Back before MusclePharm became the giant it’s turned into and rebranded with its now signature black and green, its pre-workout Assault was a strong competitor. Since it made that jump from its original orange and chain styled label, Assault has been reformulated and rebranded a couple of other times as well. We actually rated the first black and green version quite highly, however that’s not the case for today’s Assault Sport review.
We did in fact get our first look at MusclePharm’s new Sports Series Assault back at this year’s Arnold Festival where the supplement was on display with a very interesting label. Unfortunately we later found out that the Arnold Assaults weren’t final despite looking quite promising with the introduction of TeaCrine. The pre-workout eventually launched early last month with a rather different formula featuring seven common ingredients. Not only were the ingredients different from what we saw at the Arnold, but the doses had also been changed. We decided to grab the product anyway to find out for ourselves how different it is from the version we enjoyed all those years ago as well as the previous one.
Heaped scoop for the best chance possible
Before we get into our experience with MusclePharm’s Assault Sport we should mention that it does only direct users to take a maximum of one scoop in any 24 period. For most of our review we did end up changing that to a heaped scoop, purely to push the limits of the supplement. On our scales that bumped up Assault Sport’s serving weight by about 40%. This isn’t necessarily something you may want to do yourself, as mentioned we only did it to give the product the best chance possible.
Assault Sport not a step forward
The bad news is Assault Sport does not really compare to any of MusclePharm’s previous pre-workouts, which includes its spin-off Assault Black and the Hardcore Series Wreckage. While most brands have improved their pre-workout competitors over the years, it seems that the Athlete’s Company has really taken a step back with this one or at least in our minds.
In almost every pre-workout review we do, we usually go over the four major pre-workout effects and how well a supplement delivers on them. For today’s Assault Sport review we are going to be doing things a little differently as there wasn’t really a whole lot we noticed when taking the MusclePharm product. While it does have energy and a relatively solid performance boost, we didn’t feel anything in the area of pump or focus. Because of that we’re just going to describe its energy and performance.
Somewhat average energy
The first effect we’re going to touch on is energy, which despite being one of the only two effects in Assault Sport it isn’t overly strong. The supplement’s 250mg of caffeine feels like a little less than you’d expect, with a somewhat noticeable kick and a smooth but low level of energy throughout your workout. Even when we bumped the pre-workout’s serving up to a heaped scoop it didn’t manage to offer anything more than an average lift.
Assault Sport’s energy is really just like that of your typical energy drink. It’s not going to take you to another level or anything, but it’s enough to get you up and moving, and fuel a workout. Do keep in mind we are comparing the pre-workout’s energy to what else is out there. Since a lot of brands have been putting together better and better formulas, our expectations have been raised. A few years ago Assault Sport’s energy may not have seemed so bad, but in today’s extremely competitive market there are much more impressive energy experiences available. By that we don’t necessarily mean stronger or more stimulating, just better in terms of smoothness, consistency and overall more complete.
Traditional Assault performance
The one other effect in Assault Sport is performance, which surprisingly isn’t too bad. Unfortunately due to the product not having a whole lot of energy or anything else for that matter, you’re not really pushed to take advantage of the enhanced endurance. If you do decide to put yourself through an intense workout though, the pre-workout will definitely help you out. It does a great job at extending your strength for more sets and reps, as well as make you perform stronger than you feel. The performance however is really let down by the fact that there isn’t a lot of energy in Assault Sport as together those two usually work very well, but only if they’re in good amounts.
Assault just hasn’t grown with the category
In our eyes, Assault Sport doesn’t come close to competing at the level it once did all those years ago or even last year. Most supplement companies have grown with the extremely competitive category and either continued to improve on their previous efforts or taken new equally strong approaches. MusclePharm hasn’t done either of those things with Assault Sport, as it still sticks to its traditional performance base and light energy, with nothing new or better to move the product forward.
Up until a few months ago performance wasn’t actually something a lot of the stronger pre-workouts delivered on, so competitors like Assault still had a place. Now we have the likes of Dedicated Unstoppable and Inspired DVST8 White Cut, two supplements that prove a pre-workout can have stimulant powered energy and focus as well as real performance enhancement and pump. If you do still want to stick with MusclePharm we’d suggest picking up the previous version while you can or better yet Assault Black. Assault Sport is simply not better than either of those even at the heaped scoop we were using it at.
