THE STIM-FREE PRE-WORKOUT
GRIND
ATHLETE FUEL® GRIND is a versatile stim-free pre-workout formula that can be taken on its own or stacked with our other products to amplify their effects and maximize blood flow, ensuring optimal nutrient delivery to working muscles. Designed for athletes who train late in the day or prefer to avoid stimulants, GRIND is engineered to dramatically boost nitric oxide levels, intramuscular hydration, endurance, focus, and strength, without using any banned substance.
GRIND has been precisely formulated to maximize pump, stamina, strength and cellular hydration through a top of the range blend of L-citrulline, betaine nitrate, taurine, creatine monohydrate, betaine anhydrous, acetyl L-carnitine, L-norvaline, and L-malic acid. For mental energy and laser focus, it features a carefully crafted nootropic complex of L-tyrosine, CDP choline, rhodiola rhosea, muira puama and ginkgo biloba extract. Finally, we’ve included black pepper extract to ensure full absorption of every serving you’ll take.
Other ingredients: Natural flavours, stevia extract (E960c), sucralose, pink Himalayan salt, beta carotene (colouring), calcium silicate. Allergens: none.
As a dietary supplement, healthy adults mix 1 level scoops in 250/300 ml of water about 30-45 minutes before your workout session. Do not exceed this recommended dose.
STIMULANTS-FREE. FULLY LOADED.
MAXIMISES CELLULAR HYDRATION AND PUMP.
GRIND combines clinically effective doses of L-citrulline, betaine nitrate, L-norvaline, taurine, and Himalayan pink salt to dramatically increase nitric oxide production, support cellular hydration, and deliver fuller, longer-lasting pumps. Unlike most stim-free formulas that rely on underdosed ingredients, GRIND is engineered to enhance blood flow, endurance, and training output without compromise.
ENHANCES FOCUS AND STRENGTH.
GRIND proves that mental performance does not require stimulants. Its advanced nootropic complex combines L-tyrosine, CDP choline, acetyl L-carnitine, rhodiola rosea, ginkgo biloba, and muira puama to support focus, mental clarity, stress resilience, and sustained training intensity. The result is smooth, locked-in performance without jitters, crashes, or disrupted recovery.
BOOSTS NITRIC OXIDE.
GRIND increases nitric oxide production through multiple complementary pathways, combining 10g of pure L-citrulline with nitrates and L-norvaline for maximum vasodilation and nutrient delivery. This synergistic approach supports enhanced vascularity, improved muscular endurance, and more efficient oxygen transport during intense training sessions.
CLINICALLY DOSED. FULLY TRANSPARENT.
GRIND contains no proprietary blends, no filler ingredients, and no underdosed compounds. Every ingredient is included at evidence-based levels to support measurable improvements in pump, endurance, focus, hydration, and performance. Built entirely around clinically effective dosages, it delivers the full formula exactly as listed on the label.
Key ingredients in a serving size
L-Citrulline is the most effective supplement you can use to boost nitric oxide (NO) in the body. Nitric oxide (NO) is made naturally in our bodies and plays a significant role in cardiovascular health. In addition, maintaining optimal nitric oxide levels will make you more vascular, allow you to get a much better pump, and improve physical performance.
Creatine is the best studied and most effective performance enhancing supplement outside of exogenous hormones and drugs. Supplementing with creatine has shown time and time again to significantly improve strength, power output and muscle size. We only use a 200 mesh ultrafine and micronized creatine monohydrate, which is renowned for improved absorption without causing gastrointestinal issues.
Betaine is quickly becoming a popular supplements due to the research showing its ability to boost muscle strength and power, as well as increase growth hormone and IGF-1 levels. It also increases the body's own production of creatine. Betaine also boosts levels of SAM-e, which have been linked to improved mood and cognitive function.
L-Tyrosine is an amazing cognitive enhancing amino acid that acts by balancing neurotransmitter levels in the brain. Its primary role is as the direct precursor to thyroxine and to the neurotransmitters dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. L-Tyrosine shines in its ability to improve mental sharpness, focus, energy levels, and cause mood elevation.
We chose to use betaine nitrate as one of the most effective nitric oxide (NO) boosters available. Nitrates are powerful vasodilators that increase NO levels in the body through a pathway independent of the arginine-citrulline route, which means they bypass common metabolic bottlenecks and deliver reliable results. Once ingested, nitrates are converted into nitrites and then into nitric oxide, enhancing blood flow, oxygen delivery, and muscle pumps. This mechanism has been shown in multiple studies to significantly improve exercise performance and endurance. In particular this study has demonstrated that nitrate rich foods are significant precursor to NO in a dose-dependent manner in humans [R].
Acetyl L-Carnitine is a highly bioavailable form of L-carnitine that plays a critical role in cellular energy production. It facilitates the transport of fatty acids into the mitochondria, where they are converted into usable energy, making it especially valuable for endurance, focus, and overall training performance. Unlike other forms of carnitine, ALCAR readily crosses the blood–brain barrier, where it supports mental clarity, alertness, and neurotransmitter function through enhanced acetylcholine synthesis. The 1 gram dose in GRIND helps improve both mental drive and muscular endurance, ensuring your body and mind stay sharp and energized throughout your workout.
