INTRODUCTION

Thanks to NutraBio for participating in the SR TROOP program and to SupplementReviews for making this connection possible. This is the first time that I'm trying to really lose weight and fat so having a Protein that could keep me feeling full for a longer time so I could handle the cravings and other temptations was ideal. One of my strategies was to reduce the amount of sugar drastically, that's why one of my expectations was to use this product to replace one of my usual sugary drinks.

About my title, if you watch Shaqtin A Fool and know about the problem with Shaq and Javelle McGee, you will understand it ;)

TASTE/MIXABILITY/SIZE/TIMING

*TASTE: I received the Cookies & Cream flavor. I've tried this flavor before from a sample of Classic Whey they sent me a couple of months ago and it was perfect when I tried that sample. But some of us (I must not be the only one) get tired after some weeks (sometimes even after some days) of using a flavor. This wasn't the case with Classic Whey. The flavor was PERFECT. 10/10 It tastes EXACTLY as a Cookies & Cream ice cream. I usually used water and thought I was using milk! So if you like Cookies & Cream, get this flavor. I'm surprised as to how accurate the flavor is. They suggest to use 6oz of liquid, that's the perfect number for this flavor IMO, you can use more liquid if you want to fit your personal taste. I tried it with 8oz and 10oz. I tried this with regular milk too and felt it wasn't needed, with water it was simply perfect.

Other flavors available: Cake Batter, Chocolate Milkshake, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Creamy Vanilla, Horchata, Strawberry, Cold Brew Capuccino, Pia Colada, Pumpkin Spice, Lemon Meringue Pie and even Unflavored. Cake Batter sounds delicious *drools*

*MIXABILITY: This is a Whey Concentrate protein supplement only so I expected mixability to be a bit harder than with a Whey Blend. It wasn't different, it was very easy to mix, never gave me problems here. The liquid felt perfect.

*SIZE OF PRODUCT USED: 2lbs (26.6 servings). The other size available is 5lbs.

*TIMING: I took 1 scoop per day, sometimes as my breakfast drink, sometimes some hours before bed to control the cravings. This last moment is the most challenging because 2 hours after I eat dinner, that's the moment when the sugar cravings start to attack, those damn mental monsters!

INGREDIENT PROFILE

This will be long but I think it's very worth it so I suggest you read everything in this section. 1 scoop has: 130 Calories, 2g Total Fat (1g Saturated Fat), 70mg Cholesterol (24% DV), 3g Carbohydrate (2g Sugars) and 32.47 grams of Whey Protein Concentrate (Brute or Gross amount) which gives us 25 grams net of Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC80). If you're reading this and don't know what's Whey Protein Concentrate, read here: https://supplementreviews.com/ingredients/whey-protein-concentrate The Protein is also processed using Cross Flow Microfiltration (CFM) which is cold processed to preserve the protein molecules. This is also important to mention when we're talking about quality. The amount of Cholesterol is high but I think we shouldn't worry about it.

NutraBio is one of the few companies that tell you the total amount (brute or gross) and then the net amount. It's very important for companies to clarify this, unfortunately most companies don't do this. Most companies just tell you their product has 24 grams of Whey Protein Concentrate. They don't say if that amount is brute-gross or if it's net. If it's net, good. If it's the brute or gross amount, you could be consuming 19.2 grams of net (real) protein (can even be less) and not the 24 grams of protein they claim it has. I think this topic is more important than knowing how much grams of Protein there is in a Protein Blend or Whey Blend.

Congratulations for doing what I explained above and also congratulations for putting the Amino Acid Profile. The product claims not to be amino spiked and protein spiked. To help with that claim, it's important for companies to include the Amino Acid Profile. The Amino Acid Profile has the amount of each aminoacid that forms the Protein, in this case, Whey Protein Concentrate. Remember, reader, that in Biology we learned Protein is a group of aminoacids bonded together. From Wikipedia: "Proteins are large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues." So all Proteins have Aminoacids because they are made of aminoacids. Why am I mentioning this basic thing? Well, first because most people don't know this or they don't understand this completely, lot of people still ask me if X or Y protein product has BCAA, I've been in discussions between people arguing their product is better because their product has 4g BCAA and the one from the other person doesn't have BCAA, same thing with Glutamine and Arginine. Sometimes I interfere and try to explain (they pretend to understand at the end but they didn't) and sometimes I just let it be. All the main protein sources bodybuilders and people who exercise use (Whey, Casein, Egg, Chicken, Meat, etc) have BCAA, Glutamine, Arginine and all the other aminoacids because those protein sources are made from those aminoacids bonded together. The thing is lot of companies don't include the Amino Acid profile of their product.

Having said that, here is where the problem starts. I check the Amino Acid profile of NutraBio Classic Whey that is on the bottle and I check the amount of BCAA and Glutamine. We all do that. But then I see the amount of Cysteine and I see "0mg". I manually added the milligrams of each amino acid and it gave me the 25 grams of Protein. I check the 'independent' lab results online (www.checkmysupps.com), insert lot# and the result of the test was 25.19g, good 0.19mg more. I checked the printed independent lab test they sent me with the product (same as the online one). I also checked with other protein supplements to see if they have Cysteine and they do. But how is Cysteine 0mg!? I check Examine.com to read more about Cysteine and I see quotes like this: "Whey is the most cost-effective and efficient way to replenish Cysteine stores, but this can also be done with just more protein in general or N-AcetylCysteine (NAC) supplementation." Also this: "Whey also delivers a large amount of the amino acid L-Cysteine, which can alleviate deficiencies that occur during aging and diabetes, as well as other conditions." There's more but I think that's enough to describe how INHERENT L-Cysteine is to Whey Protein, just like BCAA and other aminoacids. So wtf was going on with this product!? That's where I decided to make a topic in the SR TROOP forum. Members there could not answer the L-Cysteine question but user @bctuthill (change that name, I need to copy paste it all the time lol) noticed another mistake saying they used 750g of natural flavors!? O.o User @royalapple showed us how impatient he is (lol) and contacted them about the 750g and they (NutraBio) said it was supposed to be "mg", not "g".

So back to the Cysteine, the only way it could be 0mg of Cysteine would be a "typo mistake" or that they manually removed the Cysteine or... Anyways, I contacted NutraBio about the "0mg" Cysteine problem. They answered me saying the "0mg" was a misprint on the label and should read 500mg of Cysteine. But it wasn't so simple as it wasn't just Cysteine, all the other numbers were wrong too, it's a misprint on the whole Amino Acid Profile, not only L-Cysteine (that's why the "or..."). I was very surprised to see NutraBio making this kind of mistakes.

Anyways, I uploaded the old incorrect Amino Acid Profile and the new correct Amino Acid Profile. But here is the text form:
Left number = old incorrect
Right number underlined = new correct

Tryptophan: 893mg | 525mg
Valine: 1467mg | 1525mg
Threonine: 1667mg | 1675mg
Isoleucine: 1629mg | 1725mg
Leucine: 2637mg | 2700mg
Lysine: 2252mg | 2125mg
Phenylalanine: 788mg | 825mg
Methionine: 495mg | 500mg
Arginine: 578mg | 550mg
CYSTEINE: 0mg | 500mg
Tyrosine: 718mg | 725mg
Histidine: 468mg | 450mg
Proline: 1574mg | 1525mg
Glutamic Acid: 4381mg | 4225mg
Aspartic Acid: 2687mg | 2700mg
Serine: 1103mg | 1025mg
Glycine: 433mg | 450mg
Alanine: 1230mg | 1250mg

They answered very fast, take that into account. Of course, I have to add that NutraBio claims not to use Proprietary Blends, No Protein Spiking, Fillers, Excipients, inferior proteins, sweet whey, WPC34, Acid treated Whey, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Artifical colors, flavors and Hidden Ingredients. Their facilities are GMP quality and inspected by FDA. They also provide the FDA Registration number. GMP means "Good Manifacturing Practice". From Wikipedia: These guidelines provide minimum requirements that a manufacturer must meet to assure that their products are consistently high in quality, from batch to batch, for their intended use.

More of my thoughts about this problem in the Conclusion section...

EXPECTATIONS

- Mainly to preserve muscle.
- Also to keep me full longer than a Whey Blend (Isolate, Concentrate, Hydrolyzed) without using Protein Blends as I already have one.
- Replace sugary drinks with this.

EFFECTIVENESS

So I'll judge it based on the expectations and also will include digestion. As for preserving muscle, this was very important because I reduced my calorie intake a lot and obviously our worst nightmare is to lose the muscles we have already gained. I think NutraBio Classic Whey did a good job here but of course, it wasn't the only Protein supplement I was taking. That being said, the 25 grams net of Classic Whey helped more than the 20g or 22g (net or brute??) from my other Protein Supplements. It may not seem like a lot of difference but if you take 2 scoops of Classic Whey that gives you 50g of Protein. If you take 2 scoops of the 20g protein, that gives you 40g, a 10g difference and that's ASSUMING the 20g are a net (real) amount... The difference could be more if those 20-22g of protein are not net (real). So of course I felt more confident taking NutraBio Classic Whey. I didn't lose muscle during my weight/fat loss experiment nor did I lose overall strength. Lost some strength on some lifts but it's probably related to my lower carbohydrate intake, not Protein.

To keep me full longer than a Whey Blend (Isolate, Concentrate, Hydrolyzed) without using Protein Blends, excellent job too. It kept me full for atleast 2 hours, that time was enough for me to stop the cravings and other food/sugar temptations. And it wasn't about the liquid like with other products because 6oz of water is not a lot to suggest you're getting full because of the liquid and not the product. That's why I was surprised in this area.

