Quick Summary

Disappointing sleep aid product that claims to aid in sleep, fat burning and cortisol reduction. A prop blend of under-dosed ingredients in which the Melatonin is dosed too high for my liking. Save your money on this one and check out a more effective sleep aid since there is a market full of them.

Introduction

38 years old, recovering from total reconstruction surgery on my left ankle, but finally back in the gym! This is a product I received a few months back on the old school Bounty system, so a big thank you to Tommy and Clipper for allowing me to run this as a bounty reward. I chose this product because MAN Sports intrigues me as a company, and this has not been reviewed in 6 years, so I figure it was time to test it out. After having some success and restful nights and refreshed wake-ups thanks to products such as Resurrect PM and Fade Out, sleep aids have become a part of my stack for most of the year. Lets see if REM PM lived up to the self hype I gave it.

Ingredient Profile

Right off the bat we have the dreaded prop blend. I realize this is an old product, but it would be nice to see MAN Sports update the labeling here to break down the actual dosage. I did reach out to a rep from MAN Sports and they did let me know that each tablet includes 10mg of Melatonin, which is high in my opinion as I typically do not like to dose past 5mg if at all. Since the only other review for this did not really break down each ingredient and some have strange names allow me to briefly touch on each as its pretty packed in for a prop blend. Each breakdown and my opinion is based off 1 tablet.

REM PM Opti-Blend (430mg)

Valeriana Officinalis Root Extract: Commonly known simply as Valerian, it is commonly used for its sedative and anxiety reducing effects. Standard dosage of this is 450mg, and since that would exceed the entire prop blend we know that it is not nearly as much in here. Like Melatonin if this is taken at high doses it can give you a sleep hangover the next day. I have had success with this dosed at 600mg so I can safely say this is well under dosed.

GABA: This is a depressive neurotransmitter, that is used for stress relief and goes great with any NO increasing agents. Like a lot of ingredients out there more research needs to be conducted, but 3-5g of GABA is used for the purpose of enhancing growth hormone metabolism. In other products 500mg - 1g typically works well here, so again under-dosed.

L-Tryptophan Ethyl Ester: I could not find much on my own Googling skills about this, but according to MAN Sports site Tryptophan helps you make serotonin which promotes healthy sleep and a stable mood. As far as dosing goes, I have no clue.

L-Carnitine: Most of us are familiar with this, especially for aiding in fat loss. This can also boost exercise performance and aid in your mood. There are a couple different forms out there, specifially L-Carnitine should be dosed between 500mg-2g, so once again under-dosed.

Green Tea (98% polyphenols, 50% EGCG): This was added for the fat-burning qualities. According to EXAMINE, significant effects have only been seen at high doses of 400-500mg at 50% EGCG. So, you guessed it, under-dosed.

Phosphatidyl-serine: Also known as PS, this aids in cognitive decline. Effects have been seen at 100mg taken three times a day, so here this likely is not doing much.

Ginkgo Biloba: Most people are familiar with this guy, its another ingredient for cognitive health. 120-240mg is recommended dose here, but with all the ingredients here in such a small blend its probably not dosed high enough.

5-Hydroxytyptophan: Simply known as 5-HTP, its a precursor to serotonin. Typical dose should be between 300-500mg.

L-Alpha-Glycerylphosphorycholine: The easy term we are used to seeing this is Alpha GPC. This is used to more cognitive promotion and to enhance power output. 300-600mg is the most common dosage found here.

Melatonin (10mg): If you did not know, melatonin is a hormone secreted in the brain that regulates sleep typically used as a sleep aid and is non-addictive. This gives you some good restful sleep and in my opinion this is dosed a bit too high.

If you skipped ahead, in a nutshell, this is a prop blend with a bunch of under-dosed ingredients included. You have 5 ingredients used for relaxation and sleep, 2 for fat burning, and 3 for cognitive enhancement. Kind of a strange mix if you ask me, its a case of a product trying to do too much at once. To make this product better, MAN should just focus on the sleep enhancement properties and up all of their dosages. The rest just seem to be nice buzz word ingredients used as fillers to simply sell the product. Pretty disappointing profile!

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste: The capsules do have a slight bad taste and smell to them. Nothing too overwhelming but I definitely wanted to swallow it as fast as possible as it never left a good taste in my mouth.

Mixability: Pill form and they were swallowed easily and with no issues.

Dosing: This is where the product gets interesting. Label recommends starting with 1 pill then moving up to 2 pills. Once I found out there was 10mg of Melatonin in 1 pill, I refused to take 2. In the past I have taken products with 20mg of Melatonin in it, and while it will not hurt you, it is just about the worst sleep hangover you can imagine no matter how much sleep you get. Most of these ingredients would still be under-dosed with 2 pills, so I do not see the point of ever taking more than 1 per night. I took this 30-45 minutes before I went to sleep.

Effectiveness

Since this product wants to be much more than a sleep aid, lets just break this down by label claims and my experience based off those claims

Overnight Fat loss & Cortisol Reduction: The Carnitine and Green Tea are the big fat burners included here, but they are not dosed nearly enough to have any effect. I saw no change in this at all.

GH & Hormone Optimizer: GABA is supposed to play a big part here, but again there is not even close to enough of a dose to make a difference. I saw absolutely no effect here as I never woke up rested, refreshed or any of those nice effects you would have when you optimize your GH and hormones.

Support Adrenal System: Like the above claim, this is a fancy way to say reduce cortisol levels. I am not sure how this product intended to do such a thing, as I felt no change here.

Deep Relaxing REM Sleep: I did not have one night of deep restful sleep as I have felt on other products in recent memory.

Overall, this product kind of confused me. It did put me to sleep (likely the valerian and melatonin) when I was ready to fall asleep but never kept me asleep nor did I truly hit a REM cycle with this. At first glance as a sleep aid this works initially, but does not last throughout the night and compared to what it claims to do, the products a complete bust in my opinion. Honestly I felt I slept worse while taking this and I can for sure say my mornings were much harder to get going than they would be if I took nothing at all before bed.

Value

You can grab this from I'll Pump you up for $27.95 that comes with 60 servings. That boils down to 47 cents a night if you take 1 pill, which looks like a great deal. However, I couple value with effectiveness and I saw absolutely no change in my sleep taking this versus when I did not take this. For just under a dollar a serving you can get products like Fade out (REDCON1) or Resurrect PM (RCSS) that have properly dosed ingredients and are extremely effective. In a market with a lot of Sleep aids, this simply has no value in my eyes.

Side Effects

You will likely have a sleep hangover, meaning that groggy wake up feeling due to 10mg of Melatonin included. Pills also have a bad taste and smell to them, so make sure you swallow them ASAP!!

Conclusion

Overall I was disappointed in this product and simply cannot recommend it to anyone. I felt no real difference outside of maybe falling asleep a few minutes quicker on days that I took this versus days I did not. This may simply be a case of a product that came out a long time ago that was never updated, but I do not see its purpose than a simple marketing item for MAN Sports. With MAN Sports having so many other great products out there this one felt like they did not put the same care or time into making it. I actually felt like I slept worse when taking this and was more restless throughout the night, hence the low score. Swing and a miss here.

Quick Summary

A good multivitamin that's easy to work into your daily product intake, but the cost is higher than most multivitamins.

Introduction

Thank you Flex Nutrition for the 4th product of yours that I've tried. Flex Nutrition does have products I have tried that is good stuff and then some stuff I put in the middle of the pack. This was a good multivitamin but was missing some core stuff and the cost was a lot higher than I normally pay.

Ingredient Profile

This is a long list and I want to list everything because it is a multivitamin. Vitamin A 10,000 IU, vitamin C 250 mg, vitamin D3 400 IU, vitamin D-3 400 IU, vitamin E 50 IU, vitamin B-1 100 mg, vitamin B-2 100 mg, niacin 100 mg, vitamin B-6 100 mg, folic acid 400 MCG, vitamin B-12 100 MCG, biotin 100 MCG, Panathenaic acid 100 mg, calcium 50 mg, iron 18 mg, iodine 150 MCG, magnesium 25 mg, zinc 15 mg, selenium 20MCG, copper 500 MCG, manganese 6 mg, chromium 250 MCG, potassium 10 mg, choline bitartrate 100 mg, inositol 100 mg, PABA 100 mg, citrus bioflavonoids 50 mg, betaine HCI 30 mg, rutin powder 50 mg, and trace mineral complex 1 mg. The ingredients listed are in good amounts and you can not get a multivitamin to fill all your needs. For example, I need 5000 IU of vitamin D3 (per blood work) so I have to take added vitamin D3 outside of what I can get in a multivitamin. Also, the body can only absorb so many vitamins so taking a high amount of vitamins is not very healthy, plus it is just a waste of money. I recommend doing your research on how much your body can take in before it stops absorbing it. I am going to do another review on the other multivitamin I have taken for years because it has a lot more vitamins and has many other things that this product does not contain. I wanted to know how Mega Multi compares to other multivitamins and if it meets the recommended daily intake. I am not trying to say Mega Multi is not good. I just want to compare it. The recommended daily vitamin intake amount depends on age and gender so the amounts of each vitamin are not listed. The core daily vitamins are listed below.

