amino acid supplements for workouts?

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Okay somebody who knows I want aminos just gave me a tub - ON Essential Amino Energy. Reviews?

[Fiddleman 4,376]

A serving size is 2 scoops, You will see on the product packaging that it recommends taking 2-4 scoop in the morning, 4-6 scoop before working out, 2-4 scoops after working out and 2-4 scoops scoops latter afternoon.

My advice is not to take so much of it for a few reasons:

1. You will use it up in 3 days. There are only 30 servings.

2. Your body will get accustomed to the caffeine and it will become less effective for energy.

3. Each serving has 10 calories. Taking their max recommendation is pushing almost an extra 200 calories a day. Probably not a big deal if you are in fact killing each workout, but something to consider.

Check your tolerance for caffeine and take the appropriate number of scoops for you. More on dose size and effectiveness below.

I like that the energy comes from green tea and green coffee bean extract. It is a much smoother form of energy that you can draw upon rather than the crazy jittery, upset stomach and crash that comes from most NO products like c4, jack3d, etc. Been there and done that. Trust me, you do not need that.

The amino blend is good. The only gripe I have is the quantity of each each ingredient is on the low side per single dose so it takes either mid (4 scoops) or max dose (6 scoops) size to realize the proper benefits during a work out. I have found the low dose (2 scoops) does nothing for me. ON is a little sneaky in creating the product this way because it is not very cost effective for the consumer. For this reason, it is way more cost effective to go with xtend as you get more aminos for the money. Just my opinion.

Taste is awesome. I get the watermelon flavor and use it as a pre workout drink. I use xtend bcaa post workout in addition to other times of the day because of the cost effectiveness issue.

[wcn1970 239]

Wow, that is an awful lot to consume in a day to get the Aminos you need.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Yeah, no kidding. That is the one gripe I have with the ON Amino Energy product.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Yeah ... about that ....

So I followed the dosing instructions on the tub and put in two servings, it said four servings for workout use but I decided to be conservative and just go with two....

I have never done speed, but this $h!t had me awake till dawn, I couldn't slow down, was grinding my teeth, awful, simply awful. I killed my workout but what a price. In fact, maybe even a bigger price than that; I was so sped up and bursting with energy that I may have overdone it on the leg press machine because today my left hip socket if I straighten out my leg and put weight on it, is in excruciating pain.

So, a big thumbs DOWN on this product.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Caffeine has different effects on different people. Perhaps take less if you are super sensitive towards the caffeine. I am not so tend to dose on the higher sides. The caffeine is what makes Amino Energy a good pre workout supplement.

If you just want aminos before a workout without any caffeine, go with a product like catalyst. I used to take this and like the clean results that came from it in terms of stamina and energy. Catalyst has a different set and type of aminos than xtend that are designed for energy. The aminos in xtend are designed more for recovery.

[wcn1970 239]

I like GAT Muscle Martini as well.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Does Xtend have caffeine? I am uber-sensitive to caffeine, I can have one cup of black tea first thing in the morning and that is it, any later and I am up all night.

[wcn1970 239]

Zero caffeine in XTend

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Agree, no caffeine. xtend is the best amino supplement out there! Tastes good too.

[wcn1970 239]

Tastes awesome. I also mix it with my grape Isopure sometimes.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

What is the cheapest way to get Xtend?

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Buy the 90 serving tub from Amazon at around 50.

[wcn1970 239]

I have never seen that huge tub before. I need that.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I needed to get some more xtend and did not want to wait on Amazon 2 day prime, so went down to GNC to pick some up. They do not sell it. However, they did sell me on trying usplabs modernBCCA.

Here is my opinion:

cost: modern bcaa provides 30 servings for 44 dollars. They even had a 2:1 sale going on, but I declined as wanted to try the product first. Xtend at 90 servings for 36 dollars (if you can find that) has a better value. Average price I pay for xtend 90 servings is 50.

Taste: modern bcaa is not as sweet as the xtend. I like the sweeter taste of xtend when comparing watermelon flavors. Both are zero calories.

Effectiveness: I cannot really judge modernBCAA on effectiveness because I have not used it before a workout yet. However, I did use it after my workout and notice no doms today. Modern bcaa has an 8:1:1:1 ratio of the bcaa blend where xtend has 2:1:1:1 ratio. Does this make a difference that there are 8 parts luecine to the other aminos? Not sure. Modern bcaa has something called sustanine in it that may give it an edge over xtend in terms of doms.

Mixability: modern bcaa still had little packets of powder in my bottle even after shaking vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Xtend usually has no clumps when shaking 5 seconds of less. Not a deal breaker, but I wish modern bcaa mixed a little better.

Overall, the jury is still out until I can gauge the effectiveness of modern bcaa after some workouts this next week.

Has anyone else tried modern bcaa and has an opinion on it?

Edited February 2, 2014 by Fiddleman