I ended up competing for a second time this season at the OCB Hall of Fame Championship in West Springfield, MA. The swag bags were supplied by Cape Cod Nutrition Corner. I must say for a small show we got some pretty good stuff. I thought it might be a good idea to do reviews on the products since I don't often get the chance to try this many out in a short period of time. I haven't gotten the chance to try all of the products yet, but I will continue to update this post as I try them. I will also include a link to the product site as well. Pre workouts
iSatori PRE-GRO MAX muscle building igniter Flavor: mixed berry smash This pre workout has a product called bio- gro to help increase lean muscle mass. I only had 1 serving so I don't know if the additional ingredients do help increase lean muscle mass. The flavor is appropriately named, it doesn't taste bad but there is no easy words to describe the flavor. It dissolved fairly well but there was some particles left that hadn't dissolved and were left at the end. The energy and pump were decent, it took a while to feel the effect but it lasted through the remainder of my workout. I liked that I didn't get any jitters or shaking that I do with some pre workouts. Overall this was in the middle of the road compared to the other pre workouts I tried. Rating: 5/10 shop.isatori.com/products/new-pre-gro-max Cellucor C-4 Pre Workout Flavor: icy blue razz There is a reason c-4 is so popular and I am always excited to get free samples of it. I do enjoy using this, however I don't think its worth the money for it. The flavor is decent though I'm not a big fan of blue raspberry type flavors (there fruit punch is one of the best tasting). It doesn't have a gritty texture or bad after taste like some pre workouts do. The pump and energy is more than eough to get me through my usual workout routine but I have yet to have any PR record breaking days with C-4 compared to other pre workouts. I find that I occasionally get jittery with this product depending on what I'm training, how quickly I drank it and what I ate prior. Rating: 7/10 https://cellucor.com/products/c4-original?variant=31683211986 Pro Supps Mr Hyde Flavor: blue razz This was my least favorite pre workout. It didn't dissolve well at all and had a chalky after taste the got more pronounced the closer I got to the bottom of my shaker bottle. The pump and energy weren't very impressive, as a cup of coffee could have given me the same results at the gym. With this product I get pretty jittery and find it hard to channel the energy boost toward my workout and just end up having what I call the squirrel brain that lasts beyond my workout. Of any pre workout this is the only one I have tried that I wouldn't recommended. Rating: 3/10 Note: This product is no longer sold through the Pro Supps website Cobra Labs The Curse! Flavor: Lemon Rush This is one of the better pre workouts I’ve tried. It tasted amazing, I might as well have been drinking lemonade. It dissolved completely (there was nothing left in my shaker bottle at all). It kicked in quickly, and when it did it worked very well, it was probably the best workout I had that week. It gave me energy that I could easily channel toward my workout, maintain a good mind muscle connection, and it didn’t leave me feeling jittery or shaky. The pump was awesome (I normally don’t notice the pump from my usual pre-workout). This is definitely a pre-workout that I would highly recommend for anyone who wants a pre-workout that doesn’t make you feel like you are tripping, but just want to hit a long workout as hard as you can. Rating: 8/10 cobralabs.com/products/the-curse GAT Sport Peak Muscle Performance Pre-Workout Flavor: Berry Blast This pre-workout has additional ingredients to support strength increases with only one dose. From my experience with this product my usual weight did seem lighter, though I don’t know if I would consider it a large increase in strength. Because I also only had one serving I don’t know if it increases strength more than any other supplement over time (see note below) This is one of the best berry flavored pre workouts I’ve tried. It dissolved completely and kicked in fairly quickly as well. PMP does have a bit of a kick to it and I did get a bit of a caffeine buzz at first and occasionally throughout my workout, which did make it a little harder to focus at times, it did however wear off toward the end of my workout (my recommendation: drink it earlier than you normally would before your workout). This pre workout is probably better on training days when you have longer rest breaks and are trying to hit PRs on big lifts (or just want to go balls to the wall for a shorter workout) than days where you just need a steady flow of energy to power through a longer workout, however I would still definitely recommend it. Rating: 8/10 shop.teamgat.com/products/pmp-peak-muscle-performance-pre-workout-powder GAT Sport Nitraflex Hyperemia & Testosterone Enhancing Powder Flavor: Blue Raspberry This pre-workout contains additional ingredients to increase free testosterone levels and contains a vasodilator. Flavor wise, it's the best blue raspberry flavored pre workout I’ve tried. This pre workout packs a punch for sure. It kicks in very quickly and has one heck of a buzz once it reaches its full effect. I took