Here, we review one of the whey protein powders, from 8 time Mr Olympia, Ronnie Coleman‘s signature series line of supplements. It goes by the name of ISO-TROPIC MAX. You can see more of the line here: ronniecoleman.net

So firstly, what is the purpose of a whey protein shake and what do we need it for?

A whey protein shake, primarily, is there for our convenience. It is a high protein, low carb and fat “meal”, which we do not have to cook or prepare, we just mix with water or milk and chug it down. Since whey protein digests relatively quickly, the optimum time to take it would be right after a workout or first thing in the morning so that you can supply your muscles with some fast acting protein to start stimulating their recovery. Food in liquid form should digest quicker since it is already pretty much broken down into a very fine form.

But don’t limit yourself to only taking it at those two times above. You can have a whey protein shake at anytime of the day when you feel peckish, and when you need a high protein snack. So if you find yourself without any decent food, the next best thing would be to grab a shake, at least you can still get your protein in. You can even mix the whey powder with other types of protein such as yoghurt, cottage cheese and milk, which will also help keep you fuller.

Remember though, that you should always try to utilize whole foods as much as possible, so do not just keep replacing shakes for a lot of your meals. You should NOT get dependent on them, as the supplements are there to just fill in when you cannot manage a meal. Also beware of all the marketing hype, they are merely aids, they are not magic substances!

Flavors and Sizes

It comes in a variety of flavors, these being:

• German Chocolate
• Strawberry Decadence
• Vanilla Cream

It comes in two sizes, 907 grams (2.0lbs) and 1.57 Kg (3.5lbs)

Taste

This is based on the German Chocolate flavor. The taste is decent, not the greatest tasting chocolate protein powder out there but it is not bad and thankfully does not leave much of an after taste.

Mixes

This protein powder mixes quite well, and doesn’t become too lumpy but is rather a somewhat smooth mixture. As soon as the water touches the powder it dissolves making the process easier.

Protein content

Now this is really what we want to know, which powder offers the most protein (in grams).

You can see that per 100 grams of the protein powder there is +-77 grams of protein, which is relatively high when compared to a few other brands.

It carries 25 grams protein per 1 scoop (weighing 32.5 grams) of the powder.
If you want some sort of comparison, +-100 grams of chicken breast has roughly +- 25 grams of protein.

Extra Nutritional values

Now let’s look at the rest of the contents in this whey protein.

There are 120 calories per serving of 1 rounded scoop. The carbohydrate and fat content is quite low per serving.

• Per 1 rounded scoop (32.5 grams) there are 3 grams of carbohydrates and just 1 gram of fat.
• Per 100 grams of the powder there is +-9 grams of carbohydrates and +-3 grams of fat.

Unfortunately they do not list the amino acid profile of this Whey Protein but they do list their ingredients. The first ingredient is Whey Protein Isolate which is a good sign as the first ingredient is usually the most predominant ingredient in the product.

On the list is something called Astragin^TM (Astragalus Membranceus Root and Panax Notoginseng) which is supposed to be a natural compound composed of highly fractionated Astragalus and Panax Notoginseng and is meant to act as an absorption enhancing ingredient clinically proven to increase amino acid uptake by 66.7%.

Basically, its meant to help your body absorb all/more of the protein so that you can utilise all of it and not waste most the protein.

Affordability

The 1.5 Kg tub sells for +- US$ 70 while the smaller tub goes for +- US$ 40 which is slightly more expensive than most other brands.

Buy it:

Conclusion

All in all this is a very decent whey protein isolate. It is a bit expensive but after all it is from an 8 time Mr Olympia, a title which is not very common. If you can afford it, it is well worth a try to make a comparison for yourself, but not really necessary for a beginner who can easily get by with a more affordable protein powder product.

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We all have to start somewhere, and if you have decided to start using a few supplements, I am pretty sure there are a lot of questions on your mind about them. Hopefully the questions and answers below will shed some light on the basics of supplementation. Some of the questions may seem pretty arbitrary for some, but we try to address even the simplest of queries. If you have any other supplement questions feel free to ask us and we will add them to this list.

Just remember though, that you should always try to utilize whole foods as much as possible, so do not just keep replacing shakes for most of your meals. You should NOT get dependent on them as the supplements are there to just fill in when you cannot manage a meal.

I want to lose a bit of weight what supplements can I take?

Too often people get reeled in with all the marketing hype of supplements and their first thought after months or even years of living a sedentary lifestyle, is not, what foods should I not be eating? or Maybe I should do some sort of exercise, or what are the best foods to eat to lose fat?

