Xtend is another offering from Nutrabolt. I have reviewed its sister energy drink entry, C4, here.
According to Business Wire, Xtend is a product line from Scivation, which is a North Carolina-based company that was founded in 2004.
Scivation invented the intra-workout category that produces high BCAA (branch-chain-amino-acids) through its Xtend product line.
Xtend comprises muscle recovery-based powder mixed with high-quality BCAAs and electrolytes, helping users recover, rehydrate, and build lean muscle. In 2017, Nutrabolt acquired Scivation to strengthen its portfolio of sports nutrition and supplements.
There are actually 2 types of Xtend energy drinks in the market.
Basically, the first, Xtend Carbonated, is a carbonated version of Xtend’s staple formula that focuses on muscle recovery and growth. The second, Xtend Energy On-The-Go, is an energy drink that boosts body performance and quickens recovery.
It’s touted as a must-have for a workout diet and can be consumed any time during a workout session—before, during, and after.
In this article, I’ll be walking you through everything that you need to know about Xtend Energy Drink and giving my honest review.
Let’s get started…
Ingredients of Xtend Carbonated
Ingredients in one can (16 fl. oz.)
- 0 Calories
- 0g Carbohydrate
- 0g Sugar
- 250mg Sodium
- 200mg Potassium
- 3500mg L-leucine
- 1750mg L-isoleucine
- 1750mg L-valine
- 1140mg Electrolyte blend (sodium citrate, potassium chloride, sodium chloride)
- 1000mg Citrulline malate (1:1)
Other ingredients include:
- Carbonated water
- Citric acid
- Tartaric acid
- Natural & artificial flavors
- Sucralose
- Sodium benzoate (preservative)
- Malic acid
- Acesulfame potassium
(This drink does not contain any sugar, artificial coloring, or dyes).
Ingredients of Xtend Energy On-The-Go
Each 16 fl. oz. can of Xtend Energy On-the-Go contains:
- 0 Calories
- 0g Total fat
- 220g Sodium
- 0g Total carbohydrate
- 0g Total sugar
- 0g Protein
- 240mg Potassium
- 640mcg Vitamin B6
- 7000mg Branch-chain amino acids 2:1:1 (L-leucine, L-isoleucine, L-valine)
- 1000mg Taurine
- 500mg L-Citrulline
- 125mg Caffeine (as caffeine anhydrous)
Other ingredients include:
- Carbonated water
- Instantized branch-chain amino acids (L-leucine, L-isoleucine, L-valine, sunflower lecithin)
- Citric acid
- Electrolyte Blend (sodium citrate, potassium chloride, sodium chloride)
- Malic acid
- Natural flavours
- Potassium sorbate (preservative)
- Sucralose
- Acesulfame potassium
- Pyridoxine hydrochloride
What does Xtend Carbonated taste like?
To give you an idea of how the Xtend Carbonated drink tastes like, here are the flavors:
- Xtend Black Cherry
- Xtend Blue Raspberry Ice
- Xtend Glacial Grape
- Xtend Kiwi Berry Blast
When I first opened the Xtend Blue Raspberry Ice, I noticed that it has a little sweet and tarty smell which was pleasant. Flavor-wise, it has a very strong blue raspberry flavor, very similar to Jolly Rancher’s Blue Raspberry.
With that said, it isn’t overly sweet either, so you can enjoy this drink as a tasty energy recovery.
What does Xtend Energy On-The-Go taste like?
These are the flavors for Xtend Energy On-The-Go:
- Xtend Energy Ultra Frost
- Xtend Energy Lemon Ice
- Xtend Energy Knockout Fruit Punch
- Xtend Energy Blueberry Lemonade
Put simply, Xtend Energy Ultra Frost tastes really good.
Although it’s the only one from this category that I’ve tried, it has successfully raised my expectations for the rest as well.
What made this drink so distinctive was how refreshing it was, which I guarantee you can hardly find in any other drinks.
Definitely, a taste to remember.
What makes Xtend Energy On-The-Go work?
Xtend has successfully elicited not only an energy boost (obviously), but also a confidence boost as well with its 4 no’s – no sugar, no carbs, no calories, and no dyes.
Despite not having the regular components of an energy drink, it was still able to energize me sufficiently, which you may be curious to know why. The secret behind this miracle can be found within its BCAA (Branch-Chain-Amino-Acids) content and a moderate amount (125mg) of caffeine.
