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GHOSTPre-Workout

GHOST Legend Review: Licensing Pays Off Big Time on Flavor

By May 14, 2019September 21st, 2019No Comments

GHOST Legend

8.4

Profile

7.8/10

Effectiveness

7.5/10

Taste

9.0/10

Mixability

9.0/10

Value

8.7/10

Pros

  • Taste
  • Mixability
  • Value
  • Ingredient Selection

Cons

  • May need to increase serving size

Use coupon code INFORMANT to save 20%!

Overview of GHOST Legend

GHOST could be called the "coolest" brand in the sports nutrition space. What they have done with their branding is unreal, but it's not all branding, they have good formulas too. On top of the branding and formulas, GHOST has legitamized itself by securing REAL licensing deals with big name companies like Mondelēz, Sonic Drive-In and Welch's.

GHOST Legend Pre-Workout, Sonic Drive-In Cherry Limeade edition, is one of the best tasting pre-workouts on the market and the Welch's Grape flavor is on-point. They nailed the flavor on both. The formula packs in proven ingredients that pair well with their pump product GHOST Pump. Legend may be a 1.5 scoop pre-workout, but that would still keep the value in-line with the competitive set making it a value at what you get. 

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Testing Results and Ratings

We reviewed GHOST Legend on five categories. We first start by looking at its ingredient profile. This portion of the review looks at the different ingredients used in the pre-workout supplement, what their intention is and how effectively dosed are each ingredient.

We then look at effectiveness. An effective pre-workout product will use high quality, proven ingredients, at clinically backed dosages.  This is generally an extension of the profile section. The higher quality ingredients used at proper dosages, the more effective that pre-workout will be.

Then we move into the taste of the different flavors we’ve tried. We grade each flavor separately and average the scores for their overall taste rating. We were able to test out the following flavors: Sonic's Cherry Limeade and Welch's Grape Flavor.

Mixability refers to how well the powder mixes in 6-8oz of water. We use the shaker bottle test. This would be your typical Blender Bottle with the spiral chrome ball.

Finally, we talk about value. Value is the combination of profile, effectiveness, taste and mixability in relation to cost. Another part of value are the competitors and other versions of pre-workout products on the market.


Ingredients Profile

(7.8/10)

GHOST Legend label

GHOST Legend pre-workout packs in a lot of proven ingredients that, at the time, were not used very often. The formula is several years old now, and will probably get a facelift at some point, but it is still solid on paper. I would start by suggesting that the proper dosage of the pre-workout would be about 1.5 scoops to get your value and ingredients in-range of where you’d want them.

The formula stats with 4g L-Citrulline. L-Citrulline is the precurrsor to Arginine in the body which elevates nitric oxide, thus increasing blood flow. Beta-Alanine is used next at 2g. We’d like to see this at 3g, so that’s another reason why the 1.5 scoop serving is suggested. Beta-Alanine has been shown to improve muscular endurance. Agmatine Sulfate, a regulator of nitric oxide, is dosed at 500mg. We like this around 1g, but we’ve seen it at 500mg before as well. The last ingredient in GHOST Legend component of the pre-workout is 100mg of L-Norvaline. Norvaline is an Arginase inhibitor, meaning it helps Arginine work in the body, allowing for more nitric oxide production. At 100mg, this is a sufficient dosage. 

In GHOST Smart Energy, we have several ingredients that contribute to energy, focus and anti-fatigue. We start with a full gram of Taurine. Taurine aids in regulating electrolytes to improve strength output. Next we get two forms of Caffeine. We get 165mg Caffeine Anhydrous. This is a pure form of Caffeine that hits right off the bat. We then get Di-Caffeine Malate delivering 37mg of Caffeine. Di-Caffeine Malate is generally 75% Caffeine and 25% Malic Acid that hits after Caffeine Anhydrous. The collective total of Caffeine is 202mg. This dosage alone is solid, but at a 1.5 scoop you would get approximately 300mg which is closer to what some of the newer pre-workouts have on the market today.

Alpha-GPC is used at 150mg. We like to see this at 300mg. Alpha-GPC is solid for improving focus. Next, Rhodiola Rosea is used at 50mg. This is a solid, expensive ingredient that may reduce fatigue and exhaustion in prolonged stressful situations. We’ve seen this dosed as low as 50mg and was effective.

Theobromine, similar to Caffeine, is used at 50mg. This actually relaxes the blood vessels allowing more blood flow to go into your muscles. We do like to see this at 100mg. Olive Leaf Extract is used at 50mg which has positive heart health implications. 

