Introduction

What's up SR family! Before I start, I would like to thank IdealRaw and the Troopers for the opportunity to try Organic Super-Food. I believe with all the protein shakes we take, we sometimes forget about the basic food groups; especially if you are like me and are always on the run. convenience and healthy is key for me when buying any supplements; therefore, when Organic Super-Food came up for the Troopers, I jumped on the opportunity.

Ingredient Profile

As much as I would have loved to see a full disclosure of each component of Organic Super-Food, I do understand why it is in a proprietary blend. This contains 12 different fruits and vegetables, like carrots, oranges, and cranberries just to name a few. I know what you may be thinking "Only 12" Considering the price for this, which I will mention below it is justifiable. In addition, you get 6 grams of protein, which is plant based for our lactose intolerant and vegetarian members. This is not meant to be a post workout meal replacement shake, but a good addition to your nutritional regiment. Organic-Super-Food is USDA organic certified, Gluten free, and non-GMO; furthermore, I like the fact that IdealRaw has a 100% money back guarantee, which says a lot about the product.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste - For anyone who has taken green products, these tend not to be the best tasting products. However, I am a firm believe, what might taste bad is good for you and what taste great can kill you; again, this is my opinion. Organic Super-Food did not taste too bad; it had a nutty initial taste, which can be attributed to the Flax Seed it contains.

Mix - As with many green-based products, we sometimes get settlement at the bottom of the cup or it is too lumpy. However, this mixed well, but for me, it went down with a chalky feeling. To combat that, I just added more liquid. A combination of fruit juice and water worked best for me.

Dosing - I used this during different times of the day, depending where I was. You get 30 servings, which us 2 scoops to get the full dose. To me, I benefited best in the middle of the day.

Effectiveness

Organic-Super-Food worked well for me, I looked at it as taking a vitamin shake to a small pick me up due to the Organic Green Tea. About the 7th to 8th day of taking, I started to notice a better feeling of well-being and I noticed that my allergies were a little in check, not too much sneezing first thing when I wake up. In addition, where I work, not everyone eats healthy; Monday - Friday potlucks seems to always be taking place. As a result, people are always sick; I can tell my immune system was much stronger.

As we know, with the majority of green products, bowel movements increase, and sometimes it can hit you at the wrong place and time. Organic Super-Food only has one gram of fiber, so it does not make you go to the rest room right away. However, with the combination of fruits and vegetable included in a serving, if you have not had an opportunity to detox your digestive system, Organic Super-Food will help. I noticed after the initial serving that when I hit the head, man, I was out of breath. This told me that I needed to be cleaned out, about the 4th day, my bowel movements were not as intense; however, it help regulate my body to have 2 to sometimes 3 bowel movements a day. I felt better and a little lighter LOL!

Value

As for the value of Organic Super-Food, this is priced great! You get 30 servings for $25.00 and that is buying off IdealRaw's website; perfect for those on a budget.

Side Effects

No sides to report

Conclusion

IdealRaw has a good product with Organic Super-Food. It may not have that kitchen sink ingredient profile as some other products do, which is why it is priced way below similar products. In my opinion, I would recommend anyone who is looking for a healthier life style to add Organic Super-Food to their supplement regiment. We as a society do not ingest the minimum requirements of fruits and veggies that the body needs to keep us moving right along. Sometimes I hear people say "I don't want to get old", well I do. Thank you again IdealRaw for the opportunity.

Introduction

What's up SR- Today we're going to be taking a look at Nature Restore's Gotu Kola 500. This is basically one of those ancient Asian remedies, and it's supposed to help with a host of ailments including poor circulation, low energy, and depression/anxiety. How does it stack up when added to the diet of a westerner? Let's see...

Ingredient Profile

Nature Restore is doing things a bit differently than others in the supplement industry. They're mainly focusing on 1 ingredient, natural herbs and powders, delivered in capsules. With that, this is just straight up Gotu Kola with 90, 500mg capsules.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

No taste- No mixing.

Slight grassy aftertaste.

3 pills daily. I took them in the morning with food.

Effectiveness

I noticed this working most in two areas: circulation and energy. There was nothing profoundly noticeable at any time, but rather it was a slowly building cumulative effect that became apparent more towards the end of the bottle.

The first thing I noticed was the vascularity increase. Instead of this coming in waves when I had just worked out or eaten carbs, I was more vascular at all times. When I did take something to compound the vascularity it became much more effective. Since finishing the bottle I've seen a visible decrease in surface veins while at rest.

The second thing I noticed was the energy. This was most apparent when my alarm would go off. About 20 days in I stopped hitting snooze, ever. I'd wake up at 5am no problem on 5-6 hours sleep most nights. It wasn't as though I didn't have any cobwebs to shake off, but I didn't have trouble lifting my head off the pillow and sitting up (always the hardest part). Throughout the day I wouldn't take notice of it either, but in hindsight I had to take in less caffeine throughout the day, and the afternoons didn't bring on quite as much of a crash after lunch. It would have been nice to have kept this going with a second or third bottle, but I did let myself run out.

I didn't notice any major changes in mood or behavior. But I'm pretty easy going in general and don't have much in the way of anxiety or depressed thoughts normally. However, in the winter I do, so I might pick up another bottle then to see how it combats those.

Value

This stuff is cheap! Right now on Amazon you can buy it for $12.95. That's for 90 pills or 30 servings-- That's less than $0.45/serving! It's not a game changer by any means, but if you're an early riser and struggle with it at times, it's worth the cost of admission.

Side Effects

None at all.

Conclusion

Altogether this isn't the most exciting supplement in the world, but it did seem to work. To clarify what I mean by that... I really needed to stop taking it to notice the effects, as opposed to them being immediately apparent. There's nothing wrong with that, but I do think it's important to understand that this is something that simply builds up over time. At the price point this is selling for, I think it's a great option for someone that wants a little more energy throughout the day without relying on stimulants and the ups and downs that go along with them. Thank you NR for letting me test this stuff out and for being such stalwart contributors to SR. I really like this brand and think big things could be in store for them.

Introduction

One of the great things about the trooper program is the ability to try different and unique supplements. So, when IdealRaw (part of the Hut Group) put up their organic Matcha Tea I had to try it. I had heard about the unique benefits of matcha so I wanted to put it to the test. Here is the review.

Ingredient Profile

Each container of IdealRaw Matcha Tea comes in 30 servings at 2.5g each. In each scoop, there are 5 calories, 0 fat, 1 carbohydrate, 0 protein, and 70mg of caffeine. It is important to note that this product contains a scoop, as most other matcha products do not. In addition, some matchas do not make their caffeine content clear this one does. There are two ingredients and one is organic matcha green tea powder, which is culinary grade and silicone dioxcide. Before I go into the matcha I want to touch on the silicone dioxide. Silicone dioxcide is a natural compound of silicon and oxygen. It is present naturally in many foods we eat and is mostly used as a food additive. The primary purpose is to prevent clumping. I will note that studies on the safety of it show no health risk. I understand why IdealRaw put the silicone dioxide in the product but most other matcha products are pure with only one ingredient. I would have preferred a pure product.

Matcha tea is concentrated powdered green tealeaves rather than the loose green tea leaves in a bag like traditional tea. To my knowledge, there are two types of matcha tea they are ceremonial grade and culinary grade. IdealRaw uses culinary grade matcha tea. The major differences between them is ceremonial is strictly for drinking and has a sweeter mild flavor. Culinary grade can be used for drinking, cooking, and baking and has a less sweet taste. Matcha teas benefits are similar to that of green tea but is supposed to be enhanced since it is a concentrated version. It may help prevent certain cancers such as bladder, breast, and prostate. One example is a 22% lowered chance of breast cancer in women who drank green tea (1). Matcha tea can also aid in fat loss, recovery, energy booster and much more. I liked the ingredient profile especially the matcha tea as someone who regularly drinks regular green tea.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

In terms of taste, you have to be aware that when you buy matcha it is going to taste slightly different from regular green tea. Matcha has a very earthy taste, as it is ground tealeaves so you get that tea taste along with that grass like taste. It also is a lot richer and thicker than regular tea from teabags. I personally prefer matcha tea. I was able to mix this in cold water but you really have to stir. I mostly would put it in a blender bottle with the whisk ball and it mixed fairly well. There was always some residue on the bottom but I would shake up the bottle and that mixed it back into the liquid. As far as dosing goes, I used this as a coffee alternative. I normally would do a scoop or two throughout the day.