It contains 7 grams of BCAA, a larger dose than most of its competitors in the BCAA drink category providing an average of 4-5 grams of BCAA.
What is BCAA and is it beneficial?
BCAA (Branch-Chain-Amino Acids) mainly enhances muscle growth for bodybuilding and prevents fatigue for athletes.
Supplementation of BCAA is generally not needed if you are eating well with a high protein intake. However, it is marketed to be extremely useful for muscle building.
BCAA are made of three amino acids-
- L-Leucine
- L-Isoleucine
- L-Valine
L-Leucine
The most prominent among the three types of BCAA is L-leucine, which promotes muscle protein synthesis significantly.
It activates mTOR, a type of protein in our body, which then stimulates muscle protein synthesis (muscle building) that leads to larger and stronger muscles.
To unleash its full potential, it’s recommended for you to take it in a fasted state or as a supplement to meals with lower protein content.
L-Isoleucine
L-isoleucine also activates mTor but has a weaker effect as compared to L-leucine in inducing muscle protein synthesis (stronger than valine, but much weaker than leucine).
L-isoleucine has a different function, which is to increase the uptake of glucose into muscles, as well as catalyze the usage of glucose during exercise.
However, do note that L-isoleucine does not promote glycogen synthesis.
L-Valine
Known to promote mental vigor, muscle coordination, and calm emotions, L-valine is one of the three branched-chain amino acids.
Though it may sound alien to you, chances are you probably have encountered it as it is often used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and nutritional industries as well.
Although it has muscle-repairing properties, it is considered to be the weakest among the three.
Benefits of BCAA
Here is a list of BCAA’s benefits
- Increase muscle growth
- Decrease muscle soreness
- Reduce exercise fatigue
- Prevent muscle wasting
Increase muscle growth
Leucine activates muscle protein synthesis in the body. In short, it makes muscle building easier.
A study shows that people who drank 5.6 grams of BCAA drink had 22% muscle protein synthesis after their workout.
Decrease muscle soreness
Your body experiences DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) after a long workout.
The effects may develop after 12-24 hours of exercise, lasting up to an excruciating 72 hours.
Health sites suggest that BCAA slows down DOMS after a workout by decreasing the tiny tears after a workout, which reduces the time we feel sore.
Reduce exercise fatigue
Your muscles use BCAA during workouts, and when your BCAA levels are low, your body produces tryptophan.
Tryptophan automatically transforms into serotonin, which is thought to cause fatigue. So when you balance out your BCAA levels through Xtend, your body experiences less fatigue.
Prevent muscle wasting
Muscle wasting is a phenomenon where muscle protein breakdown exceeds muscle protein synthesis, meaning the tearing of muscle is a lot more than the building of it.
Therefore, it’s vital for BCAA to be replenished inside the body in order to slow down the breakdown of muscle protein and promote muscle protein building.
What are the side effects of BCAA?
Although BCAA plays a significant role in helping muscle building and enhancing performance, you should be aware that it comes with a few side effects as well.
According to research, irresponsible consumption of BCAA is associated with nausea, bloating, vomiting, and diarrhea. In severe cases, it can even lead to hypertension, headaches, and whitening of the skin.
Notably, prolonged use of BCAA may even cause ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or Lou Gehrigs’s Disease.
Studies show there are several cases where professional footballers have developed ALS after prolonged use of BCAA.
Therefore, I would strongly advise you to consume BCAA in reference to the guidelines and manufacturer’s instructions especially when using it as a supplement.
Xtend Carbonated vs Xtend Energy On-The-Go
The straightforward answer to this would be in its ingredients, to be precise, caffeine and some other lesser-mentioned ingredients.
Undeniably, both drinks give you a better post-workout feeling—containing BCAA which lessens muscle sores, and hydrates your body—but, the key difference is the 125mg caffeine that is in Xtend Energy On-The-Go.
This is a perfect amount of caffeine as it gives you the boost in a timely fashion so that the caffeine crash won’t be such a drag later on.
In my opinion, the crash is so mild that it can even be categorized as being mild to nil.
In addition, both taurine and Vitamin B6 are present in Xtend Energy On-The-Go while, unfortunately, it isn’t in Xtend Carbonated.