As to replace sugary drinks, good job too. People, myself included, usually want something sweet for breakfast, especially the breakfast drink. Can be orange juice, can be apple juice, can be chocolate milk, etc, it's usually sweet. Conscious or not, we want it to start the day in a "happy" "better" way. Don't know if those 2 words best describe what I'm trying to say but anyways, hope you understood my point. Classic Whey only has 2g of Sugars and it has a delicious taste. It was easy to replace those sugary drinks with this Protein, it also allowed me to eat less breakfast portion so it did 2 jobs in 1.

As for the digestion, because it's only a Whey Concentrate protein source and it has no Lactase to process Lactose, I thought this was going to be a problem but nope. When I drank it, I felt full and the digestion was like with any Whey Blend. I was also surprised here.

So I have no complaints here, that's why the 9.5, it met each of my expectations.

VALUE

NutraBio's website (www.nutrabio.com) has the 2lbs for $32.99 and 5lbs for $59.99, same with GNC, Bodybuilding only carries the 2lbs for the same price, Amazon prices are bipolar but right now they have the same. Illpumpyouup.com has it for $26.95 which is a great price but right now they only have 3 flavors available. Because of the quality, the added guarantees you get with NutraBio (lab tests, gmp, fda inspected facility, full disclosure, no hidden ingredients, etc) I think it's a good solid price. Not cheap but you get what you pay for.

SIDE EFFECTS

None. No gases, nothing.

CONCLUSION

As for the effectiveness and product itself, excellent, I don't have complaints.

As for the mistake with the Amino Acid profile, all companies commit mistakes. And even though the mistake doesn't seem to be something serious, grave, etc and it may not be significant for some people, I hope NutraBio considers this mistake as serious and significant just like I do. And it's significant because it wasn't a "typo mistake" where instead of 500mg, you put 0mg. That would be a non-significant mistake. It's significant because the whole Amino Acid Profile was wrong. Both Amino Acid Profiles gave the same result (25,000mg) so that may suggest you this mistake wasn't significant, you have the right to think that. But for me, it was SIGNIFICANT ON CREDIBILITY. NutraBio values credibility A LOT, one of the main reasons they have all those guarantees (lab tests, full disclosure, no hidden ingredients, etc) is credibility.

This mistake doesn't eliminate all their credibility but it reduces their credibility, not only NutraBio's but also all those certifications and institutions. The test shows the product has 25.19g of Protein. What if NutraBio or any other company didn't publish their Amino Acid Profile and did these tests? They could still amino spike or protein spike because it seems all the test is saying is that the product has X amount of Protein. It's still good to have those tests, you know how much real protein you're getting, which is good, but probably is not like a lot of people thought. Any company can easily amino spike their products and do these tests, they can even publish the complete amino acid profile (a false one) and nobody would check if what they're saying is true, not the FDA, not the GMP, not the company, not the consumers, nobody. This is the main reason of my "anger" here. When you tell me "I did independent lab results", I'm expecting that lab not only to certify the grams of protein but also to certify if that protein is constitued by what the company is saying (in other words, the Amino Acid Profile).

Why was this problem caused? Well, like I said, all companies commit mistakes because they are run by humans and humans make mistakes. But in this particular case, apart from that, this problem was caused by these 4 words: TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED. NutraBio created a very correct, precise, complete process and usually when companies create something that runs perfectly, they get into the comfort zone and let the process run by itself. That's where the mistakes start to happen. When the owners and employees just work as a habit and they trust the process so much that they don't supervise, evaluate, check the process, then that's where the process starts failing. How many NutraBio athletes consumed this protein? How come none of them could see the 0mg Cysteine? See what I mean?

To conclude, we all make mistakes and we should not demonize NutraBio for it. I know my tone is maybe agressive but it's not my intention. My intention is for NutraBio not to think this is just a very superficial mistake, non-significant mistake because if they assume that posture, more mistakes will keep hapenning and maybe those future mistakes, will not be so easy to solve like this one. Always have someone in your company that can really verify all the great things you're doing for the industry. Your credibility has been reduced but you're still on top. Watching you go down for these mistakes would be sad because I know you're really trying hard to stay on top of all brands.

Reduced the Overall score to 8.5 because of the mistake.

Introduction

I have been an on and off fan of Redcon1 for awhile a now. I use a few of their products quite frequently especially their MRE Bar. So, when they came out with Grunt I originally passed it over as I was not really taking BCAA/EAA at the time. Now, that I have gotten more into running as the seasons changed, I wanted to give that type of product a try. So, when it came up for the Troops I claimed it and here is the review.

Ingredient Profile

Grunt comes in a 30 serving container with each serving being 9.5g. The main idea behind the ingredients of Grunt is to aid in recovery thus recovering faster leading to increased muscle growth. Each serving contains 6g of BCAA with 3g of leucine, 1.5g of valine, and 1.5g of isoleucine. Following those you have 300 mg of lysine, 250 mg of threonine, 250 mg of phenylalanine, 50 mg of tryptophan, 25 mg of histidine, and 25 mg of methionine. So, in all you are left with 6900 mg active ingredients with the rest being flavoring and other ingredients. I will note that this does contain Ace-K and sucralose.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

The flavor I received was cherry lime and when first hearing the flavor I was unsure if I would like it. I have never been a huge fan of lime (or lemon) flavored supplement powders (the actual fruit is fine). The powder is white and has an almost sweet smell with a hint of cherry lime but it mostly smells like BCAA/EAA powders. When mixed it gives off this dull cherry smell and I don't get much lime. When you first taste it you are hit with a subtle lime taste followed by a mixture of lime and cherry. The flavor ends with this kind of unique sweet type finish that kind of was like a candy type after taste. Overall, this was quite good and I would use this flavor again.

In terms of mixability, it mixed just okay and there was definitely some residue floating around. It would mostly stick the side of the blender bottle and float on the top. I tried using a blenderball and it helped a little but there was still a residue left. I will note it never bothered me nor interfered with using the product. I would always give it a quick shake when drinking it.

As far as dosing goes, I would use on workout days and I stuck to about one scoop each workout. I would use about 24 ounces of water per one scoop. When I used less I felt the flavoring was too sweet and the residue was harder to handle.

Effectiveness

I personally felt like this product definitely enabled me to recover more quickly. As the seasons have changed I have been getting more into running. Now, this is great but I also like to do the Stairmaster at the gym. So, at times I will still be sore from either the running or the Stairmaster. This has made me either skip a day at the park or a day on the Stairmaster. After adding in Grunt I noticed that I less frequently would have to skip a day of either. Prior to starting Grunt, I was trying out a different BCAA product and it was not as effective as Grunt. It was not until I added Grunt did I notice the larger change in recovery. I am wondering if it had to do with the inclusion of the EAAs and it probably is.

Now, as for my weight training I recently swapped to a 5 day a week split with each body part on one day. I would usually have some soreness in my biceps when I went to train back and same for my triceps when doing chest. Now, when adding Grunt into the mix is dulled the soreness but it was still there. However, the soreness that was still there did not impact my training like it did before.

Value

Before I even talk about the value, my one recommendation is to never buy a Redcon1 product direct at retail price. At anyone time, there are always 20-25% off codes available for Redcon1 direct. Further, they also have a lot of freebie, free shipping, and discount promotions through the site. For example, at the time of this writing you can can get a t-shirt and 25% off when ordering over $50 dollars (will probably be expired when you read this but it is an example). Just so you are aware the flat rate shipping direct from Redcon1 is $9.99.

Now, for the value of Grunt, it retails for $34.99 for 30 servings making it $1.16 per serving. Now, you can honestly get this for at least 20% direct so that brings it to about $.93 per serving. I am not going to factor in the shipping as I have not done that in my past reviews. Perhaps I will consider that in a later review. For $.93 per serving I would purchase this product as it is hard to find a straight BCAA/EAA product. Some products will include only some EAAs and leave the rest out or add other ingredients. The doses of the EAAs could be a little higher but nonetheless I would spend money on this product.

Side Effects

I had no side effects while taking this product

Conclusion

Redcon1 Grunt is an effective BCAA/EAA product that is worth a try. It helped me recover better on the trail and in the gym. I do feel that without using a coupon code it can be expensive but with a coupon it has good value based on the effectiveness I felt. Thank you to Redcon1 for sending out the product.

-Xcmiler

Quick Summary

Was the Gentle Cleanse not enough for you? If so, should you step up to the Gentle Detox leagues? This review is going to be very similar to my review of the Gentle Cleanse product from the same company. (https://supplementreviews.com/herbal-nitro/gentle-cleanse/review/knock-55910#toprev) That is because I had the same results during this product run as I did with the previous.

Introduction

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

First off, thank you to Herbal Nitro for participating in the SR.com TROOPer program and making this product available for us to try and review. I picked up this bottle to run and compare to my experience with My Gentle Cleanse from the same brand. I had no cons to list while running the cleanse version and I know the detox version is supposed to be a little more aggressive.

Ingredient Profile

Same as the Gentle Cleanse product, all the ingredients are hidden behind a prop blend. Again, this is not that big of a deal for me with a product like this. I do not believe there has been scientific studies done on these ingredients to prove what an efficacious dose is, as it likely depends on the individual and how their body reacts. Each capsule does contain six ingredients for a total of 493mg per capsule. They are:

CASCARA SAGRADA -- Also used in the form of Casanthranol USP as a purified mixture of anthranol glycosides, Cascara is a botanical laxative of natural origin. When taken in small quantity, its laxative effect on the large bowel has been shown to lead to favorable changes in absorption, secretion, and motility. The bark, or historically called "sacred bark," helps increase the peristaltic action of the colon, and can help relieve and regulate the bowels.

