Total Strength + Performance Review

Pro’s

• Contains effective testosterone boosting ingredients

Con’s

• Only 1 ingredient suited to a pre-workout product
• Sold as a ‘pre-workout formula’, but is more of a testosterone booster
• Beta-Alanine can cause side effects
• Not good value for money – expensive!

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See Your Best Options In Our
– Top 3 Pre-Workouts Page –

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About The Product

Total Strength + Performance is sold as a pre-workout supplement, priced at $59.99. It comes in one flavor – Strawberry Lemonade.

But there’s a problem with this product – it’s ingredient list suggests that it’s more of a testosterone booster – only Beta-Alanine is commonly seen in pre-workout supplements (Read the ingredients section to find out more).

The Company: Onnit

Onnit is a supplements company that market a range of products – from Nootropics to Testosterone Boosters.

They aim to “inspire peak performance through a combination of unique products and actionable information”. They’re endorsed by UFC commentator, Joe Rogan. But apart from that, there isn’t much other information available about them.

The Ingredients Explained

As we mentioned above, there are more testosterone boosting ingredients in Total Strength + Performance, than pre-workout ingredients – so we’re not sure why Onnit have chosen to sell this product as a pre-workout supplement.

Why? Because only Beta-Alanine from it’s ingredient list, is usually seen in pre-workout supplements. D-Aspartic Acid is a key T-Boosting ingredient, with Mucuna Pruriens, Stinging Nettle Root, and Eurycoma Longifolia all aimed to raise testosterone levels as well.

Not only that, Total Strength + Performance contains 3 proprietary blends. Why is this bad?

Well, proprietary blends are mixtures of numerous ingredients shown to you as one quantity – for example, the ‘Onnit Performo Blend’s overall quantity is 4.5g, but you don’t know the exact dose of each ingredient inside. This can lead to unwanted side effects, especially if your allergic to any ingredients contained.

Here’s everything you need to know:

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Onnit Performo Blend – 4.5g

This is the first proprietary blend, so you won’t know the exact doses of each ingredient inside here. We’ll take you through each ingredient, so you have a rough idea of how effective it is.

BCAAs (L-Leucine, L-Valine, and L-Isoleucine) 

Also known as Branched Chain Amino Acids, these ingredients can promote muscle protein synthesis (muscle growth). There’s no real negative to BCAAs, but you don’t need to supplement them – it’s definitely possible to consume them in a well-planned diet.

This is why they’re not seen in the majority of pre-workouts, testosterone boosters, or any supplements. Not only that, BCAAs are very cheap to buy separately – so you’re not getting good value for money here.

L-Glutamine

This is an amino acid that’s believed to enhance muscle growth. However, studies haven’t shown that it actually delivers this benefit.

Ultimately, it’s an unreliable ingredient – it’s not proven to work.

Beta-Alanine

Beta-Alanine is the only ingredient in Total Strength + Performance that’s commonly seen in other pre-workout supplements. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good ingredient.

Although Beta-Alanine’s shown to encourage muscular endurance, it’s also known to cause paresthesia in doses over 0.8g-1g. What’s paresthesia?

Well, it’s a tingling on the skin of your face, chest, hands, fingertips and toes – it’s not life threatening, but it will ruin your gym session.

As this ingredient is part of a proprietary blend, there’s a strong possibility that there’s a dose over 0.8g-1g inside Total Strength + Performance. For this reason, you might want to avoid it.

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Onnit Power Blend – 3.4g

This is the second proprietary blend contained in Total Strength + Performance – so you won’t know the exact dosages of each ingredient here either.

D-Aspartic Acid

This can be a key testosterone boosting ingredient when dosed correctly (between 2,000g-3,000g). But Total Strength + Performance is marketed as a pre-workout supplement, so there’s no need for it to try and raise your T levels.

Not only that – D-Aspartic Acid’s part of a proprietary blend, so there might not even be 2,000g inside – meaning it would be ineffective.

We hate to give this ingredient a negative review, but it’s just not designed to be in a pre-workout product. Don’t blame the ingredient, blame the company.

Mucuna Pruriens

This is another ingredient that’s shown to increase testosterone levels. How? Because it’s a natural source of L-Dopa, which reduces cortisol (a hormone which reduces T-levels) – this results in an increase in testosterone production in your testes.

So what’s the problem? Well, Total Strength + Performance is sold as a pre-workout supplement – not a testosterone booster. And it can’t compete with the top T-Booster products on the market.

Eurycoma Longifolia 

Also known as Tongkat Ali, it’s believed to be a testosterone boosting ingredient. However, studies have shown that it doesn’t have a big effect on T-levels – it’s able to slightly reduce cortisol levels, but not by much.

Ultimately, this is an unreliable and potentially ineffective ingredient – especially in a pre-workout supplement, which Total Strength + Performance is designed to be.

Nettle Root Extract

This can be a key testosterone boosting ingredient – studies have shown that it’s effective in raising your T-levels.

How? It binds with Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), which increases the amount of available free testosterone in your body.

But here’s the problem – a boost in testosterone levels isn’t a necessary benefit of a pre-workout supplement. You’d benefit from having ingredients that increase strength, endurance, and cognition with almost immediate effect – as pre-workouts are designed to take 10-30 minutes before your session.

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Onnit Support Blend – 490mg

This is the third proprietary blend inside Total Strength + Performance. As you know by now, you won’t know the exact dosage of any ingredients inside here.

Red Clover Extract

This ingredient is most commonly used as therapy for menopause. Yes, you read that right – menopause…

But studies have shown that it doesn’t offer any benefits to improve your gym session – which is what a pre-workout supplement should do.

Ultimately, it’s an ineffective ingredient inside Total Strength + Performance.

Luteolin Resveratrol 

Also known as Japanese Knotweed, it’s a herb used traditionally in Chinese medicine – to improve heart health and circulation.

How? Well, it’s a good source of Resveratrol – which is the molecule in wine, believed to increase your life span. But studies have proven that Resveratrol has no effect on your life span, or other benefits that could benefit you in a pre-workout supplement.

Another ingredient that’s ineffective.

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Black Pepper Extract 

This is the only ingredient that’s not part of a proprietary blend in Total Strength + Performance. It’s beneficial when consumed with effective ingredients.

How? Well, it can improve the absorption rate of other ingredients – meaning the product will be more effect. But it won’t turn water into wine – it’s not a miracle worker.

As Total Strength + Performance doesn’t contain many ingredients that will benefit you – especially in a pre-workout supplement – Black Pepper Extract won’t have any effect here.

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See Your Best Options In Our
– Top 3 Pre-Workouts Page –

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Side Effects

This is one of the positives about Total Strength + Performance – it’s not likely to cause many side effects.

The only ingredient that’s known to cause side effects is Beta-Alanine, in doses over 0.8-1g.

Here’s the potential side effects from taking this pre-workout:

• Paresthesia – a tingling on the skin of your face, chest, hands, and extremities (fingertips and toes).

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Conclusion

We’re not sure why Onnit have labelled Total Strength + Performance as a pre-workout supplement – it contains more testosterone boosting ingredients, than ingredients that will benefit your gym session.

We would have given Total Strength + Performance a slightly higher rating if it was marketed as a testosterone booster. But it’s still not good enough when compared to the best testosterone boosters on the market.

Ultimately, this is why we’ve given this product a 2 star rating.

How do you find a better product? Look for supplements that don’t contain any proprietary blends, and have numerous key ingredients that’re proven to work.