It’s… what supplements and fat burners should I take?

People assume that these supplements can work magic and all they have to do is choose the right one and voila the fat will just disappear. The thing people need to understand is that fat burners and supplements should be the last thing on your mind when starting out. They are such a waste if used immediately by someone who hasn’t even set foot in a gym let alone changed their eating habits.

The first thing you should do is get educated on eating and training properly, then start to slowly change your eating habits and limit all the junk. You should then start doing some sort of physical activity a few times a week and make it a consistent cycle. Once you have managed to do this for a few months only then you should start thinking about supplements.

Do you really need supplements to get the body and performance that you want?

No you do not strictly NEED supplements to reach your peek performance. They do provide an edge and support on the path to a great body but they are not mandatory. It is possible to get everything that you need from a properly thought out diet. The aspect of supplements which appeals to most people is the ‘convenience’ of them. There is no cooking required, its just mix and go.

So as long as your ear eating a variety of good foods, it is possible to cover all your nutritional bases. As stated in the previous question, don’t fall for all the marketing hype as they will not work miracles with your physique.

The label says I must mix the powder with 350 mls water. Can I use less or more than 350 mls? Does it matter?

No it does not really matter. You can mix it with as little or as much water as you like. The amounts are just a basic guideline. You can even mix it with a few mls of water and create a thick pudding like effect to enjoy a high protein dessert snack.

Can I mix it with milk instead of water?

Yes definitely. You can use whatever tickles your taste buds. If you are looking to gain some serious size to your physique, adding milk could be a great thing as it will then add even more calories to your diet.

The label states the times and frequency I should take the supplement, do I have to take it so many times and at those exact times?

The label usually just gives a basic guideline for when the supplement can be used, but this does depend on the supplement itself. For protein powders and meal replacements you can generally take them whenever you like throughout the day. You do not have to only stick to consuming them say before or after your workout. They can be taken in between meals or as part of your breakfast for example. You can also choose how many or how much to take, depending on your calorie requirements, it is not set in stone. See how many calories are in each serving of the shake and then you can decide how much you need to take in order to meet your own requirements.

For supplements like preworkouts and fat burners, it is a good idea to follow the instructions on the label, but you can start off with slightly less than they recommend just to see how you react. This reason for this is that we are all different and thus some people will only need a small dosage of the supplement to see an effect, where as someone else may need the full serving.

I am on a tight budget, which two supplements should I get?

There can be many different answers to this, and it also depends on your goals. Most people want to gain a bit of muscle and  perform better throughout their training sessions. Generally, though, a good start would be to get some form of a protein powder and some glutamine or BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids). The protein powder can help to add protein to your daily intake and allow you to add high protein snacks inbetween your meals. The glutamine or BCAAs will assist with recovery between training sessions.

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Healthy muscle growth and recovery is important for everyone, irrespective of whether you are associated with sports or not. But of course, it is most important for bodybuilders and athletes. You should note here that protein, which is one of the three macro-nutrients of your body (the two other being fats and carbohydrates), plays a significant role in muscle growth.

How Protein helps in Muscle Growth & Recovery?

Scientifically, protein is a series of amino acids, combined together as a chain. The links, holding these acids together, are known as peptide links. Amino acids are the primary source of nitrogen in your body. Having a proper nitrogen balance is mandatory for proper muscle repair and growth.

However, increasing the intake of protein, while being on a resistance training program, helps to make the lean muscle mass stronger. Since muscle tissues are continuously in a process of being replaced and repaired, you should take adequate amount of protein to speed up this process of muscle recovery.

Natural Sources of Protein

The usual sources of protein include cheese, egg, milk, chicken, fish, seafood, poultry, pork, beef, lamb, nuts, soy etc. Since nominal amounts of protein are found in starchy and fatty foods, these are usually not included as much, in the diets of bodybuilders (for protein), especially when they are undergoing bodybuilding training.

What are Protein Supplements?

Though there are a number of natural sources of protein, usually bodybuilders and athletes prefer to supplement their diet with protein supplements for optimum results. These bodybuilding supplements are full of protein and nutrients, and are especially designed to assist athletes and bodybuilders achieve their daily protein requirement. Different types of bodybuilding supplements exist, that help in muscle recovery as well as muscle growth and they include protein bars, protein powders, meal replacements, weight gainers etc.

These bodybuilding supplements usually contain 20 to 30 grams of protein per serving more than those typical sources of protein, and are full of minerals and vitamins as well. They are available in different flavors like fruit, peanut butter, or cookies and cream, to name just a few.

How do they work for Muscle Recovery?

