ABB Pumped N.O.

American BodyBuilding has about fifteen different energydrinks, all with their own function. Pumped N.O. is one that was supposed to be double purpose, either as a pre-workout drink or as just a plain ol' energy drink. They lie. This is a drink meant for the gym. Sure, it says that you could just sip on it and have "daily Energy," but that is not really where the fun of this drink shines. While a good 300mg caffeine boost will definitely wire you, the effect at the gym is even more pronounced. I tried this before a workout, after, during and while being a lazy slob on the couch - and I have really noticed the difference.

Packaging:8
Like the other ABB drinks, this one has the gripping spots for your fingers - which some might find silly but I think is rather neat. This one still has their bizarre half eagle half Arnold Schwarzenegger logo, which looks thankfully dropped form their newer bottles. No offense to American Bodybuilding, but the move away from using a second tier pseudo Greek-god-like musclepidgeon to a sharp clean swooping eagle as a mascot is a HUGE leap for this company.

Like the other ABB drinks, I love their hand fitted bottle - perfect for using again and again - especially in the large 22 ounce size. It lists all the ingredients including a total caffeine value - which I really like. Their side panel helps you make sure this is really the drink for you and your workout. This is a great way to help fit the consumer to the product if you have quite a lot of similar products.

Taste:7
This drink comes in 2 flavors, a fruit punch and a grape. This is also not a drink to have while working out. The flavor is way to sticky and sweet to really hydrate you during physical exercise. Both flavors were really good - like a slightly slightly oversweetened Gatorade or sport drink. The aftertaste hangs around for a short while, but this doesn't taste syrupy and cloying. Even with the glycerol to help hydrate you, I would not recommend drinking this while you are in the middle of a workout. Like the instructions say, this is means as pre-workout, and you will feel the difference.

Buzz:9
The instructions say to take about 20 minutes prior to working out - which is about what you need to get all their ingredients out of your stomach and into your bloodstream.

And it has an impressive ingredient list too. Along with the 300mg of caffeine, there is 3 grams of Arginine, a gram of Taurine and 5 grams of Glycerol. Glycerol helps avoid exhaustion by replacing the fluids lost in the course of tough workouts. and Arginine is a common supplement in a lot of pre-workout products - and although there are conflicting reports about the power of Arginine in increasing hormone levels pre-workout, it is a pretty common pre-pump thing. While the reports on taking Nitric Oxide are even helpful during a workout, the results are pretty clear. I have tried it three times in the gym, and all three times I felt like my muscles were tight - like they were swelled up. I am not really a musclehead, so who knows if this is the type of thing you want for a long term muscle building, for for the short term, it sure made my pokey-out arms feel cool.