INTRODUCTION

Thank you to VMI SPORTS for participating in the SR TROOP program and also for actively responding to messages. Thanks to SupplementReviews for making the connection brand-consumer possible. After finishing my weight/fat loss "program", I wanted to gain a bit of lean mass so this was the perfect opportunity to try VMI Major Mass. Let's see how it ended.

INGREDIENT PROFILE

2 scoops has: 30 servings, 250 calories, 6g Total Fat (3.5g Saturated), 58mg Cholesterol (19% DV), 30g Total Carbohydrates (10g from Sugar) and 20g Protein. The product does a good job classifying each ingredient into the Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat category.

Protein sources are: Whey Protein Concentrate, Whole Milk Powder, Whey Protein Isolate, Milk Protein Isolate. Unfortunately, it doesn't say how much amount of each protein because from those 20g, 15g could be from Whey Protein Concentrate and Whole Milk Powder, which would be dissapointing. But I would like to think that each Protein has 5g, which is alright. Overall, good protein sources.

Time Released Carbohydrate Blend: Maltodextrin, Legume based starch derived from Pisum Sativum (peas) (as Carb10 patented), Dextrose, Cocoa.

Fat Blend: Coconut Oil Creamer, Avocado Oil Powder, Coconut Oil Powder and MCT Powder.

And they also use "Digestisorb" which is a trademarked enzyme blend from VMI Sports to improve digestion, decrease bloat and increase nutrient delivery.

I give it a 9/10 here. Excellent ingredients, not a 10/10 because I don't know the exact amount of each protein form.

TASTE/MIXABILITY/DOSING

TASTE: I requested other flavors but I guess they wanted us to try their 3 new flavors: Apple Pie Ala Mode, Chocolate Milkshake and Peanut Butter Cookie. I received the Chocolate Milkshake flavor. PERFECT 10/10. Impossible to improve. It tastes exactly as a Chocolate Milkshake should taste. With water it's delicious, with milk it's fantastic! They sent 1/4 sample (yea not a sample of 1 serving lol) of the other flavors they have. I had to use only 2oz of liquid for each 1/4 sample to try the flavor. My first impression is that they are all great.

MIXABILITY: No problems mixing the powder. However, a very small amount of powder constantly would be on the walls of the shaker. Nothing significant but had to mention it. Just remember, liquid first!

DOSING: I just wanted some extra calories so I only took 2 scoops daily. Once or twice I tried it with 3-4 scoops but usually I only did 2 scoops as my breakfast drink. A great and tasty way to start the day :D

EFFECTIVENESS

Being a lean mass gainer, I expected to increase a few pounds. But unfortunately, during my consumption, I got sick twice in a month! (not caused by this product). So instead of increasing the few pounds I wanted, I actually decreased a few pounds lol. That was because the days I was sick, I couldn't eat so much.

However, I noticed I didn't lose muscle significantly so that's something positive. This product was very effective giving me the 20 grams of Protein + my breakfast protein daily, also a little dose of 10g of Sugar (maybe would have liked a bit less grams here) to start the day with a few carbs and keeping me full longer until lunch time. The digestion was smooth, without problems so good job for the patented enzymes added. I didn't feel "heavy" after drinking this. All these effects combined with a very delicious taste.

VALUE

VMI's website has it for $59.99 but you're not expected to buy it from there so I won't even judge that price. Campus Protein has it for $39.99 ($35.99 if you have it delivered every X time. Suppz has it for $38.99, other retailers for $45.99 and $49.99. My Rating of "8" goes to any value that is not higher than $40. More than $40 reduces my Value score. You're getting high quality ingredients so obviously this product will be more expensive than lot of Weight Gainers out there.

SIDE EFFECTS

None.

CONCLUSION

There are a lot of weight gainers out there but they are usually full of "stuff" you might not want and they don't taste so well by themselves. The biggest accomplishment by VMI Sports is that they made a Weight Gainer full of high quality ingredients, it doesn't have ingredients you might not want and they also made it have a very delicious taste by itself. This product also belongs to the subcategory of "Lean Mass Gainer" and not the overall category of "Weight Gainers". My only 2 critics would be the sugar amount (20g is high if you consume 4 scoops), I would prefer something like 15g sugar with 4 scoops and 7.5g sugar with 2 scoops. Not a big problem though. The other critic is that I don't know the exact amount of each protein form. Not a big deal either.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE COMPANY

1. Change it to 7.5g sugar for 2 scoops and 15g sugar for 4 scoops.
2. Disclose the amount of each protein form.
3. Maybe think about having a bigger size container available.

*None of my suggestions are really that important but it would make the product even better than what it is already.

Quick Summary

This is a meal replacement type product. RedCon1 has two version of this. This is the MRE Lite which is basically the same as their regular MRE product but this has less calories, carbs, and some other stuff in it. This is gear more towards those people who want to watch their macro intake a little better and not consume higher amounts of calories, carbs and other stuff like their regular MRE has in it. There is no whey protein used in this just whole foods.

Introduction

First off I want to thank RedCon1 for letting us troopers have the chance to give this product a try. After trying their regular MRE product and really liking that a lot I knew this would be worth giving a try also. For me either of these two products I am just fine with using and found them both to be really good. Since it is hard for me to get that extra meal in me this is great to have and makes it a lot easier to do.

Ingredient Profile

Each scoop will be 29g and will provide you with the following
Calories - 134
Calories from Fat - 18
Total Fat - 2 Grams
Saturated Fat - <1 Gram
Trans Fat - 0 Grams
Cholesterol - 0 mg
Sodium - 85 mg
Potassium - 125 mg
Total Carbohydrate - 4 Grams
Dietary Fiber - 1 Gram
Sugar - 2 Grams
Protein - 24 Grams

All of the proteins they put in here comes from whole foods and use no whey proteins mean nothing comes from dairy. Also this is Lactose Free and Keto friendly if that is something your looking for. For fillers they use natural and artificial flavors, cellulose gum, ground cinnamon, salt, sucralose and ace-K.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I had the oatmeal chocolate chip. This I thought was decent. With the protein coming from whole foods instead of whey protein I was a little unsure how this would taste but I think they did a really good job at masking the taste. It did seem like the oats part kind of over powdered the chocolate chip part a little more so I thought. It was still good and enjoyed it. This did remind me of eating an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.

Had no real issues with this mixing. You do get some small pieces of chocolate chip in this which was kind of nice. You can pretty much take this anytime you want if you need that extra meal or want a nice little snack. I would normally take this in the mornings on my way to work. I would do just one scoop each time.

Effectiveness

This will be your meal replace product but on the liter side. Meaning less calories, carbs, and some other stuff they put in here. If your someone trying to watch your macro intake but still want that extra meal this is great for that. I would take this in the mornings on my way to work. I figured this was my best time to take since I need that food in me to help fuel me up more and get me going and do feel it did help me some. After I would take this I did feel a bit more full for about an hour or so after taking it. What I really like is that everything they use in this is from whole foods and use no whey protein meaning none of the proteins come from dairy. I was not real sure how this would taste considering what is in here but they did a really good job at masking the taste. I am also trying to add some more size and weight but want it to be more lean type muscle mass (since it is summer time) I put on and not give me a lot of bloating with it. With this being more on the liter side I feel it really helped with doing that and did not notice a lot in the way of bloating in my stomach.

I feel with this it helped me on some of my recovery so I was not as sore like. Over all I seemed to feel a lot better when I would workout later on in the afternoon after using this in the mornings. Also I thought this was really good on my stomach and digests really well into my system. I never felt that bit of heaviness in my stomach where this was just sitting there waiting to digest. What I do really like is how easy this is to take so you can get that extra meal like into your system instead of having to try and eat that extra meal. For what this product is suppose to do I think it works really well in all of these areas. If I had my choice I would rather go with their regular MRE instead but this still has a good purpose as to why something would use this over their regular MRE.

Value

The cheapest I could find this was on amazon.com and they want $39.99 for 30 servings. I don't think that is to bad a price considering what all they have in this. If you were to buy everything separate it would cost you a lot more.

Side Effects

Nothing I noticed.

Conclusion

Overall I thought this was another great meal replacement type product. I think redcon1 did a really good job coming up with this product. This is a great way to get your proteins intake if you can't consume whey or are looking for another alternative to increase your protein intake and/or have an easy meal replacement option to grab when in a hurry. If your trying to watch your macro intake this will be a great choice to go with because this will really help you. For taste wise you will really enjoy this a lot. It would be nice to see a larger size tub in the near future so it will last you a bit longer. Price wise is not to bad but you will need to look around because I have noticed pricing for this really varies a lot. This I feel is just another great way and very easy way to consume if your looking for that extra meal or want something top help curb your sweet tooth and use it as a nice little snack. Again I want to thank Redcon1 for making this product and letting me have the chance to try it.

Quick Summary

First off thanks to VMI for making my first Troop review a breeze, and thanks to SR for giving me the opportunity.
Major Mass is a lean mass gainer with a 20:30:10 protein:carb:fat ratio. It is available in 6 flavors in a 4lb/60 scoop size.

Introduction

I used Major Mass while reverse dieting into a bulk. I was cutting for roughly 5 months and my calories were incredibly low so I decided I would use Major Mass with my cutting diet, I started with two scoops roughly an hour before my workout and finished the tub using 3 and a half scoops.

