Big thanks to Josh and all of the PES team for allowing me the opportunity to test out their up and coming preworkout: Enhanced. I'm hoping this review will give others an insight in to what they are in store for when they pick up a tub to try for themselves (and you'll what to do this... trust me!)
Prepare yourselves for a wall of text! There is a TL;DR at the bottom for those of you wanting the quick and dirty.
PES ENHANCED - INITIAL IMPRESSION
For all of you on AM that know me, one of my fortes has definitely been the preworkout. I've have tried countless ones before and I'm always willing to try the next best thing... and PES may have stumbled upon just exactly that. Previous preworkouts (so you know what I am basing Enhanced to) include, but are not limited to: NO-Xplod, Animal Rage, Animal Pump, NO-Xplod v2.0, Maximize v2, Maximize Intense (1,3D), Hemavol, SpeedX3, Origin, 1MR, C4, Ignite, (and so many little samples from last years Arnold Classic that I can't even keep track)...
Upon inspection of the initial sample baggie I was surprised at how small the amount of what I'm assuming is 2 servings will be. If PES can pack in the same amount of Enhanced powder into a bottle that is roughly the same size of Alphamine then I think we can look forward to quite a few servings prior to running out of this what will surely become a coveted preworkout for many.
INTO THE SHAKER IT GOES
The Enhanced preworkout samples I was given were uncolored... so have no fear to those of you out there that enjoy watching the water in their shaker cups turn interesting colors of oranges, pinks, and purples. I'm sure PES will have this hammered out for the release... but I wasn't concerned with the color! As soon as the Enhanced hit the top of the water it immediately sank and began to dissipate as it made its approach towards the bottom of my shaker cup. A quick 15 second vigorous shake sent the preworkout particles swimming and swirling while leaving a thick layer of fluffy bubbles at the top. This wasn't anything new to me... some preworkouts mix immediately while others like to foam up and then dissipate. I tied my shoes, and then grabbed the shaker bottle and continued shaking for another 30 seconds. After this was done the preworkout had dissolved itself into the water completely, leaving me with a homogenuous mix of slightly orange. Popped the top of my lid... and the good times were about to roll.
SATISFIED TASTEBUDS
15 seconds after shaking
The flavor let me know that I was in for a treat. I didn't want to pound this beverage down because it just tasted so good! Being the first time associating myself with Enhanced I wanted to get all the tastes out of it like a fine wine and I mixed my first sample packet with 16oz of water... initially there was a fruity flavor. No blandless or chalkiness. It went down smooth and enjoyable. It was not too sweet and was very pleasing to the palette. There was a slight raspberry tang to it that went away after I swallowed it down... and there was a very nice and surprising aftertaste to it... very sweet that lingered for awhile after I downed the whole bottle. This was easily one of the most tasteful preworkouts I've ever had the pleasure of sampling. This will be one of those preworkouts that you will look forward to taking just as much as you look forward to getting into the gym and getting your workout on. The second sample packet I took with only 10oz. of water and I think this amount is really what let the flavor shine. It had a little tartness too it but it wasn't overbearing. The raspberry flavors definitely came through more with less water and again left a sweet aftertaste in my mouth. The only thing I can think of that compares to this delicious flavor would be one of those blue SweetTarts but with just a little less tanginess to it. The flavor was spot on. Not intense enough to make you shudder at drinking it but not too sweet to make you want to water it down. Bullseye.
Hardly any sedimentation after shaking... blends completely after another round of shaking
THE WORKOUT BEGINS
One of my precursors to knowing that preworkout has kicked in is waiting to feel out the good ol' beta alanine tingles (parasthesia). These did not kick in which leads me to believe that they are no a part of this preworkout which is beneficial for those of us that either 1) don't take BA (at all or with preworkouts) and 2) don't like the BA tingles. The first thing I noticed with this preworkout was a mixture of things. The focus and energy came on first, and very slowly. It wasn't a sudden huge burst of energy that made me want to go insane and throw plates around without care for those around me. It was a much more gradual energy buildup that slowly built up upon itself. The further into the workout I got the more energy I seemed to attain. This was completely different than anything I've experienced before. The energy was smooth and even. No heart palpitations, increased work of breathing, flushing, or raise in body temperature. The further I pushed myself the more energy stores I seemed to unlock. Most of us will start to tire out towards the end of our workouts, or make excuses for not wanting to pump out those extra reps or do those finisher exercises. Enhanced had me WANTING to STAY in the gym. It was like the iron suddenly became an addiction. I had to feed that addiction by constantly keeping myself in motion. I had to lift more. I had to do another exercise. More sets. And a rep. You call that going to failure? Push harder. Squeeze that out. MOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR! So the energy is huge. During straight bar bicep curls I managed to crank out 80 for sets of 8,8 and 12... the last time I did straight bar curls I could only do 70 for one set of 8! Its defintely more than just a caffeine burst and its much cleaner and it just keeps GOING. Enhanced will turn you into a freaking Energizer bunny in the gym and the only reason why I even left the gym was because my wife had to drag me out of there. I found myself pushing out more reps of heavier weight with more ease, and I required considerably less rest between sets. The only thing I could think about was to just keep going and working out.
