Bang Pre-Workout Review (2024): The Notorious Energy Drink Gives Us a Powerful Pre-Workout

For our Bang pre-workout review, we ordered and tried Bang’s Master Blaster pre-workout to see if it was as noteworthy as their energy drinks. Along with a pretty high caffeine content, Bang also thoughtfully included some ingredients that may help with muscle growth, boost nitric oxide production to help with blood flow and, of course, do some good things to your energy levels. 

RELATED: Does Pre-Workout Help Build Muscle?

Keep in mind that, while Bang’s energy drinks are pretty straightforward and accessible to most people, their pre-workout is a totally different story. No, seriously, the formulation isn’t exactly for beginners, especially if you’ve never tried a pre-workout before. Want to know what our testers found out when they took it for a spin? Keep reading. 

Medical disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. For health advice, contact a licensed healthcare provider. GGR also recommends choosing a product that has been third-party tested for quality.

We Always Have the Energy for Honest Reviews

As part of our continuing effort to find the best pre-workout supplements on the market and report the lowdown on them right back to you, our product testers have tried nearly 60 pre-workout supplements. 

To get the most value out of your sports nutrition supplements, our team of experts specializes in powerlifting, endurance training, CrossFit, and sports nutrition, so you are able to get raw, honest feedback from professionals with years of experience in the field of fitness and bodybuilding.

VPX Bang Pre-Workout

Bang Pre-Workout

GGR Score: 3.37

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Product Highlights

• Pre-workout powder 
• 350 mg of caffeine per serving
• Patented formula 
• Contains creatine
• Made in the USA

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Contains BCAAs
• GMO-free
• Gluten-free

Cons

• Goes out of stock frequently
• Tastes bitter
• Too much caffeine for some folks
• Contains beta alanine

Bottom Line

Bang Pre-Workout contains a whopping 350 milligrams of caffeine per serving. It also contains beta alanine, which may cause an itching or tingling sensation.If you give it a try, start with a half scoop to access your tolerance.

A Quick Look at Bang Pre-Workout

VPX Sports has been giving us the gift of Bang Energy since 2012. The brand has been known for its fun flavors despite having zero added sugars or calories (making it a staple in the routine of those cutting for fat loss). Now, we have the likes of Bang Master Blaster, a pre-workout supplement we tried out for ourselves.  

Before You Buy

• It’s only available for purchase through third parties, so check the return policy of your favorite vendor if you are buying for the first time.
• Be very wary of your caffeine intake from other sources throughout the day to prevent potential side effects.
• Many reviewers who expect the product to taste and feel like Bang energy drinks express disappointment, so temper your expectations if you are already a fan of the brand.

Is VPX Bang Pre-Workout Worth It?

If you want to try a massive scoop of caffeine-packed Bang in a powder, with some other ingredients friendly to the bodybuilding community thrown in, then Bang is worth a try. It is slightly more expensive than similar brands at $1.30 per serving, however it does pack clinically-effective doses of creatine monohydrate, branched-chain amino acids, and beta-alanine, which boosts the value. 

RELATED: Best Pre-Workout with Creatine

VPX Sports Bang Pre-Workout Specs

Experience Using Bang Pre-Workout

One of our testers, GGR staff writer Lauren Strong, was a little scared by the caffeine content.

“It’s too much for me to handle—350 milligrams of caffeine is the big dog league. I’ll stick with a cup or two of coffee and a snack for a pre-workout,” she says. 

“That being said, lots of people love it, and most bad reviews compare this powdered pre-workout to the Bang in a can, which is totally different in my experience.”

Price Per Serving

We gave the price a GGR rating of 3 out of 5 and that’s because $1.30 per serving is a bit more expensive compared to the market average and other pre-workout powders we’ve reviewed in the past. The scoop sizes are huge, so that may justify the price for only 20 servings per tub, along with the fact that it does contain great dosages of key ingredients, if that’s something that’s important to you. 