Vitamin A, Biotin, Riboflavin, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Vitamin C, Choline, Thiamine, Chromium, Magnesium, Selenium, Vitamin D, Folate, Vitamin B-6, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Vitamin E, Niacin, Vitamin B-12, Fluoride, Molybdenum, Vitamin K, Pantothenic Acid, Iodine, and Phosphorus. First, what is missing from Mega Multi that need to be added? Riboflavin, thiamine, folate, fluoride, molybdenum, vitamin K, and phosphorus. Second, what is included that is not listed on the recommended intake. Folic acid, inositol, PABA, citrus bioflavonoids, betaine HCI, rutin powder, and trace mineral complex. Third, how much of each vitamin is too low or too high that is recommended. I am not going to look at each one, so I just looked at a few random ones based on my age and sex (39-year-old male). Information is below.

Vitamin A Recommend Max 10,000 IU and Mega Multi 10,000 IU. Niacin Recommend Max 35 mg and Mega Multi 100 mg. Zinc Recommend Max 40 mg and Mega Multi 15 mg. Copper Recommend Max 10,000 mcg and Mega Multi 500 mcg. Vitamin E Recommend Max 1,100 IE and Mega Multi 50 IE

As you can see, Mega Multi is short on some max but I did check to make sure it meets the minimal amount, which all did. All this is interesting but not enough to worry me. It is good to know what is missing and what to add. I believe that Mega Multi should add the recommended vitamins to its product. I give this a middle rating as it is not great, but it is not bad either.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste and mixability are not a part of this as it is tablet form. You are to take this once per day so the dosing is good. I will give this a high-ranking.

Effectiveness

There is no real way to test the effectiveness of a multivitamin. What I will say is that I have taken multivitamins daily for years. Some leave you feeling better and some may give you an upset stomach. This was one of the multivitamins that continued to make me feel healthy and I did not have any stomach issues. This was an effective multivitamin that did what I was wanting it to do. I give it a high-ranking.

Value

I was able to get a 60-day supply (60 tablets) and the cost is $22 for the 60 tablets so it is $.36 for a tablet. This is a high cost for me. My normal multivitamin is an Equate basic multivitamin for adults (I am not an Equate rep, I am just comparing to my normal supplement) and it is $8 for 200 tablets. I give the value a low ranking because the cost does not out way the benefits of other multivitamins on the market.

Side Effects

No bad side effects. When I 1st started taking them I did start to get a mellow yellow pee but nothing that was unusual.

Conclusion

This was just not a product I would try again. This does have a lot of ingredients but not all the ones I look for and not all the amounts I need. It was effective and dosing was no problem. It had a minor side effect but no problem. The value is low because the cost is too high. I just can not justify purchasing this product because there are so many options on the market at more reasonable prices. I would not recommend it again.

Quick Summary

Quick thank you to Flex Nutrition for the opportunity and for the SR Troops as well! Absolutely loved this product!

Introduction

I have been on and off on fish oil as I never saw significant effects. But I started experiencing randomn joint pains and I just so happened to have this in hand at the same time and man.... let me tell you this tough rocks! Helped with my joint pain a good amount and it is just good for overall health!

Ingredient Profile

Here we are looking at just 10 calories, 400mg EPA and 300mg DHA.

For my case I took 2-3 capsules. But most people will be ok with just 1 daily to reach the recommended dosage with most Fish Oils. With this product it is recommended to take 2 capsules/day.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

2 capsules a day. No side effects at all. Easy to take as they are the coated softgels. Just take it down the chute and that's it. I did have some fish burps every now and then but it was never an everyday thing. I took them every morning with breakfast.

Effectiveness

Like I said I did notice an improvement with my joint issue nothing like a miracle but it did help with some of the pain. It was mostly my right elbow that would give me problems during my workouts but after taking the fish oil it helped with the pain. Other than that I had no other joint pain to report. I was already in good overall health to begin with other than the joint issue. But I still liked this product as I could tell it was working.

Value

I looked around and looks like you can get 120 softgels for $22. Which is a good deal in my book. A little more than some fish oils but you get good quality out of it.

Side Effects

Some fish burps but other than that nothing else to report.

Conclusion

This product is excellent if you are missing some omega 3 fattys in your diet and are also looking to relieve some joint health. It did a great job at keeping my joints from creeking and I felt more confident at the gym as I did not feel like I was gonna break my elbow doing certain things. Would definitely recommend this!

Quick Summary

Yet again, MuscleTech has claimed to re-invent the wheel in revolutionary fat loss, however, what they have created is a weight loss placebo that may only show signs of working if you run it for longer than 60 days a.k.a. buy 4 or more bottles.

Introduction

Big thanks to Clipper for letting me pick this up through the bounty program. Summer is around the corner and its time to shed the winter weight. Stimulant fat burners are great and we know it can generate results that we want, but what if we are sleeping, or need something that will burn fat but not make us feel jittery? MuscleTech has brought LeanX which is a non-stimulant fat burner that is supposed to contain well-researched ingredients that will help you reach your goal, but will it?

Ingredient Profile

So I will give them this, they do provide you with an open-label on this product so you know what you are taking and exactly how much you are getting from it.

Non-Stimulant Support Matrix
N-Acetyl-L-Carnitine HCI 500 mg
Choline Bitartrate 100 mg
Dill Extract (as Anethum Graveolens) (seed) 50 mg
Lion's Mane (as Hericium erinaceus) (Mycelial biomass) 50 mg
Bioperine Black Pepper Extract (as Piper Nigrum) (fruit) Standardized for 95% piperine 5 mg

Weight Loss Plus Complex
C.canephora robusta extract (Robusta Coffee) (Bean) Standardized for 45% Chlorogenic acids 200 mg
Rhodiola Extract (as Rhodiola rosea) (root) Standardized for 3% rosavins, 1% salidrosides 50 mg
Ophiopogon Extract (As Ophiopogon japonicus) (root) Supplying polysaccharides 50 mg
Cayenne Pepper (as Capsicum annuum) (fruit) 5 mg

As you can see there are a lot of ingredients that have been put into this but we need to take a closer look at what they are especially some of the less common ones.

Dill Extract: MuscleTech's reason for adding this ingredient is: "The seed of Anethum graveolens has been used traditionally for a long time." So what is this actually used for that is beneficial to the user? According to the NIH Dill seed when used medicinally "Anethum is used as an ingredient in gripe water, given to relieve colic pain in babies and flatulence in young children.[5] The seed is aromatic, carminative, mildly diuretic, galactagogue, stimulant, and stomachic.[10,11] The essential oil in the seed relieves intestinal spasms and griping, helping to settle colic.[12,13] The carminative volatile oil improves appetite, relieves gas and aids digestion."

So is MuscleTech helping us lose weight by balancing our gas and digestion?

The second less common ingredient is Lions Mane. Again according to MuscleTech "Lions Mane is A unique mushroom with a long history of traditional use, containing compounds called hericenones."

Lion's Mane is a relatively new ingredient to the supplement world and it is mainly known for its nootropic abilities rather than weight loss. I completely understand the need for a mood enhancer, especially if you are someone who is really going through a hard strict diet. The toll of reducing food and calories on the body is hard, and having something that helps reduce the stress is great. However, research is still weak on this ingredient and there has not been a confirmed dose that actually works. Additionally, studies have shown that this has potentially shown fat burning abilities in mice, but it was only used when combined with a high-fat diet. So with that being said, if you are not doing a high-fat diet, this ingredient might not generate support with fat loss.

Ophiopogon Extract. Once again, MuscleTech's reason is "An herb with long-standing traditional use." (I hope you are noticing a theme of weak justifications.)

So if you look this ingredient up, it's not hard to find what it is primarily used for. The primary use of Ophiopogon is moisturizing. It can be used to soothe dry, scaly and itching skin. Simply use moisturizers containing Ophiopogon extracts for deep moisturizing of severely dry skin. Since it can also cool you from the inside, Ophiopogon can be used to soothe irritated and dried lungs, especially in those who have upper respiratory infections and those who smoke. It is also ideal for those who have been exposed to smoke, heat, and other conditions that dry the lungs. This herb is found in a number of tonics and herbal supplements for improving heart function. It can help cool down the heart and soothe it to regulate its functioning.

