The NZ Supps Journal

Straight Answers, No Bro-Science

Plain-English guides on what actually works, what does not, and why.

Is Glycerol Safe? (And Why It Fuels Bigger Pumps)Pre-Workout

Is Glycerol Safe? (And Why It Fuels Bigger Pumps)

Glycerol is safe for most healthy lifters, and it's one of the few pump ingredients that physically pulls...

Aug 13, 2026
Is Citrulline Safe?Pre-Workout

Is Citrulline Safe?

Citrulline is about as safe as pre-workout ingredients get: no stim, no crash, and only mild gut upset...

Aug 13, 2026
Is Synephrine Safe?Pre-Workout

Is Synephrine Safe?

Synephrine (bitter orange) is a mild stimulant that turns risky the moment it's stacked with caffeine. Here's the...

Aug 13, 2026
Is Yohimbine Safe? What You Should KnowPre-Workout

Is Yohimbine Safe? What You Should Know

Yohimbine promises fast fat loss, but it's one of the most aggressive stimulants going and it isn't for...

Aug 13, 2026
Is DMHA Dangerous? An Honest LookPre-Workout

Is DMHA Dangerous? An Honest Look

DMHA (octodrine) was one of the harshest stimulants ever to hit a pre-workout label. Here's an honest look...

Aug 13, 2026
How Taurine Supports Endurance and HydrationPre-Workout

How Taurine Supports Endurance and Hydration

Taurine is the quiet endurance-and-hydration ingredient in your pre-workout. Here's how it volumises muscle cells, supports calcium handling...

Aug 13, 2026
How Alpha-GPC Sharpens Your Mind-Muscle ConnectionPre-Workout

How Alpha-GPC Sharpens Your Mind-Muscle Connection

Alpha-GPC is the focus ingredient in a lot of pre-workouts for a reason: more acetylcholine means a sharper...

Aug 13, 2026
How L-Theanine Smooths Out CaffeinePre-Workout

How L-Theanine Smooths Out Caffeine

L-theanine is the amino acid that smooths out caffeine. Here's how it turns jittery pre-workout energy into calm,...

Aug 13, 2026
How L-Tyrosine Keeps You Locked InPre-Workout

How L-Tyrosine Keeps You Locked In

L-tyrosine is the amino acid that feeds dopamine and noradrenaline, so your focus holds up when a hard...

Aug 13, 2026
How Betaine Builds Strength and PowerPre-Workout

How Betaine Builds Strength and Power

Betaine anhydrous quietly supports strength and power by hydrating your cells and donating methyl groups. Here is the...

Aug 13, 2026
How Caffeine Actually Powers Your WorkoutPre-Workout

How Caffeine Actually Powers Your Workout

Caffeine doesn't hand you energy. It blocks the fatigue signal so effort feels easier and you get more...

Aug 13, 2026
How Citrulline Gives You a Better PumpPre-Workout

How Citrulline Gives You a Better Pump

Citrulline is the ingredient behind that skin-splitting pump. Here's how it works, the dose that actually delivers, and...

Aug 13, 2026
How Beta-Alanine Boosts Muscular EndurancePre-Workout

How Beta-Alanine Boosts Muscular Endurance

Beta-alanine is the muscular-endurance ingredient in your pre-workout. Here's the real mechanism — carnosine buffering acid — why...

Aug 13, 2026
The Story of C4: The Pre-Workout That Started It AllBrand Stories

The Story of C4: The Pre-Workout That Started It All

The story of Cellucor's C4: the tub that made pre-workout mainstream and became the gateway scoop for a...

Aug 13, 2026
The Ghost Story: A Lifestyle Brand That Happened to Make SupplementsBrand Stories

The Ghost Story: A Lifestyle Brand That Happened to Make Supplements

Ghost never acted like a supplement brand, and that was the whole plan. The founders, the lifestyle bet,...

Aug 13, 2026
The Alani Nu Story: How a Low-Cal Energy Drink Became a CultBrand Stories

The Alani Nu Story: How a Low-Cal Energy Drink Became a Cult

How Alani Nu went from a fitness founder's side project to a cult energy drink: women-first branding, low-cal...

Aug 13, 2026
Is Pre-Workout Dangerous? An Honest Safety GuidePre-Workout

Is Pre-Workout Dangerous? An Honest Safety Guide

For a healthy adult sticking to the label dose, a well-made pre-workout is low-risk. We go ingredient by...

Aug 13, 2026
How to Stay Consistent With Your ProteinProtein

How to Stay Consistent With Your Protein

The best protein is the one you actually drink. Here's Blake's simple system for hitting your protein every...

