ANS Ritual Sample Review

[TheGilmore]

Thanks to ChrisLS8 and ANS, who sent me out 4 servings of their new pre, Ritual (2 Green Apple, 2 Icy Blue Freeze). Today I downed both packets of Icy Blue Freeze. I recently finished a stim break (which I broke for two workouts with the new PSU), but I still usually need 200mg or so of caffeine when I take a break. So, first, dat profile:



That's a sexy profile. 1 serving gives adequate doses of legit ingredients, and 2 is straight money. There's 45 servings per tub, and it runs around $30. Very competitive. As for real world performance....

Taste:

Two servings of Icy Blue Freeze in 20oz of cold water is bleh. It tastes pretty artificial. But honestly, that doesn't matter much. It just means that other flavor options might be better (I expect Green Apple to be more favorable). If something tastes bad but works well, it's worth it.

Pumps:

For comparison, my best pumps have been from Craze+Hemavol and Nitrates+Hemavol. Today was back/shoulders, and Ritual straight up delivered in this department. It was on par with both of those aforementioned combos. It was even starting to hinder my back work a bit, which isn't very common. The other two samples are getting reserved for chest/arm day, because I can't risk the pumps screwing up my leg day. I avoid any pump products on leg day for this reason. 2 servings does not disappoint here.

Energy and Other Feely Stuff:

I believe I've seen "a strong cup of coffee" tossed around as the caffeine content per serving, so I figure 125mg-150mg. Since I took two, that should be 250mg-300mg+The other stuff in the stim blend. Solid. And I definitely felt it. The energy levels were strong and carried me through my training without leaving me with a crash. I commonly crash from stims (low or high) near the end of my workouts (roughly an hour after consumption). Recent blends such as this seem to be doing better with the longevity for me, though.

Now, due to the Dendrobium, the focus and mood are getting compared to Craze and other products containing it. Compared to other Dendrobium-based pres, Ritual has superior focus (not much noticed for mood though). I forgot to text my fiance between most of my sets. Good job Ritual (not to say I don't like texting her, because I do). Compared to Craze, however, Craze is much, much stronger. This is far and away the primary factor for me in a pre, so I still prefer Craze for the time being (though 2nd day of samples may change my opinion). Part of the difference may be from the differences in Dendrobium extracts, because each company's varies wildly from my experience. There's also the matter of the beta alanine, which reportedly interferes with Dendrobium. Although in what capacity I don't know.

Overall, this is a very good product across all areas that matter in a pre, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a well-rounded product. For a standalone, jack of all trades type product, this is probably the best available. I am looking forward to taking the other two samples for Chest/Arm day either Friday or Saturday, and will post my final thoughts then.

[ChrisLS8]

Nice review man, glad you enjoyed it so far. I have found that Ive had to play around with the water levels for the Icy Blue flavor since its the stronger of the two flavors.

Methinks you will enjoy the apple flavor a bit more as well. We also have 2 more flavors coming out later on, these ones will have no artificial colors this go around

[coughs]

I only took 1 scoop (fasted) and I felt I was going to have a heart attack during heavy squats so I had to leave the gym. Why did I react like this? I'm fine with craze :/

[DasBiceps]

Nice review man, glad you enjoyed it so far. I have found that Ive had to play around with the water levels for the Icy Blue flavor since its the stronger of the two flavors.

Methinks you will enjoy the apple flavor a bit more as well. We also have 2 more flavors coming out later on, these ones will have no artificial colors this go around

How much caffeine is in Ritual per serving?

[TheGilmore]

I only took 1 scoop (fasted) and I felt I was going to have a heart attack during heavy squats so I had to leave the gym. Why did I react like this? I'm fine with craze :/

There's more caffeine per serving. Are you caffeine sensitive?

[DasBiceps]

There's more caffeine per serving. Are you caffeine sensitive?

I'm caffeine sensitive so should i not try the sample or should i just take half?

[brazilianbadboy]

Good review Uncle Gil! You going to love the taste of Green Apple!

[coughs]

There's more caffeine per serving. Are you caffeine sensitive?

I'm not sure but I've taken 2 scoops of craze before and felt fine.

[TheGilmore]

I'm caffeine sensitive so should i not try the sample or should i just take half?

Depends on how much you can normally tolerate. If you're getting the 4 pack, start off with half of one.

I'm not sure but I've taken 2 scoops of craze before and felt fine.

That's roughly the same amount of caffeine I think. Not sure what's going on there.

[TheGilmore]

Remember when I said I'd hit chest/arms on Friday or Saturday? I lied. I'm doing it tomorrow, and will have the final review up tomorrow night. Gonna trade squats for deads on leg day and want to make sure my back is recovered.

[TheGilmore]

Finished off the 2 samples if Green Apple today for chest/arms.

Good:

The taste was much better than the blue one. I would have liked it to be sweeter, but that's personal preference and doesn't affect my thoughts on the product. As for pumps, they were even better than the last workout. I haven't had a pump this painful in a while.

Meh:

I felt zilch in terms of energy and focus. This is odd considering I had some decent effects here last time. Both sessions were on empty stomachs. I was amped to start training, but didn't care in the least once I put my hands to the weights. I could barely focus on my training. This makes me wonder if last time was placebo. It also makes me really wonder whether the ba is holding back the dendrobium.


Despite this, I still feel this is the best product available for anyone who wants a single product to take care of everything. The profile is awesome, the pumps are awesome, and many will likely think the energy and focus are awesome. Unfortunately, the mental game is my main consideration, and I didn't get what I wanted here. I do thank ANS for the samples, and think this is a great product for other consumers.

[shorteeayy]

which would you recommend me buying? im after energy/endurance, im very stim tolerant, ANIMAL RAGE OR ANS RITUAL? Thanks