Ingredient Profile

Major Mass is 250 calories per 2 scoops, these calories come from 5g of fat, 30g of carbs, and 20g of protein. The protein blend is whey concentrate, whole milk powder, whey isolate, and milk isolate. The carbs come from maltodextrin, Compound Solution's patented Carb10 and dextrose. The fats come from coconut oil and MCT oil. Major Mass also includes an enzyme blend, Digestisorb, for maximum absorption.
I love this ingredient panel. The multi-stage carb complex felt great and I had absolutely no bloat which is incredible for a mass gainer. The inclusion of Carb10 is great because it is the lowest glycemic index carb so it kept my blood sugar in check while the rest of the carbs digested immediately. The protein blend is good but I would like to see egg protein and more whey isolate than concentrate. The fats are very well sourced, I'm not sure if there is a healthier fat blend on the market. The only thing I really did not like was the dextrose because of the sugar content, 10g of sugar per two scoops is kind of a turn off for me.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

The taste was near perfect, VMI sent me samples of the three original flavors along with the Apple Pie A La Mode flavor that I chose. It made a really thin shake when mixed with water which I liked, I did not want to feel full since I was trying to take in more calories. There was a bit of a residue left on my shaker though which got annoying. Overall the flavor was near perfect, it tasted just like an apple pie, it felt like a cheat meal.
Dosing ranged from 2 to 3 and a half scoops as my pre workout meal, this gave me enough energy for a workout and no bloat to hinder me in the gym.

Effectiveness

This product was about as effective as it gets for a mass gainer, the ability to adjust it to fit my macros was great since each scoop was not crazy high in calories. I had absolutely no GI distress and I felt that my body absorbed all of the nutrients available from the shake. I had no blood sugar issues either, it was a very smooth energy.

Value

The value is pretty good if you do not need a ton of calories, the lowest price I found was Campus Protein where it is $40 per tub. If you are a hard gainer and you do not eat enough I would say the value is not great since there are mass gainers with far more calories, but the quality is nowhere near Major Mass.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

I loved this product, I will continue to get it whenever I am bulking. Thank you VMI for knocking this one out of the park.

Introduction

Sure who does not want to drink a few ounces of a supplement and let the lbs or waist line shrink. But honestly I feel that maybe just something that is offered on those late night TV ads.

Ingredient Profile

L-carnitine 500 mg
Acetyl L- Tartrate 500 mg
L-Carnitine L-Tartrate 500mg
Green Tea Leaf Extract 50mg
Gamma Butyrobetaine Ethyl Ester Chloride 25mg
Paradoxine Grains of Paradise Extract 15mg
bioperine 2.5mg

The one thing I really was interested in was the Grain of paradise. I have heard lots of great stuff about this. I think the profile was pretty good. I like green tea extract and feel it works well.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I had orange pineapple and the first few times I was like WTF is this?! Awful. I did put it in the fridge and it helped a lot. But it did have this strange, strong taste that is really hard to describe. But the flavor it is called is not what I would have named it.
Dosing was odd. I feel it was to low a dose to really hit or have an effect.

Effectiveness

Nothing. I am being honest. I never felt warm and fuzzy from it. I never had a energy rush. I never had hunger suppression. I really hate this did not do anything for me. I was hoping to have the sweating effect from the grains of paradise but I never got that either. I really do not have anything else to say about this.

Value

I did find this for 14 bucks online but even at that I would still not go for it due to the fact of the effectiveness it had for me.

Side Effects

Nothing. I really mean it too.

Conclusion

I know some things work well with other's but this did nothing for me. VMI is a huge part of this site and community. By no means should this review be viewed as this product will not work for anyone, it just did not work for me.

Quick Summary

Initially, as a sole meal replacement product I was very impressed with how MRE performed, and when I would experiment with the dosing, it was a well put together post workout meal. The nutrition aspect of this product is top notch which leads to why it is so easily digestible in the body. This is a very impressive meal replacement product.

Introduction

Big thanks to the guys over at Redcon1 for having faith in the trooper program and giving us the opportunity to test out MRE. The name of the game is Macros, and hitting them is a real pain in the a$*. Sometimes life gets in the way, and you do not always have access to a microwave or stovetop to where you can get your calories and daily nutritional goals. Redcon1 has come up with an easy solution to this problem. They bring us MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). This is a true meal replacement shake designed to help the user hit their daily macros and caloric goals. I always love these products because it is interesting to see how companies go about trying to replace real whole food with powders. Let's see how they did.

Ingredient Profile

Redcon1's answer to replacing real whole food is to use real whole food in a powdered form. When I first heard about this product I figured there was no way this was going to work or even taste good, but based off of the following nutrition profile I was wrong:

Serving Size: 4 Scoops (130g)
Servings Per Container: 25
Calories 525
Calories from Fat 35
Total Fat 4g
Saturated Fat <1g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 200mg
Potassium 250mg
Total Carbohydrate 75g
Dietary Fiber 8g
Sugar 5g
Protein 47g

Other Ingredients: Rolled oats, protein blend, salmon protein, chicken protein, egg albumin, brown rice protein, and pea protein, dehydrated yam, dehydrated sweet potato, pea starch, coconut water powder, dehydrated blueberry fruit, dehydrated goji fruit, maltodextrin, dextrose, MCT oil, natural flavor, cellulose gum, cinnamon, salt, sucralose, acesulfame potassium.

As you can see, 1 4 scoop serving is going to give you a lot in the world of macronutrient. The impressive part is this product is not delivering nutrients via whey proteins or even soy for that matter. Your protein sources are real whole food sources such as salmon, chicken, egg, brown rice, and pea proteins. Your carbohydrates are also from whole foods via rolled oats, yams, sweet potatoes, fruits, and starches, with dextrose bringing up the rear. Fats are brought to you through the MCT oil that is used.

Again, when this product first came out and I saw the ingredients profile, I laughed....hysterically. There was no way this was going to taste good or even close to what it should taste like, and it was going to be one of those products that users will just have to choke down for the sake of meeting their goals. I was wrong in every single way, and now after using this product, I have even more respect for why whole food sources are the best for our bodies rather than whey and soy protein powders. More to come on this in the following sections.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

So for the important aspect of this review, how did this taste? Well, I asked and received the Dutch apple pie flavor. This section will generate what is probably my biggest complaint. If there is one dessert in the world that I love it is a good Dutch apple pie. Very few things out there can replicate that kind of flavor and taste, and unfortunately, MRE did not do that. With that being said, this product still tastes amazing. The best way I can describe the flavor would be eating a package of Quaker instant oatmeal that is cinnamon apple flavor. Again, that is an awesome flavor in my world and I can eat that one all day without getting tired of it. Same goes for MRE. While it was less Dutch Apple, and more cinnamon apple oatmeal, it was still fantastic. You honestly cannot taste anything other than that flavor. You would never know that there is a protein derived from fish in this, or yams, or sweet potatoes, that is how well they did flavoring this.

Mixability was superb as well. As it has been said before, 4 scoops of anything is a lot and you are bound to have some clumping. that word does not exist with this product. I would add anywhere from 2-4 scoops in about 16oz of milk and enjoy. Neither dosing yielded any issues for me or my shaker cup.

Dosing, as I have already eluded to was anywhere from 2-4 scoops. I found using 2 scoops was perfect for right after my workout, because it delivered a solid dose of protein, but was also higher in the carbs for that post-workout window. Even at 2 scoops, this would keep me full until it was time to eat, and even then I would have to tell myself that it was time to eat because I really was not that hungry. 4 scoops felt like a legitimate 3-course meal in regards to how full I felt.

Effectiveness

As I just mentioned, this product will keep you full. I have used beverages that had more protein in it and added my own source of carbohydrates that were not as effective as this. To me, that speaks volumes about how effective real food is, rather than a whey product that you are using to try and fill the macro gap.

The second thing that I noticed was my body overall felt better using a product like this, where it was digesting natural food sources like it would at any other meal, rather than protein derived from dairy processing. I felt better recovered from workouts because my body was getting real nutrition and real protein to help rebuild muscles that had been torn down during the workout to where DOMS were noticeably reduced.

Finally, the biggest thing I noticed, was a lack of stomach bloat or digestion issues. This is more impressive based on the fact of the sheer serving size that you can with this. 47g of protein and 75g of carbohydrates is a lot for the body to process at once, and it could lead to some discomfort, but not if you are using this product. Again, the worst thing that you will feel, is just really full which is impressive to me. Because there are no digestion issues, you can tell that your body is utilizing everything that this product has to offer, rather than some, and the rest goes down the toilet.

Value

This product does not come cheap. Plain and simple. Everywhere you look, you are going to see the same $80 price tag which means $3.20 per serving if you are dosing at the 4 scoop dose. While this might cause some sticker shock, you need to understand that this is not just a protein shake product, but an actual meal. If you can think like that, then compare how much a meal at a fast food place will cost, you will find that this is priced well, and also A LOT healthier of an option.

Side Effects

None to report.

Conclusion

Summed up in one word: IMPRESSIVE. I really mean it. While it was not a true Dutch apple pie flavor, it was still delicious and delivered on everything it needed to. The mixability, flavor, and ease of digestion really sold me on how great of a product this is, and who truly important real food is for our bodies. I would 100% recommend this to anyone who wants a drink that will help them reach their macro and caloric goals without using cheap products that will leave them unfulfilled and have digestive issues. Big thanks to Redcon1 for putting together such a great product and allowing me to test it for them.

