Welcome to another supplement review on Athletic Muscle!
In this piece, we’ll dive deep on a single supplement and give you the nitty gritty details on whether or not it’s worth testing out or is a supplement you’d do well to avoid.
Our focus this week is Prime Male. We’ll go over what Prime Male is, what benefits it claims to have, the ingredients, dosage, side effects, and whether or not it’s a solid supplement.
Plus, we will compare Prime Male to a couple other supplements, putting them head-to-head to see which ones are ideal for your fitness goals and which ones are blowing smoke.
And with that, let’s get into it!
What is Prime Male?
Prime Male is a natural testosterone supplement and is the pivotal part of the Prime Male Vitality Complex.
According to their website, you get a slew of benefits (we’ll cover this in a later section) and it’s all from taking a single red pill. (Kind of like the movie The Matrix, where a single red pill changes your whole life….
This is what the Prime Male site compares their supplement to.)
What is Prime Male Used For?
From the name and what we’ve just discussed, Prime Male is used for jacking up your testosterone levels, either to their optimal state or beyond.
If you’re looking into Prime Male, you either experience the disadvantages of low testosterone (zero libido, weakness, depression, etc.) and you want to get back to your normal male self, or you’re a bodybuilder or athlete who wants to upgrade their testosterone production.
Prime Male claims to improve how much testosterone your body makes naturally, bringing along with it a ton of amazing benefits (which we’ll get into soon).
Prime Male Ingredients
The Prime Male website says it includes 12 different “T-boosters” to help raise your testosterone by entering the bloodstream and increasing the processes your body goes through to produce more T.
Their ingredients – named “The Dirty Dozen” of testosterone boosting – are:
- D-Aspartic Acid Calcium Chelate (D-AA-CC): An amino acid and neurotransmitter, D-AA-CC helps activate the release of Leutinizing hormone, a hormone that stimulates the testes to increase testosterone production.
- BioPerine®: This is a special patented formula that enhances the bioavailability of the other ingredients. (Derived from black pepper, a crucial bioavailability supplement.)
- Boron: Put in as boron amino acid chelate, we’ve written about the epic benefits of boron before. Some of the advantages include declining sex hormone binding globulin.
- Korean Red Ginseng 4:1 extract: This root has been used to strengthen the immune system and fight male impotence for centuries, plus increased longevity and energy.
- Luteolin: A citrus flavonoid, luteolin is a potent aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase is the prime way the body makes estrogen; in essence, you decrease estrogen production.
- Magnesium Citrate: Magnesium basically lowers your SHBG and releases more of your “free” testosterone, which helps with male potency.
- Mucuna Pruriens extract: This ingredient lowers the level of prolactin in the body, as well as improve testosterone and HGH by being a great source of the amino acid levodopa.
- Nettle Root 10:1 extract: Compounds in nettle root, called lignans, can bind to SHBG so that your “free” testosterone doesn’t bind to it.
- Vitamin B6: Of course, vitamins are good for you. B6 stimulates androgen receptors, which tells the testes to pump out testosterone into the bloodstream.
- Vitamin D3: Another vitamin. This time, it’s the all-powerful Vitamin D. This gives you a slew of benefits, including added lifespan and increased testosterone. The sun doesn’t give you enough of this stuff.
- Vitamin K2: This vitamin actually aids in Vitamin D absorption. Not only that, but it also affects testosterone positively in certain studies.
- Zinc Citrate: Lastly, many men suffer from low natural zinc levels. By adding this to the formula, you get a boost in Leutinizing hormone (LH), which amps up testosterone.
This is a ton of ingredients for a single supplement. So what should you expect from taking such a capsule?
Prime Male Benefits
Prime Male packs a lot of punch into their formula, but what does that mean for you? Well, here are the benefits Prime Male claims to give you:
- Increase Testosterone: This should be a given at this point. The majority of the ingredients are aimed at reducing SHBG, increasing androgen receptors, and reducing aromatase, all of which improves a man’s testosterone production. Then, all the other ingredients help with the bioavailability of those T-boosting ingredients. By freeing up your “free” testosterone, limiting the aromatase that turns into estrogen, and enhancing the amount of triggers (mainly Leutinizing hormone), your testosterone should – theoretically – skyrocket, leading to these other benefits…
- Improve Libido: Added testosterone allows you to feel like a full man. This means a big spike in libido. Testosterone is the main male hormone and drives everything we as a species require, including to procreate to keep the species alive. Hence, testosterone = more sex drive.
