About
MPO: Muscle Protein Optimizer is made and sold by Dioxyme.
The manufacturer states that the product is designed to “stimulate muscle protein synthesis” and boost power and strength, as well as to enhance endurance and recovery.
MPO: Muscle Protein Optimizer contains five ingredients. Of these, creatine is believed to increase ATP in the muscles to boost endurance, while HMB is said to promote muscle synthesis. In addition, Dioxyme says beta-alanine “neutralizes and buffers acid” in the muscles to delay the onset of fatigue.
MPO: Muscle Protein Optimizer is 100% natural and is free from stimulants. The product has been batch-tested by Informed-Choice and is certified “banned substance free”.
Brotein –
A very nice product that is done in by a massive price point
—-Ingredient Profile—-
—-7/10—- Only five ingredients in this one: Creatine mono, beta-alanine, HMB, HICA and Phosphatidic Acid. They break it up into two blends, with the first being 6.5g of the creatine and Beta-Alanine. We know that creatine should be dosed at 5g and beta at 3.2g, so this is looks under-dosed on that front no matter how it’s broken down. The second blend is 5.25g of the remaining ingredients. Recommended dosage of HMB is 3g for an “average” individual, 1.5g for HICA, and 750mg of Phosphatidic Acid. This blend looks right about on point and everything is likely properly dosed here. If the first blend were dosed higher, I’d be much more confident in how it looks on paper. As it stands, though, it’s still a good looking product.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
—-8/10—- The flavor was Lemonade and it was pretty tasty. Very similar to old-fashioned lemonade, just less sweet. Very little grit after mixing, which was a nice bonus. As for dosing, they recommend dosing this by weight, which I chose to ignore. I would have flown through this product in 10 days following their suggestion, which I don’t think would leave me with a fair assessment. It would also make the low value score even lower. All this considered, I decided to stick to 1 scoop per day.
—-Effectiveness—-
—-8/10—- I actually found this product to be pretty darn effective. During my use of MPO, I consistently found myself feeling stronger than I had in previous months and getting a few more reps on every exercise. I also found myself feeling fuller and denser than I normally had been, which was nice. I definitely think this helped with my performance. I don’t believe this aided in any recovery, however.
—-Value—-
—-4/10—- I’ve only seen this listed at $70 for a month supply, which is way more than I’m willing to spend on a product like this, effective as it may have been. If this were $35-40, I’d have no problem recommending it. There are other alternatives that are similar and more budget friendly than this that you could try.
—-Side Effects—-
None
—-Conclusion—-
—-6/10—- I think this is a product that was very effective and could benefit greatly from a more budget conscious price. Thanks again to Dioxyme for sending it out.
Momo1 –
The concept is here; however, for the results, does it warrant the high-end price?
—-Introduction—-
What’s SR! I would like to thank Dioxyme and the Troopers for the opportunity to allow me to run MPO, which stands for Muscle Protein Optimizer. I normally do not use Creatine Mono type products, due to some water retention I sometimes get. However, what caught my attention was the m-TOR statement made by Dioxyme, which his important for recovery. Therefore, I decided to give it a shot and see how it will affect me while adding this to my protein intake.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
MPO is set up in two proprietary blends, which to me; I would have liked to know how much of the goodies I was taking in. Other members have done a great job in explaining the ingredients, so I will keep this light Nitramino Complex – contains Creatine Mono and Beta Alanine, with a total of 6.5 grams. Of course, I was not sure how much of Creatine Mono; considering 5 grams is the min to really get any benefits from Creatine Mono. The m-TOR blend contains an old school supplement called HMB; back in the 90s, people would be robbed for this. The only drawback to HMB, is that it requires high doses to really take advantage of what HMB does, which is to prevent muscle break down
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
Taste – As always, I am one that does not care what something taste, as long as it works; however, if you like a good tasting product, MPO is refreshing. Mix – MPO mixes well, no foaming or residue at the bottom of the shaker cup. Dosing – I used MPO to add to my recovery drink and on some occasions, take a shot first thing in the am. Based on how MPO should be taken, I had to use 1 or 2 scoops, since I weigh more than 225lb.