Enhanced will turn you into THIS!
And what about the focus? Imagine yourself sitting on a flat bench with a mirror in front of you. You have a hoodie on and the hoodie is up draped over your head. So you've blocked vision to your left and your right. When you look up into the mirror the only thing you can see is yourself and the weights. And all you want to do is DESTROY... EVERYTHING. The focus was extremely intense and, like the energy levels, slowly built itself up during my whole workout. Every single repetition had me talking to myself in my head to squeeze, stretch, push, go, go, go... its your own mental personal trainer.
I was told initially on receiving this samples that Enhanced was a pump product, and those are my favorites. I could take agmatine all day every day so I was interested to see how I would feel. Usually pumps don't come on for me until I'm deep into my workout and my muscles are screaming at me to give up. I was warming up doing some forearm exercises and when I was into my second set of wrist curls my forearms became stiff as boards. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't even technically IN to my workout yet! This effect transferred itself into the rest of my workout and reminded me of agmatine/nitrate pumps. I did some DB shoulder shrugs today with 100lb DBs and usually I'll get a pump that subsides a little later after I've moved on to another body part but Enhanced had my traps HURTING they were so pumped and they remained that way throught the rest of my workout. The best part about this though was how well this feeling stuck with me HOURS afterwards.
Vascularity: Noticeable. I have the usual veins that like to protrude out just from working out in general but Enhanced brought out some of the deeper veins that I don't see very often. The rise in vascularity coupled with the pump effect leaves one feeling very engorged and full. Like the pump factor, the vascularity lasted long after the workout was already done. It wasn't as noticeable as it was during time spent in the gym, but I did notice at work that some of the smaller, more superficial veins were still hanging around and in some places along my upper arms that I hadn't seen before.
Things to note: Most of the time when I'm in the middle of a workout in between set I'll find myself running over to the water fountain or taking a drink of whatever I've brought with me. This was not the case with Enhanced. At no point did I feel the need to even get a drink of water because for some reason my saliva production had increased. I noticed that I had a constant "wet mouth" type of feeling. Or perhaps I was just so focused on what I was doing that I didn't even consider the time to go and take a drink! Endurance is up, and recovery periods are down!
Post workout energy is ridiculous. Most preworkouts give you a steady stream of energy and then that energy either dithers down nicely or you crash. Enhanced did neither. Instead this energy came wake awake, alert, and energized HOURS after I was done in the gym. I work nightshift and usually I have to get a coffee or shoot some Mio Energy into some water a few times during the evening at work. I usually work out around 2-3PM... and I didn't feel the need for a pick me up until well into my shift... around 11-12PM. So I had a nice 8 hour stream of continuous energy.
Post workout also left me feeling very euphoric and my mood was elevated. This feeling dissipated after a few hours but it was a nice feeling to have that incorporated itself nicely into the other post-workout effects of Enhanced. Calm, cool, and relaxed.
TL;DR
Taste: Slightly sweet with a hint of raspberry tanginess. Delicious and easy to drink. 10oz. seems a good measure of water for Enhanced.
Pumps: On the level with agmatine/nitrate pumps... comes on quick and stays with you hours after your workout.
Focus: Intense. You will not want to be able to concentrate on anything else besides what is right in front of you. Mind muscle connection is fantastic.
Vascularity: Noticeable during workout, slightly tapers off afterwards but sticks around for awhile much like the pumps.
Energy: Slowly builds up and increases as you go deeper into your workout. Lasts hours postworkout. No crash.
Postworkout: Elevated mood.
