Let’s be honest, Apollon Nutrition is best known for their hardcore, high stimulant based pre-workout in Hooligan. It is what put the brand on the map. So what you might not expect is to see Apollon come out with a non-stimulant pre-workout. More so, you might not expect Apollon Nutrition to come out with a non-stimulant pre-workout that rivals any non-stim pre-workout on the market today.
With a concentration on pump, power and focus, Apollon Nutrition’s Hooligan Bare Knuckle quickly becomes a favorite at FI. You can use this as a stackable agent with a stim-based pre-workout or it is good as-is by itself. The use of quality ingredients at effective doses makes this a highly desirable pre-workout.
Apollon Nutrition Hooligan Bare Knuckle [2021 Version] Ingredients
Apollon Nutrition’s 2021 version of Hooligan Bare Knuckle makes it an amazing compliment to any stim-based pre-workout or even as a stand-alone. We want to take you through the ingredient deck so you can understand just how lucky we are to have a product of this caliber available to us as consumers.
We look at Apollon Nutrition Hooligan Bare Knuckle on a two-scoop serving size.
L-Citrulline (8,000mg)
Citrulline is the precursor to L-Arginine in the body, which in turn increases nitric oxide levels. What does this all mean in simple terms? You get a bigger, fuller pump. While many companies are using the less expensive Citrulline Malate (that’s another conversation), Apollon Nutrition uses pure Citrulline at a dosage that is nearly double the recommended dose. Pure L-Citrulline should be dosed at 3-5g.
Betaine Anhydrous (2,500mg)
Betaine Anhydrous is the power engine ingredient. It aids in strength and power output. Think about this, the more weight you can lift, most likely the fuller pump you will get as your body will push nutrient rich blood into those areas to assist with recovery and repair. At 2,500mg you are getting a great dosage.
L-Tyrosine (2,000mg)
We typically see Tyrosine around 1,000mg. More and more companies are using it at higher dosages. Tyrosine can aid with improve clarity and focus. The mind-muscle connection in, in our opinion, the most important aspect of a pre-workout supplement, stim or non-stim, that a lot of companies put on the back burner due to the cost of ingredients.
Agmatine Sulfate (1,500mg)
Agmatine Sulfate can serve two very important purposes. Studies suggest that Agmatine Sulfate can actually help improve focus and mental clarity. The other benefit, and the one we more commonly talk about, is how it aids in improved pumps. Agmatine can actually “trick” your pain receptors into allowing you to do another rep. This additional rep will force more blood flow into the muscle. We normally see this at 1,000mg. At a dosage of 1,500mg we are very happy with it.
Lion’s Mane Extract (1,000mg)
We love this. Lion’s Mane is a mushroom that helps with focus. It is an increasingly popular ingredient in sports supplements, but it is rarely, if ever, dosed at 1,000mg. We normally see this at 500mg (which at a single scoop we get that). Other research suggests that Lion’s Mane may also boost our immune functions.
Vaso6 (600mg)
Vaso6 is a popular and proven ingredient from Compound Solutions that has gone on to show, in multiple studies, improved blood flow tied to an increase in your body’s nitric oxide levels. Vaso6 has been tried and tested in the market, including lawsuits in which they have won verifying the validity of the ingredient. We normally see this at 300mg, the optimal dosage, but Apollon Nutrition doubles that in Hooligan Bare Knuckle at 600mg.
Alpha-GPC 50% (600mg)
Alpha-GPC is a choline molecule that happens to be one of our favorite’s for improving memory, focus and clarity here at FI. It is important to know what the yield of this ingredient in. Optimal dosage is 600mg, that we have here. Alpha-GPC at 600mg at a 50% yield gives the consumer 300mg active Alpha-GPC. Some companies try to put 300mg on the label and hope the consumer thinks it is active yielded, but that is not always the case. Getting 600mg Alpha-GPC combined with a full gram of Lion’s Mane put this supplement on another level for focus.
Himalayan Pink Salt (250mg)
We personally put 1-2g of salt in our pre-workout to help improve hydration and pumps, but we understand that doing that in a powder will impact taste beyond belief. This amount is going to aid in hydration and a slight increase in pump with improved water stores.
AstraGin (50mg)
AstraGin is becoming the most popular absorption agent. This is used to ensure that the ingredients listed above are actually going to work for you.
Apollon Nutrition Hooligan Bare Knuckle [2021 Version] Flavor and Mixability
With this number of active ingredients I am sure many wonder what the taste is like and how is the mixability.
Apollon Nutrition Bare Knuckle Hooligan Flavor/Taste
We had Jungle Juice. Surprisingly it was not bad. You will get some bitterness but remember that there is 600mg Vaso6 and 1,000mg Lion’s Mane…how they made it taste as good as they did is kudos to Apollon Nutrition and their flavor house.
Apollon Nutrition Bare Knuckle Hooligan Mixability
Overall this mixed as well as we thought it would. You are definitely going to get particles. That is going to be normal. At two scoops you get 18.5g of ingredients. Some of these are just not going to mix in, but it was not bad at all.
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Final Takeaway
This is one of the best non-stim pre-workouts on the market today. We love the attention to both pump and focus ingredients. This would be a great supplement to take if you are trying to go on a stimulant break, workout late at night, or just want to pair a great pump/focus pre-workout with a stimulant based pre-workout.
