Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Bio Synergy Skinny Protein Shake, Acai Berry capsules

Hello from a very rainy fitwriter central. The dog is not impressed. Here is the latest Fitness kit I’ve tested this week post.

I was recently sent a couple of items from Bio Synergy. For the past 10 years, the brand has been creating high quality nutritional supplements, ranging from sports performance to slimming products. Their latest range – Body Perfect supplements – use various natural extracts like green tea, resveratrol and acai berry, to boost results.

First up, I tried the Skinny Protein Shake in the strawberry flavour. This whey powder (which also has soya extract) contains extra ingredients to help control appetite and encourage fat loss: green tea, guarana, chromium (which can reduce sugar cravings) and l-carnitine. It also packs a hefty protein punch, as you’d expect. I like the sound of those extra ingredients, and indeed most of them are supplements I already take. What about the taste and mixability of the powder? It mixed very well and was pretty sweet (sweetened with sucralose) and light tasting, quite like a milkshake I guess. I’ve said before that I’m not a huge fan of berry protein shakes, but if you like strawberry milkshakes, then you’ll probably like this.

With that in mind, I gave my sister some of this to try, and this is what she had to say: “The Bio Synergy Skinny Shake is actually really nice, it mixes together with water really quickly and is very smooth (unlike some protein powders that I’ve found I have to blend, and even then they’re still a bit grainy). I only have to mix this one in the flask thingy you gave me and only have to give it a little shake. The flavour is just right, not sickly or heavy. It’s refreshing and easy to drink quickly! Yum yum, I am looking forward to drinking a lot more of this!”

If you’re interested in introducing the chromium, l-carnitine etc into your nutrition regime, this is certainly a convenient way of doing it, particularly if you’re not confident about adding bits and bobs to your water bottle or taking various pills during the day.

Per 40g serving:
162kcals
30.7g protein
3g carbs (from sugar)
3g fat (2.4g from saturates)

I also tried the Acai Berry capsules. You take two caps a day (2x2000mg) of this extract of acai berry, apparently used by Brazilian aboriginal communities for fat-loss and to combat obesity. The extracts of the purple acai berry, they say, containing anti-oxidants, anti-carcinogens and anti-ageing agents, boosting immunity and metabolism. Acai berry contains EFAs (essential fatty acids), amino acids, phytosterols and antioxidants, as well as fibre and digestive enzymes.

Now, the problem here is this: it’s very difficult for me to say whether one supplement or other truly helps me, unless the results are going to be something very obvious. I’m not obese, I exercise regularly, I eat for fat-loss and I already supplement with lots of other things. So it’s very difficult for me to say whether or not these capsules had an effect. I’m sorry, Bio Synergy people! I can say that they were very easy to take, completely tasteless and gave me nothing in the way of side-effects.

Have you taken Acai supplements? What do you think of them?

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Bio Synergy Skinny Protein Shake, Acai Berry capsules is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: myprotein Pulse, myprotein Elle True Diet

Here we are with another Fitness kit I’ve tested this week review post, although I really need to rename the series “Fitness kit I reviewed at some point over the past month”. Both products are from myprotein who, incidentally, recently launched a new type of packaging for some of their products which is proving to be really great. MP’s new MP MAX® range of pouches is made from thicker, more durable material and has a good re-sealable opening, both of which mean your protein will stay better protected from light, oxygen, warmth and moisture. Of course, you could get tubs, but (as anyone with lots of supplements will tell you), tubs take up plenty of space. You can roll these pouches down as you use the product, so they end up taking up hardly any space at all (they’ve got stand-up, slim bases).

There are six products available in the new pouches: MAX® True Whey, MAX® Hurricane Evo
, MAX® Total Gainer
, MAX® Total Peptide, MAX® Creastorm and MAX® Recovery Evo.

There’s also MAX® Elle True Diet, which I tested out. I really liked this product, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m trying to stick to non-whey protein powders this year, I’d order it in a flash. Here’s why:

- it tasted great (I tried the chocolate flavour) and mixed up really smoothly. I made it as a kind of pudding, just by adding a little water and mixing thoroughly. It was lovely
- it’s full of extra ingredients which are there to support weight gain and give you a boost in the gym, and which I think would make it a great option for taking before morning cardio (Green Tea extract, Guarana, Chromium, CLA, EFAs)
- it’s also got fibre (something we all need more of) and carbohydrates, from low GI sources
- it really seemed to zap my sweet tooth, even though it was sweet and chocolatey. I guess that’s the fibre and caffeine? Or perhaps the Bioperine®, which helps the absorption of nutrients.

