BPR Reviews Muscle Pharm’s “Muscle Gel Shots”

Muscle Gel Shot Box

Quick protein is of utmost importance during a strenuous workout. You need something that is digested quickly, but you need a product that doesn’t interfere with your insulin levels. Meet Muscle Pharm’s Muscle Gel Shots. We picked up a box of these shots and tried out their 3 flavors- Lime, Mango and Banana.  You can pick up a 12 pack of these Muscle Gel Shots for about $25.

If you have any experience with these quick protein sources, you are familiar with their awful taste but know the benefits of having a protein source during your workout. Surprisingly, these shots weren’t all that bad considering each pack contains 20 grams of protein and 0 grams of sugar.

Now for the flavor breakdown.  You always want to stick with a citric flavor if you are new to these types of products. BPR found that the top flavor is lime followed by banana and then mango. However, you can’t go wrong with any of them.  The shots taste better than energy gels that are packed with carbohydrates and sweeteners.

MP Gel Shot Flavors

So, you want to know when to take these? Take it halfway through a hard workout to keep a steady stream of protein.  You will notice your body has a lot more of natural energy if you add extra protein during the workout.  Don’t add sugary drinks during the workout.  That will only diminish its value, increase your insulin and limit your natural production and utilization of growth hormone. Remember, these protein gels are not to replace natural sources of protein.  But for a long workout, Muscle Gel Shots are perfect.

-bpr

 

May 29, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post

BPR Reviews CTD Lab’s “NOXIPRO”

With all of the pre-workout concentrates out there and many being removed from the market, which are effective? We explore the effects and benefits of “NOXIPRO” and look to see if pasts the test.

NOXIPRO

Let’s first look at the claims.  According to CTD, NOXIPRO’s main benefits are the enhancement of nitric oxide synthesis, increased endurance and improved focus.  We know for a fact that one of these claims is unfortunately false and apart of the supplement industry’s latest cycle of   “new science”.

Which claim is this? The increase of nitric oxide synthesis. Research has shown that when individuals supplement with high levels of l-arginine, nitric oxide synthesis tends to occur at a higher rate-  more synthesis, more muscle growth. However, what many lifters do not realize is that the amount of arginine is these studies far exceeds any amount of l-arginine that you will receive in this supplement or most other pre-workout supplements.

In addition, participants in these studies usually received l-arginine intravenously (administration though the veins) so that it is readily available in the blood stream.  A lifter taking a supplement orally must understand that many ingredients are immediately altered or destroyed when being digested and the end result cannot be compared with an intravenous injection. With this knowledge, we know that you will not experience any noticeable increase in nitric oxide which really defeats the purpose of the supplements name as “NO” is short for nitric oxide.

NOXIPRO NUTRITION LABEL

The other two claims, focus and endurance, are valid as DMAA and Caffeine have been shown to boost the body’s ability to workout and stay active longer.  Other ingredients in the “proprietary formula” are simply there to beef up the ingredients list.  For example, the amount of beta-alanine in this product will not produce the proper effects as beta-alanine must be supplemented and used multiple times throughout the day at high doses and continuously for at least 6 weeks. Finally, the Creatine in here is also not relevant as anybody who has tried Creatine knows that 1 dose will not provide any real benefit and “loading” is usually necessary.

However, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a good product.  For the money, it is respectable.  We found it for $29.99 and it can be probably found for even cheaper due to its removal from the market (all products containing DMAA are currently banned by FDA).

BPR purchased the watermelon flavor which had a decent taste. The only draw back was being able to taste the caffeine in the product.  If you don’t know what pure caffeine taste like, it’s quite bitter and has a chemical taste-not good. It took just over half an hour to kick in.  The workout that followed was great and there was no real crash. Unfortunately, as with other supplements containing DMAA, NOXIPRO had the negative side effect of irritability.

We still think NOXIPRO is worth giving a shot if you can still find it. We give NOXIPRO a 7/10.

-bpr

May 23, 2012 | 1 comment | View Post

BPR Reviews the CAP Barbell Wrist Wraps

It’s no wonder these wrist wraps are so inexpensive. They lasted all of 5 seconds.

Cap Barbell Wrist Wraps Review

After opening up the box, we were excited to try out the Cap Barbell wraps.  The wraps are very soft, elastic and the price is quite attractive.  With just a touch, you immediately get the sense that the wraps aren’t particularly designed for the bench press.  They can help, but the CAP’s are more for bicep curls or any type of extensions.

Cap Wraps 2

So, it’s game time and we’re at the gym.  Grabbing the wraps, the thumb is looped and the wrap is stretched around the wrist.  Then, a sudden tear!  Flipping over the wrap, I found the Velcro grip had snapped and the threading had not held.  Maybe it was just an accident? Just a moment later, trying on the other wrap, the Velcro grip snapped and the threading had given way again.

