The dose is not a detail. It is the difference between effect and placebo.
- Zöldség Műhely
- May 2
- 5 min read
Updated: May 3
The sports market is full of products that contain reputable ingredients — but in quantities that have never been included in any effective research. With RUNERGY, every gram is intentional. We'll show you why.
The sports market's biggest secret: underdosing
Pick up the box of most pre-workout or multi-ingredient supplements. Creatine: you see it on it. BCAA: it’s on it. Beta-alanine: too. Looking at the marketing images, it looks like it has everything you need. Then read the fine print.
A 2023 study published in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living examined the ingredient lists of 100 commercial pre-workout products. The results were sobering: in nearly half of the products (44.3%), the active ingredients were listed as part of a so-called 'proprietary blend' — a closed, encrypted mixture — where the amounts of individual ingredients were not listed. The result: you can't verify that what you're buying actually contains an effective dose of what's written on the box.
At NRGCUBE, on the other hand, every gram is public, verifiable, and intentional. Not because it’s mandatory — but because we’re runners too and don’t want to pay a premium for a placebo.
Scientific reference
Prevalence of adulteration in dietary supplements and recommendations for safe supplement practices in sport — Jagim et al., Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2023
Creatine: 4 grams — why not 1, and why not 10?
Creatine is the most researched sports nutrition supplement in the world — with over 500 peer-reviewed scientific articles on it in the PubMed database. The consensus in the literature is clear: a maintenance dose of 3–5 grams per day is effective. This is the range recommended by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position statement for maintaining muscle creatine levels.
Why 4 grams exactly? Because it’s in the middle of the range — enough to maintain phosphocreatine stores on an ongoing basis, but not so much that it unnecessarily burdens the digestive system. A 2024 ScienceDirect review confirms that a maintenance dose of 3–5 g/day is sufficient to maintain elevated creatine levels in skeletal muscle — and no loading phase is required if taken consistently over the long term.
It is important to emphasize that creatine monohydrate is not an immediate-acting compound, but rather cumulative. The phosphocreatine pool that accumulates in the muscle is built up over weeks and months — therefore, regular daily intake, even in smaller doses, is far more effective than an occasional large dose. The 4 grams per day of RUNERGY is based on this logic: not a one-time impulse, but a long game.
Scientific reference
Does one dose of creatine supplementation fit all? — Candow et al., ScienceDirect, 2024
Scientific reference
International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: creatine supplementation and exercise — Buford et al., JISSN, 2007
Beta-alanine: 3 grams — understanding the carnosine threshold
Beta-alanine works differently than most supplements. It doesn't directly affect the muscle — it's converted into carnosine in the body, which regulates the pH in muscle cells during intense exercise. The more carnosine you have in your muscles, the longer you can delay the lactic acid burn that occurs at the end of higher-intensity workouts.
The key question is dosage: how much beta-alanine is needed to trigger this process? The broadest consensus in the scientific literature is that an effective daily dose is 3.2–6.4 grams, taken for at least 4 weeks to produce measurable increases in carnosine levels. A meta-analysis available on PubMed (Hobson et al., 2012) showed that beta-alanine significantly improved performance during 0.5–10 minutes of intense exercise—the exact time range where a runner’s sprints and interval runs fall.
The daily dose of RUNERGY contains 3 grams of beta-alanine. This is at the lower end of the effective range — intentionally. On the one hand: a daily dose of less than 3 grams is considered subclinical, meaning it does not reach the threshold where a measurable increase in carnosine levels is expected. On the other hand: larger single doses (over 4 grams) can cause severe paresthesia, i.e. tingling — this is a harmless phenomenon, but unpleasant and can reduce satisfaction. A daily dose of 3 grams is sufficient to gradually replenish muscle carnosine through long-term, daily intake — without having to start the day with an unpleasant feeling every morning.
Scientific reference
The Muscle Carnosine Response to Beta-Alanine Supplementation: A Systematic Review with Bayesian Meta-Analysis — Hobson et al., Frontiers in Physiology, 2020
Scientific reference
Beta-Alanine dose for maintaining moderately elevated muscle carnosine levels — Stegen et al., Amino Acids, 2014
BCAA: 1500 / 750 / 750 mg — the logic behind the 2:1:1 ratio
RUNERGY contains BCAAs: L-leucine 1500 mg, L-isoleucine 750 mg, L-valine 750 mg. This is a 2:1:1 ratio of leucine:isoleucine:valine — and this is not a random decision.
Leucine is the most anabolic of the BCAAs: it is the one that activates the mTOR signaling pathway, which is directly responsible for initiating muscle protein synthesis. A review study available on PubMed (Blomstrand et al., 1999) showed that BCAAs taken during exercise reduce net protein breakdown and improve both mental and physical performance in endurance sports — especially due to their high proportion of leucine.
However, the role of isoleucine and valine is not negligible: isoleucine supports the uptake of glucose into the muscle during exercise, and valine competes with tryptophan for passage through the blood-brain barrier — thereby reducing serotonin synthesis, which delays the onset of central fatigue. This mechanism is particularly relevant for runners who expose themselves to long-term exertion, more than 60 minutes.
Why isn’t the leucine ratio higher? Some products use a 4:1:1 or even 8:1:1 ratio, arguing that leucine is more important. The problem: leucine, isoleucine, and valine are absorbed through the same transporter system — they compete with each other for entry into cells. If the leucine ratio is disproportionately high, the uptake of isoleucine and valine can be reduced, which reduces the overall effectiveness of the combination. The 2:1:1 ratio is the one that most human studies have been based on and has the most performance data available.
Scientific reference
Leucine supplementation and intensive training — Blomstrand & Saltin, Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, 1999
Scientific reference
Branched-Chain Amino Acids Combined with Exercise Improves Physical Function in Older Adults (2:1:1 ratio, RCT) — Ispoglou et al., PubMed, 2024
Summary: every gram is intentional
RUNERGY ingredients and dosages summarized in one sentence:
These are not marketing numbers. Each value is backed by one or more peer-reviewed studies that measured the effect in that range. If a product doesn't show how much is in it — that's a message in itself.
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