Aug 13, 2026
Is Creatine Right for Me? An Honest Self-CheckCreatine

Is Creatine Right for Me? An Honest Self-Check

Skip the benefits list. Run a quick, honest self-check on your goal, training, diet and expectations — and...

Aug 13, 2026
Every Pre-Workout Question, AnsweredPre-Workout

Every Pre-Workout Question, Answered

Your one-stop pre-workout FAQ. Straight answers on what it does, when to take it, caffeine, sleep, tingles and...

Aug 13, 2026
The Pre-Workout Cheat SheetPre-Workout

The Pre-Workout Cheat Sheet

Bookmark this one. Every common pre-workout ingredient, what it does, the dose that actually works, how to spot...

Aug 13, 2026
Will Pre-Workout Ruin Your Sleep?Pre-Workout

Will Pre-Workout Ruin Your Sleep?

Caffeine has a five-to-six-hour half-life, so a late scoop can absolutely keep you up. Here's the simple timing...

Aug 13, 2026
3 Ways Ghost Supplements Are Changing the Game in NZBrand Stories

3 Ways Ghost Supplements Are Changing the Game in NZ

Scoop-on-top, near-instant mixability, and best-in-class flavours at fair prices — the three things Ghost got right that the...

Aug 13, 2026
Do Test Boosters Work? An Honest BreakdownSupplements 101

Do Test Boosters Work? An Honest Breakdown

Do test boosters work? It depends on the ingredient and who you are. An honest, mechanism-by-mechanism look at...

Aug 13, 2026
Pre-Workouts Ranked by Intensity: Find Your Stim TierPre-Workout

Pre-Workouts Ranked by Intensity: Find Your Stim Tier

Pre-workouts sorted into four intensity tiers — mild, moderate, strong and extreme — so you can pick your...

Aug 13, 2026
The Best Pre-Workout for Beginners: 3 Forgiving PicksPre-Workout

The Best Pre-Workout for Beginners: 3 Forgiving Picks

New to pre-workout? These are the three forgiving tubs we'd actually hand a first-timer: sane caffeine, a clean...

Aug 13, 2026
The 3 Customer-Favourite Pre-Workouts Kiwis Keep ReorderingPre-Workout

The 3 Customer-Favourite Pre-Workouts Kiwis Keep Reordering

There's no voting booth here — just real sales. These are the three pre-workouts NZ lifters keep reordering,...

Aug 13, 2026
A cup of coffee and a pre-workout shaker side by side on a kitchen benchPre-Workout

"My experience with pre-workout and why my assumptions were wrong" - a customer story

A customer was sure pre-workout would wreck their sleep. Harder training proved the assumption backwards. Their story, plus...

Aug 06, 2026
EHP Labs OxyShred Mango powder, Ghost Energy Peaches and coffee arranged as a caffeine comparisonEnergy Drinks

How Much Caffeine Is in OxyShred? (And Every Other Fat Burner We Stock)

Standard OxyShred lists roughly 150mg of stimulants per serve on recent labels, about the same hit as a...

Aug 06, 2026
Ghost Intra and RAW Intra beside a jug of sports drink, towel, wrist wraps and home wall clockAminos

Intra-Workout Supplements: Do You Actually Need One?

Most people training under 90 minutes do not need an intra-workout supplement. Water covers the session, and your...

Aug 06, 2026
Ghost Clear Whey Blue Raspberry over ice compared with a creamy Ghost Whey shakeProtein

What Is Clear Whey? The Juice-Style Protein Compared to Normal Whey

Clear whey is whey protein isolate processed to mix into a translucent, juice-style drink instead of a creamy...

Aug 06, 2026
Cellucor C4 Original Grape pre-workout beside a long black coffee and purple shaker in a home kitchenPre-Workout

Pre-Workout vs Coffee: Which Is Better Before the Gym?

Coffee and pre-workout both work before the gym because they share the same active ingredient. A long black...

Aug 06, 2026
Nexus Creatine Monohydrate and MusclePharm Combat Whey compared with a New Zealand fifty-dollar noteCreatine

Creatine vs Protein Powder: Which Should You Buy First?

Creatine and protein powder are not competitors, they solve different problems. Protein powder tops up your daily protein...

Aug 06, 2026
EHP Labs Crea-8 and Nexus Creatine Monohydrate compared with two mixing tests and price notesCreatine

Creatine HCL vs Monohydrate: Is HCL Worth the Extra Money?

Creatine HCL is not worth extra money over monohydrate for almost anyone. Monohydrate is the form behind essentially...

