The Bottom Line

 

The Lo-Carb Monster Energy Drink from Monster Energy provides a variety of energy producing nutrients in a convenient and tasty carbonated 16-ounce can that contains 2 servings of the product. This drink offers a convenient and low carb way to get some energy throughout the day.

• Great tasting (nice tangy taste) and convenient - it is very easy to carry and is ready to drink.
• Low in carbs (3 grams per serving).
• Great combination of energy producing ingredients in the right quantities.
• Two servings per can.
• Great price. I have seen it as low as $1.54 per can.

Cons

• The 3 grams of carbs are from glucose so diabetics need to be careful.
• Not good for those sensitive to caffeine.
• 180 mg of sodium so people on dialysis and with high blood pressure issues need to be careful.

Description

• Carbonated drink with an awesome tangy taste.
• Comes in a can with 2 servings so you can either split it or drink the whole thing.
• Only 3 grams of carbs per serving.
• High in B Vitamins which help with energy production.
• High in L-Carnitine which helps with energy and also helps to mobilize fats and burn them as energy.
• Contains Glucoronolactone which increases alertness, has liver protecting properties and spares glycogen.
• Contains 200mg of Panax Ginseng (the dose used in most clinical studies), which aids recovery and promotes energy.
• Contains 1000mg of L-taurine which aids in firing nerve impulses into your muscles, thus helping to maximize muscle strength.

By Hugo Rivera

 

The Bottom Line

 

This product is great for teenagers with a fast metabolism and hardgainers looking to increase muscle mass and putting on quality size. It can be used before and after a workout. It has been around for years and continues to be one of the best selling bodybuilding supplements that Muscle Tech has to offer.

 

* Contains 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per scoop.
* Does not contain any fat.
* Contains chromium picolinate to support glucose levels.
* Contains alpha Lipoic Acid to help cells from oxidative damage.
* Contains Taurine.

 

Cons

 

* Has around 38 grams of carbohydrates per scoop so best for hardgainers.
* Contains 150 calories per scoop.
* Can be expensive so if you are on a budget you are better off with just powdered creatine..

by Jeff Volek

Now that the Holiday Season is over and the New Year is upon us, it is a perfect time to re-examine your supplement plan for 2009. With thousands of different dietary supplements available, it quickly becomes an overwhelming task to make sense of product claims and separate fact from fiction.

The first order of business is to make sure you have the basics covered. There is a sizeable amount of scientific literature supporting the anabolic effects of creatine and the general health benefits of fish oil.

While I’m a major advocate for including these as staples for any serious athlete, I think the number one supplement you need in your arsenal is protein. Regardless of your specific goals or whether you are a novice or veteran in the gym, a high quality protein supplement is essential for maximizing training adaptations.

The Most Important Reason You Need Protein

If you don’t consume protein around your workout, protein balance is negative. In the fasted state, it is true that resistance exercise alone has an anabolic effect by increasing protein synthesis proportionally more than breakdown, but the end result is still a negative protein balance. That simple fact is the main reason you need to consider a protein supplement as part of your nutritional supplement program. Simply put, the amino acids provided by protein serve as the building blocks for building muscle proteins. If you do not provide the amino acids in your diet, the body breaks down its own muscle proteins to provide the amino acids needed.

by Christopher Mason

If one were to poll strength trainees nearly all of them would tell you that testosterone is the most important hormone for size and strength. Testosterone’s importance cannot be argued, but insulin rivals it in terms of results in the gym and plays an even more crucial role in overall health.

Insulin’s association with blood sugar is generally well known, but what is less known is its ability to mediate protein synthesis and thus skeletal muscle recovery and potential growth.

Insulin sensitivity, or the body’s receptiveness to its effects, is key to optimal health and results in the gym. While insulin can be taken exogenously (from outside of the body), its management via dietary manipulation is the method of choice for optimal long term results (in healthy individuals). Insulin management to maximize protein synthesis and thus potential and actual muscular growth will be the focus of this article.

Eating Specifically for Hypertrophy

Whether you are trying to gain body mass for athletic or aesthetic purposes, the end goal of eating for size is to add as much lean muscle mass as possible while mitigating increases in body fat. Make no mistake; optimization of lean muscle accruement necessitates the addition of some body fat.

In order to foster optimum growth, the body must have the nutrients necessary to do the job when needed. This translates to essentially a continuous need. Why? Muscle growth does not follow any exact timeframe. It is nigh impossible to assure the correct nutrients are in abundant supply at all times without consuming an excess of calories. Interestingly enough, even without training, a percentage of excess caloric intake will be stored as lean muscle tissue. The addition of resistance training can greatly increase this percentage, and the combination of an excess caloric intake and resistance training is the only way to truly optimize the addition of lean muscle mass.

by Daniel Roberts

Whether you’re a bodybuilder, powerlifter, strongman or general strength athlete, there’s an established wisdom about eating and training which never fails – you need a high protein (roughly 1-2g/lb of lean bodyweight), nutrient-dense diet that meets the calorific needs of progressive overload training.

The best training methodologies and diets weren’t created in a lab; they are intuitive and proven time and again by experience.

Sandow did it, Reg Park did it, Arnold did it, and every successful athlete before or since has done it. Some spread their meals, some ate three meals a day, some ate very little until after training and then gorged, but at the end of each day, they’d all eaten enough protein, carbohydrate, and fat to meet their individual requirements.

In short, they kept it simple and there hasn’t been a study to date to prove any of their approaches wrong, but have there been any studies to show a better approach?

Is there an optimal way to consume nutrients to maximise muscle and strength gains? Marketing hype would have you believe so, so let’s start with the most basic approach.

Three Squares a Day vs. Small and Frequent

The aim of any diet is to provide the macronutrients necessary to support the goals of the athlete whether that’s hypertrophy, fat loss, or strength. Determining the amounts is the tricky bit and it is highly individualized.

By James Collier

There are a huge range of nutrition bars out there, so how the heck are you to know which ones suit you, or indeed which ones are good for you and are not just junk confectionery bars?!

Nutrition bars are quite varied and can be classified under a number of different headings based on their make up and general nutrition they provide. They can be labeled as meal replacement, protein, energy, low carb or flapjack bars. Nutrition Bars can be useful supplements for health and sports enthusiasts, especially bodybuilders who struggle to consume enough food to meet their requirements. They are a convenient way of adding extra nutrition to a food and supplement plan as they are easily transported and eaten on the go. Nutrition bars should not replace any of the main meals of a diet, but are useful replacements for 'snack' meals, especially for people with busy lifestyles.

Obviously the first factor to consider when selecting a bar is what you want from it. If you want an energy boost, then go for an energy bar; if you want it to contribute to a good protein intake, opt for a protein bar; if you want it to act as 'complete nutrition' for a significant snack then pick a meal replacement bar; or if you simply want to enjoy a bar which has more nutrition than confectionery, then any will do.

The best bet when you're deciding which nutrition bar to choose is to read a bar's description and if reviews are available look at them too. Things to look out for include the sources of protein, fats and carbs they contain. Many nutrition bars do unfortunately contain trans fats - these are the bad hydrogenated fats which ideally should be avoided. So try and look for bars which contain no trans fats.