Clinical Studies
What's in SMASH
SMASH is a pre-workout built around six active ingredients: L-Citrulline DL-Malate, AAKG, Caffeine, Beta-Alanine, L-Theanine and Siberian Ginseng Extract. The amount of every ingredient is on the label. Take one scoop 20–30 minutes before your workout.
Below you find a short description of each ingredient, with a link to a scientific publication about the ingredient where one is available. These publications are background information about the individual ingredients, not claims about the effect of SMASH.
Contains caffeine. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breastfeeding women. Take into account other sources of caffeine during the day.
Ingredients and Background Reading
SMASH Pre-WorkoutBeta-alanine is an amino acid. It can cause a harmless, temporary tingling sensation (paresthesia), especially at higher amounts. The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) has published a position stand on beta-alanine (Trexler et al., 2015).
L-theanine is an amino acid that occurs naturally in tea leaves. It is often combined with caffeine; that combination was studied by Giesbrecht et al. (Nutritional Neuroscience, 2010).
L-citrulline is an amino acid. In SMASH it is used as L-citrulline DL-malate. A review of studies on citrulline and exercise was published by Gonzalez and Trexler (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2020).
AAKG (arginine alpha-ketoglutarate) is a compound of the amino acid arginine and alpha-ketoglutarate. Research on arginine supplementation in sport was summarised in a systematic review and meta-analysis by Viribay et al. (Nutrients, 2020). That review is about arginine in general, not specifically about AAKG.
Caffeine is a stimulant that also occurs in coffee and tea. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a scientific opinion on the safety of caffeine in 2015, with advice on caffeine intake from all sources. Contains caffeine. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breastfeeding women. Take into account other sources of caffeine during the day. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose on the label.
Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) is a plant extract with a long history of use in traditional preparations.
Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine is one of the most extensively studied sports supplements.
Our Creatine Monohydrate is 100% creatine monohydrate, without other ingredients.
Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 3 g of creatine.
Research on Creatine
Creatine MonohydrateCreatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 3 g of creatine. An example of a study with repeated sets of high-intensity resistance exercise is Volek et al. (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 1997).
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed the scientific evidence and concluded that creatine increases physical performance during short-term, high intensity, repeated exercise bouts, with a daily intake of 3 g of creatine (EFSA Journal 2011;9(7):2303). This is the basis of the authorised EU health claim in Regulation (EU) No 432/2012.
