Grenade’s low-calorie pre-workout may only have one flavour but it maxes out on active ingredients.

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Granade 50 Calibre Killa Cola

£24 for 230g (20 servings), grenade.com

Pros:

  • Contains a wide range of active ingredients
  • Reasonably priced
  • Low in calories

Cons:

  • Too sweet
  • Doses are too small to boost performance
  • Doesn’t mix easily

Taste: 3/5
Solubility: 3.5/5
Effectiveness: 3/5
OVERALL: 3/5

Well known for its popular protein bars, previously called Carb Killas, Grenade is also trying to mix things up with its 50 Calibre pre-workout. However, we’re not sure it’s pre-workout supplement will cause as much of a stir as its post-session bars.

Grenade’s 50 Calibre is available in just one flavour – ‘killa’ cola – and in a 230g tub size, which has 20 11.5g servings. Each serving contains 2.5g carbohydrates and 2.75g protein, as well a substantial 14 active ingredients including ginseng root.

Grenade 50 Calibre benefits

Looking at the key ingredient you’d expect to find in a pre-workout, there are branched-chain amino acids including leucine – the one that triggers muscle protein synthesis. However, the dose is minimal at 0.4g compared to the recommended 5g to 10g.

It also has L-citrulline, which acts as a vasodilator, helping to improve blood flow and consequently delivery of oxygen to the muscle cells, to enhance performance and reduce fatigue. Again, the supplement’s dosage is low at 1g versus the suggested dose of 6-8g. This ingredient also must be taken regularly to be effective.

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There’s also beta-alanine, which you’ll find in all pre-workouts. The dosage is usually established by body weight but would sit somewhere between 3 and 6g for the average person. The 1.5g in Grenade’s 50 Calibre is again a little meagre. To be effective, beta-alanine needs to be taken regularly a few times daily to deliver the correct dosage and over a prolonged period.

Likewise, the amount of creatine in 50 Calibre is about a quarter of the recommended dose – at 1.3g as opposed to 5g. As a performance booster, we think that’s just too small an amount to be effective.

Grenade 50 Calibre Caffeine content

At least its caffeine content is around optimal levels, with 187mg per serving. Generally 200mg is considered suitable for boosting performance. In its exhaustive list of active ingredients, 50 Calibre also contains theobroma, a plant compound with a stimulating effect similar to caffeine. It’s a long-lasting stimulant that shouldn’t give you unwanted side effects like jitters.

There’s ginseng, which is added in about the right dose to help with mental focus. There are also B vitamins, which have several roles in the body to support energy metabolism and a healthy nervous system (but we’d question whether they’re needed in a pre-workout).

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Grenade has added sodium bicarbonate, too, which helps mop up hydrogen ions generated through short bursts of high-intensity exercise. This can be tough on the gut, which is probably why it’s also added potassium carbonate, which does the same thing but with less gut irritation. It’s an unusual one to add to a pre-workout, though.

Grenade 50 Calibre consistency

Unfortunately Grenade 50 Calibre doesn’t mix too easily and takes a lot of shaking. The mix is half a scoop ( which is fiddly to measure) to 150ml to 250ml water, which Grenade recommends to be taken 30 minutes before training. It has a distinctive cola taste, but we found it too sweet and sickly.

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Grenade’s pre-workout is available online and in health foods shops. At £1.20 per serving, this is one of the better value pre-workouts on test. However, with its many active ingredients we feel it’s trying to do too much, but not giving the doses required of any of them to be effective, other than caffeine.