Legion Pulse Review: Know The Benefits, Ingredients, Best Flavor, Pros & Cons
There's always that one day (or every day ;) ) you feel sluggish and lazy to hit the gym.
Perhaps you drag yourself down to the gym after a stressful day at work with no fuel left in your tank to make it through your workout session.
We've got you covered.
The right pre workouts will give you the energy you need to fuel up your muscles through every rep and set of your program.
With this in mind, I'll make a comprehensive Legion Pulse review as this is our best pre-workout Supplement. I will be revealing its benefits and effectiveness as well as the possible cons and side effects.
General Info About Legion Pulse Pre-Workout Supplement
Legion Athletics is a Virginia-based company founded by Mike Matthews. A man, who, just like many of us, has experienced using hyped supplements and fat burners that can't do a quarter of what they advertise.
In response to the many sub-par pre workout supplements in the market, Legion Pulse pre workout was made to see to all their deficiencies.
With this goal in mind, Legion Athletics has also produced other supplements like Triumph Multivitamin and Whey Protein.
Specifically, Pulse contains clinically effective dosages of ingredients, unlike many other supplements that contain fillers and little of the ingredients that are needed to get the pump effects you need.
It comes in 7 different flavors, but for this Pulse pre workout review, we'll focus on the Blue Raspberry.
Legion Pulse Pre-Workout Overview
Legion Pulse, like other PWO supplements, claims to increase focus, energy levels, endurance and reduces fatigue.
In this Pulse pre workout review, you'll see that what sets it apart is the bold, yet reasonable claim of the superiority of its ingredients dosages over other options.
Funny enough, this doesn't seem to be far-fetched if we check for facts.
Compared to its closest competitors, half a serving of Pulse will give the same effect of a full serving of most pre-workout supplements available.
This means a full serving will give you the pump and energy rush that you'll need to power through a workout session.
Not only that, but its ingredients are also free of artificial sweeteners and food dye which is quite impressive when you take its variety of flavors and their taste into consideration.
The Legion Pulse is a great choice for people who don't mind the usual caffeine hit and well-made to prevent crashes and jitteriness.
Even at that, some people may not react well to it, but there's another version – Pulse Stim-Free PWO Supplement – that doesn't contain caffeine.
Last but not least, Legion Pulse supplement is gluten-free. However, it’s not vegan-friendly.
The only inevitable exception is for people who want to have a dose of creatine in their pre-workout supplement.
Nutritional Profile & Ingredients
A single serving of Pulse – 2 scoops – contains 350 mg of caffeine which is just a little over that of a cup of Starbucks Grande.
While this may seem like a lot compared to most of its competitors, it is just about the scientifically proven dosage needed to see its effects in your workout.
If you find this too strong for you, you might consider other options or opt for the stim-free version.
Also, Pulse contains other equally important ingredients even before you start working out, like beta-alanine, taurine, l-citrulline dl-malate (8g), l-ornithine HCl (2.2g).
Unlike other pre-workout supplements, this might seem like the ingredients are not enough.
But don’t worry. I’ll discuss this in a sec...
The other ingredients – calcium (18%), potassium (6%) and sodium (5%) – are electrolytes and are generously dosed to provide balance when lost in intense workouts.
Benefits & Effectiveness
If you think the ingredients aren’t enough, then that’s not totally true. In the world of supplements, it is most times better to have fewer ingredients than have more.
In any case, I’ll go ahead and explain how these key ingredients can give you the necessary fuel you need to hit the gym and increase your gains.
Caffeine
The caffeine content is actually a bit on the high side at 350 mg, number-wise. But, this is just about what most people consume daily anyway.
However, Legion Pulse, with its focus on clinically effective dosages supplements caffeine with large doses of taurine and L-theanine which can reduce the jitters that come with a caffeine hit.
On the flip side, if you are caffeine-sensitive, workout close to bedtime, or have no interest in adding a to your already large daily caffeine intake, there’s another version with no caffeine: Legion Pulse Stim-Free.
Beta Alanine
Beta-Alanine has been tested and proven to increase endurance, anaerobic strength and reduces fatiguing during workouts, but this is when taken in the right dose.
This is where Legion Pulse stands out.
Unlike most products available, there's a professionally proven effective dose of beta-alanine (4.8g) in this product. Most products will barely include up to 2 grams or mask the dosage under “proprietary blends."
But not with Pulse.