So once again, not a lot of fat burning properties in this product, or for that matter, the ingredients used are not even strongly backed by the company with a justification on why they think they should be in there.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste a mixability was not a factor because this comes in a capsule.

Dosing was 2 capsules twice a day giving you 27 servings per bottle, however, MuscleTech recommends that the user uses this product for a MINUMUM of 60 days to see great results. So that means, since there are only 27 servings per bottle, you need to buy 3 bottles to see the "true" benefits of the product.

Effectiveness

So here we are at the effectiveness. You have probably guessed it, this stuff did not work. I honestly think I have had better fat loss results from taking a normal multi-vitamin. Not only did I not see effective weight management results, I did not see a decrease in appetite, or even feel a nootropic effect from the lion's mane. I honestly would take both doses a day, and forget that I even took them because they were that disappointing. I did not notice a difference in ease of bowel movements or reduction of gas, and my skin was not healthier looking. I only mention that because the included ingredients are used for that. One of the reasons I chose to get this through the bounty program was that I read the reviews and scores on bodybuilding.com (lol yeah I know) and they were positive reviews and high scores. Well, this right here should tell you that SR is the real deal when it comes to product feedback instead of sites like bodybuilding.com. Based off of what I read there, I should have seen a weight drop of at least 5lbs with this bottle, however not a single pound was shed. I really do not know what has happened to MuscleTech. I loved all of their stuff when they first started up, especially products like Thermogain and Thermoshred. However, this is nowhere near that and the company has really lost its way on creating quality products. More does not equal better. Honestly, just don't buy this. That's how I rate the effectiveness of this.

Value

So as I mentioned earlier per MuscleTech you need 3 bottles of this to see what they deem "best results". Right now this is $20 on BB.com and they have a buy one get one free. So for one bottle without a sale, you are looking at $.74 per serving with the sale price you are $.37 per serving, and to be effective per MuscleTech's standards you would have to buy a bottle to get one free, and then buy another bottle so you are looking at $.49 per serving. You might be saying why is this rated so low when everything is under a dollar?

Simple matter of fact is, this will not always be on sale, to where you will have to pay full retail value which would be $60 for three bottles, and you also have to consider what if this does not work? Now you are out money with a ton of pills left over that you may not use.

Side Effects

None to include effectiveness from the product

Conclusion

I think I have beat this horse enough. Do not buy it. The ingredients are not researched enough and do not effectively provide weight management support. Additionally, do not believe everything you read on the internet. BB.com will tell you that this product is great and you can get super lean by taking it, but its all marketing. Do yourself a favor and find a different fat burner. Even if it cost more, you will be happier and will thank yourself in the long run.

Quick Summary

Not all omega/fatty acid supplements are created equal. This product has a high EPA ratio to help it stave off inflammation better than many others.

Introduction

Hey- thanks for the fish oils Clippy!!

What's up SR? This review was made possible by the generosity of SR upper management! If you're like me, fish oils are probably a cornerstone of your supplement stack at all times. However, not all fish oils are created equal. What I look for when selecting a product in this category is a high EPA content, because it is the EPA fatty acid that provides the most benefit for reducing inflammation. Muscletech's Omega 4x SX-7 Black Onyx has more than double the EPA content as it does DHA, plus a third fatty acid I was previously unfamiliar with: DPA.

Ingredient Profile

Each gel cap of Omega 4x SX-7 Black Onyx contains 1500mg of fish oil, including 1200mg of Omega-3 fatty acids, and specifically 750mg of EPA, 300mg of DHA and 150mg of DPA.

The difference between these types of fatty acids really boils down to their molecular weight or size. All three of these omega-3 fatty acids share the ability to reduce inflammation and improve cardiovascular health, but not equally as well. DHA is more adept at improving visual development and function. It is also the most common fatty acid in our brain and has shown to be effective at improving cognitive function and development as well.

EPA is a more novel fatty acid for our bodies. At a cellular level, DHA is abundant and found in every cell throughout the body-- EPA is not. EPA can effectively shut off the supply of arachidonic acid which is necessary for the production of eicosanoids that can cause inflammation, so if you're selecting a fish oil with the hope that it will reduce inflammation or make your joints feel better, you want to find one with more EPA than DHA.

DPA is a newer addition to the omega-3 party but has gotten a lot of attention for its potency. It has even stronger anti-inflammatory properties than both EPA and DHA, so it is a great thing to see if that, again, is your goal while taking an omega-3 supplement.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

No taste to these, including after taste. No mixing is needed either.

I take my fish oils before bed. I'd typically take 3 and hit the sack. If you're taking these in the morning or any time during the day, you may find yourself more prone to fishy burps. Because I take these at night I really can't attest whether or not those are an issue, which is actually why I like to just take them at night anyway!

Effectiveness

While taking Omega4x SX-7 Black Onyx I also went through a run of an aromatase inhibitor known to cause joint pain because of its drying effect. I am also very prone to knee soreness in my left knee and tennis elbow in my left elbow. The joint that reliably causes me the most discomfort is my right shoulder though. While taking this, my knee and elbow pain was completely eliminated. I've been off of it for about a week now and have already noticed the knee pain is back, so I do attribute the alleviation of the pain to this product. My elbow is still fine, but that is the least acute area that I regularly deal with. My shoulder pain was eliminated for about 75% of the run on the AI, but it did present itself pretty heavily towards the end. The drying effect of the AI is very potent though, so the fact that this product was able to keep it at bay as long as it did while also eliminating it in other areas entirely was very impressive to me. Inflammation is the only area I can really attest to. The underlying benefits of fish oil on my cardiovascular and neurological health are not noticeable, but I'm confident in the effects because of the impressive reduction in inflammation that was demonstrated while taking it.

Value

I anticipated Omega 4x SX-7 Black Onyx to be much more expensive than it is. In some cases that's the truth and I found it for as much as $25.75 on eBay, but I also found it for as little as $6.99 at muscleandstrength.com. That's price is for 100 pills. I took 3 daily, so that's 33 servings plus an extra pill for good luck, at a cost of $0.21/serving. Given the benefits I experienced while taking this and its impressive impact on reducing joint inflammation, I would be glad to pay that all day!

Side Effects

None at all. No burps.

Conclusion

Overall, I'm very impressed with this. I think of MuscleTech as a company that's quick to hype its products and slow to deliver, but the last few I've taken have really worked quite well. This is far and away the most effective fish oil I've taken for reducing joint pain, and I have already ordered a new bottle. My only gripe is the name which I find to be very sensationalized for a product that is really quite simple. That said, if that were the only complaint I had about all my supplements, I'd be a happy camper!

Thanks again Clippy for selecting this and sending it out to me. It worked well and next time you might want to keep it for yourself!!

Quick Summary

Nice ingredient profile for $39.99 (30 servings) including creatine and Epicatechin - an ingredient that is new to me/first time use, that I was excited to try. This product however didn't give me any breakthrough results, and it didn't work any better than a typical creatine product should work and the epicatechin was nothing special for me. This product wasn't in a league of it's own like I thought it might be.

Introduction

I'm 29 1/2, and have been going to the gym for 9 1/2 years. I started off the skinniest weakest kid, and gained a lot of size and strength over the years. I workout with weights, and my goals are to build strength and endurance. I decided to purchase this product and give it a try with the hopes of increasing strength, and increasing some lean muscle / becoming a bit leaner.. Wasn't really looking so much to put on mass as mass wise I was happy where I'm at... Just wanted more strength, and to be more lean. Was excited to use this product because of the Epicatechin ingredient, which is something I've never used before.

Ingredient Profile

Full Yield Creatine:
-Creatine HCL 3.21G delivering 2.5G of creatine
-Creatine Monohydrate 2.84G delivering 2.5G of creatine

Betaine (Trimethylglycine) 2.5G
Carnosyn Beta Alanine 2G

Astragin 50mg

*Epicatechin (90%) 200mg.

Epicatechin is the reason I was excited to try this product, as this is something I've never used before. Epicatechin is a flavonol, that is plant based and found in trace amounts in many foods. Epicatechin is found to act as a myostatin inhibitor.

Myostatin is a myokine protein that inhibits muscle growth. It has been found many years ago in lab testing that animals that lacked or had a fault in myostatin due to a gene issue has significantly more muscle mass than other animals who didn't lack this. Epicatechin is believed to inhibit myostatin by increasing follistatin. Inhibiting myostatin, which limits one's muscle growth, is believed to increase one's muscle growth potential.