Quick Summary

Ladies & Gents, we are infront of the king of exotic stimulants preworkouts. This is the real deal. If you never had the luck to try the original craze (not the new reformulated version, i mean the OG one that got banned) this is the next best thing, and it's legal (lol). That said, i only have one minor issue with it, but we will discuss this in the "Cons" section of this review... so without further ado, let's go ahead and review this fantastic pre.

Introduction

Re1gn is the spiritual successor of the critically acclaimed preworkout Conquer Unleashed by Olympus Lab. They were amongst the first supps company to bring the "post wave" of exotic stims (dmha and eria jarensis) after that the fda decided to put a definitive ban to dmaa. Here in re1gn we have 10 ingredients (which most of them are trademarks or patented ingredients). If you ever tried Conquer unleashed you know that the product was fantastic but sucked in the taste deparment... has OL managed to tick all the boxes with Re1gn?! Let's find out!

Ingredient Profile

I will group the ingredients based on what they suppose to do; First things first:

Pumps
OL never fails to disappoint when it comes to pump ingredients in their pre. Here we have 5g of pure l citrulline (which is a precursor to arginine). The reason why supps company tend to use citrulline (or its variant bonded with malic acid, citrulline malate) is because arginine is badly absorbed by the gastrointestinal system of our body, making you really expel more than what you use. The "clinical" (i hate this term so i will use efficacious) dose of citrulline is 3 to 4g. Here we have 5 full grams of it. Serious stuff. Then in the US version we have 1g of AGMass (which is a patented form of agmatine sulfate) and this is the only difference between the US version and the international version (don't ask me why but for some reason, agmatine is banned in most countries outside of the USA). Agmatine breaks down the enzyme rensponsible of "killing" nitric oxide in your blood (which is arginase, to not be mistaken with arginine). It's perfectly dosed as the efficacious dose is anything between 750mg and 1.5g. Then we have a new very promising ingredient in the pump ingredient market which is vaso6 at 300mg (perfectly dosed as the study done on HUMANS, not rats like 99% of the studies done on supps) which is a particular extract of green tea that increases nitric oxide levels in blood by 50% (while another study on human done with 5g of citrulline, shown that the increase of NO levels in blood was only by 5%).

Muscle fatigue/endurance
We only have one ingredient here and it's 1g of pomegranate extract which is a powerful antioxidant and is supposed to combat the forming of free radicals helping reduce muscluar fatigue and speed up rest times in between your sets.

Focus&Energy
Coming up are the focus/energy ingredients in Re1gn and let's start with DMHA (which here is labelled Julgans Regia). DMHA is DMAA little brother, and is basically 20% less strong than DMAA. This ingredients not only will help you with tunnel vision mental focus, but will give you euphoric energy to pushthrough your workout. Here's my only issue i have with this product that i mentioned in my quick summary: OL decided to put 3 ingredients behind a 678mg prop blend and J Regia is one of them. It's a shame really, 'cause this product truly delivers and has no need to hide behind "secret magical formulas" especially in 2018 where research on various ingredients are at hands of everybody with a computer and a little know how. Oh well. This version of DMHA (2 amino 5 isoheptane) is supposed to be stronger than the one produced in the lab, which is the 2 amino 6 version).
Next up is another exotic stim and is Eria Jarensis (which is the natural extracted from plants version of the more commond n phenetylalamine citrate compound, which is producted in a lab) again in an undisclosed amount. Eria Jarensis, similar to DMHA gives you tunnel vision focus and feeling of wellbeing euphoric energy (is actually a little faster acting than DMHA, and a little faster in leaving your system too consequentially).
Then we go into a patented trademark ingredient produced by olympus labs themself called St1m X. Honestly apart from what OL has stated, we don't have much information about this ingredient (we don't even know the amount that's in Re1gn). Is an extract of C. Macoceras for alkaloids. I'd say it's very similar to yohimbe/yohimbine/alpha yohimbine but olympus lab in the past said it is not, so who knows really.
My guess here? 200mg of eria, 150mg of DMHA and 28mg of St1m X. But again, it's only my guess.
To complete the 678mg prop blend we have caffeine anhydrous which, thankfully, was disclosed to be at 300mg (hence why my calculation of the other remaining ingredients).
But it's not over... oh no, lol.
Then we have the patented tastless (thank god) version of Teacrine at 100mg. Teacrine is basically very similar to caffeine anhydrous, but 1) it lasts longer in your blood 2) has no side effect of building a tolerance to it, so you will feel those 100mg everytime as if it was your first time taking teacrine.
Last but not least we have yet another patented ingredients, which is KannaEase at 25mg. Kannaease is an extract from Sceletium Tortuosum and is an adaptogenic herb, which basically lowers the edge of all the stimulants present in this fantastic yet very stim heavy preworkout. It also prevents you from crashing.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

If you ever tried olympus labs stuff, you know they are not the best tasting supps out there lol. Plain and simple. But hey, the fn nailed with this pre. It comes in 7 flavors: Area 51 (sour gummy bear), Dragon Mist (blue pop), ISEE fury (cherry slushee), Krusherz (Orange candy), Lions Blood (tropical fusion), Pandora's Potion (fuzzy peach candies) and last but not least Fairy's Kiss (pink bubble gum). Granted, i only tried the Pandora's Potion (i've just finished my first tub of reign) next time i'm going to get me some Krusherz (as i love orange). The flavor i had was spot on. The direction said to mix it in 8 to 12 ounces of water but watching an OL vid on youtube the guys said to mix it 14 to 16 ounces of water, especially if you go to the full serving which is 2 scoops. You can choose also: make it 1 scoop (especially if you're new to exotic stims) and that will have 40 servings in the tub, or if you're a stim junkie hardcore trainee like me just go to the full dose 2 scoops/20 servs (my review is obviously based on that).
The mixability is perfect, it's a very fine powder, so you won't have problem mixing it, even in a glass with a spoon i think (i never tried but i'm sure you will be able to if you want).

Effectiveness

Wow. Where to begin with this thing. First thing first, it's not a jittery/crackhead type of preworkout, so if you're looking for that, look elsewhere. This is probably the most clean tunnel focus energy i've ever had in a preworkout. It takes 20 minutes to kick in, but once it does, forget everything but the thing you're doing in that particular time (it should be lifting weights lol). If you're looking for a laser tunnel like focus preworkout, look no other than this. It lasts for a very long time too, i think it lasted something like 4 hours for me, so beware if you're taking this after 6 pm. Seriously, this is the best experience i've ever experienced with a preworkout, i cannot say enough good things to make this pre justice. Just try it for yourself. Oh, be ready to sweat ALOT too when using this, so bring another shirt and shorts at the gym lol.

Value

Value for money is a bit steep since this is a 20 servs pre for around 30 dollars. Nothing obscene but not cheap neither. Is the price justified? Absolutely.

Side Effects

As far as side effects goes i didn't have any. Ofc this is an high and i mean HIGH stim preworkout, so if you're sensitive to stims, just forget it and look away. Don't come here complain "oh my heart almost exploded in my chest" when you think 100mg of caffeine are alot. This is not for you. This is for you if 300+mg of caffeine does little to nothing to you.

Conclusion

Man, i said said, this is the best preworkout i have ever tried, and consequentially the best workout i've ever had in my life. If you can handle it, just buy it. You won't regret it.

Quick Summary

This is a great pre for anyone that wants to get his feet wet with exotic stims (j regia, k africana, N-Dimethylphenethylamine citrate etc) and can take quite an hefty dose of caffeine. I highly recommend this not only 'cause it's a solid pre (it's not the best around atleast imo, but it's a solid product) but if you'd like to support Tim Muriello too, which helped i think many people smarting up about supplements and their ingredients. Also, for the people out there that don't like beta alanine tinglings, this pre doesn't have it.

Introduction

I know i'm late to the party but oh well. I finally decided to try out spazmatic v2 (yes, this is a reformulated version without the dmha, it only carries N-Dimethylphenethylamine citrate as his exotic stim) and i wasn't disappointed. Tim (Muriello) put together a solid preworkout supplement which tastes phenomenal. But before jumping the gun on flavor, let me break down the ingredient panel.

