Recently, there has been a lot of media recently about Nutriclimb’s Pre Workout Supplement, as you may have seen it advertised at both 2019 Alberta and BC Open Boulder Provincials and some of our local athletes adding it to their training program. Nutriclimb’s Pre Workout is a caffeine-free supplement designed to benefit climbing through increasing power and energy. Because supplements are relatively new to the climbing world, we were curious as to how the stuff worked and really wanted to give it a fair shot to see if it improved our everyday climbing performance.
Full disclosure: In no way was Squamish Climbing Magazine paid to review Nutriclimb’s Climber Pre-workout Supplement. We received two canisters of the pre-workout to test. However, it should be noted that after testing, Squamish Climbing Magazine did enter into an agreement with Nutriclimb to host some affiliate advertising on the site where a portion of sales from Nutriclimb would go to the magazine.
Nutriclimb Climber Pre-workout
We had a chance to test Nutriclimb’s Pre-workout during a six week period. Without a doubt, it is very difficult to test a supplement and review it properly. It is not a pair of shoes that you can analyse and dissect into its features, but rather, a very subjective experience that may or may not lead to a general conclusion about the supplement itself. Nonetheless, our review is representative of our experience with the product so take that for what it is!
First off, the taste is great! It doesn’t seem too sweet and it doesn’t seem too overpowering. It is easy to dissolve and we had no difficulties adding it into our regular training program, taking 30-45 minutes before climbing. One thing we did do is ease our way into using it by taking a little bit and then working up to the main dose in case of side effects. We can’t stress enough for people to do some research on the ingredients before adding it to their diet.
Ingredients Below.
During the testing period, there were a number of days that we were able to sustain our energy during long training sessions. These energetic training sessions came after taking the supplement for more than a few days on and they happened during a number of training sessions where we bouldered after a pretty heavy workout. During this application, the Pre-workout seemed to help push our bodies further during a session that we otherwise thought would have ended early. This being said, we also had days during the same training period, and using the Pre-workout in the same way, when we a felt a little tired and unable to continue a big training workout. It may be also important to note that during both of these energetic and non-energetic days, we did not find big gains in strength and continued power that would be above and beyond our regular training gains for that period. After our six week use, we felt that the Pre-workout generally helped us throughout our training schedule but its effect on our performance was somewhat inconsistent and there was not a substantial difference that we could confidently conclude was the result of taking the supplement.
During the testing period, we also wanted to test whether the Nutriclimb Pre-workout could be used periodically in a ‘one-time’ application rather than part of a regular use routine. After discontinuing our daily use, we took the Pre-workout for a number of outdoor climbing session that involved pumpy routes that we knew would be exhausting. In our experience of using the Pre-workout in this type of application, we did not see a big difference in energy or sustained energy on days that we took the supplement vs. not taking the supplement.
In terms of recovery, or using the Pre-workout post climbing, we did not find that the Pre-workout increased recovery time between training sessions. Our recovery from one session to another did not seem to be affected by taking the supplement. It should also be noted that one time during our testing period, we did experience the tingling sensation that is a side effect and often associated with Beta Alanine. When we took the supplement before and after climbing at the full dose (20mg) and the tingling occurred second dose after climbing. The feeling was somewhat unusual but dissipated after a short time.
Overall, we enjoyed using Nutriclimbs Pre-workout but would say that its effects on our climbing performance were inconclusive due to experiencing both energetic and non-energetic days in our training cycle. Based on our experience, we thought that the Pre-workout had real application for potential energy when applied to a training program that is demanding on a regular basis and can be controlled for other factors such as the amount of time training each day etc. However, when using the supplement on a ‘one-time’ basis, we did not feel any difference with sustaining energy across the day.
Because it is so difficult to review a supplement and its influence on performance, we decided that it would be great for our readership to check-in with the owner of Nutriclimb, Dylan Pereira, who breaks down what he is trying to accomplish with the Nutriclimb Pre-workout Supplement.
Hi Dylan, thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Okay, so Nutri Climb only came out a month ago and already a lot of people are using it. Can you tell us a bit about what started Nutri Climb and how this all came to be?
Although NutriClimb launched not too long ago, we did a soft launch in August at the first Canadian Psicobloc in Montreal and officially launched the product in November. It took us about a year and a half to develop the final formula. I have always been interested in pushing my limits and growing as an athlete. At a young age I played baseball and volleyball and then as a young adult I started climbing. I started climbing later than most people so I wanted something to support me and help me grow stronger, at a faster rate.
I have always been into supplements even as a teenager and became fascinated with how the body uses food for fuel
I started looking for a supplement to enhance my climbing performance but I couldn’t find one that had all the ingredients I wanted, and if I did find one, there were too many ingredients in it that I didn’t want. This pushed my decision to create my own.
