Raging

I have been looking for a decent pre-workout  energy drink to give me more “ommppphhh” when attending the gym and from my “research” I decided to give “RAGE 2.0” by Matrix Nutrition a try at £19.99 for a 250g tub.

The burb on the tub reads “New 250G Matrix Rage 2:0 Pre-Workout energy drink. Tropical Punch Matrix Rage 2.0 gives you the desire and ability to lift more weights than ever before, muscle ripping pumps and the mind blowing, lasting energy needed for extreme workouts.” Well the ingredients looked good, not too high in insulin-soaring sugars so I would not “crash and burn” after the initial 40 minutes surge I have experienced in the past with other drinks.

Well I was working a backshift due to start work that day in Edinburgh at 13:30 so was planning to hit Banatynes  gym at the retail park in Falkirk just before 9am so drunk 3 heaped scoops of the powder mixed with 250ml of water on an empty stomach..so far so good, took a few amino acid tablets in the changing room for some protein and started my usual routine which is mostly cardio doing wind sprints at various speeds and inclines on the treadmill for 30 mins, all was fine, slowed up and stepped off but then felt very faint, my heart was pumping, my head was spinning and I thought I was going to conk out, made for the changing room, got my bag from the locker, drunk lots of water and headed home feeling slightly better in the fresh air but my heart was still pounding and feeling shaking but at least upright and not feeling like I was going to keel over at any moments.

I read the contents label of the powder and each scoop contains 300mgs of caffeine, I took 3 heaped scoops so silly me ingested over a gram of caffeine so no wonder I was feeling as high as a kite. On the plus side I got all my house work finished that morning, ironed my clothes, cleaned the parrot’s cage but still had this over spill of excess energy and the shakes, the neighbours  must have thought I was crazy jumping up and down on the trampoline in the garden like Zebedee at a rave and wandering around like a “jackey” on giro day…lol, also mowed my lawn, the only thing is I could not sit still to concentrate so could not attend my work, never slept that night and took some serious cramps but was back to normal 2 days later.

The moral of this tale is always read the label first!! When it comes to common sense don’t follow my example. Now I take just one levelled scoop which is good enough to energise me through a session at the gym.

Rage II Amount Per scoop:

825mg Beta-Alanine (3-Aminopropanoic acid)

600mg Alpha-Keto-Glutarate (2-Oxopentanedioic acid)

300mg Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid)

300mg Caffeine (1,3,7 trimethylxanthine)

250mg Citruline Malate (2-Amino-5-(carbamoylamino)pentanoic acid)

45mg Niacin (pyridine-3-carboxylic acid) 

12.5mg Citrus Aurantium

Matrix rage II contains no c**p and thats guaranteed! It contains only the most pure, pharmaceutical grade compounds available to form a world leading pre-workout supplement.

Rage II Black Box Warning:

Rage produces intense drive, focus, energy, motivation & awareness. In addition, it allows for rapid increases instrength, speed, power & endurance. Therefore, extreme caution must be exercised & should not be used by novice athletes.