VMI Sports Launches Creatine Pre-Workout and Creatine +Hydration for America’s 250th Anniversary

VMI Sports activities is marking America’s 250th birthday with two simultaneous product launches. Each the Creatine Pre-Exercise and Creatine +Hydration hit cabinets at the moment (June 26, 2026) in a Patriot Pop taste timed for Independence Day. Every tub carries a 250th Anniversary badge, a nod to the historic milestone from a model that places “VMI Sports activities is a USA Firm” proper on the label. Extra flavors for each merchandise arrive in July.

The 2 merchandise fill completely different coaching roles, and each have thrilling new novel substances we’re excited to see within the wild.

Creatine Pre-Exercise is a stimulant-driven, full-stack pre-workout delivering roughly 300mg whole caffeine from three complementary caffeine sources, a 5g full-dose creatine monohydrate, pump assist from HydroNox™ L-Citrulline HCl, and cognitive assist from VitaCholine® Choline Bitartrate.

Creatine +Hydration goes the stim-free route: 5g of Pürest Creatine™ (NNB Vitamin’s ultra-high-purity creatine monohydrate) mixed with a TRAACS®-chelated mineral and electrolyte matrix constructed round Aquamin® sea minerals. Use them collectively for a creatine, pump, and hydration stack, or run Creatine +Hydration by itself as a day by day creatine and restoration drink.

VMI Sports activities president Tom Reilly broke down the model’s philosophy and what’s coming subsequent on Episode #205 of the PricePlow Podcast, and it is properly well worth the hear if you would like the complete context. In case you’re already accustomed to KXR Stacked, VMI’s pump-focused ergogenic pre-workout, these two new launches spherical out the lineup with a creatine-anchored angle overlaying each stim and stim-free coaching wants.

VMI Sports activities Creatine Pre-Exercise Substances

The complete advisable dose is 2 scoops (20.2g), which yields 15 servings per container.

At that dose, the caffeine mix totals roughly 300mg: 100mg from caffeine anhydrous, ~50mg from 100mg caffeine citrate (50% caffeine yield), and ~146mg from 200mg Infinergy™ Di-Caffeine Malate (~73% caffeine yield) — VMI confirms “roughly 300mg of Complete Caffeine per 2 servings” instantly on the label. In case you’re new to the components or delicate to stimulants, begin with 1 scoop in 8-12 oz of water to evaluate tolerance.

Creatine Monohydrate – 5g

Creatine monohydrate is essentially the most researched ergogenic in sports activities diet, with many years of human trials constantly backing its core advantages. It really works by increasing phosphocreatine shops in skeletal muscle, which accelerates ATP resynthesis throughout high-intensity train, translating to measurable enhancements in energy, energy output, and coaching quantity. The usual efficient dose is 3-5g day by day, and VMI hits the highest of that vary at a full 5g per 2-scoop serving.

Constant day by day use over a number of weeks progressively saturates muscle phosphocreatine shops, with advantages accumulating over time quite than showing acutely. Do not essentially anticipate a pre-workout surge from creatine, as an alternative anticipate higher exercises week after week.

Beta Alanine – 3.2g

Beta alanine is the rate-limiting precursor to carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine), a dipeptide saved in excessive concentrations in skeletal muscle. Carnosine acts as an intracellular pH buffer, neutralizing the hydrogen ions that accumulate throughout anaerobic glycolysis and trigger the “burn” that limits high-intensity efforts.

Analysis constantly reveals that 3.2 to six.4g day by day over a number of weeks elevates muscle carnosine concentrations, with the clearest efficiency advantages in train lasting roughly 1-4 minutes. The three.2g dose right here lands on the established decrease finish of the scientific loading vary. One factor to anticipate: the tingling (paresthesia) shortly after taking it’s regular, innocent, and dose-dependent. It is not a facet impact, it is the beta alanine working.

L-Citrulline Hydrochloride (HydroNox™) – 2g

HydroNox™ is a trademarked type of L-Citrulline Hydrochloride, a stabilized and hygroscopy-resistant model of citrulline that delivers the next proportion of lively citrulline per gram than citrulline malate. Within the physique, citrulline is transformed to L-arginine within the kidneys, which serves because the substrate for nitric oxide (NO) manufacturing through nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Elevated NO results in vasodilation and higher blood stream to working muscular tissues… aka the pump impact. Citrulline HCl’s improved molecular stability and mixability make it a sensible formulation alternative. At 2g, it is a modest pump contribution by itself, however its synergy with Agmass® agmatine at 1g compounds the impact via complementary pathways.

