Disclaimer: This review is based on my personal experience and when considering any supplements you should carefully read the product information and if necessary consult with a health care professional to decide whether the product is right for you.
Pre-workout supplements are an absolutely monstrous business right now, especially with larger companies starting to diversify outside bodybuilding and tap the relatively new combat sports market.
That's all well and good but as always it's important to understand that just because something is marketed and packaged for combat sports doesn't mean it's actually appropriate for the complex demands of those sports.
Now, some companies have come up with some good stuff but here's the real question - is there a pre-workout supplement that works for lifting as well as BJJ, for those of us that do both and don't want to drop a couple hundred bucks every month for supplements? Short answer, Yes! In my opinion, anyway.
Superdrive has caffeine like most pre-workout supplements but what actually drew me to it was the high dosages of tyrosine and cartinine. Tyrosine is a precursor to epinephrine, norepinephrin and dopamine and the two taken together with caffeine is great for stimulating brain activity and helping maintain focus. My wife has even tried it for studying and found that it made a huge difference, though she did it a bit too close to bedtime. That's what makes it, in my opinion, a great crossover supplement for sports like BJJ with a heavy intellectual component. I've been using it for just over a month, mainly for lifting but also tried it before rolling and noticed a significant difference in productivity for both especially when combined with creatine (another day).
Now, here's where I nitpick. There is a pretty heavy hit of caffeine in a scoop of this stuff - about 250mg. That's about the same as two strong cups of coffee or a large energy drink. Recommended limit for an adult is about 400mg daily so it isn't exactly dangerous by itself but it's something to keep in mind if you're looking to take this stuff and also indulge in those other things throughout the day. I would also never take more than one scoop at a time. Even if you're used to caffeine, half a gram of the stuff in one sitting is nuts.
The other thing is a bit of a solubility issue. The trick is to take the scoop out of the tin and then shake or tap it into the water as opposed to dumping it. If you dump the whole scoop at once then you might end up with a few nasty clumps at the end. The taste isn't great but who cares. Supplements always taste awful. It's a bit on the pricey side - $60 for 1-2 months supply but it's Gaspari so you know you're getting a solid product with no pixie dusting. Since it's Gaspari, it's also available pretty much anywhere. If you want to try something new, maybe look into it.
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