Supplement Review: Optimum Nutrition Platinum Pre-Workout

It is time to write this review because I have officially decided to stop using this product for health concerns. Honestly, I cannot say for certain if this is having negative side effects on me, but I believe that it is.

A little history: I have been using Optimum Nutrition as a major supplement provider for the past five years. I have consistently gone back to cycles of their Isolated Whey Protein (Chocolate) because it is affordable in bulk, mixes well with milk and water, and is one of the more natural proteins in its class. I also only use Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Powder in cycles for the past four years. I have never had any issues with these two products, obviously.
 
As a result, when I found out that they recently released their own Pre-Workout, I was excited. I bought it immediately and said as soon as my MusclePharm Assault and 1MR are finished, I’ll start a cycle with it. Well I did just that and was immediately not impressed. I got the Raspberry-Lemonade, 30 servings, which has recommended use of 1 scoop for average training and 2 for intense. It’s a rule that you only try the half serving the first time around with a new supplement so I did just that.

It tasted awful! Really was one of the worst tasting pre-workouts ever, and I have tried nearly all of them (not every flavor of all of them). The weirdest part was that is was spicy. I have a tongue disorder that causes my tongue to be extremely sensitive and this burned my tongue worse than chili peppers. This was extremely painful and the sensation lasted for quite some time. Within three days of starting using this I ended up in the emergency room with what was diagnosed as gastritis. Looking back, I truly believe that this was the cause of the gastritis, which essentially ruined my last two months of 2012 and even carried into 2013. I believe if I did not buy this product, I would not have had my health issues that led to me missing work, Christmas, and weeks of working out.

Now, I have no issue with ON over the incident but as of tonight, despite having servings left, I will stop taking it to see if my stomach issues and digestive problems go away. If they don’t, maybe I’ll finish the load. If they do, I’ll give it away to someone who might not have as sensitive a stomach. I highly doubt any other supplement that I am taking is the cause since I have used them for the last five years with no issues.
As for its effectiveness, it is hard to measure but I never felt any sensation of extra blood or oxygen flowing through my veins or body during the cycle. No tingling in the lips or mouth. No extra pump in muscle groups and no noticeable decrease in my lactic acid build up.So unfortunately, ON, from a professional opinion, I have to give your Platinum Pre-Workout a 2/10. It is somewhat affordable and mixes well, but tastes awful and has little to no effect on a workout, either pre, during or post. The rating does not even include what I think it did to my health. No hard feelings on potentially ruining a ton of progress that I made and my two favorite months and holidays of the year.

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18 comments on “Supplement Review: Optimum Nutrition Platinum Pre-Workout

  1. Holly J

    I don’t take this kind of supplement-I use vegan protein powders-but my boyfriend takes similar stuff. Eight out of 10 times he has stomach issues after. I don’t think he’s using this brand, but maybe there is a common ingredient. Have you called the company or googled it to see if others are having this problem?common ingredient?

    1. hungryandfit

      I like to experiment with every product so I can recommend them properly or give honest feedback to anyone that I train or asks for fitness advice. I took a risk here because the main active ingredient is citrulline, an amino acid, that has been in some of the pre-workouts that have given my stomach a harder time, such as NaNo Vapor. Arginine and creatine are other common base or major active ingredients for most pre-workouts. For some reason citrulline has a harsher effect on my stomach than others. Creatine is the least harmful, in my personal experience. But there are other compounds that are not natural found in many of these. For instance, 1MR has the “1MR Energy and Pump Matrix” and they don’t go into detail about its contents. So always, proceed with caution when those sorts of contents appear.

  2. jsresults

    I’m really sorry to hear these effects this product had on you 🙁 I’ve taken this product before and wasn’t to impressed either. It is cost effective but the taste is nasty and it really is only loaded with caffeine, not true muscle building qualities.

    In response to your illness, I think I know what happened. In the profile is a product called CAPSICUM FRUIT EXTRACT. There is 250 MG per serving. Capsicum from chili peppers, to provide metabolic support, raise body temperature, and increase vascularity. This is what leads to that GROSS aftertaste. If your sensitive to spiciness, this was most likely the cause.

    I hope this helps 🙂

    Also, I am a big advocate of Cellucor’s C4 Preworkout. If you check there website (cellucor.com) and find that your interested in the product, you can use my code JSRESULTS at checkout for 20% off the entire product line and free shipping

    Feel better!!

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      Hmm I’m not seeing any problem when I view it

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  6. Tom Anderson

    I recently got a sample of this product with some supps I ordered via DPS Nutrition. I was excited because I wanted to try this product. I thought the samples were 1 serving, so I took the whole thing prior to a workout. The samples are 2 servings I have a high tolerance for pre-workouts. After drinking it, my mouth was on fire!! Like I had eaten a habenaro pepper. I thought someone poisoned the samples with Anthrax or something… I had to eat some bread to soak up the spicy. I went to the gym and had a very intense workout, almost too much for me, which says a lot. Still considering if I will buy a full tub.

    1. Victor Aurelio Rosa Reyes

      same happened to me and my whole body was ichy and i really dident like the taste

  7. Pingback: Do NOT Mix Thermogenics and an “Empty” Stomach | hungry and fit

  8. Rocco Modric

    no xplode gave me the stomach issues for the first time -gastritis- after that i decided to stop this kind of products , now i’m more sensitive to most supplements including multivitamins -anavite, opti men – be really careful with this pre workout staff and if you see any symptoms of getting sick don’t hesitate and stop using them immediately, don’t risk your health nor your training routine as it takes time to recover and you will not have the energy to work out ..

    1. hungryandfit

      Yeah, sometimes, it’s just not worth it

  9. aaa

    Wenn ich es nicht besser wissen würde, dann würde ich doch ohne zu
    zögern dazu sagen, dass dieser Text “Supplement Review: Optimum Nutrition Platinum Pre-Workout | hungry and fit” glatt aus meiner Feder stammen könnte so gut wie der hier steht.
    Daumen nach oben und viel Glück noch weiter so in Zukunft!

    1. hungryandfit

      Thanks for the support! We’d love to see your work as well!

  10. Daniel Edeson

    Wow. I don’t like the ON powder too but I haven’t had any problems with my stomach yet. Anyway I agree with you at almost any point. Great review!

  11. Muscle Care

    I recently got a sample of this product with some supps I ordered via DPS Nutrition. I was excited because I wanted to try this product. I thought the samples were 1 serving, so I took the whole thing prior to a workout.