SENNA LEAF -- Senna is an herbal laxative and a vital aid in gastrointestinal motility. When compared to Cascara Sagrada, its role in colon motility is more focused on the peristaltic action, or push, with a reduced absorption of water and electrolytes. Senna's powerful sennosides (anthraquinone glycosides) are highly and globally sought for their help in natural alleviation of constipation.

DANDELION -- Dandelion, today and for ages, has been used for minor digestive problems and diuresis. With dandelion's naturally high phenolic content, it should not be passed over because of its botanical antioxidant activity. The flower has also been shown to favorably affect different processes in the adipocyte life cycle-by attenuating adipose tissue growth and promoting lipolysis, it can play a beneficial role in oxidative stress.

ARTICHOKE -- Artichoke is a species of thistle that is often used for food, especially in Mediterranean diets. It has also long been implemented in herbal medicines, particularly for its antioxidant benefits and its choleretic and diuretic activities. In some studies artichoke leaf extracts have also demonstrated "antioxidative and protective properties against hydroperoxide-induced oxidative stress.

MILK THISTLE SEED -- Milk Thistle, otherwise known as silymarin, is a popular herbal supplement with liver-targeting activities. Silymarin extracts have been shown to inhibit several P450s in vitro, enzymes that catalyze the oxidative metabolism in the human liver, which significantly help cellular metabolism and can lead to the altering of immune and inflammatory responses.

SARSAPARILLA ROOT -- Sarsaparilla root is widely used for its capability in detoxicating, clearing heat and relieving dampness. It has been used as an herbal treatment to scurvy, rheumatism, psoriasis, and more; while one of its most prominent benefits is its rich phenolic content (which can act as an antioxidant) and concomitant anti-inflammatory activities.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste >> Nothing to report here. Product is in pill form.

Mixability >> As with taste, nothing to see here. Move along

Dosing >> The recommendation is one pill a day with a full glass of water. The time of day you take it will vary based on the individual and their daily activities. Based on my experience with the Gentle Cleanse product, I took each serving at night before I went to bed.

Effectiveness

As I mentioned in the Gentle Cleanse review, normally I would have one bowel movement in the morning shortly after waking up but on some rare occasions that wouldn't happen for the morning and would be pushed off until the afternoon or evening. I would say that my body was pretty consistent but could always use some improvement at times.

Now on to my experience while using this product. After how my body reacted to taking the Gentle Cleanse product, I knew that I was going to take each pill at night before bed and not experiment with taking it in the morning as I did before. Since I typically eat most of my food in the evening, I would take my one capsule after my last meal right before bed. Using this dosing protocol did not cause any issues with sleeping or waking me up in the middle of the night to go. By taking this at night after eating all my food, it felt like the ingredients had all night to work through my body and produce the intended results. Just like the product before this, that is exactly how everything worked out. I would wake up around 9AM the next morning and everything would be ready to move on a consistent basis. There was never an urgent "Get out of my way!" occurrence during use of the entire bottle but I could definitely tell things were moving. There was no issue even if I happened to sleep a little later on my days off from work.

Just like with the Gentle Cleanse, along with my morning bowel movement I would consistently have a second about three hours later just before leaving for work. Nothing else was different the rest of the day, so I can say this product was effective at making my bowel movements more consistent and increasing them by one per day, just as the Gentle Cleanse product did. No pain, discomfort or issues to report from using this product. Again, there were a few times that my stool was softer than normal, but I am not sure if that was because of this product or the food I ate the night before. Since this was not a consistent effect, I will just briefly mention it in this section.

Value

It looks like the only place that you can currently purchase this product is directly from the Herbal Nitro website. The list price is $15.99 and free shipping if you order over $75 worth of product. Otherwise shipping looks to be between $4 and $6, depending on how quickly you want to receive it. I find this to be a great value when you factor in each bottle contains 30 capsules and you may not have to use it every day. Between $0.50 and $0.75 per serving for a product that will get things moving and provide effective relief is top notch in my book. You can also purchase this product along with the Gentle Cleanse as a bundle package for $22.50 on the website, compared to $32 if you purchased them separately.

The company also provides a 30 day "stress-free guarantee", so if you are not happy with the product just contact them and they will work something out with you. I would also do a quick search of the online coupon sites before purchasing. When I was researching the cost for this review, I noticed there were some coupons posted for their website that could save you more money. Plus if you happen to use the Ebates program, purchasing from this site will currently get you 15% cash back.

Side Effects

None to report. I took this at night before bed and it did not cause any issues with sleep. Some of the other reviews have mentioned stomach noise and gas but I did not experience those or at least they weren't severe enough to wake me up at night. And no mid night or early morning bathrooms trips needed.

Conclusion

In the end, this product worked as intended with no side effects and would be a great investment for those who would like to be more regular on a consistent basis. I feel thankful to have not had any of the side effects that the other reviewers mentioned during their use. Not sure if that will be the case for anyone else who tries this product but it was a winner all around for me. If you are someone who is regular on a consistent basis with only occasional problems, I would recommend trying the Gentle Cleanse product from this company first. If that does not work, this Gentle Detox product would be the next step. There seems to be a higher possibility of side effects with this product based on other reviews, but thankfully I did not experience any of those. Since each bottle is 30 servings, occasional use could have the bottle last three months or more for under $20. As this product is the same cost as the Gentle Cleanse, produced the same results and still had no side effects for me; my rating is going to be same.

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

Introduction

I have been in the search for a solid pre-workout for a while and have finally found it. I want my preworkout to enhance my focus, mood, enurance, and develop a strong muscle-mind connection. I don't like products that give "rage" energy or make my heart flutter. Total War is an amazing product. I love how there are no proprietary blends, the ingredients are clinically dosed, and it has long-lasting clean energy feel without the crash. This product allows me to lift with higher intensity and delays fatigue significantly for me. The energy lasts hours and is very smooth. I do not get that invincible, rage type of energy but more of an alert, aware, and motivated type of energy. My mind/Muscle connection is greatly enhanced with this product.

Ingredient Profile

Amazing ingredient profile:

6g Citruline Malate (clinically dosed)(my favorite ingredient; really helps to delay fatigue)
3.2g Beta-Alanine (clinically dosed) perfect amount in my opinion i.e I get the benefits without the intense itching and tingling.
1g Agmatine Sulfate, perfect amount again in my opinion. Causes me to get very vascular vein popping pumps.
1g Taurine
250mg Caffeine Anhydrous
125mg N-Phenethyl Dimethylamine Citrate
100mg 2 Aminoisoheptaine (DHMA)
100mg Di-Caffeine Malate (This is a smoother form of caffeine and is longer lasting than the caffeine anhydrous)
50mg Theobroma cocao extract
25mg Higenamine HCL
10mg Bioperine (very important for absorption of other ingredients)
Contains artificial flavorings and sweeteners

No Creatine[b/] I prefer PWOs without creatine and dosing creatine separately so that I can effectively cycle creatine, so if you want creatine in your PWO than you might want to look for a different product

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Blue Lemonade Taste 9/10. One of the best flavors Ive had in a PWO. No bad bitter aftertaste
Doesn't dissolve that well due to some of the ingredients being fat-soluble. Doesn't clump though which is awesome.
I take a full serving which is 1 Scoop. I am pretty sensitive to caffeine so I was worried that the stims would be too much, but the other ingredients really help smooth and deliver clean energy without the jitters.

Effectiveness

Overall 9/10 I love this product and it is now my new favorite. The reason I don't give it a perfect score is that it will never compare to some of my old PWOs that have since been reformulated. I definitely notice that I can go longer in the gym and my energy and mood is much better when taking this product.

When I take it about 45 min before a workout I notice that I not only get trough my workouts much quicker, but I can do a few more auxiliary lifts that I would normally be to gassed for. I think this effect is mainly from the citrulline. For me the perfect time to start my workout is right after the tingles go away from the beta-alanine. I know a lot of people probably would disagree with this but, I think you have to give it a little longer because some of the other ingredients take longer to kick in in this formualtion. The stims lasts much longer than most pwo so don't be worried that they will wear off if you wait 45 min before you lift.

This product gives excellant tunnel vision focus 8.5/10. A perfect score would be the focus that I got from craze v1.

Pump I would give 8.5/10. For a stim-based PWO, the pump is huge. Probably the best pump Ive ever had from a stim pwo (I assume the agmatine and citruilline both were responsible for this) My veins were popping huge during my workout and I never felt short of breath or a lack of oxygen ie. Lightheaded from poor blood flow.

Energy 9.0/10. I LOVE the type of energy total war gives you, not necessarily the amount. It feels very clean and it lasts a long time so don't take it too close to bed. I had a high motivation to move weight around it was consistant through out the whole work out. I did not crash at all from this product. I was nervous about this part because I do crash from other stim heavy PWOs. For stim junkies you may be disappointed because you are not going to feel really buzzed or raged out from this product. It's much more smooth and steady than most high stim pwo.

This stuff puts me a a great mood too, although I won't rate mood since a lot of external factors contribute to that.

Value

For around 40 dollars you get 30 servings which is a pretty good deal. You can get a tub for 30 bucks when they run specials. Great value in my opinion for a far superior product compared to some of their competitors.

