Better Body Sports “Amino Ammo” Instantized BCAA Mix

Hubby is at it again in another guest post for supplements. Thankfully, this time, he’s got a good one to review and not some horrible concoction or useless gelcaps. So let’s dive right in to this offering from Better Body Sports, shall we?

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Some days, it feels like I’m Micheal Corleone in the Godfather. “Every time I think that I’m out, they pull me back IN!” I’m a sucker, it seems, for trying out certain supplements, and it’s usually within my holy trinity: BCAA’s, protein, creatine. And sometimes it comes back to bite me on the butt, but this time, I’m happy to report, I’ve found another winner in Better Body Sports’ “Amino Ammo” BCAA formula. BCAA’s are a very important part of my workout routine. The help increase muscle building and synthesis, as well as support the muscles you’ve already built, but the also help combat fatigue and stamina in the gym. What sets this mix apart from my usual brand of BCAA powder is the 4:1:1 ratio versus my usual 2:1:1. That ratio refers to the amounts of L-Leucine, L-Valine, and L-Isoleucine that comprise a standard BCAA (branched chain amino acid) stack. Emerging research has started to say that a 3:1:1 ratio can produce greater muscle synthesis that the usual 2:1:1, so most companies are starting to put a 4:1:1 ratio in their BCAA stacks. There are also many reports of this just being another heaping helping of “bro science”, but I can tell you from use that I did notice some minor gains from this over my usual Optimum Nutrition BCAA powder. I didn’t have Those who have read my other reviews know that I consider them the standard by which others are judged for the simple fact that I trust them to put exactly what they say is in there, in there. And trust is huge in the supplement market where fly-by-nights come and go it seems almost daily. But Better Body Sports went above and beyond and made this not just a BCAA mix, but a pretty decent pre-workout mix as well by adding beta-alanine, citrulline malate, agmatine (which some have referred to as “super arginine”) and vitamins (C, B6 and B12) as well. Add a caffeine pill and I’d put this up there with the new formulation of Cellucor’s C4. The downsides to Amino Ammo are a super-sweet flavor to mask the bitterness of the vitamins and aminos, and the paltry amount of agmatine sulfate, which is only 250mg. Most studies show the minimum effective dose of agmatine to be in the 500-750mg range. The other is the price for a 30-day serving: $39.99. I can usually get a 30-day supply of pre-workout powders for around $20-25 for a 30 day supply, and less with coupons and promotions.

Overall this is a good product that seems to contain exactly what is says it does, and offers a price point that, while I find a little on the high side, is on par with the other, more well-known names in the industry. If you don’t mind the flavor (I’m not the biggest fan of watermelon, and as Wifey put it best “It tastes like powdered Jolly Rancher”), you have a better than average pre-workout with no caffeine, and some really look hard for that. And for those that don’t, you can add it for about 5 bucks a bottle and never need another pre-workout mix. There’s no filler, binders, no artificial colors, anti-oxidants…Better Body Sports has a real winner on their hands.

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Well, then. It’s nice to actually get a supplement company that actually gets it and I’m glad hubby doesn’t have to choke down something he hated for a review. Better Body Sports makes an entire line of products, and if they’re as good as their Amino Ammo, there’s going to be a new big player in the supplement industry very soon.

Connect with Better Body Sports:

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• Buy yours right here!

 

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Better Body Sports .  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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Nutura Formulas BCAA Capsules

Poor hubby. He’s back again with a workout supplement review, and as so many of these before, there’s some serious questions asked, including that I take a sabbatical from workout supplements after this next batch has been reviewed. So, off to the races, dear readers! Here’s Hubby:

There’s an accepted holy trinity of workout supplements, and they are Protein, Creatine, BCAA’s. Today I’m going over one of that trinity, and that’s Natura’s BCCA Capsules. I’ve taken amino acid supplements in one form or another for almost 20 years, off and on. We’ve covered a BCAA supplement here before, with Diet Standard’s version, I’m afraid for very simple reasons I can’t recommend these capsules from Natura as highly.

To start, BCAA’s are three essential amino acids: l-leucine, l-isoleucine, and l-valine. Usually taken in a 2:1:1 (2 parts of one to one and one of the others) stack to help promote lean muscle growth and retain lean muscle mass during a calorie deficient diet and workout routine, these are some of the most researched and proven workout supplements on the market. They are plentiful and inexpensive, and used the world over safely.

 

My problem is fairly simple: I’m currently using a very popular and well known brand of BCAA caspsules from Optimum Nutrition.

They are considered in many circles the industry standard, trusted and tested to be exactly what they say they are, and their serving size is shown as 1000mg for 2 capsules. I only mention this because Natura’s capsules are purported to be 1600mg’s, and they’re smaller. That’s a huge red flag to me. Aside from the sheer physics of it, it makes me cast a very critical eye at the product. For $17.77, they are almost triple the cost of the same count from Optimum Nutrition. For what should be the exact same supplement. The supplement market is completely saturated with products and companies, so for the life of me I can’t see why one would pay 3 times as much for the same thing, and that’s not even considering that there are less expensive brands than ON on the market. Let me stress again that the capsules are smaller to boot. Both are made in the USA, too. Natura has a guarantee that reads: “GET RESULTS OR YOUR MONEY BACK – You are protected by our 100% Money Back Guarantee. If, for whatever reason, you are not satisfied with your purchase from Natura Formulas, just return the empty bottles for a full refund! WE STAND BEHIND OUR PRODUCTS WITH A RISK FREE GUARANTEE. That’s the Natura Formulas Guarantee”. That’s bold, but really, results from a workout supplement are dependent on the work you put in, not the boasts of being the “most potent on Amazon”, which are laughable. Same with the  questionable boasts of “building muscle faster” “alter your bodies metabolism”, “instantaneous results” and “burn fat faster”. Again, you get from a workout what you put into it, so you can pop a million pills but if you don’t put in the sweat equity, you’re wasting your time and money. I didn’t notice any difference, results wise, from my current BCAA capsules, either. I can’t make a very high recommendation for these, because A) the price, and B) the size problem. Sorry, Natura.

Okay, so you can see why he’s asked for a break on supplements after we finish this next batch. Once again, disappointment. There’s talk of the FDA finally getting serious about supplement (and cosmetics) regulation, and it con’t really come quick enough in this girl’s opinion. I absolutely hate being down on products that I try fro free from companies that are trying to get their foot in the door, but I would also hate to be up on a product I had serious reservations about and make it seem like I just love something because it’s free. Like Hubby said: Sorry, Natura, but we can’t recommend this product.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Natura Formulas.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.