Bucked Up Pre-Workout Review (2024): Take Your Focus to the Next Level

For our Bucked Up Pre-workout review, we got honest feedback from GGR performance editor Anthony O’Reilly, CPT, CNC, who knows more than a thing or two about bodybuilding and fitness supplements as an avid user of both. 

A now-ubiquitous supplement company in the fitness world, Bucked Up’s pre has a moderate amount of natural caffeine for a clean energy boost but also contains some nootropics to take your gym motivation to the next level. We had Anthony give it a try and let us know his thoughts. (Note this is not a review for Woke AF pre-workout, but Bucked Up’s traditional pre-workout.)

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 Test It First, So You Don’t Have To

Choosing the right supplements is an important decision that can be confusing and overwhelming. That’s why our team at GGR works to provide you with candid reviews of the best pre-workouts to make it easier.

Our expert testers are a team of certified personal trainers and nutritionists who are fitness enthusiasts like you! So we always try the products ourselves and give you our raw feedback. We rate products on a scale of 1 to 5 for a variety of categories, including:

• Price per serving
• Formulation
• Taste
• Solubility
• Third-party testing
• Customer reviews

For more information, check out our full GGR Supplement Testing Methodology.

Bucked Up Pre-Workout

Bucked Up Pre-Workout

GGR Score: 3.98

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Product Highlights

• Pre-workout supplement available in more than 15 flavors
• Contains research-backed levels of caffeine, citrulline malate, and beta-alanine 
• Also contains Astra-Gin, which may reduce bloating

Pros & Cons

Pros

• No proprietary blends
• Lots of flavors to choose from
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• No creatine, so not ideal for muscle-building
• Contains stimulants, so may not be ideal for all people

Bottom Line

Bucked Up pre-workout contains research-backed doses of important pre-workout ingredients at a reasonable price with lots of flavor options.

A Quick Look at Bucked Up Pre-Workout

Bucked Up first became known in the supplement space for selling Deer Antler Spray, which supposedly promotes cell reproduction and regeneration in humans; though, there’s no current scientific research to support these claims. The use of deer antler velvet extract is where the name “Bucked Up” comes from. If this ingredient intrigues you, you’ll be happy to know that deer antler velvet is still present in Bucked Up’s pre-workout formulas. 

RELATED: Best Pre-Workout for Men

Now, Bucked Up offers a variety of products, from supplements to support muscle growth to endurance products to help boost cardio performance to energy drinks. Their product, Woke AF, is another pre-workout that’s well-known for its high-stim formula for those “with only the highest of tolerances.”

Before You Buy

• Many reviews note the caffeine rush is underwhelming, so take a look at Woke AF from Bucked Up which is a great product for getting wired
• If buying for the first time, get it directly from Bucked Up (rather than a third-party retailer) in case you need to use their 45-day money back guarantee

Is Bucked Up Pre-Workout Worth It?

Bucked Up Pre is low-calorie and low-carb, so it’s friendly for those on a cut or the keto diet. Despite the product page claiming Bucked Up is “designed for serious athletes,” it’s not third-party tested for sport, so use it with caution if this applies to you. 

For those used to a high-stim pre-workout, you may not feel like you’ll get a lot of value out of this pre because of its 200 milligram caffeine dose—research-backed but nowhere near the 333 milligram dose of Woke AF—and the $1.67 per serving cost, not too pricey but definitely on the higher end. However, if you take a pre-workout primarily for the nootropics, it’s worth a try due to the inclusion of patented AstrGin® and Senactiv®. 

RELATED: Best Pre-Workout with Creatine

Bucked Up Pre-Workout Specs

Experience Using Bucked Up Pre-Workout

Anthony O’Reilly, CPT, CNC, tested Bucked Up and loved the nootropics but notes it may not be best if you’re looking for significant athletic performance enhancement. “Is this the best pre-workout I’ve ever had? No, but it’s consistent,” Anthony says. “I honestly think it’s best for energy and focus.”

