Xendurance Extreme Endurance Review

Who this is for

Extreme Endurance is for somebody who trains hard most days and is tired of the second-day soreness slowing them down. CrossFit people, runners, anybody who competes. If you're in the gym three or four days a week and you've got a life to live outside of it, it fits you too.

It is not a pre-workout. You don't feel a buzz. It's tablets you take every day, like a multivitamin, and that's the part people get wrong.

How I ended up on it

I'll be honest about where this started. Back in 2017 I was on the phone with the owner of Xendurance, listening to him describe what this product does. Given what I'd seen in the supplement industry up to that point, I thought it was complete BS. I just wanted the sales job.

I got the job, and then I actually tried the product. I felt the difference. I was way less sore and I felt like I was recovering faster.

Then I started wondering if it was legit or just a placebo. So I stopped taking it, and I definitely noticed a difference in my recovery and soreness. I've taken it religiously ever since, except for one time when I came off it for about 30 days to prove to myself that it worked. It did.

What it does for soreness

At its core, Extreme Endurance is a lactic acid buffer. Xendurance says its clinical studies showed a 26 percent reduction in lactic acid, and you can read those studies on their product page.

What that means in plain terms is the soreness that sets in the day after and the day after that isn't as bad. You're probably still going to have it. It just won't be as bad. If you're expecting soreness to be gone completely, this isn't that.

Xendurance also says it cut oxidative stress by 39 percent in their testing. The way I explain oxidative stress is a cut apple turning brown on the counter, only it's happening to the cells in your body. That's their number, not something I can measure on myself.

How to take it

Three tablets in the morning and three tablets in the evening, spaced about 12 hours apart. If you're a night owl and noon and midnight works better, fine. Just keep it consistent so it stays in your system.

You take it every single day, not only on workout days. If you skip days, you're going up and down, in balance and out of balance, and that's not how it's meant to work.

One very important thing. Do not chew them. Swallow them whole. They're made to start absorbing in the intestine, and if you chew them they're going to taste terrible and they're not going to work like they're supposed to.

When I'd bump it to four and four

If you've got a competition coming up, start taking four in the morning and four in the evening about three or four days before it starts. Carry that through the competition and the day after, then go back to three and three.

I'd do the same thing through a heavy training block, when you're training at a much higher volume than normal for a month or so. When the block is done, drop back to the regular dose.

Why it has so many skeptics

If you look at the ingredient list, you might think it's not going to do anything for you. It doesn't look like much on paper. I get it, because I was a skeptic too.

The other knock is that it uses a proprietary blend. My take is that proprietary blends aren't necessarily bad. It's the companies that trick people with them that are. Xendurance says the studies were done on the whole blend working together, not on each ingredient by itself.

You'll see guys online break the label down ingredient by ingredient and say it can't possibly work. My guess is most of them have never tried it.

Test it yourself

You don't have to take my word for it. Do a workout you can measure, start taking Extreme Endurance the next day, and retest that same workout a week later.

Rowing is an easy one. One minute on, one minute off, for five rounds, and track your meters or calories. Or do a moderate weight bench press to failure and count the reps.

Xendurance says most people notice it within 48 to 72 hours. And there's a 60-day money back guarantee, so if you don't run faster or lift heavier, you send it back.

Is it safe for NCAA athletes?

Xendurance says its whole product line is certified banned substance free through Informed Sport, and the logo is on the outside of the bag.

The athletes and coaches I've talked to over the years always look for the NSF logo. Informed Sport is just as good, if not better. On any supplement you take, look for one of those two logos before you put it in your body.

Extreme Endurance and Essential are the same product

This confuses people. Xendurance sells this in two bags, Extreme Endurance and Essential. They are literally the exact same product. They didn't change anything but the packaging.

The name Extreme Endurance is pitched at athletes. Essential is for everyday people who don't think they need anything called extreme endurance. My parents took Extreme Endurance first because I'm their son and they trusted me. My dad has always been an athlete and my mom never has been, and she won't go a day without her Essential.

What you should know about my videos

Most of my Extreme Endurance videos are product overviews. A couple of them from 2022 were made while I was a Xendurance team leader, and one was a recorded talk for a Xendurance team. They explain the product. They aren't lab tests on me.

The 2019 runner video isn't me talking at all. That's Dr. Steve Major of Major Chiropractic, who tested seven quarter-mile runners doing ten 10-second sprints. He reported their peak lactic acid dropped about 29 percent on average after they started taking it. It's a small test, and they also used a Marc Pro muscle stimulator during it, so take it for what it is.

The catches

It's six tablets a day, split morning and night, every day. It only works if you actually take it. If you know you won't remember, don't buy it.

You'll still get sore. It takes the edge off. And if you judge a supplement only by how the label reads, this one is going to lose that argument before you ever try it.

Would I buy it again?

Yes. I've been on it since 2017 and I'm going to keep taking it. If you're training hard most days and you're not taking this, I think you're at a disadvantage.

If you only work out once in a while, or you want something you can feel 20 minutes after you take it, this isn't the one. For everybody else, run the test and see for yourself.