Monday, April 27, 2015

Biorhythm Pre Glow

Had the pleasure of going to the Arnold Classic (2015) this year. Much Thanks to my wife for the great Birthday gift. It is certainly a spectacle.  The bigger companies like Gaspari, BSN etc. are mobbed while the smaller companies are more interactive, less lines and the employees are more open to chat with you.



Anyway one of the companies I have been keeping my eyes on is Biorhytm. Have heard some good things and the products seem pretty good. I was fortunate enough to get a few samples of Pre Glow, their Pre Workout.

Protocol:
As many of you know, I am an early bird. 4:30/5 am wake up call. Fasted cardio and weights.

Assessment
Flavor:
The candy melon was pretty good. Was a little bit of a watermelon with a hint of sweetness. Mixed it in about 20 oz’s of water. Was still pretty flavorful. Sometimes when mixed with this amount of water, flavors get muted.

Unfortunately from here the rest was downhill. Let me first say that as always this is my personal assessment. What does not work for me is not as always indicative of how a product will work for you.

About 30 minutes in , prior to any exercise, I had difficulty breathing and heart was racing pretty good. It was almost as if there was a lead weight on my chest keeping me from fully expanding my lungs. I took a gamble and decided to do some light walking on the treadmill in hopes that I could burn off some of the effects. Didn’t really do much. I hit the weights but just did not feel right. Tried to push through, again in hopes of the effects subsiding but to no avail.

About 3 hours later, the chest tightness finally subsided and I was able to move through my day without being uncomfortable.

The sample I received was wrapped in one of those ‘stick” type wrappers and not a square pouch. Ingredients were hard to read, although I did research the ingredients prior to ingestion, with nothing being out of the ordinary. The only thing that “might” have happened was perhaps the sample was multiple servings? But again I cannot confirm or deny this. Regardless I have accidently multiple dosed products before but never had the shortness of breath.

So unfortunately I will be passing on future consumption of this product.
For those of you that have tried this, would love to hear from you?




Thursday, March 26, 2015

Formutech Level II Review

So once again it’s that time for another product review. This week we’ll look at Level II, powdered version by Formutech Nutrition. Aside from not having protein, Formutech is pretty much a full service line whether it is products for weight loss, preworkout, multi vitamins, organ support and others. (www.fnutrition.com)

Level II is about a year old and has consistently been a top 5 in its class of thermogenics/weight loss aids. (Do a google “review” search and you will see what I mean) It’s available in capsules as well as powder; flavors including Fruit Punch and Grape.

                                       


My wife and I personally enjoy powdered versions of products over pills so today we’ll be looking at the powdered version.

Dosing:
1 scoopEmpty stomach upon rising. I typically fill a 20 oz shaker bottle where my wife likes 4 or so oz. In a full bottle, flavor is still very noticeable, which I like.

As always I’ll get the negative out of the way..
·         It’s a prop blend and for those that have read my other posts, I respect prop blends but would love to see a full disclosure label. Something I think the FDA will make mandatory within the next 3-5 years.
Positives:
·         First and foremost taste. Both flavors are phenomenal. I am old school and will drink a product that tastes like gasoline as long as the ingredient profile is good. My wife on the other hand is the opposite. She cannot stand some of the artificial flavoring that goes into products. After numerous trials of different products, Level II won my wife over. She leans more towards the Grape BUT will drink Fruit Punch without having to gag it down. Me on the other hand, love them both, don’t have a favorite.
·         Anywhere between 10-15 minutes after ingestion, you will feel warmth but not a kick in the face or the ever so lovely beta alanine tingles.
·         Before, during and after, there are no jitters. I am somewhat stim/caffeine sensitive and I like the well-being it gives me.
·         Appetite Suppression – for my wife, it kills it. She will go hours without eating where I have to remind her to put something in her system. With me, kind of hit or miss. For some reason, most thermo’s make me ravenous
·         Crash – none whatsoever. It is a very slow comedown which we both really enjoyed. For me personally I was only able to take one serving a day. The one or 2 times I tried a second dose perhaps 6 or so hours later, clarity wasn’t there.
·         On occasion I will add 1000 mgs of Acetyl L Carnitine by Formutech as well (see a pattern) to supercharge this a little more.
  • 50 servings per container.


Summary:


My public service announcement: There is no sure fire weight loss product out there that will work effectively without healthy eating as well as consistent exercise whether it be weights, cardio and or both. If you are looking for a great tasting, excellent weight loss supplement (key word supplement to diet and exercise) then certainly get your hands on Level II. You will not be disappointed.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Molecular Nutrition - Peak Beta Review

Molecular Nutrition Peak Beta



Late last year I had the pleasure of running a full bottle of Molecular Nutrition, Peak Beta.
For those not familiar with Molecular Nutrition www.molecularnutrition.com  aka MN, they are a small boutique company headed by Bill Llewellyn, a sports nutrition scientist  http://williamllewellyn.com That’s right a company run by someone that is an expert in nutrition and hormonal medicine.Don’t believe me, Youtube search William Llewellyn and be prepared to learn.