RELATED: Best Cheap Pre-Workout

Formulation

Due to the possibly excessive quantities of some ingredients, we rated this formulation 3 out of 5. To be clear, the amounts are safe when taken as directed, but it could be quite overwhelming for those who aren’t as experienced taking pre-workout. Below is the breakdown of key ingredients:

• BCAAs – 7.5 grams
  • Leucine – 3 grams
  • Isoleucine – 3 grams
  • Valine – 1.5 grams
• L-Citrulline Malate – 6 grams
• Creatine monohydrate – 5 grams
• Betaine anhydrous – 2.5 grams
• Beta-alanine – 2.4 grams
• Caffeine anhydrous – 350 mg
• Creatyl-l-leucine (Super Creatine) – 250 mg

Let’s start with BCAAs or branched-chain amino acids, which have been lauded as having the ability to build muscle, delay muscle fatigue, and even boost energy. 

However, studies have shown that BCAAs have little ability¹ to stimulate muscle protein synthesis without the other six essential amino acids. Basically, you’d be better off drinking some whey protein powder. 

RELATED: EAA vs BCAA

Science has also shown that BCAAs may be able to raise energy levels when the muscles are low on glycogen², but you can also get this same effect by simply eating carbs pre-workout. 

Now, the BCAAs in this formulation are not totally worthless, as Bang VPX also contains l-citrulline and one recent study has shown that combining BCAAs and l-citrulline³ enhances exercise performance. L-citrulline may also help improve blood flow by boosting nitric oxide production⁴. 

Creatyl-l-leucine is a special type of creatine that is a signature ingredient of Bang energy and is essentially a creatine molecule bound to l-leucine. It’s supposed to be a more bioavailable form of creatine, but animal studies have shown that supplementation does not increase⁵ creatine in the muscle, brain, or blood like it would with creatine supplementation. 

RELATED: Best Creatine

Now, the caffeine. Though it depends on your individual caffeine sensitivity, there’s no denying that Bang pre-workout isn’t playing around with 350 milligrams per scoop. For perspective, one shot of espresso has about 60 milligrams of caffeine. 

This means there is the equivalent of a whopping six espresso shots in one scoop of Bang pre-workout. Now, that’s either going to give you a major energy boost or you’re going to get a mean case of the jitters. 

Taste and Solubility 

We gave Bang Master Blaster pre-workout a 4 out of 5 in the taste category and a 5 out of 5 in solubility. Lauren notes about her experience: “I tested Master Blaster, which has a generic lemon-lime flavor. It was slightly bitter but that didn’t bother me, I’d prefer that over sickeningly sweet. Overall, flavor is more tolerable than many other pre-workouts I’ve had.” 

She was a little put off by the smell, however. “When I smelled the powder in the container I thought it was going to taste awful, though. The smell is a bit odd,” Lauren says. As far as solubility, Lauren had no complaints, “No clumps or floaters. It barely foams, either.”

RELATED: Coffee vs Pre-Workout

Side Effects

Our tester Lauren has some comments about the high caffeine amount in Bang Master Blaster pre-workout. “Yikes! This would be killer if I tested a full scoop. I work out after work right now, and I think 350 milligrams of caffeine would wreck me. I started with less than a half-scoop serving and worked up to a decent half-scoop over the course of three to five tests. I got the tingles on a half scoop. I don’t think I’ll mess around with a full scoop, to be honest.”

RELATED: Best Stim-Free Pre-Workout 

Basically, start out with a half scoop for sure if you are caffeine-sensitive. And do not mess around with this pre-workout if you have any heart or kidney issues. 

Third-Party Testing 

Neither the Bang energy drink nor VPX Bang pre-workout are third-party tested at this time. This isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, but if you’re an athlete, you’ll need to choose another option for pre-workout.

Comparison to Kaged Pre-Kaged Elite

Kaged Pre-Kaged Elite

Kaged Pre-Kaged Elite

GGR Score: 4.3

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Product Highlights

• Pre-workout formulated with creatine monohydrate and creatine nitrate
• 5 grams of total creatine
• Expensive—$3 per serving
• Third-party tested
• 3 flavors: Strawberry Lemonade, Fruit Punch, Glacier Grape

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Pre-workout and creatine in one
• Contains 5 grams of total creatine
• Third-party tested

Cons

• Expensive

Bottom Line

If you're looking for a product that combines a pre-workout with creatine, Kaged Pre-Kaged Elite might be a good choice.