A word of warning: I didn’t do my research, and picked up the sample pack to take with me to a late-night appointment. I then wondered why I had real trouble sleeping that night. Not one to take late in the day, particularly if you’re sensitive to caffeine.

The verdict on MAX® Elle True Diet? All good! It’s just a shame I’m avoiding whey. Sorry, MP! If I change my mind, I’ll be ordering a (foil!) pouch of this.

The other product I tried was MP’s pre-workout, Pulse® . This is full of whizzy things to give you a big boost before you hit the gym, great for days when you’re feeling a bit tired or know you need a lot of focus. Let’s see, it’s got Tyrosine, Glucuronolactone, Guarana and Chocamine® Plus (this stuff is potent! you can buy it by itself from the MP website and a little goes a very long way). There’s also CEE (Creatine Ethyl Ester HCl) in there, and a dose of Beta Alanine: two performance boosting supplements which have been shown to promote power output and ward off fatigue.

I can’t say for sure whether Pulse® gave me a boost, because I tried it whilst training with my new friend Amie, and we were both over-excited to the point of hysteria, but what I can say is that I ought to have been very tired for our training sessions (late nights the night before!) and I wasn’t. And I seem to remember we trained for a very long time, actually! Tastewise – two thumbs up. Berry-ish. (It’s called Berry Blast, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise).

Myprotein recently announced price cuts of up to 50% on over 100 products – these are long term price reductions across some of the most popular products. As most bodybuilders will agree, this can be an expensive sport, so moves like this are appreciated: thanks, MP!

Thanks for the samples, myprotein people!

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: myprotein Pulse, myprotein Elle True Diet is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Tesco Nutri1st Advanced protein products

Did you know Tesco have launched a range of protein products? No, nor did I, until I was sent some to test. Welcome to this week’s installment of fitness kit I’ve tested this week. I actually tested all of these things some time ago but never mind! Christmas got in the way of this blog post.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t think to head to Tesco (other supermarkets are available ) for a protein hit. Other than, perhaps, rotisserie chicken. Even so, that’s a bit tricky to eat whilst driving out of the carpark.

Obviously it’s best not to be in a position where you need to buy anything from the supermarket on which to snack, but life isn’t perfect. So, Tesco’s Nutri1st Advanced products – a new range of protein shakes and bars – could come in handy.

According to the press release, the Tesco bods have crafted this range with the bamboozled in mind. The products have been designed to make it easier to select a protein product to support your sporting goals. Additionally, the decision was made to have packaging which doesn’t feature muscly models, the idea being that these products might appeal to people who have just started out on their fitness quest.

There are six types of products, all of which are clearly labelled with their intended purpose: muscle definition and strength, lean muscle growth, maximum muscle growth, increasing size and strength, early morning workouts and non workout days and bedtime. I’m not sure there’s a distinct difference between all six, but I can see the value in assisting people new to protein supplementation. The products include only natural colours and flavours across the entire range.

Nutri-Whey Extra – for supporting muscle definition and strength
These high-protein, low-carb shakes and bars contain a triple combination of whey proteins (isolate, concentrate and hydrolysate). I sampled two flavours of the shakes (at around 130 cals, 24g protein, 3g carbs and 2g fat per 34g serving) – strawberries and cream, and chocolate. Both £22 for a 1kg tub. They were perfectly nice tasting, but I’m more interested in what’s in them. As well as the triple hit of wheys, you get amino acids and an enzyme complex, to make the shake more easily digestable. You also get sucralose, unfortunately. In terms of taste, I wasn’t hugely keen on the strawberry (but it’s never my favourite flavour) and thought it was very sweet, but the chocolate was good.

I also tried one of the Nutri-whey extra bars (strawberry again) which was nice, but coated in a chocolate-flavoured layer so, essentially, a protein-rich candy bar. £1.25 for the 60g bar. At 190 cals, 18g protein, 20.3g carbs and 4.7g fat per 60g bar, it’s a decent protein hit for sure, and a better choice than a chocolate bar, but I’d suggest there are better bars out there (or better things to munch on from the supermarket) than a bar covered in sucralose and palm kernel oil. Mind you, I munched my way through it perfectly happily so who am I to tell you what to eat! On the plus side, this bar is bigger than a lot of protein bars out there. In texture, it was chewy rather than crispy or crunchy.

Nutri-Lean Extra – for lean muscle growth
The shakes and bars in this range contain metabolism-boosting ingredients as well as whey protein. I was sent one of the bars in the range, a chocolate/mint concoction. £1.25 for a 40g bar. At 144kcals, 18.7g protein, 11.8g carbs and 3.3g fat per 40g bar, it’s a good chunk of protein but I have to say I wasn’t a fan of the texture. It was a little chalky. The ingredients of note here are good old CLA (1097mg per 100g – the bar is 40g), green tea extract (430mg per 100g), and l-carnitine. To be honest I’m not sure that the thermogenic ingredients would offset the fact that, again, you’re eating the bar’s coating, with ingredients like sugar and glucose syrup. Although the bar is surely a better choice than a Twix or something like that, and undeniably delivers a good hit of protein.

