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Creatine is one of the most popular supplements available on the market with sales estimated at $400...read more
2020
July
4Gauge by 4Gauge Review
4Gauge is a pre-workout supplement manufactured by 4Gauge. It ranks 240 out of 1,898 pre-workout supplements and earned an overall thumbs-up recommendation based on seven factors including nutrition label transparency, ingredients, dosing, claims, research rating, and ranking.
Thumbs-up
4Gauge earned a thumbs-up recommendation. This recommendation is based on the criteria listed below. To earn an overall thumbs-up recommendation, a product must earn a thumbs-up in at least four of the seven areas below. Click on a graded area for an in-depth analysis.
| Graded Area | Thumb Up or Down |
|---|---|
| Effectiveness Rating | |
| Ingredients | |
| Ingredient Dosing | |
| Claims | |
| Research Rating | |
| Nutrition Label Transparency | |
| Ranking Within Category | |
| Overall Recommendation |
Vote Statistics
1 to 5 Star Rating Votes Votes for products are cast in two ways. First, visitors can rate each product with a 1 to 5 star rating. These votes are cast on a product's rating page (this page - below).
| 1 to 5 Star Rating Votes | |
|---|---|
| Total Votes | 3 votes |
| Overall Average | 0 stars |
Add Your Vote
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Comparison Votes Visitors can also vote on which product works better on comparison pages. Comparison pages are a side-by-side analysis between two supplement products. The votes below illustrate whether visitors prefer 4Gauge, or the products listed in the table below. The number next to the thumb up is how many votes 4Gauge won; the number next to the thumb down is how many votes it lost to the other product.
There have been no comparison votes cast for 4Gauge.
Table of Contents
4Gauge Simple Report
4Gauge Detailed Report
The detailed report provides an in-depth analysis of the product's rating. In addition to showing ratings for each area, this report also provides the required criteria for a thumbs-up in each section.
Effectiveness Rating
4Gauge earned a thumbs-up in this category because its effectiveness rating is 1.92. A product's effectiveness rating must be at least 1.5 to receive a thumbs-up in this area. This effectiveness rating means 4Gauge is made up of a mix of both high and low-quality ingredients and may lead to some positive results.
This category illustrates how well a product works based on what the research says about its ingredients. Researchers conduct studies on supplement ingredients to gauge effectiveness. The database grades products on how effective their ingredients are. The effectiveness rating of supplement products is evaluated on a 3 point scale: 3.0 is the most effective, 1.0 is the least effective.
Ingredients
4Gauge earned a thumbs-up in this category because it contains 83% extremely and/or moderately effective ingredients. A product must contain at least 75% extremely and/or moderately effective ingredients to receive a thumbs-up in this area.
This category rates a product's ingredient makeup. A product should contain mostly extremely and/or moderately effective ingredients with little or no ineffective ones. The database categorizes ingredients as extremely, moderately, or ineffective based on conclusions from research articles.
4Gauge contains:
- extremely effective ingredients: 2
- moderately effective ingredients: 8
- ineffective ingredients: 2
- total ingredients: 12
The following table lists all ingredients found in this product as well as their effectiveness ratings and amounts (if listed).
| Ingredient | Effectiveness Rating |
|---|---|
| Dextrose 4g | 3 out of 3 |
| Potassium 10mg | 2.7 out of 3 |
| Creatine Monohydrate 1g | 2 out of 3 |
| L-Theanine 200mg | 2 out of 3 |
| Caffeine Anhydrous 150mg | 2 out of 3 |
| Sodium 20mg | 1.9 out of 3 |
| Red Beet Root Extract 300mg | 1.9 out of 3 |
| Coconut Water Powder 300mg | 1.8 out of 3 |
| Rhodiola Rosea 100mg | 1.8 out of 3 |
| L-Citrulline DL-Malate 6g | 1.6 out of 3 |
| Calcium 30mg | 1.3 out of 3 |
| Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg | 1 out of 3 |
| Product Effectiveness Rating | 1.92 |
Note: These ingredients are accurate as of July 27, 2020.
Ingredient Articles
Does creatine make you stronger?
Creatine and strength training go together like (insert your favorite pair). Creatine works by provi...read more
Creatine and Strength
Plenty of studies have confirmed the positive effects of creatine supplementation. One meta analysis...read more
Creatine and Aerobic Performance
Caffeine is a popular supplement used to improve performance and increase alertness. Americans consu...read more
Does creatine improve cardio?
