Ghost LEGEND Review 2024: Does It Live Up to the Hype?
Here’s our Ghost Legend pre-workout review. Our team will analyze this highly popular pre-workout supplement to see how it compares to other pre-workouts in terms of effectiveness on muscle performance, energy levels, muscle pumps, and more.
Ghost Legend At a Glance
Pros
- Effective formula
- Boosts energy & performance
- Includes nootropics for cognitive boost
- Many great flavor options
- Well-respected brand
Cons
- Citrulline is underdosed which may reduce its effects
- Uses a synthetic sweetener
- Uses an understudied and potentially aggressive stimulant Rauwolfscine
- $44.99 for 25 servings is a bit steep considering its downsides
SUMMARY: Ghost Legend is a solid pre-workout. It contains all the ingredients you’d expect from a pre-workout of its caliber. These include the well-known caffeine, citrulline, and beta-alanine, but it also uses some less effective compounds like Rosa Roxburghii.
Ghost Legend contains next to no sugar, but this comes at the cost of using Sucralose. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener in Ghost Legend that is linked to negative effects on brain health and the gut microbiome. Citrulline, Panax Notoginseng and Rosa Roxburghii are underdosed, limiting any benefits. Also, we’re not the biggest fans of combining Rauwolfscine with caffeine – both are stimulants, raising the risk of adverse side effects.
Overall though, if you don’t mind the stimulants, and if the price doesn’t bother you, Ghost Pump could be the right pre-workout for you.
About Ghost Legend
Legend is a vegan-friendly pre-workout supplement by the renowned U.S. supplement company Ghost.
Ghost Legend has seen several reiterations over the years. Now known as Ghost v2, the formula improves upon its original from 2016 by including higher doses of key ingredients.
Key features of Ghost Legend include:
- GHOST® Full Disclosure Label
- 25 Two-Scoop Servings (50 total scoops for maximum versatility)
- 4G L-Citrulline (Vegan-Fermented)
- 3.2G Beta-Alanine
- 1.5G Nitrosigine®
- 50MG Senactiv®
Ghost Legend consists of an energy and focus formula, along with premium pump ingredients to get you performing and feeling your best during your workouts.
However, is Ghost Legend really the best pre-workout supplement that money can buy right now? Is it safe and healthy? Is it a good bang for the buck?
In the following sections, we’ll answer just that by checking Legend’s ingredients, serving recommendations, benefits, side effects and pricing.
We’ve also reviewed these Ghost Products:
How to Use Ghost Legend (Dosage Instructions)
Ghost Legend dosage is 2 scoops 30 minutes before your workout. You can also take 1-2 scoops on non-training days when you need a mental and physical boost.
Ghost Legend Nutrition Facts
Here are the nutrition facts for Ghost Legend Pre-Workout (per serving, 2 scoops):
- 5 calories
- 1g of carbohydrates
- 0g total sugars
Please note that depending on which flavor option of Ghost Legend you pick, the calorie and nutritional content may vary slightly.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients in Ghost Legend:
- L-Citrulline (4000mg)
- Beta-Alanine (3200mg)
- Nitrosigine (Arginine Silicate) (1500mg)
- Panax notoginseng and Rosa roxburghii extracts (50mg)
- L-Tyrosine (1000mg)
- Taurine (1000mg)
- Alpha-GPC (300mg)
- Natural Caffeine (250mg)
- Theobromine (100mg)
- AstraGin (Astragalus and Panax Ginseng) (50mg)
- Rauwolfia vomitoria extract (1.5mg)
As shown on the Ghost Legend label:
Ghost Legend has 2 different blends of ingredients – the “Ghost Legend” blend, and the “Ghost Smart Energy” blend. The Legend blend consists of ingredients that should help increase your muscle pumps and overall performance, according to the manufacturer.
As for the Ghost Smart Energy Blend, it’s all about providing you that clean energy that will last longer and not cause a crash afterward.
Overall, there is a lot to like in Ghost Legend. It has some of our favorite ingredients, including natural caffeine to boost your energy, L-citrulline to enhance muscle pumps, and even Alpha GPC for mental enhancement.
But there are also some downsides. Ghost Legend is using Rauwolfia Vomitoria which is on our “to-avoid” list. It also uses artificial sweeteners which are never a good thing, in our opinion.