RELATED: Strongest Pre-Workout

Price Per Serving

The cost per serving comes to about $1.67, a decent value depending on what you’re trying to get out of your pre-workout. We will say, however, that the price would seem more reasonable if it contained creatine or amino acids, which is why Anthony gave Bucked Up a 3 out of 5 in this category. However, we appreciate the lack of proprietary blends, so you know what you’re paying for. 

Formulation

• Citrulline Malate: Shown to help improve blood flow to the muscles by acting as a nitric oxide booster, the average effective dose of citrulline malate is about 6 to 8 grams¹, so Bucked Up has an effective dosage.
• Beta-alanine: Beta-alanine is a common pre-workout ingredient as science suggests it may help you lift more weight². However, the effective dose for athletic performance enhancement is daily dosages of 4 to 6 grams³ and Bucked Up contains only 2 grams per serving. 
• AlphaSize Alpha GPC: Research shows that Alpha-GPC helps improve lower body strength and power⁴ after just a week of consistent use.
• Taurine: A compound known to help improve brain function⁵.
• Deer Antler Velvet Extract: Literally crushed deer antlers, people in the bodybuilding community swear it helps increase testosterone, promote muscle growth, and increase strength. However, studies show it does neither⁶ and not much of anything⁷. Sorry…
• AstraGin®: Science has suggested⁸ that AstraGin® can help get your gut to absorb more of the ingredients contained in your pre-workout. 
• Senactiv®: There are some sources that claim it helps with performance and recovery, but no solid science backs up these claims. 

There are 200 milligrams of caffeine, which has some reviewers labeling it as a low stimulant pre-workout. It also contains Vitamin B-12, Himalayan rock salt, and a small amount of sodium, but not really enough of the electrolyte to help with hydration. 

Taste and Solubility

Anthony tried the Blue Raz flavor and rated the pre-workout a 4 out of 5 for taste and solubility, saying, “I LOVE blue raspberry, and this hits all the right notes. Sweet, but not sickenly so, a little tart. Of course it tastes artificial—have you ever seen a blue raspberry? Still, it makes for a tasty treat. I haven’t tried any of their other flavors.”

Side Effects

Anthony rates Bucked Up a 4.5 out of 5 in terms of effects. He didn’t notice a great pump but did experience what he describes as insane mental focus. “The pumps are average, which is to say they’re still quite good, but I could get the same results with another pre,” Anthony says. “When it comes to energy and focus, man, I feel like Bradley Cooper in Limitless. I can’t take this if I have plans after the gym because I’ll just be in the weight room all day long.”

If you have heart issues, it’s not recommended that you take Bucked Up due to the stimulants, which can affect blood pressure, among other potential complications. 

Third-Party Testing 

While Bucked Up is manufactured in a GMP-Certified facility, it has not been third-party tested by a recognized lab for banned or unsafe substances. 

Bucked Up Pre-Workout vs Kaged Pre-Kaged 

Kaged Pre-Kaged

Kaged Pre-Kaged Pre-Workout

GGR Score: 4.16

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Product Highlights

• Contains research-backed dosages of key ingredients like caffeine, creatine, and citrulline
• Informed Sport-certified, meaning it’s been tested for quality assurance and banned substances. 
• 7 flavors are available

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Good formulation of research-backed ingredients
• Label transparency
• 7 flavors and users overwhelmingly like the taste

Cons

• Big serving size
• Expensive

Bottom Line

Kaged Pre-Kaged is expensive, but is formulated with research-backed dosages of key ingredients like caffeine, creatine, beta-alanine, and citrulline.

We recently tried and reviewed Kaged Pre-Kaged, another low-stim pre-workout that gives minimal jitters. Like Bucked Up, it also contains some vitamin B-12 and sodium and efficacious doses of taurine and l-citrulline, but neither has enough beta-alanine. Pre-Kaged also doesn’t have nearly as many flavors. 

However, what Pre-Kaged contains that Bucked Up does not is a much larger scoop, branched-chain amino acids, coconut water powder to help with hydration and creatine. More importantly, Pre-Kaged is third-party tested by Informed Sport. 