this pre-workout on a day that was supposed to be a lighter leg day and ended up being a PR/Max out day because of the energy level I go with it. If you want to feel like the hulk at the gym, this is the pre-workout for you. Despite the energy surge I didn’t get any shakiness or jitters with it and was able to focus very well on my lifts. I am not a huge fan of all of the additional ingredients, and it was a little too much of a rush for me to use as a daily pre workout but this is a one that I would love to have as a special occasions pre workout to have on days when I need a kick in the butt or want to hit a few new PRs. Rating: 8/10 https://shop.teamgat.com/collections/nitraflex/products/nitraflex-30-servings Other Drinks SAN BCAA Pro Reloaded Flavor: Blue Raspberry This BCAA has a 12:1:1 ratio of L-Leucine (6.3g of it), L-Isoleucine, and L-Valine. It also contains 2.5g of L- Glutamine, all of which are proven to help increase muscle mass over time and recovery. Because I only had one sample I can’t say how it works or helps with muscle growth when used over a longer period of time. I can say that I didn’t feel as sore the next day as I normally do which was nice. It also was a very good tasting BCAA that completely dissolved quickly. Note: I don’t have BCAAs as part of my usual supplements. Rating: 8/10 https://sann.net/products/bcaa-pro-reloaded-hydrosoluble-ibcaas/ Gaspari Gylcofuse Rapid Performance and Recovery Supercarb Flavor: Lemon Ice This was a product I tried along with a protein shake before lifting after doing some fasted AM cardio. It is advertised as a pre-, intra-, and post- workout drink. I decided to try this because I needed energy for lifting and didn’t want to wait for a full meal to settle. It tasted great, but some of it got a bit congealed and stuck to the side of my shaker bottle. I had the level of energy after drinking this ad I do with a normal meal prior to training, however I did end up getting some stomach upset from it, which could have been due to the speed it was consumed or the product itself. This is a good product to have in your gym bag for “emergencies” when you need a quick pick me up during a workout. Rating: 6/10 https://gasparinutrition.com/products/glycoinfusion Natural Vitality Natural Calm Anti- Stress Drink Flavor: Lemon This is one of those products that you only try because it's free and worth giving a shot (what isn’t). This product is a magnesium supplement, similar to a calcium or vitamin supplement. (Post on supplements soon to come). Natural Vitality advertises this product as a supplement to restore normal levels of magnesium to the body to help restore mineral balances and relax tense muscles. The taste is a little off-putting and the lemon flavor hardly masks the mineral taste. This product is good mixed in with something else rather than drank by itself as it has a pretty strong mineral taste that isn’t masked well with the lemon flavor (my recommendation: chamomile tea). It does work surprisingly well to help relax muscles. It would be a good sleep aid if you have trouble sleeping due to muscle tension and twitches. As someone who isn’t crazy about excessive amounts of supplementation, I would recommend trying getting more magnesium from natural sources such as nuts or green leafy vegetables first. Rating (not including taste) 7/10 naturalvitality.com/natural-calm/ Protein Powders Dymatize ISO 100 Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate Flavor: Fudge Brownie ISO 100 contains 25g of protein and 5.5g of BCAAs for 110 calories a scoop. The flavor is decent when mixed with milk, and it mixes well. When it is put in things such as yogurt or oatmeal however it does lose a bit of its chocolate flavor. If chocolate isn’t your thing it also comes in 11 other flavors. I would recommend ISO 100, however if you want a strong chocolate flavor, the fudge brownie isn’t the best. As far as macros you can’t get much better, but that is to be expected with a hydrolyzed isolate. Rating: 6/10 http://www.dymatize.com/iso100 About Time Whey Protein Isolate Flavor: Chocolate I love About Time Whey Protein, and if I wasn’t a broke college student I would seriously consider buying it. This is the second time I have had multiple samples of this product and I am super excited about it. It tastes great mixed with or in just about anything and it bakes/cooks really well. It comes in 9 flavors including an unflavored version, which is ideal for baking. The macros for this product are next to perfect (25g protein, 0g fat, carbs and sugar). If you want a straight protein powder with no additives or additional ingredients you can’t get any better than About Time. If you are willing to fork over good money for an amazing product I would highly recommend this one. Rating: 10/10 https://tryabouttime.com/products/whey-protein-isolate Other Products Optimum Nutrition Protein Cake Bites Flavor: Chocolate Dipped Cherry Macros: 240 cal 7f 25c 20p Honestly these aren’t worth the macros. At 80 calories each they don’t taste very much like cherries or chocolate and are pretty small. However the texture of them is decent. They do have the typical protein bar taste as well. Rating: 5/10 www.optimumnutrition.com/en_US/products/cake-bites#gWMxSuO7FfSIWrZW.97
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
ArchivesCategories |