Important limitations
- Individual claims and source links have not yet completed editorial verification.
- Evidence level, applicable study model, formulation, route and population remain unassigned.
Hercules
Hercules is a performance-oriented amino complex developed for research on muscular endurance, recovery, and oxidative balance.
Reported protocols for Hercules
What published studies and recent community write-ups report about amounts, timing and course length. 5 clinical and 2 community-reported rows, each linked to its source. These are descriptions of what others report, not instructions, and nothing here is medical advice.
| Context | Dose | Frequency | Route | Course | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical5 rows | |||||
| Levocarnitine: FDA label for intravenous Carnitor (ingredient data)Patients with secondary carnitine deficiency from inborn errors of metabolism, and dialysis patients with end-stage renal disease | 50 mg/kg (metabolic disorders; highest dose given 300 mg/kg); 10-20 mg/kg dry body weight after each dialysis session (end-stage renal disease) | Every 3-4 hours and never less than every 6 hours in metabolic crisis; three times a week with dialysis | Intravenous, as a slow 2-3 minute bolus or infusion | Open-ended with plasma carnitine monitoring; dialysis doses may be cut to 5 mg/kg from week 3-4Dose reductions guided by trough plasma levocarnitine | DailyMed, National Library of Medicine2026 |
| Carnitor is the only FDA-approved injectable form of any ingredient in this blend, and it is given at gram-scale doses by weight into a vein for documented deficiency states, with weekly and monthly blood monitoring. A dose-ranging study in dialysis patients compared 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg three times a week; nothing on the label concerns healthy adults or exercise. | |||||
| N-acetylcysteine: intravenous infusion during prolonged cycling (ingredient data)8 endurance-trained men in a double-blind crossover | 125 mg/kg per hour for 15 minutes, then 25 mg/kg per hour for 20 minutes before exercise and throughout | Single infusion per trial | Intravenous | One exercise session (45 minutes at 71% of peak oxygen uptake, then to fatigue at 92%)Not applicable | Journal of Applied Physiology (PubMed)2004 |
| Time to fatigue rose 26% with NAC and muscle cysteine and glutathione were higher at fatigue, which the authors took as the mechanism. An earlier study by the same group in less-trained men with the same infusion found no change in time to fatigue, so the effect appeared to depend on training status; these are gram-scale clinical infusions, not a 60 mg per millilitre blend. | |||||
| Citrulline before exercise, meta-analysis of acute trials (ingredient data)206 healthy, recreationally active or resistance-trained young adults in 13 randomised trials | 6-12 g citrulline malate (most often 8 g) or 3-6 g L-citrulline | Single dose about 1 hour before exercise | Oral | Acute, within 2 hours of exerciseNot applicable | Journal of Sport and Health Science (PubMed Central)2020 |
| Citrulline lowered rating of perceived exertion and muscle soreness at 24 hours but not at 72 hours, and did not change blood lactate. The authors suggested at least 3-4 g of L-citrulline taken an hour before exercise, noting that trials dosing 40 minutes or 2 hours before exercise tended to be negative. | |||||
| Citrulline malate and repetitions to failure, meta-analysis (ingredient data)137 adults (101 strength-trained men, 26 women, 9 untrained men) in 8 placebo-controlled studies | 6-8 g citrulline malate | Single dose 40-60 minutes before training | Oral | AcuteNot applicable | International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism2021 |
| Citrulline malate added about three repetitions (6.4%) across roughly 51 total repetitions per exercise, a small effect that reached significance overall and tended toward significance for lower-body but not upper-body exercises. The authors describe it as a small ergogenic effect with conflicting individual trials behind it. | |||||
| Taurine and endurance performance, meta-analysis (ingredient data)Participants in 10 peer-reviewed taurine studies (7 with time-to-exhaustion outcomes) | 1-6 g | Single doses, or daily for up to 2 weeks | Oral | Acute to 2 weeksNot applicable | Sports Medicine (Springer Medicine)2018 |
| Taurine improved endurance performance with a moderate pooled effect (Hedges' g 0.40), and neither the dose within 1-6 g nor acute versus chronic supplementation changed the effect. The conclusion is that a single oral dose anywhere in that range can help endurance; the 45 mg per millilitre in comparable injectable blends is roughly a twentieth of the lowest studied dose. | |||||
| Community-reported2 rows | |||||
| Vendor Hercules (Metabolism) formula, e-book protocol | 0.5 mL to start, worked up gradually (listing at the time: arginine 110 mg, citrulline 120 mg, glutamine 40 mg, taurine 60 mg, NAC 75 mg, ornithine 110 mg, lysine 70 mg, proline 60 mg, carnitine 220 mg per mL) | Before workouts | Intramuscular, split bilaterally into the muscle being trained, 30-45 minutes before training | Not specifiedNone described | Community resource2025 |
