JNX Sports The Curse 250 g - Intense Energy Pre-Workout

What is The Curse by JNX Sports?

JNX Sports The Curse is a powdered pre-workout, to be mixed with water before your session. A 5 g serving delivers 155 mg of anhydrous caffeine, for under 5 kcal. The 250 g tub holds 50 servings, which makes it one of the longest-lasting formats in the category.

The Curse is a long-standing formula, on the market since the early 2010s, and it has kept the same positioning throughout: a very small scoop, 5 g, where most current pre-workouts sit somewhere between 10 and 15 g. Alongside the caffeine you will find CarnoSyn® beta-alanine, creatine monohydrate, L-citrulline, arginine alpha-ketoglutarate and an olive leaf extract.

The flavours in the range: Lemon, Lemon Rush, Peach, Peach Mango, Fruit Punch, Blue Raspberry and Green Apple. The composition is identical across all of them, only the flavouring and the colouring change. The other formulas in the category can be browsed in our boosters selection.

What does a serving of The Curse contain?

155 mg of caffeine is the equivalent of two espressos. That is a measured dose for a pre-workout, and it counts in the product's favour: plenty of products in this category climb to 300 or 350 mg per serving, which becomes a genuine problem as soon as you train late in the day or already drink coffee. Here you stay below the 200 mg benchmark set for a single intake in a healthy adult.

The downside, and it needs saying plainly: apart from the caffeine, no dosage is published. Beta-alanine, creatine, citrulline and arginine are bundled into blends for which only the trade name is disclosed. There is no way, then, to know whether the beta-alanine comes close to the 3.2 g usually cited, or whether the creatine even reaches a gram. Given the size of the scoop — 5 g in total, of which 155 mg is caffeine — the arithmetic is quickly done: those four ingredients share less than 5 g between them, flavourings and sweeteners included. They are therefore present in amounts well below the reference dosages, and it would be dishonest to let you believe otherwise.

Put another way: this product is first and foremost a sensibly dosed stimulant, with a token supporting cast. That is not a flaw in itself, provided you buy it for what it is. If you want creatine at a useful dose, that means 3 to 5 g a day and it is taken separately, from our creatine monohydrate category. If citrulline is what interests you, reckon on 6 g per serving, which on its own is more than the entire scoop.

On the regulatory side, there is nothing to claim: no health claim is authorised in Europe for caffeine, beta-alanine, creatine at this dose, citrulline or arginine. We describe ingredients and the one published figure, never a promised effect.

Ingredients list

Beta-alanine (CarnoSyn®), creatine monohydrate, L-citrulline, citric acid, natural and artificial flavourings, L-arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, anhydrous caffeine, calcium silicate, silicon dioxide, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, olive leaf extract, colours depending on the flavour.

Gluten-free formula, manufactured in the United States. Produced in a facility that also handles peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, wheat, crustaceans, fish and soya: traces are possible.

How do you take The Curse?

Serving: 1 scoop of 5 g. Liquid: 150 to 250 ml of cold water. Timing: 20 to 30 minutes before training. Frequency: one serving a day, and no more than 5 consecutive days out of 7. Duration: the manufacturer sets no cycle length, but does impose this 5-days-in-7 pattern.

One scoop, and one only. You will read elsewhere that you can go up to two or three scoops: we do not advise it and we will not repeat it. Two scoops is 310 mg of caffeine; three is 465 mg, more than the 400 mg daily benchmark set for an adult, swallowed in one go. The manufacturer itself recommends assessing your tolerance with a single scoop: stick to that.

The 5-days-in-7 rule deserves to be respected. It is not folklore: tolerance to caffeine builds quickly, and two days off a week are enough to preserve the effect. It is also a simple way of not turning a training-day product into a daily habit.

No evening servings. 155 mg of caffeine at 19:00 is still active at bedtime. If you train late, our caffeine-free booster category suits your situation better, and you will keep your night's sleep.

Finally, expect possible tingling on the skin after taking it: that is the beta-alanine, the sensation is temporary and harmless. And do not combine it with any other source of caffeine on the same day — coffee, an energy can or a stimulant fat burner all add up.

Who is The Curse for, and who is it not for?