I was excited to try this product, as in the past I was looking into using a myostatin inhibitor product, but decided not to, due to them being on the expensive side and coming with very mixed reviews.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste - I went with the neutral taste, and I would mix it in my post workout whey protein. Although this is unflavored, it tasted bitter, and gave my protein a bitter/sour taste to it.

Mixability - This product mixed pretty well in my protein, no problems there.

Dosing - This product's instructions says to use 1 Scoop (11.6G) in 8-10ozof water of choice of beverage within 30 minutes AFTER exercise. And for best results, to use on non training days as well.

I took this product just like that. I mixed it in my whey protein and consumed immediately after working out, and I usually used it on my off days, however some off days I would just use my other regular creatine supplements.. I was typically using this product atleast 5 days a week.

Effectiveness

This product just didn't give me the extra results I was looking for, and worked about as good as a typical creatine product should work. I thought maybe using Epicatechin would give me something noticeable, but it just didn't.

No noticeable change in body composition - After using this product, I didn't look any bigger, or any leaner. Yes, this product doesn't state it is a fat burner, however, epicatechin is said to build lean muscle mass while reducing body fat. This product just didn't do that for me, I looked exactly the same after using it for about 5-6 weeks.

Strength - I was hoping to get stronger while using this, as that was my #1 goal for using this. That didn't exactly happen either. I didn't lift any heavier weight or hit any 1 rep PRs while using this product. However, I did add an extra rep or 2 to some of the weight that I was already lifting. So I did hit some rep PRs during my use of this product, but just didn't hit any heavier lifts.

Value

I bought this product at GNC for $39.99 for 30 servings. It was a decent value, and if it worked better I'd be giving the value a better rating. Myostatin inhibitors / epicatechin products sell on amazon and other online websites for around the same price and more. Some myostatin products can be quite pricey. This is a myostatin inhibitor product, that also comes with a nice creatine blend and other ingredients for $39.99. So for that, it is priced pretty fairly. I just can't give this a great value review, because it didn't really do much for me, compared to other basic creatine products I've used for much cheaper.

The Epicatechin just didn't do it for me.

Epicatechin is also said to lower cholesterol and improve heart and brain function. Well my brain didn't functionany better on this product, and I don't have blood labs to show how it affected cholesterol. However in terms of athletic performance, this ingredient just didn't do it.

Side Effects

None to Report.

Conclusion

I was excited to use this product for the Epicatechin ingredient and myostatin inhibitor purposes. The epicatechin here didn't do it for me, and didn't give me anything extra or make any noticeable affects. This product had a nice creatine blend, and while it wasn't a total dud of a product, it just didn't do anything extra for me, and didn't work any better than much cheaper/more basic creatine products that I've used in the past.

In all fairness, I am an experienced lifter, so right now it's hard for any product that's not a steroid, to really make a huge difference, or even a noticeable difference, but with all the hype around the potential of a myostatin inhibitor I was hoping it could do something, but that just wasn't the case.

Now I did click "Yes" for recommending the product, and from my review it doesn't sound like I would recommend this product. It was a toss up between "yes" and "meh".. overall, I would recommend trying this product, because at $39.99 it's not a terrible price, it still is a nice creatine blend, and overall a nice ingredient profile. So for that price, it doesn't hurt to try, and perhaps someone else might have better results with this product than I have.

Why I Chose This Supplement

In all my years of supplementing diet and exercise I have never really given L-Carnitine a shot as a standalone product. I have taken many products that combine L-Carnitine with other compounds but never a standalone. I was interested to see if A.) there would be a quantifiable difference by adding it to my regiment by itself and B.) if the claims that it aides a ketogenic diet as nicely as some claim.

Quick Summary

L-Carnitine is a compound that is not technically an amino acid but does have like qualities to both amino acids and vitamins. It is a naturally occurring compound produced in both the livers and kidneys and stored in muscle tissue. It is a pretty well studied compound and some of the functions important to people who would supplement L-Carnitine include but are not limited to things like transport of fatty acids, resistance to fatigue and a host of other benefits. Lots of great articles are out there that go into more detail if one were so inclined to read up further on the subject.

Introduction

I want to extend thanks to VMI Sports for their generous participation in the Troop Program and their incredibly expedient response time. L-Carnitine 3000 is a flavored liquid L-Carnitine supplement that contains three forms of L-Carnitine. It is available in three flavors which include gummy bear, patriot pop, and orange pineapple. I was sent the patriot pop flavor for my run.

Ingredient Profile

So not much to cover on the ingredient profile. Just three forms of L-Carnitine totaling 3000mg of total L-Carnitine divided as follows.

1.5g L-Carnitine
750mg Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR)
750mg L-Carnitine-L-Tartrate

There are supposed benefits to each form which I won't really go into detail about. Notably though ALCAR is said to be able to more readily cross the blood brain barrier and thus having more impact on cognitive function than other forms of L-Carnitine. All in all if the science backs the claims then the ratio and idea of using three different forms is fairly well thought out.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I was worried about how it would fare in the taste department but I gotta say that the patriot pop was quite enjoyable. Maybe not the best tasting supplement I've ever had but they hit the nail on the head with the flavor as it literally tasted like drinking a melted bomb pop.

Dosing was simple as my protocol included taking one dose in the morning prior to fasted cardio/yoga.

Effectiveness

I honestly didn't think that I would have much in the way of quantifiable effects from a standalone L-Carnitine supplement but I did feel a little more energized during my morning routines. Even in the absence of stimulants there was a noticeable difference in how I felt throughout the workout. It was a pleasant surprise. In terms of fat loss I really didn't get to run it long enough to quantify the efficacy as a fat loss aide. But more on that later.

Value

Most people are going to use this in a one serving per day model so a single bottle will provide 31 servings or days worth of L-Carnitine. You can find this for about $20 per bottle shipped so roughly $.65 per day to add this to your arsenal. In terms of value compared to other L-Carnitine supplements this is actually pretty strong even when compared with capsules and bulk powder. And the convenience of liquid form that actually tastes good is just added value over the bulk powders and pills.

Side Effects

So it seems like I really liked the product so why not give it a yes on recommended right? Well because I can't seem to take this supplement due to the side effects. Mind you that I did not notice this side effect but rather my wife noticed. Apparently a potential but less common side is that it can give you a fishy body odor. Or as my wife so eloquently put it "You smell like a dirty vagina when you sweat". So not necessarily a physically damaging side effect but certainly not something conducive to a happy home and work life. I don't know if the dose is too high or if this pertains directly to my genetics but apparently I stink from taking this supplement. I obviously had to cut this short and just review based off of what I have run thus far.

This was very disappointing to me as I was enjoying taking this product. I am not discouraging anyone from trying this product because you may not have this particular issue but I also feel obligated to share this experience. This is not a negative mark on VMI Sports by any means either. By all accounts it is a competitively priced product that may be great for some.

Conclusion

Don't let my review scare you away from this or other L-Carnitine products. As I said the cases of this seem to be pretty rare and the effects went away almost immediately after I quit taking L-Carnitine. Maybe in the future I will try a lower dosed product and see if the outcome is different for me.

Quick Summary

Pure and simple, a protein supplement to add to your arsenal. I used this to help fill out my daily wants (yep not just needs), while I was rehabbing and trying to maintain my weight.

Introduction

Hello all, I am a 46 year old who likes to try things out. Due to having a bounty and Clipper asking if this would work I gave it a try. Everyone needs to have a little protein on the shelf right. My workouts where pretty scattered as I am trying to rehab a back, so that I can get back to it. I maintained my weight for the most part and still worked out at least 3 times per week while running this. I used it as an add in for my smoothies as well as some flavored drinks during the day when I wanted to. I didn't use this everyday so it lasted a long time. Still very nice to have on the counter for when I wanted a little treat.

Ingredient Profile

So let us look under the hood of this GNC Pure Isolate powder. Here is a short breakdown of ingredients:

Serving size is 32 grams:

Calories = 120
Total fat = 1.5 grams
Cholesterol = 5mg's
Total Carbohydrate = 3 grams
Total Sugars = 1 gram
Protein = 25 grams
Calcium = 100mg
Sodium = 100mg
Potassium = 160mg

So for me I like to look at how things add up. Here we have 78% protein per scoop which I think is good. If you add up the fats and carbs and protein you get 29.5 grams of stuff per 32 gram serving (yes I didn't add the mg stuff, it is ok for how I think). This basically gives you 2 grams of flavor and or filler, which again leads to a pretty clean profile. I think companies are finally realizing that we know how to use calculators and have cleaned up their acts. I still remember some off brand profiles that would be as low as 60% protein per scoop. (no I can't remember the brands as once I started looking at it I stopped buying them. Which for me has been years......)