Effectiveness

It is hard to rate the effectiveness of this product since it does not really have a defined purpose as it has more general usage. So, I will rate it as a coffee alternative. Then I will talk about one aspect of the product that I felt over the course of the bottle. As a coffee alternative, I felt like this product was very effective. It gave me energy that lasted for several hours after taking it. The energy was not over the top as sometimes it is with coffee. Sometimes when I have coffee and espresso I will be hit with a caffeine rush and crash quickly. However, with the matcha tea it was a more stable energy that tapered off. I also used this before some cardio and I thought it was on par with coffee for that since my recent cardio has been more HIIT so it is shorter. Overall, matcha is something I would keep around to switch it up when I get bored of coffee on some days.

A major aspect of this I noticed was the energy I got from this was more calming in a sense. I was energized but it was much smoother. I think this had to do with the fact that there is high levels of theanine in matcha tea. You will see that in some energy supplements and nootropics they include theanine along with their caffeine. I find this to be preferred because it blunts the harshness of the caffeine and gives it a smooth feel.

Value

IdealRaw Organic Matcha retails for $22.99 making it $.76 per scoop. However, you can buy three tubs for $59.99 making it $.66 per scoop. Comparing this to other Matcha Teas, Jade Leaf on Amazon goes for $18.95 and at a similar dosage to IdealRaw you are looking at $.37 per serving. I will note this comes in 100 1/2 tsp servings with each serving coming to $.18 but you need two servings to equal the amount in IdealRaw hence the $.37. Zen Spirit Matcha goes for $22.79 making it $.69 per serving. Ujido Matcha is $24.00 making it $.47 per serving. IdealRaw Matcha is more expensive than other Matcha Teas on the market. However, it does come with a scoop and most do not. I also noticed most other Matcha Teas do not have the food additive silicone dioxide while IdealRaw does. Overall, I think there are cheaper options and the scoop is not worth the extra price.

Quick comparison to coffee, I currently pay $.43 for coffee pods, which is cheaper than IdealRaw matcha. My Espresso pods are actually more expensive and they are $.80 per pod.

Side Effects

I had no side effects while taking this product.

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed idealRaw Matcha. I felt like it was an effective coffee alternative and gave me a smooth energy. This does contain a filler of silicone dioxide that I wish was not in the product, as other matcha teas do not include this. In addition, it is more expensive than other products but does include a scoop. The only reason I could see purchasing this over other matcha products is if you are invested in the IdealRaw brand and prefer a scoop. I would like to thank IdealRaw for sending the product and the Trooper Program for coordinating it.

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16311246

-Xcmiler

Introduction

A special thanks to IdealRaw for allowing us the opportunity to try out and review their products. Today, I discuss my experience with their immune enhancement supplement Defense. Getting sick sucks....or at least it seems most of the time we get ill at the most inconvenient of times. Truth be told, whether it'd be the common cold bug or something more serious, nobody wants to deal with illnesses because of the interference they can cause with daily life. Not to mention, trying to bang out a workout while battling an illnesses isn't the most pleasant of experiences. Practicing a diet rich in all the essential vitamins and antioxidants, along with all the other necessities, is the best way to keep out immune defenses solid and running. Of course, it doesn't hurt to give them a little boost every now and then, so that's when products like Defense come into play.

Ingredient Profile

Defense contains a fully disclosed and extensive profile consisting of ingredients that can strengthen immune response, support natural inflammatory responses, aid with stress management, and improve gut health. The profile begins with 200mg of vitamin C, 25mg of vitamin E, 50mg of zinc, and 200mcg of selenium.

Continuing down the profile, we see 400mg of 4:1 tumeric, 400mg of beta glucan, 200mg of ashwaganda, 100mg of Reishi mushroom, 100mg of Shitake mushroom, 100mg of Maitake mushroom, 100mg of astragalus, 100mg of echinacea, 50mg of 4:1 ginger root extract, 25mg of 10:1 elder berry extract, 10mg of bioperine, and finally a probiotics inclusion of two cultures consisting of Lactobacillus Rihamnosus at 7.5 billion CFU and B-Bifidum at 2.5 billion CFU.

I don't think I need to go into in-depth detail about any of these ingredients since all of us has seen them at one point or another. As we know, a majority of these ingredients are known for their immunity enhancement properties. Tumeric, echinacea, the included vitamins and minerals, elder berry, and the included mushroom extracts are well known for improving immunity response and having health promoting properties associated with improving the function of vital organs such as the heart and liver. Ashwaganda and ginger root are effective adaptogens that help reduce cortisol and help mitigate stress response. The probiotics of course are for gut health, but also these "good" bacteria are important immune factors that help drive immunity processes.

My only complaint is that I believe that some of these ingredients could be dosed a little higher. The vitamin C for example would be better at 500mg and ingredients such as the mushroom extracts and ashwaganda could be up ticked maybe 100-200mg higher.

Dosing

The directions advise 3 capsules preferably with your largest meal. For me, I took 3 caps with my final meal of the day, which was usually dinner. You could spread the caps out, I suppose, but I just found it more convenient to take all 3 at once.

Effectiveness

When talking about the effectiveness about an immunity enhancement supplement, obviously, the one thing you would gauge efficacy on is whether or not you truly "felt" healthier while on it in terms of perhaps how you did not contract any illnesses or how you may have gotten over one quicker.

For me, while on Defense, I never became ill and I truly felt healthier and less stressed. I had more natural energy and focus thanks to the adaptogens and I did not feel ill or sluggish at any point while taking Defense. I sometimes don't get enough sleep so that can make me more susceptible to illness and stress. I felt that Defense helped reduce the "lack of rest" lethargic stress response I would sometimes get and made a difference in helping to keep me from getting sick.

The probiotics did a great job in helping to keep me regular. I was having occasional extra, large bowel movements and I had less gastric disturbances from heavy meals.

Value

IdealRaw offers Defense for 22 dollars a bottle. However, they also offer quantity deals where buying more than one bottle, two or three, will allow for a small discounted bulk price. The deals include two bottles for 40 dollars and three bottles for 60 dollars. Considering each bottle lasts a month and that Defense does a great job supporting your overall health, I think this is a very good deal if you are someone who uses immune enhancement supplements frequently.

Side Effects

none

Conclusion

If you wanna take your immune system to the gym and give it strength to fight off those nasty illness bugs, Defense is a product that can do just that. It can also help with stress and keep your plumbing in good working order. Just be sure the majority of the good stuff you need is coming from your diet.

WARMACHINE OUT!!!

GO RED SOX!!!

Introduction

Once again I would like to thank EvoMuse for giving me this opportunity. This is my second review of their products with the first being SlinTensity - you can find it here: https://supplementreviews.com/evomuse/slintensity-1/review/feel-better-diet-evomuse-53984 I used both of these supplements as part of a lean build stack. During this review I was training 5 days a week twice a day. In the mornings I did fasted cardio and in the evening I did weight training. My diet was based on high protein/fat content with low carbs..... One cheat meal per week.

Claim: BRITE cranks up your body's thermogenic capacity, causing your fat cells to constantly use fatty acids to generate heat, increasing metabolic rate and using pure fat as fuel.

Ingredient Profile

The ingredient profile contains 9 different ingredients however there is no single or blend dosages. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be like that or if it was a mishap on their part. Anyways this was kind of concerning since I like to know what exactly I'm putting in my body.

Here are four ingredients that are in BRITE that people may not know much about.

Bitter Melon Seed Oil - A climbing shrub cultivated mainly in Bangladesh, India, China, and Korea, mostly in Asian countries. The most common traditional use is to help fight diabetes in different countries - Recent studies have shown to be beneficial with lowering body weight and composition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4306384/

Perilla Seed Oil - A good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and the seed contains omega 3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) 54-64%.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3167467/

Borage Oil - Has been used as a treatment for various degenerative diseases: attributed to its high gamma linolenic acid content (GLA, 18:3 -6). Has shown to decrease body fat mass accumulation especially with high-fat diets. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11079375

Korean Pine Nut Oil - Contains approximately 15% of pinolenic acid (C18:3)- capable of releasing satiety hormones in humans and thereby having an effect on appetite sensations. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2322999/

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste - Absolutely one of the worst tasting supplements I have tried in a long long time. Yes it does have a mint flavor, however if you like chemically tasting mint that stays in your throat for minutes at a time then this is for you. Be sure not to eat or especially drink anything right after.... I made that mistake.