Most protein supplements provide your body with the required nutrients to generate amino acids that are essential to build muscle tissue. Though you can use the right foods to get the results, protein supplements, in addition to a well balanced diet, offer effective results more efficiently and quickly.

Most bodybuilders and athletes undergo rigorous physical activities that require protein levels higher than what a normal person would have. So, they benefit from the intake of protein supplements as these products increase their protein intake, and give their muscles more time to recover, in addition to helping them grow faster as well.

Why use Protein Supplements?

• Most of the hardcore athletes make it a point to consume at least 5 to 8 meals of protein daily. Cooking or preparing the food containing this much amount of protein will take a huge amount of time.
• These bodybuilding supplements are really convenient and easy to use as they hardly require any refrigeration or maintenance, and you can carry them on the move as they are absolutely portable.
• While helping in muscle recovery to a great extent, these supplements are quite cost-effective too.  In fact, when compared to popular protein sources like beef or salmon, protein powders are comparatively less costly.
• Most importantly, protein supplements help you to maintain proper protein timing, which is absolutely essential to maximize muscle recovery and muscle growth. They enable you to have a slow digesting or a fast digesting protein meal, as per your requirement.

Some popular types of Protein supplements for Muscle Recovery:

Though there are plenty of these supplements available in the market, some of the ones with clinically proven records include:

• Test Freak. This happens to be one of the popular supplements for muscle growth as it contains ingredients like Trigotest, which is an excellent Fenugreek extract, in addition to zinc, anti-aromatase compounds, Testofen etc. The testosterone boosting ingredients in this product encourage testosterone to bind to androgen receptors on muscle tissue, thus stimulating the body’s muscle-building mechanisms. The intake of this product also encourages an increased rate of protein synthesis and formation of new muscle fibers.
• Amino Freak. This is an effective supplement for muscle growth with a unique amino acid formula. This contains clinically-proven dosage of amino acid and L-Carnitine, and speeds up the process of muscle recovery. It also helps reduce muscle tissue damage after exercises by up to 10%. Moreover, it uses a special technology which prevents amino acid degradation in your stomach. Its patented element, Astragin, helps increase amino acid absorption by 62%.
• Anabolic Freak. Though it is a testosterone booster like Test Freak, it has a completely different formula. This product provides your body with clinically-proven dose of D-Aspartic Acid (DAA), which supports natural testosterone production. This supplement also provides estrogen and cortisol support ingredients. In order to achieve maximized results, it is advisable to have both Anabolic Freak and Test Freak alternatively, in a cycle of 30 days.

To get the best possible results, you need to be careful about the usage of these supplements. It’s best to consult your an expert such as a personal trainer or doctor before using such bodybuilding and protein supplements.

Bio: This post was written by James Hundson fitness expert. I research & write reviews on health, fitness, muscle recovery , healthy supplements, exercise, weight loss, massage, yoga, diet, alternative medicine, sports, and much more.

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This is a review of the 100% Premium Whey Protein Plus from Muscletech. There are a few variants that you can get for yourself, of Muscletech Whey,like the NitroTech. Let’s just have a brief look at exactly what we want a whey protein shake for and when we should be using it.  A whey protein shake, primarily, is there for our convenience.

It is a high protein, low carb and fat meal, which we do not have to cook or prepare, we just mix with water or milk and chug it down.

Since whey protein digests quite quickly, the optimum time to take it would be right after a workout or first thing in the morning so that you can supply your muscles with some fast acting protein to start stimulating their recovery.  Also food in liquid form should digest quicker since it is already pretty much broken down into a very fine form.  Now let’s not limit ourselves to only being allowed to take it at those two times.  I believe you can have a whey protein shake at anytime of the day when you need a high protein snack.  So if you find yourself without any decent food grab a shake, at least you can still get your protein in. 

Just a note, remember that you should always try to utilize whole foods as much as possible, so do not just keep replacing protein powders as shakes for a lot of your meals.  The supplements are there to just fill in when you cannot manage a meal.

Flavors and Sizes

It comes in a variety of flavors, these being:

• Deluxe Chocolate
• Strawberry
• Deluxe Vanilla

It comes in one size, 2.27Kg (5.0lbs)

Taste

This will be based on the vanilla flavored powder. The taste of the vanilla flavor is relatively bland, not so much in a bad way though. Some protein powders, especially the vanilla flavors, can be too sweet and too artificial. But this flavor has a somewhat mild taste so it is not very sweet and doesn’t have that strong artificial taste but it does leave a very slight aftertaste.

Mixes

This protein powder mixes well and is soft as well as relatively fine, so there were hardly any lumps when mixed with either water or milk.