There's however a downside to this large amount of beta-alanine. It gives a sensation on most parts of your skin, but this is a harmless reaction, and I actually enjoy it. If you don't, then this might be a little bit of a drawback for you.
L-Theanine
It's an amino acid found in green tea that combines with caffeine to reduce stress levels and enhance blood flow, focus and alertness which keeps you motivated enough to hit the gym.
As you'd have already expected from Legion, the dosage level is pretty high to meet the clinically recommended effective dose.
However, Pulse contains 100mg more L-Theanine than the listed standard to make it a 1.1 ratio with its caffeine dose - 350mg.
This alongside its high dosage of taurine, makes the caffeine effects more pleasurable and reduces the possibilities of jitteriness and crash.
But this doesn't fully cancel out the effects its high caffeine dose can have on lifters that are caffeine-sensitive or working out later in the day.
Citrulline Malate
This is a combination of the amino acid l-citrulline with malic acid - commonly found in fruits - to increase cellular energy.
If this sounds like too much biology to you, here’s what it means in simple terms:
It increases physical performance by improving blood circulation, which in turn eases muscle soreness and improves aerobic performance.
To make things better, it also comes in a high dose of 8mg.
L-Ornithine
The main effect of this ingredient is to aid resistance in longer workout sessions.
These are workouts that usually last over 45 minutes and will require that you take a 2 scoops per serving (full serving) to see its effects.
Betaine
Betaine is usually found in beets and considerably increases muscle endurance and strength to give the body the fuel it needs to exercise after a stressful day.
The thing is, a study suggests that multiple doses over a few days need to be taken to see its effects.
Thankfully, Pulse contains a potent dose of 2.5g in one serving.
Flavor & Taste
The taste of Legion Pulse mixed with water, even though not bad, isn’t the best in the world.
However, for a supplement made with no artificial flavors or sugars it sure tastes a lot like raspberry candy.
I would imagine the other flavours also have this similarity to their fruits.
More so, its taste tends to change with customer feedback which can be either be a good or bad thing.
Legion Pulse Side Effects
First, very few people have complained of lack of focus from using Legion Pulse which only stops after they discontinue its use.
My advice will be to try the Stim-Free version which has no caffeine.
Also, there is a tingly and sometimes itchy feeling which comes from using Pulse. If you’ve used a PWO supplement before, then you should know this is normal, if not, then you shouldn’t panic.
This is just a harmless side effect of beta alanine in the supplement.
Price
A jar of Pulse pre workout costs around $40. This is easily more expensive than most pre workouts.
With just 21 servings in a jar, it means each one costs $1.90 which is almost double the price of most supplements.
However, in justification of the higher price tag, the quality, clinically proven ingredients are in high dosages and not hidden beneath “proprietary blends.”
But in my opinion, you can get as much as 40 servings if you take just one scoop (½ serving instead of 2 scoops per serving), as long as you don’t need it for intense workouts.
Legion Pulse Alternatives
Old School Vintage Blast
This supplement, though just as expensive as Pulse, is a from a trusted manufacturer - Old School Labs - who are best-sellers.
But, if Pulse turns out to be too strong for you, then Vintage Blast pre workouts is a milder choice that gives you the pump and energy you need with little or no jitters and prickly feeling on your skin.
Nitro Surge Pre-Workout
Nitro Surge is a supplement from Jacked Factory that makes a more pocket-friendly alternative to Legion Pulse.
For one, you get more servings (30 servings) per jar, for less. And you still get the boost you need to hit the gym with a better taste; like fruit punch as well as green apple, than Pulse.
However, I noticed it gives me a bitter after taste after hours of using it and a greater thirst for water. Notwithstanding, an increased intake of water cancels both out.
Pulse Pros and Cons Summary
Pros:
Cons:
Should You Get Legion Pulse?
All in all, I think Pulse is a high-quality PWO supplement for both lifting weights and cardio workouts to get the fuel needed to hit the gym before or after work.
It has a very high dose of key ingredients compared to other products.
Plus, it is a great choice if you want to avoid artificial ingredients and flavoring.
I like that it has a caffeine-free alternative because I tend to do my workouts in the evenings.
Nevertheless, the Legion Pulse pre-workout is a bit pricey...
...but the higher cost is easily justified by its exceptional quality and transparency.
Plus, you can halve a serving for each of your workouts which not only doubles your use but still gives you the pump especially if the recommended "per serving" size is too strong for you.
Last Updated on November 15, 2020