Bare Knuckle The King of Stim-Free Pre-Workouts Is Back with New V4

One of the defining characteristics of Apollon Nutrition is our relentless drive. That not only extends to the way we train and conduct business, but also in our dedication to continually refine, tweak and innovate wherever and whenever possible.

This has been shown time and time again this year with a continuous stream of new releases, including the likes of Bloody Hell, IsoBlast, TimeCop, and most recently, Black Tulip. And, even though the end of the year is rapidly approaching, we’re not done yet! 

Our best-selling stim-free pre workout, Bare Knuckle, has received a major upgrade, elevating an already exceptional caffeine-free pre workout into the status of the truly elite pre workouts on the market!

Here’s a look at the new and improved Bare Knuckle.

Bare Knuckle Features At-A-Glance

• 8,000mg L-Citrulline
• 3,200mg Beta Alanine
• 3,000mg Arginine Nitrate as patented NO3-T®
• 2,500mg Betaine Anhydrous
• 2,000mg L-Tyrosine
• 1,500mg Agmatine Sulfate
• 1,000mg Lion’s Mane
• 600mg Alpha GPC 50%
• 300mg Pink Himalayan Salt
• 50mg AstraGin

Comprehensive Pump and Performance Pre Workout

There are literally hundreds of stim-free pump pre workouts on the market, but, if we’re being honest, most are either woefully underdosed or lack a comprehensive approach to enhancing blood flow, cell volumization, and hydration, which ultimately limits muscle pumps and performance.

Bare Knuckle utilizes a multi-faceted approach to enhance blood flow, nutrient delivery, and cell volumization to not only deliver the strongest, longest-lasting pumps you’ll ever encounter, but the best performance too! 

Typical pump pre workouts only include one or two supplements that support nitric oxide and blood flow, such as Citrulline and/or glycerol. They may even include some polyphenols or norvaline, if you’re lucky.

Bare Knuckle includes supplements that support BOTH of the body’s endogenous nitric oxide production pathways all the while including ingredients to enhance hydration and muscle fullness. Plus, we’ve also included ingredients to heighten focus and improve time-to-exhaustion, which helps you bang out more reps before failure -- thereby ultimately encouraging nastier muscle pumps.

The Sweet Science of the Pump

Nitrates AND L-Citrulline for More N.O.

There are two major pathways in the body that result in nitric oxide:

• The more common citrulline → arginine → nitric oxide pathway
• The less common (but more powerful) nitrate → nitrite → nitric oxide pathway 

Both can be effective, but the reason that you don’t see nitrates as frequently as you do L-Citrulline (or citrulline malate) in pre workouts is primarily due to cost. Nitrates are expensive, plain and simple. But, they are high quality and effective for enhancing blood flow, vasodilation, and (of course) pumps! 

But, that’s not all, nitrate supplementation may help to reduce the oxygen cost of submaximal exercise as well as enhance exercise tolerance and performance.[1]

Similarly, supplementation with citrulline (as citrulline or citrulline malate) improves fatigue resistance, blood flow, vo2 kinetics, and overall exercise performance.[2,3] You’ll also note that we included the arginine-bonded nitrates as NO3-T® in Bare Knuckle, which provides dual-support for nitric oxide production as the arginine component can work in combination with citrulline to support the citrulline → arginine → nitric oxide pathway.

Bare Knuckle includes both sources of “fuel” for the body’s nitric oxide production to support maximum performance and pumps.

Agmatine Sulfate

Agmatine is a fascinating molecule. It serves roles as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator, nutrient partitioner, and analgesic (pain-relieving compound). It also aids nitric oxide production, via two-different mechanisms.

Agmatine has been shown to stimulate endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) -- the enzyme that catalyzes nitric oxide production. It also has been found to inhibit arginase -- the enzyme that breaks down arginine → one of the two primary fuels for nitric oxide production in the body.

Pairing agmatine alongside L-Citrulline and Arginine Nitrates fosters stronger, longer-lasting nitric oxide production.

Cell Volumization for Bigger Rounder Muscles

Enhancing nitric oxide production is one component (albeit a very important one) of boosting performance and achieving a hard, dense, sustained muscle pump. But, it’s not the only one.

