A big thank you to iForce for allowing me to run this sponsored log.
I've used a sample of Hemavol once and really enjoyed it. It's a good profile, and very good at 2 scoops/servings.
I purchased a tub of Compete as soon as NP brought it on (tangerine) and really enjoyed the few workouts I've had using it (I sweat a lot more).
So, as far as composition, there's not a lot I'm expecting (if you know me, the past 2 years have been trying to figure out what's medically wrong with me). However, I still increase strength or endurance on a daily basis in the gym. That's what I'll be measuring, anyway. My workout split is as follows:
Arms
Legs
Delts/Traps
OFF
Chest
Back
OFF
I'll toss in some direct ab work whenever I feel like it, but they get what they need from the compound lifts.
Now here's where it gets interesting. I have 3 different workout weeks:
Max-OT (heavy weights, low reps)
High Intensity (60 second rest between sets, 120 seconds rest between lifts just to allow me to change stations/rack weights, etc.)
High Volume (sets of 25; usually 4x25 on 4 exercises or so per body part, except legs get a LOT more work)
I do Max-OT every other week, to ensure I'm stimulating growth, since that's my goal until the medical stuff is sorted out. And the HIT or HVT weeks alternate.
Max-OT
HVT
Max-OT
HIT
Repeat
Tonight will be my first workout using Hemavol as my pre (Compete will be dosed at 2 scoops intra, as I've been doing for the past 5 workouts or so).
____________________________________________________________________________________
Added 10/7/12:
Compete:
Taste: 9/10
I bought the tangerine and really love it and got to try out the fruit punch on this run. It's very good, as well, but both have a hint of cardboard/popsickle stick taste to them (you can also smell it when you open the containers). If there's a way to get rid of that, this is a 10 for sure, but it also won't keep me from purchasing it.
Mixability: 8/10
This isn't too bad, but as I'd mentioned, some of it tends to clump up and sink (and then often stick) to the bottom. I mix it in a half-gallon of water, so there's no shortage of water there. Again, not something that will keep me from using this, but certainly enough to notice and be somewhat annoying.
Overall: 9/10
The two minor issues are the only things that would keep me from ranking this a 10/10. It's really a great product and I love using it intra-workout and don't want to go back to just BCAAs, again. 10g BCAAs along with my pre-workout supplement(s) and Compete intra is amazing. Really solid product here (dosed at 2 scoops).
Hemavol:
Taste: 10/10
Really quality stuff. I still haven't tried the watermelon, but I really don't care for watermelon. The lemon is a very good flavor and I don't see any way to improve it. Top Notch.
Mixability: 10/10
No issues with mixabilitiy on this one. I opt for a minimal amount of water with pre-workouts, generally, and this one wasn't grainy/gritty and leaving a ton of foam at the end.
Overall: 10/10
As mentioned above, there's nothing to complain about. I think this is an amazing, top-tier pre-workout when dosed at 2 scoops (mainly to get that amount of citrulline malate in; and I add about 3g extra to it, myself). Sometimes I like to stack with some caffeine or something like Focus-XT to get the minimal caffeine and then some ALC and other goodies in. Very great profile on this.
Stack: 9/10
The only reasons I'm not giving this a 10/10 are the marginal reasons mentioned above about Compete. Like I said, they're not enough to keep me from using Compete, but enough that they need to be mentioned, because if they're fixed, this thing is flawless. Great pre-workout + great intra-workout = amazing combination. There's not much else to add, other than that I truly enjoy this combination and will continue to use Compete for the foreseeable future.
Thank you to iForce for the chance to run this stack!
I've used a sample of Hemavol once and really enjoyed it. It's a good profile, and very good at 2 scoops/servings.
I purchased a tub of Compete as soon as NP brought it on (tangerine) and really enjoyed the few workouts I've had using it (I sweat a lot more).
So, as far as composition, there's not a lot I'm expecting (if you know me, the past 2 years have been trying to figure out what's medically wrong with me). However, I still increase strength or endurance on a daily basis in the gym. That's what I'll be measuring, anyway. My workout split is as follows:
Arms
Legs
Delts/Traps
OFF
Chest
Back
OFF
I'll toss in some direct ab work whenever I feel like it, but they get what they need from the compound lifts.
Now here's where it gets interesting. I have 3 different workout weeks:
Max-OT (heavy weights, low reps)
High Intensity (60 second rest between sets, 120 seconds rest between lifts just to allow me to change stations/rack weights, etc.)
High Volume (sets of 25; usually 4x25 on 4 exercises or so per body part, except legs get a LOT more work)
I do Max-OT every other week, to ensure I'm stimulating growth, since that's my goal until the medical stuff is sorted out. And the HIT or HVT weeks alternate.
Max-OT
HVT
Max-OT
HIT
Repeat
Tonight will be my first workout using Hemavol as my pre (Compete will be dosed at 2 scoops intra, as I've been doing for the past 5 workouts or so).
____________________________________________________________________________________
Added 10/7/12:
Final Review:
Compete:
Taste: 9/10
I bought the tangerine and really love it and got to try out the fruit punch on this run. It's very good, as well, but both have a hint of cardboard/popsickle stick taste to them (you can also smell it when you open the containers). If there's a way to get rid of that, this is a 10 for sure, but it also won't keep me from purchasing it.
Mixability: 8/10
This isn't too bad, but as I'd mentioned, some of it tends to clump up and sink (and then often stick) to the bottom. I mix it in a half-gallon of water, so there's no shortage of water there. Again, not something that will keep me from using this, but certainly enough to notice and be somewhat annoying.
Overall: 9/10
The two minor issues are the only things that would keep me from ranking this a 10/10. It's really a great product and I love using it intra-workout and don't want to go back to just BCAAs, again. 10g BCAAs along with my pre-workout supplement(s) and Compete intra is amazing. Really solid product here (dosed at 2 scoops).
Hemavol:
Taste: 10/10
Really quality stuff. I still haven't tried the watermelon, but I really don't care for watermelon. The lemon is a very good flavor and I don't see any way to improve it. Top Notch.
Mixability: 10/10
No issues with mixabilitiy on this one. I opt for a minimal amount of water with pre-workouts, generally, and this one wasn't grainy/gritty and leaving a ton of foam at the end.
Overall: 10/10
As mentioned above, there's nothing to complain about. I think this is an amazing, top-tier pre-workout when dosed at 2 scoops (mainly to get that amount of citrulline malate in; and I add about 3g extra to it, myself). Sometimes I like to stack with some caffeine or something like Focus-XT to get the minimal caffeine and then some ALC and other goodies in. Very great profile on this.
Stack: 9/10
The only reasons I'm not giving this a 10/10 are the marginal reasons mentioned above about Compete. Like I said, they're not enough to keep me from using Compete, but enough that they need to be mentioned, because if they're fixed, this thing is flawless. Great pre-workout + great intra-workout = amazing combination. There's not much else to add, other than that I truly enjoy this combination and will continue to use Compete for the foreseeable future.
Thank you to iForce for the chance to run this stack!