About
Ghost SIZE is a creatine blend made and sold by the Ghost supplement brand. It is designed to help you build muscle faster.
The main ingredient in this product is creatine. In fact, Ghost SIZE contains two types of the nutrient: Creatine hydrochloride and creatine monohydrate. These are said to “maximize efficacy, absorption and solubility”.
The brand also includes beta-alanine to reduce muscle strength and fatigue, while AstraGin helps support the body’s absorption of key amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and phytonutrients to help optimize muscle gains.
Ghost SIZE is available in three flavors: “Sour Green Apple”, “Sour Watermelon” and “Neutral” – the latter of which is unflavored.
Swells51 –
One of the Top creatine products to pack on some size!
—-Quick Summary—-
By far one of the best post workout creatine products to pack on some solid size and make those gains.
—-Introduction—-
I’ve always been a fan of Ghost as they create some of the best products out and Ghost Size did not disappoint…like at all. Very effective creatine product to gain some strength and put on some solid size. I’m a fan of the formula/ingredients as it is fairly straight forward, and it was a great creatine product that helped me pack on some size and muscle (I’m a hardgainer).
—-Ingredient Profile—-
Love the ingredients as it is a very effective formula and fairly straight-forward. A full 5g of creatine and a blend of monohydrate and hydrochloride which I actually prefer. Then on top of this, 2.5g of betaine and 2g of beta-alanine. Very simple formula but effective. Love the amount of betaine in it as there are very good studies on betaine’s effectiveness and it’s ability to increase power output.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Tasted great and mixed perfectly. Not a gritty taste at all and the sour watermelon tasted absolutely amazing (I could drink this all day).
—-Effectiveness—-
I’m a hardgainer and have difficulty putting on solid muscle and this product definitely helped me put on some solid size. I took this every day for almost a month and then bought it again and took it for another month and saw great results. I can definitely tell this helped me put on some muscle.
—-Value—-
Y 30 servings for $40, so that comes to about $1.33 per scoop or 22 cents per gram of creatine – which is very expensive compared to other creatine products. Most are a lot cheaper and just plain monohydrate. But you obviously get a lot more out of this product.
—-Side Effects—-
—-Conclusion—-
Definitely recommend! Only downside is how expensive it is. If you’re looking to build some muscle and put on some size, definitely recommend this product.
dmf8625 –
How Much “Size” Does a “Ghost” Really Need?
—-Quick Summary—-
From the brand: Gains On Gains On Gains New school meets old school, clinically dosed, packed to the nines, transparent AF, muscle builder conceived to make gains faster than Photoshop. GHOST Full Disclosure Label First ever yield transparent Creatine, delivering a full 5G of yielded Creatine Max clinical dose Betaine Carnosyn Beta-Alanine Full 200MG dose Epicatechin Max clinical dose Astragin
—-Introduction—-
Hello all. Full intro about myself can be found here in the forum: https://supplementreviews.com/forum/index.php?topic=35432.0 First, a big thank you to the guys and gals over at [b]Ghost[/b] for joining us here at SR.com and making your creatine/muscle building product Size available for us TROOPers to try and review. I have been following this company since their creation, mainly because of the YouTube ambassadors that they have partnered with. Being from a printing and marketing background, I can appreciate what Ghost has done with their marketing/outreach techniques since launching the company along with the details and added extras that the labels and tubs have. Being a dietary supplement consumer, I also applaud Ghost on being a fully transparent company from the beginning and not short-changing the consumer with inferior ingredients or improper dosing. Let’s see if this proper follows that same path.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
As with all Ghost products, Size provides full label transparency and contains patented and registered versions of ingredients when they are available. This product contains five grams of what Ghost calls “Full Yield Creatine”, which is a blend of monohydrate and HCL at 2.5g each. This is where the brand is blending new school and old school ingredients with the hopes of providing a product that gives the user the best of both worlds. Many who have been taking supplements for a while know that the monohydrate version of creatine has been studied and proven to be effective for years now. The HCL version is somewhat new and has less scientific research behind it. For those who prefer HCL, they seem to like it because it’s more soluble and said to be better absorbed, thus requiring a smaller serving. Personally I have never used a pure monohydrate creatine product on its own. I started with HCL and have stayed with it since I began weightlifting. Moving past the creatine, the remaining ingredients are added extras to help with muscle growth and recovery. Each scoop of Size