Nutri-Power Complete – help support maximum muscle growth as part of your exercise plan
The shakes and bars in this range are branded as all-rounders, with whey and soya protein, plenty of carbohydrates and supplements including creatine, l-glutamine and HMB. I tried the raspberry and honey flapjack bar which was tasty and carby, but pretty sweet (as you’d expect from something called a honey flapjack). £1.25 for the bar. Per 60g bar (again, it’s a decent size), you’re getting 215kcals, 20.6g protein, 25.8g carbs and 4.7g fat. Not one to choose whilst dieting or trying to having a low-carb day, and I’m not sure that I’d choose a bar with this many sweeteners if there were other options available.

In summary, I think these products are a good entry-level range for people who don’t know about sports supplements and would feel confused or intimidated by some of the existing brands. The packaging does explain in simple terms what the ingredients are useful for. However, for me, the amount of sugar and sweeteners, and vegetable oils, mean I’m unlikely to choose the bars over products from other ranges (in truth I’d rather bake my own!) But I appreciate that a lot of people simply don’t know where to start when it comes to supplementing with quick-grab protein before or after training, and wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to mixing up creatine, l-glutamine, etc for themselves.

The range also includes Nutri-Gain Extra – for increasing size and strength, Nutri1st Advanced Breakfast Shakes – ideal for early morning gym goers and Nutri1st Advanced Staged Release Shake – ideal for non-workout days and bedtime. The range is available in store or from Tesco Direct.

Have you tried anything from Tesco’s Nutri1st Advanced range? What did you think?

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Tesco Nutri1st Advanced protein products is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Optimum Nutrition Whey Crisp and Wholly Oats! bars

Hello! What better on a dark November night than a few sport supplement reviews? Well, you’re in luck, cos here is my latest “fitness kit I’ve tested this week” post.

Today we have a few bars which were sent to me by the kind folk at Optimum Nutrition (ON). They sent me their Whey Crisp bar in Marshmallow Treat (anyone would think they know my tastes…) and in Double Rich Chocolate. They also sent through some Wholly Oats! bars in Strawberries and Cream flavour and Chocolate Peanut Butter flavour. Marshmallow. Peanut butter. Optimum Nutrition, are you stalking me?

I have to own up to not testing the Wholly Oats! bars myself, at least not fully. Even in an off-season non-diet, they’re just not my thing. Too….wholly oaty, I guess. However I am married to an endurance athlete for whom oats (wholly or otherwise) are a good thing. I did “sample” a bit (I’m such a nice wife, I prepare my husband’s packed lunch every morning and have taken to chopping the Wholly Oats! bars into bits to add into homemade trail mix) and this is what I have to say:

- Chocolate Peanut Butter – not as peanut buttery as I’d hoped, but this is actually a good thing otherwise my husband’s packed lunch would have been lighter that day. It was a nice flavour but not outstanding. Mainly chocolatey. My husband said they were very good. “Chocolatey and peanutty, but not very peanut buttery,” were his exact words.

- Strawberries and Cream - as the name would suggest, this is very sweet. The top layer represents the cream and is a bit like white chocolate. Right up my husband’s street (although he did report a taste of “marzipan”?!), but not mine. Horses for courses – you may love this bar and I’d certainly say give it a go. It’s nice, just not very me. The ON website says these bars represent a replacement/alternative to a bowl of porridge (translation for my US readers: “oatmeal” ) and a protein shake, and certainly that’s a typical breakfast for many a bodybuilder, so don’t think they’re only for endurance athletes.

The Wholly Oats! bars stats are: 21g protein (from casein, whey and egg), 42g carbs and 5g fat per bar

The Whey Crisp bars were mine and mine alone to sample! Husband didn’t get a look in, in fact I suspect he doesn’t even know I ever had them to review. Here’s what I thought:

- Marshmallow Treat. A treat indeed! Marshmallowy in taste but not texture, this was crispy (like a rice crispy cereal bar thing) and a bit sticky but not as sticky as an actual marshmallow. I… erm… may have dipped it in a cup of tea, and it held up admirably to that rigorous stage in the review process. I thought I might find this too sickly but I didn’t. I am proud of myself.

- Double Rich Chocolate – again, I thought this might be too sweet for me but it wasn’t (just). The bars aren’t huge, but I think this would have been too sweet if they’d been any larger. The tea-dunking test worked well for this bar, too.

