Review: Accelerated Nutraceuticals Musclespeed

Posted By elissa on Aug 1, 2009 | 0 comments

“MUSCLESPEED™ is a cognitive and neuromuscular accelerator, taken pre-workout, by fighters and extreme sport athletes. It’s the only natural source supplement that helps you activate the most muscle fiber with a single dose. Take MUSCLESPEED™ 1 hour before training or competition and unleash unprecedented power and speed. Experience a smooth rush of energy, and mental focus, coming on 45 minutes of the first dose and up to 4-5 hours at a time!”

Accelerated Nutraceuticals’ first supplement, Musclespeed, is a pre-workout booster. Unlike other popular products in the genre, however, it’s not a drink… rather, it comes in caps. There are no auxilliary ingredients (such as creatine, BCAAs or arginine salts) to bulk it up, as the label clearly indicates.

Proprietary FX1 Power Vita Matrix
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) 120mg 200%
Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate) 100IU 333%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 20mg 133.3%
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine HCL) 10mg 500%
Folic Acid 400mcg 100%
Vitamin B12 300mcg 5,000%
Vitamin B5 (Calcium D-Pantothenate) 100mg 1,000%

Proprietary FX2 Thunder™ Matrix 877.5mg
Beta-Alanine, Caffeine Anhydrous USP, Geranium Extract (1,3 Dimethylamylamine), NADH (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide)

FX3 Lightning™ Matrix: 955.1mg
Phosphatidylcholine Std @ %40 From Lecithin, Acetyl L-Carnitine, N-Acetyl-Tyrosine, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vinpocetine, Huperzine A

FX4 Speed Stream™ Delivery Booster: 5mg
Bioperine™

Like the others, however, the ingredients in Musclespeed are divvied up between several proprietary blends. Here’s how they break down:

Proprietary FX1 Power Vita Matrix: This contains several high-potency B-vitamins, plus some extra vitamin C and vitamin E. According to the product lit, these are supposed to “build your energy foundation”… and there’s some truth to that.

For example, thiamine is important to both energy production and formation of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. So is pantothenic acid.

Pyridoxine is important to carbohydrate metabolism and the production of amine-derived neurotransmitters such as epinephrine, serotonin, etc.

Both vitamin B12 and folate are associated with cognitive function. Likewise, vitamins C and E are important for neurological function.

Nonetheless, I think the vites in the “Power Vita Matrix” are likely to be superfluous for most trainees. The lifters I know already consume plenty, between their diets, fortified foods and other supps. Thus, while there’s no harm in taking additional doses of these nutrients, their contributions to the effects of the formula are debatable.

Proprietary FX2 Thunder™ Matrix: This is where Musclespeed gets interesting: the combination of caffeine and 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA) is used in a number of bodybuilding supps (USP Labs Jacked is an example).

It’s not hard to understand why.

Caffeine is a popular alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant found in coffee, tea, etc., that has mild thermogenic effects and can enhance exercise performance.

Likewise, DMAA is an adrenergic amine that acts as a CNS stimulant. It was originally patented by Eli Lilly as a nasal decongestant in 1944, but largely abandoned until re-introduced as a supp ingredient (Geranamine™) by Proviant Technologies (the parent company of Ergopharm). Although there’s no current research on it, DMAA’s gotten mostly rave reviews from users for its effects on mood, focus and energy.

NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a coenzyme that participates in oxidation-reduction reactions. NAD (and its reduced form, NADH) are marketed as dietary supplements for enhancing mood and energy. Oral NADH has been found to be mildly useful for improving the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, while trials on seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia have been equivocal.

Beta-alanine is one-half of the naturally-occurring dipeptide carnosine (beta-alanyl-l-histidine), which—among other functions—helps to buffer hydrogen ions produced during intense muscular contractions.

Beta-alanine supplementation has been shown to increase storage of muscle carnosine, reduce muscular fatigue, and improve high intensity athletic performance. Unfortunately, doses of 3+g are typically used. Since there’s only 877.5mg in the entire FX2 Thunder Matrix, it’s highly unlikely there’s enough beta-alanine to be useful.

FX3 Lightning™ Matrix: Phosphatidylcholine is a phospholipid derived from lecithin, and a component of cell membranes. It’s a good source of choline, which is used by the body to synthesize acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter.

Acetyl-l-carnitine has a reputation as a nootropic, or “smart drug”. It’s marketed as an anti-aging nutrient, as it has neuroprotective effects and—in combination with alpha-lipoic acid—has been shown to reduce oxidative stress and mitochondrial decay associated with aging.

N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine is a form of tyrosine that’s thought to be more bioavailable and potent than the free-form amino acid, although this has not been proven. Tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that’s a precursor to the neurotransmitters epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and dopamine.

In larger amounts, it’s useful for enhancing mood and improving cognitive performance under stress. Alpha lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant that also enhances insulin sensitivity/glucose disposal and creatine uptake.

Finally, vinpocetine and huperzine A are well-known nootropic compounds used in a variety of bodybuilding supplements. Vinpocetine is an alkaloid derived from periwinkle that affects cerebral blood flow, memory and learning. Huperzine A is an alkaloid isolated from a Chinese moss (Huperzia serrata) that has neuroprotective and cognitive effects.

FX4 Speed Stream™ Delivery Booster: This final “blend” contains a single ingredient, Bioperine^®. Bioperine^® is a standardized black pepper (piperine) extract produced by the Sabinsa Corporation. Bioperine/piperine has been shown to increase the absorption of certain nutrients taken with it, so its contribution to the formula is obvious.

As you can discern from the above, there’s a lot to like about Musclespeed, if workout energy and focus are what you’re after. I think the vites are redundant, the beta-alanine is underdosed and a better choline source could have been used (i.e., CDP-choline or alpha-GPC), but these are fairly minor issues… Overall, Musclespeed contains a number of compounds that are pretty useful for enhancing performance, mood and concentration.

Thus, I had no hesitation about giving Musclespeed a try. It took a while for the effects to kick in (the instructions state it should be taken 1 hour before a workout), but once they did, I felt a nice, smooth sensation of energy and alertness—with no “wired” feeling or crash.

It hung in there for several hours as well—so it was perfect for me to use for my late morning workouts, as I didn’t need any post-workout “down time” to recover and get back into work mode. It was less-than-perfect for evening use, however… a 5:00 p.m. dose left me tossing and turning until well after midnight. I had a great workout that night, though, so I guess it was worth it. 😉

All things considered, I think it’s a pretty solid product. If you’re in the market for a supp to enhance your workout drive and focus, Musclespeed is worth a look.

Musclespeed is available from Bodybuilding.com!