Scivation Xtend

Bodybuilding.com's glutamine product of the year!

This is a solid amino acid product that has the standard 2-1-1 ratio of l-leucine (3.5 g), l-isoleucine (1.75 g) and l-valine (1.75 g). It also contains a healthy dose of l-glutamine (2.5 g) and citrulline malate (1 g).

Does this stuff work? I dunno. It's hard to say with nutritional supplements, ya know? It's the same as taking whey protein... there's no real night and day difference, but you take it anyway just to be sure. I do feel like the duration of my post workout soreness has decreased (as l-glutamine is advertised to do), but maybe that's also just a side effect of regularly going to the gym 4 days a week for the past 4 months.

Ok, just to make this "review" easy, let's assume that you believe in amino acid supplements and you are trying to decide which one to get. It'll boil down to price, taste and quality.

I think the quality is good. Scivation has a very good reputation on bodybuilding.com and Xtend has a huge following there.

Price is alright, I guess. Dang amino acids are expensive. It's $50 for a 90 serving container. People take between 1 and 3 servings a day. I take 1.5 servings.

Taste is where it gets interesting. It's advertised as tasting like Koolaid... and yes it does, after you get used to it! The first two or three times I tried "refreshing apple," it tasted like bitter chemicals. So much so that I would sometimes cringe after taking a swig. Then I learned to add more water. 2 scoops per 1 liter seems to do the trick. After that, it started to taste kind of good.

The watermelon flavor was the opposite. It tasted watered down and diluted. After upping the amount to 3 scoops per 1 liter, it actually tastes pretty good.

By now, I'm very used to Xtend's flavor and actually find it very pleasurable. I sometimes drink it just cuz I'm thirsty and am craving something sweet. Tastes like how Jolly Ranchers smell. The watermelon is definitely sweeter than the apple, and I like it better overall.

BSN Syntha-6

Funky red bottle.

Syntha-6's gimmick is that it has 6 different proteins: whey concentrate, whey isolate, egg albumen, milk protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, micellar alpha and beta-casein caseinates. Each type of protein has a different absorption rate, so one shake theoretically gives you a steady protein supply for up to 8 hours.

Here's the macro breakdown for a 44 g serving:

22 g protein
15 g carbs (2 g sugar)
6 g fat (2 g saturated)
200 calories

Compare that to a 70 g serving of Muscle Milk (which also has a blend of different types of protein):

32 g protein
16 g carbs (2 g sugar)
12 g fat (6 g saturated)
300 calories

Ahh, but the serving size is different. Let's put them on equal ground. Here are the macros for a 70 g serving of Syntha-6:

35 g protein
24 g carbs (3 g sugar)
10 g fat (3 g saturated)
325 calories

It boils down to significantly more carbs, and significantly less saturated fat. Note though, that Muscle Milk claims its saturated fat is good for you (medium chain triglycerides, that are more readily metabolized for energy).

So how does it taste? I got Chocolate Peanut Butter and when blended with a banana, ice and water... it tastes damn good. So good that I immediately want to make another one. I think it definitely lives up to it's claim of "ridiculously" delicious. I haven't tried it in plain water yet.

Update: I just tried it in plain water... it has nothing on Muscle Milk. Not bad, definitely good as far as protein goes, but nothing close to retardedly delicious like Muscle Milk.

All in all, I think it's a perfect alternative to Muscle Milk for people who don't like the high amount of (saturated) fat.

Fun factoid... on BodyBuilding.com's best seller list, Syntha-6 is ranked number 4 and Muscle Milk is ranked number 5. BSN has two products on the top 10 list (top 5 actually).

Muscle Milk - Cake Batter

Wow, this stuff actually smells and tastes like cake batter. I'm very impressed.

Now the million dollar question... is it better than Muscle Milk's mind blowingly good vanilla? Ehh, not quite. It's just not as rich. Maybe I mixed it with too much water though. We'll see when I make it again tomorrow.

I have to say though, it's my second favorite flavor right now.

