Blast Max is Old School Labs take on the premium pre-workout trend, offering a step up from its original competitor in the saturated category with Vintage Blast. The golden era bodybuilding brand did indeed pack out the supplement, filling it with a lengthy list of ingredients, premium compounds, and solid dosages, including the likes of NO3-T nitrates, the caffeine-free stimulant Dynamine, and a combined 400mg of caffeine.
Old School Labs’ Blast Max doesn’t have any over-the-top dosages as we’ve seen in other pre-workouts, such as 10g of pure citrulline or 6.4g of beta-alanine, but we were interested to see how it performed in the gym. More doesn’t always mean better, and after getting in several weeks of workouts with the supplement, there is a lot more to Blast Max than you’d expect from the label, making for a pretty competitive pre-workout.
Review
Like most premium pre-workouts or even mainstream-level supplements, Blast Max is built for a comprehensive experience, supporting energy, focus, pumps, and performance. It definitely delivers in more areas than others, with the energy and pumps being the standout benefits, the performance not far behind, and the focus leaving us wanting more.
While we have had pre-workouts with a combined 400mg of caffeine many times in the past, whether it’s the specific blend or synergy of the other components, somehow Blast Max makes it feel much smoother and stronger than expected. After throwing down a serving, it gradually builds to a noticeably substantial level, not an instant slap in the face; however, it does eventually get to that strength once it’s built up and you hit the gym.
It is with that intense level of energy that you get a sense of elevated focus, but nothing like the tunnel vision or full-on clarity experiences we’ve had from other pre-workouts. The elevated focus also doesn’t remain, as while the energy stays relatively strong from start to finish, ensuring you power through each exercise and set, the focus tends to softly tail off.
Muscle pumps is the other benefit that stands out in Old School Labs’ Blast Max, although that’s not too surprising with the selection and solid dose of NO3-T nitrates in the mix. We haven’t had a nitrate-fueled pre-workout that didn’t shorten the time it took to get an intense pump going or provide harder, denser pumps than usual, and that is precisely what happens in Blast Max, nicely complementing that endless energy.
The performance and endurance portion of Blast Max was an area we’d put somewhere between the pumps and focus. There wasn’t any workout where we felt we couldn’t lift at the pace or strength we were without the pre-workout, but there was a nice natural comfort to the experience. Blast Max gives you a much more controlled and confident feeling in your strength, which we’d probably contribute to the enhanced energy.
Summary
Old School Labs’ certainly comes through in its Blast Max premium pre-workout, offering something that doesn’t look supremely loaded on paper compared to other products at its price point; however, it delivers at a competitive level. The synergistic energy is the star of the show, with the pumps also shining through, and though the focus and performance aren’t as impressive, it all melts together for an addictive feel and workout.