—-Effectiveness—-
I really wanted to see how MPO would shine; however, it was just like a cloudy day, not sure, if I want to go out or stay home on the couch. My main goal was the recovery aspect of MPO, which is the reason why I mixed my servings with a Whey Isolate protein. My goal was to see how MPO would increase the protein synthesis as I took it with a protein product. I started to notice a reduction of DOMS after about the fifth serving I took. I was trying to make this last, since at the dose amount I was taking, the tub would have been gone in 20 days. I am sure that if taken daily, I would have noticed more of the effects of MPO. In regards to increase endurance and strength, it was minimal at best; I tried to make sure to take MPO by its self so I can better gauge it. However, in the past, despite getting some water retention from Creatine Mono, I still would notice the increase of strength.
—-Value—-
This is a killer for me, at $70.00 bucks for a little over 20 servings for me; it is way over priced compared to other products with similar characteristics. I am sure that if you would go to places that sell the ingredients in MPO in bilk, you could put together the same formulation for about half the cost.
—-Side Effects—-
None to speak of
—-Conclusion—-
MPO unfortunately did not perform for me as the labeled claimed. Believe me when I say, I was really looking forward to see where MPO would have taken me in my goals; however, it was somewhat of a letdown. If MPO was priced at $24 to $27, for the effect I did received, then it would be something to consider. MPO has proven ingredient, they just need to either be increased the grams of what is in MPO or add something to make it be a staple to our supplement regiment. I would like to thank Dioxyme again for the opportunity.
MarsheS –
It should be called Dioxyme (M)uscle (PO)tential
—-INTRODUCTION—- What’s up SupplementReviews. This time I’ll review an interesting product called Muscle Protein Optimizer (MPO) from the brand “Dioxyme”. Thank you to Dioxyme and SupplementReviews for making this connection possible and trusting us. I’ve never heard of Dioxyme before but looking at their products, they have some interesting products, MPO is not the exception. I lift weights 5 days a week, from Monday to Friday and rest Saturday and Sunday. So I’m always looking for supplements that enhance recovery and maximize muscle protein synthesis. When I looked at the label of MPO, I thought this could help, let’s see if it did… —-INGREDIENT PROFILE—- MPO is a unique product. It’s the only product I’ve seen that contains the 3 ingredients: HMB, HICA and Phosphatidic Acid (PA). Some products I’ve seen have 1 or 2 of them but never the 3 of them together so the idea is great! Is the dosing ok? Well, it’s in a Proprietary Blend but that Proprietary Blend has 5,250mg. If you divide that between the 3 ingredients, it would be 1,750mg each ingredient (which would be alright) but the way each milligram is distributed is unknown so we can’t know how much we’re getting of each ingredient. Consumers may not like Proprietary Blends but I think companies have the right to use them (look at what’s happening with Preworkouts now) BUT with the condition that the amount of the Proprietary Blend has to give me an idea that the ingredients are not underdosed or massively underdosed. Looking at the 5,250mg of this Proprietary Blend, I’m satisfied because it tells me the ingredients are not underdosed. Of course I can’t be 100% sure but more than 70% sure? Yes. HMB and HICA are 2 metabolites of Leucine. Metabolites are [i]”intermediates and products of metabolism”[/i] and they have several functions in the body. Examine.com says: [i]”Leucine initially goes into one of two metabolic pathways (KIC or HMB) and then some of the KIC is further converted into HICA.”[/i] So HMB and HICA follow 2 different pathways, it’s great to have them together. Both have the benefit of helping to prevent or slow down muscle protein breakdown, that seems to be their main benefit instead of being anabolic (they probably have anabolic properties but low because they are not Leucine themselves) but hey, we all consume Leucine with Whey Protein and protein from food so no problem if they are only anti-catabolic. They should work together well and that’s what matters. Phosphatidic Acid is a type of fat. It increases strength, helps with muscle growth, lean mass, etc. The studies have used 750mg so even if MPO only uses 750mg, then it would work well and it would leave even more amount of milligrams to HMB and HICA. So it’s a win-win situation here. Less Muscle Breakdown, more Muscle Growth, more Lean Mass, more Recovery, etc. The idea is great. Then it comes a 6,500mg of another Proprietary Blend of only 2 ingredients: Our old classic trusted friend Mr. Creatine Monohydrate and Beta-Alanine. Most users that have used MPO have said this blend is underdosed but I disagree with them. You don’t need 5 grams of Creatine Monohydrate to feel the benefits of increased muscular strength. According to my experience with supplements, 3 grams of Creatine Monohydrate is enough to start feeling the effects. Examine.com talks about it: [i]”For a 180 lb (82 kg) person, this translates to 25 g/day during the loading phase and 2.5 g/day afterward.”