- Build Lean Muscle: A really cool bonus to improving your testosterone is improving your body composition. That starts with gaining lean, powerful muscle. Some of these ingredients directly increase human growth hormone, which helps your body grow after intense workouts, especially resistance training. If the ingredients themselves don’t do this, then the upped testosterone will.
- Lose Excess Weight: Also, you’ll be able to lose excess bodyweight more effectively than ever before. In fact, being deficient in testosterone causes unwanted weight gain, so the two are definitely correlated. When you take steroids – testosterone injections – you gain a bunch of muscle while losing most of your body fat. Therefore, a testosterone booster like Prime Male should help you do the same (though less efficiently and safer).
- Enhance Cardiovascular Health: Prime Male claims to improve blood pressure, but the science is still out on this. Some studies say testosterone can lower blood pressure while increasing healthy HDL cholesterol, but it’s still a grey area. Nevertheless, regulating your testosterone to a normal level should enhance heart health overall.
- Regulate Blood Sugar: Turns out, “testosterone helps the body’s tissues take up more blood sugar in response to insulin.” In fact, men with low testosterone are usually insulin resistant, meaning they’re more at-risk for Type 2 diabetes. Prime Male should be able to reverse this by aiding testosterone production and increasing blood sugar response to insulin when you consume food.
- Boost Mood and Energy: A healthier balance of hormones leads to an increase in the right ones. Specifically, your mood will enhance, as well as your energy levels. More testosterone is the key to feeling energetic and full of life during the day, while helping you fall asleep at night. Plus, your body will release all of the happy chemicals you get from free-flowing testosterone.
- Additional Cognitive Function: It’s been shown that low serum testosterone could be the reason for cognitive dysfunction, whether it be from aging or disease. As you get older, both testosterone and mental cognition start to dip. Instead, Prime Male could keep your brain healthy and at pique cognition by increasing testosterone.
Obviously, these are some big promises to make as a supplement. In a few sections, we’ll see how well it does all of this, plus stack it up against other top testosterone products.
Prime Male Dosage
How Should You Take Prime Male?
Their site informs us that Prime Male is a pill that you ingest with food and water.
It’s best to follow the instructions that come on the bottle so that you optimize absorption and bio-availability.
While Prime Male is a pill, you can still absorb the nutrients quite effectively; their Bioperine® formula allows for greater absorption into the bloodstream (as much as 20 times more). This means more testosterone benefits in the same amount.
When Should You Take It?
You should take one capsule at a time, four times per day. Seeing as you should take it with a meal, it’s easiest to just take Prime Male with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus a snack or a post-workout meal.
For best results, it makes sense to split them up by at least a couple of hours. For example, taking one at 8 AM, 12 PM, 4 PM, and 8 PM should prove to give you a solid amount of testosterone assistance.
Don’t worry about taking so many doses in one day. Prime Male’s bottle comes with 120 capsules that contain 750mg of testosterone-boosting goodness each.
How Long Does It Take To Work?
You should begin to experience results fast, as little as one week. For some people whose testosterone is severely down-regulated, it might take a little bit longer. However, for the majority you should be feeling better, leaning out, getting strong, and have an added passion for sex and life in as little as seven days.
Prime Male Side Effects
With pros always come cons. While the blend itself may not be a problem for you, perhaps one or more of the ingredients within the supplement will cause adverse effects. Here are the known side effects to taking Prime Male:
- Headaches
- Mood swings
- Diarrhea
- Upset stomach
Again, these can be from supplementation in general or a singular ingredient in the Prime Male blend. Make sure you talk to your doctor before going on any sort of testosterone booster. The side effects might be rare or uncommon, but that doesn’t mean you won’t experience them.
Prime Male Results
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC_lDfC87Vc
According to numerous reviews and testimonials, the results of taking Prime Male are mixed.
Of course, on the Prime Male site you have a healthy amount of positive praise for the supplement.
From celebrity advocate Dolph Lundgren to random Joe Shmoes, testimonials provide Prime Male with a solid backing for being a decent testosterone booster.
