Fallout Pre-Workout Review

If apocalypse had a younger brother that was trying to be cool, this would be it. Fck Normal Labs brings us another New Jersey special, “bathtub supplements” pre-workout edition.

This product features hardcore stimulants such as DMAA in a formulation you would have found years ago in a proprietary blend. This product is fully disclosed, the dosages are just short of clinical but efficient. I can’t recommend this pre-workout if DMAA is a concern. 

Thank you, MuscleFactorySC, for sending this full product for review! 

Where to Buy

Unfortunately, we’re unable to find any retailers carrying Fallout Pre-Workout. We recommend searching Google for it.

We also have lists for some of the best DMAA pre-workouts and DMHA pre-workouts that may be good substitutes for Fallout Pre-Workout.

Experience

Within a few minutes of ingestion, I could feel a slight increase in energy, most likely the PEA or the yohimbine. The next 20 minutes felt the intensity develop with the tingles from the beta-alanine ramping up to 7.5/10. It became more noticeable starting at my forehead before transitioning to my spine and the rest of my body. At the 45-minute mark, everything seemed to peak, the focus dialed in to around a 3 out of 10. The energy transitioned to 5 out of 10, but mostly the tingles caused the intensity. 

I had good energy for cardio with improved breathing. The thermogenic effects started around 50 minutes and I started feeling productive. During my training, I felt a slight improvement in endurance and stamina. There was a noticeable vascularity, with minor muscle fullness. I felt nothing illicit about running this pre-workout, but it was a good experience. I purchased products similarly formulated on eBay last year, and the experience was similar. The quality-sourced DMAA, if it still exists, appears to be manufactured outside the USA. 

Side Effects

This is a hardcore pre-workout. Avoid overusing it to avoid experiencing health issues. 

Flavor

Rocket Bomb is the flavor I was sent for review, a very sweet, watermelon taste that finishes strong with bitterness all across my tongue. The flavor was about a 5 out of 10 in desirability. With a finger test, it tastes great! My recently reviewed Apocalypse had a similar finishing flavor by the same brand. The suggested amount of water was 6 to 12 ounces, and the few times I ran this, I felt it tasted slightly better with less water so I could drink it faster.

Dose/Scoop Size

The serving size is 11g even, although a bit difficult to measure with a rounded bottom scooper. It did come out to a completely leveled scoop, which based on my experience, would be fine to scoop even slightly rounded. I made sure to shake this container each use to thoroughly mix the ingredients to better guarantee performance.

Since this is a hard, stimulant-based product, you should weigh your scoops out when first using until you assess your tolerance. I only used a full serving each time, which allowed me to review it thoroughly. You are given a stellar 25 servings, which is actually a good ratio of cost to product ratio. The mixability was good, with a very minor amount of sediment toward the end of the shaker. 

Ingredients

The overall ingredient profile is for a high-stimulant approach, so, understandably, the dosages aren’t going to be clinical but rather efficiently dosed. Like many underground supplements, I like the lack of real alpha yohimbine, (a.k.a. rauwolfia vomitoria extract) yet manufacturers pretend that it is. This formulation would be suitable for the yesteryears when these products would have been in proprietary blends. Altogether, it is more about how things feel rather than look, so it ends up as effective as expected.

Citrulline Malate – 4 g

L-citrulline is one of the most common pre-workout ingredients. Extensive evidence supports its ability to increase nitric oxide production, power output, pumps, blood flow, and endurance. It is typical for this ingredient to contain malic acid mixed in a 2:1 ratio per the clinical studies. Malic acid has some benefits similar to beta-alanine, and these ingredients aren’t in a chemical bond, and some products may list malic acid as a separate ingredient. 

You want 4-6 grams of pure l-citrulline for proper clinical dosage; dosed here in fallout, we are given a low dose. If the ratio is on the label as 2:1, a 4-gram dose would contain close to 2,640 mg. Per the clinical trials, daily supplementation is required to obtain the full benefits.

Beta-Alanine – 2.5 g

Beta-alanine has been shown to support muscular endurance and act as a lactic acid buffer. Depending on the source of this ingredient, you may feel the paresthesias tingling effect. This feeling is often desirable in the sports community, as it makes you feel the intensity after ingestion. This may be negated by diet and intake of beta-alanine. 

Beta-alanine requires regular intake to be effective, akin to creatine. Daily beta-alanine supplementation is recommended to become effective, with a three to five weeks loading period. Three to four grams is the recommended daily dosage for beta-alanine, putting fallout below the clinical dose range.