Side Effects

None. I was worried that it would be too high stim for me since I can't handle too much caffeine plus of all the other stims and nootropics, but this wasn't the case. I would recommend taking total war before 4-5 pm if you want to be able to fall asleep by 10-11 pm. I was worried that the DHMA would cause heart palpitations like DMAA did for me, but it gives me a much more clean energy feel without the side effects of DMAA.

Conclusion

I would recommend this to anyone who is a serious athlete. The stim cocktail is amazing. I get such long-lasting, clean energy without the crash or jitters. It is not going to give you the energy like DMAA (wanting to rip peoples' heads off), but a more clean and alert type of energy. It has a lot of nootropics which help with focus and mind/muscle connection. I have just been notified that total war has had some changes to the ingredients so when I try the new reformulation I will leave a new review. I really hope it's as good as this version. It is obvious that Redcon1 does their research when formulating their products, since their ingredients are not underdosed like most other products out there. I love that there are not proprietary blends or fillers in this product. My one thing that I would change is to sweeten with stevia instead of artificial sweeteners. Last remark would be that although this product appears to have a lot of stims, stim junkies may not like the effects since it is a very different kind of energy than most stim-heavy PWOs.

Introduction

I have a sensitivity to Whey and Casein Protein due to the fact they are derived from Milk. They often leave me feeling bloated and I am convinced it causes me have acne breakouts. I first tried MuscleMeds Carnivore almost 10 years ago when it first came out. Back then they only had a couple flavors (blue raspberry and fruit punch) that tasted horrible and produced a lot of foam when mixing. After my first tub, I switched proteins and kept switching them for about 3-4 years. When I heard the Musclemeds created new flavors I tried them again, and ever since then it's been my favorite protein. I get all the benefits from Whey protein, with none of the side effects that I get from Whey.

Ingredient Profile

Per 36g gram scoop:
110 CAL
0g Fat
4 Carb (0g sugar)
23g Protein
340 mg sodium
90mg potassium
2.5 g creatine Monohydrate
Anabolic Nitrogen Retention Technology intermediates (unlisted quantity)
BCAAs (unlisted quantity)

I would like to see an exact dosage of bcaa on the container.

For digestive enzymes, Im not enirely sure if they are needed for beef-based protein. I have no trouble digesting this and have had good gains so I expect it to be absorbing properly.

Being that it is sugar-free I would like to see the implemation of waxy maize or other quick acting carb to replenish glycogen levels after intense training. Right now I eat a banana to satisfy this need. It really helps prevent getting shakey when you leave the gym.

For the price I'm paying ($0.75/serving), I don't mind if it lacks some of the other ingredients found in other supplements. I can just supplement those seperatly for the the same price as one of those fancy proteins. My favorite thing about this protein is that is doesn't come from milk (allergies) so that's why I would rather take this along with some other supps instead of one of those fancy whey proteins.

This protein is not going to be one of those all inclusive supplements. Additional creatine, and other things may need to be added to your diet if you like taking those things. It does what it says it does which is delivers quality protein to your muscles at the speed of whey.

One more thing is that I would definantly not recommend this as a meal replacement, due to its very low carb and fat free profile. The one time I tried taking this as a meal replacement I had very soft stool.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

This product has really improved over the years as far as mixability and taste goes. I give the Chocolate and Chocolate Peanut Butter flavors a 9.5/10. As far as all the other flavors go, I would steer clear from them. The Blue Raspberry, fruit punch, Strawberry, and Vanilla Caramel were gross. When this product first came out it created a lot of foam when shaking (sometimes taking 20 minutes for the bubbles to go down), causing me to feel bloated and gassy. After trying a different product for a while, I eventually tried Carnivore again and it was obvious that they had fixed this issue (foam settles immediately after mixing now). Dosing is average. It contains 23g of protein per 36g scoop. It also has 2.5g of creatine and according to the container contains a good amount of BCAAs. What's really nice about this product is that it has 0g of sugar, fat, and cholesterol. Main thing to remember here is to stick with the chocolate or chocolate peanut butter flavors, I found some of the other and discontinued flavors to be repulsive.

Effectiveness

I find Carnivore to be a very effective protein as long as you have a sound diet. Recovery is enhanced from the creatine and BCAAs. I usually take a scoop and a half post workout, and sometimes drink it for breakfast when I run out of egg whites. If your goal is to bulk, this protein will not be as effective for you since it has no fat and low carbs. Carnivore is great for maintenance and cutting phases. I would recommend some sort of post workout carb to stack with this to restore glycogen levels. I usually just eat a banana with my post-workout shake for those quick sugars.

Value

For a beef Protein, I find it to be very reasonably priced. I try to buy it on sale and usually buy it from Amazon. They currently have a 100 serving bag for 75 bucks and some change. For less than a dollar a serving, I find it to be an outstanding value. Shop around because I have found a huge price difference based on where you buy it from.

Side Effects

None. Like I mentioned earlier it used to make me gassy due to the amount of foam that was produced during shaking, but Muscle Meds fixed this issue a a while back. I would highly doubt if there are any old batches still in circulation. The reason I switched back to this product was because of the side effects I get from Whey (ie. bloating, gassy, acne). I get none of those side effects from this product.

Conclusion

I will continue with taking carnivore as long as MuscleMeds continues to produced quality products. The only reasons why I didn't rate this a 10/10 is because it contains some artificial sweeteners and flavors. I also prefer around 30g of protein post-workout so that means I have to take a little more than 1 scoop to get my desired amount of protein. This protein is also not a great bulking protein due to the low fat and carb content, so if bulking is your goal I would not recommend this product. If you are looking to cut or put on lean mass, this protein works wonders. If you are one of those people that gets side effects from whey like me, you will love this product too.[b/]

Quick Summary

Firstly thanks to ProSupps for supporting the Troops.

Not for the stim averse. But if you like a full on, caffeine loaded experience, this is it, and its at a crazy low price.

Introduction

I must be getting old or something - this is the 2nd straight PWO I have tested that I could only handle at 3/4 scoop. My go to PWO is probably Nutrabio's PRE in its various editions. Stim free PWOs dont do it for me, so i definitely need caffeine in there, but too much and it gets uncomfortable. Although there is 350mg of caffeine supplements in PRE (a bit less when normalized to caffeine), only 250mg is caffeine anhydrous. There is 300mg caffeine anhydrous in Mr Hyde, plus another 120mg of complexed caffeine compounds making 378mg caffeine (normalized) in total. Added to that, the Theacrine appears to enhance the stim effect. I made it work by dropping to 3/4 scoop, and that worked OK, and I had some great workouts. i kept feeling though that I was putting some aggressive stuff in my body even at 3/4 scoop. Well it is called Mr Hyde for a reason: i guess that's to be expected if you choose Mr Hyde over Dr Jekyll.

Ingredient Profile

Mr Hyde has a fully disclosed label with most of the commonly used raws, and almost all at effective doses (a little too effective in the stim dept.). Without listing everything, there is the caffiene matrix as described above, 25mg Theacrine, 50mg NALT for focus, and 25mg GABA, which supposedly has a calming effect in addition to increasing growth hormone production. There is also 1g creatine HCl which is perfect for me and i would have added that anyway. Not much in the way of pump components which is the only thing lacking (L-Citrulline Aspartate only present at 500mg). Finally, there is 3mg Yohimbe extract in there. I'm not a fan of that because it can gives me gastro issues. My wife is even more affected and cant handle it at all. With so many people reporting this i dont know why supporting companies use it. Nutrabio put it in PRE for a while but them removed it - i assume due to negative feedback.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I had the blue razz flavor and it was OK. Nice to see they used spirulina rather than a synthetic dye for color.

Effectiveness

Foolishly I tried a full scoop out of the gate. Started to get cold sweats on the way to the gym and got quite uncomfortable. I started to feel a little sick and my heart rate was definitely up. Reminded me of the old recreational days... So after that I dropped to 3/4 scoop for the remainder of the tub. At 3/4 scoop its still pretty intense and I had some very good workouts. Good strength, focus and endurance. Not much in the way of pump was the only real negative. You can drop 1g of agmatine sulfate or 3 capsules of Big Ronnie's Stacked NO to fix that though - and with Mr Hyde's low price, you would still be well ahead.

Value

Amazon has an amazingly good deal at present: $21.99 for a 30 serving tub. Its available from several other retailers at around $22, but free shipping if you are a Prime member on Amazon. Thats $0.73/scoop, or if like me you can only take 3/4 scoop, only $0.54 per workout. I would normally recommend Big Ronnie's Yeah Buddy PWO if on a budget but this beats even that for value.

Side Effects

At 1 scoop: cold sweats, palpitations, nausea...

Conclusion

No doubt the stim freaks will love this. It worked for me at 3/4 scoop, and I got some great workouts. I couldn't help feeling though, that I was just diluting the unpleasant side effects so that they were not so noticeable. The price absolutely cant be beat. if you were on a tight budget you could even drop to 1/2 scoop and still get a good workout.

I agonized over choosing Yes or Meh and finally went with Meh. Yes it works and its great value - but its just a little too fierce for me.

Quick Summary

A fantastic COMPLETE postworkout that ticks almost every box, besides the servings and cost. This made me recovery faster and ultimately train harder the next day.

Introduction

Hey guys back with a review that I am ultra keen to present! It's been brewing for a while since I really have enjoyed this a lot. I was looking for a complete post workout to really help with my recovery that has been rather horrid due to stress and anxiety. A massive thanks to blue star nutraceuticals and especially to Chris who was keen for me to give post factor a go, it had a lot to conquer including my very beloved universal torrent! Let's see how it stacks up!