The first creation of my homemade supplement was not very good. I mixed a bunch of single ingredients together and added it to some juice. The taste was horrible and it did not mix well, not to mention it was very expensive to do it this way. I decided that if I was having this problem, somebody else must be too. So, I asked people. I distributed a survey about supplements and climbing. What I found was that people were looking for a supplement just like me, but they didn’t trust anything on the market, for obvious reasons.
The day my surveys came in and I tallied the results was the day I decided I would make NutriClimb a reality. I would create a company that made high quality supplements for climbers by climbers because nobody knows what climbers need or want, unless they are a climber!
I want to get a little into the product because I think the climbing community is not totally used to using supplements in their training. What are the heavy hitters in the Pre-Climb and what do they do?
You are right, most climbers haven’t tried a supplement before and it’s not because they wouldn’t benefit from one. For one thing, supplements have had a bad reputation in the past due to the many unregulated supplements on the market with negative side effects There has also never been a supplement designed for them, most companies will take a generic product and market it to climbers. NutriClimb’s Climber Pre-Workout is the first supplement that has been formulated specifically to support climbers and athletes alike. Not only is it the first, but it is also fully regulated and 100% safe.
Every ingredient in our climber pre-workout plays a role in helping support a climbers performance and energy, this makes it hard to pinpoint a few heavy hitter ingredients. The reason it works so well is because every ingredient works with each other to provide what a climber is looking for out of a pre-workout. If you remove the B vitamins, which work in conjunction with the sugars and amino acids, there wouldn’t be the same sustained energy result. Depending on what aspect of the pre-workout you want to focus on will determine which ingredient we talk about.
Energy = Fructose and Sucrose, B vitamins, Creatine Monohydrate.
Power and Strength = Creatine Monohydrate
Reduced Fatigue = Beta Alanine, L – Arginine
Endurance = Sucrose and Fructose, L – Arginine, Beta- Alanine
Recovery = L-Glutamine, Creatine Monohydrate, Sucrose and Fructose, B vitamins, Bromalain
Each ingredient works to benefit one or more of these categories related to climbers. It was especially important for us to use only natural ingredients for flavouring and colouring and to be gluten free and vegan. We believe a supplement should benefit your health as well as your performance, always.
If people are looking for a more detailed explanation of every ingredient, we have taken the time to create blog posts on our website explaining how each ingredient works and their benefits to climbers.
Is the Pre-Workout something that works right away or are there elements that need to build up in your body?
There are ingredients that work right away and there are ingredients that show results over time. The biggest feedback we get from all our customers is the immediate energy increase. This increase in energy is subtle and not like a caffeine spike. There is no jitters and no crash. As they continue through their session, they notice the energy stays consistent and lasts the entire duration of the climbing and training session. As people continue to use NutriClimb, they have noticed their strength levels stay at a higher level for a longer period of time. To explain it a bit better, they can continue to pull hard through moves later in the session than they used to be able to. Many people have also reported an increase in recovery. They don’t feel as sore the next day and feel more energized and rested for the next climbing/ training day. Some people have experienced a very noticeable increase in strength and performance.
Keep in mind that results may vary. The above statements are developed from various users feedback and personal results.
I wanted to talk specifically about the creatin and increase in body weights as it relates to climbing. Can you give us your thoughts on that?
I’m happy you brought this point up. Creatine Monohydrate has been discussed back and forth for a very long time in the climbing community on whether or not it is beneficial to climbers. This is a huge discussion on it’s own, and many people will agree and disagree with me.
When developing the formula, the biggest ingredient in question was Creatine Monohydrate. The reason being that, many climbers claim that they put on too much weight from using it and that it impeded their climbing performance. On the other hand many climbers report not putting on much, if any weight from using it, and only benefited from the enormous strength and power increases. In order to make an accurate decision we had to do a ton of research, consult with industry specialists, and most importantly listen to what climbers are saying.
In the end we decided to put it in the formula, but we made some changes that other manufactures do not consider. In order to minimize the weight gaining side effect and still capitalize on the strength and power increase, we decided to reduce the dosage to 2.5g per serving giving you a max total per day of 5g. Eric Horst gave us this idea in his book, and website, Training for Climbing. He explains that “Small-dose creatine usage (2 – 5 grams per day) may yield a slight increase in power and a small edge in recovery between strenuous exercises, boulder problems, and routes, without any significant undesirable side effects.” (https://trainingforclimbing.com/the-truth-about-creatine-for-climbers/) Many climbers have reported that when consuming creatine monohydrate at a smaller dosage they noticed an increase in strength and recovery but little, to no extra water weight.