[/i] You would argue that they say the 2.5g is ok but only after a loading phase but hey, don’t forget diet gives us Creatine and if you don’t always have a separate Creatine supplement, then you’re doing something wrong. Having Creatine as a separate supplement is always better than expecting it from a supplement that is not Creatine by itself. If you take MPO by itself with the Creatine it has, it’s going to work so don’t worry. But well, I think MPO has more than 3 grams of Creatine Monohydrate. Everytime I took it, I would get thirsty so MPO must have between 4-5 grams (I hope not 6 grams because that would only leave us with 500mg of Beta-Alanine which would be massively underdosed). I’m going to say something that some of you won’t like but some of you have become paranoid just because a supplement doesn’t have the “clinical dose”. I’ll say this again: When scientists use a clinical dose, they examine the ingredient ALONE. So the 3.2 grams of Beta-Alanine you all want were studied ALONE. But guess what? This supplement has Creatine, Beta-Alanine, Phosphatidic Acid, etc. 1.6g of Beta-Alanine combined with other ingredients (like Creatine) can work much better than 3.2g of Beta-Alanine alone. So stop saying you want 3.2 grams of Beta-Alanine. Same thing with all the other ingredients. Also take into account that Creatine works very well with Beta-Alanine when they are combined and also with HMB. Am I going to give negative points to a car that doesn’t have more than 500 horse power? No I won’t. If all supplements had clinical dose, then where would the difference be? I didn’t get any tingling sensation. That’s a hint the Beta-Alanine is low BUT I can’t be sure of that. Sometimes a person simply doesn’t get any tingling sensation regardless of the dose. But based on what I experienced with MPO, it probably has 5g of Creatine Monohydrate and 1.5g of Beta-Alanine. I expect atleast 2-2.5 grams of Beta-Alanine in my supplements. So Creatine is NOT underdosed. It would be underdosed if it had less than 3g and MPO doesn’t have less than 3g of Creatine Monohydrate. So Overall, the 2 blends didn’t dissapoint me. I think the blend of HMB, HICA and PA is correctly dosed and the blend of Creatine/Beta-Alanine is acceptable. More Beta-Alanine would have been better but life isn’t perfect, neither are supplements. For this original creative formula, I give it a 9/10. It would be 10/10 if I knew exactly how much amount I’m getting of each ingredient. —-TASTE/MIXABILITY/DOSING—- [u]TASTE[/u]: I got the Lemonade flavor and it’s the only flavor available right now. I was expecting a bad flavor because if you’ve tried Leucine by itself, you will know the taste is HORRIBLE! So if this has Leucine’s 2 metabolites (HMB and HICA) then it must also be bad hahaha. But I was wrong, the taste was alright. I wouldn’t say it was delicious like a well made Lemonade but it was alright. 7.5/10. I would have preferred a stronger taste but it seems the other members liked this flavor a lot so no problems here. Even better to have a lighter taste because if you combine MPO with another product, then the Lemonade won’t take over the whole taste. [u]MIXABILITY/POWDER’S CONSERVATION[/u]: Never gave me problems mixing it. You only need to add 6oz of water. The powder’s conservation was excellent, not a single sign of humidity. [u]DOSING[/u]: Optimal Dosage: Half-Scoop if you weigh 100-130lbs (If this is your weight, then you should instead buy a lot of food and eat like a pig every 2-3 hours). 1 scoop if your weight is between 131-190lbs, 1.5 scoops if it’s between 191-240lbs and 2 scoops for more than 240lbs. My weight is 200lbs approximately so I should have consumed 1.5 scoops. I just took 1 scoop to last me the 30 servings. When I claimed MPO, I thought about taking it only Post-Workout but then considering they suggested it to take it pre-workout, then I did 2 weeks post-workout and 2 weeks pre-workout. —-EFFECTIVENESS—- I stopped taking Creatine some days before taking MPO to see how effective MPO would be. As Pre-workout, I mixed it most of the times with a stimulant pre-workout but I also tried it along with NutraBio Intra-Blast only. It was very effective this way. The ingredients were doing their job, giving me more strength, reducing recovery time between sets, reducing soreness during sets, etc. As for the prevention of muscle breakdown, that can’t be measured by a regular consumer, neither pre-workout nor post-workout. I think the reduction of soreness during sets might be an indication of the prevention of muscle breakdown but some people might say that no, it’s just the lactic acid that causes that soreness so it was the Beta-Alanine. MPO is classified as a “Performance Enhancer”, a Stimulant Free Pre-Workout so it enhanced performance? Yes it did. The claims were met except for the “dramatically reduce muscle catabolism” which I can’t be sure of that. It probably needs more servings to see/feel more the effects of that claim. But overall, I’m satisfied with the results. MPO can work by itself well but I think the optimal way of using it is combined with another stimulant pre-workout. I gave 2 servings to my brother who also lifts to see if he could feel the effects and yes he did. He was happy with the servings. He told me he wanted to buy the product, I’m like ok cool, it’s only $70 hahahaha. —-VALUE—- Aaaaaand this is the part that gets ugly. I’ll start by putting what the rep of Dioxyme said about Value: [i]””Can MPO compete with prohormones? Hell no. I wouldn’t give up my T if I had to choose between the two, but I, as do most athletes see the difference in strength and endurance when using it. The immediate improvement in power and endurance is why many pro athletes in MMA, NHL, boxing, MLS, and powelifting, use it. I would like to comment on the question of price which many reviewers have negatively commented on. It is expensive. We know it. We hate what we have to charge. Some of the raws are very expensive and regardless, we use an ergogenic dose. I reviewed the lowest retail price of these raw ingredients, at our dosing, on amazon. The cheapest amazon one month supply of the raw ingredients with prime is $124. We offer free shipping on MPO at $69.99. As our volume grows and our raw ingredient costs decline, we will be able to offer improved savings to our customers.””[/i] There’s no doubt it improves our performance. But $70? The rep said it himself, it can’t compete with prohormones. So even though it improved performance, I can improve my performance way more if I spend $70 on 2 or 3 supplements and take them together. In fact, I can buy the best Stimulant Pre-Workout on the market (NutraBio Pre Extreme for me – for now lol), buy 30 servings of Creatine and 30 servings of Beta Alanine. That would cost me $70 or maybe less, not more and my performance would be improved waaaay more. I don’t know where you’re getting that price of $124 if we buy the raw ingredient. 30 servings of Creatine is like $6, 30 servings of Beta-Alanine another $6 or $8 (it’s not patented), HMB $10 or $12… The only 2 ingredients I couldn’t find a price reference was HICA and PA. I know they are both expensive, that’s why most companies don’t include them in their formulas and if they include them, they usually cover the amount and the ones that say how much they have, their supplements are more expensive than others. So I assume HICA and PA are expensive. But $70 is way too much for me and even a rich person, that’s why the Value score didn’t reach a 6 because even with extra money, I wouldn’t buy it because it’s too expensive. The problem is your business model. For you to go on, you need to sell this for $70, that’s a bad business model because even though I loved the formula, the price is not justified. The calculation of your costs is wrong, that’s why the final price is also wrong. It doesn’t cost me $124 to get the raw ingredients in your formula. It would probably cost me something between $50 (minimum, close to your dosing) or $60 (maximum, at your dosing) as a consumer, not $124. So a wrong starting point means a wrong final price and a wrong business model. The final, correct and fair price for MPO would be something between $35 and $40 for 30 servings. But my advice would be to increase the amount of servings, to a minimum of 50 servings (although I would prefer 60 servings). That way we can take MPO as pre-workout and also post-workout because I think the Post-workout results are not seen that much because the effects of the ingredients are all used during the workout. How much HICA, PA, HMB and Creatine will remain in the body after the workout is done?? Exactly, almost none. But if you make a 50-60 serving version, then the $70 price is way better and fair. 50 to 60 servings of MPO for $70 would increase my Value rating from 5 to something close to an 8 (which is great Value according to our standards). And if you take into account that adding more servings will definitely increase effectiveness, then I think those are the 2 options you have: Either decrease your price and if you can’t, then increase the amount of servings to 50-60, that way we can use the product pre-workout and post-workout together. Dioxyme had a 35% off promo on Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Makes me assume you can definitely lower that price. —-SIDE EFFECTS—- I got thirsty everytime I had this so make sure you drink enough water after taking MPO. —-CONCLUSION—- Great formula, I really like the idea of this formula. Whoever thought about it, good job for him/her. Good taste, no problems mixing it, powder’s conservation was great, not a single sign of clumps or humidity. Supplement is very effective pre-workout, it’s a true performance enhancer, it’s a great addition to our pre-workout stack. The big problem is the Value, like I said a fair price for 30 servings would be $35-$40 max but I think it would be better to increase the amount of servings to something between 55-60 and still charge $70, that way we can see results pre-workout and especially post-workout and Value would be justified. It’s called Muscle Protein Optimizer but to optimize muscles, I think it needs more servings to see that benefit. That’s why the name of the title of my review. —-SUGGESTIONS FOR THE COMPANY—- I’ve said it multiples times already but just in case you/they missed them: 1. Decrease the price to something between $35-40 max. 2. And/or make a 55-60 serving container worth $70, that way we can take MPO pre-workout and post-workout to get better results from the HICA, HMB and PA which is the attractive part of MPO.
Xcmiler –
Muscle Protein Optimizer (MPO) Is a Premium Priced Supplement That Was Effective
—-Introduction—-
I have never heard of Dioxyme until they started sending out their products to Troopers. When I saw their Muscle Protein Optimizer (MPO) I wanted to try it. One of the main reasons was the ingredients of combining HICA, HMB and phosphatidic acid. I have taken all of these supplements but not all at once. So, here is the review.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
MPO comes in a 30 serving tub with each serving coming in at 20g. The main thing I want to note right at the start is this is a proprietary blend. So, we don’t actually know the dosages of each ingredient in the product. The first ingredient complex is the “nitramino complex” that consists of creatine monohydrate and beta-alanine at a 6500 mg dosage. Creatine monohydrate increases creatine and phosphocreatine levels in the body. As a person exercises their body converts ATP to ADP. Only ATP can be used for energy production. ADP will bind to phosphocreatine, which is higher now due to supplementing with creatine. When it binds it will convert back into ATP, which in turn can increase energy. This increased energy can then be used to increase performance. The main benefit to beta alanine is that it can be an acid buffer in the body and can help improve fatigue during exercise. The clinical dosages for these ingredients is 3-5g for creatine monohydrate and 2-3.2g for beta-alanine. So, in this proprietary blend it is plausible you are getting a clinical dosage of both ingredients. The next group of ingredients is in the mTOR Optimatrix, which consists of hydroxy methylbutyrate (HMB), alpha-hydroxyisocaproic acid (HICA), and phosphatidic acid (PA). These three ingredients make up 5250 mg in the product. HMB can aid in muscle protein synthesis and can also prevent muscle breakdown. The main thing here is the clinical dosage for HMB 3g so I am unsure if you are getting it with MPO. However, looking at the mTOR optimatrix 3g might be plausible. The next is HICA, which is also known as leucic acid and works similar to HMB by increasing muscle protein synthesis and decreasing muscle breakdown. There really isn’t a clinical dosage set but I have seen between 1-1.5g and it is plausible you are getting this with MPO. The last ingredient is PA, which promotes muscle growth and strength increases. The minimum effective dosage I have seen is 750 mg. Based on the clinical dosage of the other ingredients in this matrix it is plausible you are getting at least that. Overall, I really like the ingredient profile especially the inclusion of HMB, HICA and PA. Those ingredients on their own can be expensive and having them in one convenient supplement is nice. As for the creatine and BA, I liked the dosages and I am presuming they are probably using 3250 mg of each. This is my standard dosage of both when I take them in bulk.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
MPO comes in only one flavor and that is lemonade. The powder smells a little odd it is hard to describe as I expected a lemon scent. Now, this doesn’t really matter since I am not snorting it. When mixed with liquid that lemonade scent comes out and the odd smell goes away. When you taste the product it definitely has that lemonade taste but it is somewhat muted. It tastes like watered down lemonade, which I kind of preferred. I notice other supplement companies will make their lemonade flavor overly sweet this was not the case with MPO. In terms of mixability, MPO mixes somewhat clear but is a little cloudy. There is a decent amount of particles that sink the bottom but will disperse when shaking the blender bottle. However, after a minute they sink back down. I wasn’t surprised by this as a lot of products with creatine I have used have done the same thing. As far as doing goes, I stuck to one scoop per day but I think technically for my weight I am recommended to take 1.5 scoops. I never felt the need to increase my dosage. I also will note that I took this product twice a day in half scoop serving to reduce water retention.
—-Effectiveness—-
The major claims made by Dioxyme for MPO are increased strength, muscle growth, and endurance boost. So, I felt I would rate these major claims. I will note that they mention no loading required and for the BA and creatine you do need to load as they work on saturation. As for the other ingredients I don’t recall reading anything about them needing to load. I do know that with PA I always felt like it took at least two weeks to kick in. When I first started taking MPO, I noticed that over the course of the first two weeks my strength slowly started to increase. This was most notable on my dumbbell bench press were I had dipped in strength recently as my main goal has been weight loss. I was able to jump up five pounds in the first two weeks and then jumped 10 pounds in the final week. I thought this was quite good because I had been plateaued for awhile. I feel like this in turn lead into the other claim of muscle growth. I felt like my chest was fuller and when I came off MPO and was creatine free I noticed an increase in chest size than prior to taking MPO. So, based on that I feel like I had some muscle growth from MPO. It helped in other areas as well but my chest was were I noticed the most results. I also noticed some muscle gains in my legs from running. I recently have been doing a lot more hill work and definitely noticed a size difference in my calves. They appeared larger and slightly more defined than they were before MPO. Speaking of running, this is where I saw a large boost in endurance. I run all year round and I primarily do sprint work in the Spring/Summer and long distance work in the Fall/Winter. So, when I started back up doing long distance running I had some problems with endurance and would have to slow to a jog frequently. However, I noticed that when I began to include this (and a intra-workout BCAA product) my endurance was increased. This was especially noticeable when going over five miles as I would struggle between mile five and six but would rebound for seven and finish on eight. I noticed I did not struggle as much and had an easier time finishing the run. This was also noticed in the gym with supersets but not as significant as I saw on the trail.
—-Value—-
MPO is quite expensive when you first look at it retailing for $69.99, which is a lot for a supplement. At one scoop a day, you are looking at $2.33 per serving/day. It is hard to compare this since not many products on the market have the exact same makeup. The closest is Olympus Labs Tr1umph that retails for $47.99 making it $1.59 per serving but OL runs a lot of sales so you could find it 50% off. However, OL does not have Informed Choice. There is PES Ergonine that goes for $29.99 making it $1.00 per day but that can be lowered with coupon codes. While Tr1umph and Ergonine share some ingredients with MPO they don’t share everything. So, I decided to see if I bought MPO in bulk how much would it cost. I personally get all my bulks from Nutrabio so creatine is $.14 per 5g dosage. Beta alanine is $.18 for a 2g dosage. Now, this consists of the “nitramino complex” but I don’t know the exact dosages so let’s just say that it came to $.32. Now, for the “mTOR Optimatrix” it is 5250mg consisting of HMB, HICA and phosphatidic acid. The HMB is going to cost at Nutrabio $1.06 but that is for a 3000 mg dose. This leaves 2250 mg in the formula. HICA is hard to find the only place I found it is from Labrada and for a 1000mg dose you are looking at $.58. Finally, you have phosphatidic acid, which is hard to find nowadays. It appears that a lot of companies aren’t manufacturing the products as abundantly as they once were. I know many individuals take soy lecithin granules for PA but those gave me significant side effects. HPN Supplements has a PA supplement for $1.37 for 900mg of PA. So, in total you are looking at $3.33 per comparable dosage to one scoop of MPO. However, keep in mind MPO is a prop blend so I am not sure of the dosage. Also, whenever I do price comparisons I only use stores that I feel comfortable buying from. So, I know you can get a lot of this from bulk websites for very cheap but I personally don’t feel comfortable buying my supplements from those sites. So, overall in terms of value, I think there is definitely value here if you want to take the ingredients in this formula. If you were to take more than a scoop a day I feel like the value of this product plummets. This is a premium product and it is priced accordingly and it might not fit everyone’s budget. I personally will use it as a plateau breaker running it maybe once or twice a year. Since I usually use PA for that anyway I might as well utilize MPO.
—-Side Effects—-
The only side effect I noticed was some slight water retention. However, I get this with most creatines other than HCL. I reduced the retention by splitting up my dosage to a half scoop twice a day.
—-Conclusion—-
Overall, I really liked my time with MPO and I could see myself using it as a plateau breaker. I do feel like it is too expensive to use as a regular daily ergogenic and could see myself using once or twice a year. I found it effective for increasing strength, endurance and muscle mass. If it is in your budget and you are currently at a plateau I would recommend giving this a try for a month. Thank you for Dioxyme for sending out the product!
htevans –
This Will Help You Optimize Your Muscle Gains But Not Your Wallet Gains
—-Introduction—-
I sincerely apologize to Dioxyme for taking so long on this review. When I saw MPO come up on TROOPS, I pulled the trigger because the profile looked unique enough that it might work where other products failed for me. I had no knowledge of the price at the time but now that I do, I really appreciate the product and ability to try it much more.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
8.75/10 MPO stands for Muscle Protein Optimizer, but what exactly is in it to warrant such a name? Turns out there’s only a few ingredients but they pack a large punch. In the “Nitramino Complex” dosed at 6.5 grams there is creatine monohydrate and Beta-Alanine. In short, creatine monohydrate is a well-studied staple ingredient that helps increase strength and muscle hydration. Since it is listed first, it makes up at least a simple majority of the blend. Rounding out the blend is beta-alanine, a non-essential amino acid that helps buffer lactic acid production and thereby increase endurance. Since it is listed last it makes up a majority of the blend. Now, I’m disappointed that these ingredients are hidden in a propriety blend. Still, I can deduce basic math and determine that at least, if not both ingredients are undressed at the 1 scoop/serving level. An efficacious dose of creatine is 5 grams and an efficacious dose of beta-alanine is 3.2 grams (although I have heard on here that it is best to split your doses into two 1.6 gram doses). If creatine is dosed at 5 grams, then beta-alanine is just under half an efficacious dose (which may be better). Either way, I’d like to just have a transparent label so I can tell for sure and not have to guess. In the “mTOR Optimatrix” blend dosed at 5.25 grams includes, in order, Hydroxy Methylbutyrate (HMB), Alpha-Hydroxyisocaproic Acid (HICA), and Phosphatic Acid (PA). HMB is an active metabolite of leucine that reduces muscle protein breakdown and has shown anti-catabolic properties but doesn’t appear to be any better than leucine for promoting muscle growth. An efficacious dose range is 1-3 grams. HICA is another leucine metabolite that has similar properties as HMB, notably anti-catabolic properties. It may also have anabolic properties but the research on HICA is extremely limited. The recommended dose is 1.5 grams a day split into three doses of 500 milligrams. PA is a lipid that has shown promise in activating the mTOR pathway, increasing strength, helping build muscle, and reduce cortisol levels. An efficacious dose is 750mg a day but positive results have been seen at higher doses as well. Again, since these ingredients are hidden in a proprietary blend, it is a bit hard to tell exactly how much of each ingredient is in each scoop. That being said, basic math tells us that these could each be dosed efficaciously (and at the maximum of the range for HMB). Therefore, I’ll give Dioxyme the benefit of the doubt here and assume they did that. I didn’t see any dyes listed and I didn’t see any when I mixed MPO with water so I’ll assume there are no artificial dyes, which I like a lot. That is always a plus in my book. In short, this profile is pretty solid but the first blend could be dosed a little heavier in my opinion.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
10/10 I received the lemonade flavor, which I believe is the only flavor available, and it tasted pretty good. It was a very light flavor in all the different amounts of water I tried (8-20 oz) but I actually enjoyed that because I could mix it with other lemonade or lemon-lime flavored supplements I had. Considering each scoop packs a whopping 20 grams of ingredients it mixed pretty well. I never had any residual grit leftover nor did I ever encounter clumps or swirling particles mid-sip. Dosing could not have been any simpler. Dioxyme provides a dosing chart based on one’s weight and I typically followed that recommendation. I took 1 scoop a day, typically before or intra-workout, but also occasionally at random points in the day (i.e. whenever I remembered to take it). Occasionally I’d dose this at 1.5 scoops in the event I forgot to take it on a rest day. I took MPO every day to the best of my ability.