Ingredient Profile

2.63 LB
Serving Size: 1 Scoop (approx. 85 g)
Servings Per Container: 14

Amount Per Serving
Calories 310
Calories From Fat 5
Total Fat 0.5g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Trans 0g
Cholesterol 30 mg
Total Carbohydrate 50g
Dietary Fiber
Sugars 3 g
Protein 27g
Calcium 133 mg
Iron
Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid) 61 mg
Vitamin E (as dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate) 33 IU
Sodium 65 mg
Potassium 140 mg

Muscle Recovery Complex
L-Carnitine L-Tartrate 2000 mg
CherryPURE (montmorency tart cherry) (fruit) powder 480mg
ActiGin (Panax notoginseng & Rosa roxburghii) 50mg

XD Delivery Technology Complex 61mg
Fumaric Acid
BioPerine Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) (fruit)
AstraGinTM (Panax notoginseng, Astragalus membranaceus) (root)
Sodium R-Lipoate
Succinic Acid

Ingredients: Maltodextrin, Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid, Sucralose, Enzyme Amylase, Soy Lecithin.

A very impressive array of ingredients not to mention the profile is really something worthwhile, the ratio of about (carb:protein) 2:1 to me is ideal. This is no whey concentrate cheap protein mix but the edition of hydrolyzed whey isolate really does set this apart, it's not an everyday sole protein source because it ain't cheap but its super effective. Tart cherry and L-carnitine tartrate are added in for recovery along with Maltodextrin which restores lost glycogen levels. The delivery matrix is also a real gem as it enhances the absorption!

The only thing missing to some was betaine and creatine of some sort. I guess in todays super pre workout formulas - sufficient dosages are found in every area nowadays be it in the new age intras aswell. So to me the lack of creatine was okay as Nitro tech and Dr jerkyl x has all the creatine I am after.

Taste

Key lime Pie

Being a fan of just about any tarty or sweet post workout, I assumed this would taste great and being recommended this flavor by Chris at Blue star - I knew would be good, but with everything you cannot be too sure. Normally taste goes can go a few directions. I used to be a fan of crazy sounding flavors until these crazy sounding flavors just tasted like generic vanilla and strawberry or chocolate. So I was a bit curious at best.

Let me first tell you that I used Post factor in conjunction with a blender and ice, because I train at home and finished training around 6:30/7:00pm so this would be a thick treat, and luckily it turned out to be. now key lime pie is not really known in SA but geez this tasted great! It was more or less a perfect blend of lime and vanilla with a hint of cinnamon, that was slightly more tart than sweet - this was really a taste I enjoyed and looked forward to drinking after every session.

Now nothing in this game is perfect, there is a slight grittiness and bitterness at the bottom but that is forgivable due the nature of the ingredients like L-carnitine tartate which is naturally bitter af! So this is not perfect but for what it is, it was darn good! In plain cold water it is a bit watery but thats why I had to use a blender, but I will give this the benefit of the doubt!

Mixability

In a shaker this wasn't all that good, infact without a blender I could get a little frustrated due to the fact this can get a bit frothy and clumpy, even though its vigorously shaken. I definitely assume most will be drinking this in a shaker so be sure to shake in segments and allow it to settle then shake again.

Dosing

1 scoop of post factor (the scoop is large!) in 12oz of cold water, but as mentioned I enjoyed this in a blender with ice. I would consume this right after my training.

Effectiveness

Ah here comes the best part!

Now I am going to be very frank here, this came in a very crucial time in my life and acted like a blessing - firstly again thanks to Chris and the guys at Blue Star for making this review happen! Now going through a midlife crisis as such at the age of 26 ain't no joke. I would get DOMS like you would not believe and overall battle to recover. The Recovery was really something special and continuously it helped me train harder, day in and day out as my recovery was improved a whole lot. The way I know this is because experience and secondly because I slowly regained all the intensity and strength that went astray during this difficult time. Strength is something I have lost during this transition but slowly I have regained it, to the point where I am just as strong as before.

I do feel the exclusion of creatine did not hinder my strength regain because the recovery was really that good, ofcourse there is soreness but not how it was at one point when I actually hid away from training. But I found Post factor truly lifted my spirits and training overall during the toughest time in my life. muscle gainz well I had to put a z there for added emphasis. But I normally shy away from measurements but heck I was feeling and looking smaller than usual so I decided to hit a few measurements on my biceps and in 2 weeks I gained a CM on both - relaxed and flexed which was a real feat for me, it really made me want to hit the gym harder and harder. This really is a combination of everything but knowing myself I need to give credit to them because it really was a game changer for me and improve my LIFE, thats a huge statement but it is true! I was genuinely disappointed when it was finished.

This is a post workout that I versatile in the off season and precontest, I wish to have another go at this a try out the other 2 flavors! which are chocolate truffle and blueberry pomegranate! Nothing is perfect but this is near perfect for me! Amazing product from a really reputable brand!

Value

Now here is the only major draw back, this is not cheap but neither are the ingredients. It goes for $56.99 ($4.07 / Serving) on bodybuilding.com and on special at www.bluestarnutraceuticals.com where everything except iso-smooth is 50% off! I would have loved this to last a month but since I train 4/5 times a week this lasted about 3 weeks for me. But having a bigger sizes would be really awesome! But that is just about the only flaw when it comes to post factor - is that without the savings it would be pricey in general.

Side Effects

None. No gas or upset stomach.

Conclusion

A really fantastic complete post workout that proved to be more than just a supplements but a life enhancer in so many ways - I was able to train harder, recovery better and get stronger whilst gaining lean muscle mass (Tastes great plus only require 1 scoop) which is just incredible since I was going through such a rut personally. But I cannot say thank you enough to Chris and the guys at blue star for making this happen. I mean I am definitely a fan of any supplement company that puts their customers first with amazing products and a 60 day money back guarantee which is pretty rare. It is not cheap but then again quality is not cheap is it. I definitely hope another opportunity will arise with them. I am not paid to say this and I freely speak and say what I want and when I want. So overall this is my favorite supplement to date and one cannot sleep on blue star, they aint playing games!

Cheers
Fridge

Introduction

Hello all. I like to give a little background about myself before these reviews so you all know how the supplement is being used. I am a colligate triathlete competing on my school's team. I took Loud Muscles DMHA before our lifts and before hard short intensive bike workouts. I kept off of it for the longer endurance workouts just because I wasn't sure how my body would react to the supplement.

Ingredient Profile

Alright, I always start this off by saying I'm not a scientist or a nutritionist and get all my information from google and reading the bottle.

This is a single ingredient supplement. DMHA has been looked to as a substitute for the now banned DMAA which was considered too strong and is currently pretty hard to get your hands on it. DMHA (or octrodine) is used to enhance energy levels, enhance cognitive function, and decrease appetite. It also delays muscle fatigue. So DMHA is relatively new to the supplements world compared to other supps and has a lot of mixed reviews online, however, I had no problems when taking it. It's starting to pop up more and more in different pre-workouts I've noticed.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

The supplement comes in the form of a pill with each one containing 200mg of DMHA. I would take one on my way to the gym while drinking a pre-workout or bang energy that does not contain any DMHA. The pill didn't have much of a taste for me as it should.

Effectiveness

During my workout, I would always get to a point when I could feel this supplement. Unlike with beta-alanine, you don't get a tingly feeling, however, when taking DMHA dopamine is released and you receive this feel-good feeling. It's hard to explain but I would always hit a point during my lifts or ride where it felt like my natural limit of fatigue was hit and then the pill takes over. It's hard to say how much of this is actually the pill and how much is a placebo though. I also took the pill a few times on its own without a pre-workout to fully test its ability and I did not get a big rush of energy without the caffeine and other ingredients that come with your more traditional pre-workout, but then again they do recommend pairing the two on the bottle.

Value

The bottle contains 60 pills for about $30. This is great value for what your receiving and will last you a solid two months. 200mg is on the heavy side for dosage so you really couldn't get a better bang for your buck.

Side Effects

I didn't feel any side effect when lifting or biking.

Conclusion

Huge thank you to Loud Muscel Science for sending out their product to be reviewed. I wasn't expecting much from a single pill but this ingredient really surprised me. If you've never given DMHA a try it might be worth checking out and adding to your cabinet of supps. If you have any questions make sure to drop a comment.

Quick Summary

The Bodybuilding.com signature brand is a relatively new brand to the supplements industry. Bodybuilding.com itself is well known and has a huge following. There products are simple but well backed in research and seem all around solid to me so far.

Introduction

So before I start, as always, I am not at all a nutritionist or have any degree of sorts to back up scientifically what I say in this review, I only go off my experience gathered from lifting and what I can read from scholarly articles to bodybuilding articles. I have been lifting and using supplements for around a year and a half now and gained lots of knowledge from the use and comparison of them. I am an avid lifter and stay very up to date in fitness and supplements.

Now to begin on the Signature Whey. I had seen a lot of hype surrounding this product, it's a simple whey with the common staples of any whey protein. Composed of whey isolate, concentrate and hydrolysate. These are backed by much research, and are used in many blended proteins made. I had read many places that the vanilla was the best vanilla many people had tasted and that the mixability was good so I decided I would give it a try since I was tired of chocolate flavored proteins.