Protein content

Now this is really what we want to know, which powder offers the most protein (in grams). This whey is a mixture of Whey Concentrate and Isolate, so if you want a higher protein count you should rather go for a Whey Isolate which is higher in protein, but a bit more expensive.

We see that per 100 grams of the protein powder there is +-62 grams of protein, which is decent but can be seen as relatively low when compared to a few other whey proteins.

It carries 20 grams of protein per 1 rounded scoop (weighing 32.5 grams) of the powder. If you want some sort of comparison, 100 grams of chicken breast has roughly +- 25 grams of protein.

Extra Nutritional values

Now let’s look at the rest of the contents in this whey protein. There are 120 calories per serving of 1 rounded scoop.  The carbohydrate and fat content is quite low per serving, but higher than a few other whey proteins.

Per 1 rounded scoop (32.5 grams) there are 9 grams of carbohydrates and just 1 gram of fat.

Per 100 grams of the powder there is +-30 grams of carbohydrates and +-4 grams of fat. Unfortunately they do not list the amino acid profile of this Whey protein but they do list their ingredients.  And on the ingredient list they state there is a ‘RECOVERY BLEND’ which consists of the following:

• Creatine monohydrate
• Taurine
• L-leucine
• L-Isoleucine
• L-Valine
• L-Glutamine

By stating a ‘RECOVERY BLEND’ means that they do not have to state how much of each of the above listed ingredients are placed in the product.  This is what we as consumers need to be aware of, because there is really no way of us knowing exactly how many grams of each of those ingredients are in fact in the product. But on the plus side, not many whey protein powders have creatine added in them, so even if its just a small amount it can still help with recovery and muscle gain. (Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine are the 3 branch chain amino acids which are among the nine essential amino acids for humans.)

Affordability

The 5 pound bag sells for about R750 in South Africa. The price is quite high, since it is imported all the way from America. Granted Muscletech is a reputable brand and they include a lot of scientific studies on their website; so I wont take anything away from the good quality of their products. But I would say the price is a bit excessive (in South Africa) for what you get.

Conclusion

This whey protein does not rank as high as I would have hoped. The protein content could have been a bit more and I am a bit weary after seeing that ‘Recovery Blend’ in the ingredients list. Also, a big factor that influenced this was the price.

When compared to other local brands, which are almost half the price, it really does not seem worth it. If you can afford it, maybe give it a try for yourself, but otherwise stick to the local brands as most of them are just as good. In the end whey protein is basically whey protein. If you feel whey protein and dairy is not for you, you can always give other types of powders a try, such as vegan or plant based protein powders a try. You may find that the plant based alternatives work better for you and your body. 

You can check out more of the supplement range here, www.muscletech.co.za OR international.muscletech.com

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Quick Stats

Name: Lizelle Horn
Age: 27
Height: 1.58 m
Competition weight: 46 Kg
Current weight: 51 Kg
Current city: Pretoria, South Africa
Occupation: Professional Hair Stylist and Make Up Artist

How long have you been training consistently for and have you always lived a fit and healthy lifestyle?

I have been weight training for 6 years, but never really did the ‘healthy part.’  I started to add the ‘healthy part’ when I started my first competition preparation 3 years ago, and that then, was what made a huge difference!!

What do you love about it?

Being healthy makes me feel good on every level of my life.  It also gives me self confidence and keeps me disciplined.

What competitions have you competed in and your placing’s?

2011

• IFBB Gauteng North Provincials, Beach Bikini, 3^rd
• IFBB H&H Classic, Beach Bikini, 5^th

2012

• USN Face of Fitness, Top 12 Finalist
• IFBB H&H Classic, Beach Bikini, 6^th
• IFBB North West Provincials, Fitness Bikini, 2^nd
• IFBB South African Championships, Fitness Bikini, 1^st
• IFBB World Championships, Bialystok, Poland, Fitness Bikini, 12^th out of 23

Tell us a bit about your experience competing internationally in Poland, and the standard of the competition there?

I was very honored to represent my country and it was definitely an experience that I will never forget, and also a good learning curve.  Competing against very passionate world-class athletes was quite an amazing experience.  What amazed me even more was the different cultures and nationalities all having their own ways of reaching the same goals.

Your advice for someone wanting to start competing?

First be specific in terms of what your goals are.  Which division you want to compete in, as each division requires different nutrition and training.  Then set your goal and work towards it!

“Secondly, nutrition is most important and is the main role player and the biggest part in your overall success.”

Get to know your body and only take advice from someone you can trust, that also knows you and has first hand experience – “been there, done that”.

