PES High Volume has been on my mind all week and it’s about time I finally did a review on this pre workout pump product. I’m going to put this in my category of pre workouts because obviously you take it before you workout. The one thing that you will hear me talk alot about in this particular review is about how there’s a lack of stimulants in this pre workout from Physique Enhancing Science, or PES as we affectionately call them in the business. But anyways here is how this review is going to flow: First: I’m going to ramble for the duration of one paragraph about nothing in particular. Second, I”m going to actually start my PES High Volume review and detail the flavors for you. I’ll tell you what is the best flavor of PES High Volume. Second, we will discuss the supplement facts and ingredients panel of High Volume so that you have a good sense of what is in the product. Oh I forgot. Before that, I’ll tell you how this product actually performs in the gym! Yes. We will talk performance. And lastly, we will talk about the packaging design and award it a packaging grade. I’ll close the review up with a PES High Volume Review Summary and award the product a final score. So let’s get started.
As you know, I start all my reviews with a review of what’s going on in my life. I know that’s what you really care about anyways, right? Of course. So for all you new readers to my blog, I need you to understand that my reviews are certainly light reading. I mean you’ll actually laugh if you read my Sweet Sweat or LeCheek Hottie reviews! I legit HATE the review blogs where the people just spit you the cold, technical facts of a certain product and then don’t give you any emotion and no passion for what they are doing. It’s so clinical and boring to read. With me, it’s different. Get to know what’s going on in my life, and THEN I can better explain PES High Volume to you. Can you tell I’m hyper-caffeinated right now!? Oh. AND what the heck was Kanye talking about at the VMA’s last night? Like. Oh my gosh that was crazy. And by crazy I mean ridiculous. And by ridiculous I mean absolute non-sensical. Like my writing! JK. But really. What was he even talking about? Why did he keep saying ‘listen to the kids’, and ‘bruhh’ so often? He sounded uneducated. I legit HATED IT. Who else sort of hates Yeezy sometimes? Like. Alot of times. LOL. Yeah. Me too. Anyways. What’s going on in my life outside of being basic and watching the VMA’s? Oh yeah. I’m moving apartments yesterday and today. Which, as you know, is the worst thing in the entire world. And my stress levels have been through the roof. Which is why I’m trying to combat that with more and more coffee. Because that’s how it works, right? Er.. No. But time to stop rambling, I guess. Let’s finally start talking about PES High Volume. I’ll start with the taste.
What’s the Best Flavor of PES High Volume?
PES High Volume Blue Frost Flavor Grade: 9.3
If you are here just looking for the answer to what the best flavor of PES High Volume is- you should know that the best flavor of PES High Volume is the Blue Frost. Don’t get me wrong. I am the FIRST person to hate on blue raspberry flavored things. But the product is not really a blue raspberry at all. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it’s like that blue glacier Gatorade Frost that we all used to chug when we were kids. It’s blue, but has some pineapple notes and also some citrus and some other tastes that I am having a hard time putting my finger on. It’s super good though. When it first hits your lips it is VERY tart and you’re like ‘OMG this is too much’. But then as the taste matures in your mouth (grow-up), the liquid becomes much more sweet and smooth (grow-UP!). I really do enjoy this flavor now and think PES has nailed it in the flavor department for the PES High Volume Blue Frost Flavor.
PES High Volume Paradise Cooler Flavor Grade: 8.5
The second best flavor of High Volume (that’s a little mis-leading since there are only two) has to be the paradise cooler. I absolutely LOVE this product name, but the taste itself really sort of leaves you wishing you had just taken the Blue Frost one again. This one tastes very fruity, and is more of a fruit punch flavor than anything. You get a ton of ‘Starburst’ type flavors. I love Starburst as much as the next (4 year old) girl, but for some reason when you add in the bitterness and the consistency of this High Volume pre workout, the Starburst thing wasn’t working for me. But. Yeah. This one tastes like the dark read Starburst from the tropical fruits one (green wrapper). (Yeah I know my Starburst LOL). Ok, so one tastes good, and one not quite as good. But how does PES High Volume perform in the gym?
Does PES High Volume Work?
I’m giving PES High Volume pre workout a Performance Grade of 8.4 because it was just good enough to get into that mid-B range, but not quite good enough for me to get it up into the A-range. Story of my life, really. But what is it like to take this pre workout? Let me tell you about my experience.
So I took two scoops, which gets you to a 14 gram serving size. And then I dumped in a little extra because I’m badass like that. My initial reaction to the product from a physical standpoint was, well, nothing. I took High Volume and waited for that familiar wave of energy to come over like it so often does with these pre workout products. But after fifteen minutes, still nothing was happening! No energy. No focus. Not even any tingling in my face. What’s up with this stuff? I went into the gym and started to get after my workout.