End communication.

SciVation Whey (vanilla)

A while ago, I asked the SciVation owner/president for a sample their whey protein via email. He promptly answered and asked for a shipping address. I never received the samples. I'm a little miffed about that, but I bought some SciVation products anyway. I'm pretty sure it was just an honest mistake. SciVation is extremely active on the bodybuilding.com forums and has a fantastic reputation for customer service.

I used Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey before and was very happy with it. There are 2 reasons why I decided to try out SciVation's whey.

• Price. It's cheap as hell.
• The company seems very promising with a focus on customer service, lab tested products, and being owned and run by bodybuilders (who obviously use the products).

It's good stuff. It has the thickness and consistency of EAS Myoplex (it's much thicker than ON 100% Whey), but without the chalky taste. Now granted, I put my whey in fruit smoothies but still, I can tell it tastes good. I mean, I put all my whey in my smoothies and it's like this: nothing can mask the nasty chalky flavor of Myoplex Lite, ON 100% Whey more or less doesn't affect the smoothie at all, SciVation Whey makes the smoothie thick and has a bit more vanilla flavor.

The macro ratios are good. 22 g of protein, 1 g of carbs (sugar), 1 g of fat. I just wish whey protein isolate was listed first in the ingredients (whey protein concentrate is instead)... just for mental peace of mind.

I would definitely buy this product again.

ALLMAX Nutrition Product Samples

I'm looking for a Syntax Nectar substitute because apparently Syntrax is an evil company. I asked an ALLMAX representative for a sample of IsoKool, which he obliged and then some (check out the picture of all that he sent)!

Here are my thoughts on the products.

IsoFlex Bar - Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge

Yum... this thing tastes great! Kind of reminds of a Charleston Chew, but not as chewy. I give it a 4/5 on flavor, I most definitely enjoyed eating it.

When it comes to bars though, I'm very skeptical that any are good for you. Weighing in at 330 calories, this is definitely a meal replacement (very close in macros to my daily Muscle Milk shake). It has a nice amount of protein at 31 g, the first ingredient being whey isolate, which is good. It has 12 g of fat (6 saturated) just like Muscle Milk. Then it has 26 g of carbs, 21 of which are sugar alcohols. I don't know how I feel about sugar alcohols.

IsoFlex - Peanut Butter Chocolate

They sent me two packets of this stuff. I made a smoothie with the first one out of a whole banana, 2 spoons of vanilla yogurt, ice and water. The second time around, I used only half a banana and more ice.

Wow! This stuff is delicious! You can really taste the peanut butter and it tastes great. I usually put a tablespoon of almond butter in my smoothies, but with this stuff there is absolutely no need (unless it's for the calories). I generally like ON 100% Whey, but this definitely tastes better than any of the ON chocolate flavors.

Now for the downside... it's 1.5 times more expensive than ON 100% Whey... $35 for 2 lbs... ouch. Guess that's the price to pay for 97% whey isolate.

IsoKool - Green Apple

Great taste, but it's hard to mix. It clumps up and gets all gooey on the spoon. Oh well, that's more or less expected with this type of protein powder. The taste is right up my alley though, and I was just about to buy some when I saw the price... $35 for 2 lbs. Ugh!

Hmm, I just checked and Nectar is $29. I don't remember it being that expensive, but granted I was buying that stuff a few years ago. So I guess $6 more for the IsoKool isn't that bad.

I'm going to buy this. I remember not liking Nectar's apple flavor, but this stuff is pretty good. For the record, Nector's Fuzzel Navel flavor is good... tastes like orange juice.

IsoKool - Lemon Ice Tea

I'm not going to review this tonight because I'm pretty set on the Green Apple flavor. If this flavor turns out to be the bomb, I'll edit this post later.

IsoKool - Tropical Fruit

This flavor doesn't interest me at all, but same goes for it (as the Lemon Ice Tea).

