Are you a vegan looking for a potential high-quality pre-workout?
If so, we understand that you might be a little frustrated, since finding a vegan pre-workout can be challenging.
So that’s why you may be interested in learning more about Naked Energy, a vegan pre-workout from Naked Nutrition. In this Naked Energy review, we’ll dive into what this vegan pre-workout is all about, its ingredients, its potential benefits, and whether it’s a vegan pre-workout worth buying.
Let’s get started!
About Naked Energy
Naked Energy is Naked Nutrition’s premium vegan pre-workout formula (and it is not just for vegans!). With only clean, pure, and non-GMO ingredients, it is designed for the health-conscious individual who wants to maximize performance at the gym.
Naked Energy is featured by beta-alanine, caffeine, B-complex vitamins, and other ingredients designed to maximize your workout capacity and help you reach your highest potential.
Naked Energy Benefits
The primary benefits of Naked Energy include:
- Increased Exercise Performance
- Improved Mental Focus
- Faster Recovery
Increased Exercise Performance
Naked Energy is advertised to give you a clean boost in energy and power with ingredients such as creatine, vitamin B12, and beta-alanine, so you can perform at your best.
Improved Mental Focus
Naked Energy is also advertised to improve your mental focus and motivation, helping you to stay on track and get into that “flow” state during your workouts.
Faster Recovery
A pre-workout that also improves recovery? Naked Nutrition sure thinks so. They claim that caffeine, creatine, and beta-alanine can also promote faster healing and help your muscles recover quicker, so you’re ready to go for your next workout.
But how truly effective is Naked Energy as a pre-workout? Let’s take a look.
Naked Energy Ingredients
The main ingredients in Naked Energy are:
- Carnosyn Beta-Alanine
- Creatine Monohydrate
- AjiPure L-Arginine
- Caffeine (from coffee beans)
- Vitamin C
- Niacin
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B12
- Calcium
It also has other natural ingredients for flavor and color, such as cane sugar, plant-based flavors, citric acid, and vegetable juice.
Carnosyn Beta-Alanine
Carnosn is a trademarked and highly popular form of beta-alanine, an amino acid. Beta-alanine increases muscle carnosine stores, and this is important since carnosine is used in high-intensity exercise. Plus, beta-alanine has a pH buffering effect, decreasing lactic acid build-up, which can delay fatigue.
Overall, beta-alanine is most effective for helping people workout longer, and sometimes it can increase strength and power too.
Recommended Dose: 4 to 6g
Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine monohydrate is the most well-researched form of creatine, which itself is probably the most well-researched workout ingredient ever.
Creatine can increase phosphocreatine stores in the muscles, which then basically acts as an energy source during exercise, helping to delay fatigue and increase strength and power.
Plus, since vegans and vegetarians don’t get much creatine in their diet, supplementation could be particularly beneficial.
Recommended Dose: 3 to 5g
AjiPure L-Arginine
AjiPure is a trademarked form of l-arginine, an amino acid. Arginine is most known for its ability to increase nitric oxide levels, which boosts blood flow and can enhance muscle contractions, giving you not only that pump, but also better performance. Plus, it could potentially improve recovery by shuttling more nutrients to your muscles after workouts (thanks to improved blood flow).
Recommended Dose: 1.5 to 2g for endurance; up to 10g or more for strength
Caffeine
Naked Energy also contains a pure source of caffeine from 100% organic green coffee beans.
Caffeine is so often used due to its potent stimulant effects and ability to increase many neurotransmitters and hormones (e.g., dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, noradrenaline).
On the mental side, caffeine improves alertness, mood, and motivation, while also reducing mental fatigue.
And on the physical side, caffeine can boost strength, endurance, and power, while even reducing feelings of pain!
No wonder there’re so many coffee addicts out there.
Recommended Dose: Around 200mg
Vitamin C
We also see a pretty high dose of vitamin C in here, which doesn’t have many effects on workout performance, but it could improve recovery due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Plus, it can reduce cortisol which lowers stress.