There are fundamental problems with supplementing creatine in order to improve aerobic performance. ...read more
Does creatine help with sprints?
The research on creatine and cardio was at best, mixed. While cardio is long and low or moderate int...read more
Does creatine help with HIIT?
We know creatine has the most potential to help when coupled with short bouts of exercise where ener...read more
Can creatine help me gain muscle?
It’s fairly clear that creatine monohydrate causes weight gain. For many, this is a benefit. Unfor...read more
Does creatine decrease body fat?
In this series, we've learned creatine definitely increases strength and muscle mass. It accomplishe...read more
Does creatine decrease muscle damage?
There are quite a few supplements which claim to reduce muscle damage; creatine is one of them. The ...read more
Does creatine speed up post exercise recovery?
Exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) is the result of a new workout routine or high intensity activ...read more
Is creatine loading necessary?
There is research demonstrating that consuming 20-30 grams of creatine per day for up to a week incr...read more
Is creatine cycling necessary or is long term creatine use safe?
Cycling creatine on and off is unnecessary. There is no good research indicating that long term crea...read more
Is creatine worth taking?
Creatine is a somewhat rare supplement in that there is plenty of evidence that backs its use. It im...read more
Ingredient Dosing
4Gauge earned a thumbs-down in this category because 0% of its ingredients are dosed within the effective range. Seventy-five (75)% of product's ingredients must be dosed within the effective range to receive a thumbs-up in this area.
This category compares a product's ingredient dosing to effective doses found in research articles and doses used in other products. When researchers study the efficacy of supplement ingredients, they use specific doses. Manufacturers should create products with ingredient doses that fall within established effective ranges.
4Gauge Dosing Compared to Research
This section is a comparison of ingredient doses found in 4Gauge to amounts used in research articles. The first column contains the name of the ingredient as well as the amount. The second column contains the range of effective doses for that ingredient. Note: not all ingredients in the database contain dosing information; only ingredients with scientific dosing information are included in this analysis.
A green checkmark is shown if the ingredient amount falls within the effective range.
A down arrow is shown if an ingredient amount is lower than the effective range.
| Ingredient & Amount | Effective Range |
|---|---|
| Dextrose 4g | 10g |
| Potassium 0.01g | 3g |
| Citrulline Malate 6g | 8g |
| Creatine Monohydrate 1g | 2g - 30g |
| Golden Root Extract - Rhodiola 0.1g | 0.2g - 2g |
4Gauge Dosing Compared to Other Products
This section is a comparison of ingredient doses found in 4Gauge to amounts used in other products. The first column displays the ingredient and amount. The second column displays the average amount of the ingredient found across all products in the database. The final column displays the range found across all products in the database.
An orange up or down arrow is shown if the ingredient amount is higher or lower than the average.
An equal sign is shown if the ingredient amount is equal to the average.
| Ingredient & Amount | Average | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Dextrose 4g | 8.97g | 0.75g - 55g |
| Potassium 0.01g | 0.12g | 0g - 2.01g |
| Sodium 0.02g | 0.19g | 0g - 45g |
| Calcium 0.03g | 0.11g | 0g - 4g |
| Citrulline Malate 6g | 4.39g | 0g - 10.3g |
| Creatine Monohydrate 1g | 2.85g | 0.19g - 6g |
| L-Carnitine 0.5g | 0.74g | 0g - 3g |
| Beetroot Juice 0.3g | 0.72g | 0g - 5g |
| Coconut Water 0.3g | 0.72g | 0.01g - 15g |
| L-Theanine 0.2g | 0.16g | 0g - 1g |
| Caffeine Anhydrous 0.15g | 0.56g | 0g - 350g |
| Golden Root Extract - Rhodiola 100mg | 190.9mg | 5mg - 680mg |
Claims
4Gauge earned a thumbs-up in this category because 76% of its claims are rated as either extremely or moderately effective. Seventy-five (75)% of a product's claims must be rated as extremely or moderately effective to receive a thumbs-up in this area.
The product’s effectiveness rating is an overall picture of how well a product does or doesn't work. Individual studies research an ingredient's effects on certain claims. For example: does creatine monohydrate increase strength, or does beta alanine improve running performance?
The Supplement Database compiles the conclusions of these studies, and based on a product's ingredient makeup, calculates how well a product does on various claims. The claims below are organized by effectiveness (extremely, moderately, ineffective).
