“To provide supplements with meaningful formulations, high quality ingredients, and research-supported dosages to help you continually break and set personal records.” 

-PR-BREAKER MISSION STATEMENT

PR-BREAKER MATERIA is a fully disclosed, non-proprietary blend pre-workout formula that delivers research supported ingredients at substantiated dosages.

PR-BREAKER MATERIA was formulated to increase energy, focus, pump, strength, and endurance while decreasing fatigue. Each ingredient was specifically chosen to help users complete more reps and sets, lift heavier weight, and ultimately break and set new PRs. ^†  

PR-BREAKER MATERIA is a complete pre-workout formula containing all the ingredients you need to train harder, recover faster, and improve your results when combined with intense training and proper nutrition. ^†

Introducing PR-BREAKER MATERIA:

• 8000mg Citrulline Malate 2:1
• 5000mg Creapure® Creatine Monohydrate
• 3200mg CarnoSyn® Beta-Alanine
• 2000mg Tyrosine
• 1000mg Choline Bitartrate
• 300mg Caffeine Anhydrous
• 200mcg Huperzine A

Citrulline Malate

Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid originally discovered in watermelon. Citrulline, Arginine, and Ornithine are the three amino acids involved in the urea cycle, which removes ammonia from the body.  Citrulline supplementation increases plasma levels of Arginine, Ornithine, and Citrulline thereby providing substrate for the Urea Cycle to increase ammonia elimination from the body [1].

The amino acid Arginine is the main precursor to Nitric Oxide (NO), the molecule responsible for regulating vasodilation and blood flow. Citrulline is a precursor to Arginine, making it a secondary precursor to NO. Studies show that Citrulline supplement increases blood Arginine levels more than Arginine supplementation [2]. This is due to Citrulline not being metabolized in the intestinal tract while 60% of Arginine is metabolized. Citrulline supplementation has been shown to increase plasma Arginine, Citrulline, and NO levels [3]. While not the primary purpose for including Citrulline Malate in the formula, it certainly does increase the pump experienced during a workout.

Citrulline Malate is the amino acid Citrulline combined with Malic Acid. 

L-Citrulline + Malic Acid = Citrulline Malate

Malic Acid is a Kreb’s Cycle, also called the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle (TCA), intermediate involved in aerobic energy production. Supplementing with malic acid can provide substrate for the Kreb’s cycle and increase aerobic energy production.

The Research—Citrulline Malate

Initial research in 2002 showed Citrulline Malate (6000mg/day) to decrease fatigue, increase ATP production, and increase the rate of phosphocreatine recovery post-workout [4]. There began the supplement industry’s interest in the ingredient. Later research in 2010 showed Citrulline Malate (8000mg/day) to increase the number of bench press repetitions performed (8 sets at 80% 1-RM) and decrease muscle soreness [5].  At this point, more and more companies were using Citrulline Malate, though often at dosages much less than 8000mg. 

Within the past 1-2 years, a handful of new studies examined the effects of 8000mg Citrulline Malate taken pre-workout on weight training and anaerobic performance. The findings were very positive:

• Increased repetitions performed on the hack squat, leg press, and leg extension machines (5 sets @ 60% 1-RM) [6].
• Increased repetitions performed on chin-ups, reverse chin-ups, and push-ups [7].
• Increased repetitions performed on upper body (bench press) and lower body (leg press) exercises (6 sets @ 80% 1-RM) [8].
• Increased grip strength and Wingate (cycling) peak and explosive power [9].

Citrulline Malate has been shown to enhance both aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance.  Taken pre-workout at the dosage of 8000mg, Citrulline Malate has been shown in multiple studies to increase the number of repetitions completed on both upper body and lower body exercises after a single dosage. MATERIA supplies the FULL substantiated dosage of 8000mg Citrulline Malate in each serving.

CITRULLINE MALATE SAFETY: Citrulline Malate supplementation at 12g/day [10] and  Citrulline supplementation at 15g/day [11] had no adverse effects and was well tolerated in healthy men.

CreaPure® Creatine Monohydrate

The energy that powers the entire body is stored in the molecular bonds of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). When ATP’s molecular bonds are broken, energy is released. To obtain additional energy the ATP molecule must be resynthesized. During normal, resting conditions the demand for ATP can be easily met through fuel oxidation (i.e. fat/carbohydrate oxidation). But during exercise when energy demands are increased, a faster way to resynthesize ATP is needed. This is where creatine comes into play. 

