Alani Nu: Worth the hype?

 Sarah Omar 

As a girl who has an anxiety attack every time she has coffee, I thought I might be the right person to review a popular pre-workout for the gym girls! I don’t use pre all the time but it sure does help when I feel like I need a little something extra to make it through my workout, or if I’m looking to hit a PR. In sum, when I’m not feelin’ it, a good hit of pre-workout always gets me in the right mood to smash a workout. I’ve been able to try a couple but today I wanted to rate and review the Alani Nu Rainbow Candy pre-workout! 

Starting with ingredients, I’m actually a huge fan of the inclusion of L-Theanine. Alani Nu's combination of L-tyrosine, L-theanine, and caffeine work together to achieve a lifted mood and improve cognitive function (Bloemendaal, 2018; Cappelletti, 2015; Dasdelen, 2022). When I take the preworkout, I feel it leaves me feeling more relaxed after my workout as I’ve been able to push myself through a killer session. The following is an explanation of the total listed ingredients: 

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that's synthesized in the liver from the essential amino acids L-histidine and L-alanine.

Beta-alanine is used by muscles as a buffer against lactic acid buildup, which can lead to fatigue during exercise. Supplementing with beta-alanine has been shown to improve exercise performance, particularly in high-intensity activities like sprinting and weightlifting.

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that's found in coffee, tea, and chocolate. It's also added to many energy drinks and pre-workout supplements.

Caffeine has been shown to improve exercise performance, including increased endurance and strength. It does this by stimulating the release of adrenaline, which causes your body to burn more fat for fuel.

L-citrulline is an amino acid found in watermelons. It's also sold as a dietary supplement.

L-citrulline has been shown to improve exercise performance by reducing fatigue and muscle soreness. It does this by increasing blood flow to muscles, which delivers more oxygen and nutrients.

L-theanine is an amino acid that's found in green tea. It's also available as a dietary supplement. L-theanine has been shown to improve exercise performance by reducing anxiety and improving focus. It does this by increasing levels of the neurotransmitters GABA and serotonin.

L-tyrosine is an amino acid that's found in meats, cheeses, and fish. It's also available as a dietary supplement. L-tyrosine has been shown to improve exercise performance by reducing stress and improving focus. It does this by increasing levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine.

(Discover Magazine, 2022). 

Taste, Feelings, and Usage: 

This preworkout name does it justice, as it really does taste like rainbow candy! I do like to dabble in sweet treats so this does satisfy my candy craving when I don’t have anything else on hand. 

I personally only like to take half a scoop to prevent any feelings of itchiness, which definitely happens with a whole scoop (but everyone is different). I find that tapering my pre throughout my workout as well is the best way for me to get an extended release throughout my workout, so that I still have energy toward the end of the hour and a half to two hour mark. 

I’ll drink half (of my already half serving) just before I begin to warm up, jamming to my hype playlist in the car. I’ll warm up for about 5-10 minutes, stretch for another 5-10 and by then I can feel it starting to kick in. I’ll start with two compound movements, drink another quarter of my pre and get back to it. Then I’ll do another two compound movements, drink another quarter and finish with accessory and core movements. 

The best part of the Alani Nu pre-workout is that I can still sleep at night after taking this supplement, as opposed to if I were to drink coffee or have boba where I would definitely be awake until I can hear the birds chirping at 5am. 

Overall, I really do enjoy this pre-workout. I definitely notice an increase in endurance, energy, and focus and I do see it aiding in my goal of muscle growth by being able to train close to or near failure. 

References:

Bloemendaal, M., Froböse, M. I., Wegman, J., Zandbelt, B. B., de Rest, O. V., Cools, R., & Aarts, E. (2018). Neuro-Cognitive Effects of Acute Tyrosine Administration on Reactive and Proactive Response Inhibition in Healthy Older Adults. eNeuro, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0035-17.2018

Cappelletti, S., Daria, P., Sani, G., & Aromatario, M. (2015). Caffeine: Cognitive and Physical Performance Enhancer or Psychoactive Drug? Current Neuropharmacology, 13(1), 71-88. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570159X13666141210215655

Dasdelen, M. F., Er, S., Kaplan, B., Celik, S., Beker, M. C., Orhan, C., Tuzcu, M., Sahin, N., Mamedova, H., Sylla, S., Komorowski, J., Ojalvo, S. P., Sahin, K., & Kilic, E. (2022). A Novel Theanine Complex, Mg-L-Theanine Improves Sleep Quality via Regulating Brain Electrochemical Activity. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9. 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.874254/full