Athena Pre-Workout Review

When it comes to supplements, a huge bulk of the brands we have today are formulated for men. Men and women are different, and so their needs are also different when it comes to nutrients and supplements. What is good for men isn’t always good for women and the same can be true in reverse.

This is why we have an entire industry devoted to female supplements, with the likes of ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout spearheading the competition. 

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout is said to contain incredible, effective, and scientifically-backed research ingredients. This is also what many male supplements claim to have, but so few ever prove. Will it be the same for ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout too? 

Is ATHENA® Intense as good as it sounds or will it be a dud? Is it as good as Alani Nu? Let’s find out!

About ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout

ATHENA® Intense is sold by Unico® Nutrition. The company describes ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout as their third, and most complete version of the legendary ATHENA pre workout for women. They also say that ATHENA® Intense contains an upgraded stimulant matrix. Fancy words right there, so let’s hope it’s also really worth looking.

• Hundreds of good reviews: On their website, ATHENA® Intense has over 600 reviews from alleged customers. We’re saying alleged because let’s face it, supplement sites often fake the reviews you see, but we’re going to give ATHENA® Intense the benefit of the doubt and assume at least half the reviews are real.
• The Most Comprehensive Pre Workout for Women: We’re not sure how they view ATHENA® Intense as comprehensive, but from our understanding, a comprehensive supplement is supposed to cover all bases. By telling users ATHENA® Intense is their most comprehensive pre workout, this better be well-rounded.
• Muscle building: We like how female supplements are slowly shedding the fear of getting “bulky.” Women look sexy with a six pack too.

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout: Supplement Facts

Other Ingredients: Pineapple Fruit Powder, Dextrose, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Silicon Dioxide, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose, and Either Beet Root Powder (Straw, Watermelon, Cherry flavors, or Annatto Seed Powder (natural colorants).

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout: Ingredient List

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout makes use of 13 key ingredients designed for women. We do wonder what makes these ingredients “for women,” given that many pre workouts are neutral. 

Athena Intense Performance Matrix

• CarnoSyn® Beta-Alanine: This is the best and most premium form of beta alanine. You see, beta alanine has large molecules. So large, they graze our nerve endings when they circulate our bloodstream. This causes us to itch in places we didn’t know it was humanly possible to itch. CarnoSyn is a brand that’s supposedly pulverized beta alanine particles (aka made them really small), so they don’t make us want to scratch our butt while squatting 300 lbs. 
• Betaine (Trimethylglycine): Betaine is largely found in beets, hence why it’s called betaine. In pre workouts, betaine has been cited to help improve muscle performance, especially endurance and muscle growth. Some studies also suggest betaine promotes creatine synthesis - a critical aspect of muscle recovery. The researchers noted: “The results of this study indicate that two weeks of betaine ingestion can significantly improve muscle endurance in a lower body workout by increasing the number of repetitions performed in the squat exercise, as well as improve the quality of the workout by improving the number of repetitions performed at 90% of the subject's maximal mean and peak power outputs. These improvements appear to occur within one week of supplementation.”
• Taurine: Taurine helps with muscle hydration which is important to help reduce the risks of muscle cramps during training. 
• N-Acetyl L-Cysteine: This is an antioxidant and is known to help with liver detoxification. Meaning this ingredient can help remove harmful stuff out of your body. Now that they mention it, betaine also has some detoxification properties. Perhaps the female approach to pre workouts has to do with internal cleansing? 
• Citrulline Malate: The best ingredient known for muscle pumps and performance. Citrulline malate helps the body produce more nitric oxide which promotes blood circulation and nutrient absorption. In turn, it can also give you that veiny look you see in many bodybuilding contests. 
• Beta vulgaris L. (beet extract): This is another pump-boosting ingredient, but in its natural form. Based on how the formula is structured, we’re assuming beet extract is more of a nitric oxide support for citrulline malate. 
• L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, L-Valine: These are collectively known as your BCAAs or Branched Chain Amino Acids. This trio has dominated the pre workout scene for decades and is largely known to stimulate protein synthesis. . 
• L-Tyrosine: This is a nootropic with focus, mood, and stress benefits. Essentially, tyrosine is here to make sure we don’t rage out while we lift tons of iron. We like nootropics, but we think they went a little overboard with their tyrosine at 1.5 grams. As in, aren’t they supposed to sell a pre workout as a performance enhancer? 1.5 grams of tyrosine makes it look like it’s more of a nootropic.
• Caffeine Anhydrous: Everyone’s favorite (or most loathed) stimulant. You know the drill: Energy, a bit of fat burning, and focus. We get 150 mg of caffeine, which is just higher than 1 cup of brewed coffee. 
• Huperzine A: Huperzine is yet another nootropic known for enhancing brain power and focus. What’s amazing with huperzine is, it works really well with tiny dosages, but we think the 25 mcg is just too small. 

