Optimum Nutrition has designed a unique product – Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout – the first plant-based pre-workout, which is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. In other words, this product is not just a plant-based solution. It’s completely vegan and it has received a stamp of approval from The Vegan Society. This product came out on the 15th of February 2021. and is available directly on Optimum Nutrition website.
Furthermore, this product was highly commended in the ESSNawards (European Specialist Sports Nutrition Awards:) in the category for 2020 “Game Changer”. One of the judges comments was; “A clearly innovative product for pre-workout which is breaking away from the norm of traditional pre-workout supplementation.”
Today we’re taking you through what we experienced with the Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout formula, what the science says, and how we rate it overall. Let’s see if it is worthy of its apparent popularity.
What are pre-workout supplements and do I need one?
Pre-workout supplements can help performance in a few different ways – from mental stimulation to delaying muscle fatigue and to give you that boost you sometimes need to get through your training session. We call this our go-go juice! There are two types of pre-workouts – ones that get you buzzed, and ones that make you feel pumped.
When you decide to use a pre-wokout supplement you can say that you’re getting pretty serious with your gym goals. In fact, if you ever took a pre-workout supplement or currently taking it now, you can attest to the effects it gives you. Undoubtedly, there’s some sort of jolt to it. And it leaves you wondering exactly what’s in it and how does it actually help you? However, if you simply don’t want to spend money on pre-workouts, a healthy diet with a side of black coffee is definitely a valiant alternative.
However, before you start taking any pre-workout supplements nail your nutrition. What do we mean by that? You should eat a carb rich meal around two hours before your workout to boost your energy level. If you have nothing in the tank, you won’t go very far. Weight-wise you should look to shoot for around one gram of carbs per kilo of body weight with a little protein and low amount of fat. This help digestion.
Brief product description & key product features
Description
Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout is ready-to-mix pre-workout powder specifically formulated for plant-based athletes. 100 percent vegan.
Key product features
- Key benefits: energy, power & performance;
- Made completely from plant based ingredients;
- Designed for fitness freaks and sports lovers who are on a vegan or vegetarian diet;
- Free from artificial stimulants and fortified with Capros™ and S7™ (explained in detailed later on);
- Free from flavours, colours and sweeteners;
- Available in two delicious flavours: lemon limeade and strawberry;
Key product ingredients and their positive impact
Ingredients
This supplement contains an S7 ™ blend made from seven plant-based ingredients (green coffee bean extract, green tea extract, turmeric, cherry, blueberry, broccoli and kale extract), which has been clinically proven to increase nitric oxide levels in the body. Nitric oxide is known to improve blood circulation in the body and can also benefit athletes who want to take their performance to the next level. Plant Pre-workout also contains 85 mg of caffeine from natural sources and has no artificial stimulants of flavors, colors and sweeteners.
Here’s exactly what you’re getting:
- 50 mg of S7 ™ blend
- 85 mg of caffeine (for energy and focus)
- 150 mg of green tea extract
- 500 mg of CAPROS™ Indian Gooseberry Extract
- 200 mg of Pomegranate juice powder
- 200 mg of Rhodiola rosea
- 13 mg of Grapefruit Bioflavonoids
Positive impact
The combination of all these ingredients will undoubtedly elevate your workouts to a new level, whether you prefer a plant-based diet or not.
Caffeine
Caffeine does a few things to the body. First, it stimulates the central nervous system – when it reaches your brain you’ll feel more awake and less tired. Also, it increases cognitive functions, specifically it increases memory performance and reaction times. Lastly, it delays fatigue and increases endurance capacity by increasing your pain threshold.
Green tea extract
Like coffee, green tea also contains some amount of caffeine and L-theanine. Green tea is a rich source of natural antioxidants called catechins. The catechins in green tea help to reduce oxidative cell damage and inflammation, but they may also boost the body’s ability to burn fat. That’s something that most bodybuilders, athletes, and people who work out like to hear.
S7 ™ blend
S7 ™ blend made from seven plant-based ingredients (green coffee bean extract, green tea extract, turmeric, cherry, blueberry, broccoli and kale extract), which has been clinically proven to increase nitric oxide levels in the body. Nitric oxide is known to improve blood circulation in the body and can also benefit athletes who want to take their performance to the next level.
Rhodiola Rosea
Rhodiola Rosea is a herb that is used as anti-fatigue agent against heavy exercise and an adaptogen compound meaning it may help reduce stress and fatigue during exercise.
