Today I’m going to do a super awesome pre workout review. At this point do I even need to say super awesome? I mean. ALL my pre workout reviews are super awesome. But today, I’m going to make one of my awesomest ones of all time. And that’s because today’s super awesome review is on the Recon Nutrition Recon pre workout for women. This pre workout, is well, a little off the normal course of products that I review. It is somewhere between a fat burner and a pre workout. Almost like the Inspired Ember product that I reviewed a little while ago. I’m hoping this product is just as good as Ember because that was a really well-made and enjoyable product for me. In this review, I’ll basically treat Recon Thermonuke ‘Pink Ops’ as a pre workout review and go over all elements from the flavor to the performance to the formula to the packaging. That’s right. There will be no proverbial stone left unturned when it comes to how deep under the hood I go in this article. So. Let me stop the small talk and get right down to business in this my first ever Recon Nutrition review.
Recon Nutrition has a cool little theme going. They go with the whole ‘militaristic’ style positioning that gives you the feeling that you are in the army and taking some extra special military-grade energy supplement to get you through your tactical workout.
But my workout was anything but tactical today when I took it. I was sort of, well, flying around the gym like a chicken with my head cut off! I don’t know if it was because I naturally just had a ton of energy or if Recon was really playing a big part in my performance, but I must say that it seemed as if the pre workout/fat burner was, er, accentuating my severe case of ‘gym ADD’. But let’s back things up for a hot second and talk about the flavor first.
Recon Nutrition Thermonuke Pink Ops Flavor Grade:
I only tried the one flavor of Pink Ops fat burning drink- and that was the Pineapple Splyce. Despite the highly intimidating name (and really intimidating EVERYTHING), I found the flavor to be anything BUT intimidating. I love the amount of sweetness that Recon put into this product because so many of them are just so sour that you can barely drink them without making a ‘sour grapes’ face!
This flavor was light, sweet, and highly drinkable. I would recommend it to anyone who prefers something that’s more sweet and less sour. I think that the flavor itself was a little bit more on the artificial side, and that I would have preferred it to be a little more natural. But we’re splitting hairs at this point. The fact of the matter is that Thermonuke Pink Ops is a pretty darn good tasting fat burner / pre workout. I think it’s limitations as a product don’t begin until after you drink it. Sort of foreboding-sounding, but let me continue.
Thermonuke Pink Ops Performance Grade: 8.0
I’m giving Recon Thermonuke Pink Ops pre workout a ‘B’ on the performance because I’ve always had a problem with the drinks that suffer from what I call ‘identity crisis’. If you are a pre workout, you should act like a pre workout. If you are a fat burner, you should act like a fat burner. Sometimes the products that claim to be fat burners AND pre workouts end up being a jack of all trades but master of none- to coin a phrase.
And unfortunately for Recon Thermonuke Pink Ops, that’s just about spot on with how I would describe this pre workout fat burner. They gave it all kinds of energy. But someone who knows their body and really knows what they need in the gym will feel this product sort of ‘bottom out’ about halfway through, or even earlier, into a good hard workout. I don’t like how this drink gave slight jitters, either. I think this effect is a big downside for me personally, and also curious because I DO have a pretty significant tolerance for stimulants. And so I have to Recon Nutrition a low ‘B’ on performance. I used it for a really intense sprint workout, and didn’t love how it performed. Recon should invest in bulking up the endurance and performance enhancing ingredients to create something more effective versus something that just gives a quick rush of energy. But. Let’s look at the ingredients and see what we’re working with under the hood.
Thermonuke Pink Ops Formula Grade: 8.0
When you look at this ingredient panel, it’s easy to see where I’m coming from when I complain about formula. Looking at the back you see just a handful of ingredients stuffed into a proprietary blend. Here are the contents of that blend:
Pouching Tea, Raspberry Ketones, Dandelion Root Powder, Infenergy Dicaffeine Malate, Caffeine Citrate, Niacin, Nandia Domestica (Higenamine), DIM, Calcium D Glutarate
So. I see caffeine, I see a diuretic, and I see some higenamine. And some DIM. I think DIM is an estrogen regulator, which gives this product that ‘female’ vibe. Whether or not it’s uses are for boosting or reducing estrogen, I do not know, but either way I’m doubting that there’s really all that much of it in here to be that effective either way.
My biggest complaint with this product is how it does confirm my suspicion that it’s primary function is as an energy drink. Look at all that caffeine! And then higenamine just to make sure that you are ‘feeling’ things. I didn’t expect too much more from Recon, but I’m certainly not impressed with this stuff from an ingredient point of view. To cap things off, and not in a positive way, Recon Thermonuke uses Dandelion Root to make sure you are properly dehydrated within an hour of drinking it. I literally hate when companies go down this road as it’s ‘fat burning’ side. Yeah you might look leaner. But that’s only because you are peeing out so much fluid- fluid that you may actually NEED during a hard workout! But. I guess it looks pretty good?
Thermonuke Pink Ops Packaging Grade: 8.8
Ok ok enough bashing for now. So it’s not the best formula in the world. But what really matters is the looks, right? Lol. No. Not really. But I’m trying to look at the glass as half empty ok? And Recon has definitely filled up the glass to more than half capacity with their Recon Thermonuke packaging. The aesthetics are quite pleasing if you take a good hard look at it. The color palette is quite distinctive from comparable products. We see pinks and blacks and purples- but it’s done much more tastefully than some of its contemporaries. I like that the ‘Recon’ logo is big and prominent, as is the product title.
The color of ‘Thermonuke’ is probably my favorite aspect of the product visually speaking. It’s a luscious shade of pinkish-reddish that captures the imagination and makes you feel like you are really getting something powerful for your money. Speaking of money- that product is just WAY over-priced in my opinion. Granted their are ’60’ servings per container- but they are valuing over a dollar per serving for a grand total of almost $70 per jar! I’m sorry but Thermonuke Pink Ops For Her is just not worth that amount of money. But back to the packaging- the background graphics are super pretty. They are the right mix of mean and clean. It’s a sort of purple camouflage that I really enjoy. They should transition to making purple camo gym gear instead of this average energy formula. Lol. Sorry to offend you guys, @Recon! Lol.
Thermonuke Pink Ops For Her Review Summary
- Thermonuke Pink Ops Flavor Grade: 8.8
- Thermonuke Pink Ops Performance Grade: 8.0
- Thermonuke Pink Ops Formula Grade: 8.8
- Thermonuke Pink Ops Packaging Grade: 8.8
- Thermonuke Pink Ops Value Grade: 7.8
Despite a low value grade, I’ll give Pink Ops the benefit of the doubt and keep this pre workout / fat burner in the ‘B’ range. It’s not going to blow you away in the gym like some of the other pre workouts that I’ve tried- and by no means it as effective as many of the fat burners that I like…but I appreciate what Recon stands for, and they ARE making the effort, and for that much I can justify a reasonable and fair grade of 8.0 out of 10.*
Thermonuke Pink Ops Final Value Score: 8.0
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