Taurine lowers blood pressure and calms the sympathetic nervous system, promoting healthy metabolism, and nerve growth.
Read here to learn more about the benefits of taurine.
Among the many benefits of Vitamin B6, one of them might stand out to you more if you are a bodybuilder, which is that it may prevent clogged arteries and reduce the risk of heart disease.
With these three items, Xtend Energy On-The-Go has a slight boost (pun intended) against Xtend carbonated.
Comparison with other Energy drinks
| Brand | Volume (fl.oz) | Caffeine (mg) | Sugar (g) | Price ($) |
| Xtend Energy On-The-Go | 16 | 125 | 0 | 1.50 |
| C4 | 16 | 120-300 | 0 | 2.5-3.00 |
| Bang | 16 | 300 | 0 | 2.00 |
| REIZE | 8.4 | 50 | 0 | 1.00 |
Xtend vs C4
Xtend and C4 are different in making although they both provide similar effects for you. Xtend has a whopping 7g of BCAAs to provide muscle recovery, slow down muscle fatigue, and maintain mental health.
On the other hand, C4 comprises CarnoSyn® Beta-Alanine which reduces muscle fatigue, BetaPower® Betaine which maintains hydration, and N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine which sustains mental and cognitive health.
Caffeine
Xtend Energy On-The-Go contains 125mg of caffeine while C4 contains 120-300g depending on variants in the form of caffeine anhydrous.
So for those who prefer a smoother caffeine crash, I would put Xtend above C4 in that aspect.
Sugar
Both brands have zero sugar in them, and instead, substitute it with artificial sweeteners. Mostly Ace-k (Acesulfame potassium).
Price
In terms of price, it costs around $1.50 for Xtend which contains a moderate amount of caffeine and a great BCAA kick.
On the other hand, if you are a sucker for caffeine, you could consider C4 Ultimate, which costs double that of Xtend at $3.00 but contains 300 mg of caffeine in a 16 fl. oz can.
Xtend vs Bang
Xtend and Bang both have BCAA content and caffeine to consider.
The BCAA in Bang is less prominent than Xtend, but it makes up for it with Super Creatine and COQ10. Super Creatine is Creatyl-L-Leucine, (Creatine bonded to L-Leucine), which is essentially the BCAA of Bang.
Caffeine
The amount of caffeine in Bang, as shown in the lab test that I did earlier, is bismal compared to that of Xtend.
Xtend has 125mg while Bang has 34.06mg or 188mg depending on the variation.
According to the label, Bang contains 300mg of caffeine per can.
Sugar
Both have no sugar in them. Artificial flavoring all the way.
Price
In terms of value for money, I definitely recommend Xtend ($1.50) over Bang ($2.00). According to other reviewers, Scivation doesn’t disappoint.
Xtend vs REIZE
Caffeine
Xtend contains more caffeine (125 mg) than REIZE (50 mg). Although the amount of caffeine seems minimal in comparison, REIZE still provides an effective rise in alertness with no sugar crash afterwards.
Sugar
Both Xtend and REIZE use artificial flavors. Xtend relies on acesulfame potassium and sucralose, while REIZE makes use of acesulfame potassium and aspartame.
Aspartame is a widely-used form of artificial flavor that can be found in Coke Zero Sugar and many other foods and drinks.
Price
Price-wise, REIZE is a clear winner here. Although both Xtend and REIZE place themselves in the healthier segment of the energy drink market, REIZE only costs about $1 per drink while Xtend costs around $1.50.
On top of that, REIZE ships right to your door for that price with nothing more to pay, while you have to go to the store to get Xtend.
Final Verdict
To summarize, Xtend is a commendable brand as a supplement to your workouts, and it doesn’t disappoint in its function as an energy drink. In addition to having satisfactory flavor and effects, its pricing is not overly expensive either.
All-in-all, it is a very well-rounded selection of canned energy drinks. However, cans are still cans and, you gotta admit, carrying cans of energy drinks in your workout bag isn’t too convenient.
REIZE, on the other hand, is an energy drink that is easy to carry around, being in a compact sachet form. And to make it, you simply just have to add some water.
Simple as that!
It might not offer BCAAs but it is more convenient than lugging a pack of 12 around. On that note, give REIZE a try and you’ll be in for a surpREIZE as you will see fantastic results on your workout.
Give REIZE a try today and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it’s better than Xtend energy drink.