gives you a clinical dose of Betaine. Per my friends over at PricePlow: Betaine, also known as Trimethylglycine (TMG), is a natural chemical compound that is found in several biological systems. It primarily serves as an organic osmolyte, which is something that takes water into cells to protect against osmotic stress. In addition to this it is also a methyl donor. TMG got the name betaine after its discovery in sugar beets. Structurally, it is a small trimethylated amino acid existing in zwitterionic form (a neutral molecule with a positive and negative charge, these are also called inner salts) at a neutral pH. The amino acid is glycine, hence the name, trimethylglycine. In addition to being found in sugar beets, it is also found in wheat bran, wheat germ, spinach, wheat bread, and shrimp. (https://blog.priceplow.com/betaine) Next we have CarnoSyn Beta Alanine at two grams. While many will notice this ingredient is dosed below the normal 3.2 grams that we are accustomed to and think of as the “clinical” dose, Ghost follows the thought path of splitting up the doses for maximum nutrient absorption. This also helps avoid the sometimes unpleasant “tingles” many users get, when mega-doing Beta Alanine. As for effects, it’s well known that Beta Alanine boosts endurance, but it also increases work capacity, strength, and time to exhaustion. In other words, Beta Alanine allows you to work out more intensely for longer periods of time without succumbing to fatigue. This ultimately lets you get more work done, yielding more gains! The next ingredient is one that I have only heard of but never tried in a supplement before. It is Epicatechin 90% dosed at 200mg. Ghost says “Epicatechin is one of the hottest muscle building ingredients on the market” and claims this is the ingredient that really sets Size apart from anything else on the market. They also mention that just this ingredient alone is sold for more than what an entire tub of Size costs. As for what Epicatechin is supposed to do, I turn to my friends at PricePlow again for this: “Found prevalently in dark chocolate, epicatechin is a potent flavonol that’s gained popularity for its ability to enhance lean mass gains and performance. Most notably, epicatechin has the ability to Enhance strength and muscle growth Improve glucose tolerance Increase endurance Blunt fatigue Elevate nitric oxide production Part of what makes epicatechin a prime-time muscle builder is that it’s a rather powerful inhibitor of Myostatin by way of increasing levels of Follistatin, Myostatin’s “archenemy.” Basically, Myostatin prohibits muscle growth, and Follistatin inhibits myostatin signaling, which ultimately results in less myostatin and more muscle growth!” Our last active ingredient is AstraGin at 50mg. “AstraGin is an all-natural absorption-boosting ingredient derived from Astragalus membranaceus and panax ginseng extracts, both staples of traditional Chinese medicine. AstraGin enhances the rate at which certain compounds and nutrients are absorbed within the intestinal wall. NuLiv, the company who developed AstraGin, has conducted several research trials showing that the novel compound effectively improves uptake of creatine, beta alanine, citrulline, amino acids, and several other compounds. Size contains the full research-backed 50mg dose of AstraGin to increase the effectiveness of all its ergogenics even further.” The remaining ingredients will vary depending on if you purchase the neutral (unflavored) version or the Warheads branded Sour Watermelon flavor. The Sour Watermelon flavored version includes an additional 2.5 grams of natural and artificial flavors, citric, malic and tartaric acid, along with your artificial sweeteners of sucralose and Ace-K plus artificial red food coloring.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Taste >> I received the Warheads collab Sour Watermelon flavor and it was fantastic! I have tried a sample of their Legend PWO in this flavor and thought it was amazing. Glad to see the same flavor transferred over to this product and they were able to achieve the same result with different active ingredients. It is delicious and sour from the first sip until the last. No complaints here and I looked forward to drinking every day. Definitely one of the best tasting supplements on the market today in my opinion. Mixability >> No real big issues here. One scoop in some cold water and shake for about five to ten seconds. If I let the bottle sit for a minute or two, some sediment would be visible on the bottom but another quick shake and it is ready to drink again. If you are the type of person who would drink this all at once, then there is nothing to be concerned about. Dosing >> Depending on your thoughts about creatine consumption, this product could be taken any time of day. Ghost recommends consuming within 30 minutes after exercising on training days. They also state for best results, use on non-training days as well. They also recommend mixing this with a whey protein shake, which is why the product also comes in an unflavored version. I followed their dosing protocol on training days and consumed my scoop on non-training days in the afternoon as a nice refreshing beverage.