Mixability - None already in liquid form.

Dosing - Squirt 2 pumps into your mouth 3 times a day and swallow. Another thing that bugged me was the wording and usage of a pump bottle. The wording suggests using "approximately" 2 pumps... Not knowing exactly the dosage each time makes you wonder how many servings your actually using.

Effectiveness

In terms of effectiveness I did notice a feel different things using BRITE that were different from SlinTensity (stacked the 2)

Appetite Suppression - This was the most effective part of using BRITE.... I didn't have those hated cravings between meals or in the evening. Especially helpful when you are following macros.

Thermogenic - There was a feeling of thermogenisis especially during my fasted cardio sessions. I noticed I was sweating more and had that warm feeling thoughout the day.

Bloating/Water Weight - With the amount of water I drank there really was no issue with bloating or having a feeling of carrying around extra water weight.

Value

The cheapest value I could find for a bottle of EvoMuse BRITE was for around $39 on the EvoMuse website. There were other online retailers that were selling them for around $32 but they were out of stock. With a total of 30 day supply if following the dosage protocol then each day will cost you around $1.30. I feel like this is really expensive when compared to other stim free weight-loss products.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

In conclusion EvoMuse BRITE is a good stim-free weight loss product..... however I believe there needs to be some changes to bring BRITE to the next level. First off was the label, yes ingredients are listed but there were no dosages given even a total blend dosage wasn't given. Next there needs to a a change with the flavor, I don't mind mint but chemically tasting mint is a different story. Finally the price is a little high, maybe if I knew some kind of dosage I could have a better knowledge of price.

Introduction

Before I start I want to thank EvoMuse for giving me the opportunity to review two of their supplements. I decided to try a stack of Slintensity and BRITE as part of a lean build. Before using these two supplements I have used a couple EvoMuse products in the past but its been a long long time. Since my daily schedule has drastically changed since having my first child, my workouts are a bit different. In the morning I get 30 min or so to do fasted cardio and another hour or 1:30 in the evening to weight train. My diet while using this stack was high protein/fat and lower carbs depending on the day.

Claim: Designed to help drive more nutrients into the muscle cells and away from fat, the idea behind SlinTensity is to make every meal more anabolic.

Ingredient Profile

The ingredient profile is a mixture of 6 different ingredients with many you may have never heard of. I could go on and on about the ingredients and fill up this review with 500 more words. However NutraPlanet actually goes in depth about each ingredient and giving you the differences this product gives you when your on a specific kind of diet. Check it out here: https://nutraplanet.com/products/evomuse-slintensity-60-cap/

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste - There really isn't a taste to judge since these are in capsule form.

Mixability - No mixability to judge on either..... however the capsules are really easy to swallow.

Dosing - Slintensity works well even if your on a low or high carb diet. During this review I was on a low carb diet, usually having most of my carbs before my second workout in the evening. I took a single capsule 20-30 minutes before your targeted meal (dinner). A second capsule can be added if the carbohydrate content of the meal exceeds 60g (usually the case for that meal).

Effectiveness

In terms of effectiveness I noticed a few different things.....
-Leaner body composition
-Had more energy throughout the day
-Better bathroom trips ( no need to explain unless you really want to know)
-Felt better mentally

As I said in the introduction I was using Slintensity as part of an EvoMuse stack with BRITE. It took about two weeks for me to feel and notice any kind of results. I started noticing a leaner body composition especially around my mid-section losing 6lbs in total after 30 days. In the effectiveness column I said I felt better mentally which was very true. I didn't feel bad after a high carb session or having a cheat meal once a week. Because of this thought I had a better mood throughout the day and with carbs a burnin I had extra energy which is nice when you watch a new born through out the day.

Value

The cheapest value I could find was for around $25 on a variety of different online retailers. Each bottle contains 60 capsules (.42 cents per capsule) - the value really depends on how you use Slintensity. I used 2 capsules a day (.84 cents) which lasted me 30 days. For other users SlinTensity may last as long as 60 days. When compared to other nutrient partitioners the price seems to be in the same boat.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

In conclusion I thought SlinTensity was a "good" nutrient partitioner. f your diet is one point and you have a sound training program then you'll notice good things from this supplement. For the price I'd recommend giving SlinTensity a try if your looking to lean out or feel better about your diet situation. Thanks again to EvoMuse!

Introduction

For the second time in a row, ArumRX has put together a supplement that I thought would be OK then totally went above and beyond my expectations-- especially in the flavor department. They're a relative newcomer out of Staten Island and I've really enjoyed both products I've tested by them. While taking this, I used 95%(ish) as a PWO for my morning lifts, then brought it to the office with me to finish as a replacement for coffee. It really shined in both settings and the thermogenic effects were off the charts when truly isolated.

Ingredient Profile

Each scoop contains 175mg of caffeine, 1g Beta Alanine, 1500mg Carnitine (50% Tartrate), and a proprietary blend with Tyrosine, Green Tea, and Yohimbe.

One thing I think would actually be nice is if they scaled BACK the caffeine and carnitine per scoop. If you had 150mg caffeine and 500mg Carnitine in each scoop, you could actually do a 3 scoop serving like the old NOXplode and max out at 450mg of caffeine and stay at 1500mg of Carnitine, but with an effective 3g Beta Alanine serving. Just a thought though. It would be nice to have closer to 3g of the BA there.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Dosing: 1 scoop standalone, or 2 scoops 20 minutes before a workout
Mixability was great. Never any settling after a few shakes.
Taste was incredible. In my opinion, lemonade flavored supplement powders usually suck. But this one was delicious. I believe the raspberry lemonade is their only flavor and that's fine by me. I'd order it again. I actually gave a buddy a scoop one day too and he said it might be the best tasting thing he's ever had-- period. It's that pineapple fruit powder man, I'm telling you. Everyone else needs to get on that wagon!!

Effectiveness

In all honesty, I was not looking forward to starting this. I was just coming off of Fulcrum by Vaxxen labs which just had a laundry list of pump stuff, stim stuff, brain stuff, you name it. I just didn't think it could compare-- it was a tough act to follow to say the least. But it killed it! It was the most clean unadulterated PWO experience I've had in a long time. The thermogenic was very effective and I had a great sweat going every session. The caffeine was just straight anhydrous and hits you straight away, and with just 2g at 2 scoops I was definitely able to feel the tingles from the beta alanine. I wouldn't say I had the crazy pumps that come along with a citrulline laden PWO, nor the recovery time, but despite those ingredients not being included I still got great workouts in. I think the yohimbe and beta alanine really were able to standout without competition from a host of other ingredients.

Since the ingredient panel is so simple, I also used this as a replacement for coffee on a few occasions and loved it. I immediately felt the thermogenics kick in within 5 minutes, and energy spiked quickly. It stuck around most of the day, and while it did have a slight crash, it wasn't overwhelming like it can be with DMAA/DMHA.

Value

Right now this is for sale on Amazon for 29.99. You're really going to want to do 2 scoops in most settings, so it breaks down to about $1/serving. I think that's actually a *little* high for such a simple ingredient panel, but it honestly tastes so good and was effective enough that I'm hesitant to complain at all. I think it's worthwhile. If you're able to do just 1 scoop, it's a steal. $.50/serving. Boom.

Side Effects

Nada. Nice thing about the simple ingredient panel-- nothing to send you running back to the locker room.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I'm really enjoying this new brand label and can't wait to see what else they come out with. This flagship PWO would be a great option for anyone, especially cardio-focused athletes looking for something that won't cause cramping. I highly recommend you give it a shot!