This is what is seems to be, unless I am missing something. A very clean profiled Whey Isolate. I really liked this product and how it worked for me. The label is pretty clear as well, so I have to say that GNC did a good job on this one.

----Taste/Mix-ability/Dosing----

I received the vanilla custard flavor and found it sweet and enjoyable. I honestly haven't bought a vanilla flavored protein in years so it was an interesting change up. I actually would buy this flavor as it was good as a stand alone and when I mixed it in with my smoothies or other drinks.

I found that this mixed really easy in a shaker bottle. I used between 6 and 14 ounces of water (they suggest 6 ounces) all of which worked great. Obviously the flavor changed a little depending on water. I ended up using 10 to 12 most of the time. This is a fine protein powder that seems pretty clean with how easy it blended.

They suggest 1 to 2 servings per day, however it is a supplement. Which means you can use it as you see fit. Even though I liked the taste I still didn't use it every day, but then again I am eating healthier so it's possible my body is full more often than not, making my cravings go down. Protein supplements to me are the easiest things to use as you basically use it as a filler. Those of you who need more, take more, those of us that don't, don't. Simple as that.

Effectiveness

Protein supplementation for me is broken down like this. 1. Could I drink it without having issues? (bathroom runs, nasty smells, etc.) 2. Did it help fill in the gaps that I was looking for, (tasty snack, extra protein, tide me over till a meal, etc.) I found that I was pleasantly surprised by this product. I remember taking GNC protein a long time ago and it seemed to give me issues. So for the first comparison I thought this product was really good. I had no emergency runs to the bathroom, nor did my wife and family avoid being behind me throughout my run of this. For section 2 I say this also fit the bill. I found the Vanilla Custard just sweet enough to make it a good replacement for "bad" foods which is always good for me. This is a pretty lite protein powder so it doesn't fill you up like some other shakes, but that isn't its intention anyway. I found this did hold me for an hour or two. It also lasted longer when added to my smoothies, which lead to a longer time till my next meal. (about an extra hour or so). This supplies 25 grams of protein which for me is a good spot, as I can add more scoops if I want to but I can use just one and get my results on most days. I would actually place this in the same category as my two favorite protein powders, MTS Machine Whey and Prosource's NitroWhey.

Value

As of 5/21/2018 GNC is running this for $29.99 for 1.95# container and $59.99 for a 5# container. They are also running free shipping on orders over $49.99. Which compared to other Isolate proteins is pretty cheap. I mean my Machinewhey is $54.99 for 5#'s and it is a concentrate. Nutrabio's isolate is $10.00 more for a 2# container. It really makes this pretty darn appealing. Also this is now Informed Choice certified which can be a factor for some athletes.

http://www.gnc.com/whey-protein/GNCAMPPureIsolateNew.html

Side Effects

I had no negative issues with this product. No extra gas, no emergency bathroom runs, nothing, it was a great run......

Conclusion

I am giving this a thumbs up. I actually am impressed by this product. I honestly was a little hesitant on taking a GNC product. Yes, some of their stuff has been ok, however I haven't even looked at them in years due to pricing. Online, no membership, etc. just seemed to take them out of contention. This particular protein seems to be clean and very competitive in price. I think that if you are looking for a protein supplement you might just want to head over to GNC and give this stuff a try. If you are on a budget, then you will need to give this a try.

Quick Summary

A must-buy for everyone.

Introduction

After having some issues with my gut for a few weeks, I decided to turn to supplements for additional support and picked up NOW's Super Enzymes via the TROOPER program as a result. I'm a big fan of NOW as a company. Their products are straightforward, affordable, simple, and without a lot of the BS that permeates the supplement industry. I've had positive experiences with several of their products and expected nothing less from their enzymes.

Ingredient Profile

The profile of Super Enzymes is a blend of various agents that all support digestive function in one way or another. I've included a small summary below of most of the major players.

It's very challenging to evaluate the dosages of each individual component given that, for most of these ingredients, the dose depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, body mass, existing health conditions, etc. These are also ingredients that can be somewhat effective and beneficial, even if the dose is low. Regardless, a quick search showed me that NOW's product had not only one of the most robust and strongly dosed profiles, it was also one of the few that was fully disclosed. Personally I'm trusting in NOW that their enzyme blend is fashioned in a manner that will support most individuals.

Ox Bile Extract - Contains lipase enzymes to break down dietary fat.
Pancreatin (contains Protease, Amylase, and Lipase) - helps break down proteins, long-chain carbs, and fats.
Bromelain - Derived from pineapple, bromelain is one of the strongest, safest, and most tested ways to help break down proteins.
Papain - Supports bromelain and protease to further break down protein.
Cellulase - Helps break down fiber for optimal nutrition from plant foods.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I followed the instructions and took one cap daily with dinner. Given my results, I did not up to a second cap with another meal, though that was an option.

No issues with taste or cap size. These are relatively small, easy to swallow tablets.

Effectiveness

My initial results using Super Enzymes were somewhat mixed. I did mention in my intro I'd been having some lingering gut issues. Nothing major, but enough for me to seek out some products to help with the matter. Unfortunately the main issue of diarrhea I'd been suffering from become much worse not long after starting Super Enzymes. I was honestly surprised and kept expecting the enzymes to rectify this problem. They did not.

What I can say with some confidence is that this problem was not exacerbated or caused by Super Enzymes. I am certain this was due to a different product, BCAA Ripped, that I started taking about two weeks later. I ultimately stopped taking both supplements in mid-April as a result, waited for the issue to clear, and then started taking Super Enzymes again (my apologies for the inconsistency is the history timeline). Thus far I've had no further problems, which leads me to confirm the problem was BCAA Ripped (which also makes sense looking at the profile of that product).

Anyway, that entire issue aside, I did notice an improvement in my levels of bloat and gas while on Super Enzymes. I was MUCH less gassy than normal and felt leaner and tighter in the midsection. I've also continued to lose weight, dropping down to a low of 201 lbs. from a starting weight of 219 in January. Can't specifically point to Super Enzymes as the primary cause of this, but I do believe the digestion optimization is playing a positive role. Since adding a probiotic into the mix my stomach issues have completely cleared (which also suggests my problems were not enzyme-related in the first place, thus SE not fixing the diarrhea), and I'm now far more consistent and regular.

Value

I already mentioned NOW produces affordable products and Super Enzyme is a great example. 180 caps can be purchased on Amazon (Prime eligible no less) for $17.67. That's about .09c per cap and, if you only need one per day like me, we're talking a SIX MONTH supply for under $20. You can't beat that.

Going back to the quick search I performed; NOW had one of the most affordable and complete products on the market. So yeah, you're getting one of the best enzyme profiles available at THE lowest price. Unreal.

Side Effects

None.

Conclusion

I highly recommend everyone, even if they're not experiencing direct digestion issues, to consider picking up a bottle of Super Enzymes. The general health and wellness support from this supplement is absolutely worth the pennies a day it cost to run it consistently. I am making Super Enzymes a staple in my every day supplement stack from this point forward.

Quick Summary

PreCreXS is a stim-heavy preworkout that really gives you the all-in-one package so you really don't need to worry about stacking any additional supplements to enhance its effects since it's already got great pump, stimulant, glucose replenishing and even electrolyte replenishing ingredients on top of a great creatine blend! It definitely hits hard but doesn't crash you out post-workout due to the great stimulant blend it utilizes. The overall price point is a very fair and affordable price for a high-quality product at around $38/tub of 30 servings which pits it just north of $1 per scoop. If you're a veteran pre-workout enthusiast that's starting to get bored of the usual popular blend then I'd say it'd be more than worth your money to give PreCreXS a whirl! I was personally not a huge fan of American Pop Bomb flavor at all but if flavor isn't the biggest factor on your investment and you really just care about the effect then you got yourself a winner!

Introduction

The pre-workout supplement battle just seems to keep raging on with companies one-upping each other with dosing and all-around use of pump and stimulant ingredients and PreCreXS is no exception. When I originally saw the product label for PreCreXS I instantly knew that it was a must-try preworkout since I personally prefer stimulant heavy pre's and the awesome overall profile for pump, electrolyte replenishment and even glucose store replenishment just sealed the deal in my eyes. I'd like to give a quick shout out to SR.com for giving me the chance to try out Muscle Element's new preworkout creation a try! Now lets see how this stacks up to the competition!

Ingredient Profile

Holy smokes there are a ton of ingredients in this pre-workout! For the sake of not typing up a crazy long ingredient profile I will list a few noteworthy ingredients down below but the full label picture will be available down below for you all to observe as well.

