After initially being a little lost as to what ANS’s beta-test supplement could be, we finally put the mystery product to the test as a pump pre-workout. It didn’t take long to realize during our first workout intending to draw out a good pump, that the latest from ANS was not just another pump pre-workout, but one that worked extremely well. The supplement now known as Dilate, or a flavored reformulation of Dilate, really comes through on it’s promise ‘amplify plasma & muscle cell volume’, making it both honest and effective. While we haven’t tried anywhere near as many pump pre-workouts as we have regular pre-workouts, we’ve used enough to know what’s good and what’s bad. Without question ANS’s new Dilate definitely falls in the category of good with today’s review hopefully communicating how good it actually is.
For those that aren’t familiar with pump dedicated pre-workouts, they of course don’t have that kick or wake up call you get from all-in-one stimulant powered solutions. Even if you stack one with a regular pre-workout, you won’t see that promised pump come into effect as you stroll to the gym or get yourself psyched up for a workout. You generally have to get the blood flowing with a few warm-up exercises or even some intense sets to get the product to do what it’s supposed to. With ANS’s Dilate it’s no different, as it took us a couple of sets, or about one or two exercises before we started seeing something happen. Those numbers will actually be different for everyone, but we will say the more isolated and pump focused your session, the faster Dilate will start working.
Following those first few sets to get the supplement moving, you will start to feel a little more connected to your muscles. By that we don’t necessarily mean the mind muscle connection seen in other focus powered products, more like you start to feel quite full especially with the smaller muscles. For example if you’re working chest, don’t expect your pecs to immediately pop right out of your top, that comes later. It’s the shoulders, triceps and a pinch of chest that first come to life. Where they don’t exactly feel larger just a lot more connected to, resulting in a very impressive early on experience. As you start progressing through your workout, a few sets or an exercise after that initial small but noticeable increase in pump, it’s then that Dilate starts to show it’s true power.
Once the bloods flowing, the body is warmed up, and you’ve got that introductory taste. ANS’s pump pre-workout will begin to expand on those areas thought to be semi-full. In a matter of minutes you will go from a mild feel good pump to a point where it may actually be too much. The previously tapped areas soon become one when the major muscles join in for the fun, and based on the example of a chest session. You soon find yourself unintentionally flexing by just putting on more plates or moving the pin down a block or two. You’ll notice your chest blow up to match your triceps and shoulders, which as mentioned isn’t the first muscle to pump up, although does come on relatively strong, relatively quickly.
When we said Dilate could in fact eventually become too much, we were talking about the point where the pump is at it’s best. Right about the time where you feel your skin could easily tear open, the pump is so good you will also notice a limited range of motion, or at least an altered one. On the topic of chest, in particular bench. You may find your arms and chest become so full that as you ease the bar down, it is your triceps that stretch so much it almost forces you to start pushing long before you normally would. At the other end of the exercise the same thing will trouble you, as your arms and chest are so pumped straightening out with resistance is a pleasant problem.
Outside of chest day we also found the power of Dilate to be an awesome issue for legs. With an exercise like squats the quads perform similar to the triceps in our bench example, where they feel like they’re being stretched beyond what they’re used to. To add to that you may find your hamstrings blow up just as nicely, and your calves end up coming in contact with them earlier in a squat than usual. Of course having a pump so good that it hurts, isn’t really a problem. It’s more or less a surprise both getting the incredible fullness of the supplement, as well as seeing, feeling and noticing that fullness when performing select exercises.
As mentioned at the beginning of the review ANS Dilate is one of the few pump dedicated pre-workout products we’ve actually tried. That being said, we’ve had most of the best and recommended supplements, and had just as pleasing experiences with regular pre-workouts that feature an increased pump. In the case of Dilate it didn’t take long for the product to show us how effective it is, and prove that it deserves to be up there with the best in the category. To be honest we already knew ANS were going to deliver on whatever they released, not because we got the opportunity to try Dilate before it becomes available. But because we are talking about ANS, the makers of two of the best Ritual and Diablo, so we expected nothing less.