Ingredient Profile

The ingredient are simple and straight to the point. No BS proprietary blends and real good dosages. 8/10
Pumps
To get some decent pumps (nothing spectacular, but still good a pump) you got 4.5g of pure l citrulline (not malate) which is above the efficacious dose of 3/4g. L Citrulline is a precursor of arginine and once it converts into that in your blood stream, nitric oxide will occur vasodilating your veins and let that blood flow to the working muscles. The second and sadly last pump ingredient (i woulda so wish tim would have put atleast 750mg of agmatine in this) is l norvaline at 200mg (great dosage). Basically, l norvaline blocks arginase (to not be mistaken with arginine) which is the pump killer. It's basically an enzyme that tells your body to stop producing nitric oxide and when you want a pump, you don't want that. You've got some niacin too but imo it's not a pump product, as niacin only does improve subcutaneous blood flow, which isn't really what pumps is all about. That's why with niacin there is the infamous niacin flush where your skin becomes redish.
Focus
Let's jump into the focus bit of this preworkout and this is my personal only downside of this product. Tim could have done a much better job at it imo and im going to explain you why. We have tyrosine at 1g (ok dose, nothing spectacular) which is a precursor to l dopa and you have an hefty 200mcg (micrograms, basically 0.2mg) of huperzine A. Now let me tell you what i would have done: since huperzine prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine in the brain, i would have ditched the tyrosine and instead put a choline based focus ingredient. The best one would have been CDP Choline, the second best option would have been alpha gpc and the last one choline bitartrate. Now i understand that both CDP Choline and alpha gpc are expensive ingredients, but choline bitartrate it's not. A 2g dose would have been more than enough to give you that synergistic effect that the huperzine brings.
Energy
Last but not least the energy blend which consists in 2 forms of caffeine (400mg total, 300 fast acting anhyrdrous and 100mg from green tea to give you that prolonged smooth clean energy) the N-Dimethylphenethylamine citrate (big dose, at 175mg) that basically give you that euphoric energy and drive that really make you want to do whatever you're doing at that particular time (in this case working out), 30mg of hordenine (which prolongs the effect of N-Dimethylphenethylamine citrate) and 30 mg of higenamine (a mild bronco dialator and consequentially a fat burner because helps you bring more oxygen into your body) and 2g of taurine, which is a solid dose and provide some endurance to your working muscles. Also a huge dose of b12 to prevent you crashing once the effect of all these stims fade away.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I ALWAYS (and i recommend you too) weighs the scooper of preworkouts, especially the ones with high dosages of caffeine and stims. The one in spazmatic came a tad short (around 9g of a 11.7g serving size) so if you don't have a microscale buy one... no ok, do a heaping scoop but please really do buy a microscale.
Tastes comes in two flavors: watermelon taffy (which is the one i've got) and frozen strawberry yogurt. This is probably the best watermelon based preworkout i've ever had. No kidding. I use 10 ounces of water (recommendation says the classic 8 to 12) and it's amazing. No stims bitter aftertaste, not too sweet... just perfect. Mixes easely too (the powder is really thin, so it won't have problems mixing, trust me). 11/10 (lol).

Performance

As far as the performance went i have no complain really. I'm an oly weightlifter, and my training sessions are very long (minimum of 1.5h to a max of 2.5) and it's basically a leg day everyday. This pre carried me through all my workout which was not a surprise given the fact that there was 100mg of green tea caffeine in it and a ton of b12. So i can imagine working in any situation really, as you average bros tend to workout for approx 1 hour tops. A solid 8.5/10

Value

It's a great value. I paid the equivalent (im not american, im italian) of 25 dollars for it on powermyself. Given the fact this is a true 30 scoops pre, it's a phenomenal bargain (and that's why i gave it a 9/10 as a value).

Side Effects

No side effects to mention. Ofc it's an high stim product, so if you're sensitive to stimulants (especially caffine) start with 3/4 of a scoop and go from there. But im sure (again, unless you're extremely sensitive to caffeine, but then again, why did you buy a 400mg caffeine pre?!) you won't have problem with a full serving of it.

Conclusions

In conclusion this is a solid pre. Tastes fantastic, lasts for a long time a gives you energy to fuel your workout. If you like me want to try something different or want to get your feet wet with exotic stims, give this product a try, you won't regret it. 8.5/10

Quick Summary

SIZE by Ghost is a great overall product containing well known ingredients that can aid in muscular size and strength gai. In addition, SIZE also helps in recovery and provides benefits to endurance and pump

Introduction

A special thanks to Ghost for their participation here on SR.com. Today, I discuss my experience with their product SIZE. SIZE is an interesting looking product containing ingredients known for their benefits towards muscle gain and other areas of fitness. All of the ingredients, such as creatine HCL and epicatechin I've had very good experiences with stand alone. To see them brought together along with a couple of other goodies caught my attention in a heartbeat, leading me to want to try it out for myself.

Ingredient Profile

SIZE contains a fully disclosed profile with all dosages of 5 main ingredients. The ingredients and dosages that I am about to go over are for a one scoop serving.

To begin, SIZE starts with 5g of "Full Yield Creatine", which is actually a duo of creatine monohydrate and creatine HCL dosed at a 2.5g yield each. I've used bulk creatine monohydrate numerous times with good benefits. Creatine HCL I haven't used as often, but the times I have the experiences have also been good. Creatine HCL is said to be more readily absorbed, allowing for less water retention, lower dosage requirement, and elimination of the loading phase often associated with monohydrate. From my experience with HCL I can say that these claims do hold truth in the fact that HCL does cause little water retention and delivers equal benefits compared to monohydrate. Since it does tend to go for a higher price and not as much science to back it up in comparison to mono, its usage is not as popular as mono. I myself tend to just simply go for bulk monohydrate being that it is more cost effective.

Next betaine also known as trimethylglycine dosed at 2.5g. Derived primarily from beets, betaine is noted to enhance nitric oxide synthesis by acting as a nitrate. This results in a better pump and improved endurance. There was also a couple of studies that show that trimethylglycine may directly improve anabolic response by enhancing IGF-1 receptor activity.

Following we have the ever so popular beta alanine dosed at 2g. Beta alanine works by increasing levels of carnosine, resulting in less prominence of oxidative damage, improved fatigue resistance, and benefits to one's endurance. 2g is a bit low for me as I prefer 4g minimum.

After that, we have epicatechin dosed at 200mg. Extracted mainly from green tea and dark chocolate (cacao), epicatechin is a flavonol best known for its antioxidant benefits and immune system improvement. In the area of muscle building, epicatechin has the ability to inhibit myostatin. Myostatin is a muscle growth inhibitor naturally occurring in muscle tissue. Epicatechin works by increasing levels of Follistatin, which antagonizes myostatin. This results in increased muscle growth potential. Epicatechin can also increase nitric oxide production and has benefits for blood glucose management.

Lastly, we have AstraGin at 50mg. As seen as an additive in many supplements today, AstraGin is an absorption enhancer and aids in the potentiation of bioavailability.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

SIZE comes in Warheads sour watermelon an unflavored. I received the sour watermelon warheads. It tasted great and had the right balance between sweet and sour just like the Warheads candy itself.

The product mixed fine in water with no problems or undissolved grit.

Ghost recommends taking one serving (one scoop) of SIZE within 30 minutes before or after training. It is recommended to take on non-training days as well.

With the neutral flavor available, I would presume the option to mix it with a protein shake is viable. However, since I got the warheads sour watermelon I figured it wads best to only use water. On training days, I took one scoop with water immediately post workout. I never used it pre workout. On non-training days, I took a serving mixed with water some time in the afternoon.

Effectiveness

I would say that SIZE most definitely didn't "Ghost" on the results I got.

First, SIZE did help me gain both strength and size to satisfactory level for an OTC supplement. The gains were not incredible or steroid like, but noticeable nonetheless. The weight I was putting up on a majority of my lifts, both isolation and compound, went up to a degree of about 5-10 lbs. I considered this significant being that I am still on a slight caloric and carb restriction as outlined by my recomp phase. Some of those lifts included a seated dumbbell military press of 110 lbs spotted, 315 lbs spotted decline bench press, 275 lbs spotted incline bench press, 140 lbs barbell skull crusher, and my trap bar deadlifts are now back up to 500+ lbs. Again, these are only some examples. As for size, while I didn't take measurements, my physique in all areas looked bigger and more pronounced.

In addition to the bigger more pronounced look, I had a better pump feeling and improved vascularity all over even on non-training days. My muscles definitely felt fuller and more swole.

My recovery was improved big time. Any DOMS and lethargy that I may experience either post workout or on the following days was virtually non-existent. I had more endurance and resistance to fatigue as I was performing more frequent sets with higher volume on several lifts.

Lastly, although this contained no stims, I noticed my natural energy levels were also better, most likely due to the recovery benefits.

Value

The set retail price for a 30 serving tub of SIZE is 39.99. At first glance this may seem a little pricey. However, when considering all the ingredients and more importantly the effectiveness of SIZE, I'd say this value is actually well worth the investment. As I always say, lookout for deals, coupons, and BOGO from vendors.

Side Effects

none

Conclusion

Provided you have your training and diet in check while taking SIZE consistently, Ghost has hit a homerun with this product. It will aid in the development of nw gains in muscular size and strength as well provide pump, better endurance, and improved levels of natural energy. As a bonus, the Warheads sour watermelon flavor is great. Again, lookout for better price deals on this product because it is well worth the investment,

WARMACHINE OUT!!!

GO RED SOX!!!

Quick Summary

Quality product! Tastes good, works well, and is affordable!

Introduction

I'm 18 years old now and I first took this amino acid when I was just starting to work out in middle school, AKA back when the label suggested that I shouldn't take the product because of my age. At this point, I was just testing the waters with supplements and seeing what works for me and what doesn't and what I'd consider buying again for a good price. Modern BCAA's is high up in my ratings because of this, this is one of my favorite BCAA's.

