After steel supplements hard-af review and AMPED AF comes CHARGED AF, the second pre-workout from Steel Supplements (with HARD AF being a whole other type of “pre workout”). This company is well known for its hardcore line of supplements, so you know you should generally expect their pre workouts to hit you hard or at least have some additional benefits to other high stim pre-workouts. You might have noticed it is quite difficult to understand the differences between the two pre workouts – AMPED AF and CHARGED AF by searching it online, so let’s dive in to charged af pre-workout review.
LABEL
CHARGED AF has a semi proprietary label with the stim and focus package as the proprietary part, so we know what’s in it but not how much.
PUMPS & ENDURANCE
L-Citrulline at 4g sums up the pumps package for this one. Whether you like it or not you are going to feel it, but I personally prefer the pump formula to also have Agmatine, Glycerpump or Vaso6 to go along with the L-Citrulline.
As far as endurance goes there is Beta Alanine at 3.2g which I really like for the tingling effect and getting in the zone, and Betaine Anhydrous at 2.5g that helps with muscle protein synthesis and ATP production. Pretty basic pumps & endurance package, but an OK one.
ENERGY & FOCUS
The truly interesting part of the formula is proprietary at 1.56g per serving. It includes N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine for focus, Caffeine Anhydrous at 260mg (which I found out later on), Eria Jarensis that works amazingly (for me) with caffeine and other focus elements when it comes with DMHA. Next is L-Theanine to help preventing crashing and prolong the effect of caffeine, but if you put too much of it it can actually collide with the stimulants effect and make it go away really fast. Next on the list are Orchilean, which is not a very common ingredient but it’s in the formula, 2-amino (DMHA) which AMPED AF does not have, and Higenamine, NMT and Synephrine, all of which are on the verge between stimulants and thermogenesis ingredients. I really like the combination of these ingredients together with DMHA.
Lastly we have Noopept which I absolutely love, and from my experience pre workouts with noopept never disappoint, and Huperzine A which helps with focus and mental functions.
BOTTOM LINE
Very nice and loaded formula. I love the ingredients they put in it even though I don’t know the amounts. Judging by the label, CHARGED AF seems more hard hitting than AMPED AF (which was pretty hard hitting by itself), so I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of experience.
TASTE & EXPERIENCE
I tried the Kiwi Strawberry and I actually enjoyed it. I would say it’s an 8 out of 10 for flavor.
As I mentioned I wasn’t sure at all what to expect from this pre workout in terms of experience, and overall I can say I really liked it. I liked it more than AMPED AF, even though the latter hits you harder and gives you more sense of urgency, CHARGED AF provides a better experience for me. With the effects starting to hit about 25 minutes in (which is strange for a stim-junkie pre workout) it was a really good experience in terms of mood elevation, being in the zone, energy boost, and a generally very smooth and pleasant mood and focus type pre workout experience. Pumps were OK, but if pumps are important to you then you should complement this with a pump formula. But generally speaking, this was a great experience that hits you very long into it and doesn’t fade away very fast. Best way to describe the experience would probably be a “buzzed” feeling – not too crazy, but just very pleasant and a good energy buzz.
Charged AF PRICES & DEALS
This is one of the only DMHA pre workouts with 30 servings which is great. You can find it on the steel supplements site and a couple of other stores – so just make sure to compare prices. Steel Supplements are generally not cheap, but with the right deal and price comparison it is well worth it and reasonably prices for a well-dosed pre workout.
FINAL VERDICT
All in all – I like CHARGED AF better than AMPED AF for most use cases. AMPED AF hits harder, but the experience was better with CHARGED AF, with a long lasting and pleasant effect. Try it and let me know – is it deserving of making the best hardcore pre workout supplement list?