We’ll explain all this in more depth below – read on.
L-Citrulline (4000mg)
L-Citrulline is an excellent ingredient choice by Ghost. It is an amino acid sourced from watermelons, producing vasodilating effects.
Put simply, Citrulline boosts the levels of nitric oxide in your body, enhancing blood flow in the process. The result is more satisfying muscle pumps when you work out.
The dosage here is okay; though we’d be happier if it was closer to the optimal 6,000mg per serving. [1]
Beta-Alanine (3200mg)
Beta-Alanine is an ingredient in pre-workouts that you’ll either love or hate – there’s no in between! This ingredient is known for enhancing muscular performance in the 6-10 rep range. So if you’re someone who likes to lift heavy, it could help give you an extra rep or two.
However, Beta-Alanine causes a harmless side effect known as paresthesia. This manifests as tingling across your body, most intensely around the neck and on arms. Some people don’t mind this itchiness but others find it distracting during their workouts.
Luckily, there are top-notch pre-workouts out there that don’t use beta-alanine. So if this ingredient is not your thing, you can always opt for a formula that doesn’t contain it.
Nitrosigine (Arginine Silicate) (1500mg)
Arginine is a natural compound that raises nitric oxide (NO) levels in your blood. As we’ve seen with L-Citrulline, nitric oxide is responsible for dilating and relaxing your blood vessels, allowing for more nutrients and oxygen to get to your working muscles. This ultimately results in fuller and bigger muscle pumps.
But the problem with Arginine is it has poor absorption in the body. The Arginine that Ghost Legend uses is “silicate,” which is somewhat more bioavailable than your regular arginine. Still, it’s not nearly as good as citrulline. It would be better if Ghost Legend put more citrulline instead of including Arginine in the formula. (source: https://examine.com/supplements/arginine/)
Panax notoginseng and Rosa roxburghii extracts (50mg)
Notoginseng has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years and has been shown to have a number of potential benefits for exercising individuals. Most notably, Panax Notoginseng alleviates fatigue and promotes normal energy metabolism.
Rosa roxburghii, which is also native to China, is known for its high antioxidant content. Antioxidants help our body fight toxins and oxidative stress more efficiently, reducing muscle inflammation and hastening recovery in the process.
However, at the dosages that these plants are included in Ghost Legend, it’s highly unlikely they will cause you a substantial positive effect. The dosage of 50mg combined is far too low compared to what the studies have used with these ingredients.
L-Tyrosine (1000mg)
Tyrosine is a dietary amino acid and a great compound to include in a pre-workout. Not because it increases energy, but because it helps you cope better with stress mentally. Here’s what we mean by this…
L-Tyrosine helps your brain create more dopamine. [2] Dopamine is a chemical that governs our motivation, focus & concentration, and numerous other phsyical and cognitive functions. Interestingly, low dopamine levels are correlated with weak focus and inability to stay motivated, which could translate to poor and ineffective workouts.
By adding Tyrosine to your daily regimen, you may feel more inclined to see the workout through instead of quiting, or you may find that you’re able to resist food temptations more easily. At the dosage of 1,000mg per serving, there’s more than enough Tyrosine in Ghost Legend to exert its awesome effects.
Taurine (1000mg)
Taurine is another dietary amino acid. Taurine helps your brain produce GABA, a neurochemical that calms you down. Now, you may think this is counter-productive for a pre-workout, but it’s actually a pretty clever inclusion by Ghost.
The relaxing effects of taurine will help smoothen out the negative effects of caffeine. Including jitters and comedowns. It’s also well-dosed here at 1,000mg per serving.
Alpha-GPC (300mg)
Alpha GPC is a source of choline, a natural molecule that our brain uses to regulate memory function, focus, concentration, and cognitive performance overall. Keeping your choline at optimal levels is key to proper brain function, and Alpha GPC helps toward that goal. 300mg per serving is plenty, as well!
Natural Caffeine (250mg)
Here we come to the main stimulant of Ghost Legend. Caffeine is a CNS enhancer, kicking both your brain and body into high-gear. Caffeine primarily works by binding to your adenosine receptors in the brain, which makes you more alert and energized.
Interestingly, caffeine is also a potent fat burner, which is why many weight loss supplements use it. Caffeine also suppresses appetite so if you’re looking to snack less often, it’s a good supplement to use.
