Vega Sport’s Pre Workout Gets the Official BPW Review
Vega Sport Pre Workout Energizer is another one of those pre workouts that is not crafted specifically for women- but is a product that several of you have asked me about. I know this product is very popular with the female audience right now- and so I knew I had to give it a shot at this years BPW top 10.
I have been wanting to try this product for some time now- and so I was totally excited when I finally got my hands on a tub of Vega Sport’s Pre Workout Energizer. I can tell by glance at the supplement facts panel that this product is going to provide something much different than the experience that we are used to- but more on that later. Vega Sport is a company that I first heard about from a member of my cycling club. She’s one of those friends that is allergic to almost everything- you all have a friend like that. She’s even allergic to avocado! Of course the supplement world can be an incredibly scary territory to navigate if you have all these allergies—but she knew she could improve her athletic performance by adding a pre workout to her pre-race routine. One afternoon after a (SUPER fast) race by her, she told me that she had finally found a solution to her pre workout woes- and that it was Vega Sport’s Natural Pre Workout Energizer. Judging by the Tour de France – esque performance that she put out that day- I knew I had another contender for the BPW top 10. So without much further ado- let’s launch into it!
Flavor/Taste Review:8.4
Vega Sport Pre Workout Energizer comes in two flavors- Lemon Lime, and Acai Berry. If you have taste buds- you’ll probably go with Acai Berry like I did. To me Lemon Lime is just such an exhausted flavor. I think we’ve all been drinking Lemon Lime Gatorade since birth. Like actually. The Acai Berry flavor was intriguing to me though- I think this flavor actually is creative and outside the box, which I love. The drink mixed a fairly distinct dark purplish- reddish color, which was different than the Kool Aide red that we’re so used to seeing from berry flavored supps (and not quite as pretty as the hot pink of Athena’s Natural!). I never really know what Acai should taste like on its own- but judging from almost every acai-flavored drink I’ve had- it simply adds a little bit of earthiness and tartness to the profile. This was exactly the case with the Vega Sport pre workout. I got a lot of cherry and blueberry flavor out of this drink, and then a bit of bitterness or tartness at the finish. All in all I did like the flavor. It had a decent amount of sweetness without being overpowering, and was also very raw and real tasting. It was a nice change of pace from the superficial flavors we’re used to getting in supplements. My only small complaint on the actual flavor was that the product didn’t mix quite as well as some others we’ve tried. I sort of expected this given the number of oddball ingredients in here that are typically omitted from a powdered drink mix for just this reason. So if you’re one of those that can’t handle a bit of texture in your pre workout—you have been warned.
Ingredient Profile:9.0
The ingredient profile of this product caught my attention from the get-go. This product was formulated to meet the demand of athletes that want a totally natural way to enhance their performance. There are several products on the market that are very very ‘clean’ in terms of limiting artificial flavors, dangerous stimulants, and all the other less desirous components of so many sports supplements on the market. Vega Sport is completely on-point with the profile of Pre Workout Energizer—I couldn’t find one little thing that was synthetic. And it isn’t like they took the easy-way out and made a three-ingredient sports drink mix—they really put some cool stuff in here. The two main ingredients here are brown rice syrup and palm nectar. These are simply natural sources of sugar. Does it make this a more calorically dense product than most? Yes. But if you know your stuff- you know that sugars are your friend before a grueling workout. Other than the 12g of sugar- Vega Sport really got creative. Coconut oil is an incredibly hot topic these days- and for good reason. It’s one of the few natural foods that have a positive concentration of omega-6 poly-unsaturated fats, of which the health benefits are endless. It’s great to see Vega Sport get creative and find a way to get the coconut oil in a powdered drink mix via the coconut seed. They put a nice dosage in too at 1 whole gram. Second is the inclusion of Kombucha. A terrific product on its own- kombucha is a popular source of live active cultures and probiotics that you also can find in yogurt. Kombucha is great for your skin, immune system, and gut health. Whether or not it improves your athletic performance I am less sure- but either way I think it’s a unique and value-adding component to this blend. Three other ingredients that i love are green tea, rhodiola, and yerba mate. This is where Vega Sport puts the ‘Energy’ in the Pre Workout Energizer. All three are awesome and totally natural sources of energy with antioxidant power to boot. And finally- ginger. Ginger is one of my faves not only because of the unique flavors that it adds- but also because of it’s own antioxidant power. All in all I really appreciate this formula.
