Testing all my samples from the Olympia Expo (thread will be updated regularly)

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Product: N-Large 2; Catagory: High calorie protein drink... I was brave this morning and decided to give N-Large 2 another try... This time it was Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor. I mixed up 2 packets (equal to one full 600 calorie serving) up with some cold water in my shaker cup. After last time I was really nervous about tasting it, but again it smelled great. This time it tasted good too! I'd give the flavor about a 7 out of 10. It wasn't spectacular, but it didn't make me gag.

Product: Stacker 2; Catagory: Energy/Fat loss pill... This is one that my co-worker tested out for me. He took 1 pill after drinking his protein shake, and said he noticed a nice boost in energy. No shakes or jitters from it. Not in the same class as Endorush as far as the energy rush, but he said it gave him a nice boost.
 
Tried NO-Xplode again today... this time I tried it on an empty stomach this time to see if I would actually notice something this time around. Of course that is a stupid idea since there is no way I am going to attempt to workout on an empty stomach! If I was doing a froo-froo high volume light weight program maybe... but come on!

Anyway - so I had the NO-Xplode about 20 minutes before my protein shake... I noticed about 15 minutes after taking it that I was feeling a major caffeine rush. Felt kind of like it did when I downed that EndoRush - which was not a pleasant experience at all. During my workout I had a hard time staying focused on the exercises because of the jittery excessive caffeine feeling. No "massive pumps" or anything to speak of.
This one seems like a waste to me.

Just for fun I'll list a few of the advertised "benefits" of this product, and we'll see how accurate they are!

"NO-Xplode is the world's first and only pre-workout supplement that produces immediate results in energy, size, strength, pumps, performance, mental focus, and training intensity...You will literally see and feel it working within minutes of taking it!" ... Well... I didn't "see" anything... I felt jittery and over caffinated if that is what they mean! It did not increase my "pumps" or intensity - and the jittery feeling actually decreased my ability to focus.

"NO Meta-Fusion is the core of NO-Xplode. It is the catalyst that makes the entire formula and its amazing body altering and mind enhancing effects possible. NO Meta-Fusion opens the door to vaso-muscular enlargement by immediately ramping up and sustaining Nitric Oxide (NO) levels. NO widens the blood vessel, which in turn accelerates blood flow to the muscle. This sudden blood surge causes mind blowing pumps and a rapid increase in the overall size and shape of your muscles. And it all happens within minutes! The result? Your veins will stick out like a garden hose and your muscles will be jacked up beyond belief. NO Meta-Fusion precision delivers a powerful blend of the new muscle volumizing creatine matrix that only NO-Xplode provides." ... well... no "mind blowing pumps"... no "rapid increase in size and shape" of my muscles ... and no veins sticking out like garden hoses.

Okay... this is just a waste of time - the product claims are complete bullshit and it doesn't live up to any of them. Don't waste your money.

 
Today's review is of Gaspari Nutrition SuperPump 250. According to the package this product: "Promotes skin tearing muscle pumps, roadmap vascularity, and explosive workouts!" Also: "Increases lean mass in one workout! Causes rapid and measurable ful muscle pumps! Reduces percentage of bodyfat! Promotes intense mental focus, maximum energy and superior strength! Enhances full body vascularity!" (these are all of the things written on the sample packet I had)



So here we go:



SuperPump 250 by Gaspari Nutrition, Category: Pre-Workout NO booster and energy

I took two packets on an empty stomach (first thing in the morning) as recommended on the package. I waited about 30 minutes before drinking my pre-workout shake... and by the time I was making my shake I was noticing that I was feeling jittery and wired like I did with NO-Explode. If you remember, I didn't really like that feeling because it was distracting energy instead of helpful energy.

By the time I started my workout that feeling had mellowed out and I was sweating buckets (keep in mind that I wear shorts, knee sleeves, thick track pants, short sleeve shirt with a long sleeve shirt over it, and a baseball hat when I workout - so it doesn't take much to get me sweating like crazy).

During biceps I definitely felt a big pump. Forearm exercise I almost couldn't hold onto the dumbells to finish the set because my forearms and the muscles in my hands were getting so pumped up and burning. After calves I had a really hard time walking because my calf muscles were so pumped...

Basically I'm saying this product definitely lives up to the "pump" claims.

I measured my thighs before and after the workout just for fun - I didn't really notice any massive changes that couldn't be attributed to being pumped from squats.

