003
APEX
Before load.
Sour raspberry + lime
Series
003 High noon
Flavor
Sour raspberry + lime
Servings
30 / tub
When
20 to 30 minutes before the bar. One hour before the long stuff.
Energy without the noise.
One scoop that covers every kind of session: the bar, the trail, the court. A full 8 grams of citrulline with real doses of betaine, beetroot, and cordyceps for the work, and caffeine held to 160mg with theanine, so you get drive without the pre-workout shakes. Mix it, wait twenty minutes, load.
You feel the first scoop. The stack keeps compounding.
Hour −1
The long-session clock
For a long session, mix it an hour before you leave. Rhodiola's studied protocol is 200mg about an hour before effort, and the 500mg of beetroot nitrate peaks in the same window. A gym session needs 20 to 30 minutes of lead.
Minute 20
Caffeine + theanine arrive
160mg of caffeine from green tea with 100mg of L-theanine. The pair is the most studied acute combination in the line, and the theanine is why the energy arrives without the shake.
Minute 60
The session chemistry is loaded
The 8,000mg of citrulline malate is at work by your working sets. Taurine, studied in two meta-analyses for time to exhaustion, covers whatever kind of session this is.
Week 3
Cordyceps, on the studied curve
2,000mg of cordyceps a day follows the studied curve. One week in, nothing measurable happens, and that's what the trials found too. The oxygen and endurance effects arrived around week three.
Week 4
Betaine shows up in the log
Betaine at 2,500mg was studied for lower-body strength across 17 trials. You won't feel it during a session. It shows up in your training log.
The spec.
| Citrulline malatethe full studied dose, 8 g | 8,000mg |
| Betaine anhydrous17 trials for lower-body strength | 2,500mg |
| Taurinetwo meta-analyses, time to exhaustion | 2,000mg |
| Cordyceps militarisstudied for oxygen use; effects build over ~3 weeks | 2,000mg |
| Beetroot nitrate (standardized)meta-analyses at 6-12 mmol nitrate | 500mg |
| Rhodiola rosea200mg one hour before effort | 200mg |
| Caffeine (green tea) | 160mg |
| L-theaninethe calm half of the caffeine pairing | 100mg |
| Electrolytes (sodium citrate + potassium) | 400mg + 200mg |
no artificial sweeteners · no dyes · no proprietary blends
Supplement Facts
Serving Size 1 scoop (16 g)
Servings Per Container 30
| Amount Per Serving | % DV |
|---|---|
| Calories 15 | |
| Total Carbohydrate 3 g | 1% |
| Sodium (as sodium citrate) 400mg | 17% |
| Potassium 200mg | 4% |
| Citrulline malate 8,000mg | * |
| Betaine anhydrous 2,500mg | * |
| Taurine 2,000mg | * |
| Cordyceps militaris (fruiting body) 2,000mg | * |
| Beetroot extract (standardized to 500mg nitrate) | * |
| Rhodiola rosea 200mg | * |
| L-theanine 100mg | * |
| Caffeine (from green tea) 160mg | * |
*Daily Value not established.
Other ingredients: citric acid, malic acid, natural raspberry and lime flavors, monk fruit extract, beet juice (for color).
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
APEX vs the typical pre-workout
| APEX | The typical pre-workout | |
|---|---|---|
| Caffeine | 160mg, with theanine | 300mg+, alone |
| Doses | printed on the front | proprietary blends |
| Beta-alanine | none | face tingles |
| Citrulline | 8 g, the studied dose | 3-4 g |
| Creatine | in the recovery tub, daily | a token 1-3 g |
APEX is the session. DESCENT is the hour after. The Active Pair
Questions.
Is APEX third-party tested, and does it use proprietary blends?
Not yet certified. Series 003 is a first production run, so there is no NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport, USP, or BSCG certification in place. Every lot is tested by an independent lab for heavy metals and banned substances before it ships, and the Certificate of Analysis is published by lot number. APEX contains no proprietary blends. Every active is listed at its full per-serving dose on the front of the label: citrulline malate 8,000mg, betaine anhydrous 2,500mg, taurine 2,000mg, cordyceps militaris 2,000mg, standardized beetroot nitrate 500mg, rhodiola rosea 200mg, caffeine from green tea 160mg, L-theanine 100mg, electrolytes as sodium citrate 400mg with potassium 200mg. No artificial sweeteners, no dyes.
One scoop for lifting AND running? Really?
Yes. A hard session asks for the same things whether the load is a barbell or a fire road: blood flow, oxygen use, and focus you can hold under effort. Citrulline and betaine carry the strength side. Beetroot and cordyceps carry the endurance side. Taurine, rhodiola, caffeine, and theanine work for both. Splitting this into two products would have been a marketing decision, and the chemistry doesn't support one.
When do I take it?
20 to 30 minutes before a gym session. For a long one, a morning run or a full day out, mix it an hour before you leave. Rhodiola's studied protocol is 200mg about an hour before effort, and beetroot nitrate peaks in the same window. Caffeine works on either clock.
Why only 160mg of caffeine?
160mg is the cap across the whole line. A typical pre-workout runs 300mg or more, and a lot of what you feel at that dose is shake. APEX pairs its 160mg with 100mg of L-theanine, which in studies preserves the alertness and cuts the edge. Shaky hands don't stick catches, and they don't stick heavy singles either.
Can I take APEX every day?
Yes. Everything in it is fine daily, and cordyceps and betaine only work if you take them every day. Two rules. APEX carries 160mg of caffeine, so if you also took SEND today, that's your two caffeinated servings. And keep any caffeine at least eight hours from bed. NOCTURNE and DESCENT are the evening products for a reason.
Where's the creatine?
Not in APEX. Creatine works by keeping your muscles saturated, which comes from taking it every day, not from taking it before a session. It's in DESCENT, the tub you take daily after load. Betaine at 2,500mg covers the strength slot here, at its studied dose.
Will my face tingle?
No. There's no beta-alanine in the formula.
My pee is pink. Should I worry?
No. That's the beetroot. It's harmless and it fades within a day.
When will I feel the cordyceps?
Around week three. In the trials, one week of cordyceps changed nothing, and the effects on oxygen use and time to exhaustion appeared after about three weeks of daily use. The caffeine, rhodiola, and beetroot you can judge on the first scoop. The cordyceps you judge at week three.