So what does this mean?! That their products are truly based on science and clinical trials/research. Of course all companies say this, but 90% of the time, it is other people’s findings and not their own. Also don’t misconstrue “boutique” as a negative. This is a positive term I use for smaller companies that have a limited product portfolio BUT the products they do have are quality. They don’t just create a product to keep up with the “jonses”. Be sure to click on the Youtube link at the bottom of the page to hear an interview I did with Bill.

Anyway back to Peak Beta. PB is a capsules product that helps buffer lactic, improve glycolysis (breaking down glycogen into sugar to be used for energy.It also increases oxygen delivery, and this is all done with 3 compounds, L Norvaline (75 mgs), Creatinol O Phosphate  (2000mgs) (not to be confused with creatine)  and L Carnitine-L Tartrate (1000mgs), dosage of 4 pills.

Assessment:

Negative:
For some, 4 capsules may be a lot to stomach, for me it wasn’t

Positives:

This is a very versatile product that can be used in conjunction with aerobic or anaerobic type activity. For me, my workut consisted of treadmill work generally a very fast paced walk on the treadmill 20-40 minutes) followed by weight training. I found that when my activity lasted more than 45 mins, perhaps an hour, my thresh hold was greater, lactic acid onset was prolonged, I felt I could go that little extra which generally would equate to a few extra reps or in some cases a few extra pounds. I typically found that about 30-40 minutes prior to exercise worked best for dosing. You will not feel anything per say, triggering you that this is working like a caffeinated PWO but once you are into your exercise, the proof is in the pudding.

Another great mention is that since it is not caffeinated, you can take it in conjunction with pretty much anything, PWO, BCAA etc and also that you can take it at any time, again no stims.

Additionally – full disclosed label. Always a huge positive for me with any company.

Overall assessment:
As mentioned above, love the versatility, can be combined with pretty much any of your other favorite products or be used as a standalone. Although it is not marketed as one, some might consider this a PWO due to the extra energy one receives. I personally would love to see this as a powdered PWO, unflavored or flavored as I  like to start my morning off with 20 oz’s of water filled with my favorite BCAA and or Pre.



Would I recommend this to others? Most certainly!!! 


Interview with Bill Llewellyn Click Here

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

ANS Diablo Review

'ANS Diablo Review  ANS Performance website

Would first like to say thank you to Sam of the Facebook group The Lockerroom II for sending me a sample of Diablo as this is a company I have been looking forward to trying based on others reviews.





So as always will get the negative out of the way.

This was a 2 serving packet, which I think is great on behalf of supplement companies but no matter how hard I try to equally measure out 2 servings, it was never works out.
Diablo is a “semi” prop blend. What I mean by this is some ingredients are fully disclosed by dosage while others are listed as a “Diablo Inferno Complex” As always I respect prop blends, would like to see full disclosure but since I am stim sensitive, would at least like to see the full caffeine content.

Flavor, Mix ability, Taste

Pineapple Passion Fruit – let me first say that by just seeing this flavor, I was excited. In my opinion, and again my opinion, the fruit punches, Blue Raspberry etc are getting a little played out. I know these are sometimes the best choices to mask some of the ingredients flavors but nice to see something new.
In my best effort, I tried to divide the packet into 2 servings, mixing 1 serving in 20 oz of water with a wire whisk shaker ball. Flavor was very muted, as to be expected with 20 oz’s of water but the hint of flavor I was able to detect was very nice, pineapple shining through a little more than the passion fruit. I know many are anti pineapple but I personally love this fruit for its overall health effects.

Energy, Focus, Burn

So after slamming my shaker bottle waited 20 minutes then 30 minutes, not really feeling anything, jitters, tingles, head sensations so I decided to hit the treadmill. My basement where I workout is kept at 55 degrees, the frugal person in me keeps it here, why spend money on oil heating a room where no one is. When I have company then the heat goes on. Sorry I digress……basically if a thermos is good, I will start to sweat anywhere between the 10-12 minutes mark. At about 12 mins I started feeling slightly warm but not on fire or sweating like some of the others out there like a Level II by Formutech or Stimaholic by Genomyx.After about 20 minutes, moved onto the weights.

Was not sweating but did feel a nice focus/euphoria and powered through my workouts very nicely.

Assessment:

Again being a prop blend it is hard to assess the overall caffeine content but I would put this at about 150 mgs- ish. My tolerance is about 175-200 to feel good without “tweaking” In my opinion, I might actually put this as a nootropic but again hard to assess from trying to divide a packet. I did use the 2nd serving the next day and had pretty much the same effects.