The Whey Crisp bar stats are 16g protein (from whey). 25g carbs, less than 1g sugar and less than 2g fat. So, hardly a low-carb bar but then again I’d suggest that if you were in a low-carb stage of dieting you wouldn’t be using bars anyway. A tasty treat which was a welcome tea-dunking experiment in this more relaxed stage of bodybuilding eating!

Like most commercial energy/recovery/meal replacement (etc) bars, these aren’t the ideal solution when you need a snack, but they’re better than a lot of choices (chocolate bars, crisps, biscuits) and help you meet your protein requirements.

The flavours and sweetness are very much a personal thing. But here you have two different types of bars from a well-respected sports nutrition brand, worth trying if you like bars and certainly worth keeping in your bag in case you’re caught short without food. Thanks for the samples, Optimum Nutrition people!

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Optimum Nutrition Whey Crisp and Wholly Oats! bars is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

myprotein.com savoury protein powder reviews, guest blogger recipes

In my “what do you want to know” post, one of the options was to ask about recipes, and one (!) person did click that option. So, whoever you were, this is your lucky day. The rest of you – of which there are thousands I’m sure – can either look away now or read on if you’re interested in some high-protein, highly-creative, super-tasty eats.

This post is sort of a review of the savoury protein powders you can get from myprotein.com. A long time ago, they sent me some of their goat’s whey to sample (the review is here) and, since then, they’ve kindly sent me some pea protein too. Thank you, myprotein.com, I do appreciate your support.

I love to experiment in the kitchen as part of my contest prep. Yes, I eat a lot of grilled chicken, steamed, raw or roasted veg, omelettes and stir fries when I’m in a time-pinch. However, I also love little more than pottering in the kitchen to come up with prep-worthy versions of “normal” foods (and typically I’ll honestly rather have my versions than the real thing). It’s so satisfying to experiment with ingredients and come up with something delicious and healthy.

Most protein powders are sweet – wheys and caseins. But you can get savoury protein powders – hemp, pea, brown rice and goat’s whey amongst them. This post is a collection of recipes giving you some idea of how to use them. I’ve asked a couple of notable health and fitness bloggers to join me. (Hint: theirs are the recipes with the really great-looking photos )

First of all, here are the powders we’ll be using:

Goat’s whey
I love goat’s whey. It’s unflavoured but does taste mildly cheesy, like goat’s cheese really. Funny, that! So if you like goat’s cheese – which I do – try it! I use it for savoury dishes like pancakes and breads (see below) but also make it into a thin sauce with water to drizzle over poached eggs and grilled asparagus. Delish! It’s quite sticky but doesn’t seem to weigh baked goods down, in fact they puff up quite spectacularly. I’ve tried my recipe (below) with pea and hemp and it doesn’t turn out remotely the same. Goat’s whey is the only savoury powder I’ve tried which creates a bun puffy enough to slice.

Pea protein
Great for sweet or savoury baking, smoothies, or mashing into veg. I love pea protein! It’s lighter than hemp (in weight) and tastes quite sweet although it is definitely a savoury whey. It doesn’t taste like peas. Like hemp, it’s a great choice for vegans or anyone avoiding lactose. It’s particularly high in BCAAs and arginine.

Hemp protein
None of the recipes here actually use this but it’s well worth a try – great taste (nutty and earthy), quite heavy so useful for baking (I often make a pancake-type thing with hemp and top it with sauteed veggies for a kind of pizza, or make it into a wrap). Great nutritional stats too because of the hemp – high in good-for-you fats (omega 3 & 6), essential amino acids (all 10 of them) and other goodies like GLA. A really great choice of protein powder.

On to the recipes!

First up is Anna from Protein Pow(d)er, a fun blog and Facebook page. Anna is incredible inventive with her protein powder recipes. I have many, many, many of them bookmarked to make some time. Do check out her blog and Facebook page. Here’s the recipe she sent me. Let me know if you try it.

High Protein Caraway Tahini Bread

Ingredients
160g liquid egg whites (also available from myprotein.com)
37g pea protein
17g brown rice protein
10g coconut flour (another awesome ingredient which I’ll probably blog about soon!)
30g tahini paste
sea salt
baking powder
caraway seeds
coconut milk (enough to bind)

Directions
- Blend the ingredients together
- Bake at 160 degrees for around 25-35 minutes

Nutritional info
Entire loaf (9 slices)=
524kcals
70g protein
11g carbs (5.4g are fiber)
21g fat

Anna says:

“I love making breads out of pea protein and brown rice protein. I find they make fantastic flour replacements and have the added advantage of giving you a super protein kick. Protein breads made with vegetable protein powders are a lot thicker, denser and heavier than regular bread. This is why I find that soaking them in olive oil or topping them with almond butter works wonders. This particular recipe is one of my favorites because it involves caraway seeds: caraway seed bread + extra virgin olive oil + eggs = mmmmm!”