Creatine is synthesized in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas from the amino acids methionine, arginine, and glycine and is stored predominantly in skeletal muscle as phosphocreatine (Creatine bonded to a phosphate, PCr). To meet increased energy demands, PCr can donate its phosphate to resynthesize ATP. Skeletal muscle has a limited amount of PCr; as PCr levels are depleted during exercise, the rate at which ATP can be resynthesized decreases and high-intensity exercise cannot be sustained. Creatine supplementation can increase skeletal muscle PCr thereby increasing the capacity to resynthesize ATP and sustain high-intensity exercise performance. Research has shown creatine supplementation can increase muscle creatine stores by 10-40% [12].

The Research—Creatine Monohydrate 

Creatine monohydrate is the most extensively studied and proven-effective form of creatine and therefore all studies highlighted will be on creatine monohydrate. A research review done in 2003[13] highlighted the following benefits of creatine monohydrate:

• Increase maximal power/strength by 5-15%
• Increase work done during sets of maximal effort muscle contraction by 5-15%,
• Increase work done during repetitive sprint performance by 5-15%
• Increase single sprint performance by 1-5%
• Gain twice as much lean mass during 4-12 weeks compared to placebo. 

More recent research agrees with the above findings:

• Increase squat 1-RM [14]
• Increase bench press and leg press 1-RM and lean mass [15]
• Increase training volume, 1-RM strength, and lean mass [16, 17]
• Maintain performance during an overreaching training program [17]

These are just a handful of the hundreds of studies that show creatine to increase lean mass, strength, and performance.

Creatine’s full benefits are seen after weeks of consistent use. While loading creatine (i.e. 20g/day for 3-5 days) can increase the rate of muscle creatine saturation, loading is not necessary. Research has shown that a daily dosage of 2-5g creatine/day will fully saturate muscle creatine levels within 4 weeks [18]. Each serving of MATERIA supplies 5000mg of creatine to allow for full muscle saturation with continued use.   

CREATINE MONOHYDRATE SAFETY: There are hundreds of studies on creatine monohydrate making it the most effective and researched ergogenic supplement available. There is no scientific evidence to suggest creatine monohydrate supplementation is detrimental to healthy individuals [12].

Carnosyn® Beta-Alanine

Carnosine is a dipeptide, formed by combining Beta-Alanine and Histidine, primarily found in skeletal muscle. Beta-Alanine is the rate-limiting amino acid of Carnosine formation as sufficient Histidine is consumed through the diet.

Carnosine acts as a metabolic buffer to help maintain the acid-base balance in the presence of high free Hydrogen Ion (H⁺⁾/free radical concentrations. High levels of H⁺ during exercise cause fatigue and decrease performance. Increasing Carnosine levels through beta-alanine supplementation will decrease the accumulation of H⁺ during exercise thereby delaying fatigue and improving performance. Supplementing with 3.2-6.4g of Beta-Alanine per day has been shown to increase muscle Carnosine levels by 42-64% in 4 weeks [19] with specific benefit to exercise lasting 60-240 seconds [20].

The Research- Beta-Alanine

The first human study on Beta-Alanine was published in 2006 and showed oral consumption to increase muscle Carnosine levels [19]. This spurred many studies examining Beta-Alanine’s effects on muscular endurance and exercise performance, which found:

• Increase squat repetitions performed (6 sets @ 70% 1-RM) by 22% after 4 weeks use [21].
• Increase lean mass/decrease loss of lean mass while improving shuttle run performance [22].
• Improve HIIT endurance performance and increase lean mass [23].
• Significantly decrease rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during Wingate cycling after a single dosage [24].

The research combining Beta-Alanine with Creatine resulted in:

• Increase squat and bench press 1-RM strength and lean mass and improvements in body fat composition compared to Creatine alone [25].
• Enhance endurance performance compared to Beta-Alanine or Creatine alone [26].
• Increased Wingate (cycling) mean power and delayed fatigue [27].

Research supports the use of Beta-Alanine for increased muscle endurance and lean mass gains, especially when combined with Creatine Monohydrate. Dosages used in the above studies ranged from 1600mg-6400mg per day. Just like Creatine supplementation increases muscle Creatine levels after prolonged use, Beta-Alanine increases muscle Carnosine levels after prolonged use [28]. Because Materia combines Beta-Alanine with Creatine, the dosage of 3200mg Beta-Alanine was established based on the dosage used in the studies that combined Beta-Alanine with Creatine 

Beta-Alanine Safety: Beta-Alanine consumption can cause a harmless skin tingling sensation. Not all users experience this tingling sensation and its occurrence often decreases with continued Beta-Alanine use.