Ingredient Profile

Bodybuilding went down the right path with fully transparent labeling. There Signature whey is made up of; Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Hydrolysate. Along with other things for consistency and flavor. These types of Whey are mixed at 13 grams isolate, 6 grams hydrolysate, and 6 grams concentrate. There are also digestive enzymes to help digest and absorb the protein and help with any stomach problems many people get from protein.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste- The Vanilla was some of the best tasting protein I have had. I'm new to trying vanilla protein but I've had samples of a few others and this one ranks at the top for the best protein taste I've had. I normally do not like protein with water however this one I could handle.
Mixability- this mixed fairly easy for protein. It took a little bit of stirring but nothing to vigorous, and normally wasn't too clumpy, however it would sometimes randomly clump up a little more which was annoying at times.
Dosing- Dosing is really hard to tell with protein. From research I read it was doses at effective amounts and made logically sense as to why it is dosed how it is. And the digestive enzymes are doses properly because there is no upset stomach with this protein.

Effectiveness

Effectiveness is also a really hard section to determine with protein. However while I was using this I was cutting weight and relying heavily on the protein shakes as protein and a food source in general. I was able to drink the protein shake in place of a snack or full meal. It would fill me up some what and I was losing weight and keeping most of my muscle so it appears to me that it was effective in supplying protein to my body.

Value

The value is pretty great, probably the highlight of this protein. It goes for 27 servings for about 25$ or $50 for 67 servings. However bodybuilding is always having sales on their products so you can almost always get a better deal so very much worth it if it is on sale.

Side Effects

Zero side effects, easy going on the stomach.

Conclusion

Bodybuilding's Signature Whey is a no bs fully transparent, inexpensive, and research backed protein. Sounds like a pitch to get someone to buy the protein but that really is just what it is. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done, and does a good job at it. For me I will probably buy it again in the future, it's something solid to have around especially since it is so inexpensive.

Quick Summary

This is a pricey, but EXTREMELY effective pre workout that I think is untouched in terms of ingredients and the amounts used compared to other pre workouts in this same category.

Introduction

First off I'd like to thank LabTech Nutraceuticals for giving me the opportunity to try this fantastic pre workout! I'm normally not into these types of pre workouts with so many ingredients, but this is by far my favorite!

Ingredient Profile

Now plenty other users have gone over this massive ingredient profile so I won't go too in depth, but that ingredient profile is what lured me in to wanting to try this, and I was not disappointed. Every single ingredient in this product is either dosed perfectly or has slightly MORE than what is necessary which you never really find in a product, most will be under dosed. There are ingredients for pump, focus, energy, and endurance all dosed perfectly.

(Updated)
Now the main ingredients that really caught my eye were the citrulline malate, beta alanine, agmatine sulfate, aakg, L theanine, and L norvaline. Now citrulline malate is used to increase NO production as well as reduce lactic acid so it helps to push out more reps as well as give you a better pump/vascularity. Its normally dosed at 6g's and this pre workout has a whopping 8g's!

Beta Alanine is another favorite of mine I look for in pre workouts because it's main use is to reduce muscle fatigue and increase muscular endurance, and I do enjoy the tingles you get from this as well lol some people do and some don't. Normal doses range from 2-3.2g's and this product has 3.5 another plus!

Agmatine sulfate is another product used to increase NO production as well, doses normally are 500-1000mg's with 1000mg's being usually on the higher side and this pre workout has 1,500mg's! wow

AAKG is an awesome product that is supposed to increase NO levels for pump as well! As you can tell I love pre workouts that give you better pumps! I also read on some forums that people supplementing AAKG noticed strength gains as well, I don't really know if my slight increase in strength was from this or my creatine so I can't really speak on that.

L theanine didn't catch my eye just from looking at it, but I did look up the ingredients before wanting to try this and it is definitely one of my favorite parts of this supplement. It helps keep you more relaxed and calm which I think is good to have in a pre workout with so much caffeine in it, it also helps you be more focused and improves mood when combined with caffeine which is another awesome benefit. L theanine is normally taken 100-400 mg's and this is dosed nicely right in the middle at 200mg's.

L norvaline is another one that didn't catch my eye at first, but once I looked it up it was a nice addition to see in here. It inhibits arginase which prevents you from creating more NO from arginine so your pump gets cut short, so basically you get a better pump which is something I think everyone wants. Recommended doses are 100-200mg's and anything above could be potentially dangerous. This product is perfectly in the safe zone at 100mg.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

3/10
Taste is where this product absolutely sucks lol. I disliked the taste so much, it's probably on my top 5 of worst tasting pre workouts. Now even though it tastes bad it's only 6-8 oz of liquid so it's doable and the effectiveness easily outweighs the taste.
Mixability was good.
Dosing - Now I found taking this 30-40 minutes pre workout would be best for me, even though I'd start feeling beta alanine tingles around the 20 minute mark. I highly recommend eating something a little while before taking this or you'll feel terrible. I'd normally take around 3/4 of a scoop.

Effectiveness

9/10
Now on to the most important part of this. This product is NOT FOR PEOPLE that are stim sensitive, I don't consider myself sensitive, but I also don't really like tons of stims. So I couldn't handle a completely full scoop or else I'd feel terrible after the gym and be all jittery, ESPECIALLY on an empty stomach. Now when i took this product with some food in my belly, it was perfect, I went hard in the gym, and even after the gym I had tons of energy.

Now endurance is something I usually have trouble with, I can't do more than a set or two of a weight at about 10-12 reps, but this did help me to pull out an extra set at a maximum weight of those reps. (did i explain that right?) I was able to knock out an extra set at the same amount of reps, when normally I have to drop down 2-6 reps which I know is terrible lol.

On to the pump which is my top 2 favorite things to look for in a pre workout. I never really have trouble achieving a pump on my own, but this product just absolutely made my muscles feel like they were going to burst! I looked so huge (in my eyes lol)! My body looked almost undefined cause of how crazy the pump was it just looked and felt crazy big! Vascularity wasn't really any different DURING my workout, but about 30-90 minutes after, for some reason my veins were popping out crazy and I was feeling a lot warmer for hours after I took this pre.

Focus is nothing I really have any trouble with, but I did notice an increase, all I had to do was put on my headphones, get into the gym with my lifting buddy and start lifting, and there would be maybe 5 minutes of talking throughout the whole workout. I loved it

Value

Value is something that may be a little iffy for some people. Cheapest I found this for was labtech's website which had this product for $50 only if you bought two containers. But if you think about it, taking around 3/4 of a scoop or having some half scoop days it would end up equaling about $37 which still seems like a lot, but you are getting tons of awesome ingredients.

Side Effects

Like I said if you take too much than you can, or take on an empty stomach you will not feel well after the gym lol. You may feel jittery, or even somewhat sick, so I highly recommend you eat something and start with less than a full scoop.

Conclusion

This is an awesome pre workout that I suggest you try at least once. You get tons of ingredients at perfect doses! it is a little pricey, but you get what you pay for, and this product definitely lives up to every single one of it's claims that were made.

Quick Summary

X-Amino is a BCAA/EAA/Intra-Workout supplement intended to increase protein synthesis, provide explosive energy, increase metabolism and complete your muscle recovery.

Introduction

Thank you once again SR Troops for supplying me with a full container of X-Amino by alpha pro labs. I used this while in the beginning of my cutting stage while training 4-6 times per week.

Ingredient Profile

The ingredient profile is a tad vague because it uses blends and unfortunately when I contacted the company they were not able to disclose me any of the information on how much of each ingredient there was, so I will provide the best ingredient profile with what I have to work with.

Amino Blend
5000mg of Taurine, L-Glutamine, L-Arginine, L-Leucine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine, L-Citrulline, L-Tyrosine, L-Theanine, L-Histidine, L-Lysine HCL, and L-Threonine

The ingredients in their amino blend are 100% valid and usable products but the dosing is rather low considering it is only 5000mg when typically just the BCAAs will be about 5000mg for full recovery.

Energy Blend
175mg of Caffeine, Theobromine, and Green Tea Extract

The ingredients and amount of the ingredients in the energy blend is pretty on point. Not a bunch of caffeine so you can still take it in the morning to replace your morning coffee or intra-workout if its not too late to be ingesting too much caffeine and who haven't already loaded up on caffeine with your PWO

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste: I had the raspberry flavor and it was a solid 9/10 not too sweet or powerful nor dull or unsatisfying

Mixability: I had absolutely no problem mixing a serving fully

Dosing: I would mix one scoop in the recommended amount of water once in the morning and then once again about halfway through my workout.

Effectiveness

When I would take it in the morning it added a great start to my day mainly because of the caffeine which hits a little quicker than a normal cup of coffee. Intra-workout it would definitely add to my energy level to finish a tough workout session. As far as the recovery aspect goes, I definitely needed two servings throughout the day because if I happened to miss a serving due to whatever reason I would definitely notice the difference the next day. Circling back to the ingredient profile, this is why I believe that the aminos are a little low on quantity because this turns a 60 serving container into about a 30 day container. Granted I can't tell you exactly how much it helped with protein synthesis but I can tell you that even when taking two scoops I was not "completely recovered" as I would never really expect to be from a supplement, but it did help so I can give them credit for that. My effectiveness rating isn't as high as it could be mainly because I needed the two scoops a day in order to tell that it was working, if it had only taken one scoop to notice a difference the rating would definitely have been higher. As far as increasing metabolism, it definitely helped me start my cutting season and shed the easy to lose fat off but then again that's also with an adjusted diet and cardio routine that I had only been on for about a week or two before starting this product.

Value

This was definitely a hard product to find online, but the cheapest I found it for was 60 servings at $49.95 or about $0.83/serving

Side Effects

N/A

Conclusion

All together I would say that this a pretty decent product but as you can probably see I was disappointed that a double serving was needed.