Introduction

Sorry to the folks at BELDT for taking so long to get this review out. Sometimes life gets in the way, and it's tough to get in front of the keyboard. While taking SKALD I did a good amount of experimenting with the way I took it, and I'll dive into how that seemed to impact it's effectiveness. I didn't lose much weight while running it, but I also didn't pair it with a diet of any kind but wasn't hoping to lose much either. Here's the rundown:

Ingredient Profile

This is a proprietary blend. The total blend is 336mg, and caffeine is the leading ingredient. According to older reviews, some users did find out the actual amount of caffeine and stated it to be 110mg per pill. The remainder consists of NALT, Green tea extract, bitter orange fruit extract, white willow bark, mullein leaves, theobromine, evodiae rutaecarpa, inula helenium, yohimbe, and bioperine. However, it does seem like the ingredient profile has changed as well. Reviews from a year ago cite a 394mg prop blend and the inclusion of lobelia herb. That seems to no longer be included.

As for the dosing, caffeine is fine at 110mg/pill or 220mg/serving. NALT might be in the effective range with 2 servings daily, but from there, I have my doubts. There just isn't enough stuff in the pill for all these ingredients to be effective.

NALT (N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine) is a nootropic that's gaining popularity and great for mood enhancement and cognitive improvement. Typical doses are 350mg, sometimes split up in smaller doses and taken throughout the day. There must be less than 110mg in each pill if we trust the past review and go in order of the ingredients. Let's say there's 100mg. That would mean that 4 pills per day would be necessary for an effective dose here.

Theobromine... that needs to be up around 350mg as well. No way you can have that much in here, probably not even with 4 pills.

Yohimbe is a well known ingredient too and great for energy and weightloss, all without needing much. As little as 15mg can be plenty. This little pill might support that here.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I played around with this quite a bit. The bottle calls for 1-2 capsules in the morning before eating, followed by another optional (1) pill in the afternoon-- all on an empty stomach. This is what I tried first. I didn't notice much of anything... except heartburn. Later I tried 1 before breakfast, 1 after I ate, and 1 in the afternoon. No dice; it didn't seem to have an effect. I then tried 2 pills after breakfast and had a nice thermogenic effect that lasted me a few hours in the office, but no energy increase whatsoever. Then I tried just 2 in the afternoon on an empty stomach a few hours after eating. Heartburn was the only effect again. I decided to stick with 2 pills after breakfast from then on.

No taste - no mixing *but they do have a powder version (FYI)

Effectiveness

Besides the thermogenic effects I noticed when taking this after a meal, it really didn't do much else for me. I enjoyed that thermogenic effect, but did get frustrated when I'd take it and still be yawning at the office 30 minutes later. It was really kind of shocking actually. I do have a high tolerance for caffeine, but all the same, I can drink a 6oz coffee and wake up for at least a little while. This just seemed to do nothing in that department.

In terms of weight loss, I didn't see any, but I wasn't working for it either. On the same token, if I'm taking a supplement for it, shouldn't I have a little cushion as far as whether I need to work for it or not? Regardless, there was no change in the scale.

As for better breathing, they've changed the label at least once it seems, but the active ingredient in that department is the inula helenium and can be found right towards the end. I think they need to prioritize it a bit more. I wasn't able to find much information to verify the effective dose here, but I didn't notice a significant difference in my breathing at any time while using this product.

Value

No complaints here. On PricePlow I see this listed at $25.99 and for other reviewers this stuff seems to have been more effective than it was for me. If that's the case, then this is a fair price right in line with competitors, minus those who simply market heavy and gouge the consumer. (Lots of those in the weight-loss category)

Side Effects

Heartburn. Bad, bad heartburn. It wasn't as bad when taken with food. That seemed to help provide a more full-body thermogenic effect.

Conclusion

Overall I think I'm the outlier when it comes to SKALD. It was nice as a mild thermogenic, but I just didn't notice the effects everyone else has raved about. I'm going to assume this is just a me thing, and if asked I'd recommend it according to the numbers. The positive reviews far outweigh the others. Go with that, I suppose.

Introduction

If you have been taking supplements for several years there is a good possibility you have taken AstraGin. I know I have. It is in numerous products inlcuding BCAA, preworkouts, sleep formulas, growth formulas, and many more. I always wondered if it actually worked and if I would be able to see a difference if I took it in a pure form. So, when Nature Restore put up their Astragin product I wanted to try it. Here is the review.

Ingredient Profile

Nature Restore Astragin comes in a 90 capsule bottle. I will note that at the time of this writing if you were to purchase this from Nature Restore you would get three 30 serving bottles. They stated there was a manufacturing error in production when they filled the bottles. Regardless, it is the same amount. Each 100% plant based capsule contains 200mg of AstraGin. Before I get into AstraGin and the benefits it has I want to touch on the plant-based capsule.

If you ever looked at different pill supplements you will notice a vast majority of them come from gelatin capsules. Gelatin capsules are boiled down animal parts from pigs and cows. After it is boiled, you are left with a gel substance that can be formed into a pill shape. One of the drawbacks to gelatin capsules is they aren't very heat tolerant. Plant based capsules are all-natural and are made using cellulose. I much prefer my supplements to be capped in plant-based capsules as opposed to gelatin. I am glad that Nature Restore uses plant based capsules over gelatin capsules for their AstraGin product.

As previously mentioned, this AstraGin comes in a 200mg dosage (per pill). One thing you may notice is that the dosage seems high and it is. Most times when you see AstraGin it is in a 50mg dosage so with this you are getting four times the clinical dosage. Astragin is a blend of astagalus membraneceus and panax notoginseng. The major claimed benefit is that it can increase the absorption of several amino acids, vitamins, and supplements. The claimed percentages are a 6.7% increase in absorption rate of arginine, 18% increase in ATP production, and 50% increase in vitamin absorption. This all sounds great but many of the studies are "in vitro," which means outside the body. In addition, the patent holders NuLivScience used to have a sales sheet but it is no longer accessible. The sheet claimed a 41% increased in absorption of peptides and amino acids. NuLivScience also claims that the results of AstraGin could be seen instantaneous and measurable over a month when using it in a sports supplement. Overall, it is definitely a unique supplement.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste and mixability do not apply to this supplement but as mentioned before the active ingredient is in a 100% plant-based capsule. The standard dosage for Astragin from what I have seen is 50mg. This product contains 200mg in each capsule and they recommend one per day with a meal. My personal dosage was usually one per day with my multivitamins, creatine, or pre workout. I did try two, three, and four pills but I did not notice a difference over the one pill per day. So, if I were to take this again I would stick to just one pill a day.

Effectiveness

I was on this product for about two months and it is hard to rate the effectiveness. I have been off it for several days and feel the same. However, there were three things that I noticed over the course of the bottle and they were some supplements felt stronger, increased vitamin-b absorption (presumed), and some improved recovery. Towards the start of taking this, I had just finished taking a pre workout and I moved to RTD energy/recovery supplements. The main one was FitAid, which was just okay. FitAid without Astragin I struggled getting through my workouts because it did not give me enough energy or really help at all with recovery. However, with the added Astragin I noticed I would be sustained through the workout (they were shorter then) and had slightly more endurance. Another supplement that Astragin aided was VMI Agmatine. I noticed that when I took the agmatine with the Astragin my pumps were slightly better than without it. It was nothing huge but definitely worth noting.

The next area I noticed was a perceived increase in vitamin B absorption. When I have taken multivitamins in the past, I notice that I sometimes will have bright yellow urine. This is due to excess riboflavin or vitamin b2 being excreted by the body. What I noticed when stacking this with my multivitamin I did not have that bright yellow urine all the time. So, this leads me to believe that perhaps the AstraGin was helping my body better absorb the vitamin b2 thus leading to less being excreted in my urine. This could have translated to other vitamins as well but this was the only one I could somewhat measure.

The last area I noticed was some slight increase in recovery. I was taking some recovery supplements while taking the Astragin and I think it enhanced them. I felt better recovery with the recovery supplements and Astragin over just the recovery supplements. This was most notable with Xtend BCAA. I noticed a slight recovery improvement over when I just took Xtend on its own. Overall, Astragin is a supplement that will benefit your other supplements. I do not think it will do much if you are not stacking it with different supplements. When stacked I found it to be effective and a welcome addition.

Value

I actually could only find this product in one place and that was on Nature Restore website. It retails for $32.95, which makes it $0.36 per serving. I did not see a need to go over one pill per day since 200mg is four times the clinical dosage you are looking $0.36 per day. I think this price is fair if you believe in the benefits of Astragin. Just to note Nature Restore was the only place I could find to buy any pure Astragin product that looked legitimate (other had old labels and products I have not seen on the market in years). I am glad I was able to try it and if it did not come up on the Trooper program, I probably would have ended up purchasing to try it. Overall, I think it is worth a try and if you have the budget, it could potentially become a staple.

Side Effects

I had no side effects while taking this product.

Conclusion

Nature Restore Astragin is an effective product that is worth a try. It helped me enhance the effects of other supplements, improve my recovery, and perceived absorption of vitamin B2. It is priced fairly and comes in at four times the usual dosage so you are getting your money's worth. I would recommend giving it a try to stack with your current supplements. Thank you to Nature Restore for sending this out and the Trooper Program for coordinating it.

-Xcmiler

Introduction

37 years old, 18 years in the Army, and hit the gym 5-6 days week. About 6 months ago I was against taking any supplements INTRA workout, I thought I am not big enough to be drinking a supplement in the gym. Then came Intra Blast, and boy was I ever so wrong. Drinking BCAA intra workout has become one of my favorite things to do!! As usual with a NutraBio product this did not disappoint.

Ingredient Profile

If only there was not prop blends in this......oh wait this is NutraBio of course there are no prop blends!! There are 4 main blends here to talk about, which are all fully disclosed of course. I will not go into detail about all of them, rather I will hit the highlights and what I felt were the best for me. There are a ton of reviews on this product that go into detail.

Muscle Growth EAA/BCAA (10g): What I like here is the 7.4g at a 2:1:1 ratio of BCAAs all of which are naturally fermented. For me, having a high dose of BCAA is important, since my body requires more than your standard 5g daily, and starting off with 7.4g is excellent. This blend also includes a mixture of 6 other EAAs for the remaining 2.6g.

Muscle Recovery Accelerator: 5g of Glutamine (Kyowa Quality); The kyowa is an ultra pure, vegetarian ingredient of the highest manufacturing standards. Nice to always get high quality ingredients. The glutamine transferes nitrogen into muscle cells which helps out to optimize workout performance.

Strength & Performance Matrix (3g): 2g of Betaine Anhydrous and 1g of OKG. Not enough evidence to say betaine works to improve workout performance, but it is FDA approved for treatment of high homocysteine levels (just a fun fact). OKG is also unknown if it does improve performance, but hey you never know, so i will take it.

Electrolyte & Hydration Optimizer (2.8g): Combination of Taurine, Calci K, Sodium Phosphate, and Di-Magnesium Malate. This is the second best feature to me, as we will discuss below I felt very hydrated during my workouts, so a nice inclusion for an intra.

All in all a profile of high quality ingredients, no surprises or fillers. Everything involved here has its purpose making this my ultimate intra drink!!

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste: I had passion fruit which I found refreshing and delicious. So easy to drink and i looked forward to sipping it each gym day. Funny thing is I bought BCAA 5,000 of same flavor and the BCAA 5k does not taste half as good, go figure.

Mixability: No issues here, one scoop with 10oz of water worked for me. A few shakes and was ready to go, I tend to shake every time I am about to drink it, but was likely unnecessary. Label recommends 12-16oz of water, but 10oz worked just fine for me.

Dosing: Easy, one scoop when you workout! Done!! Label states to take pre, during, or after, its really up to you, I just took this intra and was happy!

Effectiveness

Most times when I took this I mixed in unflavored Super Carb as well. I have taken this as a stand alone as well and the results were pretty much the same. For me, I would drink this halfway after my first few sets and sip until I got to my last exercise of the day. I always felt hydrated and even felt it gave me a slight energy boost, though it was likely a placebo effect. The hydration part was where this product shined. I always walk to the water fountain between sets, the whole body in motion stays in motion theory, but when I sipped this I could not drink water for a few sets. It got the point where I would have to take a pee break halfway through my workout, which is not a bad thing. Thats how it worked for me, now lets look at the label claims.

Speed Recovery: As I said, i felt that slight energy boost which would keep me motivated, hard to say if this was doing the recovery or the PWO was. Placebo effect or not, I always felt ready to crush more sets, so I would say this claim is justified.

Boost Power & Strength: Not sure about this one. Keeping your muscles hydrated can be an indirect effect for this, so not an outrageous claim by any sense.

Support Hydration: The true moneymaker here. Yes 100% on this.

As far as DOMS recovery goes, I usually would take 2x 5g servings of BCAAs daily (one post, and one middle of day) to not wake up sore the next day.
With IB, as long as I took a casein shake before bed, I would be good to go. As a stand alone for DOMS recovery, it does okay, but i still need just a little more. This is my favorite supplement to take (so far) and my highest rated one on SR (so far). I am going to try out some other intra BCAA i bought, and will miss intra blast! If the other ones are not to par, i of course will be back, because having that hydrated feeling during a workout is priceless.

Value

Well, we know NutraBio products are a bit pricey. I bought this off Amazon for $36.99 for 30 servings, coming out at $1.23 per workout. That seems to be the common price. I combine value with what you get as well, high quality ingredients, you know exactly whats in there, so its worth the money in my opinion. This is affordable for me, but likely not for everyone, which is a shame because I think this is a product everyone should try at least once.

On a different note, if you are in the Military, send NutraBio an email from your military email and they will apply 15% off to your account. I recently learned this, so this helps out if it is applicable to you. Just another great selling point to me from a great company.

Side Effects

You may have to take a bathroom break during workout simply because you are hydrated!! Nothing else.

Conclusion

This is the best supplement I have taken to date, and really got me into the whole intra workout supplement style. Every product I have tried from NutraBio has not disappointed, and this to me is their best one. If you are looking for an intra workout supplement that will keep you motivated, and feeling hydrated to keep on pushing then this is for you. I recommend the passion fruit flavor as it is Delicious, refreshing and not too sweet. Thank you NutraBio for another amazing product!!

Introduction

Ronnie is back at it again in the fitness industry but now he's spear heading the supplement industry! He's arguably the greatest bodybuilder of all time so why wouldn't the millions of fitness fanatics scramble to purchase and use anything with his stamp of approval? Well I know that I couldn't resist when I saw the opportunity to get on board to try out their carnitine supplement. I've been fairly accustomed to using pure carnitine supplements in my usual stack to improve fat metabolism and decided to see if Ronnie's brand offers any added benefits compared to the competition. So lets see how it stacks up!

Ingredient Profile

L-Carnitine (3,000mg): Considering the fact that carnitine is the main and only active ingredient within this product I find it appropriate to educate you guys on carnitine's effectiveness and usage. Carnitine is known for increasing the activity of utilizing fats for transport to be used for metabolism, basically means that your body will slightly favor fat burning more than usual is the best way that I think about it. Unfortunately though, these claims have been pretty unfounded in the younger more active population and has really only been seen clinically in the elderly. Well just because there is lack of availability of research doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't work and I being a pretty scientific individual have trouble with throwing down cash for products that still have poor research but for whatever reason it may be, I feel like carnitine does help, placebo or not. It should also be known that typical clinical dosing for carnitine is usually no greater than 2,000mg so kudos to Ronnie for going above and beyond in terms of dosing!

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I had the chance to try out the Sour Apple flavor which was indeed very sour! I typically used the cap to portion out my doses that ended up being a bit of a mess overtime since residual liquid would spill over the bottle after I closed it up. I do enjoy taking a liquid supplement like carnitine though just because it's a switch up from the usual powder or pills. I believe that Ronnie decided to make it a liquid product due to the hasty solidifying effect of carnitine powder. If you like sour flavor though and absolutely hate taking pills then I'm sure you'd love this.

Effectiveness

I generally took my serving of carnitine about 30 minutes prior to working out to better utilize fat burning for energy to fuel my lifts. It always went down pretty easy with a nice sour flavor and the only real effect I noted from its use is increased sweating during my exercise sessions and higher sensitivity to starting a sweat, other than that you really can't note much of an immediate observed effect from its usage. I did note some weight loss but this may be due in conjunction to the inclusion of other products I was taking as well as a calorie deficit that I am currently on for an upcoming NPC competition.

Value

I was able to find this product online for as cheap as $16, which pits it at just north of 50 cents a serving. Considering the dosing, I think that price is more than fair for any individual that's curious to give it a go and see if a carnitine supplement is for them!

Side Effects

Though I've read some GI discomfort issues with previous reviews, I personally had no issues from using this product in its entirety.

Conclusion

Ronnie decided to keep things nice and simple with this carnitine product and in today's supplement world simple has become increasingly rare. I commend the inclusion of a bountiful 3,000mg carnitine dosage at a very reasonable price at that! I personally love to use carnitine supplements but I think that I do better with a blend of carnitine ingredients rather than just a large dose of one type like in this product. Any fitness fanatic that is curious and wants to know what carnitine could do for them to help shed a couple extra pounds should most definitely test out Ronnie's carnitine supplement mainly due to it's low price point, so what do you got to lose other than fat and a couple bucks?! Cheers Fellas!

Introduction

I've been a fan of RCSS products over the past few years. They are always well-priced, taste good, perform fairly well, and of course, the owner is a legend. So, when RCSS put up their Carnitine for review, I thought I'd give it a shot since my current goal is cutting anyways.

I've used Carnitine in the form of acetyl-l-carnitine, which is known to perform very well, especially in terms of muscle nerve function. However, L-Carnitine on it's own isn't really known for that. It is usually marketed as a "burn fat instead of muscle" type product.

Well, since it was flavored, I raised my hand for it and gave Big Ron a chance.

Ingredient Profile

It's straight L-Carnitine. 3000mg worth of it. You can judge this by how much you like Carnitine. I had success with Acetyl-L-Carnitine in the past, but I've never used L-Carnitine on it's own before.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I had the mixed berry flavor. It was too strong for me personally on it's own. When I mixed it with some water, it actually became an enjoyable drink.

One tablespoon is a serving. I measured out a tablespoon, which filled out only half or so of the cap, so dosing exactly one tablespoon without an actually tablespoon sucked.

It is a clear liquid, so mixability isn't an issue.

Effectiveness

This is really a tough one to judge. I threw this on top of a cut, which I have been on the last month. I guess I should mention the obvious... you MUST have your diet in control to see any results at all.

One thing I noticed was slightly less fatigue throughout the day. I was taking in a lot less caffeine than usual, yet while on this, I felt as if I didn't need it. That's pretty big for me, as my caffeine addiction is pretty ridiculous at this point. I ran this while dieting, and for the first month I got down about 14-15 pounds.

I cannot give this all of the credit of course, but it did have its place. I did notice an endurance increase during cardio.

L-Carnitine is more of one of those products you take, and expect to not see any direct benefit from, yet know that there are studies that show some promise. Kind of like green tea for me. However, I have been cutting off fat faster than I thought I would, so there is no way this product did not benefit me in some way.

At the end of the day, I'd still go with ALC over this, as there are more focus benefits with that form of carnitine as well.

Value

You can get this for $16 on M&S, this is a solid deal. Other than that you find it for around $25-29. I wouldn't pay the latter personally, as there are better carnitine forms out there.

At $16 though, I wouldn't mind throwing this on top of a cutting stack.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

Not going to lie, this was a tough one to gauge. Unlike caffeine, or other thermogenic ingredients, you don't notice the effects on L-Carnitine as easily. With stimulants, I can feel the energy. With capsaicin, I can feel the burn. With carnitine... I noticed a slight boost in my fat loss with perhaps a slight energy boost, yet nothing to write home about.

If you have the extra cash, I'd say throw this in your stack, because $16 won't make or break most of you. However, if you want a fat burner you can feel, that will crush your appetite, and make you sweat... go for a proven thermogenic. I'd say this is better than Green Coffee Bean extract, yet way under Yohimbine Hcl at the end of the day.

Introduction

First and foremost I would like to thank TOREM for sending me out their product so I could try it and review it for you guys. I would also like to thank SR for providing me the opportunity and the tools so that I can share with you guys my experience.

My ultimate desire is to finally get a six pack that I can boast at the beach or by the pool. My daughter said that will never happen so I gladly said "challenge accepted". I will prove to her that if you put your mind to something, anything is possible. So with all that motivation I was thrilled to begin with Neco-Adipem and the extra diet. I was really excited and I hoped for results since the ingredient profile and previous reviews were optimistic. Did this product help me get closer to my dreams? read on.

Ingredient Profile

InnoSlim [ 250 mg ] This is the ingredient that will help you with that glucose absorption. "Increases fat burning and fat loss by activating the adiponectin
enzyme to more effectively regulate glucose metabolism andfatty acid oxidation" I have taken this from NuLiv website. The dosage in one serving is the recommended portion so if you want to loose fat you actually taking twice the amount needed.

URE Green Tea Extract [ 250 mg ] This caffeine enfused product has some studies done where it suggest that it does help with fat burning. Everything about this product shows minor effects. This is not a miracle ingredient for fat loss but a good addition nonetheless. The recommeded dosage for fat loss is 400 to 500 mg so if you take two you are in the sweet zone.

Garcina Cambogia [ 100 mg ] This ingredient supposedly should help you feel full, lower body weight, speed metabolism and lastly enhance athletic performance. The first half have no evidence while the second half have some. It is very under dosed for it to have any significance in this product.

Advantra-Z [ 50 mg ] - It's a stimulant derived from the bitter orange plant. It is something similar to what ephedra is but not quite. It can do few good things for the body like increase lipolysis (breakdown of fat), it can exert mild hunger-suppressant effects, it can help favor uptake of amino acids into muscle, and lastly increase metabolism. The recommended dosage is 100 to 120 mg spread over 3 times a day. If you take two servings to loose weight you hit the mark.

Capsimax [ 50 mg ] - This is what should help me and others with thermogenesis. This should also speed up my metabolism because it's a know fact that chillies help to naturally improve it. I try to eat a lot of spicy food for that basic reason. The suggested dosage is 100 mg so if you again want to loose weight and take two serving you hit the right amount.

-ActiGin [ 25 mg ] - I love this product for recovery purposes. Actigin has shown in studies that it can help with decreasing inflamation in muscle tissue and give a average 20% boost in endurance. I have tried this product before and it does exactly what it claims. Why it is added to this fat burner I'm not exactly sure. I guess if you going to dish out money for a fat burner you are ready to hit the gym and this will help you acclimate better to the pain. That's my guess. The dosage here is half the recommended value but if you want to loose weight and take two servings than your getting the right amount.

All the ingredients suggest that you should take two servings if you want to loose weight. So, go checkout the value to see that all these ingredients come at a price.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

This supplement is in a pill format so there is nothing to taste or mix. I've been taking the recommended dosage of one packet in the morning and one packet before bed which is four pills total. I was very determined so I took these on the regular for 30 days straight didn't miss a beat.

Effectiveness

You will not feel this fat burner like other thermogenics where you feel that heat in your gut. I've been working out a lot while on this supplement and playing an extra day of soccer a week so that I could burn even more calories each day. I have completely taken alkohol from my diet so that I can see some results quicker. I've been very watchful on the intake of sugars and carbs so that my calories intake is smaller than usual. With all that and Neco-Adipem I thought that weight loss is inevitable. Regrettably the only thing that I did notice is the half an inch off my waist. My weight went up 1 pound and my body fat is .1% lower. Really nothing impressive and nothing I can boast about. I'm really heart broken because I thought this would really help me. I went even all out to help it so that I could write a positive review ... I have added pictures of my results because I feel like pictures speak a thousand words.

This product also did not help me with my munchies. When they came in the evening even after taking the evening dosage with hope that it will subdue the urges it didn't. That was also very disappointing because I knew I needed help there.

As far as additional energy etc it's was hard for me to determine since I already take a lot of other supplements to help me with that. I don't need energy since I'm not a couch potato. I need it to help me burn my fat and keep my mind off food. So even if it did provide some energy for me great, but it didn't help with the numbers.

Value

This will cost you a little. If you want to loose weight you should be taking it 2 times a day which leads you to 30 servings per box. That will cost you almost 2 dollars a day, ouch. I've been informed that there are specials that you can save on. If you dish out 264 dollars of your hard earned money you will get 6 boxes. If you want to loose weight that comes out to 1.50$ per day. Now if you just want to take one serving it will come down to 1 dollar a day if you buy one box or 75 cents if you buy their 6 box special. They also have a 3 box special where you will pay 138$. That comes out to 1.53 per serving if you want to loose weight and 76 cents if you just want to keep your fat in check. So if you buy 6 you save 10$ more than if you buy 3 and you save 42$ if you buy just one.

Side Effects

I did not experience any.

Conclusion

I was very optimistic in the beginning, but as time passed on and I got even closer to the bottom of the pretty box, my optymizm turned into despair. Completely heart broken about this one, but I'm not going to give up. I'm still continuing with my diet and doing more cardio to burn more calories. Would I recommend this product to my friends. If I have to be honest, probably no. It's just to costly and even though it my work on someone else it just didn't give me any hints that it will. Maybe it will work for you if you need to loose 70 pounds and your not doing anything currently. I just don't have anything positive to say about this product to be persuasive. I'm going to keep on looking for other fat burners. Hopefully I can find one that will give me help and together we can conquer my fat!

Introduction

I'm a competing powerlifter, currently coming back from a back injury. I train 6 days a week using an upper/lower split, and I'm hoping to compete again in November.

I just wanted to thank Dymatize for sending out this product. They also sent me a t-shirt and a shaker bottle.

Ingredient Profile

Dymatize's Pre W.O. has a lot of ingredients. We have:

Citrulline Malate (8g). This is a full dose. Many pwos skimp on the citrulline malate, so Dymatize did us good.

3.2g Beta Alanine (3.2g) (Carnosyn). This is a full dose. Beta alanine is a saturation ingredient, so you can take it any time of day. It doesn't need to be here at all, but at least you have a full dose, so you don't need to look for more elsewhere.

Taurine (2g). This is a good dose (common dose is 500mg-2g). This is an amino acid that is often put in energy drinks. When used with caffeine, taurine can help improve mental performance. It can also help with muscle contraction and hydration.

One caveat to mention, it's possible that beta-alanine and taurine can interfere with each other when it comes to absorption and that they should be taken at different times. This hasn't been tested in humans (only in mice), so they may play together just fine for us.

Betaine (1.5g) (Betapower) This is a bit light in terms of dose, but it's passable. The lowest effective dose is 500mg, but most trainees who use it, take 2.5g a day. Betaine can improve muscle oxygenation and help reduce liver damage. I think it can be taken any time of day.

Arginine Silicate (Nitrosigine) (1.5g) This is a perfect dose. Most PWOs with this ingredient only have 750mg. Here, we have arginine silicate which is arginine bonded to a silicate. Why, well because pure arginine isn't very bioavailable. People were adding it to PWOs left and right, but it wasn't actually doing anything. Bonding arginine to a silicate makes it work. Dymatize did us good.

NALT (350mg). This is a form of tyrosine, which can help with mood and concentration. I've seen people go back and forth on whether or not NALT is actually an improvement from tyrosine. Honestly, I've never noticed anything from either ingredient, so I have no hat in the debate. 350mg is a decent dose for NALT.

Caffeine (300mg). We all know what caffeine is. 300mg may be a high dose for some, but for many lifters it's just right. Caffeine helps with power output and to a certain extent more is better. For me, this would be too much for an every day PWO. It would be a good amount for a heavy squat day.

Coconut Water (200mg.) It helps with hydration. It's becoming increasingly popular for pre and intra workouts.

Theacrine (Teacrine)-125mg- Theacrine is a stimulant. It's not as heavy hitting as caffeine, but it has a much longer half life. It provides this nice, smooth energy. 125mg is a good dose. Many pwos skimp on it because it tastes very bitter, although now there is a version sold with a flavor blocker. You want at least 50mg. Less can actually have a sedative effect.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

The flavor I received was cotton candy, and it tastes like cotton candy. Dymatize did a great job of masking the theacrine (which has a very bitter taste). It was a bit sour though, which I don't expect when I hear cotton candy. It also had this strange viscosity, not sure why.

Mixability could have been better. Something causes the pre-workout to clump like a rock. This was the case as soon as I opened it. A butter knife will do the trick, but it can be a bit cumbersome.

One scoop was more than enough for me. Depending on your caffeine tolerance, you could go with 4/5 of a serving and stretch out the tub.

Effectiveness

This product takes a while to kick in. Most pres say to take them 30 min pre-workout, but I usually take them right before because they hit me fast. With Pre W.O., however, it does take more like 20-25 minutes to kick in, so I take it right before I leave my house. I think it's due to the theacrine, which has a slow onset.

Once the product takes effect though, it really delivers.

I tried Pre W.O. on each training day, e.g. volume squat day, volume bench day, ohp day ... to evaluate it. Every time, I got solid energy, focus, and pumps.

I could also take the product multiple days in a row without any crash, which is an issue for me with certain stimulants. This product could either be an every day pre workout or a heavy hitter.

Value

The product is a little pricey, often selling for $40 for only 20 scoops. However, I have seen it for $34, which brings you down to $1.7/scoop, which is more in line with other top pre workouts.

To be fair, Dymatize is giving you a lot of trademarked ingredients at efficacious doses. That costs money. Also, Dymatize is a member of Informed Choice, which means you can trust them if you are a drug-tested athlete, like I am. The peace of mind that comes with that also is worth something.

Side Effects

Just itchiness from the beta-alanine. I personally could do without that ingredient.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a solid pre-workout that you can either use daily or save for the harder workout days, then give Dymatize a shot. This really is miles ahead of anything they've done before in this category.

Introduction

I am 37 years old and have been in the Army for 18 years. Over the years, I have dealt with a few injuries, most notably in my left shoulder, right ankle and left ankle. I lift weights 5 - 6 times a week, and due to the abuse I have done on my body over the years, I need a good joint supplement so I can keep hitting my gym times. I have had limited success with Fish Oil's in the past, and Animal Flex was my first complete Joint Complex I have tried.

Ingredient Profile

Animal Flex has a few vitamins, Zinc, and Magnesium in it. Most notably it has three Prop Blends for Joint Support.

Joint Construction Complex: This consists of 3g of Glucosamine, MSM, and Chondroitin Sulfate A & C. (CSA, CSC)

Glucosamine: There to aid in Joint Pain, and it is recommended to take 1.5g per day (500mg 3 times a day). Unclear if we are getting our 1500mg daily requirement, but its possible.

MSM: There is not enough evidence to prove that it aids in Joint Support, however, it is likely effective for Muscle Damage caused by exercise. 500mg - 3g per day is the daily dose of MSM you need to aid in muscle damage. More than likely we are getting a full dose here.

CSA/CSC: Possibly there to aid in osteoarthritis if you dose 800-2000mg per day, however these results are inconsistent. When combined with Glucosamine, knee pain due to osteoarthritis have lessened when used for 3-4 months.

Joint Lubrication Complex: This prop blend consists of 1g of Flaxseed Oil and a prop blend within a prop blend of Cetyl Myristoleate. Flaxseed Oil does not seem to have much effect on anything related to joints according to my research. It has been used to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis with no effect after 3 months of use. Cetyl on the other hand is possibly effective for osteoarthritis just like CSA and CSC. People with osteoarthritis have had improved range of motion in the knees when combined with Fish Oil. You want around 350mg of Cetyl up to six times daily. This prop blend does not seem to be doing a lot as it is under dosed.

The final prop blend is the Joint Support Complex which is 1g of Ginger root, Turmeric root (curcumin), boswella, quercetin, and bromelain. These all treat osteoarthritis and all in all this is a nice blend. However, we do not know how much we are getting exactly of each, so hard to say how they are dosed out, if even appropriately. For example, Ginger root is recommended at 500mg daily, and Curcumin is recommended at 80-500mg daily. Curcumin is probably the best ingredient in here, and like most of the other ingredients go great in conjunction with a Fish Oil.

Overall, there are a lot of ingredients per pill pack. It is likely under dosed in the end, and from what I understand this is probably better taken with other Animal products to reach the full benefits.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste/Mix: No Taste, pack of 8 pills. No mixing either, however, some days I found the pills hard to swallow as I just got tired of having so many.

Dosing: I took one pack of 8 each morning with breakfast. Nice and easy, Universal really makes their pill dosage easy with their packets. However, 8 pills get very old very fast, and you can likely find better benefits out there in 1-2 pills instead of this.

Effectiveness

I get torn here because I think maybe it did not work for me since my injuries are severe, but The omega-jym fish oil I took earlier this year made my joint pain go away and this did not. Its a packet of 8 pills a day that really does not do anything, so no I cannot recommend this. At the end of it all, my joints and now my wrists hurt worse than when I started. The ingredients seem to be present, but for whatever reason it did not ease my pain in the slightest. Please bear in mind, this is the supplement world, and what works or does not work for some people may work for others. Just check out the dosages (in the prop blends I know) and see if there is a certain ingredient that works well for you at a certain dose before committing to this.

Like other well being or support products, sometimes you have no idea if it was working until you finish taking it. Once I finished this, I felt no change at all. This further proves to me that this product did nothing for me, and I spent the last 44 days slamming down way too many pills. I was pretty bummed out this did not help me since it has such positive reviews here on SR (granted last one was 2 years ago) and I am thinking maybe the formula has changed or something changed over the years. Not real sure, just an observation.

Value

Good value here at least. You can get a 44 pack (44 days) supply at 22.99 from All Star Health, which comes out to 52 cents a day. Not a bad deal for an 8 pill pack. However, I do gauge value with effectiveness, so yes this is a cheap price by itself, but since it did nothing for me, it felt like a waste of 23 bucks. Since this did nothing for me, I cannot give value more than a 6, since our description for SR states a 6 at (I would only buy this again if I had extra money to burn). This feels generous to me, since I will never purchase this again.

Side Effects

I experienced none, but I did make a point to take this with breakfast each day. With so many pills I would advise you steer clear of taking this without food!

Conclusion

This product has a pretty exciting lineup of ingredients, but all in prop blends so it is likely its under dosed to truly be effective. You can get this cheaply around the internet for a 44 day supply, but this gave me no alleviation in joint pain. I would recommend you find an alternative product with less pills, that fully disclose their dosage. From what I understand about Universal products is they are meant to be stacked together, so if you were to get the Multi, Fish Oil, and Flex all together then maybe combined you would see some effects. I cannot say that is a fact since I did not nor do I intend on trying it.

Introduction

First and foremost I would like to thank Raw Iron Perfomance for sending me out their product so I could try it and review it for you guys. I would also like to thank SR for providing me the opportunity and the tools so that I can share with you guys my experience. I'm a 39 year old gym rat who goes to the gym 5 times a week and also plays soccer twice a week. In my age any boost of energy is a good thing. I also look for focus and mood additions because being this old and seeing what this world is all about ... any mood enhancers are welcome. When I noticed this pre-workout I wanted to check out one of the ingredients called Orchilean since it's been boosted as 3 times stronger than DMAA. I've been taking pre-workout with caffeine and last pre-workout I took had DMHA which was nice ...

Ingredient Profile

Citrulline Malate a vasodilator is the cornerstone of the NO production. What is means is that you will be able to pump more blood to your muscles which in return will get more nutrients so that they can perform longer. The main advantage if taking this amino acid is to reduce fatigue so that you can increase your reps. The does here is 6 grams but 8 grams is the ideal "sweet spot". I'm not sure why they didn't just add the 2 grams to make it a clinical dosage.

Beta-Alanine is almost included in all PWO's ... this is what give you the tingles on your skin. The reason why this ingredient is included because it will help you in endurance. The way beta-alanine does this by effectively buffering lactic acid build and also improving myofibrilar calcium sensitivity. The 2.5 grams dosage is under dosed compared to the recommended dosage of 3.2 grams.

Agmatine Sulfate is jack of all trades and master of none. It does multiple stuff for your body that can help you with the workout. It regulates your NO levels it, it has anti-anxiety attributes that will give you a mental edge, analgesic which means it can help you with pain. Overall a very good supplement that should be in every PWO. The dosage of 1 grams is on the sweet spot so kudos to evolve.

Theobromine is mostly found in cocoa and it is a vasodilator that will widened your vains for that pump feeling. You get only 50 grams which is very low ... The usual studies went didn't go lower than 200 mg ... So i'm not sure what effect it would have if any ... It is suggested that 350 to 500 mg is the optimal range for this to have an effect.

Beet root extract is another supplement that will help you with NO. This mainly is the source of nitrates to help relax your blood vessels for a better blood flow. There are people out there that think that only Nitrates will help with NO and everything else is just a fad. I noticed a suggestion of 500 mg so it seems that this is ideally dosed.

Orchilean is another vasodilator that should help you with endurance. It also should help you adapt with stressful challenges so the pain that you feeling should not be that severe. The dosage of 150mg meets the recommended dosage.

Choline bitatrate is used for congitive support. It could also, if you take it with L-Carnitine, help you burn that stored fat faster. Unfortunately, this PWO does not come with L-Carnitine. So, mostly this should help you with cognitive support so that you can stay focused on your tasks and remember how many reps you did :P. The dose of 1 gram is ideal because more could give you unwanted headache.

N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine is another nootropic like choline to help you with your mood. It's an amino acid that will help you with producing noradrenaline and dopamine that help you feel good. It should help you with memory even though you are under stress.

Rhodiola (5% Rosavins) should help you with stress. It should give a positive jolt to your mood. The minimum suggest dosage is 200 milligrams so 125 is a bit under dosed.

Yohimbine HCL is usually used with products that help you loose fat. I personally am not a big fan of this ingredient. So when I noticed it's 1 mg which is 1/4 of the recommended minimum I was actually happy. This has some other proposed benefits especially for man ... but at 1 mg it's not even worth mentioning it.

Caffeine Anhydrous - Caffeine without water that is the main stimulant here to provide energy. At 300 mg the dosage for me is ideal and it's not overwhelming. This would be a good start for anyone.

Lastly Kegilia Africanus Extract which there is not much on it ... especially in the spelling provided. This is what I got about the compound based on one of the internet sites "Containing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, this ingrediant is used for protection of inflammation of the joints, muscles, or fibours tissues of the body." I'm not sure about the dosage so I can't tell you if 75mg is good enough or not.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

This is one of the best tasting PWO's I have tasted till this day. I thought Kraken was not bad but this pre-workout completely surpasses it in taste. They only have one flavor which is raspberry lemonade. I can't stress enough that if you are tired of nasty tasting PWO's and need a break than go for this product. I've taken one scoop of this with 8oz of water and gulped it down with pleasure. I took this usually 30 minutes before my workout. The tube in the second half of usage started clumping terrible ... with that it was getting harder to mix. I actually had to eat the PWO like candy because there was just no way it was going to mix. Example pictures added to the review.

Effectiveness

This pre-workout in my opinion is ideally meant for beginners. It gave me a good amount of energy throughout the workout. Other than energy I didn't feel anything special for endurance or cognitive boost. I did not see any of my vains popping out like crazy, and I didn't feel that tunnel vision or euphoria. I felt the pre-workout but nothing overwhelming. I would like that it did one thing better than other but it did not. Actually, I should take it back because it did taste AWESOME! ... But everything after that was ok. I think this would be a great start for anyone that is about to get into pre-workout supplementation. There isn't enough Beta-Alanine to give you those massive irritating tingles and I personally didn't feel any, so that you can start with this to slowly get accustomed to them. My endurance was ok but nothing noticeable. Energy was there for a long time so I was happy about that. For example on Wednesdays I do Parallette Training and HIIT training which is hour and half total of both training. After that I do some shoulders and than go play soccer for 2 hours. The energy did stay with me trough all that time so this pre-workout did it's main job.

Value

Currently the manufacturer has cut down on the price to $31.99 per tube. That comes out to $1.28 per serving. The price isn't that bad compared to others but this an average price for an average product in my opinion. For some reason it was not available on Amazon today so I hope they clear that issue and bring it back because I'm a prime member and free shipping is always welcome.

Side Effects

None for me. No jitters and no crushes. The energy levels was very steady.

Conclusion

I have already mentioned it that this PWO would be ideal to a beginner who wants to supplement for a boost to his workout. This will give anyone a good burst of energy for a very long time. It will help with endurance and probably be more effective if the consumer is not accustomed to Beta-Alanine. This has basic cognitive support to help stay focused and determined. It's a good PWO, but other than taste it did not stand out for me.