Product Review: About Time Protein

About Time was born after the founders decided there were too many protein products on the market
containig artificial ingredients, sweeteners and low quality proteins.
We came across this brand because we follow Christy Philips on Twitter, and she posted a tweet about their product
(she's sponsored by them)

After getting in touch with Devenee Schumacher, they were so kind to send us a few samples of their trial pack to review. A little statement from Devenee via e-mail:

Our products are natural, usually lighter tasting than most. We sweeten our protein with Stevia. We have 11 flavors, we do natural meal replacement bars, gluten free protein granola, we just launched an amazing new pre workout (which i am sending you, wait till you see the ingredients). We are launching a new paleo bar May 1st, and shortly after a night time casein product( probably July)

Unfortunately, the pre-workout didn't make it to us in the end, but we did get the whey protein, in 3 flavors:

- chocolate
- vanilla
- birthday cake

Birthday cake is definitely a new one! Again, we're looking for a few criteria:

1) ingredients
2) mix-ability
3) taste

Let's have a look at the ingredients first. Unfortunately, we couldn't help but notice the stevia popping out, Devenee also already pointed it out in the e-mail. Stevia makes us very sad, have a package of that stuff sitting in our cupboards, if there are any takers, feel free to come and pick it up.
The list of ingredients however, is short. You don't see this very often with protein powders.

Xanthan gum is used for a few things, for example as an emulsifier & thickening agent. You'll often also find it in gluten-free products, since xanthan gum makes it more sticky. We're assuming here that it's used as a binding agent.

Mixing is pretty easy, we always use a shaker bottle with the metal ball and after giving a few good shakes, it's ready to go.

The taste? Again, this is personal, but stevia simply makes things taste like crap. Especially when in combination with chocolate, it almost gets a strange salt-like aftertaste. Sorry, it's just not for us.

Another disappointing bit was the product Fill Shake & Go, where individual bottles are filled with whey protein, so you can take it with you can have a shake on the go.
Seems like a tremendous waste of plastic, last thing we need is more landfill.

Again, the taste isn't for us, but if you don't mind a protein powder that's sweetened with stevia and you're looking for a clean product with few ingredients, this could be a good option for you!

Get About Time Protein here

For more reviews, check here.

Product Review: Stronger Faster Healthier

If there was one product we wanted to try for sure, it was the whey protein by Stronger Faster Healthier (SFH) Founded in 2010, as a separate division to Maine Natural Health.
Their products aren't especially designed for crossfitters, but since the company focus is a clean diet, fish oil & protein supplementation, it does appeal to people that also follow the paleo diet.
Of course whey is officially not paleo, since it's derived from milk, but it's commonly seen as the exeption to the "rule"

We tried the product "Pure", chocolate flavor.
Let's have a look at the ingredients:

There are only 4 in total, so that's quite impressive!
Sunflower lecithin is used as a binding agent, a lot of companies use soy, so it's nice to see that this protein doesn't contain any soy.

Unfortunately, for personal reasons the last ingredient is a bit of a disappointment.

Since stevia has taken the supplement world by storm, this stuff is in a lot of products and widely available as the new "natural sweetener"
Reason why we don't like it, is the taste. This is of course very personal.

The stevia taste in this protein powder is very overpowering, and that is the only reason why we don't like this product.

So, SFH is not for us, but you can buy their products directly from their site, or here:

Rogue Fitness
WODshop

Product Review: Assault by MusclePharm

The only reason why I bought Assault, was actually because it was on sale. Not that it means anything, but in the end I was just curious and thought "what the hell, why not"

What is it?
Assault is a pre-workout mix, designed to give you an extra boost/pump during your training. Like many pre-workouts, it contains creatine, beta-alanine, BCAA's & citruline malate.

Attention: this is a full scoop

In the above picture, you kind of have to take their word for it, since all this stuff (and other ingredients) are in their "Assault Proprietary Blend" which is the following:

Directions are to mix 1/2 scoop (23 gr) with 12-14 oz. of water. Well, the "scoop" is the size of a protein scoop, and looks out of proportion with the tub! After reading some comments about the product, quite a few people actually only use half a scoop, and that sounds like some good advice. Just don't understand why a company puts 1/2 a scoop as a serving size on a label anyway. Just make the scoop smaller, it's not that hard people.

Take it 20-30 mins. before your workout.


The test

Flavor: Since it was a sale, only 1 flavor as available; Raspberry Lemonade. It tastes like raspberry, but holy shit, this stuff is sweet!
To start off, I mixed half the scoop with about 12oz. (as directed) and it was like being punched in the face with raspberry candy, as if this whole page was crammed into your shaker bottle.

Mixing: It mixes very easily, just in a shaker bottle, no lumps, etc.





