RedCon1 TOTAL WAR 2018: The International Wave of Warfare is Here

Note: this post was updated in April 2018 to reflect the latest updates to the ingredients and five new flavors.

RedCon1 has updated their clinically dosed stim-based pre workout Total War, making it an international-friendly verison!

The aptly-named Total War has consistently ranked as one of our top “aggressive” stim formulas since its release well over a year ago. With DMHA and Eria Jarensis looking to be on the way out — especially overseas where the brand is surging — RedCon1 has made the decision to remove both of those stimulants (yohimbine was also removed), adding in a few other surprises to allow you to continue your mission for total domination of the iron.

Today we’re happy to introduce you to the new version of Total War, released in April 2018. It’s got just as much pop as the original version, but is friendly to both the international community as well as the most popular retailers.

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Total War Ingredients

We’re always on the lookout for well-balanced pre workouts that are loaded with energy, pumps, and endurance support. And we got just that. This is one powerful pre workout you won’t want to miss!

Before going any further, let’s start with one important stat — Total Caffeine Content: 323mg

2018 Version Recap / History

1. Notable changes in early 2018 included removing DMHA, increasing the Eria Jarensis content from 125mg to 200mg (now removed, see below), replacing the 5mg rauwolscine (alpha-yohimbine) with 5mg of regular yohimbine HCl (now removed, see below), and a couple things we’ll get to a bit further down, including a key ingredient we’re always excited to see.
2. Notable changes in April 2018 include removing the yohimbine HCl and replacing eria jarensis with AMPiberry, which now makes this a far more international-friendly formula that can be shared around the world!

• Citrulline DL-Malate 2:1 (6g)

  

  RedCon1’s New Total War Ingredients make this a truly international-friendly product: Yohimbine and Eria Jarensis have been removed after DMHA was removed earlier in 2018!

  What better way to start off a pre workout to get you prepped for battle than the king of nitric oxide boosters, Citrulline Malate. Out with the old, in with the new: This powerful combination of L-Citrulline and Malic Acid is a much more potent N.O. booster and performance maximizer than L-Arginine due to its enhanced bioavailability in the body.^[1]

  Increased N.O. levels lead to better circulation, vasodilation, best of all PUMPS! Additionally, more blood and nutrients are transported to your muscles enabling them to function at peak output for longer periods of time. Best of all, Citrulline Malate increases ATP production, due to Citrulline’s role in the Krebs Cycle, and accelerates recovery.^[2,3,4]

  New in the April 2018 label from the January 2018 label is the disclosure of 2:1 citrulline malate, meaning this is 4g L-citrulline, 2g malic acid — more citrulline and more pumps than a 1:1 ratio!

  Good start so far… and there’s still more pump ingredients to come!

• Beta Alanine (3.2g)

  Another excellent performance enhancer is the tingle inducing beta-alanine. Known as the king of endurance boosters, Beta Alanine has been shown to be effective for athletes of all kinds, from rowers to boxers to endurance athletes.

  In the body, beta alanine binds to histidine to form carnosine, a powerful intracellular buffer.^[5] Carnosine helps shuttle away lactic acid buildup thereby preventing its accumulation and the inevitable burning sensation that happens during longer working sets.

  Noticeable effects you’ll see from BA supplementation include significant improvements in time to exhaustion, strength, and power.^[6,7,8]

  The tingles are your war siren – get ready to BE ready

  Just be wary though, that if you’re not used to the full clinical dose of Beta Alanine at one time, you’ll be getting some serious tingling sensations in your fingers, lips and ears! This can be blunted by adding carbs to the pre workout, but we prefer to use the tingling as a war siren that your pre workout is kicking in and it’s time to go to battle in the gym.

• Agmatine Sulfate (1g)

  

  It’s time to declare war on the iron and this time, there’s no turning back!

  As mentioned, Citrulline Malate was just the start. To further ramp up nitric oxide levels, Total War includes everyone’s favorite N.O. extender, agmatine sulfate. This ingredient was also featured in RedCon1’s stim-free pump pre workout Big Noise.

  Agmatine is more of an indirect booster of N.O., compared to Citrulline Malate which directly boost nitric oxide levels. What we mean is that agmatine prevents the breakdown of arginine by inhibiting the enzyme responsible for arginine’s breakdown, arginase.^[9]

  This prolongs N.O. effects in the body, leading to longer lasting, more dense pumps. Most other pre workouts are OK just putting in 500mg worth of Agmatine, but this ingredient really shines at the 1g dose, and that’s exactly what you get here in Total War.