Betaine Anhydrous – 2g

Betaine (also referred to as trimethylglycine) performs two roles in a efficiency components:

it is an natural osmolyte that helps intracellular hydration beneath metabolic stress, and
it is a methyl donor that helps the methionine cycle and downstream creatine synthesis.

Human trials present that power 2-2.5g day by day dosing can assist lower-body energy, coaching quantity, and physique composition — a 2024 meta-analysis of 17 RCTs discovered a major pooled impact on maximal muscular energy favoring betaine over placebo, significantly for lower-body measures. The methyl donation additionally contributes a homocysteine-lowering impact that does not get mentioned a lot in a pre-workout context. At 2g, VMI lands squarely within the dose vary used most frequently in analysis

L-Tyrosine – 1.5g

L-Tyrosine is the direct dietary precursor to the catecholamine neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Beneath bodily or cognitive stress, catecholamine demand can outpace endogenous synthesis, and tyrosine availability turns into limiting. Supplemental tyrosine is most related when coaching beneath stress, equivalent to sleep deprivation, excessive warmth, or back-to-back periods the place psychological drive begins to slide. At 1.5g, this can be a well-dosed standalone quantity. Paired with the three-source caffeine mix on this components, the tyrosine helps a extra sustained focus arc by replenishing the catecholamine substrate that stimulant use can deplete over an prolonged session.

L-Taurine – 1.5g

Taurine is a sulfur-containing β-amino acid discovered at excessive concentrations in skeletal muscle, coronary heart, and mind tissue. Its key roles in an train context embrace osmoregulation (supporting intracellular fluid steadiness), calcium dealing with in muscle fibers (which influences contractile drive), and mitochondrial antioxidant assist.

A 2025 meta-analysis throughout 23 RCTs discovered acute taurine supplementation produced small-to-moderate enhancements in train efficiency, with advantages most obvious in cardio endurance and energy/energy duties, optimally taken roughly one hour earlier than train.

Taurine additionally pairs properly with caffeine: analysis suggests the mixture helps response time and anaerobic energy higher than both alone, which is related right here given the ~300mg caffeine mix.

Agmatine Sulfate (Agmass®) – 1g

Agmass® is a trademarked type of Agmatine Sulfate. Agmatine is a decarboxylation product of L-arginine that modulates a number of receptor programs, together with NMDA, imidazoline, and alpha-2 adrenergic receptors. In a pump components, its most related mechanism is inhibition of arginase, the enzyme that degrades L-arginine earlier than it may be transformed to nitric oxide. By slowing arginase exercise, agmatine sustains arginine availability and extends NO-driven vasodilation.

Agamatine additionally has documented neuromodulatory results, with it influencing neurotransmitter exercise in ways in which assist temper and engagement throughout coaching. At 1g alongside the 2g citrulline HCl, the 2 substances work via complementary NO-pathway mechanisms for a extra full pump impact.

Choline Bitartrate (VitaCholine®) – 500mg

VitaCholine® is Balchem Company’s trademarked type of Choline Bitartrate, delivering roughly 200mg of elemental choline per 2-scoop serving — the 36% Each day Worth declared on the label. Choline’s mechanism in a pre-workout context facilities on acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis: ACh is the neurotransmitter answerable for neuromuscular junction signaling and is integral to the mind-muscle connection.

VMI Sports activities Protolyte is not simply one other whey isolate. 24g protein with TRAACS chelated minerals that really take up, digestive enzymes to stop bloat, and flavors with actual freeze-dried substances. They have been forward of the curve since 2019.

Throughout intense, sustained coaching, cholinergic demand can outpace synthesis, and plasma choline concentrations are documented to say no throughout extended high-effort train. A human placebo-controlled trial discovered that 2g choline bitartrate improved visuomotor precision and elevated central cholinergic engagement roughly 70 minutes post-ingestion. VitaCholine’s premium sourcing additionally brings constant efficiency and low hygroscopicity.

Theobromine – 200mg

Theobromine is a methylxanthine alkaloid discovered naturally in cacao. It is structurally much like caffeine however with a milder, longer-lasting stimulant profile.

Like caffeine, it inhibits phosphodiesterase and blocks adenosine receptors, but it surely crosses the blood-brain barrier much less readily and carries an extended half-life of roughly 7-12 hours. In apply, this produces a smoother, extra sustained vitality contribution with out the sharp peak-and-crash that standalone caffeine could cause. It additionally has delicate vasodilatory properties. At 200mg alongside the three caffeine sources on this components, theobromine rounds out the stimulant advanced by extending the vitality length and softening the tail-end drop.

