rehj
Member
Alright boys and girls, let me first off send a huge shout out to Iforce for a great product in Compete. To this date this is my FAVORITE BCAA/intraworkout product and has a great profile. I've been using Compete for 2 weeks now and I'm confident enough in my expereince to date to do a review.
Little background to start off:
Nowadays I typically stick to SNS Leucine as recent studies suggest Leucine is the only BCAA that is helpful in triggering an anabolic response. I'm not big into BCAA products and only use them when a) I have some extra cash flow, b) I am cutting, and c) I train fasted. I naturally eat like like an IFer because it helps keep me full and calories in check on a cut. However, all the qualifications listed above happened to fall into place and I decided what the heck let's give it a shot.
Now let's dive into the goodies:
This will be on a 1-10 scale with 5 being a normal lifting day for me.
We'll start with the benefits Iforce Nutrition lists in their writeup of Compete. Mental Focus, Physical Performance, Recovery, and Hydration.
Mental Focus: 7/10- Mental focus isn't something I was looking for from this product since I typically take SNS ALCAR 500 @ 2 g or Focus XT pre WO, however I decided to lay off ALCAR/XT for the past 2 weeks and see what Compete brought to the table. While Compete doesn't compare to the mental edge Focus XT gives me it did feel comparable to 2 g ALCAR pre WO. At no time did I feel a lack of focus and I maintained my mental edge while working out even with energy levels low due to cutting.
Physical Performance: 8/10- I chose to interpret this category as endurance. The endurance on this product is great. I'm coming off a huge cardio lay off due to a severe ankle injury and started doing cardio about a week prior to starting Compete. It sucked. Absolutely blew starting cardio again. No endurance, incredible soreness, and muscle fatigue almost instantly. The first time I used Compete I played 2 hours of basketball which left my legs shaking a couple days prior when I played. Not this time. My oxidative system tired long before my legs and I was able to play for 2 hours no problem
Recovery: 9/10- I can't stress the recovery I felt on this product enough. After playing the 2 hours of basketball I mentioned before I thought the next day I wouldn't be able to walk, let alone do my cardio the next day. It was about 4 hours into the day when I realized "Hey! What the F? I'm not sore at all." I always feel GREAT the next day. I even decided to push myself balls to the walls one day and go full body workout since I couldn't get to the gym for a couple days in b/e workouts. After 2 hours of squats, DL, SLDL, hack squats, MP, etc I thought the next day was gonna be rough. Nope, once again I was pleasantly surprised and could've lifted the next day.
Hydration: 6/10- Here's my reasoning on just a 6 here. Any serious lifter is going to be drinking at least a gallon of water a day and I typically get in at least 1.5 gallons. However, Compete's extra electrolytes and minerals can't hurt anything.
Now for some other categories:
Taste: 100/10- No, it's not a misprint. I meant to type 100 not 10. To date this is the best tasting product I've tasted. Not only out of BCAA's products but EVERYTHING. This stuff is delicious. I got the tangerince flavor and I crave it even on my offdays. It's amazing. Get it and then you'll understand the 100 rating
Mixability: 9/10- Best mixing BCAA product I've ever come across. Mixes instantly (even with a spoon). The only reason this isn't a 10 is because the last sip of Compete is a little grainy, but that's just getting picky. No more waiting for BCAAs to disolve!
Pump: 7/10- This isn't marketed as a pump product but I definitely felt more pumped in my workouts using this + my normal pre WO concotion which consists of BA, 1/2 serving Hemavol, and an extra 500 mg of agmatine.
Vascularity: 7/10- Once again just an extra cherry on top, my forearms were more vascular during work outs than they have been in a long time since starting Compete. This could be due to a lower bf % as I am cutting, however typically at this bf % I am not as vascular as I am and the only thing I've changed is adding Compete.
Profile: 9/10- I bought this product solely for the combo of a BCAA product with the addition of L-Carnitine. Compete includes 2 g of LCLT and L-Carnitine Fumarate each per 2 scoops. I LOVE Carnitine and commend Iforce for adding Carnitine to this profile. Very innovative. The only thing I wish Compete had more of was Cit. Malate, but that's easy to fix with some bulk CM or adding in one of the countless pre WO that contain adaquete doses of CM (i.e. Hemavol, MAN Body Octane)
Overall: 8.5/10- Love the product and this will be a staple of mine for a long time. I can't wait to add this to my upcoming ArA stack (X-gels)!