Cyclic Dextrix (5g) & Modified Glucose Polymers (5g): Added carbohydrates are starting to become a fairly common ingredient in many preworkout supplements nowadays and for very good reason. We always utilize a significant amount of our glucose stores during an intense workout sessions and requires some type of replenishment to keep these glucose stores from zeroing out and that's exactly what these guys do. They offer high metabolizing carbohydrate sources to quickly recover our glucose stores during lifts so you can keep pushing for more reps and sets without succumbing to fatigue and exhaustion!
Agmatine Sulfate (500mg): Agmatine sulfate is starting to really become the new OG on the pump side of the supplement market. It works as a strong precursor to nitric oxide production in a similar fashion to how citrulline malate works but with a significantly smaller dose. It's extremely common in preworkouts because of the skin-tearing pumps that it can provide and numerous clinical studies proving the effectiveness of the product can't be wrong. It is about half-dosed from the standard clinical dose of 1g in this supplement though.

Creatine HCL (1g) and Creatine Monohydrate (4g): If you're not already on the creatine bus by now then you must've been living under a rock because creatine is without a doubt the most studied supplement in the bodybuilding realm with an undeniable amount of research supporting its effects. I really dislike all "it's all water" critiques because it really does have seriously beneficial physiological effects. I personally like to call it the "turbocharger" of the supplement world because it literally utilizes ATP by-products (phosphate molecule) by attaching to them and being quickly utilized another energy source that's prioritized and even more powerful than an ATP reaction! Anyways.... get on it already...

Beta-Alanine (2g): Another unfortunately underdosed ingredient that typically gives users the face tingles but it actually does physiologically a lot more than that! Beta-alanine works by buffer pH levels to keep the muscles from going into an acidic state to prolong the build-up of the ever so pain lactic acid! So you can thank beta-alanine for those last rough couple repetitions you were able to crank out since they would have likely been a lot more painful without this guy!

Caffiene (370mg) and DiCaffeine Malate (70mg): No preworkout would even be considered a stim without this all-star supplement but unfortunately companies have resorted to just upping caffeine doses in their products to "improve" their effectiveness which can actually be quite dangerous and it's all really because caffeine is cheap as hell. This product stands at a pretty hefty 405mg of caffeine that is equivalent to nearly 2.5 white Monster cans and to be honestly anymore than that is just gonna result in significant health and cardiovascular issues. I think Muscle Elements could have pulled back a little on the caffeine dose since it's got so many other quality ingredients in PreCreXS to keep the product solid without putting more risk to its consumers.

Electrolyte Replenishing Blend w/ Sodium, magnesium and calcium (600mg): Just your normal blend of electrolytes and other elements to keep the musculoskeletal system functioning at optimal performance. Definitely helps with maintaining good muscle activation levels during workouts as well as preventing the occurrence of muscle cramping. It's a cheap add-on with great benefits that every pre-workout supplement would have implemented in its formula.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I had the "pleasure" of trying out the American Pop Bomb flavor which I can honestly say is one of the worst tasting pre-workout powders that I've ever had the misfortune to taste. There's just something very off-putting about this flavor, it's overly tart and sour with no fruity or tangy sweet flavor to really accompany it and it's just... well a poorly done flavoring job overall in my honest opinion. The good thing is that flavor is actually on the bottom of my priority list when it comes to supplements and overall effectiveness is #1. I'd probably eat dirt if I was convinced that I could benefit from it from a fitness standpoint. The dosing is pretty standard with a larger than the average preworkout scooper that seems like it's pretty free of any additional filler ingredients and works pretty well with your usual water bottle especially if you're good at finagling the plastic scooper with a pinch grip to better funnel it into a reservoir.

Effectiveness

I typically take my preworkouts about 20 minutes prior to getting onto the gym floor to allow the formula to really take full effect so I can hit the weights running and PreCreXS definitely makes it happen in a good way. I'm usually pretty sensitive to beta alanine tingles but if I didn't see it listed on the ingredient profile I probably wouldn't even realize it was in there so people that generally don't like the tingles will likely take this as a plus. The stimulant and focus portions of PreCreXS will typically hit next and I do have to say that it really does amp you up really well for getting intense sets in to really push yourself to your limits. I found myself checking my pulse fairly frequently just to make sure I wasn't having palpitations or running over 200bpm cause this stuff had me going hard. The pump itself was fairly good especially if stacked with a somewhat carb-y meal about an hour prior to getting to the gym I've noticed. My pumps unfortunately didn't seem to last throughout my entire workouts and peaked at around 30 minutes in and faded pretty quick around the tail end of my hour and a half lift session. I personally loved the overall effectiveness of PreCreXS from an overall preworkout perspective since I'm very used to having to stack my preworkouts with other single ingredients to improve it, for instance creatine, citrulline malate, or beta alanine just to name a few that I've used for enhancing but there's really no need for any additions in PreCreXS. This product really does have you covered from all fronts.

Value

I searched around the web and was able to consistently find PreCreXS for $39 at multiple online vendors and at 30 servings per tub you're looking at just north of $1 per serving which is actually extremely reasonable for a well-equipped ingredient profile like PreCreXS.

Side Effects

I personally experienced no significant side effects from PreCreXS other than mild post-workout crashing that's really no where near as bad as other preworkouts.

Conclusion

Thankfully Muscle Elements were definitely on their game when they concocted PreCreXS, they utilized a great all-around composition for a preworkout that includes high stimulant, pump, focus and an included creatine blend. It's extremely easy to spend over $39 to stack any normal preworkout to even meet these criteria so why not just pick up PreCreXS and get everything you need from one quick scoop? It is a very stim heavy supplement however and should not be taken by any stimulant sensitive individuals but stim junkies (like myself) will be pleasantly satisfied in my honest opinion. If you're looking for a new all-in-one stim heavy preworkout and don't mind spending just a LITTLE bit extra for that high-quality ingredient profile than I'd absolutely recommend giving PreCreXS a cycle! Cheers Fellas!

Quick Summary

Another newer version of an old favorite that had some minor tweaks. Above average workouts, but you will pay for them.

Introduction

Nutrabio is and always has been a favorite of mine. They are 3rd party purity tested, they dont cut corners and 90% of my experiences have been wonderful. So i try to grab as many of their goodies as i can.

Ingredient Profile

The ingredient profile has been dissected several times so i will just touch on a few points. I really like ths pump complex in this version going with straight citrulline without the malate always seems to work better for me and at 6g you're looking at a hefty dose. The nitrogisine as well dosed effectively at 750mg really helps me personally get a great pump going and keep it going for awhile. Lastly the agmatine now at 1g is great for me. The pumps were nice at higher amounts but anything at 1.5g or higher i noticed gave me a little stomach issue. The rest of the profile is pretty decent as well from a reding standpoint.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

My only problem with nutrabio usually us the taste. Now nothing they make tastes bad, it just usually doesnt have much of a taste and i find myself wanting a little stronger flavor. I received the new blue raspberry and i really enjoyed it. It was smooth and just the right amount of flavor. I mixed this in a shaker so i never had any mixing issues with minimum swirls at the end to get any grit.

Effectiveness

Now i have tried i beleive all of the versions of this particular product and i have to say i get solid workouts, but i feel like im getting less and less wowed each time. The 1st version knocked my socks off and i tore the gym up, here however althought ibhad good workouts didnt blow me away. The energy and focus aspect of this product for me was hit or miss. There were days i juat couldnt get into a rhythm and there were days i was dialed in and ready to lift when i walked in. I will say the complex i touched on in the ingredients section did shine for me. I noticed i was able to get a nice full pump early on in the workout and hold it untilni was driving home.

Value

$40 for 20 servings....you know youre getting quality wuth NB, you know whatbthe label says in there is whats in there. That being said the results i got from this product to me dont warrant a $2/serving price tag.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

Like the old saying goes, if its not broke dont fix it. I know in the supp game companies are constantly trying to innovate, but maybe if something is received as well as this was then leave it alone or at least keep an OG version available. I had good workouts but i felt a lot was left to be desired.

Quick Summary

Some benefits as a non stim fat burner, but short run.

Introduction

Hey SR, here today to review MuscleTech's non stim fat burner called LeanX. Over the past year or so, I've had the opportunity to try some really nice non stim fat burners. What I look for in a non stim fat burners is really to help the most where cutting sucks, an elevation of mood, a thermogenic effect, appetite suppressant, and a little boost in metabolism. Here's how LeanX did for me.

Ingredient Profile

This has some pluses and minuses. First, it's fully disclosed and transparent so thank you to MuscleTech for that. Also, it has some proven ingredients and some unique ones. We have some Carnitine, Choline, and Cayenne which you see a lot in non stim fat burners. Then some unique ones with Robusta Coffee, Dill, Lion's mane, etc. A lot of these are herbs designed to help with overall health and metabolism. After researching some, a lot of these are on the very low side of doses for effectiveness which is disappointing. Also, I really like to see Green Tea in non stim fat burners as that is probably the most proven ingredient for weight loss in the non stim world, so I think that's a big miss. Overall though, I was ready to give this a shot with some new and old ingredients.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

No taste or mixability, easy to swallow pills. Dosing is two pills, twice a day, before your largest meals. I took this before lunch and dinner. Not the hardest protocol, not the easiest either. Also of note, it says best results after 60 days of use, and at this dose you get a little over 3 weeks of use from a bottle.

Effectiveness

Mediocre. I felt a slight decrease in hunger and a slight elevation in mood. I did not feel a thermogenic effect at all. I did not lose weight at an increased rate either while my diet and exercise plan stayed consistent. One thing that may be a plus for this product however, is that it may aid in digestion? This does contain a lot of natural herbs and frequently after taking this before a meal I would have some regular bowel movements that were very easy to pass. On a low carb diet this is a pretty good positive, as sometimes that it not the case. However, this may just be a side benefit but not really productive for the supplements main purpose. Overall, this was no where near as effective as other non stim fat burners I have taken that really ahve produced a thermogenic effect, nootropic boost, and appetite suppressant.

Value

On the surface, this really doesn't look too bad. $20, but at the full serving you get a little over three weeks. When the product says you see the best results at 60 days, you'd have to buy multiple bottles. Bodybuilding is having a buy one get one free which helps a lot though, but that can disappear anytime. Since I view non-stim fat burners as an extra even while I'm cutting, it makes it tough. I do think it's fairly priced though.

Side Effects

Some softer stool.

Conclusion

Overall, I think this is a mediocre product that's pretty fairly priced. It may provide some results after an extended run, but there's better options out there.

Quick Summary

Provides your basic vitamins and minerals at a nice price.

Introduction

Hey SR, here today to review Flex Nutritions multivitamin called MegaMulti. Since I have been cutting and on a keto diet, I always like to have a multivitamin on hand to aid my extremely restrictive diet. Combining this with being in education and around kids all day, I want to make sure I'm getting all of my vitamins and minerals to make sure my immune system stays in good condition. I usually use premium multis, such as Opti-Men, Orange Triad, Animal Pak, etc, but Mega Multi stacked up pretty nicely. On to the review.

Ingredient Profile

This being a multivitamin, it has a lot in it. Basically, you're getting good doses of just about every vitamin and mineral you need to supplement in your diet. Some highlights however is that the minerals, such as Zinc, Copper, etc. are the chelated form which is very nice. This also does provide some extras, such as citrus bioflavonoids, PABA, and choline which is very nice but the doses are pretty low. Overall, this is a pretty solid formula but when compared to the premium multis that include probiotics, digestive enzymes, fruit and vegetable complexes etc. it does leave a lot of that out.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

No taste or mixability, one coated tab. Dosing is once a day with a meal, I always took with dinner. As easy as it gets, lots of vitamins are 1-2 times a day and multiple pills so tis was a nice change of pace.

Effectiveness

As everyone will tell you, judging a multi is hard. However, I feel this worked very well for me as coming from a top tier multivitamin to this I did not feel much of a difference. Even in a carb and caloric deficit, I felt like I had the energy I needed to complete my day. I did not get sick on my run of this and overall felt really good. I felt this supplemented my diet really well. However, one knock I will give it compared to the premium multis, I did miss the probiotics and digestive enzymes. When you go low carb with a lot of meat and cheese, sometimes you can get backed up. Nothing too terrible, but I was a little more irregular and bowel movements were a little tougher. Overall though, and especially for someone on a regular diet, this would perform well.

Value

This is another strong point of this product, especially when compared to premium multis. $20 for a two month supply. $10 a month for some piece of mind and making sure you have a well rounded diet is a great deal.

Side Effects

Yellow pee.

Conclusion

I think this is a great choice for someone looking for an above average multi vitamin that has a lot of value.

Quick Summary

Glutamine is a product I like to have once in awhile to help with some extra recovery, help with digestion, and help with your immune system.

Introduction

First off I want to thank the SR team clipper83 for putting this product on the trooper list for us to try. This was not put on the trooper list by Optimum and had no part in the trooper program. This is something I like to try and keep in my workout stacks from time to time. It had been awhile since I last used a glutamine product and saw this show up and decided to give it a try. Every time I have used a glutamine product I have had good results from it and this product I know really helped me a lot.

Ingredient Profile

In this you get 5g of glutamine per serving. This is made from pure L-Glutamine. Glutamine is a form of amino acid.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

The comes in an unflavored powder form. It really helps if you can mix this with some kind of flavored beverage or with your protein powder. When you mix this with a flavored beverage it did not change much of the taste so you knew it was in there. There were times I would take this on it's own. When I would take 1 teaspoon I would put it in my mouth and then wash it down with some water. I thought it would be real bitter or sour tasting but it was not to bad. If there was any left over after taste I would just drink a little more water and that would get rid of that after taste right away.

This mixed really well. I would normally mix this with my protein shake. I wanted to take at least two servings per day. In the morning when I would wake up I would take one scoop and then later in the day after my workout I would take my second serving. So each day I was getting 10g total plus the little extra I was getting from my protein shake.

Effectiveness

Glutamine is a product I like to use every once in awhile. I really feel this is a much better product than a lot of people think it is. There are three main areas glutamine is suppose to help you in. Glutamine helps with muscles health, gastrointestinal health, and immune health. I found this to really help me a lot in those three areas. After being on this for awhile I noticed my muscles started to look more full like and seemed to be a little harder than normal. I noticed while I was using this that I was not nearly as sore and I felt I was recovering a lot quicker than I normal would. Any DOM'S I would get where really limited and did not last as long. The reason I felt better recovery wise is because this is suppose to help with cell volumizing to help push more water into the cells which is suppose to help speed up your recovery time. I notice that every time I have been off glutamine for awhile and then start using it again I can really tell right away I am back on it. The biggest thing I notice right away is that my strength gains start going up right away. For the first few weeks I was on this I got a lot of really good strength gains and I felt I was able to go longer and push my body a little harder. Getting those strength gains back is really nice to have and how it makes me feel better recovery wise.

Second this is suppose to help with gastrointestinal health. I am not someone that has a lot of issues with glut health but do have some issues with acid reflux that I take medication for. Also I sometimes I have issues with swallowing food. I feel this really helped reduce a lot of gut issues I may of had and helped limit a lot of the acid reflux I deal with. I feel that I have been having a lot easier time swallowing food and a lot less acid reflux. I know that when food would hit my stomach it felt like it passed through more quickly and not feel like it wanted to just sit there for long periods of time before it would fully digest. Also I noticed that in the mornings especially I would seem to have a lot more bowl movements and were a lot more healthy like. Each time it seemed like I would get rid of a lot more stuff than I normal would and it would make it a lot easier to go.

Third this is suppose to help with your immune system. Anything I can take that will help with my immune system is great to have. Usually in the winter time is when I most want to be on glutamine because that is when you are most likely to get colds or the flu. Even now in later spring I can sometime still get that little bit of unwanted colds or some kind of crud. I still feel this helped improve my immune system some just by how I seemed to feel. It's harder for me to tell at this time of year compared to winter time because that is when you usually get most of your colds and flu. I was reading that when a person gets sick they can lose up to 58% plasma glutamine levels and these levels have shown to last up to three weeks. When this happens your muscle performance can really suffer from this and not perform at 100%.

While taking this I felt a lot better overall and a little more healthy. In the three areas this is suppose to help you in I feel it really helps a lot. Like I said above that when I start using glutamine again I can really notice it working right away but then after a few weeks of using it I don't seem to notice it as much. This always seems to happen every time I use glutamine and why I don't know. It's like my body get's use to it and need to cycle off it again. I still keep using it even when I don't feel it as much because I still feel it helps me but just not on the strength gains part. Also I read this helps prevent catabolism and helps with protein metabolism. The faster protein uptake you get means quicker protein synthesis.

Value

The cheapest I could find this was on amazon and they wanted $18.04 for the 300g size bottle which has 58 servings in it. Since I was take two servings a day this last me like 30 days. That's not to bad a price. I would if your going to get this go with the bigger size bottles they have because price wise will be a little better deal.