Dicaffeine Malate (Infinergy™) – 200mg

Infinergy™ is Inventive Compounds’ trademarked Di-Caffeine Malate, a compound the place two caffeine molecules are bonded to malic acid through a salt linkage. The malate bond slows gastrointestinal absorption, producing a extra gradual launch and attenuating the sharp post-dose vitality dropoff related to fast-absorbing caffeine sources. At 200mg of Infinergy, the efficient caffeine contribution is roughly 146mg (~73% yield by weight). On this components, Infinergy works in live performance with the fast-onset caffeine citrate and the baseline caffeine anhydrous for a multi-phase stimulant profile. The malic acid part additionally participates within the citric acid cycle, providing a secondary metabolic assist throughout train.

Caffeine Citrate – 100mg

Caffeine Citrate is allegedly the fastest-acting caffeine kind on this mix. The citrate salt dissociates readily, reaching quick peak plasma ranges, making it the onset driver within the three-source caffeine system. At 100mg caffeine citrate, the efficient caffeine dose is roughly 50mg (50% yield by weight). In scientific use, caffeine citrate is run when fast neurological impact is the aim, and its function right here is to supply the rapid vitality strike whereas Infinergy’s slower launch sustains the output over the session.

Caffeine Anhydrous – 100mg

Caffeine Anhydrous is the purified, water-free type of caffeine and the foundational stimulant spine of the mix. It blocks adenosine receptors within the central nervous system, decreasing perceived fatigue and supporting alertness, focus, and train efficiency throughout a well-established dose-response vary. At 100mg, it contributes on to the ~300mg whole caffeine per 2-scoop serving. For a 175-lb (79kg) athlete, 300mg whole places you at roughly 3.8mg/kg — within the vary constantly related to significant efficiency and vitality results within the analysis. In case you’re smaller or caffeine-sensitive, begin with 1 scoop and assess earlier than going to the complete dose.

Black Pepper Extract (Piper nigrum) (fruit) (MAX Catalyst™) – 2mg

MAX Catalyst™ is a patented and trademarked piperine extract, utilizing a plasma-enhancement know-how designed to amplify the bioavailability of co-administered substances. Piperine works primarily by inhibiting cytochrome P450 enzymes and P-glycoprotein within the GI tract, slowing the first-pass metabolism that will in any other case break down lively compounds earlier than they attain circulation.

The traditional piperine research confirmed 20mg co-administered with curcumin elevated curcumin’s bioavailability by 2,000% in people, illustrating how considerably piperine can alter absorption dynamics, however in fact, not each ingredient works that properly. At 2mg, MAX Catalyst is not a standalone ingredient, it is the capstone of the components that helps every thing else work extra effectively.

Patriot Pop launches at the moment. PEZ Lemon, Strawberry Slush, and Tropical Mango arrive in July 2026. The complete taste checklist will likely be beneath:

VMI Sports activities Creatine +Hydration Substances

For periods while you need creatine with out the stimulants, or as a day by day creatine-and-recovery routine on relaxation days, Creatine +Hydration takes a unique strategy. It is stim-free, and it brings premium ingredient high quality all through: Pürest Creatine™ because the anchor, paired with TRAACS®-chelated minerals and Aquamin® sea minerals for a multi-source electrolyte matrix designed for absorption.

Every single scoop (9.1g) delivers 5g of Pürest Creatine™, the ultra-high-purity creatine monohydrate from NNB Vitamin that we coated in depth when NNB launched it in 2025, together with 1g L-Taurine, 100mg Coconut Water Focus, and a Hydration Mineral / Electrolyte Complicated combining TRAACS®-chelated potassium, magnesium, and calcium with Aquamin® sea minerals and pink Himalayan salt. Thirty servings per container, zero stimulants.

Pürest Creatine™ Creatine Monohydrate – 5g

Already mentioned above, creatine monohydrate is essentially the most extensively researched ergogenic complement in sports activities diet, with many years of human trials constantly displaying enhancements in energy, energy output, lean muscle, and restoration.

What units this product’s creatine aside is the supply: Pürest Creatine™ from NNB Vitamin. When NNB launched it in 2025, the story was about purity on the molecular degree — a creatine monohydrate that achieves decrease impurity ranges than customary “99.9% pure” sources. Most shoppers do not know that “99.9% pure” is a advertising flooring, not a precision customary. NNB developed Pürest Creatine™ to push beneath that flooring, focusing on hint impurities like dihydrotriazine, creatinine (the breakdown byproduct), and dicyandiamide that accumulate in customary manufacturing processes.

The product is so clear, the world’s main testing labs needed to re-create testing requirements for it, as a result of their very own testing strategies weren’t appropriate for such a low degree of creatinine byproduct.

