The Origin of CHARGE — The 7 Ingredients And Why They Work Together

A year in the kitchen, and a principle older than the supplement industry

Most pre-workouts are built around one ingredient, a proprietary blend that hides the rest, and artificial flavoring. 

I didn't want to build that.

I wanted to build a formula where every ingredient serves a purpose — where they work together to support the body's natural intelligence, helping you perform now while supporting your health for the long run. That idea isn't new. It's one of the oldest principles in herbal medicine.

This is the story of how CHARGE was built, what synergy actually means, and why there are exactly seven ingredients in every scoop.

What "synergy" really means

In modern pharmacology, synergy has a specific definition: it's when two or more ingredients, combined, produce an effect greater than the simple sum of their individual effects. Not just stacking benefits side by side — actually changing how each one behaves in the body.

But the idea is far older than the word.

For centuries, traditional Chinese herbal medicine highlighted that ingredients work differently together than they do alone. Herbalists didn't hand you one plant. They constructed formulas — intentional combinations, assembled according to a structure that's been used for thousands of years.

That structure is often described with four roles:

• The lead — the primary ingredient that drives the main effect.

• The support — ingredients that reinforce what the lead does.

• The assistant — ingredients that balance out the formula. 

• The courier — ingredients that help the body absorb and use everything else.

The point was never "more is better." The point was balance — choosing each ingredient for the role it plays. A formula was treated as a system, not a list.

Modern research is now working to validate this. Pharmacologists are mapping how combined ingredients interact — how one can change the absorption of another, how two compounds can act on the same pathway from different angles. The science is still being written. But the core idea that traditional medicine understood is coming to light. The combination matters as much as the components.

I built CHARGE on that idea — a clean, mushroom-enhanced pre-workout with strength rooted in nature.

A year of formulating: January 2025 to launch

CHARGE didn't come from a white-label manufacturer's catalog. It came from twelve months of work — and a lot of it happened in my own kitchen.

It started in the kitchen — January 2025

Testing and adjusting — January to May 2025

Ordered the first samples — June 2025

Performance testing — July to August 2025

Going all in — August 2025

Label design and production — October 2025

Picked up the first units — January 22, 2026

Launch — January 30, 2026

The seven ingredients, and the role each one plays:

L-Citrulline — 6g

The lead. Citrulline is the engine behind blood flow: the body converts it toward nitric oxide, which supports vasodilation — wider blood vessels, better delivery of oxygen and nutrients to working muscle. 

Cordyceps — 2g

Part of the engine. Cordyceps is a functional mushroom long prized by high-altitude and endurance athletes, studied for supporting oxygen utilization — the efficiency of the exact system that fades in the back half of a long effort. 

Lion's Mane — 2g

The focus. A nootropic mushroom studied for cognitive function — the mental thread that separates drifting through a session from staying locked into it. 

Tart Cherry Extract (10:1) — 500mg

Recovery. The active compounds are anthocyanins — the polyphenols behind the fruit's deep red color, studied in endurance and resistance-trained athletes for supporting recovery after hard efforts. 

Ginger Root — 500mg

The assistant. Ginger has been used in traditional herbal practice for generations, valued for digestive comfort and as a complement to recovery. 

Beet Root — 500mg

Beet root is best known as a natural source of dietary nitrate, the compound behind its reputation for supporting blood flow and endurance.

Natural Caffeine (as TerraCaf™) — 150mg

The spark. Plant-derived caffeine sourced from green coffee beans and green tea — a moderate, deliberate 150mg, enough for clean, sustained energy without the jittery overload of a 300mg stimulant bomb. 

Why seven, and not seventeen

I could have added more. It's easy to. Every extra ingredient is another bullet point on the label, another keyword for the marketing.

But that's the opposite of how good formulas are built. The traditional principle — choose each ingredient for its role, and balance the whole. Citrulline, cordyceps, and beet root all push in the same direction — energy, blood flow, oxygen, and endurance. Lion's mane sharpens focus. Tart cherry and ginger help with recovery. And natural caffeine provides the spark that ties it together. Seven ingredients, each with a job.

That's what I mean when I say a formula is a system, not a list. Seven ingredients, working as a synergy inside the body — researched, hand-tested over a year, clinically dosed, third-party tested. 

That's CHARGE.

-Ralph, Founder of Muscle Memory Performance 

CHARGE: Mushroom-Enhanced Pre-Workout is available at buildmusclememory.com. Every ingredient, every dose, printed on the label.