Ingredient Profile

It doesn't specify the doses of each branched chain amino acid, but it contains 15g of a proprietary blend which consists of L-Leucine, L-isoleucine, L-valine, L-alanine, taurine, glycine, L-lysine HCL, L-alanyl, and L-glutamine. It has a very high ratio of leucine to isoleucine to valine (8:1:1) compared to many other BCAA's which are 2:1:1. Don't be fooled by this high ratio! While leucine may be the key amino acid in synthesizing protein, a mixed and more proportional ratio is more effective, which is one of the only downsides of this BCAA. It is also loaded with 654mg of an electrolyte blend (sodium citrate and potassium chloride) to help with hydration. It has no artificial coloring but it does have artificial flavors and the few other ingredients are just citric acid, malic acid, and sucralose to add flavor.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Modern BCAA's have a huge variety of flavors. My favorite flavor is watermelon, although all of the flavors are very impressive. The serving size is two 17.85g scoops and you mix it with 20oz of water. I drink it intraworkout and I have to force myself not to drink it all in 2 big swigs because I like the flavor so much. It is very hydrating during a lifting session and you'll find yourself not having to run to the water fountain as often. You have to shake it occasionally because the powder clumps up at the bottom eventually, however it usually mixes very well.

Effectiveness

Modern BCAA's is super effective! The first thing I noticed is that it hydrates very quickly so I didn't find myself running back and forth between my bench and the water fountain in between sets. I noticed that I was able to maintain strength and didn't fatigue as quickly after a few sets whereas usually I'd do 12 reps of bicep curls on the preacher bar for my first set and I'd only be able to squeeze out 6-8 by my last set. Along with higher endurance, the next day I'd wake up with no soreness in my muscles. It does an excellent job of aiding in recovery.

Value

I got this for $30 at a discount nutrition store but I did see it offered for $20 on various nutrition websites, but that also includes taxes so it might come out to $25. I don't mind paying a little bit extra so that I don't have to wait for my supplements to come in the mail. So for 30 servings, that means that each serving runs around $1. Most of the BCAA's I see in the stores run around this price or more expensive so I'd say the price is worth it.

Side Effects

Besides a chemically after taste and having to run to the bathroom a little more than usual because of the hydrating effects, I didn't notice any side effects. This could possibly cause an allergic reaction because it was produced in a factory that processes eggs, dairy, shellfish, peanuts, wheat and soy, so I might recommend consulting with a physician before taking this.

Conclusion

I would buy again! I love the flavors and I love the results. It's only $30 out of my pocket compared to other products that are around $40 for maybe 25 servings.

Quick Summary

Maybe I'm just spoiled with having a discount nutrition store near by, but I usually get my creatine for much cheaper with just the same or better results.

Introduction

I bought Insane Creatine from the Insane Labz website because I tried one of their preworkout samples and I wanted to try some of their other products. It was a little overpriced for quality and serving size when I could have just got less expensive creatine from the store and I wouldn't have to wait a week for it to ship.

Ingredient Profile

The only ingredient is simply creatine monohydrate. Each serving is 5 grams of creatine, and the scoop size is 5.3 grams. Since the only ingredient is creatine monohydrate, this creatine won't create outstanding results! However, you will notice the creatine delivers a little bit of an increase in strength when you lift weights.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Like most creatines, this one was unflavored. 5 grams of creatine per serving. Serving size is only one scoop so I usually just take it dry and chase it with water because although it says its unflavored, it still has a gross chalky taste when you mix it with water.

Effectiveness

This creatine didn't do anything extraordinary for my work out but it did do its job. It gave me a little extra strength and I noticed I was able to bust out 1-3 more reps than usual when lifting weights. With the strength came a little rush of energy and a boost in my mood. It doesn't have the punch or same mental effects of preworkout, but it delivers a little extra kick of energy and strength when supplemented with preworkout.

Value

Most creatines I buy range from $15-$25 and have a pretty good amount of servings to last a little under two months, however this creatine was about $24.95 on the Insane Labz website and about $30 after shipping, whereas when I buy other creatines from the store, I can get a container that's 100 servings and costs $20. So for 60 servings, that means that each scoop costs about 41 cents. I usually consume 20g of creatine each day, which would be 4 scoops of Insane Creatine each day, meaning that the creatine would only last me 15 days, not even half a month. Maybe I'm a bit of a penny pincher, but this creatine was a little on the expensive side for me.

Side Effects

Insane Creatine didn't have any noticeable side effects for me. Although uncommon, creatine could be an allergen for some individuals, so I would recommend checking with a doctor before using. The only thing that bothered me was that it doesn't mix very well in water, it clumps up at the bottom if you don't drink it right away. Most creatines do that though so it's not a big deal. Most people complain that creatine makes them feel bloated due to additional water weight. However, I didn't notice this happen with me. I was in a bulking period when taking this so I was getting more plump but I didn't notice drastic changes in the size or feeling of my gut.

Conclusion

I don't plan on buying this creatine again. I don't have any major complaints about it besides the price to serving size ratio. $30 isn't very much money but I just like to get the most bang for my buck when I buy my supplements.

Quick Summary

Simple formula. Did not allow me to fall asleep faster, but woke up feeling refreshed.

Introduction

Final review of the three Genius Brand products I got a few months go. This was their sleep aid that I wanted to try out.

Ingredient Profile

This is a bit of a simple ingredient profile. They only include five ingredients and only one is a trademarked ingredient. First is glycine at 1 g which is an amino acid that can improve the overall quality of sleep and allow you to feel more alert in the mornings. Next is TheaKalm at 100 mg that can help you feel calm and relaxed. Third ingredient is rutaecarpine at 100 mg which can "cleanse" the body of caffeine. Then there is inositol at 100 mg that works well with melatonin and can help reduce depressive symptoms. Lastly there is melatonin at 0.5 mg that is a pretty common ingredient that improves the overall quality of one's sleep.

This is a decent profile that is very similar to Legion's Lunar supplement. From what I remember, Genius Sleep Aid worked better for me for whatever reason. Maybe I will have to give Lunar another shot.

Anyway, I liked that it came in a veggie cap and was not a powder. I am not really a fan of drinking anything too closely to bedtime. That is always pretty ironic to me - companies making a powdered sleep formula that may cause the user to have to wake up during the middle of the night to use the restroom. Kind of makes the supplement useless at that point.

Dosing

Two caps (one serving) 30 minutes before bed. They say Genius Sleep Aid is best when taken five nights per week with two days off. That dosing is pretty common with sleep aids.

Effectiveness

I was fairly happy with how Genius Sleep Aid worked. Although I did not think it calmed me down before bedtime or allowed me to get to sleep quicker, I felt that I felt really refreshed in the mornings upon waking. To me, that indicates that I slept well that night and I did not feel any drowsiness. I hate feeling drowsy from supplements.

I am normally not a fan of supplements that contain an insane amount of melatonin because some people may become dependent on it after a while and I thought it always made me more tired in the mornings. There are some companies that just throw a bunch of melatonin in their sleep formulas, but I do not find those products attractive. I was happy with the amount of melatonin in here. If you would like more, you could just add it; melatonin is usually pretty cheap on its own.

I did not take this too often though. I usually only took it when I knew I would be getting at least seven hours of sleep, so that could be why I thought it worked better than Lunar. I feel that must be noted in the review.

Value

You can find this on Amazon for $20 for 20 servings. I think this is a little on the pricey side for what you are getting, but I did think it was effective.

Side Effects

None. Normally with melatonin supplements I feel drowsy in the mornings, but this was not the case with Sleep Aid.

Conclusion

A little on the pricey side, but I do feel it allowed me to wake up feeling refreshed and I like it did not cause me to be drowsy. I never got that extreme calming feeling right before bed, but a better night of sleep is more important to me. I would recommend this and I would buy this again just to have for when I need a good night of sleep.

Introduction

Big thanks to Black Lion Research for giving me the opportunity to review Vector. Vector is a natural anabolic that features three plant extracts - I'll get more into the ingredients in the ingredient profile category. I've used many different kinds of Anabolic/Pro-Hormone supplements seeing both the good & bad of what they have to offer. This is the first time I've heard of Black Lion Research and first time using these ingredients.

Label Claims:
- Build Muscle Mass
- Burn Fat
- Increase Endurance

Ingredient Profile

As I wrote above.... Vector contains three (3) plant like extracts.

Eribotrya Japonica Extract 1000mg: Subtropical fruit tree native to China. It has been used for medicinal value in China for thousands of years. It has been shown by research this extract can help lead to muscle mass, fat loss, strength by activating the AKT/mTOR pathway. By activating this pathway there is an increase in muscle protein synthesis (findings suggest that LE attenuates sarcopenia by promoting myogenic differentiation and subsequently promoting muscle protein synthesis.)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5187783/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26178971

Viscum Album Extract 1000mg: Also known as Korean Mistletoe - It's a semi-parasitic plant that grows on numerous trees. It has many different biological functions to include anti-obesity properties. In fact research has shown Viscum Album Extract improved the endurance exercise in mice. By doing this it has been shown to prevent muscle atrophy & increase muscle hypertrophy.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5251312/

Rehmanniae R Extract 1000mg: Herb used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years - Targets IGF-1 & EPO to help improve muscle mass.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2478485/

Black Lion Research has extensive write-ups of each ingredient to include sources here:
https://www.blacklionresearch.com/single-post/2018/02/06/VECTOR-ingredient-1-data-ERIOBOTRYA-J
https://www.blacklionresearch.com/single-post/2018/02/24/VECTOR-ingredient-2-Data
https://www.blacklionresearch.com/single-post/2018/03/03/VECTOR-ingredient-3-Rehmannaie-Radix-extract

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Since this is in capsule form there is no taste or mixability to judge. The dosing protocol suggests taking 2 capsules 3 times per day or 3 capsules 2 times per day. I went with taking 3 capsules 2 times per day - one serving with breakfast & another with dinner. The capsules were easy to swallow and not the size of horse pills - in fact they were smaller than I thought.

