Monkey Nutrition X-Blend

 

Overview

Here’s what Monkey Nutrition have to say:

Monkey brings you precision bio-engineering in the form of Monkey X-Blend. This blend of 10 proteins is one of the most advanced protein formulations on the planet! Monkey X-Blend is a blend dominated by the finest quality whey protein concentrate, milk protein, whey protein isolate and egg white protein; leaving all other predominantly whey protein concentrate blends standing and making X-Blend the premium ‘time-release’ protein powder on the market today! Monkey raises the bar further by fusing lactoferrin and taurine into the blend and adding extra BCAAs and L-Glutamine.

Lactoferrin is a glycoprotein found in whole milk. It has a high iron binding rate; meaning it survives the initial stages of protein digestion, leaving the biological activity of peptides intact, this results in increased muscle recovery and heightened immunity.

Taurine is an amino acid that is integral to proper immune function. It also helps the cells to hold on to potassium; this improves the degree and frequency to which your muscles contract and allows for more productive growth.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving:

Calories:                       130

AMOUNT

Total Fat                      1.5 g                     

Saturated Fat                1.0 g          

Trans Fat                      0 g

Cholesterol                   25 mg    

Sodium                         105 mg                

Total Carbohydrate      4 g      

Dietary Fiber                1 g               

Sugars                          1 g   

Protein                         24 g                       

24g of protein from 10 sources (Whey, Milk & Egg and various derivatives) is more than enough to provide a nice time release protein hit to ensure your muscles are being fed properly until the next meal. The sugar is kept low and Sucralose has been chosen lessen the “damage” of sweetening a shake.

Along with BCAAs you also get some Essential Amino Acids – it has been proven that BCAAs are more effective when in the presence of EAA as well. You receive a healthy dose of Glutamine which has a myriad of benefits but muscle retention and recovery are among the best.  

Taste

I used the Chocolate flavour and it was very pleasant but it did tend to un-mix itself if left for a while are preparing it. When drank within about 20 minutes of making it then it had no issues.

Side Effects

None

Price

£17.50 – 14 servings

£31.95 – 28 servings

£67.99 – 75 servings

It is quite expensive when buying the smaller bags but with the biggest the price per serving reduces to 90p so much better value and well worth the investment.

Results

Protein blends can range from a cheap trick to hide poor quality to an amazing muscle building tool. This is the latter. X-Blend, in my opinion, is the best blend on the market at the moment. I can’t think of a better one – there are a lot of very good ones but for a pure protein punch this is leading the pack.

The nutritional breakdown is more or less what I expected, low fats, low sugar (sucralose), low carb and high protein. The protein 10 way split should drip feed you for a few hours and would actually make a very good post workout shake – not ideal for recovery or bulking but for either building or maintaining when dieting down it would be a great choice. From the look of the website it is only available in Chocolate at the moment – it tastes great but a little variety never hurt.

X-Blend is fairly filling which for a 130 calorie shake is quite an achievement so when you are on a cut and have restricted your calories X-Blend could be a diet saver. It is expensive if you are buying a smaller bag but if you are willing to invest and buy a 75 serving bag (should last between 2-3 months) then you are looking at 90p a serving which for the quality of this product is amazing value.

X-Blend is a great choice for every cycle, every goal, every time of day and every person. This should be your go to time release blend. 9.5/10

You can buy X-Blend here.

Medi-Evil Berserker

 

Overview

Here is what Medi-Evil have to say:

Inspired by the legendary warfare fury of the Norse Vikings. Medi-Evil Berserker was forged on the gym battlefields, and contains one of the largest profiles of the  highest quality active ingredients in a product of its kind.

Medi-Evil Berserker is formulated so as not to give the nasty jitters or post-workout crash associated with most pre-workouts.

Medi-Evil Berserker has in huge abundance innovative ingredients such as Vinitrox, Beetroot extract, Glycerol monostearate and BCAA’s in its market leading blend  which mixes easily with water and tastes great.

This great tasting pre – workout comes in two flavours:- Blood Orange and Wild Berry

Nutritional Information

Medi-Evil’s thoughtful approach to a pre-workout really ups the game with whats expected from a Pre. Along with the now standard Creatine, BCAAs, Caffeine, Beta-Alanine & Arginine we have several components that are a bit more unusual.

Beetroot Extract – improves oxygen delivery and helps with muscle pumps

Glycerol – helps with muscle pumps

Panax Ginseng – mood enhancer & testosterone booster

ViNitrox is what sets Berserker apart from other preworkouts. It is a unique and proprietary synergistic combination of apple and grape polyphenols. It offers a number of exceptional sports nutrition properties including enhanced and lasting performance. Nexira’s latest clinical study (See ViNitrox website) on 50 athletes, 25-45 years old, demonstrated that under intensive effort, 500 mg/day of ViNitrox improves physical capabilities :

Increases physical training time by 10%

Delays the fatigue barrier by 13%

Taste

We’ve used both flavours (Wild Berry & Blood Orange) and Wild Berry was the preferred option – this is obviously personal choice – both flavours are acceptable. No preworkout tastes brilliant but Berserker does mix well and doesn’t have an aftertaste.

Side Effects

None

Price

£39.99 for a 300g bag (50 servings or 25 if you use a double dose)

Results

Medi-Evil claim that Berserker won’t give you jitters or an energy crash but will help you in the gym. Well mission accomplished. None of our team had any jitters and we experienced no energy crashes after the product wore off….in fact we didn’t have any side effects full stop. Side effects can be a bit of a worry with preworkouts so it’s always a relief when they turn out to be completely safe – especially when dealing with a brand new to the market product. The caffeine content in preworkouts is predominantly to blame for the energy crash that some experience after a strong pre but due to Berserkers fairly modest 150mg per serving you are very unlikely to fall asleep at your desk a couple of hours later.

Berserker doesn’t deliver an energy rush but rather a sustained feeling of “you can do this” and you don’t feel it wearing off after 30 minutes. It lasts about a hour before slowly tapering off. The pumps are fairly good, not mind blowing but definitely present and noticeable. I think that endurance is the stand out quality of Berserker – you can almost always add 2 or 3 more reps per lift, even on heavier work.

The value for money depends on whether you use 1 scoop or 2 so that’s a decision you’ll have to make. I found 1 scoop a little weak, but I am fairly tolerant to preworkouts, 2 scoops did the job nicely, I was never tempted to up the dosage.

Berserker sets out to be a different breed of preworkout one with no side effects without compromising on the quality of the product. They certainly succeeded. Berserker is an exceptionally well made product that is sure to help you in the gym. 8.5/10

You can buy Berserker here