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

[PTAaron]

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.

[PTAaron]

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.

[PTAaron]

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.

[PTAaron]

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.

[goes4ever]

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

[KC Lifter]

PTA you're doing a good job with these reviews. Very detailed, everyone should appreciate you doing it.

[PTAaron]

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

LOL! Yeah, I thought the BCAA Fuel review was some of my best work!

PTA you're doing a good job with these reviews. Very detailed, everyone should appreciate you doing it.

Thanks man!

[PTAaron]

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!

(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.

[Matt76]

i about bought that stuff once. Keep me updated

[KC Lifter]

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.

I'm a big believer in bcaa they're a must.

[PTAaron]

I'm a big believer in bcaa they're a must.

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.

[PTAaron]

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.

[KC Lifter]

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.

Good point.

[PTAaron]

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 .
2 thumbs up for this one.

[Matt76]

haha I ate some vegi soup yesterday and had the same problem