Thanks Anna! Loving your work!

Next up is my coach Kat who has lots of great recipes on her site (ideal for anyone in contest prep or wanting to eat more healthily) and on her nutrition Facebook page. Check both out and follow her on Facebook!

Healthy carrot cake

This makes 16 slices.

Ingredients

1 cup fine rolled oats or sifted oat or buckwheat flour 

1 scoop (about 30g) vanilla whey protein powder
1 scoop (about 30g) pea flour protein powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp stevia powder (non-bitter) or ½ tsp vanilla liquiflav

50g walnut pieces
1 medium/large carrot (approx. 230g)

8 large/250ml egg whites

100g quark

Olive oil spray


Directions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees / gas mark 4.
- Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Peel carrot, chop/grate and blend with egg whites and quark in a jug blender.
- Fold this mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring gently until well combined.
- Spray olive oil around the edges of a shallow non-stick cake pan and pour batter in evenly.
- Top with extra walnut pieces if you like.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

- Let it sit for 15 minutes or so then turn onto a wire rack.
- Allow to cool before cutting into 16 slices.

Nutritional info (per slice)
143
kcal
6.1g protein
15.8g
 carbs
5.7g fat

Kat says:

“If you love carrot cake but are avoiding because you’re watching your weight or you just want a healthier cake, this is a great alternative to the high fat, high sugar versions. I love cooking with protein powders and using pea flour protein is a great change from whey. I use a variety of powders to give the taste buds and the body a change and help prevent intolerances. With the huge range of powders available, I can keep my gluten intake almost zero, which makes me feel better – and I still get to do two of my favourite things – cook healthy food and eat it!”

Thanks Kat! Let me know if you try Kat’s cake.

OK, here’s my offering. Rubbish photos, tasty breakfast! I had this just this morning. It doesn’t have a fancy name, but it’s what I like to call (much to Kat’s amusement)…

Big Bun

Ingredients
For the bun:
150g egg whites
30g goat’s whey
pinch baking powder

For the filling:
5g (?) coconut oil
Veggies of your choice, chopped finely (I used shallots, courgette/zucchini, cherry tomatoes, chestnut mushrooms. I would have used spinach too if I had any)

Extras:
Poached egg (my choice this morning)
Cheese or cheese substitute (nutritional yeast)

Directions:
- Heat the oil in a small non-stick pan
- Sautee your veggies
- Remove from the pan and set aside
- Blend egg whites and goat’s whey in blender
- Add baking powder
- Add the mixture to the pan you did the veggies in
- Cook on a high heat until the edges are cooked, then put under the grill – but leave lots of room as it will puff up and you don’t want to have to remove the batter from the top of the grill (…I’d imagine…)
- Poach your egg
- Once the Big Bun is brown on the top, remove it from the pan and slice in half just like you would a bread roll
- Put your veggies, egg, cheese or whatever else you’re using inside
- Feast!

I’m hungry again now! What’s for lunch?

Do you cook or bake with savoury protein powders? Are you going to try any of these recipes? Do the words “Big” and “Bun” (when said together) make you laugh?

myprotein.com savoury protein powder reviews, guest blogger recipes is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: myprotein Zest whey isolate, Optimum Nutrition gold standard casein and gold standard whey

I’m on a roll with my product reviews this week! It won’t be too long before I cut protein powders out of my diet as we get closer to the BNBF Finals, so I’m making my way through my stash of samples to bring you the latest in my “fitness kit I’ve tested this week” posts. This one’s for those of you who use protein powders (whey and casein).

Myprotein.com Whey Isolate “Zest”

myprotein.com have recently launched a new whey isolate in fruity flavours (they’ve also launched some absolutely amazing coffee-inspired whey proteins, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about today). What’s different about their Whey Isolate Zest? It contains 100% whey protein isolate and over 85% protein content. The stats are pretty impressive – for each 25g serving, you’re getting 21.4g protein, 0.2g fat and just 0.1g carbs (and 85.6 kcals). To me, that means you can just have a bigger serving

So, it’s a good choice for anyone watching carbs or cutting for a show/shoot. Good stuff. But really it’s the flavours which make this new product something to blog home about. Almost every other whey protein out there is some kind of chocolate, vanilla, banana, blah blah flavour. That’s all well and good but it does get a bit boring after a while. If, like me, you like to experiment with protein powders, using them for “icecream” and in baking, new flavours such as these are exciting!

