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BSN
N.O.-XPLODE
High stimulant content · Read safety guidance
Our analysis — editorial take, not from the label
A legacy 2004-era stim pre-workout still built around a strong 275mg caffeine dose, but the label is stacked with five proprietary blends, so buyers get the caffeine and beta-alanine numbers as callouts without the creatine, pump, or focus ingredient breakdown.
- Caffeine
- 275 mg
- Citrulline
- —
- Beta-alanine
- 1.8 g
- Servings
- 30
Price tier: Mid-range · relative cost per full serving across this database
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Available in classic candy-style flavors (Blue Raspberry, Fruit Punch, Grape, Green Apple, Watermelon) sweetened with sucralose; colorant and sweetener details vary slightly by flavor.
Label verified: July 2026 · View label source
Label data
Per full serving · 30 servings per container · from the manufacturer's panel
| Caffeine | 275 mg |
|---|---|
| Beta-Alanine | 1.8 g |
| Shock Composite (proprietary blend) | 290 mg |
| N.O. Alpha Fusion (proprietary blend) | 1 g |
| Proprietary blend | Yes |
Primary label source: BSN official product page · verified July 2026
Cautions
- 275mg caffeine in one scoop is roughly equivalent to 3 cups of brewed coffee.
- Five proprietary blends (Myogenic Matrix 5.1g, Endura Shot 2.9g, Thermic Energy 1.3g, N.O. Alpha Fusion 1g, Shock Composite 290mg) mean individual ingredient doses beyond the caffeine and beta-alanine callouts are not disclosed, including how much creatine is in the 5.1g Myogenic Matrix.
- 1.8g beta-alanine may cause a temporary skin-tingling sensation (paresthesia).
Formulated for healthy adults — not intended for anyone under 18. Performance studies use roughly 3–6 mg of caffeine per kg of body weight, which puts 275 mg at the studied amount for a 46–92 kg adult. Full health & safety notes
Product details
Where this label sits
BSN N.O.-XPLODE sits in the high stim tier of the Scoop Sense pre-workout database, which spans 0–400 mg of caffeine per serving. The label uses at least one proprietary blend, so a blend total stands in place of the individual amounts inside it. It runs 30 servings per container at the full labeled serving. Everything on this page comes from the manufacturer's supplement facts panel as of July 2026 — never from the marketing page.
Key ingredients & studied doses
- Caffeine · 275 mg. Well above the ~200mg per-serving amount used in most acute caffeine-and-exercise-performance studies; a strong stimulant dose in a single scoop. BSN discloses this figure as a callout even though the caffeine itself sits inside the Thermic Energy blend.
- Beta-Alanine · 1.8 g. Below the 3.2g daily dose (often split) used in research on raising muscle carnosine, though it can still produce the tingling sensation associated with the ingredient. Disclosed as a callout from within the Endura Shot blend.
- Shock Composite (proprietary blend) · 290 mg. A focus-oriented blend (label lists DMAE bitartrate, L-phenylalanine, toothed clubmoss extract, and B-vitamins among its components); because it's a blend, the amount of each individual ingredient isn't disclosed.
- N.O. Alpha Fusion (proprietary blend) · 1 g. A pump-support blend built around citrulline malate plus botanical extracts (danshen, grape skin, hawthorn); the blend format hides how much citrulline it actually contains, so it can't be compared directly to citrulline research doses.
Flavors & sweetener
Available in classic candy-style flavors (Blue Raspberry, Fruit Punch, Grape, Green Apple, Watermelon) sweetened with sucralose; colorant and sweetener details vary slightly by flavor.
Who it's best for
Users with an established caffeine tolerance. Skip it if you want every individual dose disclosed on the label. Derived from the label figures above — not medical advice.
How we log this label
Every entry is built the same way: we read the current supplement facts panel, log each disclosed dose, compare it against the amounts used in published research, flag proprietary blends, and state the cautions plainly. The full methodology explains each step.
This label against the research
How we evaluate labelsEach bar shows the amount commonly used in published human research, and where this label's dose falls against it. Research amounts are context, not a recommendation — they are not doses, and nothing here is medical advice.
-
Caffeine275 mg
At or above the studied amount0studied range 200 mg–400 mg450 mg
Performance studies most often use 3–6 mg per kg of body weight, which works out to roughly 200–400 mg for most adults. The FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects in healthy adults.
Source: Guest et al., Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2021 — “Caffeine has consistently been shown to improve exercise performance when consumed in doses of 3–6 mg/kg body mass.”
-
Beta-alanine1.8 g
56% of the low end of the studied range0studied range 3.2 g–6.4 g7 g
Studied as a daily loading protocol of 3.2–6.4 g taken for four weeks or longer. A single serving below that range still counts toward the daily total, but one scoop is not a studied dose on its own.
Source: Rezende et al., Frontiers in Physiology 2020 — “It seems that substantial amounts of BA are required to increase MCarn, with most studies using doses of ~3.2–6.4 g·day−1, for periods ranging from 4 to 24 weeks.”
One or more amounts on this label sit inside a proprietary blend, so the individual doses behind the blend total cannot be compared at all.
Common questions about BSN N.O.-XPLODE
How much caffeine is in BSN N.O.-XPLODE?
275 mg per full labeled serving — roughly 2.9 small cups of coffee. Within the Scoop Sense pre-workout database (0–400 mg per serving) that places it in the high stim tier. The FDA cites about 400 mg per day as an amount generally not associated with negative effects in healthy adults, and coffee, tea, and energy drinks count toward the same total.
Why does BSN N.O.-XPLODE make my skin tingle?
The 1.8 g of beta-alanine. The prickling (paresthesia) in the face, neck, and hands is generally considered harmless, is dose-dependent, and fades on its own — typically within about an hour. Most beta-alanine studies use 3.2 g per day.
What does the proprietary blend in BSN N.O.-XPLODE hide?
The Shock Composite (proprietary blend) lists 290 mg as a combined total. A blend total tells you the sum of its ingredients, not the individual doses inside it — which is why blend entries can't be checked against studied amounts.
Do the numbers for BSN N.O.-XPLODE assume one scoop or two?
All figures on this page are per full labeled serving. 275mg caffeine in one scoop is roughly equivalent to 3 cups of brewed coffee..