NO B.S “PREGAINS” & “CREAGAINS” SUPPLEMENT REVIEW
Eh man…
You wanna build some muscle?
… you DO?
That’s good man. That’s REAL good man.
But the question is, will the Hodgetwins’ new “PreGains” and “CreaGains” supplements help you build that muscle any faster?
With over a million YouTube subscribers and a huge following of loyal fans trusting their products and advice, these two supplements have become quite popular in recent months.
But with the hype, “star power” and slick labelling aside, are PreGains and CreaGains legitimately well-formulated supplements that are worth the money?
In this review I’ll be giving you the unbiased, science-based facts to help you make a truly informed decision and decide whether or not these products are right for you.
PreGains Review
First up is the “PreGains” pre-workout formula. This blend is taken prior to workouts in order to increase overall strength and training performance.
One quick look at the label, however, and this supplement honestly left me scratching my head as the ingredient list and dosages are quite far off from what a properly formulated pre-workout should look like.
Let me break down this down…
First off, the PreGains pre-workout is based off of a “proprietary blend“.
In other words, you have no way of knowing what’s actually contained in the product since the individual ingredient dosages are hidden from you.
All you’re given is the total volume of the “PreGains Blend” (1805mg) along with a list of all the ingredients, but with no way of deciphering how much of each one is present in the formula.
As I’ve discussed many times before, proprietary blends are really nothing more than a cost-cutting technique in almost all cases.
It allows the company to list off a collection of recognizable ingredients on the label, but then intentionally under-dose them in order to reduce production costs.
Since most average beginners aren’t aware of this and are simply responding to the marketing behind the product, it’s a very easy way to increase the profits made on each bottle.
However, if you DO understand the proper dosages of the various pre-workout compounds that are out there, you can usually just compare the list of ingredients to the total volume per scoop and get a pretty good idea of just how under-dosed it really is.
So let’s do exactly that…
The total amount of active ingredient in PreGains is 1805mg, and the most prominent of those is beta alanine. (Keep in mind that the ingredients in a proprietary blend are always listed from most potent to least potent)
The proper research-studied dosage for beta alanine generally falls within a range of 3200-6400mg, meaning that the volume of the entire scoop of PreGains could only provide you with about half the recommended dosage of the first ingredient alone at best!
On top of that, beta alanine isn’t even technically a “pre-workout” ingredient to begin with…
Yes, it is a research-backed supplement for increasing strength and performance, but the benefits that you obtain are derived from consistent daily use over the long term.
In other words, beta alanine has no immediate, acute effects on performance, and taking it immediately pre-workout is not going to give you any sort of “boost” for that particular training session.
But moving on…
The next ingredient in PreGains is caffeine dosed at 275mg.
This is perfectly acceptable and virtually every single pre-workout formula out there will contain caffeine somewhere in the 200-300mg per serving range.
In fact, the reality is that this is where the vast majority of the effects are derived from in most pre-workout products you’ll use.
This is actually part of the problem however, since people will go ahead and purchase an over-priced pre-workout blend containing 8+ different ingredients, experience a noticeable improvement in strength/energy, and then conclude that it’s a “great product” when most of what they felt was simply the caffeine boost.
Yes, caffeine is certainly effective and is one of the few pre-workout compounds that I do use and recommend, but it can be purchased for literally a few pennies per serving if bought separately.
The next ingredient after the caffeine is agmatine sulfate.
Since PreGains does list the caffeine content on the label, and since the ingredients in a proprietary blend are listed from most to least potent, we know that agmatine must be present at less than 275mg.
Aside from the fact that agmatine sulfate is a “gray area” ingredient to begin with because the research on it is mixed and inconclusive, the proper dosage for bodybuilding purposes is usually between 1000-1500mg.
In other words, PreGains gives you around 1/4 to 1/6 of what you’d likely need in order to actually benefit from the agmatine sulfate itself.
So, based off of the total scoop volume along with the proper dosages for the first 3 ingredients (one of which is not even a pre-workout compound to begin with), PreGains is quite clearly a significantly under-dosed and “oddly” formulated pre-workout.
Taking an extra scoop is not an option either, since it would increase the caffeine content to a dangerously high level and would also send the price per serving to a ridiculous amount.
For that reason, there’s just no good reason to buy it in my opinion since there are plenty of far superior options available.
Like I’ve said many times before, if you do want to include pre-workout supplementation in your program, just make your own Homemade Pre-Workout Stack instead.
It will be far more cost-effective, more potent and will also allow you to customize it to your own individual needs.
CreaGains Review
Next up in our review is “CreaGains”.
This is actually a very simple supplement, as it’s essentially just flavored creatine monohydrate.
Creatine is without a doubt the most effective natural muscle building supplement out there and is backed by more research than any other bodybuilding compound available.
However, the big problem with Creagains simply lies in the price.
A quick look at the label and you’ll see that you’re getting 4 grams of creatine monohydrate per serving, with each bottle containing 60 servings at a price of $33.
So without taking the shipping cost into account, that means you’re paying around 14 cents per gram of creatine, which is about 5-7 times more than what you’d pay for a pure creatine monohydrate powder from most other reputable brands.
Yes, CreaGains is flavored and so you are paying a premium for that, but keep in mind that creatine monohydrate itself is completely tasteless and can be easily mixed with any liquid you want.
It’s really not hard to just throw in a teaspoon of creatine with your protein shake, pre-workout, juice, coffee, tea or anything else at some point during the day, and paying a huge mark up just for some added favouring doesn’t really make a lot of sense in my view.
In addition to this, the highest quality form of creatine monohydrate available is the German-grade “Creapure” that most popular brands use in their products these days. This ensures that you’re receiving a creatine source free of impurities and contaminants.
If a supplement does source their creatine as Creapure, it’s virtually always listed on the label.
However, Creagains doesn’t have this marked down anywhere on the label, so there’s no reason to assume that it’s derived from Creapure as opposed to the other cheaper alternatives.
So at the end of the day, all you’re really getting here is some basic creatine monohydrate for 5-7 times the regular cost.
A much better option in my view would be to simply head down to your local supplement store or to an online shop such as Bodybuilding.com and pick up a bottle of pure Creapure creatine monohydrate.
For example, Optimum Nutrition Creatine offers you 2000 grams for $40 which will last over a year and work out to less than 2 cents per gram.
The Bottom Line On PreGains & CreaGains
Based on the facts I’ve outlined here, there’s just no way that I could recommend PreGains or CreaGains to anyone.
If you’ve taken everything I’ve outlined in this review into account but still want to purchase these items anyway to support the Hodgetwins for the content they provide, that’s totally fine and is completely up to you.
However, if you’re looking for effective, research-backed supplements at affordable prices, there are far better options available for you.
You can check out my basic Fitness Supplement Guide to learn which products I do recommend, including the exact brands, dosages and other helpful tips.
If enjoy this “no B.S” approach to training, nutrition and supplementation and want to learn how to build muscle and lose fat effectively without any hype or gimmicks, click before my interactive video presentation…
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