Performance:7.3
Ok so the formua is bomb, the taste is pretty bomb, but how does this stuff kick? I knew exactly the workout for Vega Sports official BPW review—and absolutely intimidating triathlete training session. I consider myself a pretty dedicated athlete- but will admit that most of my training is aesthetically-focused. I do have a few friends that go above and beyond (the gym) and compete in triathlons. I admire what they do, and considered getting into the sport myself, but decided that I just don’t have the time unfortunately. However, I still carve out the odd time on the last Saturday of every month to tag along with their practice session. It’s a ‘light’ day for them, so it’s a good time for me to join in without embarrassing myself. The workout consists of a 2 mile run, a 5 mile bike, a serious of laps in the pool, and yet another 2 mile run to polish you off. This is a sport where typically the athletes have to take special attention to their diets for like weeks before their workouts- slightly longer than the half hour or so where I’m deciding which pre to take! They count calories- carb-cycle- the whole works. Now I didn’t need to go to these lengths for our little practice sessions- but I definitely knew that my ‘on-board’ fuel stores would expire before the home stretch of the final two-mile run. That’s where Vega Sport Pre Workout Energizer comes in. I downed two scoops of the product along with about 16 oz of room-temperature water roughly an hour before we got started.
I wanted some of the sugars to saturate my muscles and top off my muscle and liver glycogen stores, which is why I took it a bit earlier than they recommend on the label. Before I knew it we were underway. The first leg of the first run went by almost effortlessly- my body was running strong on the sugars without having to oxidize anything else. To be honest the second mile went almost equally as smooth- and I finished in a respectable 13:12. The 10 mile bike is where things got tough (and they would’ve been tougher without Vega Sport TRUST me). The grade’s really started to get to me and my quads began to burn as my glycogen stores emptied and it became more and more of a challenge. I definitely could feel some of the carbs keep me going towards the end of it- and for that I was appreciative. I knew the swimming would be even more difficult than the bike- and I was right. I really am not a great swimmer- and will admit that no matter what shape I’m in, swimming always makes me feel like a slob. At this point my pre workout was still keeping my motor turning over- but just barely. This is where I think the ‘natural’ aspect of the product may compromise some performance benefits. I think a couple hundred mg of synthetic caffeine would have done me well because of how it can make the fatigue seem less real. Anyways—I finished out the swim without drowning, and was able to stumble through the final 10,500 feet of struggle-city before swearing to never train with those gals again. Of course I was being dramatic, but wow is that a battle!
Value:9.3
Vega Sport Pre Workout Energizer is a fun product. It’s one of those that has so many super ingredients in it- that no matter what you can swear you can feel it working its magic. I happen to be fairly in-tune with my body, and am able to (I daresay better than most) detect when these products are working, when they aren’t, and when I’m playing into the placebo effect. This product is a blend of placebo and effectiveness—12 grams of sugar are going to positively impact your workout—its just a fact. If you’re in-touch with your bod- you’ll also feel a little spark from yerba mate and rhodiola. Are you going to feel kombucha improving your workout? No. Are you going to see coconut oil improving your skin? No. But- that doesn’t mean they aren’t working. And I am a strong believer in the mind controlling the body to an incredible extent. So if you trust that this product is going to improve your fitness and your body- than it will. Personally- I found this to be a unique and good-tasting product- but at the end of the day I prefer a product that I can feel a little bit more.
Bonus Category-Label/Packaging:7.8
The packing of Vega Sport’s Pre Workout Energizer is sharp. The most noticeable aspect of the design is the matte finish on the label, which goes hand in hand with the natural theme. I like the black and yellow gradient used on the bottle and label because it also is distinguishable and sets it apart from all the other flash and shine on the shelves. The container itself is pretty tall because the servings are a bit larger than other products in the category (due to the amount of sugars). In summary its a nice looking product!
Final Score:9.4
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