefits to the muscles, brain, and heart. It also functions as an osmolyte, facilitating the movement of water between cells, just like betaine. This helps with cellular hydration, as well as increases endurance.[14] Just be sure to stay diligent with your hydration, and you will reap the effects of this 1-2 punch of taurine and betaine for water pumps. There’s also yet another synergistic relationship worth mentioning. When used in conjunction with caffeine, taurine can also boost focus and mental performance.[15] We haven’t yet covered the caffeine content here, but don’t worry, it’s definitely coming!

• Alpha GPC 50% – 400mg

  Perhaps our favorite nootropic compound here at PricePlow, alpha GPC is next up on the label. As with the choline bitartrate previously, this is yet another source of choline, although it may be even more effective than the former! Alpha GPC actually promotes the processing of acetylcholine in the body, while also containing a relatively high amount of choline compared to other sources, hence the use of a substantially lower dose.[16,17] While all choline sources boost acetylcholine production, alpha GPC does it the best – it provides lipids that make it enhance cellular absorption, boosting acetylcholine production much more effectively.[18]

  

  Alpha GPC isn’t just good for enhancing brain function, it can also deliver some big strength gains (when dosed at 600mg or greater).[20]

  Studies from 2008 and 2016 both came to the conclusion that alpha GPC has real athletic boosting effects, such as increased power output and growth hormone production.[19,20] These findings, as well as the aforementioned focus-boosting effects of acetylcholine, make this an incredibly strong nootropic that we love to see. Suffice to say – this new addition to this version of Mega Pre is greeted with a warm welcome!

• Caffeine Anhydrous – 350mg

  Our first stimulant, we have the tried and true caffeine anhydrous at quite a hefty dose of 350mg. Caffeine is the go-to stimulant for any gym-goer and has been used in pre-workouts seemingly for the duration of their existence. Caffeine comes with several benefits, including enhanced focus, more efficient fat loss, and performance enhancement. It also helps you feel more alert and energized overall, which can really take your workouts to the next level.

  In regards to its ability as a performance-booster, caffeine-induced strength gains have been shown in research when dosed in the 5 to 6mg/kg of body weight range.[21,22] For a 154lb individual, this is between 350 to 420mg of caffeine. The dose in Mega Pre Red is right in line with that recommendation, and that doesn’t even take into account another caffeine source up next!

• Dicaffeine Malate – 68mg

  

  Red is the New Black at Primeval Labs! Posted to @PricePlow on social media

  Another form of caffeine, dicaffeine malate is used for its somewhat similar, but intriguingly different properties to anhydrous. While you are certainly getting some stimulant action from the caffeine, the malate molecule it is bound to actually makes it take longer for the caffeine to hit the bloodstream, delaying its effects. This helps provide a longer-lasting energy boost and even helps to smooth out the crash that infamously accompanies generic pre-workouts with high stimulant amounts. This is no generic label, however – having these two sources of caffeine plays so well together, delivering a better energy curve that lasts the entirety of your workout.

  Dicaffeine malate is about 73% caffeine by weight, which means this dose is around 50mg of full-yield caffeine. This brings out total stimulant total to a whopping 400mg. That’s pretty serious, and is something you should consider when determining whether to two-scoop or single-scoop this stuff!

• Huperzine A – 100mcg

  While we have two well-dosed ingredients for boosting our acetylcholine production, we also have an ingredient to make sure those levels stay elevated. Huperzine A acts as our defense against the enzymes that want to lower our acetylcholine levels.[23]

  Even cooler, huperzine A has some research showing neuroprotective benefits against glutamate, the molecule that signals for neuron death.[24] Beyond that, it can even help regenerate brain cells via neuro-generation, making it a very promising ingredient in the nootropic world.[25]

The Differences – from Black to Red…

Primeval didn’t just rename Mega Pre Black and toss it into an alternatively-colored container. These guys hold themselves to a high standard and strive to put out the best, safest supplements on the market. Mega Pre Black was quite effective and quickly garnered a spot amongst the top stim-heavy labels out there. However, after new research came to light about one of its ingredients, they were quick to intervene!

Remember norvaline? Maybe not!

With a recent study in vitro[26], it was shown that the popular arginase inhibitor, L-norvaline, may be potentially dangerous for brain cells. While it was a singular study which should be taken with a grain of salt, it caused enough of a stir in the community, especially on our very own forum. Although we aren’t outright condemning this ingredient just yet, we’re glad to see such a fast response from a company to community feedback.

Seeing Primeval act so swiftly in addressing this concern really speaks volumes to their company values and goals. It also warrants our trust – at the first sight of a potential issue, they jumped in. Now, that’s a company we can get behind!

This one may taste better, too…

Mega Pre Black also contained Dynamine, a patented stimulant used to further elevate energy levels. While nothing is inherently wrong with this ingredient, Primeval Labs decided to leave it on the sidelines here. Sure, there’s already 400mg of caffeine anyways, but we think there’s one huge reason for its absence – taste!

Dynamine doesn’t have a great taste to it, making it difficult to mask in flavored supplements. Primeval is known for their flavoring system and were actually able to do a pretty decent job at covering it up in Mega Pre Black. But, due to Mega Pre Red lacking any Dynamine, we actually suspect that it’ll taste even better than its predecessor!

About those flavors…

Flavors – a Primeval specialty!

While Primeval puts out some of the best products in the game, they’ve made a name for themselves in one specific area – flavor! No matter the product, these guys have an insane flavoring system, and consistently put out some of the best-tasting supplements we’ve ever had!

Here are the different flavors you can find of Mega Pre Red:

Conclusion: Red is the new black!

Primeval Labs is no stranger to the supplement industry – in fact, with their science-backed, open-label approach, we could even argue these guys are towards the front of the pack! Not only is their stuff effective, but it tastes amazing,too!

First, they hit us with Mega Pre White, an incredibly loaded non-stim pre-workout for thosechasing the pump! Their first stimulant-packed iteration, Mega Pre Black, was quite powerful itself, but research published after its formulation changed things a bit. Primeval wanted to uphold the integrity of their products and decided to re-work the label some, ensuring results would not come at the expense of safety!

Now, they’ve finally hit us with that revamped formula in Mega Pre Red. This stuff is stuffed with all you could possibly want in a pre-workout – pump-inducers, nootropics, power-enhancers, and a serious dose of caffeine. Make no mistake – this isn’t a beginner pre-workout. This formula from Primeval Labs is tailor-made for those looking to take their workouts to serious heights!

References

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2. Perez-Guisado; Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness.; Department of Medicine, University of Córdoba; 2010; Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20386132
3. Hickner, R; L-citrulline reduces time to exhaustion and insulin response to a graded exercise test.; Human Performance Laboratory, East Carolina University; 2006; Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16679980
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