For those that missed the beginning of the Jym and MusclePharm battle, it all started when the Athlete’s Company released the formulas behind their Hardcore Series. People started noticing that the three Hardcore supplements were all quite similar to Jim Stoppani’s pre, post and protein powder. To make the Hardcore Series even more like Jym it is exclusive to Bodybuilding.com, with each product being cheaper than its Jym competitor by 21 cents or less. More fuel was thrown on the fire when Jim Stoppani dropped a few videos going over why ingredients that Wreckage had and Pre Jym didn’t, weren’t appropriate for pre-workouts. Since the drama started we’ve been getting questions about which one of each brand’s pre-workouts we thought was better, Pre Jym or Wreckage? Today we have that answer after putting both supplements to the test over the last month.
The first thing you need to remember is that Pre Jym and Wreckage are quite similar. 70% of the Hardcore product can actually be found in Pre Jym, although it doesn’t work the other way around as Stoppani’s formula packs quite a bit more. Either way going into our lengthy trial period we knew the two would have a fair bit in common, which of course we found was in deed the case. To help avoid anyone taking the side of the brand we didn’t tell any of our reviewers which pre-workout they were taking, Pre Jym or Wreckage. It kept things nice and even, and allowed for a true unbiased opinion.
Regardless of the ingredients and doses that keep the supplements a part, like all our reviews today we’re only going to be talking about our experience with the two. As mentioned it came as no surprise to us that both Pre Jym and Wreckage are neck and neck in the performance department. Both have a touch of focus, a nice calm hit of energy, and in true full scoop fashion fuel your body to perform a whole lot better than you’re probably used to. We’re going to break the effects down one by one explaining the pros and cons of each for both Pre Jym and Wreckage.
Even in energy
The most important and arguably easiest effect to deliver for pre-workouts is of course energy. It took us a while before being able to really split Pre Jym and Wreckage in this area, and even then we don’t feel one has the advantage over the other. In the case of MusclePharm’s Wreckage you get a bit of an extra kick. It’s about as close to a high as you’re going to get when taking a light stimulant formula. While you may think that gives Wreckage the upper hand, Pre Jym also has a solid kick. It isn’t quite as stimulating but for a performance based product you may not necessarily want that high. Also if you’re thinking that means Wreckage loses since it stims you out, when we say a “bit” of an extra kick we truly mean the smallest bit possible. If we had to put them on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of energy, 10 being crazy, 5 being calm and 1 being nothing. Pre Jym would get an easy-going 6.3 and Wreckage a 6.5.
Calm versus focused
Moving on to the focus side of the supplements, this was something we didn’t expect from the likes of Pre Jym or Wreckage. In the more stimulant powered pre-workout game focus is a hard one to find done right, although in that market the energy is always fairly over powering. As for focus in today’s two formulas, we feel the same story balance applies as it does for energy. Wreckage offers the tiniest bit of extra focus, but in a more stimulant kind of way. Pre Jym’s focus is a lot more calm, which for some is probably not a bad thing. Again just as we mentioned for the energy, the two are primarily performance powered pre-workouts. The focus is good, however it’s not something you want to be too over powering when you train. With that in mind while Wreckage does arguably have the more noticeable amount in this department we found we preferred Pre Jym. Despite having a lower level of focus, you will appreciate its calmness when looking at the experience as a whole.
The big difference
Lastly we have the effect that most heavy scoop products come through on and show you just what you’re missing with the smaller stimulant based pre-workouts. Performance is a difficult thing to deliver on, and something that you won’t find in every big scoop supplement. For us the effect is most noticeable when you’re actually pushing yourself, aiming for one more rep after your last, and manage to get more out of your body at a point where you would usually be done. The trick is when your performance is lifted it can feel like it’s the energy working for you so you blame it on that. After using a stimulant based pre-workout though you will realize there is more to the full scoops than just the energy. They have the ability to make it feel like you’re at the top of your game and sometimes even raise it, giving you the power to do two or three sets at a weight and rep count you could previously only do one of. As brands promote, performance pre-workouts aren’t always something you can feel as they don’t have that “high”, but they are something you will definitely notice when it comes time to work.
With Wreckage and Pre Jym, we knew the performance effect would be where the two clash and really show their stuff. After putting them to the test it came down to what kind of experience you prefer. In Wreckage the energy and focus was rather stimulating, which combined with its strong performance enhancing ability was liked by those after more of a lift. Pre Jym on the other hand had enough energy, a calm focusing ability but a performance that stood out a pinch more than what Wreckage had. At the end of the day it had a lot of us wanting Pre Jym most of the time. Even though Wreckage offers more of a kick, when using Pre Jym you’ll realize it’s just an overall better performer. It tends to refuel you faster and make you feel a lot more powerful during your workout and when performing each exercise. While Wreckage still has that performance enhancing side to it, we feel that little bit of extra energy and more stimulating focus ends up as more of a distraction.
Almost zero tolerance
As tight as the race was in every area there was one more place that the two were equal. Tolerance is usually a big issue with stimulant based pre-workouts as you’ll find you take them a few days in a row then all of sudden the product is barely noticeable. With full dose pre-workouts that is not as much of a problem, especially for the likes of Wreckage and Pre Jym. In the weeks we tested them back to back and consistently, on the fourth and even fifth days we found almost no tolerance issues with performances as good as the earlier days. Neither Pre Jym or Wreckage backed down as no matter how long we took them for or had a break and started again, they remained as competitive and effective as they were on day one. If however you decide to push for a week or two of continuous use you will notice the energy drops as well as some of the focus, but the star of the show the performance, does continue to deliver.
Pre Jym or Wreckage
To finish off our Pre Jym or Wreckage review, for us we do prefer the original Jim Stoppani supplement. That being said if MusclePharm’s Hardcore Series pre-workout were to show up for 5 to $10 cheaper,\ and you were short on money, Wreckage would be a solid investment. At the end of the day the two are extremely similar, with our reason for going Pre Jym instead of Wreckage purely being that it’s just a much more natural, powerful and rewarding experience. Despite our choice if anyone has used the two and prefers Wreckage we wouldn’t be surprised. While its energy and focus does take a little away from the performance, it’s a small trade-off and perfect those days where you may need a stronger kick and less of everything else. We don’t imagine this review will finish the battle, but hopefully it will at least give those trying to decide between the two or wanting to know what the other is like, a real world comparison.