Whey Isolate Zest is available in blackcurrant, apple & raspberry and orange & passionfruit. And they’re all really, really good. Mixed with water (or non-dairy milk) as I tried, they make a much fresher-tasting shake than the more traditional milky-flavours on the market. They’re very refreshing. I imagine they’d be great mixed in with yoghurt – frozen yoghurt maybe? The flavours all seem very authentic – I had orange & passionfruit this morning and it was a very thirst-quenching, refreshing start to the day.

Highly recommended if you’re tired of the same old whey protein flavours and fancy something fruity and different! Thanks for the samples, myprotein.com. By the way, if you do order from myprotein.com, pop the code MP113064 in at the checkout for a discount.

(I did consider doing something more exciting than straight-up shakes when I tested this product, but thought this would be the best way. However, head on over to my homegirl Anna’s blog if you want some crazy ideas for using this – and other – protein powders). She’s on Facebook, too.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey

Optimum Nutrition (ON) are a highly-thought of brand so I was pleased to be sent samples of their popular whey and casein products. I tested the gold standard whey in French vanilla (presumably different to English?) although it’s available in 12 flavours (rocky road, anyone?)

The stats are good: per 29.4g serving (I don’t make the serving sizes up!), you’re getting 24g protein, 1g fat and 1.6g carbs (120 kcals). I wasn’t overwhelmed by the vanilla flavour but vanilla is vanilla really. It was nice, not too strong and not too sweet which is often the case with vanilla wheys.

ON’s gold standard whey contains more than 5g of BCAAs and 4g glutamine per serving, nice extras which will help you recover from hard training and be less sore during your workouts. It’s discounted on the ON site at the moment, making this a great time to snap up what is generally considered to be a quality product, respected by many top athletes.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Casein

I was also sent a sample of ON’s gold standard casein product, which I’d been wanting to try for ages after hearing all sorts of people sing its praises. Casein is a slow-release protein source, ideal to take before bed (and I usually do). It digests at a rate of around 1/7 that of whey, so can supply you with amino acids during long periods without food.

I loved this product. It was delicious, and I’d definitely buy it again. I can see why I’ve heard so many good things about it. The flavour I tested was chocolate, but it’s also available in vanilla or banana. It was really smooth and creamy and tasted like a lovely treat last thing at night.

Per 32g serving, you get 24.4g protein, 0.5g fat and 3g carbs, along with 114 kcals and 10g of BCAAs, glutamine, and glutamine precursors, making this a quality product to take before going to sleep. I just wish they’d sent me more!

As with the whey, the casein is discounted on ON’s site at the moment. I might be heading over there to place an order myself! Thanks for the samples, Optimum Nutrition people!

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: myprotein Zest whey isolate, Optimum Nutrition gold standard casein and gold standard whey is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

A bodybuilder’s birthday

Well, I made it to 34! And what a lovely day it was yesterday.

I started the day with breakfast in bed brought to me by my lovely husband. And present-opening, of course!

Then I went to the gym (someone said yesterday “oh, well, happy birthday for tomorrow: I guess you’ll have a day off training then?” – erm, no, training is my time, my treat, my passion. A day off on my birthday is the last thing I’d do!) It was chest/shoulder day, and this is what I did after a warm up:

Press ups and dips
Flat barbell presses (Olympic bar+ 22.5kgs, 22.5kgs, 20kgs)
Incline dumbbell presses (with 18kgs)
Incline flys (with 16kgs)
Clean and presses (Olympic bar +10kgs) superset with dumbbell shoulder presses (with 12kgs)
Weighted abs work

Wish I had a spotter for chest day!

(At least I think that’s all I did, I can’t find my notebook. I think I might have left it at the gym so I’ll edit this post if that list is incomplete).

Then I came home and ate some birthday cake: bodybuilder-birthday cake that is. I would give you the recipe but quite honestly it didn’t turn out at all well. However, most of my adapted baking recipes do, and I’m going to do a baking post very soon (with a discount code for MyProtein.com which is where I get my savoury/unflavoured protein powders from).

Then my best mate came to see me – the one whose hen-party I went to just a couple of weeks out from my comp. She’s not sporty but she’s amazingly supportive. In fact, two nights before my comp, she Skyped me so I could practice posing via video link and try out my routine on her. She’d brought me a loaf/cake too, made from one of my coach’s recipes (you can see it here – date and walnut cake). Love you, Wendy!

Today marks exactly 10 weeks out (including peak week… so some people might say nine weeks out) from the BNBF Finals. In 70 days time I’ll be awake and applying that final coat of tan… I’m looking forward to each one of those days and I’m going to squeeze every minute from them as I continue my prep.