Customer Experience 

There is a 45-day money-back guarantee with Bucked Up if you’re unsatisfied, but you must send it back with more than half of the product remaining for a full refund (excluding shipping costs). If you need assistance for another reason, you can call, email, or live chat on their website Mon – Fri between 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM MST.

Ordering Bucked Up Pre-Workout Review

When ordering Bucked Up, there’s no subscribe and save option, but you can benefit from stacking as you get free shipping on U.S. orders over $75. Otherwise, standard 5 to 7 day shipping is $6.95, but may depend on your location. 

Customer Reviews

On the Bucked Up Pre-Workout product page, it’s rated 4.9 out of 5 stars based on 569 reviews with people raving about the great flavors and moderate energy boost you get without the jitters. 

On Amazon, Bucked Up has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 5,268 ratings. Some people say it’s their favorite pre-workout, and positive feedback on the taste and energy boost, though many complained about the solubility. 

Final Verdict of Our Bucked Up Pre-Workout Review

All in all, outside of some questionable dosages of active ingredients, Bucked Up is a great product for helping to enhance mental focus and providing a boost of clean energy. The number of flavors is also impressive; we just wish it had more to offer, like creatine or BCAAs. That said, it’s a decent pre-workout for beginners who aren’t quite ready for the more intense pre-workouts like Woke AF. 

• Keto, vegan, and calorie-friendly
• Not third-party tested, so elite athletes beware
• Claims to increase blood flow, but feedback on the “pump” is mixed
• User consensus is the nootropics are very effective at boosting mental focus

Full Rating

Bucked Up Pre-Workout

Bucked Up pre-workout is a supplement that claims to give you a pump, focus, energy, and growth. It contains 200 milligrams of caffeine per serving, a research-backed dose, as well as 6,000 milligrams of citrulline malate to support more oxygen delivery to your muscles, and well as 2,000 milligrams of beta-alanine, which can help support performance. You’ll also find AstraGin in this formulation, which has been shown to support a decrease in bloating.There are 18 flavors of Bucked Up available, and customers love the taste. Each serving costs about $1.67, which is reasonable for a pre-workout with this formulation as well.

Product Brand: Bucked Up

Product Currency: $

Product Price: 44.77

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
3.98

Bucked Up 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. Gough LA, Sparks SA, McNaughton LR, Higgins MF, Newbury JW, Trexler E, Faghy MA, Bridge CA. A critical review of citrulline malate supplementation and exercise performance. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2021 Dec;121(12):3283-3295. doi: 10.1007/s00421-021-04774-6. Epub 2021 Aug 21. PMID: 34417881; PMCID: PMC8571142.
2. Hoffman J, Ratamess NA, Ross R, et al. Beta-alanine and the hormonal response to exercise. Int J Sports Med. 2008;29(12):952-958. doi:10.1055/s-2008-1038678
3. Trexler ET, Smith-Ryan AE, Stout JR, et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015;12:30. Published 2015 Jul 15. doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0090-y
4. Bellar D, LeBlanc NR, Campbell B. The effect of 6 days of alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine on isometric strength. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015;12:42. Published 2015 Nov 17. doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0103-x
5. Jakaria M, Azam S, Haque ME, et al. Taurine and its analogs in neurological disorders: Focus on therapeutic potential and molecular mechanisms. Redox Biol. 2019;24:101223. doi:10.1016/j.redox.2019.101223
6. Conaglen HM, Suttie JM, Conaglen JV. Effect of deer velvet on sexual function in men and their partners: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Arch Sex Behav. 2003;32(3):271-278. doi:10.1023/a:1023469702627
7. Sleivert G, Burke V, Palmer C, et al. The effects of deer antler velvet extract or powder supplementation on aerobic power, erythropoiesis, and muscular strength and endurance characteristics. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003;13(3):251-265. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.13.3.251
8. Chen L, Chen MY, Shao L, et al. Panax notoginseng saponins prevent colitis-associated colorectal cancer development: the role of gut microbiota. Chin J Nat Med. 2020;18(7):500-507. doi:10.1016/S1875-5364(20)30060-1

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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