Scivation Xtend
Free form amino acids, especially L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine and L-Valine, continue to be one of the more popular supplements amongst weight training/bodybuilding enthusiasts. The role of BCAAs in recovery and muscle protein synthesis has now been studied for many years. In the past, I have written about XF ICE and recently had the opportunity to try out Xtend. One of the reasons I had not tried Scivation’s Xtend until now was because a lot of the feedback from the forums, complained of excessive sweetness and strong flavours of Xtend. This has changed as Scivation has recently re-formulated Xtend and removed up to 200 grams of sweeteners/artificial flavours/colours/additives in this new version.
Levrone Formula Extreme Nitric Pump
Kevin Levrone was a major body building star throughout the 1990s. His accomplishments on and off the bodybuilding stage are well known. He has now come out with an interesting supplement that may make some waves in the very crowded and competitive, pre-workout “pump” supplement category. The Levrone Formula looks to differentiate itself from the supplement crowd by doing a few novel things:
- No proprietary blends - you know exactly how much of each ingredient you are getting
- No fillers - the cheap, hidden carbs that form the basis of many pre-workout formulas
- No artificial sweeteners or colours
- No added synthetic caffeine
VPX NO Shotgun
VPX NO Shotgun has been a popular pre-workout supplement for the last few years. Vital Pharmaceuticals has not disappointed with the most recent (version 3) of Shotgun. Unlike many other pre-workout supplements, VPX NO Shotgun combines easily digestible protein and free form amino acids with various forms of creatine, glutamine, arginine, beta alanine and a potent stimulant blend. This supplement has a lot of ingredients and I will briefly look at a few of the important sub-blends.
Fusion Bodybuilding FUBAR
Pre-workout energy supplements can be a great help when you need that extra push to get through a workout or when you are just feeling too sluggish to get through a tough day at work. One of my favourite such supplements is FUBAR by Fusion Bodybuilding. This Canadian company has put together a no-nonsense energy supplement that is available in convenient capsule form. FUBAR utilizes caffeine from multiple sources, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine and theobromine extract to provide a nice even energy and focus without a significant crash.
Clearshot
There are a lot of pre-workout and energy supplements on the market, but few were as unique and effective as Ergopharm’s Clearshot. I say “were” because the original Clearshot has been discontinued. This product came in 4 ounce ready to drink bottles (RTDs) with each bottle yielding two servings. The most unique thing about Clearshot was the taste - in my opinion it tasted good, though its different than any other supplement and may have required some getting used to. I felt a nice warm sensation drinking it - a milder version of the burn that one would feel sipping alcohol.