When I got home and took my shirt off I noticed my bicep veins were more visible (on me these are rarely visable even when I have low bodyfat) and the veins across my shoulders that I usually only see on chest day were clearly visable... so it definitely lives up to the "vascularity" claim as well.



This one tastes 1000% better than HorsePower, and the pumps from it were comparable. This one gets 2 thumbs up from me.
 
I've been taking TwinLab's BCAA Fuel for the past few days as well...
This one is a "Strength" product according to the label. Not a whole heck of a lot to say about this... you are supposed to take 4 pills with each meal.
My assessment: Yup, they are pills. They are big, but easy to swallow. Thats about all I can say about this product. This is one of those that you don't really notice an effect from in the short term.
Hope that was helpful. ;)
 
super pump sounds cool and sounds like it has some claim to be true according to the label

but your review on the twinlabs BCAA makes me def want to buy some....lol
 
PTA you're doing a good job with these reviews. Very detailed, everyone should appreciate you doing it.
 
goes4ever said:
super pump sounds cool and sounds like it has some claim to be true according to the label

but your review on the twinlabs BCAA makes me def want to buy some....lol
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LOL! Yeah, I thought the BCAA Fuel review was some of my best work!

kclifter said:
PTA you're doing a good job with these reviews. Very detailed, everyone should appreciate you doing it.
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Thanks man!
 
PTAaron said:
I'm going to start taking "Oxydrene" by Novex Biotech today... I've got about a 3 day supply... it is supposed to improve tissue oxygenation... OoOOOOoO!! Supposedly that helps with recovery and things like that. I'm not expecting to notice anything - but I'll let you guys know!
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(looks like I forgot to put this part up on this site yesterday)




Okay - results of day 1: I took two pills at two different times yesterday... Within about 30 minutes of taking it I did notice that I felt "different". I know - great description. Hard to describe the feeling, but it was like my muscles felt more "full" but not pumped up.

I don't know, very strange. I'll be giving it a try again today... I'll keep you guys updated.
 
PTAaron said:
I've been taking TwinLab's BCAA Fuel for the past few days as well...
This one is a "Strength" product according to the label. Not a whole heck of a lot to say about this... you are supposed to take 4 pills with each meal.
My assessment: Yup, they are pills. They are big, but easy to swallow. Thats about all I can say about this product. This is one of those that you don't really notice an effect from in the short term.
Hope that was helpful. ;)
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I'm a big believer in bcaa they're a must.
 
kclifter said:
I'm a big believer in bcaa they're a must.
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I would argue that it is pointless to take 2g of BCAAs when you are already drinking a whey protein shake with 80g of complete protein in it.
 
Tested out 2 new ones this morning: "Super Test" by The Beast Sports Nutrition and "Super Charge!" by Labrada Nutrition.

Product: Super Test; Catagory: "Professional Strength Anabolic Complex". Okay... I had this one sitting around and I thought "Why not" this morning. According to the label it "Maximizes Testosterone" "Stimulates Nitric Oxide Production" and contains "Estrogen Inhibitos & Liver Protectant". Sounds cool. Too much stuff in it to list... but here is a link to some info on it: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/beast/test.html
Okay, so I took 4 tablets as recommended. They taste awful. Really thats about all there is to say about this from just a single sample! This is one you would need to take long term to see if it really does anything.

Product: Super Charge! ; Catagory: Nitric oxide booster/pre-workout energy: This one I remember getting at the Expo - the guy started to hand it to Tracy then said "No... this is way to powerful for you... better give it to him" and handed it to me. I thought that was a bit ridiculous, since I was going to be getting it either way ;) This one has 2 levels that you can take: "Intense Workout" or "Super Intense" ... so I went for "Super Intense" and took the whole packet on an empty stomach first thing after waking up, about 30 minutes before my pre-workout shake. It mixed well and tasted good. Felt the usual energy boost that all of these products seem to give after about 15-20 minutes. Not as "jittery" of a boost as NO-Xplode. I had a pretty good workout after taking this stuff... no "massive" pumps, but I definitely had no problem getting focused and really pushing myself hard. Everything felt really good in the gym and I didn't really feel fatigued even after the workout, which I thought was a really good thing.
Verdict: I like this product, great pre-workout energy boost, seemed to help with fighting fatigue during the workout despite doing rest pause sets to failure. Didn't make me feel "pumped up" like HorsePower or SuperPump250, but I don't really care too much about feeling pumped up - I'd rather have the ability to focus and throw around weights that are heavier than the ones I threw around the time before! Give this one a try.
 
