Quick Summary

A sizable bag of pills with intimidating size to fulfill all your nutrient needs. Not for the faint of heart or those who gag easily.

Introduction

Universal Animal Paks are the rusty dingy gym of the supplement world. You won't find a sauna or tanning beds here, but there's plenty of iron and determination. It has everything you need but your girl won't be interested in coming with you.

Truth be told, I'd tried this before these came up on the TROOPs dash. I was probably 17 though, so 16 years later I didn't feel as though I was cheating the system. From what I remembered then, not much has changed-- which was exactly what I hoped for. Animal Paks were a gateway supplement for me; and while I think I only used them once before, they'd piqued my interest and shortly thereafter I was in the height of my athletic career while trying to gain an edge on the field by a commitment to the weight room.

Today, my needs are different. I want to stave off viruses from the biological warfare device that sleeps down the hall, keep my energy heightened through boring afternoon meetings and reconciliation reports, while still being able to push and pull more weight than ever.

Ingredient Profile

I'm not going to spend a ton of time in this section-- the ingredient panel is massive. It covers the full spectrum of anything you've seen in a MV before and then some. The only thing really missing is a greens pill I'd say. The first section of the ingredients are your typical MV panel. FOllowing that is the Amino Acid Complex which spans each BCAA/EAA and then goes well beyond that to include others like Aspartic Acid, Arginine, and Glutamine. Next is the Performance Complex which is headlined by a Uni-Liver blend of liver and beef protein isolate. The Anti-Oxidant Complex follows that which includes CoQ10, ALA, and Pine Bark Extract. Last is the Digestive Enzyme Complex. It's a very robust and full-spectrum panel of ingredients.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste -None, pill aftertaste is all
Mixability - N/A
Swallow-ability- Pride breaking pills. These things are pretty much all huge and the aren't easy-swallow capsules. Altogether each pack contains 11 pills, about 8 of which are as big a pill as you've ever seen.
Dosing - Taken daily with lunch. This ensures digestion is triggered and improves absorption.

Effectiveness

Multivitamins are tough to measure, but I think Animal Paks work about as well as anything on the market. It definitely gave me a bit more energy in the afternoon than I normally had prior to taking it or after finishing. It meant another coffee wasn't always necessary which further helped me sleep at bed time. I also noticed my joints felt a bit better, though I'm not sure what's responsible for that... maybe the pine bark? And, I managed to stay pretty healthy all things considered. My son has literally been sick since thanksgiving and I don't think there's anything that could get me out of all of that, but the little bugs I did seem to pick up during my run just came and went within a few days, so I can't complain. As for the weight room effects, I'd say the biggest benefit was that it seemed to be easier to wake-up each morning and get to the gym. I had a heightened sense of natural energy that was consistent throughout the day.

Value

The best price I was able to find was $22 for 30 servings. I would normally look to pay less for a MV, but considering the content of Animal Paks I believe the price to be fair. I'm just not sure that the results vs. price ratio is in their favor. If I were a professional athlete it might be different, but a grown man clinging to glory makes it harder to justify versus things with a more noticeable impact.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

I say try it. It's going to work; you don't stick around this long by producing garbage products. This is an old-school product and it has produced reliable results for a long, long time to many, many people.

Quick Summary

I'm loving the onslaught of new CBD products in the market, but Robinhood Supplements will need to work on this one a bit before I think it can legitimately take off.

Introduction

CBD's are the biggest supplement to hit the industry in quite a while and with good cause considering their extensive nootropic and anti-inflammatory characteristics. Because of this, I was excited to try Robinhood's iteration of CBD drops when they became available.

I have a bad left knee that constantly bothers me and CBDs have worked in the past so it was my hope I'd see the same effect with these.

Lately I've been changing my workouts a bit to become more cardio-oriented and incorporate more body weight exercises that I hoped would lead to better joint health. I usually am in the gym first thing in the morning for an hour, 5 days per week.

Ingredient Profile

As far as I can tell this is just CBD oil in what seems to be a non-CBD oil substrate. CBD is the non-psychoactive ingredient derived from cannabis.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste: Not good. This seems like a very amateur attempt at creating a CBD dropper. It tasted like oily grass and was really unappealing.

Mixability: NA

Dosing: Robinhood uses a dropper method to ingest their product, which turned out to be very difficult to fill from the bottle. I tried taking this at night initially but it was really gross. After a few days of just dealing with it, I decided to go a different route. What I did was melted some butter, added the product to the butter, then poured it in a ramekin and let it cool into a spread again. From there I typically used an average butter slice amount nightly, added to my vegetables or bread-- whatever could use butter. This was much more palatable but did away with any ability to really measure and dose accurately.