In comparing Bang VPX to Kaged Pre-Kaged Elite, another high-caffeine pre-workout with a stacked formulation, one major difference stands out: Kaged is over twice the price for the same number of servings. Having more flavors and higher doses of active ingredients, along with third-party testing, may justify its higher price, however.

Customer Experience 

When buying pre-workout from VPX Bang on Amazon, the return policy is standard for Amazon procedures. Given the nature of the supplement, this pre-workout powder is not eligible for returns or refunds, so be wary of that before you buy. If you have other customer service inquiries, inquire through Amazon’s chat, phone, or email features for assistance. 

Ordering Bang Pre-Workout

VPX Sports appears to only sell their pre-workout supplements, including Bang Master Blaster, through third-party suppliers like Amazon. So, ordering this pre-workout drink will follow the same process as any other Amazon order and the same goes for shipping, which may vary depending on your Amazon membership. 

Customer Reviews

Currently, Bang pre-workout drink is rated 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon out of 1,592 global ratings. Most reviews rave about the crazy energy boost they get and like the flavor, but most critical reviews pertain to the solubility, which many find to be clumpy and gooey. 

Final Verdict of Our Bang Pre-Workout Review

As can be expected from the Bang brand, their pre-workout is almost sure to provide a major energy boost and includes clinically-effective doses of some of the major players in pre-workout ingredients, making it ideal for those who supplement with the compounds separately; just know the product is not third-party tested. Here are the highlights of Bang pre-workout:

• Caffeine content equivalent to six standard espresso shots
• Not recommended if you are sensitive to caffeine, as taking only a partial serving means you’ll miss out on sufficient doses of the other active ingredients
• Creatine monohydrate and leucine content are ideal for those seeking muscle growth
• Only 4 calories per serving can make it fit neatly into a weight loss or cutting regimen
• Feedback on solubility is pretty mixed (no pun intended)

Full Rating

Bang Pre-Workout

Bang Pre-Workout contains a whopping 350 milligrams of caffeine per serving. It also contains beta alanine, which may cause an itching or tingling sensation.If you give it a try, start with a half scoop to access your tolerance.

Product Brand: Bang

Product Currency: $

Product Price: 79.99

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
3.37

Bang Pre-Workout: FAQs

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.

References

1. Tipton KD, Elliott TA, Ferrando AA, Aarsland AA, Wolfe RR. Stimulation of muscle anabolism by resistance exercise and ingestion of leucine plus protein. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2009;34(2):151-161. doi:10.1139/H09-006
2. Gualano AB, Bozza T, Lopes De Campos P, et al. Branched-chain amino acids supplementation enhances exercise capacity and lipid oxidation during endurance exercise after muscle glycogen depletion. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2011;51(1):82-88.
3. Harrington RN. Effects of branched chain amino acids, l-citrulline, and alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine supplementation on exercise performance in trained cyclists: a randomized crossover trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2023;20(1):2214112. doi:10.1080/15502783.2023.2214112
4. Rogers JM, Gills J, Gray M. Acute effects of Nitrosigine® and citrulline malate on vasodilation in young adults. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2020;17(1):12. Published 2020 Feb 24. doi:10.1186/s12970-020-00343-y
5. da Silva RP. The Dietary Supplement Creatyl-l-Leucine Does Not Bioaccumulate in Muscle, Brain, or Plasma and Is Not a Significant Bioavailable Source of Creatine. Nutrients. 2022;14(3):701. Published 2022 Feb 8. doi:10.3390/nu14030701

Destini Moody, RD, CSSD, LD

Destini Moody, RD, CSSD, LD is a sports dietitian and the head of performance nutrition for the NBA G League Ignite. In addition to working with pro athletes, Destini has ghostwritten four weight loss and wellness cookbooks. She also authors online content covering fitness and nutrition topics.

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