PTAaron said:
I would argue that it is pointless to take 2g of BCAAs when you are already drinking a whey protein shake with 80g of complete protein in it.
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Good point.
 
Tried out another Nitric Oxide/Pre-workout suppliment today... Like I said I have like 15 different ones to try - it is kind of ridiculous!

Product: Extreme Drive Power Formula; Catagory: Pre-workout/Nitric Oxide Booster: This one was Fruit Punch flavor, 1 packet is 1 serving, and it was recommended to be taken on an empty stomach - just like all of the other ones. I mixed it in my shaker cup with some water and it mixed up well. Tasted like bad fruit punch - which is about par for the course for this type of product (at least as far as I have found). The label claims it "Powers a 3 Stage Workout"... oooookay.
As far as I could tell "stage 1" was me feeling like I had a bunch of caffeine in me. Check. Stage 1 complete. Stage 2 (and I'm sure this is unrelated to this product) involved me almost making it out of my subdivision to get to the gym before having to turn back around because of some severe "distress" in the abdominal region... I almost cancelled the workout because of it, but I didn't want to waste a chance to test out this product and give you guys a review!! ;)
During my bicep/forearm workout I definitely noticed some big time pumps - felt like my arms had balloons in them for the rest of the workout after I finished with biceps/forearms. Of course my arms still looked scrawny as ever - but again, that is because I'm a wuss not because of this product. Same massive pump on calves and with squats.
I liked this product - aside from "Stage 2", but I'm sure that was more related to the chili I had last night than this product :D.
2 thumbs up for this one.
 
Okay - 3 product reviews for you guys today, and one follow-up review.

Lets start with the follow-up: I took "Extreme Drive Power Formula" again before my workout today... this one was chest/tris/delts/back - I really didn't notice the same pumps I did last time I took it. I also mixed it in a glass with a spoon this time - took quite a bit of effort to get it to actually mix completely unlike in the shaker cup.

New reviews... 2 of the products are from Eight Ball Nutrition and 1 is from SSN (the full name is printed so small I can't read it on the sample bottles).

Product: Gator Whey by Eight Ball Nutrition; Catagory: I'm not sure. Here is a link to the product: http://www.8-ballnutrition.com/Gator-Whey-P3C0.aspx See if you can figure out what the purpose of it is... I took it this morning thinking it was whey protein (the sample pack is lableled with only the name of the product) - then I read the website more carefully.
Anyway - I had Strawberry flavor... I almost threw up when I tasted it. It was disgusting. Worst strawberry flavor I have ever tasted.
I'm not really sure what this stuff is for, but don't drink it unless you like being sick.

Product: Whey 100 by Eight Ball Nutrition; Catagory: Protein Powder. This one was Chocolate flavored... and much like the strawberry flavor it tasted horrible. It smelled like burnt chocolate, and tasted like it too. I wish I owned this company - so I could have the person responsible for creating the flavors fired. Seriously, avoid this one too unless you like burnt chocolate.
Oh - here is the web description of the product: http://www.8-ballnutrition.com/Whey-100-P1C0.aspx

Product: MOV Mass Oxygen Volumizer by SSN; Catagory: Umm... Oxygen volumizer! Okay... this one I have been taking all week. It is supposed to do a bunch of things - "seperate your blood cells" and increase the oxygen capacity... they claim faster recovery and a few other things in their ad: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/ssn/mov.html . To be honest I haven't really noticed anything in a week of taking it. My recovery seems about the same as usual - in fact I'm actually STILL sore from the workout I did 5 days ago, so my recovery is actually down from what it usually is. I don't know ... I've still got 3 bottles of this, so I'll keep using it and see if it does anything.
 
I thought I would give naNOx9 from Muscletech another try, since I had another sample of it sitting around.
This time around I had it on an empty stomach right after taking my MOV (oxygen volumizer stuff) and I took a couple of Kre-Alkylin capsules with it since the Muscletech stuff doesn't have creatine in it.