The answer is YES. PES has done it again. Enhanced will be something that I'm sure a lot of you will consider to be your go-to preworkout... I very much enjoyed it and will be looking forward to its release. Wish I had more right NOW!
Prepare yourselves for a wall of text! There is a TL;DR at the bottom for those of you wanting the quick and dirty.
PES ENHANCED - INITIAL IMPRESSION
For all of you on AM that know me, one of my fortes has definitely been the preworkout. I've have tried countless ones before and I'm always willing to try the next best thing... and PES may have stumbled upon just exactly that. Previous preworkouts (so you know what I am basing Enhanced to) include, but are not limited to: NO-Xplod, Animal Rage, Animal Pump, NO-Xplod v2.0, Maximize v2, Maximize Intense (1,3D), Hemavol, SpeedX3, Origin, 1MR, C4, Ignite, (and so many little samples from last years Arnold Classic that I can't even keep track)...
Upon inspection of the initial sample baggie I was surprised at how small the amount of what I'm assuming is 2 servings will be. If PES can pack in the same amount of Enhanced powder into a bottle that is roughly the same size of Alphamine then I think we can look forward to quite a few servings prior to running out of this what will surely become a coveted preworkout for many.
INTO THE SHAKER IT GOES
The Enhanced preworkout samples I was given were uncolored... so have no fear to those of you out there that enjoy watching the water in their shaker cups turn interesting colors of oranges, pinks, and purples. I'm sure PES will have this hammered out for the release... but I wasn't concerned with the color! As soon as the Enhanced hit the top of the water it immediately sank and began to dissipate as it made its approach towards the bottom of my shaker cup. A quick 15 second vigorous shake sent the preworkout particles swimming and swirling while leaving a thick layer of fluffy bubbles at the top. This wasn't anything new to me... some preworkouts mix immediately while others like to foam up and then dissipate. I tied my shoes, and then grabbed the shaker bottle and continued shaking for another 30 seconds. After this was done the preworkout had dissolved itself into the water completely, leaving me with a homogenuous mix of slightly orange. Popped the top of my lid... and the good times were about to roll.
SATISFIED TASTEBUDS
15 seconds after shaking
The flavor let me know that I was in for a treat. I didn't want to pound this beverage down because it just tasted so good! Being the first time associating myself with Enhanced I wanted to get all the tastes out of it like a fine wine and I mixed my first sample packet with 16oz of water... initially there was a fruity flavor. No blandless or chalkiness. It went down smooth and enjoyable. It was not too sweet and was very pleasing to the palette. There was a slight raspberry tang to it that went away after I swallowed it down... and there was a very nice and surprising aftertaste to it... very sweet that lingered for awhile after I downed the whole bottle. This was easily one of the most tasteful preworkouts I've ever had the pleasure of sampling. This will be one of those preworkouts that you will look forward to taking just as much as you look forward to getting into the gym and getting your workout on. The second sample packet I took with only 10oz. of water and I think this amount is really what let the flavor shine. It had a little tartness too it but it wasn't overbearing. The raspberry flavors definitely came through more with less water and again left a sweet aftertaste in my mouth. The only thing I can think of that compares to this delicious flavor would be one of those blue SweetTarts but with just a little less tanginess to it. The flavor was spot on. Not intense enough to make you shudder at drinking it but not too sweet to make you want to water it down. Bullseye.
Hardly any sedimentation after shaking... blends completely after another round of shaking
THE WORKOUT BEGINS
One of my precursors to knowing that preworkout has kicked in is waiting to feel out the good ol' beta alanine tingles (parasthesia). These did not kick in which leads me to believe that they are no a part of this preworkout which is beneficial for those of us that either 1) don't take BA (at all or with preworkouts) and 2) don't like the BA tingles. The first thing I noticed with this preworkout was a mixture of things. The focus and energy came on first, and very slowly. It wasn't a sudden huge burst of energy that made me want to go insane and throw plates around without care for those around me. It was a much more gradual energy buildup that slowly built up upon itself. The further into the workout I got the more energy I seemed to attain. This was completely different than anything I've experienced before. The energy was smooth and even. No heart palpitations, increased work of breathing, flushing, or raise in body temperature. The further I pushed myself the more energy stores I seemed to unlock. Most of us will start to tire out towards the end of our workouts, or make excuses for not wanting to pump out those extra reps or do those finisher exercises. Enhanced had me WANTING to STAY in the gym. It was like the iron suddenly became an addiction. I had to feed that addiction by constantly keeping myself in motion. I had to lift more. I had to do another exercise. More sets. And a rep. You call that going to failure? Push harder. Squeeze that out. MOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR! So the energy is huge. During straight bar bicep curls I managed to crank out 80 for sets of 8,8 and 12... the last time I did straight bar curls I could only do 70 for one set of 8! Its defintely more than just a caffeine burst and its much cleaner and it just keeps GOING. Enhanced will turn you into a freaking Energizer bunny in the gym and the only reason why I even left the gym was because my wife had to drag me out of there. I found myself pushing out more reps of heavier weight with more ease, and I required considerably less rest between sets. The only thing I could think about was to just keep going and working out.