Aug 06, 2026
EHP Labs IsoPept Zero protein beside a lean shake, running shoes and handwritten food diaryProtein

Best Protein Powder for Weight Loss NZ: What Actually Helps

The best protein powder for weight loss in NZ is a lean one you enjoy enough to use...

Aug 06, 2026
Eggs, chicken, Greek yoghurt, milk and Pillar whey isolate arranged as a day of proteinProtein

How Much Protein Do You Need Per Day? The NZ Guide

Most active people land somewhere between 1.4g and 2.0g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day....

Aug 06, 2026
Cold Ghost Energy Peaches can compared with coffee and water in a sunny home officeEnergy Drinks

Are Sugar-Free Energy Drinks Bad for You? What the Evidence Says

Sugar-free energy drinks are not uniquely dangerous for most healthy adults, but they are not health drinks either....

Aug 06, 2026
Ghost, RYSE and MusclePharm protein powders with three shakes in a home kitchen taste testProtein

Best Tasting Protein Powder NZ: What Customers Actually Reorder

The best tasting protein powder in NZ is the one you are still happy to drink on serve...

Aug 06, 2026
Nexus Creatine Monohydrate powder and scoop beside a fruit smoothie being pouredProtein

Best Unflavoured Protein Powder NZ: Tasteless Options That Mix Into Anything

Unflavoured supplements are the cheapest and most flexible way to buy the basics. In the current NZ Supps...

Aug 06, 2026
Pillar Performance and RYSE electrolyte sachets beside a cold water bottle on a sunny home deckElectrolytes

Electrolyte Sachets NZ: Which to Buy and How Many Per Day

Electrolyte sachets are worth it when you sweat enough to need them and want a sealed, no-scoop serve....

Aug 06, 2026
Basic Supplements and Dymatize mass gainers beside a large meal, chocolate shake and kitchen scalesProtein

Best Mass Gainer NZ: Price Per 1,000 Calories Compared

The best mass gainer in NZ on pure value is Basic Supplements Mass Gainer: 1,030 calories a serve...

Aug 06, 2026
MusclePharm, Grenade and Vitawerx protein bars with a calculator and handwritten price comparisonProtein

Best Protein Bars NZ: Every Bar Ranked by Protein Per Dollar

The best protein bars in NZ depend on which job the bar is doing. For a genuine 20g...

Aug 06, 2026
Pillar Performance Triple Magnesium Lemon Lime beside a bedtime drink and face-down phoneSupplements 101

Best Magnesium for Sleep NZ: Glycinate, Citrate or a Blend?

The best magnesium for sleep in NZ is the one that fixes an actual shortfall, taken as a...

Aug 06, 2026
Creatine gummies and creatine powder compared side by side at a 5g labelled serveCreatine

Are Creatine Gummies as Good as Powder?

Creatine gummies can work if they deliver the labelled dose. Powder has the stronger research base and costs...

Aug 04, 2026
Magnesium glycinate and magnesium citrate forms compared beside a magnesium supplementSupplements 101

Magnesium Glycinate vs Citrate: What Is the Difference?

Both are organic magnesium forms. Citrate has stronger direct human absorption evidence, while many people choose glycinate for...

Aug 04, 2026
Protein bar and whey protein shake compared side by side for cost and convenienceProtein

Protein Bars vs Protein Shakes: Which Is Better Value?

Protein shakes usually give you more protein for each dollar. Bars cost more, but they travel better and...

Aug 04, 2026
Athlete discussing a creatine tub and kidney blood-test report with a healthcare professionalCreatine

Does Creatine Damage Your Kidneys?

Standard creatine use has not been shown to damage healthy kidneys. It can affect creatinine-based test results, and...

Aug 04, 2026
Man checking his hairline beside a creatine tub and research paperCreatine

Does Creatine Cause Hair Loss?

Current evidence does not show that creatine causes hair loss. A 2025 trial measured hair directly, but it...

Aug 04, 2026
Whey isolate, clear whey and plant protein options compared for lactose intoleranceProtein

What Protein Powder Is Best for Lactose Intolerance?

Start with a clearly labelled low-lactose isolate if you tolerate small amounts of dairy. Choose a dairy-free plant...

Aug 04, 2026
Sugar electrolyte drink and sugar-free electrolyte drink compared beside training gearElectrolytes

Sugar vs Sugar-Free Electrolytes: Which Is Better?

Sugar is useful when you need fuel as well as fluid. Sugar-free electrolytes make more sense when the...

Aug 04, 2026