Effectiveness

To judge the effectiveness of Vector I'll use different categories.....

Strength 9/10 - Made some serious gainz on my compound lifts and PRd on all three of them. After my 30 day cycle I saw increases as follows: Bench +10lbs, Squat +10lbs, Deadlifts +20lbs to my 1RMs. My accessory lifts also felt easier and noticed weight increases there also. After the 30 day cycle I thought maybe those increases would go down (10 days after cycle) nothing really so far - I was surprised.

Endurance 8/10 - There was a nice increase with my endurance: My rest times between sets were shortened during weight training sessions and I didn't feel like death following morning cardio sessions. I was taking other supplements that helped with endurance during this time but I feel like it was mostly from the Vector.

Mass 8/10 - During the 30 day cycle I gained 3lbs. My appetite grew each day as I was gaining more muscle. My wife was getting pissed with the grocery bill being more costly during this time. I did notice more muscle in my shoulders/chest region along with my quads.

Overall I was very pleased with the outcome with Vector after only 30 days. I would think you would get even more out of this with an 8 week cycle. I used this for Mass gaining - however I did notice with the increase in calories I didn't feel like I was gaining a pudgy/fat composition. Everything was fairly lean with my body all while gaining body weight.

Value

The cheapest value I could find was on the Black Lion Research/Suppz.com for $49.99. Each tub contains 180 capsules - 6 capsules per serving - 30 total servings ($1.67 per serving). In my opinion this isn't a bad price for a product with proven/research backed ingredients all while being highly effective. I do suggest grabbing two tubs for a full 8 week cycle. You could go any way with this - fat loss or bulk cycle. Suppz.com usually has discount/promo deals so be on the lookout for a lower price.

Side Effects

Crazy dreams while sleeping

Conclusion

In conclusion Black Lion Research Vector was a very solid natural anabolic. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to purchase two tubs and run an 8 week cycle with it. I feel like the price is justified based on the effectiveness I saw during my time reviewing it. You can usually find discount codes on Suppz.com so you may get Vector for a lower price. Thanks again to Black Lion Research for participating in the SR TROOP Program.

Introduction

About a month or two ago, I reviewed VMI Sports L-Carnitine 3000, now I was not overly impressed with that product. I felt like something was missing from the formula, 3000 mg of l-carnitine I felt just didn't cut it for me. I wanted different ingredients that I see in other non-stimulant fat burners. So, when I saw that they came out with L-Carnitine 1500 HEAT that now includes GBB, paradoxine, and bioperine I had to try it. Here is the review.

Ingredient Profile

L-Carnitine 1500 HEAT is a product in liquid form and each bottle contains 31 servings. There is no measuring cap so you have to use a tbsp, which is one serving. The first ingredient is 500mg of l-carnitine, which can aid with energy and weight loss. Then, you have 500 mg of acetyl-l-carnitine, which can provide some focus. After that, you have 500 mg of l-carnitine l-tartrate, which can aid with weight loss and recovery. Following these you have 50 mg of green tea extract that is standardized to 50% EGCG. This can aid with weight loss and boost metabolism, although I am unsure of the dosage as it seems low. Next, you have Gamma-butyrobetaine (GBB) at a 25 mg dosage. This dosage is pretty good and usually you will see about 25-30 mg in other products containing this ingredient. The big benefit to this ingredient is that it can cause thermogenesis and a lot of sweating while exercising. Then you have 15 mg of paradoxine grains of paradise. The dosage on this is on the low side and you will usually see it at 30 mg or more. This ingredient can enhance energy and aid with fat loss. Lastly, you have 2.5 mg of bioperine for absorption.

Overall, I liked the ingredient profile but I do wish the dosage on paradoxine was increased to 30 mg and the GBB slightly higher. I understand why they are lower due someone taking two doses of this which would put a lot of the ingredients to where I would want them. I personally do not want to take 3000 mg of l-carnitine as that is what the dosage would be if I did two scoops.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

L-Carnitine 1500 HEAT comes in three flavors, they are gummy bear heat, patriot pop heat, and orange pineapple heat. I received the patriot pop flavor. The product is in liquid form and when poured into a measuring cup it is orange in color. It smells like one of those push icicle deserts, the ones in the tube you probably ate when you were a kid. When you drink it you get this intense patriot pop flavor that is somewhat sour. When you swallow it it kind of burns almost like doing a fireball shot. If you have never done one of those it is kind of like taking NyQuil. Overall, I liked the taste and the burn of it I kind of liked. However, I could see someone not liking it so it would depend on the user.

Mixability does not apply since it is intended to be taken as a solo product. As far as dosing goes, they say to take one tbsp on an empty stomach before a meal or before exercise. I personally only ever took one serving at a time and it was either before a workout or before breakfast.

Effectiveness

I have always felt that non-stimulant fat burners were hard to rate. A lot of times you do not really feel them so it is hard to tell if they are working. This product I definitely noticed working especially in regards to thermogenesis. I took this a few times on off days in the morning before breakfast and noticed that I would be on the verge of sweating without doing anything aerobic. It just really gave off that feeling of warmth, which I liked. Now, when I would take it before a gym or a run I would sweat quite a bit. A lot more than I usually do and at times was quite a lot, where I would be sweating before I even started working out (although it is Summer at the moment). I will also note when taking this before a workout I would be a little more focused, which I really enjoyed. My main issue in the gym is losing focus so that is what I look for in supplements I take around training.

In terms of weight loss, I do not have numbers as my weight fluctuates quite a bit depending on my water intake or creatine doses. However, I did notice a pronounced leaning effect with this product, which I was surprised about. I would say I dropped about a pant size if I had to guess. But remember, I combined this cardio, relatively good diet, and weight training. I do think this product definitely helped and I think my results would have been better over a continued use over several months.

Value

This product retails on VMI Sports for $24.99 making it $.80 per serving. I have also seen it on Amazon for $19.99 making it $.64 per serving. This is competitively priced because there is not (at least one I could find) a liquid carnitine supplement that contains GBB, paradoxine, and bioperine. I definitely could see myself purchasing this but I wish this was slightly more available. I have seen it on Amazon but it is not always eligible for Prime or from an odd seller. You can get it direct but then you are paying shipping. Overall, I would recommend giving this a try.

EDIT: I will note that at the time of this writing it is $19.99 on Amazon with a 20% off coupon and I ended up buying a container.

Side Effects

I had no side effects while taking this product.

Conclusion

Overall, L-Carnitine 1500 HEAT was an effective non stimulant weight loss product that had a great leaning effect. I definitely would recommend giving this a try but be realistic with your expectations. This is not going to make you shed pounds upon pounds of body fat but it could help you lose weight gradually with diet and exercise.

-Xcmiler

Introduction

I had never heard of Sur or AltRed before they came to the site. After looking into the company it appears that they are owned by the same people behind many trademarked ingredients you see in products. Such as Vitacherry, EleveATP, Spectra and quite a few others. In addition, since I do a lot of cardio work this product appealed to me. Here is the review.

Ingredient Profile

AltRed comes in a small 30 serving bottle. Each serving is one pill and they contain 50 mg of beetroot extract that is standardized to contain 25% betalains. Betalains are said to have high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities. At first glance the 50 mg might not seem like a lot since a lot of beetroot products will have 500 mg or more. However, those products do not list the standardization and I doubt they are as high as 25%. Based on taking other beetroot products in the past, I could definitely tell a positive difference when using AltRed. So, I believe that the standardization here goes a long way.

In terms of other ingredients, you have organic rice fiber I presume is the filler. Carmine for the color of the pill as they are tiny red pills. Lastly, you have a gelatin capsule. I will be honest I am surprised they went with a gelatin capsule. If this was a vegetarian/vegan type capsule I feel like they could have had broader appeal. To me personally, it does not make a difference.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste and Mixability do not apply here but I will say the pills are very small. So, this could be beneficial for people who have issues taking pills. As far as dosing goes, they say to take one pill each day even on off days. In addition, you can increase the dose depending on the duration of the activity you are doing. Their dosing is as follows: 0-2 hours 1 pill two hours before activity, 2-4 hours 2 pills with one 2 hours before and the other at the start, and 4+ hours 1 two hours before, one at the start, and other two hours into the activity. In essence, you can dose the pills every two hours starting two hours before the activity and throughout the activity. I will include the dosing chart in the event my explanation was confusing. I personally only ever took one pill a day and on running/workout days I would dose it about two hours before.

Effectiveness

The main benefit of AltRed is improved endurance and recovery. If you go to the website a lot of the testimonials are from competitive runners, ironman participants, and bike riders. Luckily, when I began reviewing this product I had increased my running so I was able to test the improved endurance and recovery.