Conclusion

I'm pretty impressed with the sample products they gave me. I will definitely buy the IsoKool Green Apple, but I was in the market for that type of protein anyway.

What's really impressive is that I'm a hair away from buying the IsoFlex Peanut Butter Chocolate, even though I think it's quite a bit out of my price range and I had no prior intention of switching brands for this type of protein. I just really liked the taste, which surprised me given its nutritional profile.

I also think it's really cool that ALLMAX sent me all this stuff just for asking. Seems like the company is on the right track when it comes to customer service.

P.S. The tee shirt is too big but I'm definitely going to use that condom tonight!

Muscle Milk - Dulce de Leche

It's good, but it's not crazy good like Vanilla Cremé or like how Chocolate Milk used to be.

End communication.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey (variety pack)

I got the 16 flavor variety pack, here's the run down of what I thought of the flavors. This is how I make my protein smoothie...so take my taste analysis with a grain of salt (read: the yogurt and banana pretty much overpower the protein flavors).

Extreme Milk Chocolate

It tastes like watered down hot chocolate. Reminds me of the holidays. Might even have a hint of horchata. Chalkiness is minimal non existent. Overall, I don't really like it, but it is definitely non offensive.

Double Rich Chocolate

Very light flavor. I could barely taste it. It's a little chemically tasting too. This one isn't chalky at all either.

Caramel Toffee Fudge

I put in less water this time because I'm noticing a trend of very light flavors. Even with less water, I couldn't taste this one much. It still has the same chemically taste as the pervious ones and still no chalkiness. I think I like this one the best so far.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Another very light flavor. I could barely taste it. It did have that sort of chemically taste that all these flavors seem to have. It's not bad though; I think it's just a part of getting used to a new brand.

Delicious Strawberry

The strongest flavor so far; I can definitely taste it through the banana and yogurt... and it's good! Tastes like some kind of strawberry candy.

French Vanilla Creme

This is the best vanilla so far. It didn't seem to to have that chemically taste that Vanilla Ice Cream had.

Rocky Road

Tastes like all the other chocolates. I think I tasted a little marshmallow, but it might have been suggestive, rather than actual.

Orange Cream

Tastes like a melted creamsicle! I was impressed, but it seems like more of a "once in a while" type flavor.

Banana Cream

It wasn't as strong as Delicious Strawberry or Orange Cream. I could barely taste it. It just seemed like vanilla.

Strawberry Banana

Tasted like a lighter version of Delicious Strawberry

Chocolate Malt

Another chemically tasting chocolate.

Tropical Punch

Tastes like Hawaiian Punch. Pretty strong too. Kinda good, kinda weird.

Cookies and Cream

I just don't like ON's cookies and cream.

Mocha Cappuccino

This one is good, I would buy this.

Chocolate Mint

I like this one also. I think the mint masks the chemically taste that the chocolates tend to have.

Root Beer Float

I didn't try this one; sounds gross mixed with fruit.

Top 5 (in no particular order)

• French Vanilla Creme
• Delicious Strawberry
• Mocha Cappuccino
• Chocolate Mint
• Caramel Toffee Fudge

I'm surprised by the fruit flavors. Most of them are good enough to purchase. Compare that with Muscle Milk's Strawberry Banana which makes me want to throw up.

Optimum Nutrition 100% Casein (cookies and cream)

This protein is a blend of micellar casein and calcium caseinate. In theory it's suppose to digest much more slowly than whey protein, thus it is supposed to be used before bed to keep you anti-catabolic while sleeping.

Regardless of the theory, I don't feel bad taking right before bed because it's only 110 calories of nearly pure protein (0.5 g fat, 3 g carb, 1 of which is fiber).

The taste is kind of nasty. Casein protein is much thicker than whey, and unfortunately, isn't nearly flavorless like pure whey isolate. This cookies and cream flavor tastes strongly of licorice to me. I don't really like it, but it's not unbearable.

Take my opinion on its taste with a grain of salt, because it seems like this flavor is a hit on the interwebnetstubes.