Absorption Enhancer

• BioPerine®: BioPerine is the best brand of piperine, an extract of black pepper. What it does is maximize absorption of the ingredients it is mixed with. Better absorption means you get more out of every milligram of powder. 

Who is ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout made for?

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout was made for women who want a detox touch with their pre workout. We’re not sure how popular it is for women to always be detoxing, but if their market is made up of females who want a healthy liver, then ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout did them justice. 

The fact that ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout also made use of popular ergogenics such as BCAAs and Beta Alanine speaks a lot about how they want to break the mold when it comes to what women want in the gym. 

What are ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout’s benefits?

ATHENA® Intense provides a really decent performance boost for those who want to get a good lift. The muscle pumps, the strength perks, and the focus benefits all work together to give users quality workouts every time. The addition of detox ingredients also greatly helps with overall health, especially the antioxidant content that can give long-term health benefits. 

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout: Side Effects

The side effects associated with caffeine shouldn’t be that worrisome given that the dose is just 150 mg. If you’re a regular coffee drinker, 150 mg caffeine shouldn’t be that bad. Like we mentioned, 150 mg is just more than 1 cup of coffee, and people drink and even eat caffeine nowadays. The beta alanine content could cause you to itch, but they did make use of CarnoSyn, so there’s a good chance you might not need to scratch anywhere. 

Is ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout really made for women?

This is a hard question to answer. On one hand, the website CLEARLY states that ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout is for women. Like, it’s in the name. However, we also think the people behind ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout forgot a few key elements of what makes a supplement “female.”

For one, we don’t see the presence of “female” vitamins and minerals like iron and folate. We also don’t see calcium, which is critical as women are more prone to bone diseases. We’re also not sure if staying safe with caffeine is still a female thing. A lot of women are already drinking lots of caffeine via their favorite lattes and fancy coffee concoctions, so it’s hard to imagine that they’re still not in good terms with caffeine. 

But hey, we’re not experts in female supplements, so take our opinion with a grain of salt.

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout: pros and cons

Pros

• Quality ingredients. We appreciate brand names and potent forms.
• Sustainable pumps. Citrulline malate + beet root should be a good combination. 
• Intelligent formula. It’s not one of those “mix everything and hope someone buys it” formula.
• Reduced stimulant side effects. The caffeine dose is not that high plus you get a lot of nootropics to control the stimulant side effects. 

Cons

• Mild dosages. An extra gram or two in some key ingredients should make it better. 
• A bit expensive. It’s not premium priced, but we think it’s a few dollars over what we’d buy it for. 
• Too much nootropic power. 1.5 grams tyrosine is kinda overkill for a pre workout blend. 

Pricing info

• 1 bottle (20 servings): $34.99
• Available online and in retail stores

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout: Summary

ATHENA® Intense pre workout is a brand that wants to make sure everyone knows it’s for women. The bottle design, their website, the reviews they feature, ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout has all the makings of how a female pre workout should be marketed. 

Formula-wise, ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout ain’t half bad. We get a lot of good pre workout ingredients, compounds you’d think would belong in a typical male pre workout if only because of the entire “bulky” fear. So, we’re glad ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout is taking a step forward in terms of telling women that being strong is the new sexy.

ATHENA® Intense Pre-Workout is a good product and should provide a good workout experience. And if you enjoyed this review, you might also want to check out our review of the best pre-workouts for women!