Agmatine – 1.1 g

Agmatine is often included in pre-workout supplements as a pump ingredient, but more research is needed to understand how reliable these claims are. Theoretically, since agmatine can increase endothelial nitric oxide, it can help boost nitric oxide in the body and improve circulation. 

Improving circulation can help with more than achieving a pump, but rather help the distribution and saturation of ingredients. This is especially important with high and hard stimulants. A comparable dose in similar product categories would be 750-1,000 mg putting this above the efficient dose range.

L-Tyrosine – 1.1 g

L-Tyrosine helps smooth out some of the harsher effects of stimulants and increases focus. Some limited research also shows it can be a cognitive booster in stressful environments. 

According to Examine, it appears to preserve working memory during acute stressors. Acute stressors include temperature changes, psychological distress, and sleep deprivation. From the same Examine article, L-Tyrosine seems to be able to preserve attention while under stress

Typical doses for exercise applications are between one and three grams. We are given a medium yet substantial dosage with the 1,100 mg dosed in fallout, but other focus enhancers are stashed in this product.

DMAE – 850 mg

DMAE is a choline molecule used to treat cognitive decline in elderly patients. It is included in pre-workouts to promote focus and feelings of well-being.

Dosing guidance for performance enhancement needs to be better understood via further studies. For reference, Chemix pre-workout contains 400 mg of DMAE, while Dark Energy and Assassin V6 contain 750 mg.

Phenylethylamine – 600 mg

Known as PEA or Beta Phenylethylamine  (usually shortened to Beta PEA), is a neurotransmitter that inhibits uptake and efflux (i.e., removal) of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels (2008 study). It is included here to increase focus and motivation. Typical dosages range between 200 mg and upwards of 600 mg. As MAO-B primarily metabolizes it rather quickly, it requires an MAO Inhibitor to length the feeling, as stated in this study.

Caffeine – 375 mg

Caffeine anhydrous is the standard form of caffeine, known for increasing energy, alertness, motivation, and mood. The caffeine content varies for each product. The 350-450 range is the typical dosage for sports supplements, and some products may contain other forms, such as below di-caffeine malate. 

Less is more, as your dependency will lead to diminishing returns as you increase your intake. The overall combinations of many factors, such as sleep, when you take caffeine, diet, and nutrition, affect how much you will need. Don’t let the dosage confuse you on how strong a product is, but rather look for other stimulants like the DMHA/higenamine/yohimbine found in fallout.

1,3 DMAA – 75 mg

DMAA can be extracted from geranium, which is why this ingredient is on the label. 1,3-dimethylamylamine, aka DMAA, is a stimulant that induces energy, euphoria, and motivation. After coming under scrutiny from the FDA in 2015, there were a few years when DMAA disappeared entirely from pre-workouts. While DMAA has been listed in some products recently, it may also appear as an extract or stems and leaves; however, this product lists it as the actual name. Before being banned, the dosages used were around 60 to 100 mg. Since it is more potent than caffeine and DMHA, less is plenty, especially since many products didn’t actually contain DMHA when it was being used fully.

Check out Kyle’s in-depth comparison of DMAA vs. DMHA, plus much more information.

Higenamine – 100 mg

Thought to have similar mechanisms to ephedrine, Higemanine has seen its use as a fat-burner, though this research is quite limited. Examine says it is typically taken in 20 mg to 30 mg two to three times daily, so the 100 mg dosage is high up there.

Huperzine A – 400 mcg

Huperzine A is cholinergic and acts as a cognitive enhancer. As an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, it helps lengthen the half-life of cholinergic sources (Examine).

Depending on the extract percentage, it tends to be taken in 50 to 200 mcg dosages. This is an above-standard dosage of 400 mcg, making it highly effective in this pre-workout.

Alpha Yohimbine – 3 mg

Alpha Yohimbine, or “alpha yo,” is a “love it or hate it” stimulant. While it contains similar alkaloids as rauwolfia vomitoria extract, they are different as the Rauwolfia can contain more purity. 

Some individuals are particularly sensitive to alpha yohimbine and avoid any pre-workout with it outright. Common adverse side effects include anxiety, headaches, sweating, frequent urination, and increased blood pressure. 

The dosing for this ingredient is typically seen as per body weight (0.2 mg per kg), although it can be as high as 30 mg. Rauwolfia would be dosed up to 3 mg, which is not what we have here as it is yohimbine hcl most likely, based on effects. 3 mg would be quite the intense dosage for the most refined and pure extract quality.