CDP Choline, also known as citicoline, is one of the most bioavailable and effective forms of choline, a vital nutrient for brain health and cognitive performance. Once ingested, it’s converted into both choline and cytidine, which the body then transforms into uridine, a compound that supports neuronal growth and repair. CDP Choline enhances the production of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter responsible for focus, learning, and mind–muscle connection. In the context of a stim-free pre-workout, it plays a crucial role in promoting mental clarity, concentration, and motivation without relying on caffeine or other stimulants. The 500 mg dose used here ensures a potent and sustained cognitive boost, perfectly complementing the physical performance benefits of the other ingredients in GRIND.
Muira Puama is one of the most active botanicals with a long history of traditional use as an energy tonic, general health booster, and as a remedy for impotence and erectile dysfunction. It's a very potent anti-catabolic and dopamine booster, and has been prescribed for stress management, nervous system stimulation and as a tonic for sexual health.
Rhodiola Rosea is a powerful adaptogenic herb known for its ability to enhance both mental and physical resilience under stress. Standardized to 3% salidroside (the most active and neuroprotective compound in rhodiola), this extract helps regulate cortisol levels, reduce fatigue, and sustain performance during intense training or long days. It works by improving oxygen utilization, mitochondrial efficiency, and neurotransmitter balance, resulting in greater endurance, focus, and motivation.
L-Norvaline is a fascinating amino acid with unique properties. It acts as powerful inhibitor of arginase, an enzyme that competes with nitric oxide synthase (NOS) for the common substrate, l-arginine. By blocking arginase, l-norvaline makes more l-arginine available for NOS, leading to increased NO synthesis. L-Norvaline also inhibits ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC), an enzyme involved in the urea cycle. This can indirectly lead to increased L-citrulline levels, which can be converted back to L-arginine, further contributing to NO production.
WHERE MOST STIM-FREE FORMULAS FAIL.
BUILT AROUND WHAT’S MISSING.
Many stim-free pre-workouts are formulated by simply removing caffeine from a standard pre-workout and leaving everything else underdosed. Without sufficient nitric oxide support, hydration compounds, and clinically effective performance ingredients, the result is a flat formula that delivers little beyond placebo-level effects. Stim-free should still mean high performance.
UNDERDOSED “PUMP” FORMULAS.
A flashy label and a long ingredient list mean nothing if the dosages are ineffective. Many stim-free formulas contain tiny amounts of citrulline, nitrates, betaine, or nootropics purely for marketing purposes. Real pumps, endurance, and performance require clinically validated dosages, not decorative ingredients sprinkled into the formula.
STIM-FREE, BUT MENTALLY EMPTY.
Removing stimulants should not mean sacrificing focus and training intensity. Most stim-free products completely ignore cognitive performance, leaving workouts feeling flat and unmotivating. Without ingredients that support mental clarity, dopamine activity, and focus, performance drops long before muscular fatigue sets in.
FILLED WITH CHEAP ADDITIVES.
Many stim-free pre-workouts rely heavily on artificial colours, sweeteners, gums, and filler ingredients to compensate for weak formulations and poor raw material quality. Excessive additives often create bloating, poor mixability, and unpleasant aftertastes. Clean performance starts with transparent formulations and high-quality ingredients, not artificial shortcuts.
What we left out
Found in almost all pre-workouts, beta alanine is the ingredient that makes your skin itchy and has you sitting there scratching your face between sets. There is ample evidence in the medical literature that its effect on performance is negligible and absolutely worthless at the common dosages available in all preworkouts:
“The median effect of β-alanine supplementation is a 2.85% (-0.37 to 10.49%) improvement in the outcome of an exercise measure, when a median total of 179 g of β-alanine is supplemented” [R].
179 grams (an amount nobody would ever be able to supplement) for a 2.85% improvement in performance, and a ton of itchines as a result.
“Although some laboratory-based studies show an ergogenic effect with beta-alanine supplementation, there is a lack of field-based research in training and competition settings.”
Taking leucine post-workout promotes muscle growth, hence why we included a high dose in our REGEN and REFILL.
However, taking leucine in your pre-workout has shown to diminish muscular performance via the inhibition of glycogen to glucose conversion within muscle cells and insulin signaling.
On top of that, leucine can prevent the uptake of tyrosine into the brain, consequently inhibiting dopamine production, which is the opposite of what we are trying to accomplish via our cognitive enhancing nootropics.
One of the worst things you can do is take antioxidants before or straight after your workout.
The stress and damage induced by weightlifting or exercise is needed to facilitate muscular recovery and progress.
The reactive oxygen species produced during intense training assists with that process, and is also why drugs like Ibuprofen can inhibit muscle growth so severely.
The inflammatory response to training is what we want in order to recover, and by inhibiting that with antioxidants or anti-inflammatory drugs, you prevent your body from breaking down and recovering the way it needs to in order to grow.
A pre-workout formula with a bunch of vitamins in it is more likely to hinder your gains than help.
Many companies advertise their supplements as "pure" or "natural", hoping you won't go and read the ingredients list where you'll find artificial flavours and colourings. All of our supplements are only flavoured with natural substances, keeping the taste nice and natural and providing you one of the shortest ingredients list on the market.
Whatever the excuse the manufacturer and/or the distributor would use, we can assure you that a quality product won't need any of these toxic ingredients. We only use stevia as a natural sweetener and we don't use any filler or additive, not even the wide-spread silicon dioxide, which some recent medical literature has linked to health problems. Our commitment to you is to deliver a 100% natural product.
