Oxyshred Hardcore Review

Posted on February 1, 2024

EHP Labs are a massive global name in sports and exercise supplements, offering a product range that includes protein powders, intra-workouts and thermogenic enhancers.

The worldwide popularity of the original Oxyshred exploded in the 2010s, finding its way into an enormous range of retail outlets and online stores.

Does Oxyshred Hardcore still stand firm as a quality thermogenic product, delivering more energy and motivation to help you lean-up and power through some serious training sessions?

One thing is for sure—when Oxyshred Hardcore hit the shelves, customers shook the foundations of the earth as they stormed into stores to snatch up a tub of the functional fat-burning powder.

Oxyshred Hardcore actually contains some of the same ingredients as the original, yet with more kick to get you moving in the right direction—that is, toward the gym.

Let’s pull apart Oxyshred Hardcore and check out how it differs from the original recipe.

P.S. If you're thinking about fried chicken at this point you need help.

How Much Caffeine in Oxyshred Hardcore

Each 6.2g serve of Oxyshred Hardcore contains 275mg of caffeine derived from caffeine anhydrous (pure caffeine powder).

The 275mg of caffeine contained in each scoop of Oxyshred Hardcore is equivalent to approximately 2 ½ cups of standard strength coffee.

The original Oxyshred contains 150mg of caffeine per 5.8g serve, making Oxyshred Hardcore almost twice as potent purely from a stimulant perspective.

If you’ve been using the original product for some time and aren’t feeling the kick that you used to experience, there are only really two choices: take a week or two off to re-sensitize to the effects of this stimulant or switch to Hardcore.

It’s important to consider your caffeine intake from other sources as well, such as coffee, caffeinated protein powders or soft drinks and energy drinks to make sure you're not overdoing it.

And it’s always worth a mention to be cautious when it comes to caffeinated powder and stimulants if you're inexperienced with these products, are not of optimal health or have a low body weight.

How Much Carnitine is Enough?

EHP Labs Oxyshred Hardcore contains a proprietary 1.75 gram blend of Acetyl L-Carnitine Hydrochloride (HCL) and Glycine Propionyl-L-Carnitine HCL in each serve.

The original formulation offers a fat-burning matrix of 2.003g grams, the first ingredient of which is Acetyl L-Carnitine. However, this proprietary blend contains 11 ingredients in total.

It would be fair to assume that each serve of either product will contain around 1.5 grams of Acetyl L-Carnitine or less—hopefully not too much less.

The original formulation has certainly been toned down in this regard, as a previous formulation declared on the label that it contained 3.5 grams of Acetyl L-Carnitine per serve.

So, the question remains … where is the evidence pointing towards in term of dosage?

Do we need a high dose like Citrulline Malate (6-8g) to experience the full fat-burning benefit, or do we only need hundreds of milligrams like L-Theanine?

For the purposes of weight-loss, a meta-analysis was published in 2016 that reviewed 13 years of published research. This type of article can be great at offering a better understanding of a supplement than any one piece of research alone.

The overall conclusion was in the affirmative for Carnitine as a weight loss adjunct, with a daily dosage range of 1.8 to 4 grams ¹. As this is quite a big dosage range, it would be best to take into consideration your lean body mass.

That is, if you are lean or lean-ish and weight 120kg or more, start dosing at the higher end of this range. If you are of average height or less and are slight of frame and build, then start with 1.8 grams daily.

Other Benefits of Carnitine

Carnitine is a fascinating dipeptide, made up of the two amino acids Methionine and Lysine. And fat-burning is actually the least of what it can do.

Here’s a list of potential benefits associated with Acetyl L-Carnitine, based on clinical trials:

Reduced Muscle Soreness and Markers of Muscle Damage after Exercise ².
Improved Blood Flow and Oxygenation of Muscle Mass ².
Increased Muscle Mass in Older Adults ².
Improved Clinical Status in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ³.
Reduced Depressive Symptoms—might work well in combination with Agmatine Sulfate in this regard ^4,5.
Enhanced Antioxidant Status ^4,6.
Increased Lifting Volume (demonstrated with Bench Press and Leg Press) ⁶.
Nerve Protectant and Nootropic Effects (may support learning, memory and neuronal energetics) ^2,4,7.

This is no doubt an incomplete list, as one has only so much time to research—sigh. It is also worth remembering that when it comes to understanding amino acids and natural peptides like Carnitine, scientific research is still in its infancy.

There is likely more benefit to gain for vegans and vegetarians supplementing with Carnitine. This is due to the fact that research confirms carnitine levels tend to be lower with these types of dietary patterns ⁸. This is likely caused by reduced dietary methionine and lysine intakes, which are the amino acids needed to synthesize carnitine.