However, there are a plethora of critics for sure. Some sites point out that, while Prime Male says they are FDA-approved and made in the U.S., it isn’t easy to find any information or proof.
Not only that, some of the ingredients included in Prime Male are apparently understudied and in fact some of them may even decrease testosterone.
Some of the ingredients aren’t tested in humans and others have been cloaked in fitness verbiage because of the supplement industry (like D-aspartic acid, for example).
So the jury is still out, with half of the ingredients scientifically proven to help with testosterone production and the other half shady at best.
Add to that the price (which we will get to in a future section), and you get a somewhat risky supplement. And if there’s anything that should be learned from this, it’s that you should never risk your health, especially when it comes to putting supplements in your body.
Thankfully, there are alternatives…
Prime Male vs. TestoFuel
TestoFuel is a supplement we have reviewed previously on Athletic Muscle. We regarded it in high esteem when we looked into the ingredients and how they conduct their business on the back end.
TestoFuel still appears to be a legit supplement product, and we wholeheartedly recommend it above Prime Male as your testosterone booster of choice.
Now, this isn’t to say that Prime Male doesn’t have its place. Some people need more of one nutrient over another, and Prime Male could in fact satisfy those needs.
That’s the beauty of biological individuality. So, take a gander at the ingredients list for both Prime Male and TestoFuel, then decide which one makes the most sense for you. (The same can be said for the next comparison.)
On a purely quality level, TestoFuel is the one you want.
Prime Male vs. Nugenix
Nugenix, another supplement we’ve reviewed in the past, has less ingredients than Prime Male, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a less potent product.
While both have ample amounts of zinc and Vitamin B6, Nugenix comes swinging with Vitamin B12, testofen, L-citrulline malate, and the often-criticized Tribulus Terrestris.
Some of these ingredients – such as Tribulus – have had some research go their way and some research say “stay away!” So, similar to Prime Male, you’re taking a bit of risk, putting your faith in a product that has things in it that may or may not help your low testosterone. (It might even decrease your testosterone further!)
Testofen seems to be the biggest difference in Nugenix, containing Fenugreek (a well-studied testosterone booster).
However, again like Prime Male, Nugenix doesn’t give any manufacturing data or any reliable evidence, while user reviews seem to be mixed as well.
We conclude that Nugenix and Prime Male are on the same page, and it’s up to you to determine whether these supplements are worth the unreliable claims. (TestoFuel still appears to be the best in terms of quality and backed-up claims.)
Where To Buy Prime Male?
You can purchase Prime Male from the main website, in either a one-, two-, or three-month supply of 120-count bottles. As for alternative ways to get Prime Male, currently it isn’t sold on any other site. On top of that, it doesn’t seem to be at your local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe either.
By buying Prime Male from their site, you get free shipping worldwide from the U.S. and U.K.
They have a 90-day guarantee of their product, meaning you should get results within those first three months or you can get your money back.
Speaking of which…
How Much Does Prime Male Cost?
This depends on how much you buy at one time. If you go for the single bottle order, it’s priced at $69. For a two-bottle purchase, it’s $138. And for a three-bottle buy, you pay $207. Basically, each bottle is $69.
However, that isn’t all there is to it. According to their site, you only get free shipping on orders of two bottles and above.
Plus, if you go with the three-bottle option, you actually get a free extra bottle, which totals out to four for the price of three. This is obviously the best choice in terms of value.
For a testosterone booster, Prime Male is modestly priced, but for the sketchiness of their ingredients and lack of information backing up their claims, it may be too steep of a price for what you’re receiving.
Conclusion
All in all, Prime Male may or may not be your saving grace when it comes to testosterone.
The ingredients show promise, offering a wide range of helpful benefits, especially lowering barriers to produce more testosterone naturally.
However, with some side effects, lack of solid evidence for some of the ingredients, and the outrageous price, Prima Male might not be even feasible for some athletes.
Do your research with Prime Male, as well as the other supplements we put it up against, and see which testosterone booster is right for you. (Of course, make sure you need a testosterone booster in the first place by testing for low T.)
If you decide a testosterone booster is right for you, we wish you the best of luck and hope brighter, more energetic and frisky days are ahead of you!