  And if you need more… then check out Big Noise (which also adds a lot of focus factors) and get ready to rumble.

• Taurine (1g)

  Taurine is a multi-faceted ingredient that can serve as either a pump/hydration aid or as a mental boosting nootropic. The reason for this is that large reserves of Taurine reside in the brain, along with the heart and skeletal muscle. Based on this, it’s comes as no surprise that taurine enhances mental focus.^[10]

  Moreover, taurine also functions as a cell volumizer in skeletal muscle where it helps draw in extra water to the working muscles.^[11] This creates cellular swelling and leads to what we call “water-based” pumps.

  So, not only do we have N.O.-based pumps in Total War, we also have a little side dish of water-based pumps to complement!

  As always, make sure you get plenty of water in along with Total War and during your workout to take advantage of this ingredient.

• Caffeine Anhydrous (250mg)

  

  Pre Workout in hand, it’s time to go crush the iron into submission!

  No stimulant based pre workout is complete without the granddaddy of all stimulants, good old caffeine anhydrous. It’s been around in pre workouts and fat burners forever, because it flat out works – period.

  It’s not just great for energy either — caffeine also helps improve focus, alertness, mood, and athletic performance.^[20,21]

  While this is right in the “sweet spot” of caffeine doses for many, it’s not the only caffeine inside, so get ready, we have another 73mg coming! This means the total amount of caffeine is 323mg, with this anhydrous part being the bigger and faster-hitting part of the equation.

  That dose will also work fantastically alongside our next two stimulant:

• AMPiberry (Juniperus Communis) (150mg)

  Redcon1 has forgone their previous ‘bonus stim’ in eria jarensis extract to go with the more compliant AMPiberry, a new underdog stimulant. Extracted from Juniperus Communis, or simply Juniper extract. We are unsure if there is any stimulant constituent, but given how it was used in place of a stimulant, this is a bold move by RedCon1, yet goes to show their commitment to making RedCon1 accessible to everyone, anywhere.

  

  Innovative Formulations claims that AMPiberry is a new ingredient for fat loss and energy… but we have literally no information on it

  Innovative Formulations claims that AMPiberry is “known to decrease water weight, assist in fat loss and provide a smooth energy curve when paired with caffeine.” We’ve reached out to them to request more information on the stimulant and hope to hear back soon.

  We hope that AMPiberry is an ample replacement, but haven’t ever taken it solo or just with caffeine to assess. Then again, it must have impressed the brass over at RedCon1 enough for this change to have even occurred, so we have faith.

  While the current literature on AMPiberry is barren, the stimulant is sometimes anecdotally said to act similarly to other members of the PEA-backboned class family, but we cannot test for that unless we find out what exactly is the active constituent they’re standardizing for.

  Additional Recomposition Effects?

  Our guess is a bit different: Due to its basis from juniper, we have a feeling it’s a slight diuretic and may help with body recomposition — further improved by the Cocoteanol discussed below!

  This could mark the beginning of the end of the industry’s most recent favorite PEA-based ingredient, eria jarensis. Now it’s time to see how AMPiberry stacks up.

• Infinergy Dicaffeine Malate (100mg)

  

  RedCon1 is known for doing limited edition flavors, Rainbow Candy is the most recent one to hit the scene. Grab it while you can!

  As if 250mg wasn’t enough to light a fire under your butt, RedCon1 has included an additional source of caffeine in the form of dicaffeine malate. This sustained-release form of caffeine provides smoother, longer-lasting energy than anhydrous which means you’re getting the best of both worlds with Total War (immediate and sustained energy).

  Dicaffeine Malate contains 73% caffeine by weight, which means you’re getting another 73mg of caffeine and ratcheting up the total caffeine content of Total War to 323mg per scoop.

• Cocoteanol (Theobroma Cacao & Camelia sinensis extract) (50mg)

  Cocoteanol is an extract that isn’t fully disclosed, but RedCon1 has told us that it’s standardized for the theobromine, and they also like the N-coumaroyldopamine content that comes alongside! You might remember this compound from certain body recomposition supplements of yesteryear. Many users get leaner and fuller with this one without even trying!

  For those outside the know, N-coumaroyldopamine is an impressive body recomposition agent.