We also included an ingredient called bromalain to combat the stomach issues people report when using other creatine products on the market. Bromalain is a natural pineapple stem extract and is used as a natural anti-inflammatory and digestive enzyme. This ingredient is unique to our product and isn’t commonly found in pre-workouts.
I personally have experimented with Creatine a lot in my life and when I became a climber I was skeptical, but I can honestly say that I have not gained any extra weight while using our pre-workout and there are many people who have been using our product for a while now and have not put on any extra weight. Most people using our product have actually lost weight, reduced their body fat percentage and increased their lean muscle.
How much research has gone into the product and what kind of results do you think people can expect
Above, I explained how much went into researching and testing one ingredient, we did that for every ingredient! There was a lot of back and forth between myself, other climbers, Health Canada, and supplement formulation experts. We had to test the formula to make sure it would work which was a series of providing samples and getting feedback from climbers, as well as keeping track of my own results. I believe there were 7 different revisions of the formula. Once we knew it was perfect we applied for a Health Canada license and then started production. The product is manufactured in a Health Canada certified facility located in Ontario, Canada.
My climbing performance is very important to me and I would never take something that would compromise it. I don’t believe in selling something I wouldn’t use myself. I hate seeing other supplement companies that are run by people who don’t use every product they sell. It makes me second guess the quality of their products.
The company is run out of Winnipeg and was built out of your love for climbing. Can you tell us a bit about the Winnipeg climbing scene and how it has shaped you love of climbing?
Well I was born here in Winnipeg, best known as Winterpeg. The biggest misconception climbers have about Winnipeg, or Manitoba for that matter, is that there is no climbing here. We actually have more than people think. If you head 1.5 hours north of Winnipeg we have a lot of small cliffs and bouldering. If you head 3 hours east, around the Ontario / Manitoba border, there is a lot of bouldering and lead climbing. Some easy stuff and lots of hard stuff. The problem is our climbing areas are mostly not developed. Which means not many people will know about it. This also means we have to develop it ourselves, and have been for the last few years. There is a lot that goes into developing an area that people don’t understand. It is multiple days worth of cutting trails, cleaning boulders, and trying the route hoping that it goes. You can clean a whole boulder and realize that it doesn’t go!
In terms of the community, it is the best I have seen anywhere I have gone, with BC being a close second haha. Our community is so small that everybody knows everybody. When I go to the store or a coffee shop, I see people from the climbing gym all the time. There are a few guys who have been major contributors to this community and the main guy being Justin Jones. He stepped up 10 years ago and bought the only gym in Winnipeg, Vertical Adventures, to keep the climbing community alive and has built it to what it is today. He continues to grow the community and the outdoor climbing by developing an area we call Forbidden Boulders.
I fell in love with climbing the first time I walked into the gym here in Winnipeg. Since then I have been to many different destinations for climbing. Hueco tanks 3 times, Fontainebleau France, California, Squamish, various BC gyms, various Ontario gyms, Portland, Alberta, Saskatoon and Quebec. I owe a huge debt to this beautiful community and I am so grateful to be able to create something that can help climbers. Without climbing I would be a much different man. Life can kick you in the ass sometimes, but climbing has always been there to help me through the struggles and it will always be there for you.
We noticed that local climber Ivan Lou has been wearing that Nutri Climb shirt. Tell us a bit about bring Ivan on the Nutri climb team and why you picked him out of everyone else?
Ivan is one of those guys that you can’t help but be drawn to. He is so full of ambition and drive, and is one of the friendliest people I have ever met. He believes in helping climbers and giving back to the community. The first time I met Ivan was in Montreal at the Psicobloc event. NutriClimb sponsored the event and my team and I drove there in our 1972 Volkswagen Bus. During the event I watched many climbers scale this huge wall, 55 feet over the water, with no fear. Falco and Ivan were two of the guys that stood out to me. Ivan with his speed and agility, and Falco with his amazing control and calm mind.
NutriClimb provided 30 serving units as prizes for the top 3 competitors and Ivan, placing second in open category, won a unit. I congratulated him at the end of the night and asked him to let me know what he thought about the product after trying it. From then on Ivan became a friend, not just an athlete.
Ivan embodies everything NutriClimb believes in. He has a lot of passion for this sport, works super hard and is always helping people get better and stronger. He’s super friendly and a great guy to be around. We are very happy to support him on his journey and call him a NutriClimb athlete.
Thanks again for chatting with us Dylan. It is good to know how Nutriclimb works and the work that has gone in to creating this supplement.
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Nutriclimb Pre-Workout – MSRP: $49.97
Nutriclimb can be purchased via the banner below and links on the side of out site. There is a 10% discount code for SCM readers so if our review doesn’t have you convinced, be sure to give it a try yourself to determine if it is right for you!