And with that, I’m off to the gym – leg day!

Do I share a birthday with any of my readers? Do you bake yourself birthday cakes? Aaaaand… where’s my card?!

A bodybuilder’s birthday is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Whey-hey! MyProtein product review (True Whey, liquid egg whites)

Rather than wait for the next “fitness kit I’ve tested this week” round-up, I thought I’d tell you guys now about a nice delivery I had from myprotein.com.

I got in from walking the dog to see this on the kitchen table

I was very excited

myprotein.com had kindly sent me 1/2 dozen bottles of liquid egg whites and a huge tub of their new True Whey protein powder.

LIQUID EGG WHITES
Now, egg whites are egg whites, pretty much. But these are the ones I use regularly (hence why they sent them to me). What can I tell you about egg whites? If you already eat them/bake with them, you’ll know why they rock. Great nutritional profile, convenient, a brilliant addition to lots of sweet and savoury baked goods. You can make omelettes with them (funny, that!), use them in all kind of protein pancake concoctions or scramble them. Egg whites are your friend! (Just don’t neglect the odd yolk or two – they’re full of good stuff, too).

So why buy bottled egg whites? If you’re using a lot of egg whites, it will break your heart to have to throw all those yolks away. It just doesn’t make sense. Bottled egg whites are out there and readily available for just that scenario, so buy ‘em!

MP’s liquid egg whites (barn farmed or free range, your choice) are high in protein with trace fat and carbohydrate. They have a five month shelf life but they don’t last anything like that long round here. What I do is freeze all but one and then just take the bottles from the freezer as needed. They freeze perfectly and I’ve never had any problem using them this way. MP’s liquid egg whites

The second product myprotein.com sent me was something I haven’t used before – their True Whey.

TRUE WHEY
MP’s True Whey is a quality whey protein powder combining whey protein concentrate and isolate, with no added sugars and lots of lovely BCAAs (branch chain amino acids). MP have also added “Digezyme®”, a blend of digestive enzymes, which apparently help you absorb the protein and also reduce any bloatedness or “gastric distress” associated with protein shakes.

My iron stomach and I don’t seem to suffer from any such indignities, but it’s good to know the enzymes are there anyway. Oh – there’s also “Lactospore® Probiotic” which, myprotein tell me, helps digestion, promotes healthy bacteria in the stomach and improves the bioavailability of nutrients.

All sounds good to me!

But what you really want to know is, how does it taste? They send me Strawberry Delight, and strawberry isn’t traditionally my favourite flavour. But I really like this one! It’s quite a subtle flavour, not that “pink” type of berry which screams “I am trying to be a strawberry!” Even though I make my shakes with just water, this really does taste like a nice strawberry milkshake.

Sometimes with other protein powders, if I want to make an ice-cream kind of thing, I’ll blend up the powder with icecubes and water and add some xantham gum. The True Whey already has a little bit of xantham gum in it, which makes it really thick and creamy. Thumbs up!

It comes in a range of flavours which sound lovely – and you can order sample sachets. I see myself ordering a few to taste! Chocolate Orange…hello my darling….

To cut a long story short, I really like this whey as it’s thick and creamy, tastes good and has lots of digestive-helpy stuff in it which seems a good idea. myprotein True Whey.

Thanks for the box of goodies, myprotein!

What’s your favourite quick and easy source of protein? Or do you not bother yourself too much with protein intake? What flavours of protein shakes do you like?

Whey-hey! MyProtein product review (True Whey, liquid egg whites) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Mint Ease, Body Rocka, Sci-mx x-plode hardcore

This blog post is long overdue! Here is the latest in my “fitness kit I’ve tested this week” series.

Sci-MX X-plode Hardcore

I was sent a tub of X-plode Hardcore by the good folk at Sci-MX sports nutrition. It’s a powder which you mix with water for a pre-training drink. But this is far from being just an energy drink, oh no siree! Take a look at what it contains and you might understand why I’m loving this stuff

Dextrose monohydrate (lots of glucose to preload the muscles ready for hard work)
Arginine alpha-ketoglutarate (nitric oxide – for extra power and a nice pump)
Citrulline malate (reduces lactic acid and ammonia – and I have to say I have been amazed at how un-sore I feel after a weights session where I’ve used this)
Beta-alanine (for a muscle power boost)
L-lysine (preserves muscle nitrogen)
L-taurine (important building block of muscles)
L-glutamine (another important supplement when you’re working muscles hard)
L-tyrosine (gives focus, concentration and determination – rarrrrrgghhhh!)
Siberian Ginseng (stops you feeling knackered)
Guarana (a herbal energiser which contains caffeine)

After reading that little lot you’re probably not surprised to hear that X-plode Hardcore really works. (Don’t worry if the name makes you giggle, it does me too – it’s helps if you say it in a voice like the bloke who does the voiceovers of action-movie trailers.) I can honestly say it helps me lift heavier weights, workout for longer, feel less tired whilst I’m doing it, feel more determined and “up for it” and – critically – recover faster.

