Ever since we reviewed Dedicated Nutrition’s original Unstoppable way back in September of 2014, we’ve yet to come across a pre-workout that tops it. A handful of recent releases have come close, but nothing that’s been able to dethrone the king. A few weeks back the brand finally launched its highly anticipated sequel Unstoppable V2, which we’ve actually been trialing over the past two months. We’ve now used it more than enough to review it, and confirm just how close to the original it truly is.
Basically Unstoppable V2 is a lot like its predecessor, but at the same time quite different. The supplement is still a jack of all trades, delivering every effect a pre-workout can. What makes it a slightly different experience compared to the original Unstoppable is its balance of effects. In some areas it is better, although in others it’s the same or weaker. Overall it is still a powerful pre-workout leagues above almost everything else on the market.
Powerful energy and aggressive focus
Like all good pre-workouts Unstoppable V2 starts with a solid hit of energy and focus. The effect isn’t strong enough to say it’s a kick, as after they hit the energy and focus do tend to keep getting stronger for another 10 to 20 minutes. The best way to describe the energy is it’s all you need for any kind of workout. Whether you’re doing arms, chest, legs or back, Unstoppable V2’s smooth energy makes you feel naturally energized and ready to take on any challenge. It’s not jittery or over the top like some stimulant driven experiences, it’s very calm as well as powerful. You actually don’t realize how powerful it is until you start working out and knock out reps and sets, stronger and more controlled than usual.
While Unstoppable V2’s energy is quite noticeable, especially in the beginning, the focus doesn’t exactly make itself as known until you’re about 10 minutes in. It’s around that time the energy really hits its peak, which works in with the increasing focus to become a kind of aggression. The powerful combination will have you burning out your muscles every set with ease, and leave you feeling like you didn’t do enough as you still have plenty of energy left in the tank. The aggressive focus then does its part and sends you back into another set determined to do more, and thanks to all the others effects in Unstoppable V2 you can.
Demolish your warm-ups
The next major effect in Dedicated’s latest pre-workout effort is performance, which we don’t feel was done as well in the original. Previously when it came to demanding or intense workouts Unstoppable relied heavily on its energy and focus to power you through, although that didn’t pan out well when attempting to go heavy. With Unstoppable V2 all that has definitely changed as the smoother energy and focus removes the sometimes distracting stimulation, and really lets the very unique performance ability of Unstoppable V2 shine.
The reason we say the product has a unique performance ability is because it does in fact have something we’ve never seen in any other pre-workout. At first we just thought it was the energy doing its part, but then after trialing it for several weeks we discovered Unstoppable V2’s strength boost is a reliable effect.
Basically the supplement will make sure you lift heavy right from the beginning. What it does is make your warm-up weights or early sets seem like a waste of time. Say for example you usually bench 225 for 10 reps in your second or third set, you’ll probably find you can do that right out of the gate, and it’ll feel exactly like a warmed up third set. The strength boost doesn’t quite translate into being able to do more weight as your sessions progresses, however it does give you the opportunity to start heavier sets sooner. The energy and enhanced endurance also ensures you don’t die out, meaning if you do get through your warm-up quicker you will be able to handle an extra top set or two.
Painful kind of pump
The last effect in Unstoppable V2 is pump, something its predecessor definitely nailed but is a little bit less this time around. The product does give you a great pump, although it’s not the fullness type you may remember from the original. The aggressive focus seems to play a role in this one as it adds a concentration side to the effect encouraging more of a dense, painful kind of pump. It also comes on a little slower with it mostly being noticeable around the energy peak 10 to 20 minutes in. Certainly don’t take all that as a bad thing, as at the end of your workout you will still come out knowing Unstoppable V2 had a hand in how your muscles feel and look.
Worst tasting pre-workout on the market
As you can see Unstoppable V2 delivers in all areas however there is one area it falls dead flat on, which is also something we don’t usually care about. In short the supplement is hands down the worst tasting pre-workout available. While its name Cherry Vodka doesn’t exactly sound delicious, you could almost say it doesn’t have any flavor at all. The taste we can best relate it to is medicine like. For some of us it was impossible to drink straight, although we did develop a technique to make it a bit more bearable.
The few of us that couldn’t quite handle the incredibly bitter Unstoppable V2 taste resorted to taking it with a sip of mouthwash or a favorite beverage. The trick is not to mix anything with the pre-workout but after taking a large enough sip, you immediately follow it up with something else. The technique only leaves you tasting it for a second or two depending on how many sips you need to take to finish. Fortunately you may fall into the group that doesn’t mind the taste or can at least get used to it, however our reviewers that were like that still said it’s the worst supplement they’d ever tasted.
Start with one
Before we round out our Unstoppable V2 review we should mention something about dosing as it is a little more important on this than usual. The maximum amount suggested by Dedicated is two scoops, with one being the introductory amount. Regardless of what ever pre-workouts you’ve had before definitely start with the one. The effects we’ve described are from various amounts as some people found two to be perfect, while others equally enjoyed one and a half. Going over that sweet spot didn’t result in a better experience either, in fact it almost made it worse.
Still nothing else like it
Overall Unstoppable V2 is an incredible product and despite being the worst tasting pre-workout on the market, its flavor is worth the experience. As mentioned earlier it does pack a different blend of effects compared to the original, although the combination is still one of the best out there. The supplement gives you all the energy you need, an intense level of aggressive focus, a performance increase like you’ve never seen, and enough pump to please.