Enhanced will turn you into THIS!
And what about the focus? Imagine yourself sitting on a flat bench with a mirror in front of you. You have a hoodie on and the hoodie is up draped over your head. So you've blocked vision to your left and your right. When you look up into the mirror the only thing you can see is yourself and the weights. And all you want to do is DESTROY... EVERYTHING. The focus was extremely intense and, like the energy levels, slowly built itself up during my whole workout. Every single repetition had me talking to myself in my head to squeeze, stretch, push, go, go, go... its your own mental personal trainer.
I was told initially on receiving this samples that Enhanced was a pump product, and those are my favorites. I could take agmatine all day every day so I was interested to see how I would feel. Usually pumps don't come on for me until I'm deep into my workout and my muscles are screaming at me to give up. I was warming up doing some forearm exercises and when I was into my second set of wrist curls my forearms became stiff as boards. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't even technically IN to my workout yet! This effect transferred itself into the rest of my workout and reminded me of agmatine/nitrate pumps. I did some DB shoulder shrugs today with 100lb DBs and usually I'll get a pump that subsides a little later after I've moved on to another body part but Enhanced had my traps HURTING they were so pumped and they remained that way throught the rest of my workout. The best part about this though was how well this feeling stuck with me HOURS afterwards.
Vascularity: Noticeable. I have the usual veins that like to protrude out just from working out in general but Enhanced brought out some of the deeper veins that I don't see very often. The rise in vascularity coupled with the pump effect leaves one feeling very engorged and full. Like the pump factor, the vascularity lasted long after the workout was already done. It wasn't as noticeable as it was during time spent in the gym, but I did notice at work that some of the smaller, more superficial veins were still hanging around and in some places along my upper arms that I hadn't seen before.
Things to note: Most of the time when I'm in the middle of a workout in between set I'll find myself running over to the water fountain or taking a drink of whatever I've brought with me. This was not the case with Enhanced. At no point did I feel the need to even get a drink of water because for some reason my saliva production had increased. I noticed that I had a constant "wet mouth" type of feeling. Or perhaps I was just so focused on what I was doing that I didn't even consider the time to go and take a drink! Endurance is up, and recovery periods are down!
Post workout energy is ridiculous. Most preworkouts give you a steady stream of energy and then that energy either dithers down nicely or you crash. Enhanced did neither. Instead this energy came wake awake, alert, and energized HOURS after I was done in the gym. I work nightshift and usually I have to get a coffee or shoot some Mio Energy into some water a few times during the evening at work. I usually work out around 2-3PM... and I didn't feel the need for a pick me up until well into my shift... around 11-12PM. So I had a nice 8 hour stream of continuous energy.
Post workout also left me feeling very euphoric and my mood was elevated. This feeling dissipated after a few hours but it was a nice feeling to have that incorporated itself nicely into the other post-workout effects of Enhanced. Calm, cool, and relaxed.
TL;DR
Taste: Slightly sweet with a hint of raspberry tanginess. Delicious and easy to drink. 10oz. seems a good measure of water for Enhanced.
Pumps: On the level with agmatine/nitrate pumps... comes on quick and stays with you hours after your workout.
Focus: Intense. You will not want to be able to concentrate on anything else besides what is right in front of you. Mind muscle connection is fantastic.
Vascularity: Noticeable during workout, slightly tapers off afterwards but sticks around for awhile much like the pumps.
Energy: Slowly builds up and increases as you go deeper into your workout. Lasts hours postworkout. No crash.
Postworkout: Elevated mood.
The answer is YES. PES has done it again. Enhanced will be something that I'm sure a lot of you will consider to be your go-to preworkout... I very much enjoyed it and will be looking forward to its release. Wish I had more right NOW!