| A 2025 biohacking e-book describes starting at half a millilitre split between two sites and working up, with the warning that higher volumes can make the muscle pump uncomfortably intense. It lists post-injection pain as the main side effect of this and every multi-ingredient blend, recommends deep intramuscular rather than subcutaneous injection, and notes the formulation it describes contained ornithine, which the current vendor listing omits. | |||||
| Vendor Zeus Juice, identical nine-ingredient formula (related product) | 0.5 mL to start, with the option to work up (arginine 110, citrulline 120, glutamine 40, taurine 60, ornithine 110, lysine 70, proline 60, carnitine 220 and NAC 75 mg/mL) | About 45 minutes before a workout | Intramuscular, split bilaterally into the muscle being trained | Not specified; described for both cutting and bulking phasesNone described | Community resource2025 |
| The same e-book treats Zeus Juice as one of the most potent injectable amino blends on the market and gives the same half-millilitre bilateral start, with strong post-injection pain attributed to how concentrated the solution is. It frames the expected effects as pumps, vascularity and endurance during a session, with no claim about repeated-use outcomes. | |||||
Sources for this section (9)
- CARNITOR (levocarnitine) injection: Prescribing Information
- N-acetylcysteine enhances muscle cysteine and glutathione availability and attenuates fatigue during prolonged exercise in endurance-trained individuals
- Effect of citrulline on post-exercise rating of perceived exertion, muscle soreness, and blood lactate levels: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Acute Effect of Citrulline Malate on Repetition Performance During Strength Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- The Effects of an Oral Taurine Dose and Supplementation Period on Endurance Exercise Performance in Humans: A Meta-Analysis
Plus 4 community resources (dosing guides, forum threads and vendor write-ups), reported above but not linked.
Overview
Hercules is a vendor-named injectable amino acid blend built around two nitric oxide precursors (arginine and citrulline), the mitochondrial fatty-acid carrier carnitine, the glutathione precursor N-acetylcysteine, taurine, glutamine and the collagen amino acids lysine and proline, sold as a 20 mL ready-to-use liquid by a research vendor and marketed as a pre-workout and metabolic formula. The legacy page for this product listed 1 mL three to five times a week, 30-60 minutes before training, and gave no per-millilitre amounts, so the ingredient amounts are left blank here; another vendor lists a same-named formulation with the identical eight ingredients at 220 mg carnitine, 90 mg arginine HCl, 85 mg citrulline, 60 mg NAC, 50 mg lysine HCl, 45 mg taurine, 45 mg proline and 30 mg glutamine per millilitre, and a Tampa clinic sells a nine-ingredient Hercules Potion that adds ornithine. None of these blends has been studied; the human evidence is for single ingredients, mostly oral citrulline and taurine before exercise, intravenous N-acetylcysteine infusions in exercise physiology studies, and the FDA-approved intravenous levocarnitine product Carnitor for carnitine deficiency. Injectable amino blends of this kind are compounded or research-vendor products that the FDA has not evaluated.
What researchers are exploring
These themes organize the educational information currently available. Individual claims remain under source review and are not treatment claims.
- 1
Citrulline
Synergistically enhance nitric oxide (NO) production, promoting vascular dilation and endurance. Molecular Formula: C 6 H 13 N 3 O 3 Molecular Weight: 175.19 g/mol
- 2
L-Glutamine
Key amino acid for immune and gut recovery post-exercise. Molecular Formula: C 5 H 10 N 2 O 3 Molecular Weight: 146.14 g/mol
- 3
Lysine
Contributes to collagen formation and immune defense. Molecular Formula: C 6 H 14 N 2 O 2 Molecular Weight: 146.19 g/mol
- 4
L-Carnitine
Facilitates the transport of long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria for β-oxidation. Molecular Formula: C 7 H 15 NO 3 Molecular Weight: 161.20 g/mol
- 5
L-Arginine
Precursor for nitric oxide synthesis; supports blood flow and vascular tone. Molecular Formula: C 6 H 14 N 4 O 2 Molecular Weight: 174.20 g/mol
- 6
L-Lysine
Precursor for nitric oxide synthesis; supports blood flow and vascular tone. Molecular Formula: C 6 H 14 N 4 O 2 Molecular Weight: 174.20 g/mol
What is known and what still needs verification
Available context is organized without assigning unsupported study models or evidence grades.
- Not graded
Citrulline
Synergistically enhance nitric oxide (NO) production, promoting vascular dilation and endurance. Molecular Formula: C 6 H 13 N 3 O 3 Molecular Weight: 175.19 g/mol
- Not graded
L-Glutamine
Key amino acid for immune and gut recovery post-exercise. Molecular Formula: C 5 H 10 N 2 O 3 Molecular Weight: 146.14 g/mol
Limitations and unknowns
Sources
1 link carried over from the earlier page, awaiting verification.