ENERGY/FOCUS Ingredients 

The current pre-workout industry norm is to cram multiple nervous system stimulants into formulas to use sensory overload to trick consumers into thinking they are taking a beneficial product. These formulas do very little beyond creating a short-lived stimulant-induced energy buzz followed by a crash.

MATERIA combines a single stimulant (caffeine) with ingredients that supply precursors to increase your body’s own production of neurotransmitters.  

Neurotransmitters

There are three catecholamine neurotransmitters: dopamine (DA), epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE). DA activates receptors involved with cognition, memory, and movement and is the precursor for NE. NE is the precursor for E.

L-Phenylalanine --> L-Tyrosine --> L-DOPA --> Dopamine --> Norepinephrine --> Epinephrine

E and NE are excitatory/stimulatory neurotransmitters that increase arousal and alertness and focus attention by activating adrenergic receptors.

The neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) is released by motor neurons to stimulate skeletal muscle contraction. ACh also has actions in the brain involved with cognitive function and memory.

Increasing levels of DA, NE, and ACh can improve physical and mental performance.

Caffeine Anhydrous

Caffeine is a well-known stimulant shown to delay fatigue and improve physical and cognitive performance. Caffeine acts as an adenosine receptor antagonist. Activation of the adenosine receptor decreases the release of stimulatory neurotransmitters (i.e. NE). Blocking the adenosine receptor with caffeine allows for greater excitation to occur by increasing NE’s ability to activate the adrenergic receptors. In addition, caffeine may increase performance through enhancing lipid (fat) oxidation.

Studies have shown caffeine to boost both endurance and strength-power performance at a dosage of 3-6mg/kg[29]. For an average sized 80kg adult, that equals 240-480mg. Each full dose of MATERIA contains 300mg caffeine, which has been shown to increase NO and blood flow[30] and is at the lower end of the substantiated dosage spectrum.

L-Tyrosine

Tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid used to make the catecholamine neurotransmitters dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine (E). Stress, such as exercise, depletes the amount of DA and NE in the brain. Supplementing with tyrosine will ensure your body has the precursor materials it needs for DA and NE production. 

Dosages in studies range from 2,000-12,000mg Tyrosine per single serving. Each serving of MATERIA supplies 2,000mg Tyrosine, which was chosen based on anecdotal experiences.

Choline Bitartrate

Choline is an essential nutrient and vital component of phospholipids in every cell throughout the body. Choline undergoes acetylation to form the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) which activates muscle contractions. Exercise has been shown to decrease Choline levels, which could lead to suboptimal physical and cognitive performance due to decreased ACh synthesis. By supplementing with Choline, one supplies the needed precursor to ensure ACh is sufficient for optimal performance.   

The recommended Adequate Intake (AI) for choline is 550mg for adult men and 425mg for adult women. Note that is the “adequate intake,” not the optimal intake [31]. Each serving of MATERIA supplies 410mg of Choline from 1000mg Choline Bitartrate to supplement your daily dietary choline intake and help ensure you are at least meeting the AI. 

Huperzine A

Huperzine A is a natural compound found in the Huperziaceae plant family. Like Choline Bitartrate, Huperzine A works in the cholinergic system. Huperzine A increases the duration ACh is active for by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks down it down, acetylcholinesterase. By combining Choline Bitartrate with Huperzine A we have enhanced cholinergic transmission in two ways; Choline Bitartrate supplies the precursor to increase ACh production while Huperzine A increases the duration ACh is active for by decreasing its breakdown.

Huperzine A research supports its use for improving cognitive function and memory at a dosage of 100-200mcg per day [32, 33]. Each serving of MATERIA contains the full substantiated dosage of 200mcg Huperzine A.

1 vs. 2 Scoops 

A full serving of MATERIA is 2 scoops, but 1 scoop still delivers adequate dosages of the above ingredients and can be used based on one’s sensitivity to caffeine.

Conclusion 

PR-BREAKER MATERIA is a complete pre-workout formula that combines the scientifically proven-effective performance enhancers Citrulline Malate, Creapure® Creatine Monohydrate, and Carnosyn® Beta-Alanine with the energy and focus boosters Tyrosine, Choline Bitartrate, Caffeine Anhydrous, and Huperzine A. MATERIA is a fully disclosed, non-proprietary blend formula with nothing to hide as all ingredients are delivered at scientifically substantiated dosages.

References

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