Quick Summary

Joint relieve and a massive lot of other benefits for a small price. You would be mad not to stack curcumin. The bio availability however is key here.

Introduction

I put this review in the joint support section. Tht is where i found other curcumin product reviews. Benefits are however numerous.I have read some interesting facts about curcumin, the ingredient ingredient from turmeric (root) a while back. The list of benefits goes on and on. For lifting purposes the joint support (anti inflammatory) is most notable. Other benefits where the scientific evidence is massive are anti-depressant, anti-oxidant, pain, anxiety, blood flow, nitric oxide booster, anti carcinogenic and the list goes on and on.

Ingredient Profile

Turmeric root (Curcuma longa) (Curcumin C3 Complex) Standardized to >95% Curcuminoids
Including:
Bisdemethoxy Curcumin (2.2% - 6.5%)
Demethoxy curcumin (15 - 19%)
Curcumin (75 - 81%) 1000 mg
Black pepper fruit extract (Piper nigrum) (BioPerine )
Curcumin C3 Complex contains a standardized extract of Curcuma longa root and supplies 95% total curcuminoids. C3 means that three types of curcuminoid are included; bisdemethoxycurcumin is more resistant than the others to alkaline degradation.

As curcumin has a lot of effects, the advisable dose differs greatly. Doses from 80mg up to 500mg prove beneficial. Doses up to 8g have shown no adverse effects. 1 gram a day seems sufficient to reach a lot of curcumin associated benefits. Personally I wouldn't mind to get more in. Compared to alternatives, 1g is in the upper range.

Absorption, or bio availability is a known problem for turmeric. Some methods to increase absorption exist. A couple of well known forms are pairing with black pepper, Curcumin phytosomes complexed with phosphatidylcholine (Meriva or BCM-95), Curcumin nanoparticles (Theracurmin) and water-soluble curcumin.
Without any method to increase the absorption rate doses of up to 4,000mg would cause no noticeable effect. I still noticed some curcumin supplements with just plain curcumin are on the market. Basically this is the same as flushing your money down the drain form what I have read. Doctor's uses black pepper (bioperine quality) as main absorption agent. A few comparative studies have shown that Meriva significantly outperforms BCM95 in terms of bioavailability. Curcumin supplements with Meriva are available on the market, even from Doctor's best. The particular sup that is being reviewed does not have Meriva technology.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

2 yellow capsules a day. No aftertaste. One open capsule in the bottle causes nasty stains. The turmeric yellow is really persistent.

Effectiveness

As with most supplements with a wide variety of benefits they are hard to measure the total effectiveness. The scientific evidence behind turmeric is so massive, at such a low value, that I added this to my permanent stack of supplements.
What is definitely notices in a reduction in joint pains. I normally have different kinds of joint pains, back, shoulder and an almost permanently inflamed Achilles tendon. I truly believe curcumin helps a lot. Alternatives are regular pharmaceutical anti inflammatory pills (NSAID) which cause different kinds of problems (stomach) and can contradict with other types of medication.
With all the scientific proven benefits and superb anti inflammatory benefits for just a couple of cents a day I think curcumin is great for everybody.

Value

One alternative that can easily be compared with Doctor's best Curcumin is Super Bio-Curcumin from life extension which is sold for 20 dollars. 400mg, 60 caps. Doctor's best has 120 500mg caps for 26 dollars. That's 66 cents a day versus 34 cents a day, so Doctor's best wins on price and on plain mg. Harder to assess is the absorption from the different techniques used. From my personal experience I would rate the value real high. Curcumin supplements are cheap, Doctor's best provides decent bio availability techniques.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

Curcumin is an excellent addition to everyone's stack. Benefits are so numerous and evidence based that I truly believe everyone should incorporate curcumin in the daily staple. While hard to assess the effectiveness, joint relieve is undeniably present and noticeable after about a week.
In the end the absorption technique is in what curcumin supplements distinguishes one from the other. Doctor's best uses Bioperine as bio availability agent. From what I have read I think I will try Meriva curcumin next, but curcumin definitely has a permanent spot reserved in my supplement cabinet and Doctor's Best did the job just fine.

Quick Summary

Redcon1 managed to take their highly successful pre-workout and make it even better after a reformulation they were pressed to make with the crackdown down on DMHA.

Introduction

Those who have read my review of the previous version of Total War (with DMHA) know that I was highly impressed and considered it to be in the top tier of workouts. When I found out that it was being reformulated, I was sure a decline was coming with the new version. Turns out I was way of and was pleasantly surprised to find out that this version was even better than the last.

Ingredient Profile

9.5/10

The new Total War is about 50/50 in terms of ingredients being carried over from the old version. The Citrulline and Agmatine remain the same with 6g and 1g respectively. Bioperine also remains the same at 10mg, as does Beta-Alanine at 3.2g and caffeine and Taurine at 250mg and 1g each.

The obvious exclusion is the controversial DMHA, and they removed the Yohimbine as well. The key ingredients added to this were 150mg of AMPiberry and 100mg of Infinergy (extended release caffeine). I think this was a pretty fair trade off in terms of replacing the DMHA while (theoretically) still helping with focus and energy.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

7.5/10

I had the Strawberry Kiwi flavor and it was a bit improvement over the gummy candy flavor I had prior. A little gritty after first mixing, but nothing a few more shakes couldn't take care of. I'd say it's about middle of the road in terms of taste. Certainly not the best, but not as bad as others.

Effectiveness

9.4/10

Pumps: Enormous pumps every single time. I'm talking the kind that last well after your workout and make it hard to even drive home from the gym because everything just feels so engorged. It's really not a surprise to me considering Citrulline and Agmatine are my favorites and I've always responded very well to these for the most part.

Energy: Almost immediate and hard hitting. About 10-15 minutes after taking, I felt wide awake no matter how draining the day at work was and ready to hit the gym. However, it still wasn't the part that stood out the most. That would have to go to...

Focus: Razor sharp and intense. To me, beside the pump, what makes a pre-workout truly amazing is if it helps you become absolutely locked in to a primary task, and that's what the combination of ingredients in Total War did for me.

Endurance: I would say that Total War definitely helped me grind out an extra rep or two that I normally wouldn't get on my own. Not a ton, but the extra reps add up after a while.

Value

9.2/10

$40 directly through the Redcon1 website, which you can also take 10% off of by using the coupon code "PRICEPLOW". $37 for 30 servings of an elite, one scoop pre-workout is a steal in my book.

Side Effects

None

Overall

9.3/10

A truly elite pre-workout that is undoubtedly worth your attention. I'd advise anyone looking for the top tier pre-workouts to at least give this a test one time.

Quick Summary

Olympus Labs doing things differently by taking a BCAA product and stretching its limits by using some trademarked ingredients with a unique profile to help enhance recovery and ENDUR3 progress.

Introduction

I want to thank Olympus Labs for this opportunity. I'm a fan of all 9, but BCAA's are still a blessing. Plus, Olympus Labs are doing things differently as this isn't just any BCAA product. It goes beyond that with other added ingredients.

Ingredient Profile

7.5g InstaAminos at a 4:1:1 ratio which makes it 5g Leucine, 1.25g Isoleucine, and 1.25g Valine. They chose the higher route compared to the typical 2:1:1. I like that, as 4:1:1 allows a greater leucine content. I don't consider this a prop blend even though we have to do some math to find each content amount.

*Trademarked because they come from Compound Solutions. A quality company that I love. They offer TeaCrine, Dynamine, Vaso6, Carb10, and much more. I highly appreciate Olympus Labs for choosing them as a source.

2g Velositol - I like. Registered because Nutrition 21; the makers of Nitrosigine, hold a patent for this ingredient. It's an Amylopectin Chromium Complex combining some form of waxy maize (high in amylopectin) with both histidinate and picolinate. This is smart. It's basically a carbohydrate that has 2 ingredients to support a proper insulin and glucose response.

And it works. A study was done with 6g of protein though. They discovered that a 2g single dose serving of Velositol with a 6g serving of protein caused protein synthesis to increase by 24%. Protein synthesis went from 24% when taken alone, to 48% when taken with Velositol. That's a 24% increase. That's double overall. This is how they can claim: "doubles the power of protein in a single dose" This is how the bottom of the product can claim: "increase MPS by 24%".

That's awesome. I like that this is in here. It works with the given amount of BCAA's. I've seen protein use this, but it's funny as only 6g of whatever amount they use would only be utilized. I guess that is better than nothing! Personally, having this in here makes a positive difference both mentally and physically. I feel this makes the 7.5g of BCAA's more powerful.

2g Glutamine - People right away think gut health. I do appreciate that benefit from Glutamine, although I supplement glutamine for anxiety and sleep. I have low glutamate and GABA. Taking glutamine helps me maintain a balance. 2g is enough for being in a BCAA product. I've always been a fan of glutamine for recovery as well. The gut to me is our second brain. I like that Olympus Labs didn't shy away from using glutamine.

1g Taurine - This is a special ingredient. I use to think it didn't do much for me. But, that's because I judged it by itself before training. It's known to work best with caffeine for excitatory purposes. Here, we have no caffeine, yet taurine. Taurine is special because some will use it and some won't. I found taurine to be helpful for my anxiety and sleep as well. It's known to help increase GABA. I like that this is in here because as we train we deplete our Taurine levels. So this here is making sure we get some back. Taurine has hydrating and cardiovascular benefits as well.