Cheers mates! :wave2:
Little background to start off:
- 5'7, 175 lbs, ~14% bf, 21 years old
- Going on 4 years of serious weight lifting experience- I'm a small framed guy so I tend to lift more for power/strength rather than size. Usually follow Wendler's 5/3/1.
- Previous BCAA products: Xtend, Nutraplanet Bulk BCAA's (GROSS taste, but cheap. Did I mention they're gross?), LG's BCAA+EEA (crap), and SNS bulk Leucine.
Nowadays I typically stick to SNS Leucine as recent studies suggest Leucine is the only BCAA that is helpful in triggering an anabolic response. I'm not big into BCAA products and only use them when a) I have some extra cash flow, b) I am cutting, and c) I train fasted. I naturally eat like like an IFer because it helps keep me full and calories in check on a cut. However, all the qualifications listed above happened to fall into place and I decided what the heck let's give it a shot.
Now let's dive into the goodies:
This will be on a 1-10 scale with 5 being a normal lifting day for me.
We'll start with the benefits Iforce Nutrition lists in their writeup of Compete. Mental Focus, Physical Performance, Recovery, and Hydration.
Mental Focus: 7/10- Mental focus isn't something I was looking for from this product since I typically take SNS ALCAR 500 @ 2 g or Focus XT pre WO, however I decided to lay off ALCAR/XT for the past 2 weeks and see what Compete brought to the table. While Compete doesn't compare to the mental edge Focus XT gives me it did feel comparable to 2 g ALCAR pre WO. At no time did I feel a lack of focus and I maintained my mental edge while working out even with energy levels low due to cutting.
Physical Performance: 8/10- I chose to interpret this category as endurance. The endurance on this product is great. I'm coming off a huge cardio lay off due to a severe ankle injury and started doing cardio about a week prior to starting Compete. It sucked. Absolutely blew starting cardio again. No endurance, incredible soreness, and muscle fatigue almost instantly. The first time I used Compete I played 2 hours of basketball which left my legs shaking a couple days prior when I played. Not this time. My oxidative system tired long before my legs and I was able to play for 2 hours no problem
Recovery: 9/10- I can't stress the recovery I felt on this product enough. After playing the 2 hours of basketball I mentioned before I thought the next day I wouldn't be able to walk, let alone do my cardio the next day. It was about 4 hours into the day when I realized "Hey! What the F? I'm not sore at all." I always feel GREAT the next day. I even decided to push myself balls to the walls one day and go full body workout since I couldn't get to the gym for a couple days in b/e workouts. After 2 hours of squats, DL, SLDL, hack squats, MP, etc I thought the next day was gonna be rough. Nope, once again I was pleasantly surprised and could've lifted the next day.
Hydration: 6/10- Here's my reasoning on just a 6 here. Any serious lifter is going to be drinking at least a gallon of water a day and I typically get in at least 1.5 gallons. However, Compete's extra electrolytes and minerals can't hurt anything.
Now for some other categories:
Taste: 100/10- No, it's not a misprint. I meant to type 100 not 10. To date this is the best tasting product I've tasted. Not only out of BCAA's products but EVERYTHING. This stuff is delicious. I got the tangerince flavor and I crave it even on my offdays. It's amazing. Get it and then you'll understand the 100 rating
Mixability: 9/10- Best mixing BCAA product I've ever come across. Mixes instantly (even with a spoon). The only reason this isn't a 10 is because the last sip of Compete is a little grainy, but that's just getting picky. No more waiting for BCAAs to disolve!
Pump: 7/10- This isn't marketed as a pump product but I definitely felt more pumped in my workouts using this + my normal pre WO concotion which consists of BA, 1/2 serving Hemavol, and an extra 500 mg of agmatine.
Vascularity: 7/10- Once again just an extra cherry on top, my forearms were more vascular during work outs than they have been in a long time since starting Compete. This could be due to a lower bf % as I am cutting, however typically at this bf % I am not as vascular as I am and the only thing I've changed is adding Compete.
Profile: 9/10- I bought this product solely for the combo of a BCAA product with the addition of L-Carnitine. Compete includes 2 g of LCLT and L-Carnitine Fumarate each per 2 scoops. I LOVE Carnitine and commend Iforce for adding Carnitine to this profile. Very innovative. The only thing I wish Compete had more of was Cit. Malate, but that's easy to fix with some bulk CM or adding in one of the countless pre WO that contain adaquete doses of CM (i.e. Hemavol, MAN Body Octane)
Overall: 8.5/10- Love the product and this will be a staple of mine for a long time. I can't wait to add this to my upcoming ArA stack (X-gels)!
Cheers mates! :wave2:
