About
Mutant BCAA 9.7 is a BCAA/intra-workout product made by Mutant. It is designed to enhance muscle growth, prevent muscle wastage and speed up workout recovery.
As the product’s name suggests, it contains 9.7g of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), of which there are three: Leucine, isoleucine and valine. These amino acids are said to reduce body fat, increase protein synthesis and aid muscle recovery.
In addition, the manufacturer adds magnesium oxide, potassium citrate and six other electrolytes to “keep muscles hydrated”.
The product is available in 348g and 1044g bottles. It is also sold in several flavors, including “Fuzzy Peach”, “Roadside Lemonade” and “Key Lime Cherry”.
aleexz –
The product with a MUTANT amount of BCAAs
—-Introduction—-
I am a college student that has been lifting for a few years and has become really interested in nutrition, supplements and food intake.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
This is a heavy loaded BCAA product so the scoop is a big one (11.6g), full tub is 30 serv and there is a 90 serv tub. We got ourselves: – Blend made of 7.2 grams (L-Leucine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine): We can’t actually guess what’s the right amount of each ingredient but in the bigger picture this is a very nice amount of BCAAs. Regular consumption varies between 5 to 10 grams: + Leucine tends to be supplement in the 2-5g ratio, it is one of the three branched chain amino acids and sometimes referred to as the ‘main’ amino acid due to the most popular benefit of BCAAs plus it is able to reliably increase muscle protein synthesis after meals even though the studies are still in progress. Leucine, however, is non-stimulatory. + Valine, there is currently insufficient evidence to suggest an optimal dose of valine supplementation and for what purposes valine supplementation might actually be useful for. In isolation, there is currently no hugely significant benefit of its supplementation that cannot be replicated by either leucine or isoleucine supplementation. + The recommended dosage range for isoleucine per se is 48-72mg/kg and it is intermediate for its ability to induce muscle protein synthesis (stronger than valine, but much weaker than leucine) but is able to significantly increase glucose uptake and the usage of glucose during exercise. Isoleucine does not promote glycogen synthesis, however. – Blend of different micronized aminoacids made of 2.6g (Taurine, Glicine, L-Glutamine, L-arginine, L-tyrosine): Again, this is a propietary blend so we can’t decipher the amount of mg per ingredient: + Taurine: Dosages between 500mg-2,000mg have shown efficacy, although the upper limit for toxicity is placed at a much greater level and high doses are well-tolerated. It’s know for its nootropic effect and its ability to increase blood flow when exercising plus it can aid various anti-oxidant defense systems. + Glicine: The lowest active dose of glycine supplementation in humans tends to be the 1-3g dosage range, although doses of up to 45g have been used without apparent side-effects. It is an amino acid and neurotransmitter, it can play both stimulatory and depressant roles in the brain and supplementation can improve sleep quality and decrease fatigue. + L-Glutamine: Supplementation of L-glutamine tends to be dosed at 5g or above but due to the relative inefficacy of glutamine supplementation for increasing muscle mass, the optimal dosage is not known. There is no proof about its ability to help build lean muscle mass. + L-Arginine: The standard pre-workout dose for L-arginine is 3-6g. It is a conditionally essential amino acid. It is important for blood flow and nitric oxide levels, but oral supplementation may not reliably improve blood flow in humans. Many companies have left it behind and started using Citrulline. + L-Tyrosine: It tends to be taken in doses of 500-2000mg approximately 30-60 minutes before exercise. It is used to produce noradrenaline and dopamine; supplemental appears to be anti-stress and may preserve stress-induced memory deficits. – Blend of 8 electrolytes in 120mg. – Bioperine in 5 mg: It helps with absorption of said ingredients
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
– It comes in a bunch of flavors: Blue Razz, Fruit Punch, Fuzzy Peach, Green Apple, Key Lime Cherry, Pineapple Passion and Watermelon. I have tried Fuzzy Peach and it’s sweet but then turns into a bitter flavor, it tries to imitate gummy peaches but it doesn’t get it right. – Mixability is nice but as we all know, good BCAA products tend to foam when mixing with a shaker and this does too. – Dosing is nice, only 1 scoop has a huge amount of BCAAs plus added ingredients.
—-Effectiveness—-
I’m going to try to put it simple, IT WORKS. This is not one of those “only BCAA” products that you may think they work but you get no proof. On one hand, this hits almost the 10 g mark, which is the highest clinically dose amount of BCAAs recommended. On the other hand, you get a bunch of other ingredients to aid your workout and give you focus, endurance and recovery. I have tried 1 scoop alone and I have tried mixing it with a pre workout product. – 1 scoop alone: First off, the smell was mild and the flavor wasn’t overwhelming but it wasn’t smooth either, there is definitely room for improvement there. As soon as I started working out I got slowly into my zone but did not get tunnel vision focus (probably because of the low dosages of some added ingredients that work as nootropics), endurance definitely improved and this came hand to hand with the added eletrolytes as they keep the muscles hydrated and nervous system on check. Pumps weren’t there, it was expected as there are almost no pumping ingredients or they have a low dosage. Strength went up but I can’t say it was necessarily because of this product. Recovery, however, was there and this is so important when cutting. The next day I had almost no DOMS and my body was ready for war again. – 1 scoop + preworkout: You have those benefits I said and now add a huge increase in energy, focus and pumps and you got the perfect pre workout formula. I wouldn’t do this every workout because it would be so expensive but it was one of the greatest experiences I have experienced at the gym.
—-Value—-
You are looking at a product ranging from $19.99-23.99 so it’s a good value for your money as one scoops gets you a great amount of BCAAs plus added ingredients to help you perform better.
—-Side Effects—-
The taste but none other.
—-Conclusion—-
In conclusion, this is a great and well rounded BCAA product specially when consumed intra/pre workout and when playing sports (added electrolytes got your back here) AND if you don’t care too much about the taste (even though it seems like some other tastes are pretty tasty such as green apple, but I haven’t tried it yet). I wouldn’t consume it inbetween meals or through the day as you would be wasting the added benefits of its other ingredients.
Redweilerfan –
Mutant BCAA 9.7 Review: It will provide you with Mutant powers in the ongoing battle against DOMS!
—-Introduction—-
Hello SR nation! Redweilerfan here with the last review for the year 2017 and today we will discuss another product from Mutant, namely their BCAA 9.7. I generally like Mutant and their products, overall I think that they know their game and they have a nice line of products ranging from BCAAs to whey proteins and preworkouts and everything in between. When it comes to the price factor Mutant usually has some good offers and the whole line breathes quality. The only exception from my personal perspective, so far, was their isolate, Iso Surge. The taste was super sweet and I never really liked it. Other than that, my experiences with their products have been fine so far. Okay, so a few words on me: I workout 4 times a week and is currently bulking, so BCAAs are necessary to obtain mass and keep recovery optimal. Let’s go IN DEPTH and see how this product stacked up. Buckle up!
—-Ingredient Profile—-
So, per 1 scoop (11.6 g) we get a bunch of goodies here; Energy 10 calories Carbohydrates: 0 g Fat/Lipides 0 g Sodium 50 mg Magnesium 50 mg (13% of your daily allowance) Mutant BCAA 9.7 Blend 9.2 g Instantized BCAAs 2-1-1 (L-leucine, L-Valine, L-isoleucine) 7.2 g Amino Support Blend 2.5 g (Taurine, Glycine, L-Glutamine, L-Arginine, L-Tyrosine) 8 Electrolyte Blend Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Citrate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Calcium Lactate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Calcium Citrate, Sodium Chloride Absorption Agent BioPerine 5 mg (Piper Nigrum Fruit 98%) So, right out the gate, this product seems to be a solid one, on paper at least. We have some partial prop blends here, so that’s a little bit of a negative. But on the other hand, we do have the full amounts for each section given to us, so we can speculate from that. The product is in the 2-1-1 ratio and the 7.2 g seems to offer clinical dosages of leucine, isoleucine and valine. Clinical dose of leucine is often interpreted to be in the 3-5 g range, and this might well have around 3 g of leucine, so we would have a clinical dose here but in the lower end of the clinical spectrum. Then it might also be higher, we simply do not know. If I had to guess, I would say that it is a good clinical dose of leucine here. Leucine, an essential amino acid, is known to have a potent stimulatory effect on protein synthesis and muscle growth, especially in older men and nutrient deprived persons. Isoleucine and valine are weaker in effects in relation to protein synthesis, but affects glucose uptake, insulin production and sensitivity for example. This is important since insulin is known to be an anabolic hormone under certain circumstances. In the Amino Support Blend we have taurine, tyrosine, glutamine, arginine and glycine. The effects of these are connected to the use of this product. Optimal usage to reap the benefits would be intra workout as taurine for example contributes to muscle volumization, increased power output and some energy. Clinical dosage would be in the 500-2000 mg range and since the whole amount is 2.5 g in this Amino Support Blend, it is possible that taurine is properly dosed. Glycine seems to be mainly effective in relation to sleep and may have some recovery aspects tied to it in that regard. Why this is present in a BCAA product such as this is beyond me, since even its purported effects on growth hormones are tied to sleep and to heavy dosages (22 g and more) so here it is clearly extremely under dosed and unnecessary. A filler ingredient perhaps? Glutamine is a contested amino acid. It seems to have some regenerative properties, but not in otherwise healthy persons according to contemporary research. Scientific evidence seems to be conflictual as it is right now, especially concerning glutamine as a sport supplement. Therefore it is hard to actually evaluate what a “clinical dose” would be, but oftentimes 5 g is stated to be “clinical”. Either way, it is severely under dosed here and may be a filler ingredient. Tyrosine is an amino acid mainly used within physical exercise as a mental booster. It affects the production of l-dopa and noradrenalin, which in turn can contribute to feelings of well being and heightened mental cognition. Clinical dose is generally regarded as 500 mg, but that is on the low side of the clinical spectrum. It may be correctly dosed here, but we simply do not know. Arginine is a well proven amino acid that increases nitric oxide boost and blood flow. This may of course be of good use in a BCAA product taken mainly intra workout, but clinical dosages are in the 3-6 g range, making it here severely under dosed and possibly ineffective. It simply may be a filler ingredient here. We also do have a blend of important electrolytes, including magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium in different forms. This blend is added for replenishing those nutrients and for aiding in recovery. Magnesium is know to be depleted rapidly during hard exercise and training, mainly by heavy sweating. This mineral is connected to many essential and vital functions in the body; for example the immune system, as a stress reducer, maintaining an optimal hormone balance etc. It tends to have, under certain circumstances, poor bio availability so supplementation is useful in connection with hard training and recovery. The other minerals here are important for optimal heart function, neurological functions, fluid balance etc. Lastly, we have black pepper extract in the standard dose of 5 mg under the patented form of BioPerine. This helps with absorption, as some minerals may have poor bio availability at times.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
BCAA 9.7 comes in a wide range of flavors; blue raspberry, fruit punch, green apple, fuzzy peach, pineapple passion, key lime cherry, roadside lemonade, watermelon and sweet iced tea. I bought 2 tubs on a BOGO sale; the key lime cherry and the fuzzy peach flavors. Key lime cherry was the flavor that I, at first, really didn’t like. The emphasis is on the lime part and it was pretty sour and strong and a bit harsh too. But to my own surprise I got more and more fond of it and really enjoyed it after the first 5 or 6 occasions I took it. For me, this is a 6 out of 10 rating. The fuzzy peach flavor was nice and overall pleasant to drink, especially if you like me have a fondness for peaches. However, the taste was a bit watered down I think, but you can solve it by just using a little less water to further enhance the taste. The taste is overall pretty mild. I would say that this is a 7 out of 10 rating. Mixability was pretty nice overall; some residue could remain, but nothing that I would see as a major issue. The tub states that you should take one scoop with 250-500 ml of water and they recommend it as an intra workout drink. On non-training days take one scoop and consume “throughout the day”. I used this as only post workout supplementation, I never use intra workout BCAAs, I really don’t see the point of doing that, since I have my preworkouts to cover for me in those areas of energy, muscle volumization, blood flow etc. For me, intra, I only use cold water for hydration, being the old school kind of guy that I am. On non-training days I sipped on it at work and it was refreshing to have.
—-Effectiveness—-
Okay, so we come to the section that matters. Regarding BCAA products I rate them mainly for their effects in relation to DOMS and recovery overall. I use many types of BCAAs so to try to evaluate muscle building would be impossible in my case since I never use the same products/brands at a great length of time. Let’s look at the two aspects that we can evaluate then; DOMS: sometimes they are increased; sometimes they are more on the lenient side depending on the intensity of my training, what muscle groups that have been used and so on. What I did find was that the DOMS were significantly decreased when using Mutant BCAA 9.7. They healed more quickly and the level of intensity was lessened almost regardless of what muscle groups I had used. So, there were noticeable effects in that area. Of course, there is nothing magical about this; DOMS didn’t magically disappear, but positive effects on them were as I said noticeable. Doing abdominal exercises can really trigger some serious DOMS for me, but even here they healed up pretty fast overall. Recovery overall: here I can say that I felt refreshed and on the go on the mornings after some hard workouts. This obviously is a sign of proper recovery. So, an overall sense of well being and alertness after hard workouts can be attributed to this product, but of course with some caveats, since other factors are involved as well; diet, other nutrient intake, levels of stress etc.
—-Value—-
I think that the value is great for this product. As I mentioned above, Mutant often enough have discounts and BOGO deals on their products, so a good way of saving money would be to look after these sales. I paid $ 32 on a BOGO deal for 2 tubs, which I would say is a pretty good deal. That means $ 16 per tub, not bad at all. Each tub has 30 servings, which comes out to about $ 0.53 per serving if we count this as 60 servings total. You can find this product right about everywhere at decent prices; on BodyBuilding.com it costs $ 23.99 for 30 servings, which comes down to $ 0.80 per serving. On Amazon the prices are the same. I would say that this is a fair price for a product like this, although you could of course find cheaper alternatives if you look around a bit.
—-Side Effects—-
None.
—-Conclusion—-
I can recommend BCAA 9.7 to those who are looking for a solid product to reduce DOMS and aid in recovery. On a very crowded and competitive market, Mutant manages to deliver with a nice product that sticks out a bit. The cool label design kind of adds to that overall market value. Since I like to try out new products all the time, I wouldn’t stick with this one permanently, but had I been forced to choose one BCAA product this would have been a good choice among the multitude of products that are available. If I find it on BOGO I will definitely buy it again.
User –
Does not dissolve
The product does not fully dissolve. I guess the flavor and sucralose does quickly but the BCAAs don’t. You have to keep shaking your bottle to avoid endind with a residue at the bottom. My rate is for the formulation itself. Other cons (perhaps related to all BCAAs) Stomach ache Nausea Tachycardia