—-Effectiveness—-
8.5/10 To be entirely honest, I didn’t expect much from the start other than results typically experienced from creatine monohydrate and beta-alanine supplementation. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised after about a week of use. Around a week into using MPO, I started to notice a bit more strength and endurance. I had just come from using another creatine supplement so I was expecting more of a continuation than anything too noticeable. However, I seemed to get a sudden jolt of strength out of nowhere. I recently started deadlifting again after a long hiatus and although some of it was likely muscle memory, I shattered some then-current PRs on the second week. Ok, so a sudden jump of like 50lbs was definitely not only a result of MPO, but I do feel that it helped. Why do I say that? Because every week throughout the rest of my run, I continued to increase the weight I pulled until I was almost back to my old time PR. Furthermore, I noticed these strength effects in other lifts and muscle groups as well. Within two weeks of use, I added at least 5lbs to every dumbbell lift I currently do and 10lbs to every barbell lift I do. Although I find that to be the case whenever I start taking creatine after a long time off, this was a bit surprising for me since I didn’t have an “off” period so much as I switched creatine supplements and forms. In the way of endurance, I noticed I was able to crank out some seriously hard sets. For example, with deadlifts I pulled a set of 20 seemingly out of nowhere on a day when I was just beat and not expecting anything more than a “running through the motions” type of workout. I really started noticing an improvement once I started using MPO in combination with Vasky, however. I really loved the pumps I was getting, especially in my arms, so I regularly got overzealous and pushed myself to do some sets of 15-20 reps after my usual working sets to really feel (and see) it. Moreover, I wouldn’t drop the weight by more than 5lbs so I considered this to be relatively significant in terms of endurance in my eyes. I can honestly say that before using MPO just one set of 15 reps with a weight 5-10lbs after my working sets would have been a serious struggle. Oddly enough, I never really noticed much in the way of endurance in cardio activities (usually just a treadmill for me). I typically see a small improvement in this area with beta-alanine supplementation so I was always kind of waiting for it to kick in but it never did. While that may have been a little disappointing, I would gladly trade improvements in cardio for the results I got in other areas.
—-Value—-
7/10 I found this on Amazon and Dioxyme’s website for $69.99 for 30 1 Scoop servings. I saw a 15% off coupon on Dioxyme’s website that drops the price by nearly $10.50 but it is still almost $60. That’s a bit steep for 30 servings. Now I understand you have to consider the ingredients but I can find raws of most of these ingredients for much cheaper. I saw that Xcmiler did a solid breakdown of raws and found that MPO can be value at the end of the day but I still think that since most of the ingredients (Creatine, Beta-alanine, HMB, and PA) can be found for cheaper it is not worthy of a score higher than 7/10. I found creatine and beta-alanine on amazon at $0.03 and $0.02 a gram respectively. I found HMB on amazon for $0.08 a gram. Basic math tells me that I can dose these ingredients on my own for less than $.50 a day. Phosphatic acid is a bit trickier but I get mine from lecithin granules that run me $10-15 for 30 servings and provides over a gram of PA. Including PA, I can run all of these ingredients at a cost of $1 a day. HICA is admittedly hard to find and expensive but I found some from Labrada but 1.5 grams costs about $0.90. Still, even with the HICA, this line up can be run for a little cheaper than the $2.33/serving cost of MPO – and that includes a full 3.2 gram dose of beta-alanine. So in short, I think the cost isn’t terrible given the convenience of having everything all in one powder to scoop and flavored, but I would at least like to see one or more of the following before I dropped $60-70 for it: 1) patented ingredients 2) a transparently disclosed full efficacious dose of creatine and beta-alanine
—-Side Effects—-
10/10 I received no side effects while taking this product.
—-Conclusion—-
8/10 Ultimately, I think MPO is a solid product. Sure, I wish some things were different like a slightly better price point, a transparent label, and efficacious doses where they may not be present. However, I was really surprised by the results I experienced and think that that says something. In some regard, you get what you pay for. I came to a 8.1 rating by averaging the scores for Ingredient Profile, Effectiveness, and Value which gave me a 8.08. I rounded up to a 8.1 since I was so impressed by the effectiveness. In short, I would recommend this to anyone looking to break through a plateau or trying to shake up their supplementation a bit – you may just be (pleasantly) surprised at what you get out of it.