980mg Electrolyte Matrix - consisting of:

Potassium Citrate - 150mg
Dicalcium Phosphate - 57mg
Sodium Citrate - 65mg
Magnesium Aspartate - 16mg

You can't go wrong with an electrolyte matrix! Electrolytes are very important! So important! Can't stress this enough. So awesome this was in here. It made everything even better. It gave me the added psychological boost like the Velositol did. It wish all amino acid products contained electrolytes. This shows how Olympus Labs are doing things differently.

480mg VitaCherry Sport - I like as well. My grandma always talks about cherries, goji berries, and prunes. Trademarked because FutureCeuticals; the makers of elevATP, hold a patent for this ingredient. Compound Solutions makes NordicCherry, but I like how they involved another quality source. Tart Cherry in a supplement form or from juice alone will help increase recovery time due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Reducing inflammation is important for reducing muscle damage and increasing muscle endurance. Can't go wrong with having this in here.

Overall, this is a wonderful list of ingredients to help increase recovery and ENDUR3 progress. I also like that they used trademarked ingredients to ensure maximum quality.

It says 10 calories because of the 2g Velositol, but the 7.5g of BCAA's still have calories. So the total is actually 40 calories per serving. All good, I understand.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste - this tasted amazing! Never had Dragons Mist before. I asked for their best flavor and this came. It tasted like those blue otter pops when I was a kid. I still don't even really know what those taste like. While drinking I'm thinking "is this blue blueberry?". But, blueberry is already blue, so I thought "blue raspberry?". Whatever it is, it tasted amazing and I couldn't get enough and currently craving more.

Mixability - after mixing, it made a beautiful looking whirlpool. I saw the color of the powder and was surprised by the color once mixed. It was a crazy bright blue. It was cool. It did foam somewhat as you can see in the photo, but it didn't bother me at all. Overall, it mixed great.

Dosing - I treated this more like a BCAA product than an Intra-workout product. I would use one scoop during my training and another a random time later. Sunday, my rest day I took one scoop in the morning and another a random time later. I would take this in the morning more than during my workout. 2 scoops a day made this go quick.

Effectiveness

I will say on the days I did take it during my training, I felt way more hydrated than just drinking water alone. I'm always going to the water fountain. But, I was going less to the water fountain on the days I didn't take this while training. Which means that taking it in the morning and another time during the day both was working together to maintain my hydration when training came. Now that it's gone, the water fountain is my go to Intra-workout again.

Other than that, it works. It makes me feel replenished when I'm feeling sluggish. Helped me stay hydrated while training. Some Intra-workout products go with adding caffeine and I'm glad Olympus Labs did not. If they did, then I couldn't treat this like a BCAA product. Which makes this a versatile product.

Value

Strongsupplementshop.com is the cheapest I could find at $34.95. This is a great deal as my last product that was only BCAA's is the same price. It says $48.99 on their website which makes sense, but obviously the less the better.

Side Effects

Nothing at all. No headaches. No stomach issues. No diarrhea. All good.

Conclusion

I really like this product. It's unique and it works. It taste great at a great price. I like how it uses trademarked ingredients and proper dosages. I do think I found a go to BCAA product rather than using a standalone one even if it's the same price or cheaper. This just makes me feel more satisfied. Overall, I approve and would highly recommend this product.

Quick Summary

Satisfied with the results, but not overwhelmed.

Introduction

As most people, I believe I could lose some fat on my belly. Formerly played football/soccer a lot and had a fat percentage of just under 10%. After some nasty injuries had to give that up. Since then mostly dependent on the gym (weights). Cardio isnt't what is used to be. Due to more extensive weight training and less cardio I gained some weight, sad to say not all muscle. I went from to 175 to 200 lbs, (which is not all that bad, because I'm 1.95m (6.4 feet). my fat percentage had taken a plunge to just under 20%. On the upside, this has given me the opportunity to try some weight loss supplements!

Ingredient Profile

134mcg Chormium (ChromeMate)
1G L-Carnitine Tartrate (Carnipure)
333mg Green Tea Extract
33mg Capsicum Fruit Extract (Capsimax)
100mg Gymnema Sylvestre Extract

Mostly tested and tried ingredients. ChromeMate combines the benefits of chromium and niacin. Chromium supresses appetite and decreases insulin levels. No overwhelming evidence for weight loss. Absorption should be better than your regular regular chromium. Carnipure is a special grade of L-Carnitine, manufactured by the Swiss company Lonza. A standard dose is between 0,5-2 g. Green tea extrac; high amount of evidence supporting weight (fat) loss benefits. Significant effects in humans are noted only at high doses, such as 400-500mg EGCG equivalent per day (at 50% EGCG). Clean burn contains 333mg, which is fairly low. Capsimax is natural capsicum extract from red hot chili peppers that should delivers all of the heat of capsaicin without the burn. The amount of capsimax is regularly low compared to other shred kind supplements where capsimax is included up to 125 mg.
I did not hear about Gymnema Sylvestre Extract before and had to read up on this one. The gymnasia Silvestre is a perennial woody vine that grows in tropical areas of India, Africa, and Australia and is used as an appetite suppressant. The common Hindi term for the plant is gurmar which means "sugar destroyer. Which of course sounds excellent.
Early research suggests that taking Gymnema sylvestre extract, hydroxycitric acid, and niacin-bound chromium might reduce body weight. Two of those are in Clean burn. I am not sure on the amount of mg's included.
I believe you should be somewhat sceptic towards weight loss formulas, a lot of people looking to shed some weight (fat) are willing to pay heavily to achieve this. judging on the ingredient profile clean burn looks like a good supplement. Most of the ingredients or not generic. The amount of green tea extract looks underdosed and the amount of capsimax seems to be on the lower side of the spectrum.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

6 capsules a day, two before each meal. Some aftertaste if not taken with enough water.. ust a little.

Effectiveness

A weight loss ingredient is always tricky. There are numerous ways to measure your bodyfat, but this is so much dependent on other factors of which diet and exercise are the two most important ones. My exercise routine and diet hadn't changed that much during the course of taking this supplement and I actually did lose bodyfat. The definition on my belly was somewhat enhanced and abs were a bit more visible. I am not nave and did not expect miracles. Clean burn did deliver some results, but to be perfectly honest not as much as I expected based on the ingredient profile and the positive review on SR. Then again, I believe fat loss is mostly achieved in the gym and at the dinner table.

Value

One bottle for 25 dollars is the cheapest I found this for. One bottle contains 180 pills, so that's a supply for one month at 0,83 a day. Not a hefty price. Compared to other fat burning/ weight loss supplements its fairly cheap.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

I like the transparent label, the use of non-generic ingredients and the inclusion of a rather unknown but promising looking ingredient in the form of Gymnema Sylvestre Extract . I would like to have seen the amount of green tea extract and capsimax upped a bit. The results were noticeable and alright. Satisfied but not overwhelmed would be a nice conclusion for clean burn.

Quick Summary

Lone ingredient supplement that aids in the reduction of fatigue.

Introduction/Ingredient Profile

Most of us have supplemented with beta alanine at some point if you have ever used a pre workout. Over the last few months, I have tried to slowly cut weight by running more and focusing on more endurance based workouts. I have kept rest times short and have usually worked in a 10-12 rep range. I figured claiming some beta alanine would benefit me. Here we have a single ingredient of CarnoSyn beta alanine. There is nothing else contained in here, not even any flavors or colors or anything like that. Each scoop contains 2 g of CarnoSyn. 3.2 g of CarnoSyn beta alanine is the effective dose to reduce muscular fatigue and improve endurance.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste: Does not really have much taste. It is slightly sweet and it does not really alter the taste of the drink that you mix it in.

Mixability: There may be some slight settling if you let it sit for a while since it is naturally on the grittier side. Usually just swirling it around will help mix it a bit.

Dosing: NutraBio suggest taking 1-3 servings per day around your workout after assessing your tolerance. They do not recommend adding a scoop to a supplement that already contains beta alanine. Since my pre-workout contained beta alanine, I chose to use a scoop in my intra workout since more and more studies suggest splitting up beta alanine dosages works best.

Effectiveness

I think that this was effective in helping me become less fatigued in the exercises where I used a higher rep range. It allowed me to be ready to go to my next set within 30-45 seconds. That is where I tried to keep my rest times and I was normally able to keep it that way. Obviously walking around the gym to a new spot for a different exercise kind of hindered the rest time, but I would have been able to perform the next set if everything was in front of me. This also slightly helped me with cardio. Since I may have to go into a second academy since I will be switching departments, I have been running outside more. Supplementing with beta alanine slightly delayed how tired my muscles became while running long distances.

Value

Going for about $32 on sites like bodybuilding and Suppz for 180 servings. At 2 g per scoop, a serving comes out to being about $0.18 per serving. This is pretty cheap, but there are other brands of CarnoSyn sold for slightly cheaper. CarnoSyn is a trademarked ingredient, so you should be getting the same product from all brands. I guess there is the possibility of impurities being present in the bottling process with other brands that use an unclean environment, but with NutraBio, being a GMP facility and having their products third party tested, that will not be the case with them.

Side Effects

Tingling, which is expected with beta alanine products. Sensation usually goes away shortly and will become less noticeable over extended, consistent use.

Conclusion

Not much to say for a single ingredient supplement except that it helps in endurance. This is a supplement that you can run year round without cycling off and NutraBio offers it cheap enough for you to be able to do so. Yeah, there are slightly cheaper options, but you are getting a patented ingredient with no impurities. Thank you NutraBio for sending it out.