Mastering the Raw Nutrition Basics

RAW Nutrition is undergoing some big changes in 2023. On the heels of a great year marked by incredible formulas like Thavage Pre-Workout and their epic Raw Bar, the team at RAW isn’t letting its feet off the gas pedal any time soon.

One of our favorite ongoing RAW projects is their partnership with 4-time Mr. Olympia, Chris Bumstead. Every product they’ve released thus far has been well thought out and executed flawlessly, including the affordable release of CBum Essential Pre-Workout, a simple product geared towards those who just want the ingredients that work well at a great price point.

RAW Nutrition continues their 2023 mission to perfect the basics with CBum Essential Pump RTD.

We’re excited to announce that in February, we’re getting another Essential product. This time, it’s in the form of a ready-to-drink stimulant-free pre-workout called CBum Essential Pump.

Elite stim-free pump ingredients in a convenient package

Raw Nutrition’s Essential line of products, as a concept, has an almost cleansing, stress-relieving feel to them. In an industry dominated by the urge to add more and more ingredients, CBum Essential keeps it simple: only the ingredients necessary, in the dosages necessary, for a killer pump and a great workout.

Built with heavily studied ingredients like L-citrulline, beta alanine, and taurine, CBum Essential Pump shoots for solid, predictable results unbothered by untested or clinically-dubious additives. This confidence and simplicity is amplified by its format: a ready-to-drink bottle. No need to carefully measure the right number of scoops into a shaker bottle – it’s ready to go, right off the shelf.

While the CBum Thavage Pre-Workout RTD was a fully-loaded, stimulant-based drink, Essential Pump is stimulant-free and less intense.

Today we get into the nitty-gritty details of the CBum Essential Pump formula, but first let’s check out PricePlow for some good deals on RAW products, as well as our video breakdown of the ingredients:

CBum Essential Pump RTD – How It Works

Each 12 ounce bottle of Essential Pump RTD brings the following:

• L-citrulline (5,000mg)

  L-citrulline is still a top choice in pre-workouts, whether they contain stimulants or not, and for good reason. L-citrulline is a non-essential amino acid that gets converted into L-arginine by the kidneys, avoiding the bioavailability issues that come with L-arginine supplementation.^[1]

  CBum Essential Pump packs a punch with a healthy dose of 5 grams of pure L-citrulline. In the past, companies used to include L-arginine in their products as a nitric oxide booster, but after studies showed that L-citrulline was more effective in increasing L-arginine levels,^[1,2] they switched over.

  Once converted into L-arginine, the arginine then creates nitric oxide through nitric oxide synthase.^[1] Nitric oxide causes the blood vessels to dilate, leading to increased blood flow, nutrient and oxygen delivery, and removal of metabolic waste.^[1]

  Citrulline’s been shown to have clinically-efficacious effects at 3 grams^[2] — you don’t even need to drink a whole bottle of this to get that!

  Put all this together, and L-citrulline is an incredible way to boost performance in the gym and we love its dosage in CBum Essential Pump.

• Beta alanine (3,200mg)

  

  We’re interested in section (B) here, where beta alanine alone shows great results compared to placebo.^[3]

  Beta alanine is an amino acids used to produce carnosine, a molecule that helps buffer lactic acid.^[4] Increasing your body’s levels of intramuscular carnosine through beta alanine supplementation is effective in improving muscle endurance.^[5]During exercise, your muscles build up metabolites like lactic acid, causing the pH level to drop and making for a more acidic environment, leading to fatigue and difficulty in energy production. With increased carnosine levels, beta alanine can help fight off fatigue and allow you to exercise longer and harder.^[5,6] The greatest effects are seen in activities lasting 1-4 minutes, but beta alanine also improves both anaerobic and aerobic activities.^[5,6]Essential Pump contains a 3,200 milligram dose, a dose at which research has indicated a significant performance improvement when taken daily.

  This dose may lead to the “beta alanine tingles” (more scientifically known as paresthesia), which most athletes should be used to at this point. It’s non-toxic and there is a large safety study concluding that beta-alanine “does not adversely affect those consuming it”.^[7]

• Glycerol (3,000mg)

  The glycerol molecule is a byproduct of glucose and fatty acid combustion, produced in the body during energy production.^[8,9] It’s a key component in the liver’s process of converting non-glucose substances such as protein into glucose.^[10]

  When taken as a supplement, glycerol offers remarkable benefits related to hydration. The liver and kidneys metabolize oral glycerol supplements before distributing them throughout the body, except for the brain and eyes. ^[11]

  

  Chris Bumstead is now a partner at Raw Nutrition! Learn what’s coming back with PricePlow Podcast Episode #052.