Effectiveness

I did notice a slight improvement in my knee pain while taking this, but it paled in comparison to the transdermal products I'd used in the past. I wasn't really thrilled about the dosing options I faced after trying this a few times. Once I added it to the butter it was easier to ingest, but it made me feel like a pot head adding my weed butter to my dinner-- even though this has no psychoactive effects. Besides the knee pain dissipating slightly I wasn't aware of any obvious nootropic effects. I think the dosing was too low to have a major effect on anything.

Value

According to their website, Robinhood supplements is currently only accepting orders on a case by case basis. Therefore I am not certain of the market price and it's value.

Side Effects

None.

Conclusion

Yes to CBD's but no to this one at this time. I hope Robinhood can refine their process a bit further to create a worthy product, but they just aren't there yet. Until they are, I will not be repurchasing.

I'd like to thank them for letting me try this anyway though; it's always a pleasure and I hope they are more successful than I think they are positioned to be currently.

Quick Summary

Workhorse is a good intra workout that will give the extra kick in the butt halfway through a workout. An array of pump ingredients will make sure you are covered in that department while other ingredients cover endurance and joint health!

Introduction

I chose to get Workhorse from the vault because i had never used an intra workout before and wanted to see the effectiveness. Thank you to Black Sheep Supplements and supplement reviews for the opportunity to review this product. The quality of the product and company seem to be high. This particular product is supposed to deliver on stamina, blood flow, pump, and joint tissue support.

Ingredient Profile

Macros: Cal 75, Carbs 18g

Dextrose(20g): Dextrose is added in as a fast absorbing carbohydrate. This has an impact on energy especially if you train in the morning and dont eat a large breakfast. During high intensity training the body likes to break down simple, fast-burning sugars so this is the perfect fuel for a hard workout. The dosage is relative to the individual and can differ depending on insulin sensitivity, etc.

L-Citrulline(5g): L-Citrulline is an amino acid that is used to increase blood flow. This happens through the formation of l-arginine. Even though citrulline helps in the formation of arginine in the kidneys, it is a better NO booster than actual arginine. This is because the bio availability of arginine is in question when taken orally while citrulline has good bio availability. L citrulline also works in the urea cycle which regulates the production of ammonia in the body and helps to get rid of the "waste" produced during exercise. The dose here is good due to it being pure citrulline. The dose is usually found between 3-6g so this is a good median.

Raspberry Ketone Powder 99%(2.75g): This is a novel fat burning compound. SOme studies have been donw on mice and they have lost weight but none have been done on humans because to use the weight ratio used in the rat studies it would take a lot of raspberry ketones. Rate studies show an effect between 100-300mg/kg. I weigh around 220lbs so that would mean i would need between 10-30g to meet these standards. It is my guess though that these were put in as a form of natural flavoring on top of the possible positive effects on weight loss. I enjoy this and dont mind them in here since they dont have any possible negative effects.

L-Glutamine(2g): L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid within muscle. It is supplimented in hopes to improves muscle mass and endurance. This does not seem to be the case when used by healthy people. Most significant improvements are seen in trauma victims, elderly, or otherwise deficient people. When used in this population they lose less muscle mass than if they didn't take the glutamine. This is another ingredient that has many theories behind it but still has yet to clinically prove its effects for exercise. One proven benefit though is that it improves gasterointestinal health. Dosages can be seen from 5-20g/day.

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane)(1.5g): MSM is a sulfur molecule that has potential antioxidant and anti inflammatory effects. Due to this it is often seen in joint formulas. Studies have been done and pain did seem to be mildly relieved in arthritis patients when given 3g. This dose is 1.5g so it is half of that but it is still a good ingredient to have in the product. This could be seen as like a safety net or a preventive. If you want even more joint support than get a joint formula but this will offer some day to day insurance on joint health.

L-Arginine Monohydrochloride(1g): Arginine, as mentioned with the citrulline, is a nitric oxide booster. The theory behind this ingredient is good but the reality is that the body cannot acutely use most of the arginine when supplemented orally so it wont be as good as with other pump ingredients. This product is not relying on this solely though since it has many other pump ingredients in here. The HCl is used to neutralize the pH in hopes it will make it taste better and that more will possibly be absorbed.

Agmatine Sulfate(1g): Agamatine sulfate is a common pump ingredient used for vasodilation. It does this through stimulation of the alpha 2 adrenergic receptors and the turning off of the sympathetic nervous systme. This in turn dialates the blood vessels and allows better blood flow. Agmatine has a few more tricks up its sleeve though that not many people talk about. It is also a mood elevator and it can even increase the speed and strength that your nerve impulses travel. This may allow for a better "mind-muscle" connection in theory. The dosage for agmatine is spot on here at 1g. The dosage is usually between 750 mg and 1.5g.