Results were a little different this time. About 15 minutes after taking it I started to get something identical to a Niacin skin flushing reaction - if you have ever taken Niacin you know what I am talking about... if you haven't it goes something like this: Your skin starts to feel really hot, you start getting big red blotches all over, and your skin starts to itch as the red splotches spread . Real fun. With niacin it comes from the fact that niacin dilates your capiliaries which makes your skin "flush".I went back and read the ingredients again - no Niacin. Apparently it actually was having a vasodilating effect as the label claimed.
During the workout today I didn't really notice much other than my whole body felt itchy from the damn skin flushing reaction. I didn't fatigue out as fast on biceps though, which was interesting. Instead of slowly getting more fatigued as the set went on I felt like a forklift until all of a sudden I couldn't move the weight. I can't really say I attribute that to the naNOx9 though - it goes that way some days for me without taking anything pre-workout.

I also tried ProLab whey protein in the cinnamon oatmeal flavor - if you read my review of N-Large2 in this flavor, you already know where this is going. It smelled great, but I would rather suck the sweat out of my knee sleeves after a leg workout than drink another shake with that horrible flavor in it. :puke:
 
goes4ever said:
bump.........did you report on all of what you got free?
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I've got a few more reviews to post... I have been getting lazy with it lately, and since Tracy (my girlfriend) started working at the same clinic as me I haven't been spending my whole lunch break online like I used to. I'll try to get caught up here...
 
Tried a good one this morning before my workout:
Product: NO3 Overload MM5T by CMI; Catagory: Pre-Workout stimulant/creatine product.
This one was nice because it was in pill form, so I didn't have to deal with some horrible tasting powder. I took the 4 pills at 7:45am... by 8:00am I was pacing around my condo getting my workout stuff together feeling amped to go tear it up at the gym. I was actually talking to myself as I was doing things... narrating what was going on. It was kind of entertaining. This one definitely worked for getting me focused and ready to hit the gym.
I noticed later that the sample pack said "Hardcore Bodybuilders" should take 6 tablets... so maybe I'll pretend to be one of those next time and try 6 tablets! I have another sample pack sitting around, so I'll give that a try and let you guys know how it goes.

Here is a link to info on the product: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/cmi/no3.html
Pre-Workout Energy And Creatine Rush For Strength!​
Mind Blowing Vascularity and 100% Energy Release. Each and every serving delivers a non-stop vascular pump of Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate spelling nothing but pure muscle. Energy that hits you like a ton of bricks inside minutes of taking it. Energy and complete clarity that makes every workout your best ever. Every workout your strongest. Every workout worthy of NO3 Overload. Never let anyone mislead you again. Genetics were not made to be inherited. They were made to be altered.
At CMI, we rely on science, not rumor. Fact, not fiction. With every NO3 Overload wake up call, your body will never stop ringing. You will turn one more rep into 3. Rest will no longer be an option. Your vessels will ignite, your muscles will inflate, and your abs will tear. Your body of old will fall, while an entirely new unrecognizable physique will begin to unfold. No more 3 year old products with outdated formulas. Imagine if you will the ability to send your muscles a signal that they are training even when you are not in the gym.
30 Minutes After You Take NO3 Overload
Your body will begin a series of non-stop muscle contractions.
20 Minutes Later, your mind and body will connect.
25 Minutes Later, you will not be able to stop the pump.
30 Minutes Later, time will disappear. Your Muscles Will Swell. Your strength will ignite. Your body will grow.
No messy measuring, no mixing, no messy cleanup. Just rock, hard, dense muscle!
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Couple of updates today... I'll quote part of the last review of the product, and add my new thoughts on it:

PTAaron said:
Product: SMASH by Axis Labs; Catagory: Pre-workout stimulant/NO booster: Okay... so I took this one about 20 minutes before my pre-workout shake since it said to take on an empty or "light" stomach... It helped wake me up since I was having a rough time getting out of bed this morning - so that was a good start, made me hopeful that this one would be good. The product itself tasted really good in the "Atomic Punch" flavor. Mixed up very well in a shaker cup with a little bit of water.
When I got to the gym I felt awake and ready to go... As I got into the workout I found myself feeling a lot weaker than usual, I don't blame that on this product - but it certainly didn't help boost my strength. No change in "pumps" over what I would normally feel. Definitely no increase in endurance during the exercises. Overall this product was kind of a disappointment.
I have one more pouch of it, so I'll try it again later on - but I'm not expecting much.
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Took this one again Friday - I had gotten only a few hours of sleep if you guys followed my thread on how i hate my neighbor and he kept me up all night. Well this stuff really got me going that morning! i drank it down, then laid back down in bed because i was exhuasted... within 10 minutes i was wide awake and ready to go! I had a good workout, and was sweating like crazy for most of the morning.