4Gauge is extremely effective at:
4Gauge is moderately effective at:
- improve swimming performance
- improve cognitive ability
- improve muscular endurance
- improve sleep quality
- improve rowing performance
- improve cardiovascular endurance
- improve hydration
- reduce frequency of the common cold
- improve immune function
- improve cycling sprint performance
- improve sprint performance
- improve running performance
- improve sports performance
- improve high-intensity interval training (HIIT) performance
- increase strength
- improve cycling performance
- reduce muscle soreness
- improve mood
- improve recovery
- improve memory
Research Rating
4Gauge earned a thumbs-down in this category because its research rating is 50. A product's research rating must be at least 60 to receive a thumbs-up in this area.
A research rating of 50 means there is an insufficient amount of research on the product's ingredients to ensure its effectiveness rating is valid.
The research rating is a measure of how much research has been conducted on a product's ingredient makeup. Manufacturers often rely on ingredients without adequate research backing. They may do this to compete with other products that are already using poorly researched ingredients. They may also only use a very small amount of cherry-picked research as a poor justification to use certain ingredients.
The amount of research contained in the database on a product's ingredients determines its research rating. Products with higher ratings are made up of thoroughly researched ingredients.
Nutrition Label and Ingredient Transparency
4Gauge earned a thumbs-up in this category because its discloses 100% of its ingredient amounts. A product must disclose all ingredient amounts to receive a thumbs-up in this area.
Nutrition label transparency refers to how many ingredients are listed with amounts on the product label. Many supplement manufacturers hide ingredient amounts under the guise of great-sounding proprietary blends such as "Maximum Muscular Size Enhancer" or "Anabolic Cell Strength Matrix."
When manufacturers use proprietary blends, they can hide ingredient amounts making it difficult for consumers to know whether a product is effective.
4Gauge contains:
- total ingredients: 12
- ingredients with amounts listed: 12
- ingredients without amounts listed: 0
- percent of ingredient amounts disclosed: 100%
Product Label
The label below was generated from the information contained in the database about the product's ingredients and amounts. Actual product labels may differ in appearance.
Ranking Within Category
4Gauge earned a thumbs-up in this category because it ranks 240 out of 1,898 in the pre-workout supplement category (top third). A product must be ranked in the top two-thirds of its category to receive a thumbs-up in this area.
4Gauge ranks 240 out of 1,898 in the Pre-Workout Supplements category and 850 out of 5,326 in the entire database. The table below lists comparisons with similarly ranked pre-workout supplement. Click on a link for an in-depth comparison between the two.
| Product Comparison |
|---|
| 4Gauge vs Pre Workout*3 |
| 4Gauge vs Fire 13 |
| 4Gauge vs Pre-Workout*9 |
| 4Gauge vs All Out - Ultra Edition |
| 4Gauge vs Daily Pump |
See more comparisons: Is 4Gauge the best pre-workout supplement?
Summary
| Graded Area | Reason |
|---|---|
| Effectiveness Rating | rating is greater or equal to the required 1.5 |
| Ingredients | more than 75% of ingredients are rated as effective |
| Ingredient Dosing | less than 75% of ingredients are dosed properly |
| Claims | more than 75% of claims are rated as effective |
| Research Rating | research rating is lower than the required 60 |
| Nutrition Label Transparency | discloses all ingredient amounts on label |
| Ranking Within Category | ranks in the top two thirds of category |
| Overall Recommendation | received a thumbs up in the majority of areas |
Comments (1)
I’ve been using 4Gauge for several years now and have always had excellent results. I used it exclusively for almost a year but found as with anything used repeatedly your body adjusts and ‘whatever’ and it won’t be as effective. I do now, cycle out every few weeks with a pre workout from True Nutrition which seems to be working very well. 4Gauge - the cost isn’t too bad and ordering from the U.K. has never been an issue with my orders always arriving in a timely manner. The taste is bitter but you get used to it. I’m a little older (56) maybe my system is slowed down, taking 20 minutes out seems to not be long enough, I can usually feel the effects in about 45 minutes. Pretty straightforward, no tingling just feel, .. strong, hard to explain. There’s no crash and no headache. I powerlift so a “pump” is not really what I’m after. I do feel fuller/thicker after a workout, some vascularity. I think if one was going for the “pump”, 4Gauge would work well.
March 03, 2022