Effects:

The first time the effect was perhaps comprimised, because shortly before I had a Quest bar and a boiled egg. Did however feel a bit more focused as usual, but this could also have been a placebo effect.
No tingling from the beta-alanine, but could be because the dosage of beta-alanine is cut in half of course.

Second time I decided not to eat anything before and just have Assault. I actually used the scoop from their other product, Amino 1, which is 14 grams. Mixed it with more water, about 20oz. Still crazy sweet, but that could be personal. Again no tingles, and the same feeling as before, focused and good energy.

Since I didn't want to leave it at that, third time was a full (!) scoop (so 46gr), mixed with 20oz. of water. First of all, getting the 20oz in before training was a huge job, there was no way I could chug down the the whole mix 20-30 mins before the workout, so I started about 1-1,5hrs. before. Again, not a real noticeable effect, had good energy and consistency throughout. Also, no tingles. Perhaps the mix was too diluted and dispersed over too much time.

Ok, fourth and last test. This time, the full scoop, mixed in 12oz. of water.... Since the mix was very concentrated, it kinda looked like Pepto-Bismol (or a very bad Cosmopolitan). Chugged it down about 30 mins before the workout like a badass, but it wasn't easy.
Sure, I was focused and ready to go, but honestly, I'm always focused and ready to go with my workouts. And still, no tingles from the beta-alanine. Not that I wanted them, but was expecting them at least.

To conclude
Honestly, I'm still not sure, but I didn't want to ramble on for many more tests. It was a tough week.
The thing that I find most difficult, is figuring out what you really get per scoop, whether is half or whole. Plus, listing the ingredients as a blend, kind of throws a veil over how much is in it of what.
The effects were a bit disappointing. Sure, everyone is different, but after reading the reviews, I was expecting to bike to my gym in like 7 seconds and do 3 WOD's in a row. Ok, not really, but you get the point.
It couldn't have been because of my size, since I'm a 5'11",  140lb female.
On top of it all, this stuff is just way too sweet for my taste, they would do me a favor in cutting down the sucralose here. Would I buy it again? Probably not.

More reviews on Assault:
Supplementreviews
Bodybuilding.com
Amazon

Product Review: Super Cissus Rx

If you're like me, the day after a heavy day of squatting, deadlifts, running or wall balls, leaves you with achy, stiff knees and it takes a few air squats to get your knees going again and the pain to subside a little.
A few months into crossfit I started noticing this, and along with my knee pain, I also started having pain in my right hip/groin area. Now I have to be honest, I'm well in my 30's and aware that with age, come certain issues, but I wasn't quite happy with the "just deal with it" solution. On top of that, I have hypermobility (mostly in elbows, knees & hips) so lifting heavy weights is extra stressful on my joints.

After researching online a bit about joint supplements , I came across Super Cissus and if the claims are true, this stuff works wonders.

What is Cissus?
Without quoting Wikipedia too much, the Cissus Quadrangularis is a plant found mainly in Asia & Africa.
In ayurvedic medicine the plant is often used to heal broken bones and heal ligaments and tendons.
There are a lot of case studies done on the effects of Cissus, but in this case I want to examine the claim that it's very beneficial for athletes that deal with joint pain and inflammation.

The test
To test if this product actually works (for me) I purchased a bottle of Super Cissus Rx by USP Labs.
Recommended dosage is 2 tablets at breakfast & dinner. A bottle contains 150 tablets, so this should cover me for about 37 days.

3 issues that I will monitor during this time:

- knee pain/stiffness
- cracking sound in right knee
- right hip/groin pain

The results & conclusion
After about 30 days of use, I can tell a difference. My knees are feeling better, also the day after heavy lifts or running.

- knee pain/stiffness: about 60% less
- cracking sound in right knee: still there
- extra "bonus": after busting my left ringfinger with a 45lb plate (all the phalanges got crushed into eachother) the pain was gone after 3 days and I could properly use my hand again.
- right hip/groin pain: gone

Especially with the last result I'm very happy, since this was causing a lot of pain and trouble during work-outs, limiting my output and intensity.

It will take some time for Cissus to take effect, so don't expect sort-term results. For me, it started to work after about 25 days of use.
It is definitely the best joint supplement I've used, and will continue to use it, highly recommended!

Where to buy?
IllPumpYouUp

Or buy in bulk powder from $5.29 (even better deal)

Studies:
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (PDF)
Indian Journal of Pharmacology (PDF)

Some other reviews:
Supplementreviews
The Muscle Program
Bodybuilding.com



(We didn't get bribed or paid to write this review. If we think a product is shit, we'll write that too. However, if you order through any of the links provided, we'll earn a small commission. With that money, we can keep this blog going. Or buy bacon)