—-Effectiveness—-
When it comes to the effectiveness of this product, I experienced two stages throughout my use of the tub. For the first week to ten days, Size provided me with piece of mind that I was getting my full daily dose of creatine in along with having a delicious drink to look forward to after training or during the afternoon on non-training days. During this first stage, everything seemed okay but nothing seemed or felt spectacular or different. My training sessions were the same as was my recovery. No crazy personal best lifts were achieved, just the same slow and steady progress that I was making before starting this supplement. After some of my more intense workouts, I would still have some muscle soreness for a day or two just as before. Body composition was also relatively unchanged during this time. As I entered the second week of using this product and beyond, that is where I started to notice a significant difference during my training sessions and more importantly, in my recovery. With consuming Size post workout, my training sessions the following days started to become more enjoyable and I was eager to get back into the weight room. This was likely because the effects of Size had my body feeling stronger and more willing to lift some heavier weights than I did the session before. This excitement and the possibility of setting a new PR reinvigorated my desire to go to the gym as much as possible again. With this new found enthusiasm in the gym, some might be concerned about the ability for the body to recover from this new stimulus of pushing it far beyond what it is used to. This is where Size really shined for me as my muscle soreness from the workouts decreased substantially the more I used this product. The soreness that used to last a day or two for my most intense workouts was almost non-existent during week three and four of this product. I started to feel “healthier” and stronger with each passing day during these weeks and had a better outlook on the other parts of my life because I was not sore or in a bad mood. Indirectly, this supplement helped with my family and work life because it made me more enjoyable to be around and open to participating in other activities that I would normally be too sore to think about doing. In terms of body composition while using this product, I did not notice any extreme changes in the mirror but felt most of the progress was being made internally. My muscles did not seem to fail as quickly during the training sessions when compared to before I started taking Size but my muscle definition did not noticeably change for any part of my body. Some of this lack of change or definition can be attributed to loose skin that I have from losing weight and I did not expect this product to magically solve that issue by filling it up with more muscle mass. I realize that I will probably never look like the fitness models we see on magazines or Instagram and I’m okay with that. As long as I can continue making progress in the gym and boost my recovery for the next session; I am happy. Ghost Size was effective at giving me the confidence that I was stronger and capable of lifting more weight without the fear of being laid up in bed for the next week trying to recover.
—-Value—-
In terms of price/value, Ghost has taken the route of having strict control over who is able to distribute their products. At this time, the only places Size and all other Ghost products can be purchased are either directly through their own website (https://www.ghostlifestyle.com/), from the GNC website or directly from brick and motor GNC stores. Unless there happens to be a sale in a GNC store, the price is the same no matter where you shop. Each tub is 30 scoops and retails for $39.99. GNC has free shipping and you can save 10% if you choose to have this product auto-delivered. If you purchase this from the Ghost website, you can find a discount code from one of their brand ambassadors that will save you 20%. In terms of value, Size really stands out when it comes to the amount of Epicatechin included in each tub. Looking through sites like Amazon that sell Epicatechin in pill form, you would be paying between $35 and $40 just for that ingredient alone at the 6000mg (30x200mg) dosage. Then you have to factor in the separate costs for the forms of creatine along with all the other ingredients you get plus whatever value you may place on having an amazing tasting product. If you look at this product as only being a creatine supplement, then it is going to be extremely expensive and likely a pass for most people. However, this includes much more than just creatine and should be viewed as a supplement that will improve your performance and most likely lead to better recovery and more muscle gain while meeting your daily creatine requirements as an added bonus.
—-Side Effects—-
None experienced during my run of this product. Be cautious if you know your body does not react well to a certain type of creatine included. Since this also contains Beta Alanine, there is the possibility that some people could feel the tingling sensation after consuming. Also note that the Warheads Sour Watermelon flavor does contain artificial colors and sweeteners, if you are allergic and/or trying to avoid those.