Carnitine is consumed on pescetarian and omnivorous diets, though this does not mean that supplementation will be without benefit. These same principles apply to Creatine as well.

Calorie Content

Like most EHP Labs products, there isn’t too much to worry about when it comes to energy values. Each 6.2 gram serve of Oxyshred Hardcore contains 10 calories, derived from 2.0 grams of carbohydrates and 0.1 grams of fats.

This is a similar calorie content to the original product, both of which will certainly keep calorie-counters happy.

Does Oxyshred Hardcore Work?

Yes, EHP Labs Oxyshred Hardcore can certainly assist with weight loss. Just Acetyl L-Carnitine and Caffeine alone have a solid-enough body of scientific evidence to confirm their fat-burning effects.

Despite this, it is not recommended that you rely exclusively on any weight loss supplement as a sole means for weight loss, I.e., without exercise or dietary changes. In case your hopes have just been dashed away, let’s dig a little deeper into this—after all, this is a weight loss product, right?

Even closely adhering to an energy-balanced diet, in which you consume as many calories as you expend over a long period of time, fat-burning products may still not get the job done.

This is simply because the metabolism can adjust over time, to account for slight deficits or excesses. Creating a slight energy deficit with a supplement may be countered, which is why diet and exercise are also important.

It’s very hard to say if natural thermogenic supplements will help at all without exercise and changing the way we eat. Certainly, if we exercise and decide to make some positive dietary changes, thermogenic nutrients and herbs can speed up the process.

And though dietary change can be brutally tough, especially when you’re inactive and used to eating whatever you want, whenever you want, the long-term rewards are more than worth any short-term struggles.

What’s the Difference Between Oxyshred and Oxyshred Hardcore?

Apart from the previously discussed higher caffeine content in Oxyshred Hardcore (275mg/serve) versus the original formula (150mg/serve), there are some other differences worth noting.

The original formulation contains Guggul Extract Powder, Mangifera Seed Extract, Garcinia Cambogia Fruit Extract (60% HCA) and Olive Leaf Extract (10% Oleuropein), while Oxyshred Hardcore does not.

However, all is not lost. EHP Labs Oxyshred Hardcore contains Guarana Seed Extract, Evodiamine Fruit Powder and Glycine Propionyl L-Carnitine, which the original formula does not contain.

So how does all of this stack up?

Evodiamine Fruit Powder, or Evodia rutaecarpa, is believed to assist with the clearance of caffeine from body by enhancing caffeine detoxification enzymes. This means taking Oxyshred Hardcore in the afternoon, evening or night is less likely to interfere with a sound night’s sleep ⁹.

If that’s not enough, Rutaecarpine, an alkaloid found in Evodia rutaecarpa, delivers a range of biological actions, such as vasodilation, and offering antioxidant and natural anti-inflammatory effects ¹⁰.

And then there’s Guarana Seed Extract, which you might be thinking is just another natural source of caffeine. Apart from containing caffeine, however, this seed has been shown to down-regulate genes that promote fat storage and up-regulate genes that support fat burning ¹¹.

That’s pretty nifty …

Last but far from least is Glycine Propionyl L-Carnitine. If that’s a mouthful, the acronym is GPLC, which rolls off the tongue quite nicely. GPLC has demonstrated the ability to reduce lactate accumulation and enhance peak power and anaerobic performance ^12,13.

We don’t see a lot of GPLC in powdered products, likely due to the fact that it absorbs moisture like crazy from the air and is notoriously difficult to keep dry. But fear not, EHP Labs know what they’re doing.

As for the ingredients not included in Oxyshred Hardcore that are in the original, there really isn’t too much worry about. The three new additions in Hardcore more than make up for their a few exclusions.

How to Use Oxyshred Hardcore?

Mix 1 Scoop (6.2 grams) into 300ml cold water and consume 10 minutes before exercise. On non-training days, take one serve first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

Due to the high caffeine content, there is a one serve per day limit on this product.

Oxyshred Hardcore may be stacked with any number of other pure powders, such as EHP Labs Acetyl L-Carnitine to enhance thermogenesis.

If you want to support strength, power and training volume, you can add pure powders of any combination of Citrulline Malate, Betaine, Creatine, Agmatine Sulfate and more as you see fit.

Conclusion

EHP Labs Oxyshred Hardcore is a quality pre-workout and thermogenic that may be taken to support a weight loss program or assist with body-fat maintenance.

Containing 275mg of caffeine per serve, this product offers a solid kick-start to training motivation and enthusiasm. And with a flavour like Grape Bubblegum, you can be sure that your palate will be grateful.

References