Beta-Alanine(1g): Beta Alanine is an amino acid used in the synthesis of carnosine. Beta alanine is the limiting reagent which means the more beta alaine you can ingest the higher your carnosine levels will be. This is a compound that should be taken daily and most studies show effects around the 3.2g/day dose. While this dose is low beta alanine is found in many pre and post workouts so this is another gram to add to that. Due to carnosines ability to buffer lactic acid beta alanine helps within the stamina and muscle building side. Effects will be more pronounced when lifting in higher repetitions, which is where more lactic acid production occurs.

Beet Powder(500mg): Beet root powder is used for their source of nitrates usually. Ingestion of nitrates can help blood flow by your body converting the nitrates into nitric oxide. This them directly offers vasodilation. The problem with beet root is that to provide a significant amount of nitrates it must be dosed very high. Some studies show into the 500g area. We have 500 mg here so it may not be effective here unless it is standardized to a higher rate. I do believe though that this may have been added in as not only an extra NO booster but also to help flavor it since it is Raspberry Beetdown. This i love because its taking an ingredients with possible benefits and using it as a flavoring component too.

Caffeine Anhydrous (100mg): Caffeine is the stimulent of choice for many supplements and people in general. Caffeine does this by inhibiting the adenosine receptors in the brain. These receptors cause a state of sleepiness and relaxation. By caffeine blocking these it inherently wakes you up and gives you that jolt that we all know and love. Not only is it a stimulant but some studies have actually shown at high dosages that ti causes a direct increase in muscle power. Caffeine dosage is relative to the person because you can build up a tolerance to it and you can also be hypersensitive to it. I believe 100mg to be a good dosage for an intra workout. Some people will take caffeine pre workout and this will help to lengthen the effects or for somebody who dosnt take it pre workout it will offer a pick-me-up during the workout.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste: The taste of this product was surprisingly good. I say this because the flavor is Raspberry Beetdown. This is a very unique flavor. It does not have any artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colors so this is a plus. The flavor could be described as a bitter raspberry flavor initially. The after taste can be a little much with a strong beet and earthy taste. I do enjoy the fact that it is natural though and understand it is difficult to get a natural supplement to taste as good as one artificially flavored.

Mixability: The mixability of Workhorse is good. There were a couple times that i would shake it and get a clump or two. Another good shake or two though would fix this. It did have a decent amount of foaming to it but this would go down if it sat for a couple minutes.

Dosing: The dosing protocol i followed was the one on the container. I drank 2 scoops with around 20 oz of water during my warm up. This did seem to be effective. Workhorse is instructed to only be used on workout days.

Effectiveness

Stamina: This product gave a consistent stamina boost that was perfect. The extra 100mg of caffeine provides some mid workout energy that may be lost depending on the dosage in your preworkout. For me this was a good feeling where it wasn't too much when combined with a preworkout but it also was still noticeable when taken without one. The beta alanine in theory should offer a stamina boost also due to its ability to buffer lactic acid but i already take beta alanine separate, due to it being a supplement you take daily. The extra 1g is a nice addition though, especially to people who may only get 1 or 2 grams in their pre.

Blood Flow/ Pump: Even though these are listed as separate claims i am going to combine them because they work hand in hand. There are a lot of pump ingredients in this product including Arginine, Agmatine sulfate, L-Citrulline, and beet powder. The doses on these, as covered above, are pretty solid too. This leads to increased blood flow and a definite improved pump. Every workout i did notice an increased pump feeling but to truly test this out i did a couple high volume days while trying this. The one day i remember in particular I chased a pump for arms and it was one of the best ive ever had.

Joint Tissue Support: This claim is a hard one to prove because it is a long term affect. I already take a joint supplement and this extra 1.5g of MSM felt like good insurance. I do try to keep up my health in my joints so i will never turn down a goodie thrown in like this. I cannot say i noticed a difference in my joints but like i said i already take a fish oil and a joint supplement.

Value

Workhorse can be found on Blacksheepsuppliments.com for 49.99. This includes 30 servings if used at the full 2 scoops which equals out to around 1.67 per serving. This value may seem steep but for the quality of the supplement i do believe it is competitive especially if you could get away with 1 scoop.

Side Effects

No side effects were seen. Individuals that have never taken beta alanine, or are sensitive to it, may get a tingling called paresthesia. At 1 gram though this shouldn't be a problem.

Conclusion

In conclusion, i believe this is a solid intra workout and i did enjoy using it. It gave a pick-me-up boost of energy and offered some blood flow ingredients to give good pumps. The flavoring is decent but i always appreciate a natural product so i can deal with the earthy aftertaste just for that. I recommend this to people with the extra cash looking to boost their workouts, especially if you workout for extended periods of time.