My FinaFlex BCAA Max Pump Pre Workout Review
My FinaFlex BCAA Max Pump Pre Workout Review First Look:
Here we are faced with another of what seems to be a growing trend of BCAA supplements that seem to masquerade as pre workout supplements.
Lots of pre workout products do include BCAA’s for muscle recovery, so it make sense that those brands offering a BCAA muscle in on the pre workout boom – all angles covered.
However, it does grey the area. For example, if they are both similar products, what do you go for?
Plus, BCAA’s on their own have shown not to be as effective as when BCAA’s are taken with other ingredients in studies.
Let’s also not forget that unless you are a veggie/vegan type, BCAA’s are found in meats, so if you eat plenty of meat, you’re probably covered in that respect anyway.
However, instead of muddying the waters further still, let’s take a look at what benefits this product from FinaFlex can offer us, especially when it is peach and mango flavored.
Sounds delicious.
What can a pre workout really do?
The use of a pre workout supplement is traditionally to provide a more explosive and focused workout when you hit the gym.
This is achieved by providing high levels of stimulants to fight fatigue as well as increase the blood flow to the muscles and organs.
They can also include other ingredients that are known to help increase cognitive function so you can effectively zero in on your goal and help smash it.
However, they are no commonly used by students looking to concentrate while stay up late as well as gamer’s and even machine operatives or long distance drivers.
The main key benefits are:
- Increase energy – Smash your workout with more intensity
- Motivation – Get straight out of bed for an early morning gym session
- Improved focus – Zero in on your weights program or even revise harder
- Alert – Stay alert and improve concentration
However, not all pre workout supplements are equal, and some are downright terrible or contain potentially dangerous ingredients in dangerous doses, or concealed doses.
We analyse each one with an in depth review.
Ingredients: The Science
BCAA
BCAAs (typically a combination of L-Leucine, L-IsoLeucine and L-Valine) play a critical role in muscle development because they are metabolized in the muscle rather than the liver.
Because BCAAs are metabolized in the muscle, they can be used for building new proteins or for energy.
However, Supplementation is not necessary if you eat eggs and meat regularly. However, if you are a vegetarian or vegan, supplementation will be vital.
BCAA’s are often included in whey protein supplements, too.
https://examine.com/supplements/branched-chain-amino-acids/
Salt (sodium)
An essential mineral; its consumption is critical to our health.
However, Americans plus a lot of Western countries do consume double the recommended daily intake of sodium, so you have to be careful about how much you intake, especially if you are not perspiring or passing urine much.
Excess sodium may not raise blood pressure, but it is associated with other health issues, such as kidney damage and an increased risk of cognitive decline.
https://examine.com/nutrition/awful-nutrition-myths/
Agmatine Sulfate
Agmatine is considered to be a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator which is all about they brain.
Agmatine inhjections are common, but not oral ingestion and there is still no concrete evidence that working memory is enhanced with agmatine supplementation.
https://examine.com/supplements/agmatine/
Betaine (trimethylglycine)
This has been recommended as a compound that will increase athletic performance.
However, results from studies have been quite unreliable thus far of Betaine and not exactly formidable.
However, with that said, a dose of 12,500mg has been linked to increased power output, very minimal increase of workout volume and slight endurance.
Then again studies have showed no increase of any of the aforementioned parameters.
https://examine.com/supplements/trimethylglycine/
Dose
One scoops which is 9.8g.
However, it doesn’t compare very well to many of the best pre workout supplements which will offer over 15g.
That said, some of the BCAA supplements have been around the 10g mark.
Pros:
This is firstly and foremost a BCAA supplement with added ingredients to venture in to the pre workout market.
So, there’s no surprise to see that the biggest proportion of the ingredients Profile is 5g of BCAA, this is the same as found in Optimum Nutrition’s BCAA Train + Sustain supp.
These branch chain amino acids help produce energy and build muscle.
BCAA’s should only ever be taken with other nutrients rather than on their own to be effective.
If you are involved in high intensity exercise which leaves you perspiring heavily the Sodium will help replace those lost salts required for effective physical function, this is a double edged sword though.
If you eat lots of salt laden processed foods and do not perspire much, you will be having too much salt which can be unhealthy.
Now we have Betaine to consider. Scientific evidence and proof of consistent and solid performance benefit are not exactly spewing out of research institutes, however, at the correct dose of 12,500mg (1.25g) it has been linked to an increase in power output…
Price:
$28.95
Cons:
If we still hang on to the thought regarding Betaine, isn’t it such a shame that we are only then provided with 1,250mg instead of the required 12,500mg. A mere 10%.
We’ve already mentioned the fine line with the salt content plus lets look at Agmatine.
This could be potentially great for cognitive function and physiological function, but any real benefit seems to be from injections, not oral ingestion.
Plus, there’s not a huge body of evidence proving its worth anyway.
However, the next problem is that Optimum Nutrition’s BCAA Train + Sustain offers more beneficial ingredients and is at the same price point.
Furthermore, other pre workout supplements offer a whole lot more if you want the full effects.
So what could FinaFlex have done..?
They could have made this a more complete supplement and have included far better and scientifically effective ingredients instead such as:
- Creatine
- Beet
- Carnitine
- Citrulline
- Zinc
- Coconut water
- Caffeine
- Magnesium
- Vitamin C
- Theanine
- B vitamins
- The list goes on and on…
What we have here then, is little more than a standard BCAA with an additional ingredient that could have helped increase our power output yet it lacks the required dose.
Lot’s to work towards…
My FinaFlex BCAA Max Pump Pre Workout Review Conclusion:
Okay, this is nothing much more than a standard BCAA supplement.
That’s fine, and there is a market for BCAA supplements, particularly those who are vegetarian and vegan.
However, if you eat plenty of meat and eggs, BCAA’s by themselves are not strictly necessarily, so one that is pretty much nothing more than a BCAA supplement with some token additions is not going to be the most effective supplement.
So, for FinaFlex to try and cash in on the burgeoning pre workout market by adding a few extra ingredients seems slightly misleading, especially when one is not proven to offer any real benefit and the other is under-dosed to offer any benefit.
To make matters worse for this BCAA supplement from FinaFlex is that there are plenty of other competitors who are straddling two markets, yet their offerings are better and at the same price point.
Then it misses out on a wealth of other proven and beneficial ingredients that are found in the most effective pre workout supplements that we have previously tried and tested.
There is a better product than this that will get you fired up and cause hell in your chosen sport.