As I have mentioned in a lot of my reviews, I run anywhere from 4-6 days per week. I mix it up with LISS (low intensity steady state cardio), HIIT (high intensity interval training), and hillwork type runs. Once I started taking this I did not notice much for the first week. In the second week, I began to notice a slight increase in my stamina. This was noticeable as I have a running partner. I always had the better endurance out of the two of us as my partner is a novice runner whose main issue is pacing. Therefore, when they lead we will at times be going too fast for the distance of the run. What I noticed was over the course of the bottle my endurance and stamina were improving faster than my partner. In years past, they would usually catch up to where I was at by this time in the Summer. However, they did not in this case. I attribute it to the AltRed as I felt a lot better when I would run.

As far as recovery, there was a slight recovery boost as I was running longer and slightly faster. With this increase in speed and length I was not as sore as I would have thought I would be. So, in regards to recovery I do think it helped slightly.

Value

Each 30 serving bottle is priced at $50 per bottle. So, you are looking at about $1.66 per serving. Now, I have seen this on sale for $10 off so that would be $1.33 per serving. I looked for other similar products but to be honest I could not find one with a standardization even close to 25%. If you are in the market for a beet root product I would give this a try and compare it to other ones. I definitely noticed a large difference with this over a generic 500mg beet root pills with no standardization listed off Amazon. I will also note that AltRed is an Ironman U.S. Series Partner and it is listed on the official ironman website. In addition, the product is informed choice and NSF verified. They also have a 30 day money back guarantee where you can take this for a month and if you did not see results they can refund the purchase.

My personal value of these is I could see myself getting these depending on where I was at supplement wise. Every once in a awhile I go off most supplements such as a pre workout, BCAA, creatine etc. During those times I usually just use coffee, multi, protein and fish oil. I think next time I do that I will pick this up and run it again.

Side Effects

I had no side effects while taking this product.

Conclusion

Overall, AltRed was a unique product that I felt was effective for HIIT and LISS cardio. I definitely noticed improvements in stamina and endurance. I also noticed a slight increase in recovery but it was not as large are the stamina and endurance increases. I feel like if you are in the market for a beet root product or do a lot of cardio this is definitely worth a try. Thank you to Sur for sending the product out and I apologize that the review took awhile to get done.

-Xcmiler

Quick Summary

The Ripper is a fat burner made by Cobra Labs, it's the first time I've tried this product. It has some good ingredients I believe, but those are mixed into 2 prop blends so you can't tell the dosage of what you are getting and I believe they are under dosed. It makes some bold claims such as, "This is what it feels like to be plugged into lightning," and I've wanted to try Cobra Labs products just because of how badass they look, so let's get to it!.

Introduction

So I'm a guy who used to workout regular when I was younger, was in good shape and I loved it. Fast forward 5 years, I'm a couch potato and I just get sick of it so I start working out again, losing weight and putting on some muscle but I still like to get a little extra help when I can and that's where this product comes in. Putting on weight is so much easier than losing it, huh? I just wanted something to help me lose a little bit extra here and there while I'm working out consistently. I do a lot of cardio these days and I wanted something that would just kick it up a notch, and one of my friends recommended I try out something with a thermogenic effect. I saw this on amazon, it seemed like a good deal and I figured, what the heck let's try it. Also side note I loved the skull looking grim reaper on the front of it. One of the things that I didn't like about this upfront was the caffeine amount was really high, so I decided not to mix it with my pre-workout which is usually around the 300-400 range itself.

Ingredient Profile

Ok, I know, prop blends tend to suck sometimes and this one is really no exception and I'll explain below.

Extreme Muscle Fuel 2,034mg ** Okay, so this is the first prop blend we have, the thing is it is only 2,034 mg and 200 is caffeine so you may be getting under dosed on some of these ingredients.

Carnosyn (Beta-Alanine),
So this helps with muscle performance and maintaining that muscle performance later in the workout. It support muscle power output throughout your workout. The minimum dosage I've read about for this branded type of beta-alanine, Carnosyn, is about 1.6g. We only have around 1.8g total left after the caffeine. We don't know how much is in here but if you stick to the recommended dosage of 1 scoop you may be getting this under dosed.

Guarana Extract,
This is widely used for it's fat loss capabilities, including increasing fat oxidation and increasing exercise effectiveness and expenditure. The recommended dosage for this was hard to find, it was all over the place, some people said 600mg, 800mg, 1g, and I even read an article which said 2g was safe. I don't know how much is in here but we don't have much room in the original 2034mg that is in this blend.

Raspberry Ketones,
It's supposed to help you burn fat faster but from what I've read, the research just isn't there yet. The dosage is also relatively confusing from what I found, since there is no research on it in humans, it jumps around from 100-200mg all the way up to some sites saying 1000-5000mg, so I'm not sure if you are getting the correct dosage here or not.

Caffeine (200mg)
I personally believe this is pretty high for a fat burner, I was wanting to mix this in with my pre workout, but I decided not to because of the high amount so I actually used this as a pre workout just because of this.

Ripper Shred Matrix 1,106mg ** Another prop blend I believe is under dosed.

Taurine,
This promotes muscle strength and endurance, it's normally dosed around the 1g to 3g range and there is only 1106mg for all these ingredients so it's likely this is under dosed.

Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl, It helps your body burn fat and this version also has several cognitive enhancing functions as well. A normal recommended dose for this is around 1g to 3g so I don't see how your not under dosed.

Green Coffee Extract,
It helps reduce your appetite and is widely known for its ability to aid in weight loss through it's main ingredient Chlorogenic Acid. The recommended dosage is around 400 mg, depending on the amount Chlorogenic Acid, which is normally included in the ingredient list but it is missing here so we don't know.

Green Tea Extract,
It's supposed to speed up metabolism and increase your energy but there are also several more claims that it aids in other area's as well. The recommended dosage is 100-750mg

Cinnamon Bark Extract,
This has several nutritional values but I'm not too sure on the fat burning capabilities.

Olive Leaf Extract (40% Oleuropein)
I found a lot of benefits for taking it but not sure if it aids in fat loss.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Okay so I had the Razor Lime flavor and it actually tasted pretty good, no complaints here. It mixed really well, no chunks after mixing and not grittiness of the powder in your mouth that you sometimes get within this category. Also no settling at the bottom, sometimes I get that with pre-workouts where I hate drinking that last sip because you know it's gonna be gritty and super strong tasting. I wanted to mix this with my pre workout but because of the high caffeine I didn't, I took this by itself as a pre-workout about 15-30 minutes before I went to the gym. I started off with 1 scoop then moved up to about 1 and a half scoops, it recommends you only take 1 scoop at a time so I didn't want to do too much.

Effectiveness

To start off with at first I thought it was giving me some energy at the very least but as I continued using I noticed I was actually doing less cardio than I was before. I guess this is because the caffeine is high for a fat burner but as a pre-workout, it's less than I normally take. The fat burning aspect, I really can't tell you if it worked or not. I did lose weight but I do a lot of cardio and it was in the range that it normally is without taking this. Maybe it did help some but nothing super noticeable. I'm gonna give this the best rating because I did lose weight and I can't say it hurt my weight loss in any way.

Value

I think the cheapest you can find this is for around $20, depending on the flavor, and you get 30 servings but if you do as the label says and take 1 scoop in the morning and then 1 before your workout, this is only gonna last about 15 days. I don't know if it's a good value or not really, it's pretty cheap but being under dosed and the effectiveness not standing out, I'm not sure.

Side Effects

No side effects for me!

Conclusion

EHH, is the best way to put this, it seems under dosed and the effectiveness for me is in question, so I won't be buying again. It's got a relatively high amount of caffeine and it could be a good energy boost if you are not using it for a pre workout or just not used to higher amounts. The fat burning aspect is okay but nothing special in my opinion. It's cheap but I can't recommend it.

Quick Summary

From the brand:
Gains On Gains On Gains

New school meets old school, clinically dosed, packed to the nines, transparent AF, muscle builder conceived to make gains faster than Photoshop.
GHOST Full Disclosure Label
First ever yield transparent Creatine, delivering a full 5G of yielded Creatine
Max clinical dose Betaine
Carnosyn Beta-Alanine
Full 200MG dose Epicatechin
Max clinical dose Astragin

Introduction

Hello all. Full intro about myself can be found here in the forum: https://supplementreviews.com/forum/index.php?topic=35432.0

First, a big thank you to the guys and gals over at Ghost for joining us here at SR.com and making your creatine/muscle building product Size available for us TROOPers to try and review. I have been following this company since their creation, mainly because of the YouTube ambassadors that they have partnered with. Being from a printing and marketing background, I can appreciate what Ghost has done with their marketing/outreach techniques since launching the company along with the details and added extras that the labels and tubs have. Being a dietary supplement consumer, I also applaud Ghost on being a fully transparent company from the beginning and not short-changing the consumer with inferior ingredients or improper dosing. Let's see if this proper follows that same path.

Ingredient Profile

As with all Ghost products, Size provides full label transparency and contains patented and registered versions of ingredients when they are available. This product contains five grams of what Ghost calls "Full Yield Creatine", which is a blend of monohydrate and HCL at 2.5g each. This is where the brand is blending new school and old school ingredients with the hopes of providing a product that gives the user the best of both worlds. Many who have been taking supplements for a while know that the monohydrate version of creatine has been studied and proven to be effective for years now. The HCL version is somewhat new and has less scientific research behind it. For those who prefer HCL, they seem to like it because it's more soluble and said to be better absorbed, thus requiring a smaller serving. Personally I have never used a pure monohydrate creatine product on its own. I started with HCL and have stayed with it since I began weightlifting.

