What makes a good product innovation? New label, new name, new slogan, new method of ingesting? No. The best way to innovate a supplement is to go deep and revise the formulation using ingredients people don’t even think about.
That’s what Innovative Labs did with their Wicked pre workout. From what I’m seeing, Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout has ingredients that are rare to see and some I can’t even pronounce.
As good as innovation goes, there is such a thing as being too innovative. Did Innovative Labs over innovate, or is their Wicked pre workout what next-gen supplements will look like?
Read my Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout review to find out!
About Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout
Innovative Laboratories seeks to innovate the existing meta by making use of different and novel ingredients in their products. They claim Wicked as a “merciless mass maker” capable of granting users gains like they’ve never seen before.
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- Prop blend. So much for innovations, bro.
- Chemical names. Trying to fool us with long-ass names? I don’t think so.
- Expensive af. Bro, a 30-day can worth $64.95 is just a hole through my wallet..
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout Review: nutrition label
Other Ingredients: Maltodextrin, Natural and Artificial flavors, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Sucralose, FD&C Red #40, Blue #1
Directions:
ON TRAINING DAYS:
Take one heaping scoop to assess personal tolerance. Once tolerance has been assessed, users may increase dosage to 2 scoops in 6-8oz (depending on taste preference) of ice cold water. Do not take with food.
ON NON-TRAINING DAYS:
My Top Recommended Supplements
Take one scoop in the morning to maintain increased Nitric Oxide, ATP and energy levels while assisting in reducing body fat and fatigue.*
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout Review: ingredients list
I hate prop blends, bro. Y’all know that much about me. This is why I am deeply disappointed at Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout’s lack of innovation on the way they label their blends.
- Inositol Nicotinate. This is simply “no-flush” vitamin B3. You know how taking B3 can give you that red/orange like face? Yeah, this form doesn’t have nicotinic acid, the thing that does that side effect.
N.O Amplification Matrix, 5,000 mg
At 5 grams, the bulk of Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout’s serving size is dedicated to just three ingredients which is a welcome respite in a prop blend-based pre workout.
- Beta alanine. I’m going to go ahead and assume this has at least 2.5 g which is a good dose. Beta alanine is a fan-favorite for performance, recovery, and endurance. The only problem is the high doses may make you want to scratch an itch, but it also means it’s working. Shame they didn’t put CarnoSyn, the branded form that reduced the itching while optimizing absorption.
- Citrulline Silicate. I don’t see this form of citrulline a lot. My research tells me this form of citrulline is supposed to make it easier for the body to absorb the arginine, the compound that activates the “pump” feeling. There is little research done on this, however silicate ingredients in particular are often better at absorption. The question now is, how much of this stuff do we have because it’s definitely more expensive than plain old citrulline.
- Red Wine Extract std to 30% Glycerol. Glycerol improves hydration, endurance, and increase muscle pumps by way of funneling water into your cells instead nitric oxide.
Anabolic Cell Volumizer, 4,090 mg
Me thinks this blend will be all about creatine, given some of the ingredients here are either creatine in alternate forms or linked to boosting creatine’s effects. At 4.09 grams, I’m kinda annoyed they crammed so many ingredients in such a low-dosed blend. It’s a creatine blend too, which makes the low dose worse.
- Creatine Nitrate. It’s a more soluble form compared to creatine monohydrate. There’s only a handful of studies on this and while it does improve what creatine is supposed to improve – strength and endurance mostly – creatine monohydrate still came out on top.
- 2-Aminoethanesulfonic acid. This is the scientific name for taurine. God knows why they had to put the uber complicated name instead of just plain old taurine. Maybe it sounds cooler and “dangerous”? I don’t know. What I do know is, Taurine is an effective amino acid that is capable of many feats such as improved fat burning, boosting testosterone, faster recovery time, and enhances muscle hydration to prevent cramps and muscle fatigue.
- Odd placement as agmatine is a pump ingredient. It improves nitric oxide levels in the body as well as improve vasodilation. There’s also an anti-stress angle to adding agmatine.
- N-Aminoiminomethyl beta alanine. Don’t let the “beta alanine” part fool you. This is actually commonly known as Guanidinopropionic Acid. Again, not sure why they insist on the complicated names. Guanidinopropionic Acid is known to help with insulin function as well as improve creatine uptake.
- A rare energy booster in pre workouts, ribose plays a critical role in ATP synthesis, the basis of energy boosting. Low ATP results to lower energy and Ribose helps generate more ATP to keep up with your energy demands.
- Creatinol-O-Phosphate. The very form of creatine found in our muscles. Some studies show this form works just as good as old creatine monohydrate.
Neurogenic Energizers, 390 mg
This be your trusty stimulant and energy boosters. From the looks of things, I can already sense a bit of controversy with some of the ingredients.
- Good old caffeine. This is everyone’s favorite stimulant and I bet we have around 200 mg of this. Why am I so confident? Because the minimum working dose on the next ingredient is around 100 mg.
- 2-Aminoisoheptane. This relatively rare stimulant is known to boost energy while also reducing appetite. Good stuff, right? Not if you’re competing. You see, 2-Aminoisoheptane is banned by anti-doping organizations which means anyone taking Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout should not be competing anytime soon. Sucks to be that guy, am I right?
