Axe & Sledge’s Pre-Workout Comparisons

Axe & Sledge Hydraulic V2 may be the brand’s most versatile pre-workout. This non-stimulant powerhouse is great as a standalone non-stimulant pre-workout or as an add-on stackable pre-workout to anyone of the stimulant based pre-workouts from Axe & Sledge.

Hydraulic V2 is a great add-on to the stimulant based pre-workouts as it is formulated more for blood flow and performance. With key blood flow agents like Citrulline, VasoDrive-AP, HydroPrime and CitraPeak users are expected to experience better blood flow and pumps.

The fact that Hydraulic V2 is a non-stimulant pre-workout makes its use occassion broader than the stimulant based pre-workouts. You can take Hydraulic V2 at anytime of the day and not have to worry about stimulants impacting your sleep.

Hydraulic V2 features some unique ingredients in VasoDrive-AP, HydroPrime and CitraPeak which have been shown to improve blood flow and performance. It also includes the trademarked CognatiQ (coffee berry extract) for improved focus and clarity. 

The one suggestion is do not take two scoops of Hydraulic V2 and stack it with a full serving of another stimulant based pre-workout from Axe & Sledge as you will be consuming, in our opinion, too much Citrulline, which may impact your GI system.

We suggest if you want to stack Hydraulic V2 with an Axe & Sledge stimulant based pre-workout that you use one scoop of each.

Hydraulic V2 does pair with any of the stimulant pre-workouts from Axe & Sledge but pairs best with Intake, the everyday pre-workout powder from Axe & Sledge.

Axe & Sledge’s Intake pre-workout was launched to replace a legacy product from the brand. Intake would be considered an everyday pre-workout driver as it is the most well-rounded pre-workout from the brand.

Axe & Sledge Intake contains a total of 300mg caffeine from multiple sources. Users will get 250mg caffeine from the fast acting Caffeine Anhydrous and another 50mg from zumXR, an extended release caffeine which will deter fatigue over a period of time. The other benefit of zumXR is that it helps prevent a crash from the 250mg dosage of Caffeine Anhydrous.

Axe & Sledge Intake also features some unique trademarked ingredients. Users will get 150mg ElevATP, which aids in ATP replenishment and overall endurance and anti-fatigue. Users will also get 50mg Senactiv from Nuliv Science which aids in regeneration of cells to improve performance and recovery. CDP Choline is also used at 250mg which has been shown to improve cognition, focus and clarity.

On the topic of cognition, Axe & Sledge also includes 2g of Tyrosine, a non-essential amino acid known to improve focus. Other key ingredients include 8g Citrulline, 3.2g Beta-Alanine and 2.5g Betaine Anhydrous.

Overall Axe & Sledge Intake would be considered an “all-in-one” pre-workout but can be stacked nicely with Hydraulic V2 at one scoop of each.

Axe & Sledge’s calling cry is HWMF – Hard Working Mother F*cker. Their HWMF pre-workout falls suit as it is laden with stimulants to make this a high-stimulant pre-workout powder.

Axe & Sledge’s HWMF contains 400mg caffeine per serving. Like Intake, HWMF contains two sources of caffeine. Users get 325mg caffeine from Caffeine Anhydrous and another 75mg from zumXR Caffeine. At a higher dosage of Caffeine Anhydrous, the 75mg zumXR is extremely important to prevent the crash from Caffeine Anhydrous. A crash from a high-stimulant pre-workout can be drastic for some. The addition of 75mg zumXR Caffeine will allow users to feel that stimulant “high” for a longer period of time.

In addition to the 400mg of total caffeine, Axe & Sledge HWMF includes several other strong stimulants. Alpha Yohimbine is used at 2mg and Yohimbine HCl is used at 1mg. A word of caution for first-time Yohimbine users, it is strong. You may want to start with a single scoop to assess tolerance. Alpha Yohimbine is one of the strongest legalized stimulants used in a pre-workout. It can cause anxiety, but if you tolerate it well you will get a “stim high” that stim junkies love.

Axe & Sledge also includes a key cognitive enhancing ingredient. Alpha-GPC, a popular and effective choline molecule, is dosed at 600mg. Alpha-GPC is one of the most effective cognition ingredients out there. Axe & Sledge HWMF does dose this correctly at 600mg which will yield 300mg of active Alpha-GPC. Users should experience elevated focus and clarity.

In addition to Alpha-GPC, users will also get 100mg of CognatiQ. This ingredient, as mentioned earlier, is a coffee berry extract known to improve cognition. The combination of stimulants and these cognitive ingredients will have you in a “zone” of sorts when in the gym.

Due to the nature of stimulants used in HWMF we recommend that you use this 2-3x a week max and on other days use Hydraulic V2 and/or Intake.

Axe & Sledge DBAP V2 was re-formulated to add trademarked ingredients designed to still be extreme high stimulant but more euphoric and preventing the extreme high-stimulant crash. DBAP, which stands for Don’t Be A P*ssy, is still a formula that you need to proceed with caution.

DBAP V2 contains 400mg caffeine. Unlike HWMF you are getting the full 400mg caffeine from Caffeine Anhydrous. Caffeine Anhydrous is the caffeine source that engages with you within 10-15 minutes of consumption and gets you “up” extremely quick. To put this into perspective, 400mg caffeine is the equivalent to over four cups of coffee.

Axe & Sledge reformulated DBAP to help users have a better overall workout experience by tapering off the crash through the addition of Compound Solutions Dynamine at 100mg and TeaCrine at 50mg. This is the dosage that Compound Solutions recommends. Dynamine and TeaCrine are similar to caffeine as they can elevate energy and mood but hit at different times so that way users can experience a really enjoyable high-stimulant ride over a longer period of time. 

Axe & Sledge also adds 50mg Theobromine, a metabolite of caffeine, to provide a thermogenic effect and a stimulatory effect. 

Although not a stimulant, users are going to get 30mg of GBB. GBB is the precursor to Carnitine. When consumed this converts to Carnitine and can elevate body temperature quickly. Too much GBB can cause the cold sweats and anxiety.

Other key ingredients used are Beta-Alanine at 3.2g, Betaine Anhydrous at 2.5g and Tyrosine (for cognition) at 1.5g).

Similar to HWMF, we would not recommend using this daily but 2-3x a week.