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3D PUMP Breakthrough (L-Citrulline, Glycerol, Amla Fruit Extract) – 6000 mg

A new arrival in 2021, 3DPUMP Breakthrough is a new patented pump blend made of L-Citrulline, Glycerol, and Amla Fruit Extract that’s begun to turn some heads.

The 6 gram dose you see in a full two scoop serving (aligning with a very doable 325 milligrams of caffeine) yields 3 grams of vegan fermented L-citrulline, 1.2 grams of glycerol, and 150 milligrams of Amla fruit extract. The citrulline is actually used as the carrier for the glycerol, meaning they didn’t have to add in agents like silica.

First, let’s cover the pilot study covered in the patent,^[1] and then quickly dig into the individual component ingredients:

The 3D PUMP Patent Pilot Study

The patent’s inventors (which includes Bruce Kneller, seen on the PricePlow Podcast episode #009) detail a placebo-controlled pilot study run on 3D PUMP against its component ingredients. It employed weight-trained men (average age in the late 20s), with four different treatments for four different workouts:^[1]

1. Placebo (water)
2. 1500 milligrams of 65% yield glycerol
3. 150 milligrams of Amla fruit extract
4. 1350 milligrams of 65% yield glycerol and 150 milligrams Amla fruit extract

For each treatment day, they performed leg workouts using seated leg extensions and loaded goblet squats, with 3 sets of 10-12 reps and 60 second inter-set rest, with two minute rests between sets.

After the training session, the researchers ran DEXA scans and measured the subjects’ thigh circumferences.

The results

Everyone had gains in leg size and lean body mass, but the glycerol + Amla group significantly outperformed the others. They had a 2.21 centimeter gain in thigh circumference with an average increase of 693.1 grams total body mass, compared to 1.12 centimeters and 30.4 gram increases, respectively, in the placebo group.^[1]

We like to note that in the single-ingredient arms, the Amla-only group had greater increases than the glycerol-only group, so we’ll key in on that ingredient below – it may be the secret weapon here.

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What is Amla Fruit Extract?

Amla is also scientifically known as Phyllanthus emblica, but more traditionally named Indian Gooseberry. This antioxidant-packed fruit is traditionally used for cardiovascular benefits, since it boosts endothelial health and function and can reduce platelet aggregation.^[2] Published researchers have even called Amla “the ayurvedic wonder” because of all of the benefits it can provide.^[3]

While there doesn’t seem to be much athlete-specific research on the ingredient in humans, we generally get excited about pre workout pumps when we notice “endothelial health” and “blood flow improvements” for extracts such as this. Given what we’ve seen in the patent’s pilot study, this could be one worth looking into, especially when combined with another blood flow enhancer like citrulline.

This brings us to the other two ingredients, which you’re likely more familiar with:

L-Citrulline

The Citrulline Pathway – This is how you get more arginine and then more nitric oxide

When taking two scoops of DVST8 Global, you’ll get 3 grams of L-citrulline from the 3D PUMP, which in and of itself is a clinical dose shown to improve nitric oxide levels. Often found in watermelon, this amino acid is a precursor for L-Arginine, which itself is a precursor for nitric oxide (via the nitric oxide synthase enzyme).^[4]

With increased nitric oxide, we have a vasodilation effect that causes the blood vessels to widen and relax, and this leads to improved blood flow. This in turn yields several benefits, but for most athletes taking it pre workout, we’re talking mainly about pumps and greater nutrient delivery!

Why citrulline over arginine then?

Reading the above may lead beginners to wonder, “Why not just take L-arginine then?” This was used in pre workouts decades ago, but researchers learned that it’s less effective than L-citrulline itself^[5] because L-arginine is metabolized too quickly during digestion (known as the first pass effect) and doesn’t get to where it needs to get in order to help us generate more nitric oxide.^[6,7]

Endurance and recovery boosts atop nitric oxide pumps

Knowing that, the entire process can yield more overall energy due to greater ATP production, yielding more work output as well as better recovery later on too.^[8-10] We like to see at least 3 grams of L-citrulline or 6 grams of citrulline malate.^[11]

We now also learned from a 2020 meta analysis that confirmed endurance-based findings, stating that citrulline helps with metabolic waste removal, which then lowers perceived exertion and reduced soreness.^[12]

It’s in nearly every pre workout at this point, but you won’t see it on its own line in DVST8 Global — it’s instead inside of 3D PUMP!

Glycerol: “Hyperhydrate” your body

No doubt, the simple glycerol molecule has “mission critical” status with the body. But when we supplement far more, incredible benefits related to hydration occur!

Finally, we have every athlete’s favorite sugar alcohol, glycerol, which can help the body stay hydrated by increasing water retention and increasing total water volume in the body.^[13]

When enough is taken, this effect is known as “hyperhydration”,^[14] and it can promote better endurance and thermoregulation at high doses (and with enough water).^[15-17] We of course take it for the cell volumization pumps we feel — again, when taken with enough water.

There are numerous studies based upon glycerol, including some interesting ones where researchers notice significantly less urine output. They’re covered in our article titled Glycerol: The Ultimate Guide for Hydration, Heat Protection, and Pumps,^[18] but once again, we want to emphasize that you should take 3D PUMP with enough water to enjoy the most of its benefits!