Moving past the creatine, the remaining ingredients are added extras to help with muscle growth and recovery. Each scoop of Size gives you a clinical dose of Betaine. Per my friends over at PricePlow: Betaine, also known as Trimethylglycine (TMG), is a natural chemical compound that is found in several biological systems. It primarily serves as an organic osmolyte, which is something that takes water into cells to protect against osmotic stress. In addition to this it is also a methyl donor. TMG got the name betaine after its discovery in sugar beets. Structurally, it is a small trimethylated amino acid existing in zwitterionic form (a neutral molecule with a positive and negative charge, these are also called inner salts) at a neutral pH. The amino acid is glycine, hence the name, trimethylglycine. In addition to being found in sugar beets, it is also found in wheat bran, wheat germ, spinach, wheat bread, and shrimp. (https://blog.priceplow.com/betaine)

Next we have CarnoSyn Beta Alanine at two grams. While many will notice this ingredient is dosed below the normal 3.2 grams that we are accustomed to and think of as the "clinical" dose, Ghost follows the thought path of splitting up the doses for maximum nutrient absorption. This also helps avoid the sometimes unpleasant "tingles" many users get, when mega-doing Beta Alanine. As for effects, it's well known that Beta Alanine boosts endurance, but it also increases work capacity, strength, and time to exhaustion. In other words, Beta Alanine allows you to work out more intensely for longer periods of time without succumbing to fatigue. This ultimately lets you get more work done, yielding more gains!

The next ingredient is one that I have only heard of but never tried in a supplement before. It is Epicatechin 90% dosed at 200mg. Ghost says "Epicatechin is one of the hottest muscle building ingredients on the market" and claims this is the ingredient that really sets Size apart from anything else on the market. They also mention that just this ingredient alone is sold for more than what an entire tub of Size costs. As for what Epicatechin is supposed to do, I turn to my friends at PricePlow again for this: "Found prevalently in dark chocolate, epicatechin is a potent flavonol that's gained popularity for its ability to enhance lean mass gains and performance. Most notably, epicatechin has the ability to

Enhance strength and muscle growth
Improve glucose tolerance
Increase endurance
Blunt fatigue
Elevate nitric oxide production

Part of what makes epicatechin a prime-time muscle builder is that it's a rather powerful inhibitor of Myostatin by way of increasing levels of Follistatin, Myostatin's "archenemy." Basically, Myostatin prohibits muscle growth, and Follistatin inhibits myostatin signaling, which ultimately results in less myostatin and more muscle growth!"

Our last active ingredient is AstraGin at 50mg. "AstraGin is an all-natural absorption-boosting ingredient derived from Astragalus membranaceus and panax ginseng extracts, both staples of traditional Chinese medicine. AstraGin enhances the rate at which certain compounds and nutrients are absorbed within the intestinal wall. NuLiv, the company who developed AstraGin, has conducted several research trials showing that the novel compound effectively improves uptake of creatine, beta alanine, citrulline, amino acids, and several other compounds. Size contains the full research-backed 50mg dose of AstraGin to increase the effectiveness of all its ergogenics even further."

The remaining ingredients will vary depending on if you purchase the neutral (unflavored) version or the Warheads branded Sour Watermelon flavor. The Sour Watermelon flavored version includes an additional 2.5 grams of natural and artificial flavors, citric, malic and tartaric acid, along with your artificial sweeteners of sucralose and Ace-K plus artificial red food coloring.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste >> I received the Warheads collab Sour Watermelon flavor and it was fantastic! I have tried a sample of their Legend PWO in this flavor and thought it was amazing. Glad to see the same flavor transferred over to this product and they were able to achieve the same result with different active ingredients. It is delicious and sour from the first sip until the last. No complaints here and I looked forward to drinking every day. Definitely one of the best tasting supplements on the market today in my opinion.

Mixability >> No real big issues here. One scoop in some cold water and shake for about five to ten seconds. If I let the bottle sit for a minute or two, some sediment would be visible on the bottom but another quick shake and it is ready to drink again. If you are the type of person who would drink this all at once, then there is nothing to be concerned about.

Dosing >> Depending on your thoughts about creatine consumption, this product could be taken any time of day. Ghost recommends consuming within 30 minutes after exercising on training days. They also state for best results, use on non-training days as well. They also recommend mixing this with a whey protein shake, which is why the product also comes in an unflavored version. I followed their dosing protocol on training days and consumed my scoop on non-training days in the afternoon as a nice refreshing beverage.

Effectiveness

When it comes to the effectiveness of this product, I experienced two stages throughout my use of the tub. For the first week to ten days, Size provided me with piece of mind that I was getting my full daily dose of creatine in along with having a delicious drink to look forward to after training or during the afternoon on non-training days. During this first stage, everything seemed okay but nothing seemed or felt spectacular or different. My training sessions were the same as was my recovery. No crazy personal best lifts were achieved, just the same slow and steady progress that I was making before starting this supplement. After some of my more intense workouts, I would still have some muscle soreness for a day or two just as before. Body composition was also relatively unchanged during this time.

As I entered the second week of using this product and beyond, that is where I started to notice a significant difference during my training sessions and more importantly, in my recovery. With consuming Size post workout, my training sessions the following days started to become more enjoyable and I was eager to get back into the weight room. This was likely because the effects of Size had my body feeling stronger and more willing to lift some heavier weights than I did the session before. This excitement and the possibility of setting a new PR reinvigorated my desire to go to the gym as much as possible again. With this new found enthusiasm in the gym, some might be concerned about the ability for the body to recover from this new stimulus of pushing it far beyond what it is used to. This is where Size really shined for me as my muscle soreness from the workouts decreased substantially the more I used this product. The soreness that used to last a day or two for my most intense workouts was almost non-existent during week three and four of this product. I started to feel "healthier" and stronger with each passing day during these weeks and had a better outlook on the other parts of my life because I was not sore or in a bad mood. Indirectly, this supplement helped with my family and work life because it made me more enjoyable to be around and open to participating in other activities that I would normally be too sore to think about doing.

In terms of body composition while using this product, I did not notice any extreme changes in the mirror but felt most of the progress was being made internally. My muscles did not seem to fail as quickly during the training sessions when compared to before I started taking Size but my muscle definition did not noticeably change for any part of my body. Some of this lack of change or definition can be attributed to loose skin that I have from losing weight and I did not expect this product to magically solve that issue by filling it up with more muscle mass. I realize that I will probably never look like the fitness models we see on magazines or Instagram and I'm okay with that. As long as I can continue making progress in the gym and boost my recovery for the next session; I am happy. Ghost Size was effective at giving me the confidence that I was stronger and capable of lifting more weight without the fear of being laid up in bed for the next week trying to recover.

Value

In terms of price/value, Ghost has taken the route of having strict control over who is able to distribute their products. At this time, the only places Size and all other Ghost products can be purchased are either directly through their own website (https://www.ghostlifestyle.com/), from the GNC website or directly from brick and motor GNC stores. Unless there happens to be a sale in a GNC store, the price is the same no matter where you shop. Each tub is 30 scoops and retails for $39.99. GNC has free shipping and you can save 10% if you choose to have this product auto-delivered. If you purchase this from the Ghost website, you can find a discount code from one of their brand ambassadors that will save you 20%.

In terms of value, Size really stands out when it comes to the amount of Epicatechin included in each tub. Looking through sites like Amazon that sell Epicatechin in pill form, you would be paying between $35 and $40 just for that ingredient alone at the 6000mg (30x200mg) dosage. Then you have to factor in the separate costs for the forms of creatine along with all the other ingredients you get plus whatever value you may place on having an amazing tasting product.

If you look at this product as only being a creatine supplement, then it is going to be extremely expensive and likely a pass for most people. However, this includes much more than just creatine and should be viewed as a supplement that will improve your performance and most likely lead to better recovery and more muscle gain while meeting your daily creatine requirements as an added bonus.

Side Effects

None experienced during my run of this product. Be cautious if you know your body does not react well to a certain type of creatine included. Since this also contains Beta Alanine, there is the possibility that some people could feel the tingling sensation after consuming. Also note that the Warheads Sour Watermelon flavor does contain artificial colors and sweeteners, if you are allergic and/or trying to avoid those.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I see this supplement as being a great addition to anyone's stack no matter where you are in your fitness adventure. For the newbies hitting the weights for the first time, I believe this will help amplify your newbie gains along with helping you recover and lessening muscle soreness. For the intermediate lifter that has been training consistently and tried many supplements but can't break through a plateau; maybe Size is the perfect cocktail of post workout ingredients that you have been missing. For the advanced lifter, this supplement may be your first experience in using Epicatechin and all the possible benefits it can provide. If you are the type of person who has a cabinet full of failed supplements that didn't produce the effects they claimed; Ghost Size could be the one that replaces them all and gets you back on the GAINS train! Choo Choo

Once again, thank you to Ghost and SR.com for making this review possible. Size combines all the greatness of research backed ingredients with the amazing sour candy taste of Warheads. I looked forward to drinking this each day and letting my body handle the rest.

Thank you for reading my review and let me know if you have any questions.