What are your future plans?

“To learn more; knowledge is power, and you can never have enough, because we learn something new everyday.”

I am starting a course in nutrition and supplementation soon and I’m looking forward to that.  I am also competing again this year, and would like to do another International competition as well.

Take us through an average day of yours:

• 04:30 – Wake Up
• 05:00 – Weight training session (30 – 40min)
• 07:00 – Breakfast
• 09:00 – Start work – Hair & Make Up is my other passion
• 16:00 – Get home from work
• 17:30 – 19:00 – Another cardio session
• 19:30 – Dinner

Do you believe in using supplements? If you do, with all the different supplements out there, what would you say are the most essential ones that need to be taken?

Definitely, supplementation will boost your performance in the gym and help you achieve the body you want.  I think your vitamins are very important.

• Multivitamins
• Omega’s
• Glutamine
• Whey Protein
• Thermo genic fat burner

Give us a brief description of your philosophy on your training and on average how long do you workout for?

Off Season:

• 30 – 40 min weight training
• 40 – 60 min cardio per day

Competition Prep:

• 30 – 40 min weight training
• 90 – 120 min cardio per day

How do you measure your progress? And how often?

By Measuring body fat and weight, every two weeks.

What’s your favorite form of cardio?

Stepping machine, Treadmill and Rowing.

What would you say are the three best exercises women should include in their leg work outs to really develop their Quads?

1. Squats
2. Step ups
3. Low pulley glute extensions

Favorite female fitness icon(s):

Nathalia Melo

Favorite Quote:

“Never say never.”

Advice for someone wanting to change their lifestyle and achieve their ideal physique?

Its never to late to start.

Where can people get hold of you?

• Facebook:  Lizelle Horn

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If you haven’t discovered and don’t eat cottage cheese yet, you are really missing out. This super food is high in casein protein, which digests relatively slowly. It can be used in so many ways, to make tasty high protein desserts, dips, milk shakes and much more. Now if you ever find yourself in a situation where your local supermarket is out of cottage cheese, don’t worry, you can find out how to make your own right here!

Your primary ingredient is Lacto, or simply sour milk.

It’s really simple to do and the idea is to separate the solid parts from the watery parts of the lacto. A muslin cloth is used as a sieve to do the separating.

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In today’s world we are constantly bombarded with so many adverts and gimmicks, from companies all trying desperately to sell us something in order to help us achieve something great. And it is of no help when you walk into a shop looking for something specific, only to find that there are a hundred different brands selling the exact same thing! Now which brand do you choose? So I have decided to do a basic review on a few of the supplements out there that I have used so as to help make your decision a little bit easier on what to buy.

We will start off with whey protein. Pretty much every supplement company out there has some sort of WHEY protein powder. It is the bread and butter of supplements. A low carb, low fat, high protein shake is any health fanatics dream, and this is what whey protein is. According to a lot of research whey protein is digested quite quickly, making it ideal to take straight after an intense training session in order to feed your hard worked muscle.

There are two basic types of Whey protein:

• Whey protein concentrate
• Whey protein isolate

Whey protein concentrate is usually cheaper than the isolate. The biggest difference between the two, is that the isolate has been filtered more to remove most of the carbohydrate and fat content, leaving pretty much pure protein.  Also, the isolate is said to digest at a quicker rate than the concentrate. This is not to say one is better than the other. The concentrate can do just fine, or even a mix of both of them, it will just depend on what you want to achieve and how much you are willing to spend. I will be mainly dealing with whey protein concentrate unless otherwise stated.

What do we want in an ideal whey protein powder?

It must:

1. Be high in protein. Always look at the nutritional values to check how many grams of protein the product has per 100 grams of the powder. For a whey protein shake, it should have anywhere between 60 grams and 85 grams of protein. The higher the better.

2. Have the right kind of protein. If you look at the ingredients list on any protein supplement, you will see they start off with a few different types of protein. For example it may read like this:

‘Whey protein concentrate and isolate blend, soy protein, flavoring’ etc..

So the first ingredient listed is the one that the product contains the most of. So in the above example it contains a blend of both whey protein concentrate and isolate, with a higher percentage of the protein coming from whey concentrate. If for instance the ingredient list starts with soy protein, then we should be a bit cautious as we want whey protein and not soy protein in this case.

3. Taste great. There is no point buying something that you can’t stand drinking.

4. Mix easily without forming any lumps.

5. Be low in carbohydrates and fat.

Check out the next post where I review SSN’s, 100% Whey protein, from how it tastes all the way to how affordable it is!

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