Recommended Dose: 300 to 500mg
Niacin
Niacin (vitamin B3) has a fundamental role in energy metabolism, but the current research doesn’t show any improvements in exercise after supplementing with it. Of course, if you’re a vegan or vegetarian reading this article, you may be at a greater risk for
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is also involved in energy metabolism, and research shows that intense exercise may increase the need for vitamin B6, so supplementing could help.
Recommended Dose: 1 to 3mg
Folate
Also called vitamin B9, folate is another B-complex vitamin involved in energy metabolism and exercise, so supplementing could help ward off deficiencies, although it might not directly improve gym performance.
Vitamin B12
There is also a mammoth dose of vitamin B12 in Naked Energy; nearly 2,000% of the standard daily value. Like vitamin B6, vitamin B12 requirements may also increase after intense exercise. And since vegans/vegetarians have a much harder time getting vitamin B12 in their diets, supplementing is almost always essential.
Recommended Dose: At least 5 to 10mcg
Calcium
The final active ingredient in Naked Energy is calcium, an essential mineral involved not only in bone health, but also muscle contractions and nerve health. However, it likely won’t do anything to enhance exercise performance unless you’re pretty deficient.
Does Naked Energy Work?
Naked Energy is probably a decent pre-workout, but it could be better.
On the plus side, they have a solid amount of caffeine and B-complex vitamins, which can improve energy and many aspects of exercise performance.
The dosage for arginine is a bit low, but it still might provide some benefits, especially for more aerobic-based exercise.
It was also a great idea for them to include high amounts of vitamin B12 since this is a vitamin that nearly every vegan/vegetarian is deficient in.
However, on the negative side, the dosages for creatine and beta-alanine are just too low here for there to be any major benefits.
And they also could’ve included a better dose of arginine and/or added some other nitric oxide enhancing ingredients, such as citrulline.
Lastly, caffeine would work better for mental focus if it was paired with theanine.
But overall, it’s a decent pre-workout, and you can tell they took the time to develop a clean, vegan-oriented formula.
Claims vs. Reality
In general, Naked Energy should provide you with a decent boost in energy and exercise performance due to the caffeine and B-complex vitamins (esp. vitamin B12).
Naked Energy may also improve mental focus from caffeine, but sometimes this has the opposite effect in people (this is why combining it with theanine would’ve been better).
I wouldn’t expect too much of a boost in exercise recovery, though. You might get a little help from vitamin C, but nothing crazy.
Who is Naked Energy Best For?
Naked Energy is best for vegans looking for a high-quality, clean, and pure pre-workout to help them take their workouts to a higher level. But it certainly doesn’t have to be for vegans only.
Is Naked Energy Safe?
Some possible side effects of Naked Energy are:
- Anxiety, nervousness, jitters, and insomnia
- Irritability and agitation
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure
- Nausea, bloating, upset stomach, and other digestive symptoms
- Headache
- Dizziness
Naked Energy is made in a GMP-certified and FDA-approved facility.
It is also free from additives and artificial sweeteners and is also independent third-party tested for heavy metals.
Plus, Naked Energy is certified gluten-free, keto-friendly, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, and vegan.
How to Take Naked Energy
You can add one to two scoops of Naked Energy into 8 to 16oz of water, sports drink, or smoothies. It is best used 20 minutes before a workout.
Where to Buy Naked Energy
You can buy Naked Energy on the Naked Nutrition website at this product link.
Naked Energy comes in a pure flavor, or you can get it in citrus or fruit punch flavors.
There are 30 servings (60 scoops) per container. The regular price is $44.99 ($1.50/serving), or you can save 20% by choosing the Subscribe & Save option, which lowers the price to $35.99 ($1.20/serving).
In the latter option, you can choose to get it delivered every 1, 2, or 3 months.
These prices are pretty much right in line with what most pre-workouts cost today. And this is a pretty solid price especially considering the ingredient quality.
You can also get free shipping on orders over $99.00.
Final Verdict: Naked Energy Review
While we would like some of the ingredients to be dosed higher, Naked Energy is still a pretty good pre-workout that can increase energy and give vegans some key nutrients they might need more of. That’s why, overall, we think it’s a decent choice as a pre-workout for vegans.
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