The workout consisted of my usual ab and flexibility yoga routine that I always do because I pretend like it makes me look like I know what I’m actually doing in the gym (which I feel like I don’t half the time LOL). Completing my third round of the circuit was challenging as usual (it’s quite ‘plank-intensive’), and I was really wishing High Volume would ‘kick-in’ at any moment. But as I got into my shoulder dumbbell series- I started to realize that this product was never going to ‘kick-in’. That’s not what the product was supposed to do. It was literally never going to ‘kick-in’. I knew right then and there that this was a stimulant-free pre workout.
But I continued the workout anyways- trying to focus as much as possible on the muscle contractions and the ‘pump’ that I always overhear my ‘bros’ talk about (yeah, we can have ‘bros’, too). I finished my shoulder series and started doing some bicep curls, which I don’t do that often. But I wanted to try and get that elusive ‘pump’. I think after my fifth set, I started to understand what PES High Volume was all about. I could feel the blood had rushed to the area and made the muscles feel, basically, just really sore. I don’t know why this feeling is all the rage because honestly it was just uncomfortable and made the sets more painful to complete. And I don’t think it was the good kind of ‘oh, yeah this is really breaking down the muscle’ pain. It was more just like ‘ok I’m tricking my body to vasodilate to an un-natural extent’. It’s just not my thing. That’s why I’m giving High Volume pre workout a ‘B’. Like. Yeah I guess it works for the pump. But in terms of overall pre workout performance I don’t really care too much for it. But anyways let’s look at all those ‘pump’ ingredients:
PES High Volume Work Ingredients Grade: 8.8
Ok sure I’ll give High Volume an ‘A’ in this department. I think once you accept this product for what it is, you can start to have a better appreciation for it. I definitely have a little bit of a bitter taste in my mouth from taking it just because I automatically hate anything that doesn’t have stimulants in it (that’s the nature of an addict), but I’ll try and let my hair down and get over it.
This product features two different proprietary blends, which is why I still struggle giving it an ‘A’ in the formula department. The first pump complex consists of:
- L-Citruline
- Arginine NItrate
- Agmatine Sulfate
This is a pretty standard trio when it comes to pump products. The Arginine nitrate was first seen in the popular Cellucor C4 products and it’s interesting to see how many companies have followed suit with that ingredient. The second proprietary blend consists of:
- Taurine
- Glycerol
- Selaginella Tamariscna (Amentoflavone)
- Evodia Rutaecarpa
The neat ingredient in this product is the Amentoflavone, AKA Selaginella Tamariscna AKA AmentoMAX AKA what is going on right now. Amentoflavone is actually a pretty interesting new pump ingredient that I think played a big role in the pumps that I got with the product. I really did get the ‘pump’ whether I like it or not, so if you are looking at this as a means to that ends, than you really should buy some PES High Volume Supreme Nitric Oxide Matrix. As it says on the label, this really is a ‘hardcore pump formula’. Speaking of the label…
PES High Volume Packaging Grade: 7.2
Let’s call a spade a spade. I originally was going to give PES a ‘B’ on the label, but, c’mon. Let’s just be honest. That’s what I do best after all. This is just not a good looking product. I almost gave them a charity ‘B’ just because I feel like I’ve come down kind of hard on the High Volume in this pre workout. But, come on people. Look at this design? It’s just, well, bad! It never ceases to amaze me how in this industry dominated by the designers and the branding experts such as Cellucor, EVL Nutrition, and ProteinWorld, there are companies that still can keep growing and having success with very little expertise or skill in those critically important areas.
This design looks horrible because it has the black tub, with a white label over it. The guys sitting around the boardroom table probably all nodded there heads and reassured each other that white over black would be a great look. But they were quite wrong. The white label looks cheap and out of place when put against the black background. The product title, while big and prominent, uses a low-quality font, and has the character spacing so low that you can hardly discern what it says.
The blue box beneath lacks personality and looks like it was thrown on in haste. If there is one thing that actually works for me from a design perspective, I think it’s that the the flavor callout being painted in contrasting hues is a nice way to draw attention to one of the product’s stronger elements, which is the taste. I also like the bold red ‘hardcore pump formula’ on the upper left side of the PES High Volume label. Overall though, this is a design that lacks any real personality or creativity in my opinion.
PES High Volume Review Summary:
- PES High Volume Paradise Cooler Flavor Grade: 8.5
- PES High Volume Performance Grade: 8.4
- PES High Volume Work Ingredients Grade: 8.8
- PES High Volume Packaging Grade: 7.2
- PES High Volume Value Grade: 9.0
My final thoughts on this product are mixed. I do understand the pump product category has become quite popular, but for me personally these products just don’t speak to me. I’ve never been a fan of that whole ‘skin-splitting’, ’roadmap vein’, ‘look how high my bloodpressure is’ subcategory of the pre workout world. And for that reason, I am giving PES High Volume a final score of 8.6 in this review. I get it, but it’s just not for me.
PES High Volume Review Final Grade: 8.6
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