—-Conclusion—-
In conclusion, I see this supplement as being a great addition to anyone’s stack no matter where you are in your fitness adventure. For the newbies hitting the weights for the first time, I believe this will help amplify your newbie gains along with helping you recover and lessening muscle soreness. For the intermediate lifter that has been training consistently and tried many supplements but can’t break through a plateau; maybe Size is the perfect cocktail of post workout ingredients that you have been missing. For the advanced lifter, this supplement may be your first experience in using Epicatechin and all the possible benefits it can provide. If you are the type of person who has a cabinet full of failed supplements that didn’t produce the effects they claimed; Ghost Size could be the one that replaces them all and gets you back on the GAINS train! Choo Choo Once again, thank you to [b]Ghost[/b] and SR.com for making this review possible. Size combines all the greatness of research backed ingredients with the amazing sour candy taste of Warheads. I looked forward to drinking this each day and letting my body handle the rest. [b] Thank you for reading my review and let me know if you have any questions.[/b]
WarMachine –
Throwing a New Spin on the Creatine Category I Think “SIZE” is a Great Product but It Pulls a Little Too Much from my Back Pocket
—-Quick Summary—-
Ghost SIZE is a great creatine-based product that helps boost fitness performance with other well-studied ingredients to create a fairly effective supplement. The main problem I personally have with it though is that it’s quite expensive for a mainly creatine-based item when I’d personally just buy good ‘ol creatine hydrochloride or monohydrate and leave the other ingredients to my preworkouts or pump supplements to minimize overall spending on supplement stacks. I do however love the inclusion of epicatechin and AstraGin but it’s just not quite enough for me to fork over for the bill!
—-Introduction—-
Ghost has really made a huge splash onto the supplement industry over the past year and for good reason! Utilizing aggressive product marketing, well-dosed ingredients and a really snazzy overall product style have helped this company really rise up to be one of the big contenders in the supplement game. When I saw the opportunity to give their flagship creatine product a try I had to hop on board. Lets see how SIZE stacks up!
—-Ingredient Profile—-
Creatine Monohydrate (2.5g) Creatine Hydrochloride (2.5g): Well since this is mainly a creatine-based supplement I find it fitting to have a quick little explanation on what creatine is exactly and why people use it to enhance fitness! When we hit the gym or use any muscle activity for that matter our bodies use a source of energy produces by the breakdown of a molecule called ATP. When this reaction occurs ATP breaks down into ADP plus a floating phosphate molecule while creating energy that we are able to utilize. Creatine can bind to this already used floating phosphate molecule to turn into creatine phosphate which the body is able to quickly utilize similarly to ATP to create yet another energy source that is actually greater and more prioritized in comparison to ATP. SooOoo essentially creatine helps us recycle used up energy sources. It’s literally free energy! So why wouldn’t everyone jump on board the creatine band wagon considering how insanely cost affordable it is? I wish I knew the answer to that one, probably because people are still in the belief that creatine is potentially “bad” for you or that is just causes more water retention. Now let me say this… our muscles are composed of 99% water and getting more water into our muscle cells is really only a benefit to its performance and our overall look and pump so this whole water retention thing is ridiculous in my honest opinion. Anyways yeah, I’m a huge supporter of creatine and have been on the stuff for like 8 years straight with no significant side effects other than stomach aches from the olden days of creatine loading which no one performs anymore anyways. Beta-Alanine (2g): Super popular supplement that acts as a pH buffer to delay onset of lactic acid build-up to improve our muscular endurance while working out. It appears underdosed since more products have over 3g but since it’s in a creatine-based supplement I guess this would just be a plus to help improve the beta-alanine source you’re likely already getting from a pre-workout. Epicatechin 90% (200mg): Epicatechin is a somewhat new supplement that is primarily found in dark chocolate. It doesn’t have a whole lot of clinical studies regarding its effectiveness but it has been shown to reduce myostatin, which is the main physiological mechanism that our bodies use to regulate muscle mass and keep us from getting too huge…. unfortunately. The studies used doses around 150mg so it’s interesting that Size went with a 200mg dose. Not to also mention that this stuff is pretty expensive and is likely the reason that this product costs so much for a creatine-based supplement. AstraGin (50mg): New up and coming ingredient that has been used in plenty supplements lately to improve absorption significantly. Now who wouldn’t want that?