Betaine Nitrate (NO3-T) – 2000 mg

Our first time seeing 3D PUMP next to nitrates, DVST8 is guaranteed to be a fun ride in the pump and volume department. In DVST8’s previous global-friendly supplement “DVST8 WorldWideWide”, they used arginine nitrate, but have since switched to betaine nitrate and upped the dose even more. Their website explains why:

We switched from NO3-T Arginine Nitrate to NO3-T Betaine Nitrate because betaine nitrates yield more nitrates per material than arginine nitrate.

— Inspired Nutraceuticals

Sounds great, and as a hint, we’re going to get some more betaine below to come near a clinical dose, so let’s focus on the nitrate here.

How nitrates work to generate more nitric oxide

Nitrate (NO₃) is naturally found in numerous plants and vegetables, taking a very unique pathway. It’s first metabolized into nitrite, then from the intestines, enters the bloodstream and heads back to the salivary glands, where a group of enzymes convert it into nitric oxide!^[19-21]

What’s cool about this nitrate-nitrite pathway is that it’s completely independent and runs in parallel with the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) pathway discussed in our citrulline/arginine section above. But the end result is just as good (if not better) — nitrate research shows similar blood flow, exercise performance, and endurance improvements compared to what we see with that from the NOS pathway.^[22]

Benefits of nitrates

In Episode #046, Chris Waldrum of Inspired Nutraceuticals tells us about his past year and what’s coming in 2021!

Many of the benefits of citrulline apply to nitrates as well, given that the increase in NO is what drives many of them. However, various forms nitrates have their own series of benefits, especially when dosed well enough (and we definitely consider a 2 gram dose of betaine nitrate a solid dose):

• Improved blood flow^[23]
• Less oxygen used during training^[23-26]
• Increased strength (via improved force and power production)^[27,28]
• Nitric oxide level increases^[27,29]
• Improved athletic endurance^[25,26]
• Less recovery time and increased cellular energy^[28-30]

Much of this is all encompassed in the meta analysis cited above, as well.^[22]

Again, we have more benefits coming from this ingredient through the betaine side — betaine nitrate is about 65% betaine, so we’ll have about 1300 milligrams of betaine and a very solid 700 milligrams of total nitrate.

PeakO2 – 1000 mg

Chris Waldrum and his team opted to go beta alanine free for DVST8 Global, instead adding a gram of PeakO2 mushroom extract. Less tingles, more mushroom-based benefits, which the scientific community learns more about every year, too.

PeakO2 has six different mushroom species, but the primary one is Cordyceps Militaris

PeakO2 is an adaptogenic blend made from cordyceps militaris, reishi, king trumpet, shiitake, lion’s mane, and turkey tail mushroom. As adaptogens, these ingredients have been shown to help you adapt to physical and mental stress in order to boost performance, endurance, and power.

PeakO2 has been specifically tested in a couple of research studies, where it improved overall work capacity by enhancing oxygen utilization and decreasing lactate build-up.^[31,32]

In 2015, a research study done by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill found that 1.3g of PeakO2 taken 3x/day for three weeks greatly improved participants’ time to exhaustion, power output, and VO2 Max compared to the placebo group.^[31] However, that’s a larger dose than what we have here, but we’re not done yet.

A follow-up study published in 2018 tested lower-dose PeakO2 (2 grams per day) over 28 days against a higher-dose group (12 grams per day for 7 days). What the researchers found is that it simply took a bit longer to achieve benefits, but they still came in the following form within four weeks:^[32]

• significantly increased time to fatigue,
• significant increases in VO2_peak, and
• significantly lower blood lactate levels.^[32]

PeakO2 has several benefits for hard-training athletes, especially those who need a bump of endurance

In order to achieve these benefits at the same rate, you’d likely need to add more mushrooms, but we’ve repeatedly discussed how beneficial mushroom extracts are, for everything from overall health to immunity to athleticism. This is a great shake-up, especially for those who don’t like beta alanine.

Betaine Anhydrous – 1000 mg

Back to betaine, also known as trimethylglycine, which is an osmolyte ingredient to help with water transfer and retention amongst cells. Recall that we have betaine nitrate here, and this is an additional amount to get us near the 2.5 gram total clinical dose (although we may fall just short). Betaine will partner well with the glycerol in 3D PUMP to bring cell volumization to new levels.

Multiple lines of research have shown differing doses of betaine leading to various athletic benefits, including endurance and power improvements.^[33] We generally (and anecdotally) feel increased pumps with it as well, so long as water intake is kept high.

From the MEN’s study: The arms don’t lie! Here’s one place where placebo doesn’t rule: arm size! Betaine built bigger arms… in trained subjects!^[34]

Going beyond water cell volumization, betaine has a few functions that are similar to creatine, increasing muscle protein synthesis!^[35] But the biggest landmark studies were performed by Jason Cholewa and his teams in the late 2010s, where he showed muscle-boosting effects from men taking 2.5 grams per day.^[34]

In addition, the same team demonstrated both performance increases and fat loss effects from 2.5 grams of betaine in women.^[36]

We see betaine more often than creatine in pre workout supplements these days, and that makes sense because the osmolyte effects make more sense when taken at this time. However, we still believe that creatine should be taken, especially if meat consumption isn’t extremely high, and that’s why there’s also Inspired Nutraceuticals CR3 to stack in.