The true-world result’s a cleaner, extra constant creatine supply with higher mixability and decreased batch-to-batch variance. For a daily-use complement the place consistency issues greater than novelty, that sourcing choice is significant.

L-Taurine – 1g

Additionally mentioned above, taurine is a conditionally important sulfur-containing β-amino acid present in excessive concentrations in skeletal muscle and cardiac tissue. In a creatine and hydration components, its most related roles are osmoregulation and intracellular fluid steadiness — taurine acts as an natural osmolyte that helps cells keep quantity beneath metabolic stress. It additionally helps calcium dealing with in muscle fibers, which influences contractile energy throughout coaching. A 2025 meta-analysis throughout 23 RCTs discovered acute taurine supplementation produced small-to-moderate efficiency enhancements throughout cardio endurance and energy duties. At 1g right here, it rounds out the hydration assist alongside the electrolyte advanced.

Coconut Water Focus (Cocos nucifera) – 100mg

Coconut Water Focus is a naturally derived electrolyte supply, greatest identified for its potassium content material. Recent coconut water gives roughly 600mg potassium per 8oz serving, however this concentrated powder kind delivers a smaller contribution to the general electrolyte profile. Past potassium, coconut water contributes hint magnesium, sodium, and calcium, alongside naturally occurring amino acids and cytokinins. At 100mg focus right here, it is a good addition to the TRAACS and Aquamin mineral advanced quite than a main electrolyte supply, but it surely provides a natural-origin layer to the potassium contribution and suits VMI’s quality-ingredient customary for this components.

Hydration Mineral / Electrolyte Complicated

The next substances kind VMI’s Hydration Mineral / Electrolyte Complicated, delivering the calcium (39mg, 3% DV), magnesium (28mg, 7% DV), chloride (145mg, 6% DV), sodium (98mg, 4% DV), and potassium (78mg, 2% DV) declared on the high of the complement information panel.

Potassium Glycinate Complicated TRAACS® – 400mg

VMI Sports activities KXR Stacked brings pumps, focus, and 200mg caffeine with MAX Catalyst absorption. Is that this the smarter pre-workout you have been lacking?

TRAACS® is Albion Minerals’ patented amino acid chelation know-how, by which a mineral ion is bonded to amino acid ligands that stabilize it throughout GI transit, scale back competitors with different minerals for absorption, and bypass the pH-dependent ionization that limits inorganic mineral salts. Potassium Glycinate Complicated TRAACS® delivers chelated potassium glycinate, contributing to the 78mg of elemental potassium declared on the label (together with the coconut water focus). Potassium is important for fluid steadiness, nerve signaling, and muscle contraction — deficiencies contribute to cramping and impaired efficiency. You may additionally acknowledge TRAACS chelates from VMI’s Protolyte protein, reflecting a constant quality-ingredient dedication throughout the model’s lineup.

Pink Himalayan Salt – 251mg

Pink Himalayan Salt gives the sodium (98mg, 4% DV) and chloride (145mg, 6% DV) declared on the high of the complement information panel. Sodium and chloride are the first extracellular electrolytes governing fluid steadiness: sodium attracts water into the bloodstream and maintains the electrochemical gradient wanted for muscle contraction and nerve impulse propagation, whereas chloride pairs with sodium to keep up osmotic strain. For a hydration complement, sodium is essentially the most crucial electrolyte for fluid retention… it is the one which makes water observe. Pink Himalayan salt brings hint mineral content material alongside the electrolytes, although the quantities at this dose are minor contributors.

Aquamin® S Sea Minerals (Lithothamnium sp.) (entire plant) — 250mg

Aquamin® S is Marigot Ltd’s trademarked marine-derived mineral advanced, extracted from purple algae (Lithothamnium sp.) harvested sustainably off the Icelandic coast. What distinguishes this from artificial calcium carbonate or calcium citrate is not simply the calcium content material (contributing to the 39mg, 3% DV on the label), it is the naturally-occurring hint mineral matrix that comes with it. Aquamin delivers over 70 co-occurring hint minerals of their pure proportions from the algal construction, together with magnesium, zinc, and selenium. Artificial calcium isolates ship solely the goal mineral, lacking the broader hint factor context. For a components constructed on ingredient high quality, Aquamin is a logical alternative.

Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate TRAACS® — 100mg

Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate TRAACS® is the primary of two chelated magnesium types within the advanced, utilizing Albion’s glycinate amino acid chelation. Magnesium bisglycinate is well-regarded for superior GI tolerability in comparison with magnesium oxide or citrate, and its chelated construction facilitates uptake through dipeptide transporters within the small gut (a pathway not shared with calcium or different divalent minerals, decreasing aggressive absorption inhibition). Magnesium participates in over 300 enzymatic reactions, together with ATP synthesis, protein synthesis, and muscle leisure. This manner and the lysinate glycinate chelate beneath collectively ship 28mg elemental magnesium (7% DV) in extremely bioavailable types.

Magnesium Lysinate Glycinate Chelate TRAACS® — 100mg

Magnesium Lysinate Glycinate Chelate TRAACS® is the second chelated magnesium kind within the advanced, utilizing a lysinate-glycinate dual-amino-acid chelation. The completely different amino acid carriers in comparison with the bisglycinate kind above might provide barely completely different absorption kinetics and transport pathways, supporting a extra full uptake profile.

Collectively, each TRAACS magnesium types ship the 28mg elemental magnesium (7% DV) declared on the label. For athletes with moderate-to-high coaching masses, marginal magnesium standing is just too frequent. It is a extensively under-consumed mineral, and a bioavailable chelated kind is a extra dependable device for replenishment than the oxide types ceaselessly utilized in lower-cost merchandise.

Calcium Bisglycinate Chelate TRAACS® — 50mg

Calcium Bisglycinate Chelate TRAACS® is Albion’s chelated calcium glycinate kind, working alongside Aquamin® to ship the 39mg elemental calcium (3% DV) declared on the label. Calcium bisglycinate is well-tolerated and extremely soluble, avoiding the GI discomfort calcium carbonate could cause at greater doses. Past skeletal well being, calcium performs a direct function in muscle contraction: it is the sign that triggers actomyosin cross-bridge formation on the sarcoplasmic reticulum, making it functionally related throughout train. The TRAACS chelation improves absorption reliability in comparison with customary calcium carbonate, which requires acidic gastric circumstances to dissolve.

As a small bonus, all of those glycine-based chelated minerals can even present a touch of glycine as properly, which has its personal osmotic properties!

Patriot Pop launches at the moment. PEZ Lemon and Tropical Mango arrive in July 2026. The complete checklist will likely be proven beneath:

Learn how to Use

Creatine Pre-Exercise Powered by HydroNox™: Begin with 1 scoop combined in 8-12 oz of water 15-20 minutes earlier than coaching to evaluate your tolerance. When you’re comfy, transfer to the complete 2-scoop dose. Keep away from taking it near bedtime as a result of stimulant content material. VMI recommends biking off after 8 consecutive weeks of use.

Creatine +Hydration: Combine 1 scoop in 8-12 oz of water or your most well-liked beverage, day by day. Ideally earlier than or after your exercise; on relaxation days, take it anytime with loads of fluids.

Stacks Properly With

VMI Sports activities Protolyte: VMI’s 100% whey isolate protein powder, additionally constructed with TRAACS® chelated minerals, pairs naturally with each new merchandise as a post-workout protein complement. This was a product properly earlier than its time, and it is nonetheless unbelievable.
VMI Sports activities Aminogex Extremely: Aminogex provides a full amino acid and BCAA profile to spherical out a whole efficiency and restoration stack with both or each new merchandise.

Conclusion: Stim or No Stim, VMI Lined Each

Tom Reilly, president of VMI Sports activities, walks via a decade of constructing a bootstrapped complement model — from Lone Star Distribution home model to grocery chains, the PEZ collab, and two thriller canned drinks on the horizon, on Episode #205 of the PricePlow Podcast.

VMI Sports activities is closing out the primary half of 2026 with a well-timed pair of launches, and in keeping with Tom Reilly, there’s much more coming, probably even drinks.

Patriot Pop in time for the Fourth of July, the 250th Anniversary badge on every tub, and a “USA Firm” callout on the label, all with their glorious branding, is what we have come to anticipate from the northeastern titans.

The pre-workout brings a layered caffeine system (~300mg whole from three sources with completely different onset profiles), a pump-and-ergogenic stack constructed on HydroNox™, Agmass®, and VitaCholine®, and MAX Catalyst™ to tie bioavailability collectively. The stim-free Creatine +Hydration anchors on Pürest Creatine™ from NNB Vitamin and layers in TRAACS®-chelated minerals alongside Aquamin® sea minerals for a severe electrolyte profile.

These are nice ingredient selections, and athletes who need high quality creatine loading, with or with out stimulants, have a transparent possibility from VMI in every product.

PricePlow will observe costs and availability for each merchandise as they roll out. Join VMI Sports activities alerts beneath to remain forward of the PEZ Lemon, Strawberry Slush (Pre-Exercise solely), and Tropical Mango drops coming in July.