  As for how it works — N-coumaroyldopamine increases cAMP via beta2-adrenoceptors^[14], which leads to some fat loss/body recomping benefits in addition to a subtle boost in energy and focus.

  With more cAMP in your body, you can expect fat loss and even a subtle stimulant effect. We find this to be a highly underrated ingredient!

  Meanwhile, theobromine is the “lighter” relative to caffeine that helps add a smooth feel. We’re just unsure how much of each constituent is inside, but thankfully we like both of them!

• Naringin 98% (25mg)

  

  Pack your Total War to go so it’s by your side for any gym situation you find yourself in

  Found in a variety of citrus fruits, notably grapefruits, naringin is a polyphenol responsible for all the hype over those “grapefruit diets” you heard about years ago. Naringin does, in fact, offer some very moderate weight loss effects^[15], but more importantly, it’s a primetime energy booster. Naringin inhibits phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzymes^[16] in the body which function as natural energy inhibitors.^[17]

  By inhibiting the inhibitors (PDE enzymes), energy production continues uninterrupted, making for greater energy and an elevated metabolic rate.

• BioPerine (10mg)

  BioPerine is the immensely popular black pepper extract used in all kinds of dietary supplements to enhance the bioavailability and absorption of the other ingredients. It’s able to do this by inhibiting their breakdown in the body^[18]. This ultimately extends the life of the active compounds in the body and helps ensure the body makes the most every last gram of ergogenic.

  Also of note is the compound inside black pepper that gives it its power – piperine. This compound can increase epinephrine (adrenaline) levels, as documented by research where it has a positive effect on elevating adrenaline levels resulting in greater energy and drive in your workouts.^[19]

  This is a higher dose than you’ll find in most other supplements on the market, so don’t be surprised if there’s a peppery bite to the flavor of Total War.

Flavors Available

RedCon1 isn’t one to skimp on flavor selections. Though Total War initially launched in only three flavors, the flavor lineup has seen as many as twenty-five flavors over its history! WOW!

The entire list as of April 2018 (both past and present) is below:

• 

  RedCon1 brought five new Total War flavors in April of 2018!

  Black Currant
• Blue Lemonade
• Blue Raspberry
• Bubble Gum
• Cotton Candy
• Fruit Punch
• Grape
• Green Apple
• Gummy Candy
• Orange Crush
• Pineapple Juice
• Pink Lemonade
• 

  RedCon1’s flavor game has always been good, but this is out of control – and in a good way!

  Rainbow Candy
• Raspberry Spyder
• Rock Candy
• Rocket Pop
• Root Beer
• Sour Apple
• Sour Gummy Bear
• Strawberry Kiwi
• Strawberry Lemonade
• Strawberry Mango
• Strawberry Margarita
• Tiger’s Blood
• Watermelon

Need more focus? Get the BIG NOISE stacked in

Stack Total War and Big Noise for the ultimate combo of energy, focus, and pumps!

While many of the ingredients in Total War provide focus through their sheer stimulant-factor, they are not necessarily “nootropics” in the direct sense.

So if you’re the kind of athlete who wants to enhance the “mind-muscle connection”, perhaps by increasing your acetylcholine levels (acetylcholine is the learning neurotransmitter), then add in the stimulant-free pre workout, BIG NOISE, for some absolute insanity.

BIG NOISE is a bit different than most stim-free pre workouts because it enhances focus and strength as well as the pumps. It picks up right where Total War leaves off, and is going to be a scary stack to deal with.

In fact, Aaron Singerman went on the record saying this about the stack:

”Lemme tell you this: when you combine Total War & Big Noise – it’s the best pre workout I’ve ever taken in my entire life. Better than anything, ever. And I’ve tried them all. From Ultimate Orange to Jack3d.”

— Aaron Singerman, Founder and CEO of RedCon1

Takeaway

RedCon1 continues to bring about effective and innovative formulations, what’s up next for the brand?

RedCon1 continues its unstoppable roll as one of the premier companies in the industry. With its clinical doses, transparent labels, interesting ingredients, and never-ending onslaught of new products, the brand has taken a decided leg up on all newcomers (and many established vets) in the business.

But of course, this isn’t just some ‘new’ brand off the streets. This is industry veteran Aaron Singerman, and his military-themed tour de force on supplements has the competition on notice.

Total War takes the bull by its horns and will have you ready to demolish the weights like you’ve never felt before. It’s available now for order, so don’t delay if you’re ready to kick some serious brass and takes some names along the way!