For me, the verdict is out as to pro or con. Would like the opportunity to dose perhaps 1 ½- 2 servings to see the true thermos effect is there is one.


Again thank you for the opportunity.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Review of Muscle-Element's The Truth


Welcome and thank you for taking time to read another product review.



Today we’ll be looking at Muscle-Elements Muscle-Elements“The Truth”
For those not familiar, Muscle-Elements “ME” is a fairly new company that was started by some of the “brains” from BSN, trying to truly revolutionize the Supplement Game. Now before you sigh and say “everyone is trying to change the game”, continue reading.

Aside from all their products being “open label” The Truth is ME’s ground breaking protein. Why groundbreaking? Well it is the first Protein powder that contains a full disclosure label of exactly how much of each protein you are getting and of course I had to put this to the test.

Let me first preface by saying I was a little bit leery considering the highest percentage of this blend is whey concentrate and as I get older, my body does not do well with concentrate, perhaps the higher concentration of lactose or perhaps the additional fillers companies are using in the product.

Onto the show:
Upon opening the bag (chocolate flavor) the heavy smell of chocolate/cocoa hits you hard. I am a true choco-holic so of course this is always welcomed.

Scoop, Mixing, Flavor
Interestingly enough the scoop is a little bigger that your typical scooper, average whey protein serving size of 32gm vs The Truth’s 44 g.

I decided to bring out my Nutra Bullet, poured in 16 oz of Almond Milk and added 2 level scoops and let the Bullet work its magic. At first glance this stuff was thick but again I did use milk. The taste was excellent. In my opinion it was more a chocolate batter than a shake/smoothie. I didn’t slam it but rather drank it. The big test would be over the next 30 minutes or an hour to see if there would be any oncoming stomach discomfort due to the whey concentrate. Much to my chagrin, no stomach issues, gas or anything of the like.I as well as my family were quite happy. I think a lot of this is due impart to the enzymes GanedenBC30, a probiotic that not only supports digestion and immune health but also increases absobption of 23 omportant amino acids** including Leucine which is critical to stimluate muscle protein synthesis*

The 2nd day I decided to blend the shake with water. Was less thick, of course less chocolaty, as to be expected but again no stomach issues.

Here is where some people may have an issue…price. The average price for a 24 serving bag of The Truth is $45 where a Whey Concentrate blend averages $26 and some 5 lb blends come in at $45-$55. Here is what I say to that……you can either gamble your money with a protein prop blend and hope there is no amino spiking or stomach discomfort OR like anything you can pay for quality and again know exactly what you are getting. This is a bold statement but I truly believe in this company. I am not sponsored, receiving kickbacks or anything of the like but believe in giving credit where credit is due.

Would I recommend this? Heck yes, at least the chocolate. Definitely keep your eyes on ME, they’re going place.





Saturday, February 28, 2015

Limitless Nutrition Haywire review

Figured it was about time to start doing some product reviews, may eventually get into video but for now, baby Steps

My first product review will be Limitless Nutrition, Limitless Nutrition , Haywire.

This formula is a fairly low stimulant formula and has ingredients that cover all of the bases for endurance, blood flow, mental focus, thermogenesis, recovery and clean long lasting energy.


The Negatives or shall I say negative.

 It is a prop blend. With more and more companies now offering a “full disclosure label”, would love to see the true breakdown. I understand and respect why companies do this BUT again, full disclosure would be nice.

The Positives

Taste – Pink Lemonade….excellent. I generally use a 20 oz shaker bottle and with this, it was stll failry sweet. For some that don’t have a sweet tooth, they may not like this but me personally, I love my sweets and again found this perfect. (Can’t wait to try the forthcoming Cotton Candy)

Caffeine content - I am somewhat stim (caffeine) sensitive and have found my threshold to be about 200 - 225 mgs without my head getting cloudy. Haywire comes in at 200 mgs (this straight from the owner). Loved the alertness and smooth energy.

Mixability – I always use a wire whisk shaker ball, which typically breaks through anything. No sediment clumps etc with this.

Overall assessment-

Cardio
I generally take my preworkout and thermos first thing upon rising and follow up with 20-30 minutes of treadmill cardio in my basement. Here is where the test comes in, my basement, although finished is generally kept at 55 degrees (unless we have company). A good thermos/fat burner will generally have my burning/ sweating at the 10-12 minutes mark and with Haywire this did not disappoint.

Workout
After a 20-30 minutes cardio session this product continued to shine with my workouts depending on bodypart, would last 30 mins to a little over an hour.

Post exercise
Typically post exercise, I would continue to have a great sense of well being/alertness for maybe 3-4 hours so overall from 5 am to 11/12pm.

Summary
Great flavor, good focus, nice burn. Highly recommend Limitless Nutrition Haywire.


Want to learn more, have a listen to a recent interview did with Limitless Owner