CAPROS®
What makes this pre-workout “green” is CAPROS® – Indian gooseberry extract, which is a powerful antioxidant due to its rich vitamin C. It may deliver more oxygen and nutrients to working muscles.
Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate Juice may help reduce soreness and improve strength recovery. It also decreases oxidative damage caused by exercise.
Grapefruit bioflavonoids
Citrus flavonoids (CF) scavenge free radicals, improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, modulate lipid metabolism and adipocyte differentiation, suppress inflammation and apoptosis, and improve endothelial dysfunction. Repeated intake of a specific CF extract may improve exercise performance in trained athletes – due to their antioxidant character and ability to stimulate NO production.
Chlorella Microalgae
This is an algae with a unique and diverse composition of functional macro- and micro-nutrients, including proteins, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, polysaccharides, vitamins and minerals.
Key benefits of Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout
- Provides sustained mental focus and a pump that is powered by plants;
- Free from artificial stimulants;
- Appealing for anyone who wants an alternative to their pre-workout formula or drink;
- Vegan Society approved;
- 85 mg caffeine from natural sources per serving;
- Fortified with Capros™ and S7™;
Downsides of Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout
- Caffeine is present in a relatively low dose despite the fact that green tea also contains some amount of caffeine;
- It uses a proprietary blends (Capros™ and S7™) – you can’t see how much of each ingredient it contains (you could be overpaying for low dosed ingredients);
- Contains certain ingredients which seems to be a strange addition are normally found in other types of supplements;
- Some consumers expressed dissatisfaction with the taste of the supplement;
Side effects
Bearing in mind that there are a large number of components in this mix, it should conduct a long-term and extensive research about side effects, which certainly exist if somebody goes too far with daily dose and continuous consumption. However, if you’re using the product exactly according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the package, you should not feel any unwanted side effects on a larger scale. This applies only to a perfectly healthy person.
Also, all pre-workout supplements on the market (regardless of the name and manufacturer) are highly addictive. Once you start taking pre-workouts, you will have difficulties training without them. Take this into account.
Suggested use (method of application)
The directions for Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout are fairly straightforward.
Mix one serving (8 g or 1 scoop) of Plant Pre-Workout with 250 ml of cold water and drink 20-30 minutes before training.
Recommended consumption of 1 serving per day.
Also, because of the caffeine content in this supplement, it is probably best not to consume it within about six hours of when you plan on going to sleep. This is because caffeine has a half-life of up to 6 hours. You’ll feel more alert into the night if you’re taking it for an evening session. Try pre-workout with no caffeine instead for those evening workouts.
Which company is behind Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout?
Optimum Nutrition. This company is providing athletes with sports nutrition products for more than 30 years. It is definitely one of the best-known names in the supplement industry, and with good reason. Their ubiquitous whey protein, Gold Standard Whey, may be the best-known and most widely consumed protein powder on the market.
The cost of the product
The container is 240 grams which equates 30 servings. One tub of Plant pre-workout was £25.99. That works out that each serving costs 87 pence.
Let’s say you train three times a week. One tub is going to last you 10 weeks. That’s only £2.61 per week! Bargain!
Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout versus Vegan Pre-Workout by MyProtein
Let’s compare this product to Vegan Pre-Workout by MyProtein.
MyProtein Plant Pre-Workout
- 1 bag (250 grams)
- £17.89
- 17 servings
ON Gold Standard Pre-Workout
- 1 bag (240 grams)
- £25.99
- 30 servings
Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout Reviews
We took a look on Amazon.com to see what some customers were saying about Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout.
At the time of writing, this pre-workout supplement had an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars from a total of 9,529 reviews.
That brings us to the end of our look at the Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout by Optimum Nutrition.
Summing up (Final verdict): Should you buy MusclePharm Assault Pre-Workout?
This product is precisely what it says it is – a plant-powered pre-workout. Previous market offerings fall far short of their non-vegan counterparts in quality and standards – this pre-workout fixes that. It features a handful of plant-based ingredients to provide common pre-workout benefits. Since it does not contain creatine, beta-alanine, arginine, taurine, and citrulline malate (which are all key pre-workout ingredients), the real power of this product is in question. If you are not vegan there is no point in using this product since there are far more powerful pre-workout formulas (Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout, for example).
Rating Breakdown: Gold Standard Plant Pre-Workout
If you are vegan we definitely recommend this product! If you are not vegan there is no point in using this product since there are far more powerful pre-workout formulas.
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