  The supplement increases the osmotic pressure in tissues, causing water to enter cells, resulting in a state known as cellular hyperhydration.^[11,12] This increased cellular water content leads to increased endurance in cells, including muscle cells, and can significantly delay whole-body fatigue during exercise.^[11,12]

  When talking about any hydration ingredient — including both betaine and taurine in CBum Essential Pump RTD alongside glycerol here — we always urge users to drink plenty of water. The amount of water is fixed in the RTD, but you should still strive to drink enough throughout your workout. You can mix it with some Raw EAA to keep the aminos flowing to the muscle.

• Betaine anhydrous (3,000mg)

  CBum Essential Pump contains an impressive dose of betaine anhydrous, a compound sometimes underdosed in pre-workouts. With a clinically-verified dose of 2.5 grams, a bottle of CBum Essential Pump RTD can provide the studied benefits of betaine. Taking 3 grams of betaine daily can lead to improvements in strength, power, endurance, and body composition. ^[13-15]

  Betaine, also known as trimethylglycine, is a naturally occurring organic compound found in beets and other foods. As an osmolyte, it helps regulate fluid balance in cells and increases their resilience to stressors.^[13] Additionally, betaine acts as a methyl donor, converting homocysteine back into methionine and preventing negative effects on protein synthesis and insulin signaling.^[13]

  Furthermore, methionine can be used to create creatine, which plays a crucial role in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production during exercise. Studies have also shown that betaine stimulates insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1), promotes fat cell breakdown, aids in the browning of white fat tissue, and reduces the creation of new fat cells.^[14,15]

  All these benefits make betaine a valuable addition for improving lean muscle mass and overall body composition!

• Taurine (1,000mg)

  
  To round out the trifecta of hydrating ingredients, RAW Nutrition has included a gram of taurine in their product to help increase muscular endurance and hydration. Taurine is an amino acid that provides a range of health and performance benefits, including supporting bile salt production, osmoregulation, and antioxidant properties.^[16,17] Although taurine is produced by the body, extra supplementation can be helpful during intense workouts. Research shows that taking a gram of taurine per day can improve muscular endurance, in addition to its other health benefits.^[16,17]

  While more research is needed to fully understand taurine’s role in increasing muscular endurance, the current hypothesis is that it helps maintain proper levels of calcium in the muscles, leading to more efficient contractions.

  If you’re interested in learning more about taurine with respect to physical endurance, check out our article titled “TAURINE: The Underrated Endurance Supplement (New Meta-Analysis!)“.

• Agmatine sulfate (500mg)

  Although it’s not as common in pre-workouts as other ingredients, agmatine sulfate is a powerful addition.
  
  Agmatine is a metabolite of L-arginine and acts as an arginase inhibitor, preventing the breakdown of arginine.^[4] This makes sure that the arginine levels stay elevated during the entire workout, especially with the help of L-citrulline, which also works to increase arginine levels.

  Not only that, agmatine sulfate can also activate the enzyme that produces nitric oxide — nitric oxide synthase — and may enhance focus due to its neuromodulatory properties and potential as a neurotransmitter.^[18]

  With a dose of 500 milligrams of agmatine sulfate in CBum Essential Pump, we hope you can experience improved focus, better pumps, and a stronger mind-to-muscle connection.

• Himalayan Pink Salt (400mg)

  CBum Essential Pump has Himalayan pink sea salt at a solid dose of 400 milligrams. Salt plays a vital role in maintaining both muscular pumps and athletic performance^[19], besides just hydration and having a meal rich in carbohydrates before a workout.

  Sufficient sodium intake is crucial for athletic performance as lack of it can lead to muscle cramps, decreased performance, and in severe cases, hyponatremia,^[19] especially for those who are heavy sweaters. Drinking only water isn’t enough – electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and calcium are necessary to conduct muscular contractions.

  RAW Nutrition chose to use Himalayan pink sea salt instead of regular salt for its added benefits. It improves digestion by stimulating the production of hydrochloric acid and contains a variety of minerals like potassium and magnesium, not just sodium chloride.

  This should yield roughly 150 milligrams of actual sodium, or 6% recommended daily value.

Essential Pump RTD Flavors — First up: Rainbow Sherbert

CBum Essential Pump RTD is launching in a colorful Rainbow Sherbert flavor – a pretty unique taste we haven’t seen very often in the athletic supplement space. The list below will stay up-to-date with any current flavors as they come out:

Powerful and predictable pumps

It’s always fun to try new ingredients and see how they compare to well-established ones. But sometimes, all we want is a good workout with no drama. A consistent, predictable effect. We don’t always need to wonder if our physiology will disagree with some new, cutting edge ingredient… and we also want the price to be right.

Because fitness is a process built from routine, the essentials executed well are the most important components. This is the need RAW is looking to meet with their CBum Essential products in 2023, starting with Essential Pre-Workout, and now with Essential Pump RTD.

Usually, the best tool for the job is the tried-and-true.