The first time I took this (you make it up with water and it tastes of blackcurrant), I went and did a leg session. My leg sessions are pretty immense at the moment – deadlifts, hip thrusters (oo-er) and squats at more-than-body weight, lunges at almost-body weight and a heap of single-legged stuff and then some lovely weighted step-ups to finish off. Hard, hard work.

But with the X-plode Hardcore, I had the best session I’d had in ages! You know I love my coffee. Well, this was a bit like I’d had several espressos but with a load of other good stuff thrown in for free. And you can’t sip on an espresso during your training session. (You’re meant to have the Xplode about 30 minutes before you workout but I sip it on the way there and there’s usually some left over by the time I start). Not only did I have a fantastic training session but I honestly truly didn’t feel sore two days later. Usually, I’m so sore from leg days I can’t crouch down in front of the fridge (well, I can, but I can’t get up again).

I use this for weight lifting but I know people use it for running and intervals/HIIT sessions too. Give it a go! Sci-MX are a really top-end nutrition company who put a lot of thought into their formulas and this is a great example of what they offer. X-plode Hardcore

Mint-Ease

At least one of my muscle groups is sore at any given time, so anything promising to alleviate some of that soreness is most welcome. Mint-Ease is a minty cream you rub on the afflicted area for a warming (yet cold?!) sensation which increases circulation. Up until recently, it was only supplied to physiotherapists for use on their clients. But then Mint Ease realised that some athletes (including pro triathletes, rugby players and power lifters) had been getting their own tubes of it from their physios, and they decided to sell it to the public via the website.

The folk at Mint Ease told me it’s most popular with endurance athletes, but I guess I’m currently more of a power athlete (lifting heavy weights quite slowly) and I’ve found it great. It really does help with soreness and seems to speed up recovery.

Here’s some of the blurb:

1. It acts as a Vasodilator. When rubbed into the skin it acts to dilate blood vessels which leads to an increase in the blood circulation in that area.

2. It has an analgesic effect. This makes Mint-Ease very useful for dealing with sore muscles post training/competing; the cooling sensation, followed by a soothing warmth not only helps to dull the pain of muscle soreness but it also acts to help it recover faster by increasing circulation to it.

It’s got a really strong minty smell, but it’s not off-putting. I used it before meeting a friend and all he said was “you’ve been using that Original Source shower gel, haven’t you!” I was worried it might smell far too strong, but if all it smells like is someone who’s fresh out of the shower then that’s no bad thing.

As you’d expect from something with 35% pure mint oil, it’s powerful stuff: it gives a tingling, hot/cold sensation and after a few minutes makes me feel very cold. When I used it on my back, I went to bed some hours later and felt as if the bed sheet was made of ice. Some people might find that an unpleasant side effect; I just thought it was a bit funny! I’ll definitely keep on using my tube of Mint Ease and can recommend it if you ever experience muscle soreness or want to recover between training sessions more quickly. Mint-Ease

The Body Rocka

I was sent a Body Rocka to try out at home and I’ve been using it once or twice a week for postural work and core strength.

The Body Rocka is a high tech balance board. You can do all sorts of exercises on it, from quite basic stuff to really challenging things like squats. I say you can; I certainly can’t (the squats, that is!) It works you hard and is great for the core, ankles, backs and general stability. It’s designed for upper body exercises as well as lower body and targetted core exercises and is useful for training, rehabilitation or injury prevention/prehabilitation. My husband had back surgery a few years ago for a slipped disc and, ever since, has sworn by the power of Pilates. He’s been using the Body Rocka too and thinks it’s great (he knows a lot more about proper controlled core exercises than I do!) Here are a few pics of me using it. There’s no picture of me trying to do a squat on the Body Rocka because it would just be a massive blur.

The Body Rocka blurb says it’s ideal for putting in your kit bag. I’m not sure about that – you’d need a jolly sizeable bag – but it is a great product and I have been using it at least once a week ever since receiving it. It comes with a good, basic, guide to exercises you can do on it, including press ups, planks and squats. All the good stuff. Try it out if you want an at-home option for core work, body weight training, rehab or injury prevention. Oh, and if you think the product rings a bell, it might be because the idea began life on The Apprentice. Body Rocka

Fitness kit I’ve tested this week: Mint Ease, Body Rocka, Sci-mx X-plode hardcore is a post from The Fit Writer blog.