However, caffeine can also cause problems for people who can’t tolerate it. 250mg per serving of Ghost Legend may be too much if you’re intolerant to stimulants. For most people, though, this should be fine.
Theobromine (100mg)
Theobromine is a molecule that is similar to caffeine in structure and effects. However, unlike caffeine, Theobromine appears to be much safer in terms of not causing jitters. The only issue is that Theobromine is understudied. So we can’t say with certainty how effective or safe it is for long-term use.
AstraGin (Astragalus and Panax Ginseng) (50mg)
AstraGin is a patented blend of two ingredients – Astragalus Root and Panax Ginseng. Both of these herbs have some amazing health benefits. While Astragalus is best known for reducing inflammation and promoting kidney health, Panax Ginseng is a mood and libido enhancer.
Again, we’re disappointed to see that the both ingredients only total 50mg per serving. This dosage is far from enough to give you optimal effects. It seems to us that Ghost Legend has included some ingredients just for the sake of it.
“If it’s on a label, it’s good enough,” seems to be this product’s policy. However, we’d much rather see fewer ingredients in higher doses, to ensure optimal effects.
Rauwolfia vomitoria extract (1.5mg)
Rauwolfia Vomitoria, or Rauwolfscine, is a plant compound that has potent stimulatory effects.
Although understudied, current evidence shows Rauwolfia is similar in effects to the banned ingredient Yohimbine (prohibited in the UK, Canada, and Australia). Some research shows Rauwolfscine might be even more aggressive than Yohimbine. [3]
Needless to say, we don’t like seeing it paired with caffeine in Ghost Legend. While we’ve found the combo to be extremely energizing, it also led to a pretty ugly crash afterwards.
Anything Missing?
Ghost Legend would be a more effective, and safer formula if it removed Rauwolfia, L-Arginine, and a few other ingredients, and instead included these proven pre-workouts:
- B Vitamins – contribute to higher overall energy production by the body.
- L-Theanine – the best ingredient to go together with caffeine, smoothening out its negative effects while enhancing the positives.
- Red Beetroot – one of the best natural ingredients for muscle pumps and exercise performance.
Customer Reviews
Ghost Legend only officially sells on a few select websites, and it’s not officially available on Amazon (though stolen batches can be found from time to time). As a result, legitimate Ghost Legend reviews are hard to come by.
You can check Ghost’s official website for testimonials, but bear in mind that they’re heavily moderated. Most of the reviews there are praising the product, and the negative ones seem to be filtered out.
Side Effects – Is Ghost Legend Safe?
Despite using a number of stimulant compounds, Ghost Legend should be safe for most healthy individuals. The ingredients in Ghost Legend are lightly dosed so the risk of side effects is low.
That being said, Ghost Legend isn’t for people who don’t react well to stimulants. It contains a combination of caffeine, and an even harsher Rauwolfia Vomitoria, which may cause:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Elevated blood pressure
- Anxiety symptoms
- Nausea
- Inability to sleep
If you are not sure whether the ingredients in Ghost Legend are right for you, check with your doctor before using it!
Price, Quality, and Value for Money
Ghost Legend costs $44.99 per tub (25 servings), which puts it in the high price bracket. Despite the marketing hype that Ghost’s products tend to enjoy, we don’t think that Legend is the best value money can buy right now.
Conclusion to Ghost Legend Review
Ghost Legend is a pre-workout that enjoys high popularity online, and it’s easy to see why. This is a tried and tested pre workout that you can expect to work.
The stimulants should give you a boost in energy levels and performance, while compounds like Alpha-GPC work to enhance your focus and mental capabilities.
Would we say Ghost Legend is the very best pre-workout you can buy today, though?
Not quite! While it’s a solid pre-workout, we feel it needs to improve upon some areas before it can compete with the market-leading pre-workout supplements.
Some of its key ingredients are underdosed, and a few of them should be omitted altogether due to their potentially aggressive effects. Still, if you feel like you can tolerate stimulants well, then Ghost Legend could be worth a try.
Ghost Legend Alternative?
Our team has tested over 35 pre workout supplements in the past year alone, comparing them against each other to see which is the best value.
For the current highest-rated pre workout supplements overall, see the link below!
REFERENCES
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20386132/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6084775/
- https://examine.com/supplements/rauwolscine/