PTAaron said:
Tried a good one this morning before my workout:
Product: NO3 Overload MM5T by CMI; Catagory: Pre-Workout stimulant/creatine product.
This one was nice because it was in pill form, so I didn't have to deal with some horrible tasting powder. I took the 4 pills at 7:45am... by 8:00am I was pacing around my condo getting my workout stuff together feeling amped to go tear it up at the gym. I was actually talking to myself as I was doing things... narrating what was going on. It was kind of entertaining. This one definitely worked for getting me focused and ready to hit the gym.
I noticed later that the sample pack said "Hardcore Bodybuilders" should take 6 tablets... so maybe I'll pretend to be one of those next time and try 6 tablets! I have another sample pack sitting around, so I'll give that a try and let you guys know how it goes.
Click to expand...

Took this on 2 other times - only did 4 pills each time. Pretty happy with the results. Definitely got me going for the workout.
 
New product tested: Endothil-CR by Novex Biotech. Catagory: I have no idea.

This product says it is a "Musculogenic Cell Recruiter" - whatever that means. It claims it is "Formulated to assist: muscle recuperation cycle, muscle growth, upper and lower body strength, and muscle mass and circumference".

It is just one little tablet, and the directions say "Take 1 tablet 30 minutes before working out. Chew the tablet slowly and savor the flavor for a long period of time before swallowing. Use only as directed." Okay. No problem... 30 minutes before my workout I popped the tablet in my mouth and chewed it up... I attempted to "Savor the flavor" but after about 20 seconds I was trying really hard to stop gagging... I ended up washing it down with a huge glass of water shortly afterwards. It tasted kind of like I was sucking the sweat out of the back of a pair of shorts that I had just worn to run 5 miles.

I also took some Kre-Alkylin pre-workout... and hit the gym. I noticed nothing different than usual, aside from a horrible taste that came back up a couple of times during the workout...

I'm not sure what I was supposed to notice with this product, but if it was supposed to make me gag and almost throw up - I give it an A+ if it was supposed to do anything else, it gets a big fat F.
 
Product: Cell Mass by BSN; Catagory: Creatine product. Tried this out Friday... the grape flavor was pretty good. Mixed well. Can't really say if one dose of it made any noticable change for me... but I did like the taste. Too bad it is so expensive. One thing I discovered though... don't mix it into a protein shake! After my workout I decided to save time and poured the cell mass into my shaker cup with my dextrose, whey protein, and glutamine... it was the worst tasting shake i have ever had! Tracy and I were driving to work when I took a drink of it for the first time... I think she thought I was going to swerve the car off the road I started choking and gagging so bad! Something about the combination of the grape flavor with the vanilla protein powder and dextrose just was REALLY REALLY bad!
 
I've gone through all of the pre-workout stuff and protein shake samples I had...
Right now I'm trying out various fat burners/energy pills ... I haven't really formed any opinions on them yet so I'm waiting to write that up...
 
Thanks man. So far I'm liking some of the GNC brand stuff I've been taking since giving up on the Y3. I'll post more on it at the end of the week... we'll see how it goes.
 
Product: Oxydrene by Novex Biotech. Catagory: "Deep Tissue Oxygenator".

Okay - This one I can't really say I noticed anything from taking it... I only had a couple of doses as samples, so I don't really know that it would have had time for me to notice any effect. Lets just say that in a single dose, it didn't cause any noticible change in anything.


---


Product: Crunch Time by SSN. Catagory: Fat burner (I think, doesn't say on the bottle).

Again - this one didn't really have much of an effect that I noticed... I took 4 doses of it, and off the top of my head I really can't remember anything spectacular about it. I still have 2 more doses to take, I'll take those tomorrow and the next day.
 
Product: YJ Stinger Extreme Energy Mints (Stacker 2) Catagory: Energy (duh!)
These come in a sheet of 21 mints, and the serving size is 2 mints. I'm not sure what genius did the math on that one... Poor packaging aside, these are cinnamon flavored mints that have 100mg of caffeine per serving.
First impression when you pop these in your mouth is that they taste horrible. As you leave them in your mouth they don't start tasting any better... which is sad because they smell really good.
They do give you a nice energy kick though, so if you can get past the taste they are a worthwhile "pick me up" product.
 
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