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
I had the pleasure of trying out the Sour Watermelon “Warheads” flavor and though most people might be skeptical on how accurate they’d be able to create this exact flavor but let me tell you that they hit this one right on the money. I used to eat warheads all the time in my younger years and this flavor takes me back just not as sour as the original which is probably for the best. It mixes very well with minimal residue leftover after a couple shakes with the recommended 8oz of water and it’s dosed easily with a pre-workout sized scooper for pretty much any water bottle. It’s also worth noting that Ghost places their scooper on the upper lip of all their Size tubs so there’s no need to search around when popping open a new bottle which might not sound like much but is really a god send.
—-Effectiveness—-
I typically mixed Size with my daily preworkout product about 20 minutes prior to hitting the gym floor and though it’s hard to objectively note the effects of a creatine-based supplement I did in fact feel a difference with the preworkout from adding the scoop of Size. It may have been from the added dose of beta-alanine or maybe the AstraGin helped with absorbing ingredients from the preworkout as well but it definitely had an intensifying effect to the preworkout. I didn’t notice any significant change in weight over the 30 day cycle though I have been using creatine monohydrate for 8+ years and I didn’t see any significant increases in overall weight but I knew that the product was doing its job by improving my daily workouts and maintaining my current skeletal muscle.
—-Value—-
Priced at a fairly high $40 per 30 serving tubs, each serving will run you about $1.33 which is actually kind of astronomical for a creatine-based supplement but once you put into account the ingredient profile and its inclusion of epicatechin the pricepoint makes a little more sense. I still think it’s a bit pricey though and they should have decided to place an expensive ingredient like epicatechin in another product to make Size a more affordable overall supplement.
—-Side Effects—-
I personally experienced no significant side effects from using Size.
—-Conclusion—-
Ghost is really doing a great job of getting the spotlight on the supplement scene with its awesome product styling and good ingredient profiles and the same can be said for Size! Unfortunately I feel like they went a little too big with Size and should have done without the epicatechin to make it significantly less pricey and maybe added it to their pre-workout Legend to boost its effectiveness there since I feel like that swap would make a little more sense overall. Either way Size is a great product with awesome flavor that is sure to be a big hit for fitness enthusiasts but it’s just a little too far out of my price range for the category that it’s trying to occupy. Cheers Fellas!
WarMachine –
The Name May Be “Ghost”, But SIZE’s Benefits Will Definitely Not Go Ghost On You
—-Quick Summary—-
SIZE by Ghost is a great overall product containing well known ingredients that can aid in muscular size and strength gai. In addition, SIZE also helps in recovery and provides benefits to endurance and pump
—-Introduction—-
A special thanks to Ghost for their participation here on SR.com. Today, I discuss my experience with their product SIZE. SIZE is an interesting looking product containing ingredients known for their benefits towards muscle gain and other areas of fitness. All of the ingredients, such as creatine HCL and epicatechin I’ve had very good experiences with stand alone. To see them brought together along with a couple of other goodies caught my attention in a heartbeat, leading me to want to try it out for myself.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
SIZE contains a fully disclosed profile with all dosages of 5 main ingredients. The ingredients and dosages that I am about to go over are for a one scoop serving. To begin, SIZE starts with 5g of “Full Yield Creatine”, which is actually a duo of creatine monohydrate and creatine HCL dosed at a 2.5g yield each. I’ve used bulk creatine monohydrate numerous times with good benefits. Creatine HCL I haven’t used as often, but the times I have the experiences have also been good. Creatine HCL is said to be more readily absorbed, allowing for less water retention, lower dosage requirement, and elimination of the loading phase often associated with monohydrate. From my experience with HCL I can say that these claims do hold truth in the fact that HCL does cause little water retention and delivers equal benefits compared to monohydrate. Since it does tend to go for a higher price and not as much science to back it up in comparison to mono, its usage is not as popular as mono. I myself tend to just simply go for bulk monohydrate being that it is more cost effective. Next betaine also known as trimethylglycine dosed at 2.5g. Derived primarily from beets, betaine is noted to enhance nitric oxide synthesis by acting as a nitrate. This results in a better pump and improved endurance. There was also a couple of studies that show that trimethylglycine may directly improve anabolic response by enhancing IGF-1 receptor activity. Following we have the ever so popular beta alanine dosed at 2g. Beta alanine works by increasing levels of carnosine, resulting in less prominence of oxidative damage, improved fatigue resistance, and benefits to one’s endurance. 