Truth be told, you can take all the pump supplements you want, but if your hydration sucks, then so will your pumps. That’s why we’ve included a variety of powerful cell volumization and hydration aids in Bare Knuckle.

For starters, there’s 2,500mg Betaine anhydrous. 

Betaine is an osmolyte that can be found in a variety of foods, including beets, that encourages muscle cells to absorb and retain water. Supplementation with betaine has been noted to improve body composition, arm size, and exercise performance, in both men and women.[4,5]

Beyond its performance benefits, betaine is also involved in cell reproduction, carnitine synthesis, and liver function. Bare Knuckle also includes 300mg pink Himalayan salt, which provides a quality source of the essential electrolyte sodium.

Sodium regulates extracellular fluid balance in the body and is required for countless processes, including muscle contraction, hydration, cognitive function, and athletic performance. Deficiencies in sodium can increase the strain on your cardiovascular system, making it harder to pump blood to your muscles as well as keep your body cool, both of which obviously hinder performance.

Dialing-In Focus

Your ability to focus on the task at hand is paramount to optimal performance, no matter if you’re clanging and banging in the gym or trying to nail down a presentation in the office. 

As we did with the previous version of Bare Knuckle, we’ve included several powerful focus aids and nootropics to help heighten focus and reduce stress during training. This will ultimately help you stay in the zone during your training session and chase those extra reps for more gains and bigger, nastier pumps!

It starts with 2,000mg of L-Tyrosine -- an amino acid that serves as the “building block” for important neurotransmitters and catecholamines, including dopamine and norepinephrine. Dopamine in particular is important in movement, motor control, decision making, and motivation.

Tyrosine supplementation has been found to enhance cognitive performance, particularly during acute stressful or cognitively demanding scenarios when dopamine can be temporarily depleted.[6,7]

We’ve also included 1,000mg of Lion’s Mane. This medicinal mushroom is held in high regard for its ability to stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF) -- a protein in the brain that affects the growth, development and survival of neurons. 

Finally, there’s 600mg of Alpha GPC 50%, supplying 300mg of active Alpha GPC.

Alpha GPC is a highly bioavailable source of choline that can cross the blood-brain barrier and support the synthesis of acetylcholine -- the “learning” neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine is also involved in muscle contraction and helping individuals establish the mind-muscle connection.

The Gloves Are Off!

With each new release, we strive to improve and deliver you the best product that we can. That is clearly evident here with the latest edition of Bare Knuckle. 

The combination of fully-dosed nitrates, citrulline, hydration aids, focus factors, and performance boosters make this pre workout a true standout and something you need in your supplement stash if you’re looking to take your workouts and pumps to the next level!

References

1. Jones AM. Dietary nitrate supplementation and exercise performance. Sports Med. 2014 May;44 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S35-45. doi: 10.1007/s40279-014-0149-y. PMID: 24791915; PMCID: PMC4008816.
2. Glenn JM, Gray M, Wethington LN, Stone MS, Stewart RW Jr, Moyen NE. Acute citrulline malate supplementation improves upper- and lower-body submaximal weightlifting exercise performance in resistance-trained females. Eur J Nutr. 2017 Mar;56(2):775-784. doi: 10.1007/s00394-015-1124-6. Epub 2015 Dec 11. PMID: 26658899.
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26023227/
4. Cholewa JM, Wyszczelska-Rokiel M, Glowacki R, et al. Effects of betaine on body composition, performance, and homocysteine thiolactone. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013;10(1):39. Published 2013 Aug 22. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-10-39
5. Cholewa JM, Hudson A, Cicholski T, Cervenka A, Barreno K, Broom K, Barch M, Craig SAS. The effects of chronic betaine supplementation on body composition and performance in collegiate females: a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018 Jul 31;15(1):37. doi: 10.1186/s12970-018-0243-x. PMID: 30064450; PMCID: PMC6069865.
6. Steenbergen, L., Sellaro, R., Hommel, B., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility: evidence from proactive vs. reactive control during task switching performance. Neuropsychologia, 69, 50–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.01.022
7. Jongkees, B. J., Hommel, B., Kuhn, S., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Effect of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands--A review. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 70, 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.08.014
8.