It suits a trained adult looking for a straightforward pre-workout, sensibly dosed in caffeine without excess, who has no wish to pay the price of a fifteen-ingredient formula. The ratio between the number of servings and the size of the tub is its strongest argument: 50 sessions in 250 g lasts a long time.

It is not suitable for under-18s, nor for pregnant or breastfeeding women. The manufacturer formally advises against it in cases of caffeine sensitivity or cardiovascular disorders. If you are on medical treatment — particularly for high blood pressure or a heart condition — a doctor's opinion is required before purchase, and the product must not be combined with any other stimulant.

Mind the allergen traces. The formula is gluten-free, but the facility handles peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, wheat, crustaceans, fish and soya. In cases of severe allergy this point is decisive, and it is rarely highlighted on product pages in this category.

What you should not expect from it. Do not count on this product for your creatine intake or for a pronounced vascular effect: the amounts involved are too small. A pre-workout does not make you progress, does not make up for a lack of sleep and does not replace a properly built programme. What it gives you is perceived energy at the moment you start — and on that front, at 155 mg, it does exactly what it says.

The Curse or a fully disclosed pre-workout?

That is the real choice in this category today, and it pits two philosophies against each other.

A fully disclosed pre-workout states every line: 6 g of citrulline, 3.2 g of beta-alanine, 200 mg of caffeine. You know what you are paying for and you can compare two products line by line. In return, the scoop is bigger — often 12 to 20 g — and the tub lasts far less time. Our creatine-free pre-workout category and our citrulline selection show you what stated dosages look like.

The Curse plays the other card: small serving, contained price, 50 sessions in a tub. For someone who simply wants a lift before the session without getting into label comparisons, it is a defensible choice and an honest one about its caffeine level.

The most rational solution is often to separate the two: a simple stimulant on one side, and your actives at a useful dose on the other. A beta-alanine is taken every day, rest days included, which a pre-workout does not allow; and an L-arginine or a seriously dosed citrulline will do more for the feeling of a pump than any undisclosed blend.

Frequently asked questions

How much caffeine per serving?

155 mg for a 5 g scoop, roughly two espressos. That is a moderate dose for this category and it stays below the 200 mg benchmark set for a single intake in an adult. One serving a day only, and no other source of caffeine alongside it.

Can you take two or three scoops?

We formally advise against it. Two scoops amount to 310 mg of caffeine and three to 465 mg, more than the 400 mg daily benchmark in a single intake. The manufacturer itself recommends sticking to one scoop to assess your tolerance. Stick to that.

Are the dosages of the other ingredients known?

No. Only the caffeine carries a figure; the beta-alanine, creatine, citrulline and arginine are bundled into blends that are not broken down. The whole scoop weighs only 5 g, flavourings and sweeteners included: these ingredients are therefore present well below the reference dosages.

How many servings in a tub?

Fifty 5 g servings in the 250 g tub. At four training sessions a week, that comes to around three months. It is one of the best ratios in the category on this specific point, most competitors offering 20 to 30 servings per tub.

Why not go beyond 5 days out of 7?

Because tolerance to caffeine builds quickly and the same dose ends up producing nothing at all. Two days off a week are enough to preserve the effect. It is the manufacturer that sets this rule, and it is consistent with what we know about this molecule.

Which flavours are available?

Lemon, Lemon Rush, Peach, Peach Mango, Fruit Punch, Blue Raspberry and Green Apple. The composition is identical across all of them; only the flavouring and the colouring change. The scoop is mixed into 150 to 250 ml of cold water depending on how concentrated you want it.

Does the product contain gluten?

No, the formula is declared gluten-free by the manufacturer. It is, however, produced in a facility that handles peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, wheat, crustaceans, fish and soya: traces are possible, which matters in cases of severe allergy.

Where can you buy The Curse by JNX Sports?

The 250 g tub can be ordered from this page in the available flavours, and we ship throughout France and Europe. At the Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, this is the pre-workout we recommend to anyone who finds recent formulas too heavily loaded with caffeine: 155 mg is reasonable, and the tub lasts a whole season. We simply remind you never to double the scoop. The rest of our selection can be browsed in the sports nutrition category.