I kept hearing it over and over at the gym, “You gotta try no explode. You gotta try it!” Not being one to succumb to peer pressure, (or at least not too easily…), I decided to do a bit of research and look into some no explode reviews and see what I could find. Let me tell you, the process was like a roller-coaster ride. One minute I thought I had found the holy grail of workout supplements, the next minute I was feeling like a total sucker for even considering this stuff. And don’t think that it was a short ride; oh no… I was up and down and all over the place multiple times regarding this stuff. The final verdict? I’ll tell you what, how about I share a bit of the ride with you and leave the best ‘til last.

First, let’s look at what BSN (the product manufacturer) has to say about this stuff.

Among the purported highlights of N.O. –Xplode are such things as higher training energy, motivation and intensity along with more mental alertness and focus. All good stuff to get you psyched to get into the gym and really push some iron around.

As for physical benefits, the product claims to enhance strength, power and endurance as well as work capacity through creating a resistance to fatigue. This is accomplished (to the best of my understanding) by expanding blood vessels to allow for more blood flow, thereby carrying more oxygen and nutrients to the muscles more quickly, allowing for more work and faster recovery. Seems to make sense. In addition to this physiological benefit, apparently you will get a tremendous ‘pump’ and your veins will look bigger and fuller than you’ve ever experienced.

Sounds pretty good. You have more energy and focus to go and push more weight harder and longer while also seeing and feeling immediate results to help keep you motivated. This should help you make more progress in the gym, which is what we’re all after, right? And according to numerous testimonials, this is exactly what users experience with the product.

I had great pumps, lifted more than i usually do and after and hour and fifteen minutes realized i had gone over and was not ready to be done. Amazing! felt like i had rock hard muscles.
- user comment from supplementcritic.com

I always felt pumped and ready to go at the gym
-user comment from amazon.com

Pumps are unbelievable and the veins do pop!!
-user comment from bodybuildingforyou.com

OK… so what about the other side of the coin? I’m glad you asked.

In a nutshell, it seems there were at least as many people saying that this stuff was useless as there were people excited about it. The big difference, in my opinion, was that some of these nay-sayers seemed to have scientific research to back them up. Or more accurately, they pointed out that the proponents of N.O. Xplode and other nitrous oxide supplements did NOT have scientific research to back up their incredible claims.

For example, one author from t-nation.com did extensive research of all available peer-reviewed industry literature and was “unable to find any research that remotely indicates increasing nitric oxide levels plays a part in increasing protein synthesis, contractile strength or any other biochemical pathway that may lead to increases in muscle mass.” He went on to say that there “appears to be no evidence whatsoever that shows increasing nitric oxide levels enhances endurance, power output and load capacity.”

Did you feel the roller-coaster just drop out from under you too?

Granted, there is something to be said for the placebo effect. If people believe something is going to help them do A, B or C, then it very well might. In addition, this stuff does have a good dose of caffeine in it, and that is known to help energy and concentration in people.

Looking at various testimonials on this side of the equation, I found lots of people voicing their opinion that the science behind the concept doesn’t exist. I also came across many that were similar to these:

This product did not live up to all the hype.
-user comment from bodybuildingforyou.com

…within 2 hours had stomach cramps like crazy
-user comment from bodybuildingforyou.com

I find that it tastes terrible
-user comment from muscleandstrength.com

In the end, I think this 'testimonial' sums up my research on no explode reveiws:

I tried a bottle of this stuff, didn't have any success, no effect whatsoever. My brother tried it and he said it was great!
-user comment from t-nation.com

So, there you have it. A roller coaster ride of feedback and opinions equally vociferous on both sides of the argument. The believers are believers, and I don’t think that’s ever going to change. And why should it? If they believe they are seeing real benefits from using NO EXplode, who am I to tell them they’re not?

Will you see results if you try this? I don’t know, why don’t you tell me and everyone else here by leaving a comment if you decide to try it (or if you’ve already tried it and have an opinion you would like to share).