- Histidine is more of beta-alanine supporter than an energy ingredient because it helps regulate carnosine levels for added endurance.
- Rauwolfia serpentina. This ingredient is used for blood pressure and enhanced blood flow. Yeah, I kinda am having a tough time trying to see Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout’s angle on this as an energy ingredient.
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout Review: formula analysis
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout’s attempt at making a power and stimulant-dosed supplement is more or less a success based on what I’ve seen so far in my Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout review. Despite my initial doubts on the choice of using prop blends, I might actually have quite a few good things to say about Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout.
Let’s analyze each blend and round them up after.
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout’s NO Amplification Matrix speaks for itself. It’s a blend meant to pump nitric oxide all over your body and enhance blood circulation. These two processes make your body respond to hard lifts better as well as have faster recovery. The dosing for this blend is not bad at all, although I personally would have added a gram more.
I’m just a little skeptical on using Citrulline Silicate over Citrulline Malate, though. While there are studies that say binding stuff to silicate makes them easier to absorb, Citrulline Malate does the same thing and it doesn’t cost as much. I’m also skeptical on their angle on Red Wine. It can pump you up, but since it’s water-based, the effects are minimal though sustainable.
The Anabolic Cell Volumizer is a bit difficult to understand. While I can see that it’s an overly sophisticated Creatine complex, I almost want to gut the whole blend and just put everything on Creatine, preferably as creatine monohydrate. As far as dose is concerned, it’s too small for my liking.
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The Neurogenic Energizer is as simple as it gets. It’s a caffeine + banned substance blend. The part on Histidine and Rauwolfia don’t make sense to me.
Putting it all together, Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout has pumps, some strength and recovery, and a good dose of banned energy. It’s built for performance, but has a risk of sounding the alarms if you happen to get involved in random drug testing programs.
What ticks me off are mainly the addition of unnecessary ingredients or unnecessary alternatives. I get it; they want to standout, but standing out just for the sake of is counterintuitive in the supplement world.
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Then there’s also the weird thing they do with chemical names. Is this an attempt to make the formula sound complicated or an attempt to bypass label readers who don’t like particular ingredients in their common name form? Regardless of the reasons, I find this practice shady.Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout already comes in a prop blend, why make it more complicated?
I actually think the use of those alternatives is to simply justify Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout’s price. At $64.95, you’re looking at a price of two decent pre workouts.
So, does Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout work?
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout helps you feel pumped and energized. It has an array of ingredients that can take your game to the next level, but could have been much better if they kept to a simpler formulation.
Does Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout have a lot of caffeine?
The caffeine dose could be anywhere between 200 – 250 mg. I personally view that range as ideal, but let me also tell you the dosage is equivalent to about two and half cups of brewed coffee. If that’s too strong for you, then the caffeine in Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout is a lot.
So, is Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout any good or just hype?
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout, in my opinion, is a bit overhyped. While Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout does contain some of the necessary ingredients that make a good pre workout, I don’t see their formula as a justification to the price they want to sell it for.
Benefits and side effects
You will get pumped. You will feel jacked. You will feel like lifting your bench press buddy. After those feelings disappear, its post-workout benefits will start to kick in, maximizing muscle growth and recovery.
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout’s was made for bros who got extra money to buy something new and different.
The side effects you have to watch out for Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout come from three ingredients: Beta alanine, caffeine, and the aminoisoheptane. Beta alanine is known to make you want to scratch your body all over, caffeine can kick you with jitters and crashing, and the aminoisoheptane can get you banned from sport.
Yeah, getting banned from sport is a serious side effect, bro. Do not compete with Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout in your system.
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout Review: pros and cons
Pros
- New formulation. It’s definitely not like the ones I’m used to reviewing.
- Good dosing. Some ingredients lack the necessary oomph factor, but it’s dosed enough for the most part.
- Lots of pumps. The 5 gram pump blend is its driving force.
Cons
- Prop blend. This is such a killjoy no matter what supplement you have.
- Complicated design. The normal ingredients would have done just fine.
- Using alternative ingredients jacks up the price too much.
- Mismatched ingredients. Some of the ingredients would be better off removed.
- Can get you banned. Definitely not for pro lifters.
Pricing info
- 1 Can (30 servings): $64.95
- Available online and in retail stores
- Flavor: Grueling Grape and Punishing Punch.
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout Review: summary
Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout is a really expensive attempt at being innovative and exciting. It makes use of a variety of expensive alternatives despite the fact that there is nothing wrong with using the usual ingredients.
I’m not saying supplement companies shouldn’t try to mix things up. However, if mixing things up – and still getting similar effects – almost doubles the price tag, then maybe you shouldn’t have mixed things up that much. Maybe one or two ingredients, but not all of them at once. Not to mention one of the exciting ingredients they added can get anyone banned from competitive sport.
All in all, I think Innovative Labs Wicked pre-workout is too expensive to warrant an all-out recommendation. It works, but the price tag can easily net you two really good pre workout supplements. However, if you have extra cash lying around then go for it. Just don’t compete right after.