NADH, Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, is used at 2.5mg @ 10%. A study showed that NADA may lower oxidative stress in trained athletes. Lastly, Rauwolfia Root is used at 1mg (also known as Rauwolscine aka Alpha-Yohimbine). This is a fat burning ingredient that is hard-hitting. This is a solid dosage.

Overall, this is a good profile with some ingredients needing 1.5/2 scoops to be well-dosed while others are set at 1 scoop. The ingredients are proven and when used at the right amount this is an effective pre-workout. 


Effectiveness

(7.5/10)

GHOST Legend’s effectiveness is based on your serving size. As we mentioned in the profile section, we like 1.5 scoops for the best effectiveness. That would make this a 20-serving unit, which is fine considering the competition. One serving is fine for some, but you would be getting less than optimal dosages on some ingredients.

Energy is solid as you get 200mg+ Caffeine and you also get Rauwolscine which is hard hitting. At 1.5 scoops that would get you 300mg Caffeine (two forms) + Rauwolscine which works well. It’s not the hardest hitting pre-workout, but then again it is not using exotic stims.

Pump is good on this, and even better when you combine it with GHOST Pump. Citrulline, Agamatine, Norvaline and Theobromine work well together to increase blood flow while not having crazy exotic stims constricting it. This isn’t technically a pump producing pre-workout, but you still get a nice little pump from GHOST Legend.

Focus is OK. It is best with 2 scoops to get your full 300mg dosage of Alpha-GPC. This, along with Caffeine, are really the only contributing factors to focus.

Endurance is good with Rhodiola rosea, Taurine and Beta-Alanine. I would like to see Beta-Alanine higher, but still at 2g you feel the impact. Rhodiola is a great addition to any pre-workout.

Strength and Power output are lacking, but there really isn’t anything outside of Taurine that is going to contribute. There is no Betaine in the formula, but that is OK. 

Overall, this is a decent, effective pre-workout. It could probably use a face lift at some point, but they don’t promise any crazy marketing claims on the bottle. You will get a steady flow of energy and focus when dosed correctly for you to power you through your workout. 


Taste

Sonic’s Cherry Limeade: (9.3/10)
Welch’s Grape Flavor: (8.5/10)

We got to try both “new” licensing deals that the team at GHOST put together. The first was Sonic’s Cherry Limeade. This was money. It did taste very similar to their Cherry Limeade at Sonic (the Sonic team actually did the flavoring). It was refreshing and delicious. It was one of the best tasting pre-workouts we’ve ever had.

Welch’s Grape Flavor was on point too. We are not the biggest fans of grape, but this wasn’t like the grape bubblegum or grape cough syrup flavor, this was like the Welch’s Grape Juice which was exactly what they were going for. The description meets the label. If you like grape, you will love this. 


Mixability

(9.0/10)

One serving is 12g. The directions state to mix in 6-8oz of water, which is perfect for mixability. There are only slight particles that float and fall to the bottom. The one thing with the flavors are they are strong colored, so if you spill on a white shirt, good luck. 

See the video above for a full mixability test.


Value

(8.7/10)

GHOST Legend is $44.99 for 30-servings. That is a solid value. Due to our recommendation of 1.5 scoops, that would take this to a 20-serving at $44.99. This still makes a couple ingredients short of optimal dosages, but is in line with the competitive set. The nice thing about GHOST Legend is we have a code (INFORMANT) that knocks off 20% making this a $36 pre-workout. If you make this a 20-serving pre-workout with the 1.5 scoop then it is a good value at that price. Heck, you could double scoop and do 15-servings at $36 and it still isn’t crazy, especially with these flavors. 

Available at these Fitness Informant Approved Retailers

30-SERVINGS

FITNESS INFORMANT'S EXCLUSIVE DEALS

$44.99

Save 20% with coupon code INFORMANT

PRICE COMPARISON:

$44.99

30-SERVINGS

FITNESS INFORMANT'S EXCLUSIVE DEALS

GHOST

$44.99

Save 20% with coupon code INFORMANT

PRICE COMPARISON:

GHOST

$44.99

GHOST Legend

8.4

Profile

7.8/10

Effectiveness

7.5/10

Taste

9.0/10

Mixability

9.0/10

Value

8.7/10

Pros

  • Taste
  • Mixability
  • Value
  • Ingredient Selection

Cons

  • May need to increase serving size
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GHOST Launches Welch’s Grape Flavored Legend

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