Prime Nutrition Max HP Review: Just Short of Brilliance

Posted on April 19th, 2016 By Allie Lewis in Pre Workout Reviews Read Time: 12 mins.

Recently updated on September 26th, 2022 at 09:50 pm

Prime Nutrition is doing something right because it seems like day after day I see these products popping up in my Instagram feed in some way, shape or form. I figured after the like, millionth Prime Nutrition post, it must be a sign that I had to grab some of their pre workout and give it a try. In this Prime Nutrition Max HP Review, coming to live from 20,000 feet in the air, I’m going to try my absolute best to give you the best feel for this pre workout as possible. I took it before my rowing workout this morning, and I have to tell you it was one of the most impressive feats of lasting energy that I’ve had in a little while. I think it was my best workout of the week for sure. But. I’ll tell you all about it. We’ll talk not just about the performance of this Prime Nutrition pre workout, but also about all the ingredients in the product, and if they are high quality or not. I really want to do a good job on this one so we’ll even talk about the Max-HP pre workout packaging and flavorings as well. If that all sounds good to you, let’s tie our hair up and go to work on this Prime Nutrition Max HP review.

Whew. It seems like it’s been AGES since my last pre workout review. I actually think it’s only been a week since I reviewed that silly pre workout by Plexus. It actually was silly. I hated that stuff. I really need like 200 mg of caffeine to get out of bed and I’m not kidding. I think that’s why MAX-HP seems to do the trick for me- because it has 400 mg of the good stuff. But more on the formulation in a hot second. We need to talk about the flavors and performance first.

A quick primer on my experience with Prime Nutrition is that I did see some potential on their fat burner ‘Redux’, which was actually one of the better performers of last year. Speaking of fat burners I’m like two years past due of putting up my top ten list for fat burners. But all of that will come soon. But not too soon. I have so much going on that I can barely keep up with all the requests for reviews that I get. But anyways. Let’s start discussing the Max-HP product and everything that goes into the experience from start to finish. 

Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Flavor Grade: 8.7

The flavor of Prime Nutrition MAX-HP that I tried was the watermelon. I found it to be drinkable, but a far cry from some of the other pre workouts that I’ve tried in the past. I really enjoy how this pre workout goes down. With watermelon sometimes you get sort of a super bitter and sour taste when these pre workout companies try to make them mask all the nasty-tasting ingredients within. But with Prime Nutrition, you are getting something that tastes really quite good. There are a few factors to consider- the first being that Prime Nutrition watermelon flavor IS sweet, so if you are someone who shies away from the sweeter-tasting pre workouts, than Max HP isn’t going to be for you. But along with that sweetness comes a really good deal of authentic watermelon. Sometimes these watermelon flavors come out super artificial-tasting. And while there are artificial ingredients used in this pre workout, the overwhelming flavor that shines through is a totally standard, real watermelon taste. It’s quite enjoyable. Let’s talk about another enjoyable element of this pre workout: the performance. 

Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Performance Grade: 8.9

You know when you have a super long flight (ie Los Angeles to Atlanta), and you know you are going to be sitting around on your bum for a good long time, so you wake up SUPER early to try and get a jump start on the day. My way of doing this is to go to my local gym and get a rowing workout in. If you’ve read my other pre workout reviews, you know that rowing is one of the best tests of pre workout performance. I did two 2k meter rows followed by two back to back 500m sprints. Needless to say, that by the end of this I was incredibly tired. There aren’t too many products that would be able help me conquer that workout without some very serious energy spent. 

So. how did Prime Nutrition’s pre workout do for me? In short- it did quite well! I felt pretty good at the outset of the workout, but as usual I seemed to hit a wall around the halfway point of my first 2k meter. My legs felt like glue, and my joints were still a long ways from being warmed up. I went to that place inside where I know I can summon the courage to do anything, and I went to workout pulling my effort up to speed. Coincidentally, I could feel Max HP pre workout start to finally start kicking in as well. The pre workout started giving me the feelings that I’ve come to expect from these things where there’s nothing holding me back. The effort doesn’t become any less required, but the effort to bring it to light is easier with Max HP. I felt it most during my last sprints, where I KNEW my body was completely spent but my mind told me to keep pulling and pulling. I will give Max HP just short of exceptional on performance because the first workout I used it for was a weight-lifting session and it wasn’t all that great for increasing strength. 

Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Formula Grade: 8.6

There’s nothing too fancy OR bad about the formulation here. You have a very tidy list of 6 ingredients that does a nice job of providing endurance and energy when you need it. Here are the six that made the cut: 

L-Citrulline Malate

Beta-Alanine

Glycerol Mono

Agmatine Sulfate

Caffeine Anhydrous

Epi-Strong Epicatechin

So nothing too crazy going on in here. A few notes to point out regarding this formula are: 

No creatine and no other real ‘strength-boosting’ ingredients like Betaine or other amino acids that help you output a greater force

The beta-alanine is dosed at 2 grams, which means you are going to get a pretty significant feeling of tingling in your face and neck

Another sort of unpleasant, but less common Prime Nutrition Max HP side effect is going to be a post-workout headache, which is caused by agmatine sulfate. Just something to be aware of. Some folks won’t experience it but I sure did. 

Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Packaging Grade: 8.9

As with some of the other criteria we’ve touched, on once again Prime Nutrition’s pre workout comes up JUST short of brilliance. When looking over this pre workout and formulating my opinion on it’s appearance, Something was remarkable about the aesthetic, but it took me a little while to put my finger on exactly WHAT it is that is remarkable about. Until I finally had my ‘AHA’ moment. That moment was when I realized that Max-HP utilizes some sort of special metallic material as it’s based layer. Most of these products will have accents of a shiny material but Prime Nutrition said you know what, we’re going to make the ENTIRE thing shiny and reflective and ugly. It’s a bit of a dizzying effect if you ask me. I don’t DISLIKE it, but I’ll be honest once you stare at it long enough and hard enough, it’s like your head starts to spin a tiny bit. But anyways. I will give Prime Nutrition’s pre workout an 8.9 out of 10. Max HP pre workout isn’t going to win any design awards, but I like it. At least it has it’s own language. 

Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Review Summary: 

  • Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Flavor Grade: 8.7
  • Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Performance Grade: 8.9
  • Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Formula Grade: 8.6
  • Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Packaging Grade: 8.9

Max HP is deceptively simple. Looking at the shiny label you would think there is going to be all kinds of crazy stuff going on under the hood, but in reality it’s a simply formulated, moderately effective pre workout. Prime Nutrition Max-HP really is just short of brilliance.*

Prime Nutrition Max HP Pre Workout Final Review Score: 8.8

Allie Lewis

By Allie Lewis

Hi, my name is Allie and reviewing products is my hobby. I am passionate about being fit and active, so making a blog about my experience with different products that help me stay healthy made sense to me. Please contact me at any time if you would like to guest post or advertise on-site.