Side Effects

Nothing I noticed.

Conclusion

Glutamine I feel is a good product to use when you are able to use it. Do I think you need to be on it all the time no but it is nice to have at times when you can cycle it into your workout stacks. If you are someone that wants to feel a little better health wise and get some better recovery this is great to have for those two reasons. Also if you have a weaker immune system or want to make sure your immune system is working better especially in those winter months this will really help to improve that a lot more. For the price and what you get out of glutamine I think it's really worth having at times when you can add it. I feel overall that glutamine is a much better product than a lot of people give it credit for. Maybe I am just someone that responds better to it than a lot of other people and that might be the reason some don't think it works very well. For me glutamine has always worked great for me. Again I want to give a big shout out to Clipper83 for putting this product on the trooper program and letting me have the chance to try it.

Quick Summary

Intra Norish is a very good way to give you some solid energy without the stims. It's also a good intra workout supplement. The main problem is, the lack of servings doesn't do the price value justice.

Introduction

A special thanks to Interval Nutrition for their participation here on SR.com. Today, I discuss their stim free intra workout product Intra Nourish+ Clear. I've recently entered into a new recomp phase in order to shed some body fat and improve my definition. Therefore, I've also been doing frequent morning fasted cardio sessions, in addition to all of my normal weight training routine. I prefer the use of non-stim products when possible to help give me some good energy to get through the early morning cardio without having to intake any excess calories. Plus, I do enjoy good intra workout supplementation to help me drive through my normal weight training and more intensive cardio sessions. After seeing Intra Nourish+ Clear's profile, I figured this product was potentially the one for the job.

Ingredient Profile

The profile kis fully disclosed with no prop blends.

Each servings starts with a source of electrolytes including magnesium at 25mg, sodium at 150mg, and potassium at 100mg.

Next there is beta alanine at 3200mg, taurine at 1000mg, acetyl L-carnitine at 500mg, and L-carnitine L-tartrate at 250mg.

The profile finishes with an Intra Recovery Matrix containing 13g of highly branched cyclic dextrin or HBCD and a form of hydrolyzed casseinate protein called Peptopro.

From the macro perspective, each serving will provide 52 calories from 10g of carbs and 3g of protein.

I would prefer a much higher dose of L-carnitine L-tartrate, but overall, a promising looking profile

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I received the raspberry lemonade which I believe is the only flavor at the moment. I found it tasty and refreshing as it tasted exactly like raspberry lemonade.

The mixability was on par. I didn't have any problems with undissolved sediment or material. It mixed thoroughly and properly in water.

I performed my morning cardio sessions 4 times a week around 7-8am. For this use, I would take a scoop mixed with water about 20 minutes before my session began. Note that I didn't take an additional serving for intra supplementation for my following training sessions scheduled later in the day, since I only had 20 servings to work with.

On days when I didn't have morning cardio sessions, I would mix a scoop with water and consume during my workout as an intra supplement.

No servings were taken on non-training sessions.

Effectiveness

For a morning cardio energizer, Intra Nourish+ Clear did a very good job in giving me a good boost of energy with the help of efficient carb and electrolytes sources. It did this without adding and unnecessary sugars, calories, or unfavorable carbs. This boost helped me bang out my morning sessions without the lag of getting up early slowing me down.

As an intra workout supplement, I felt some increased pump feeling as well as endurance. My fatigue between sets for each consecutive weight movement was reduced and I was able to perform more reps with less rest in between. I was able to bang out my HIIT volume sets more quickly and aggressively. I was also somewhat less fatigued overall after the entire training session.

For my more intensive cardio sessions and bosing, I was running faster and longer, stair climbing quicker, and boxing in each round more focused and aggressively.

The extra hydration really helped as I was sweating something serious with all this work.

Value

This is where the product takes a bit of a dive. The cheapest price I found was 35 dollars on amazon. Each tub only has 20 servings as opposed to a more favorable 30 servings. If you train as frequently as me (6-7 times a week depending on goals) this product won't last very long. If you follow a single serving a day protocol then the product will last the full 20 days. However, that is still a lagging serving quantity considering the price. If you could get a full month's supply, the value would be significantly better.

Side Effects

beta alanine tingles but that is expected

Conclusion

So despite the hit on value, Intra Nourish+ Clear is still a very good supplement that helps with energy, pump, and endurance. It will help give a good boost without stims or unnecessary sugars or unwanted micros or macros. If they could up the servings per tub, then I would recommend a regular investment in the product.

WARMACHINE OUT!!!

GO RED SOX!!!

Quick Summary

A great tasting, fair priced, and effective product that contains 5 different creatine sources with optimizers in a prop blend.

Introduction

I want to thank Beast Sports Nutrition for this opportunity. I haven't used creatine consistently for awhile and I thought this was a great time to test a blend.

Ingredient Profile

Starting off is their "Creature 5x Complex" blend containing 5 different creatine sources for a total of 4g.

1. Creatine Monohydrate - the most well known and studied source of creatine. It doesn't seem to be from Creapure which is the purest form of creatine monohydrate, but that's okay.

2. Di-Creatine Malate - this is creatine combined with malic acid. Malic acid alone helps with ATP production, so combining the two makes sense. I like that this is in here.

3. Creatine Anhydrous - this is creatine with the water molecule removed. By removing the water, creatine will be more dominant. I think that's smart to have in here.

4. Crea-Trona (Buffered Creatine) - ever heard of Kre-Alklyn? This is that, yet better. Kre-Alklyn is only buffered with sodium carbonate. While Crea-Trona is buffered with both sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. This is how it's known as a double buffer creatine. I like that this is in here.

5. Creatine Gluconate - this is gluconic acid and creatine combined. This is a unique creatine. Gluconic acid is derived from glucose, which should help increase absorption for creatine. I think this is smart to have in here.

*I really like the sources selected. I feel this blend hits all angles. Each offer their own unique way in helping ATP production. I don't know the dosing of each, but Creatine Monohydrate is the first ingredient which means it's the highest dosed. This could just be mostly that with the others hanging around, or this could be an accomplished ratio hidden behind a blend. I'll never know. But, I do know it works.

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Ending off is their "Creatine Optimizers" blend at 92.5mg containing:

Banaba Leaf Extract
Biotin 1%
Cinnamon Bark Extract as Cinnulin PF
Chromium Picolinate

*I don't feel the need to go into specific details as the point of this blend is to help increase the absorption of the ingredients in this product. Each ingredient in this blend offers their own unique way in aiding in glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. This is really smart and always helpful. I really like that these are here to help everything work better.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste- it tasted great. It's called Beast Punch and I'm pretty sure it's fruit punch. It tasted how any fruit punch flavor should taste. I usually mixed it in with my aminos which changed things, but it tasted just fine stand alone.

Mixability - it mixes just fine. If you let it sit, then some content will settle to the bottom. A simple re-shake here and there helps that. Or else that last sip is nasty. When mixed with aminos, it mixed just fine.

Dosing - I took two scoops a day. The directions actually recommend two scoops. This is why it's 60 servings. I took two scoops due to the unknown amounts. I just wanted to make sure I was getting what I needed. I took one scoop in the morning with my aminos and another scoop with aminos post workout. On Sundays when I rest, I took 2 scoops in the morning with aminos. I surely will miss doing this.

Effectiveness

Despite the blend, this is still 4g of Creatine. And creatine is known to work no matter what the source is. In saying that, this product worked for me. I haven't been on creatine for awhile, so it was nice to be using this. I definitely increased in strength and size. I can tell I have been more "full" lately. When I think creatine, I think ATP-PC System and this definitely helped increase my fatigue threshold. The later I fatigue, the more work I can do. And I have been doing more lately. This product increased my volume through helping me lift heavier and longer. More volume which is more work equals more muscle. Since finishing this I do fear a little that I will lose some progress. That's how good I feel it worked. I'll either purchase this to continue or try others to compare. Either way, since I've been taking this I have seen an increase in my progress.

Value

I see the price ranges from $18-$24. That's a really fair price for how unique the profile is. Can't complain at all about the value.

Side Effects

I had no side effects and I thank that to the Creatine Optimizers. No bloating. Nothing. The optimizers really topped everything off and I appreciate whatever ratio that blend is.

Conclusion

Overall, this product did what it was suppose to do. The last time I used creatine it was just monohydrate. I feel this did an overall better job in helping me gain progress compared to just taking monohydrate alone. Even though you could go cheaper with another product, the price is very fair for the profile. The optimizers bring me confidence as it's nice to have them in there compared to not. Even though this worked, I can't give it a 100% due to the prop blend. Prop blends bother me. Other than that, I definitely recommend.