2g is a bit low for me as I prefer 4g minimum. After that, we have epicatechin dosed at 200mg. Extracted mainly from green tea and dark chocolate (cacao), epicatechin is a flavonol best known for its antioxidant benefits and immune system improvement. In the area of muscle building, epicatechin has the ability to inhibit myostatin. Myostatin is a muscle growth inhibitor naturally occurring in muscle tissue. Epicatechin works by increasing levels of Follistatin, which antagonizes myostatin. This results in increased muscle growth potential. Epicatechin can also increase nitric oxide production and has benefits for blood glucose management. Lastly, we have AstraGin at 50mg. As seen as an additive in many supplements today, AstraGin is an absorption enhancer and aids in the potentiation of bioavailability.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
SIZE comes in Warheads sour watermelon an unflavored. I received the sour watermelon warheads. It tasted great and had the right balance between sweet and sour just like the Warheads candy itself. The product mixed fine in water with no problems or undissolved grit. Ghost recommends taking one serving (one scoop) of SIZE within 30 minutes before or after training. It is recommended to take on non-training days as well. With the neutral flavor available, I would presume the option to mix it with a protein shake is viable. However, since I got the warheads sour watermelon I figured it wads best to only use water. On training days, I took one scoop with water immediately post workout. I never used it pre workout. On non-training days, I took a serving mixed with water some time in the afternoon.
—-Effectiveness—-
I would say that SIZE most definitely didn’t “Ghost” on the results I got. First, SIZE did help me gain both strength and size to satisfactory level for an OTC supplement. The gains were not incredible or steroid like, but noticeable nonetheless. The weight I was putting up on a majority of my lifts, both isolation and compound, went up to a degree of about 5-10 lbs. I considered this significant being that I am still on a slight caloric and carb restriction as outlined by my recomp phase. Some of those lifts included a seated dumbbell military press of 110 lbs spotted, 315 lbs spotted decline bench press, 275 lbs spotted incline bench press, 140 lbs barbell skull crusher, and my trap bar deadlifts are now back up to 500+ lbs. Again, these are only some examples. As for size, while I didn’t take measurements, my physique in all areas looked bigger and more pronounced. In addition to the bigger more pronounced look, I had a better pump feeling and improved vascularity all over even on non-training days. My muscles definitely felt fuller and more swole. My recovery was improved big time. Any DOMS and lethargy that I may experience either post workout or on the following days was virtually non-existent. I had more endurance and resistance to fatigue as I was performing more frequent sets with higher volume on several lifts. Lastly, although this contained no stims, I noticed my natural energy levels were also better, most likely due to the recovery benefits.
—-Value—-
The set retail price for a 30 serving tub of SIZE is 39.99. At first glance this may seem a little pricey. However, when considering all the ingredients and more importantly the effectiveness of SIZE, I’d say this value is actually well worth the investment. As I always say, lookout for deals, coupons, and BOGO from vendors.
—-Side Effects—-
none
—-Conclusion—-
Provided you have your training and diet in check while taking SIZE consistently, Ghost has hit a homerun with this product. It will aid in the development of nw gains in muscular size and strength as well provide pump, better endurance, and improved levels of natural energy. As a bonus, the Warheads sour watermelon flavor is great. Again, lookout for better price deals on this product because it is well worth the investment, WARMACHINE OUT!!! GO RED SOX!!!
Wade419 –
Throwing a New Spin on the Creatine Category I Think “SIZE” is a Great Product but It Pulls a Little Too Much from my Back Pocket
—-Quick Summary—-
Ghost SIZE is a great creatine-based product that helps boost fitness performance with other well-studied ingredients to create a fairly effective supplement. The main problem I personally have with it though is that it’s quite expensive for a mainly creatine-based item when I’d personally just buy good ‘ol creatine hydrochloride or monohydrate and leave the other ingredients to my preworkouts or pump supplements to minimize overall spending on supplement stacks. I do however love the inclusion of epicatechin and AstraGin but it’s just not quite enough for me to fork over for the bill!
—-Introduction—-
Ghost has really made a huge splash onto the supplement industry over the past year and for good reason! Utilizing aggressive product marketing, well-dosed ingredients and a really snazzy overall product style have helped this company really rise up to be one of the big contenders in the supplement game. When I saw the opportunity to give their flagship creatine product a try I had to hop on board. Lets see how SIZE stacks up!
—-Ingredient Profile—-
Creatine Monohydrate (2.5g) Creatine Hydrochloride (2.5g): Well since this is mainly a creatine-based supplement I find it fitting to have a quick little explanation on what creatine is exactly and why people use it to enhance fitness! When we hit the gym or use any muscle activity for that matter our bodies use a source of energy produces by the breakdown of a molecule called ATP. When this reaction occurs ATP breaks down into ADP plus a floating phosphate molecule while creating energy that we are able to utilize. Creatine can bind to this already used floating phosphate molecule to turn into creatine phosphate which the body is able to quickly utilize similarly to ATP to create yet another energy source that is actually greater and more prioritized in comparison to ATP. SooOoo essentially creatine helps us recycle used up energy sources. It’s literally free energy! So why wouldn’t everyone jump on board the creatine band wagon considering how insanely cost affordable it is? I wish I knew the answer to that one, probably because people are still in the belief that creatine is potentially “bad” for you or that is just causes more water retention. Now let me say this… our muscles are composed of 99% water and getting more water into our muscle cells is really only a benefit to its performance and our overall look and pump so this whole water retention thing is ridiculous in my honest opinion. Anyways yeah, I’m a huge supporter of creatine and have been on the stuff for like 8 years straight with no significant side effects other than stomach aches from the olden days of creatine loading which no one performs anymore anyways. Beta-Alanine (2g): Super popular supplement that acts as a pH buffer to delay onset of lactic acid build-up to improve our muscular endurance while working out. It appears underdosed since more products have over 3g but since it’s in a creatine-based supplement I guess this would just be a plus to help improve the beta-alanine source you’re likely already getting from a pre-workout. Epicatechin 90% (200mg): Epicatechin is a somewhat new supplement that is primarily found in dark chocolate. It doesn’t have a whole lot of clinical studies regarding its effectiveness but it has been shown to reduce myostatin, which is the main physiological mechanism that our bodies use to regulate muscle mass and keep us from getting too huge…. unfortunately. The studies used doses around 150mg so it’s interesting that Size went with a 200mg dose. Not to also mention that this stuff is pretty expensive and is likely the reason that this product costs so much for a creatine-based supplement. AstraGin (50mg): New up and coming ingredient that has been used in plenty supplements lately to improve absorption significantly. Now who wouldn’t want that?
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
I had the pleasure of trying out the Sour Watermelon “Warheads” flavor and though most people might be skeptical on how accurate they’d be able to create this exact flavor but let me tell you that they hit this one right on the money. I used to eat warheads all the time in my younger years and this flavor takes me back just not as sour as the original which is probably for the best. It mixes very well with minimal residue leftover after a couple shakes with the recommended 8oz of water and it’s dosed easily with a pre-workout sized scooper for pretty much any water bottle. It’s also worth noting that Ghost places their scooper on the upper lip of all their Size tubs so there’s no need to search around when popping open a new bottle which might not sound like much but is really a god send.
—-Effectiveness—-
I typically mixed Size with my daily preworkout product about 20 minutes prior to hitting the gym floor and though it’s hard to objectively note the effects of a creatine-based supplement I did in fact feel a difference with the preworkout from adding the scoop of Size. It may have been from the added dose of beta-alanine or maybe the AstraGin helped with absorbing ingredients from the preworkout as well but it definitely had an intensifying effect to the preworkout. I didn’t notice any significant change in weight over the 30 day cycle though I have been using creatine monohydrate for 8+ years and I didn’t see any significant increases in overall weight but I knew that the product was doing its job by improving my daily workouts and maintaining my current skeletal muscle.
—-Value—-
Priced at a fairly high $40 per 30 serving tubs, each serving will run you about $1.33 which is actually kind of astronomical for a creatine-based supplement but once you put into account the ingredient profile and its inclusion of epicatechin the pricepoint makes a little more sense. I still think it’s a bit pricey though and they should have decided to place an expensive ingredient like epicatechin in another product to make Size a more affordable overall supplement.
—-Side Effects—-
I personally experienced no significant side effects from using Size.
—-Conclusion—-
Ghost is really doing a great job of getting the spotlight on the supplement scene with its awesome product styling and good ingredient profiles and the same can be said for Size! Unfortunately I feel like they went a little too big with Size and should have done without the epicatechin to make it significantly less pricey and maybe added it to their pre-workout Legend to boost its effectiveness there since I feel like that swap would make a little more sense overall. Either way Size is a great product with awesome flavor that is sure to be a big hit for fitness enthusiasts but it’s just a little too far out of my price range for the category that it’s trying to occupy. Cheers Fellas!
BroteinBoy –
Not Casper the friendly ghost, this one means buisness
—-Quick Summary—-
Ghost Size does come in at a relatively high price point when it comes to the creatine market. However as with most things in life you get what you pay for. Ghost delivers a great muscle mass builder that also happens to taste great.
—-Introduction—-
Whats up SR, time to finally drop my review of Ghost Size by the social media phenom company that is Ghost. I was very interested in trying this product as I had seen Ghost’s products everywhere but had yet to try on myself, pair that with my love for creatine HCL and I had to jump on this. Thanks to both Ghost and the Trooper program for hooking it up. Glad to see such unique companies are interested in SR.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
Alright so whats in it? Luckily Ghost does disclose the label and lets us know whats inside: 5g – Creatine Matrix – This matrix is made up of 2.5g Creatine Monohydrate and 2.5g Creatine HCL. This is interesting because it is below the standard dosing for Monohydrate but well above standard dosing for HCL. Interesting as well because Monohydrate is the gold standard for creatine and ATP boosting, allowing users to add size and strength but a downfall can be increased water retention. However with Creatine HCL the claims are the same positives as Mono, but without the water retention and it is claimed to absorb faster. Betaine – 2.5g (Clinical dosing) Beta Alanine – 2g – This is used to help with muscular endurance and aid in recovery, not typically seen in a creatine supplement, but I like the added benefits it can bring. Epicatechin – 200mg – This is said to help decrease myostatin which can inhibit muscle growth, thus allowing for more growth. It is a hot commodity on the supplement market right now.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
I received the Sour Watermelon Warheads flavor. Oh man was this every good, a great blend of sweet and sour. This may be the only creatine I have tried thus far that I was excited about drinking on a daily basis. Mixability was solid as well, I always tend to keep swirling my creatine, so no issues with sinkers or floaters for me. Dosing for me was one scoop post workout or in the morning on non training days (around the same time as my usual post workout).
—-Effectiveness—-
Alright so lets take a look and see if this actually had any benefit in the areas it was supposed to: Size: I did manage to put some size on while running this product, I was on the lower end of the calorie spectrum and doing a decent amount of cardio as well, but I did notice my shoulders and back in particular appeared much bigger and overall I did like my increases in muscle density and appearance. Partly this may be due to the loss of fat, but I think the Size did help both retain and add on to my existing muscle structure. Strength: This was where I really feel like running this benefited me. As previously stated I was doing lots of cardio and was in a slight calorie deficit during my run with this product. But I never lost any strength, in fact in certain areas (mainly pressing movements) I was able to push more weight then normal. This is obviously not exclusively due to the product but anytime one can boost ATP levels strength does increase. I was able to get back to numbers on bench and over head press that I hadn’t hit in 6-8 months. I was really excited about this for obvious reasons.
—-Value—-
This can be found for an average of $39.99 for 30 servings. Giving it a value of $1.33 per serving. Now that is high for a creatine product, but when one considers this has both Mono and HCL (usually more expensive) as well as Epicatechin, that is a very reasonable price for a 2 in 1 muscle building product. There are also various discount codes available through their sponsored athletes, worth looking into.
—-Side Effects—-
None, no water retention either. It is worth noting that with Beta Alanine some people may experience tingling on their skin or an itchy feeling, this is normal.
—-Conclusion—-
In conclusion I was very impressed by Ghost Size, You never know when you see these companies blow up on social media as often times they can be underwhelming. For me Size delivered just that: Size along with some great strength gains and maintenance all in one product. Factor in the reasonable price point and the amazing taste and I have found one of my favorite new strength products. Well done Ghost.