Naked Energy - Tried It Tuesday

Anyone who knows me has probably heard me say I don't drink coffee - and anyone who has ever SEEN me, especially when I'm working races, has a hard time believing I'm not chugging it all day!  Usually, energy is no problem for me, as I'm naturally pretty bubbly.  Some days, though, it's a struggle to get moving, stay alert, and keep my momentum going forward.  On those days, I need a little boost, but it can be hard to find products that can provide the extra energy without having more negative side effects than it's worth.  Thankfully, more and more supplement companies are making pre-workout products that are made from natural ingredients to eliminate or mitigate all the awful itching, tingling, and heart pounding I constantly experience when using non-natural pre-workouts.

Disclaimer: I received this product at no cost in exchange for my review.  I did not receive any

additional compensation, and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

Originally, I was all set to write this review based on trying Naked Energy to get my feet moving and my excitement pumping for my return to teaching morning fitness classes.  It seemed like a good enough test, and results were readily apparent starting with my first use.  Not only did the pre-workout get my blood flowing for my classes, it kept me alert and bouncing (literally) for the entire day.  But those were pretty typical days after the classes ended.  I got an opportunity for an even better test of the product last weekend, when my race management company hosted a sold-out marathon at one of Northeast Ohio's beautiful state parks.

My biggest struggle with this new race company has been the distance: it takes an hour for me to drive to the office, even on a low-traffic day.  Headlands Beach state park, where the race was held, is even farther away than the office.  Wake-up time for me was around 2:30am (yes, ugh is correct).  Waking up that early isn't really that bad, but waking up and then driving for an hour and a half in the dark is pretty rough.  I mixed myself a water bottle full of Naked Energy, tossed in some creatine and BCAAs, hopped in the car and started chugging.

Just about to head over to start the race - already 6 hours

in and still feeling bright and peppy!

By the time I got to the park, I was AMPED.  My drive had consisted of some great tunes and the building feeling of "It's TIME!"  I stepped out of the car ready to tackle a long, exhausting day with absolutely zero apprehension.  The kicker to the whole day was that, on top of working setup and tear down for the event, I was also planning to run the half marathon - there's not a lot for timers to do between the start and finish of a marathon besides let the equipment work, so I wanted to get my October half in the books early.  The pre-workout would have to help me get through not only the long day of work, but also the 13.1 miles I'd chosen to throw in the middle of it.  On top of an already tall order, the day started chilly but quickly became very hot when the intense sun reached its zenith in a cloudless sky.  GAME ON.

While many of my coworkers battled through the morning, I was bright eyed, bushy tailed, and beaming all throughout packet pickup and the start of the race.  Since I had stayed at the registration tent until all runners had been helped, I was the last to start the race, but I was feeling great and made up distance quickly.  Finally about two miles in, I connected with a running friend and we chatted for the next 10 miles while we kept our feet shuffling and our spirits up despite the growing heat.  I booked it for the last mile to empty the tank, crossed the finish line, and - went back to work!

Some form of dancing.  Somewhere this counts as a dance.

My job for the next few hours consisted of mingling with runners to get feedback and answer questions, then I moved over to the finish line to hand out finisher medals to the full marathoners as they crossed.  One of our event photographers kept chuckling every time he walked by me and I was dancing; he finally just started snapping pics of me with waaaaay too much energy for post-race, let alone post-race/post-work with more work to go.  I did start feeling the aches in my legs around three hours after I had finished my race, but my energy level stayed true.  After the last finishers crossed, I helped take down our equipment and pack the trucks, then went back to the warehouse to wash out 80+ Gatorade coolers and dozens of grimy tables before driving the hour and a half back home.

When I finally returned to my puppy (who was looked after all afternoon by my boyfriend, thankfully) it was almost 6pm.  That's almost a 16 hour day full of activity, and I was only just starting to feel tired!  Honestly, if there's a better test of an energy supplement, I'd be scared to go through whatever it would be.  I was so elated at the end of the event because everything had gone well and I had made it all day with a huge, genuine smile on my face, thanks to Naked Energy.

Earned that medal thanks to Naked Energy!

Naked Creatine review in the works as well...

The real kicker is that I didn't experience ANY of the typical side effects I've noticed in any other pre-workout I've taken.  At no point did I feel anxious or nervous.  I never got the flashes of warm tingling feelings along my skin either.  I also didn't feel overly intense about anything, either, which I had noticed on a few other energy supplements in the past.  My focus was even-keel, my energy was constantly high, and there were no adverse physical sensations.  That's perfect for what I need from a pre-workout supplement.  I'm so very glad I tried this one despite so many iffy experiences with similar products in the past.  I guess "Naked" is the way to go!