Capo Wrist Wraps 3

Still able to use the wrap and barely connect the Velcro, the wrap showed that it was a great design in terms of its general support.  If you intend on bench anymore than 185lbs, these wraps will not get the job done. However, if you are doing curls/extensions or are just warming up, they do the job quite well- that’s if the Velcro stays intact. Our ratings of the CAP Wraps are below.

 

Price- $8.99

Support- 4/10

Break-in Period-10/10

Comfort-10/10

Value-6/10

Velcro Grip- 1/10

Visual Design- 8/10

Overall-5/10

May 15, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post

VOTW FAIL

Video of the Week comes from a WABDL World Record Attempt. Fast forward to :50. You get the feeling the lift will go awry by his body language alone. YIKES.

-bpr

May 04, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post

BPR Reviews the Grizzly Fitness Wrist Wraps

Once in a while, you give a product a shot and really can’t help but ask for a refund.  Meet the Grizzly Fitness wrist wraps, the worst wraps we have ever encountered. For 12.99, you can tighten these around your wrist for the most uncomfortable experience you can imagine.  BPR gave these a shot in hopes of finding a gem, a wrist wrap with an unconventional design and one that offered something unique.

When you purchase a pair of these wraps, you will find a small insert inside that gives you a description of the product but no real directions.  Judging by the photo in the package, we have these on correctly, but they feel terrible. The back of the packaging states that these wraps are used when “elastic just isn’t enough”.  Well, we are here to say that elastic is exactly what these wraps need.  As you can see from the photo below, it’s a large strap that is tightened around your wrist.  It’s padded but it has no give which results in a feeling right along side with a medieval torture device.

In closing, we found something unique, the worst wraps we have come across. We don’t recommend these to anybody. Our rankings of these wrist wraps are below.

Price- 12.99

Support- 4/10

Break-in Period-6/10

Comfort-2/10

Value-3/10

Velcro Grip- 8/10

Visual Design- 8/10

Overall-5/10

 

-bpr

May 01, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post

BPR Reviews Lifting Large’s Parallel Breakers

Lifting Large’s “Parallel Breakers”

 

Lifting Large Wrist Wraps 1

 

With all of the big guys such as Inzer, Titan and APT, many lifters skip over some of the lesser known companies- a big mistake. We spent a few weeks with the Lifting Large’s “Parallel Breakers” and found a nice pair of wrist wraps that do in-fact provide the support the wraps claim to have.  When you first unwrap the Parallel Breakers, the first thing you will notice is the strength of these wraps. They are very high quality and the feel alone will make you realize how much support they are going to offer.

Lifting Large Wrist Wraps 2

If you are new to “heavy duty” wrist wraps, don’t be alarmed by how rough the wraps can be.  It takes a good month or two to really break in a strong pair of wraps.  If you are planning on competing, be sure to give yourself enough time to break these in.  We found this pair to be a softer to the skin than some of APT’s wraps that are designed for heavy lifting.

 Lifting Large Wrist Wrap Closeup 4

We took these to the gym and realized how strong these really were.  If you are looking at anything below 275, we would recommend a softer set of wraps.  These are so supportive that they are almost uncomfortable at the lower weights.  However, slap on anything above 315 and you will feel right at home.  The wraps give a sense of confidence with the heavier weights and you do get the sense that the “Parallel Breakers” are not just wraps, but actual support.

Lifting Large Wrist Wraps 3

We really feel that you should give these wraps a try.  They are also available in two other colors, with yellow and white stripes rather than blue. Below are the ratings for these wraps.

 Our Ratings

Support: 9/10

Break-in Period: 8/10

Comfort: 7.5/10

Elasticity:8/10

Value: 9/10

Velcro Grip: 9.5/10

Visual Design:9/10

Overall: 9/10

-bpr

Apr 27, 2012 | 1 comment | View Post

The Perils of the Thumbless Grip

Sometimes, people deserve the Darwin Award. If you don’t know what that is, it’s when people are doing something utterly stupid, end up dying, and eliminate themselves from the human species through their own stupidity.  Google search the Darwin Awards to see some good examples, but I digress.  Continuing on, the thumbless grip is arguably the most dangerous of acts while bench pressing. Users of the thumbless grip will complain that their wrists hurt and pressing without the thumb wrapped around the bar alleviates that pain.  Well, I’m here to tell you, GO BUY SOME WRIST WRAPS.

We had to have an article today after getting into an argument at the gym with another lifter regarding his thumb positioning during the bench press.  It went a little like this- I had just arrived at the gym when I was asked to spot another lifter who happened to maxing out today.  That was fine and I was glad to spot him for a max bench press attempt.  However, as he was lifting, I could see that he went with the thumbless grip and the bar was near centimeters from slipping.  Mind you, he was pressing 395lbs and really, I didn’t want to be responsible for 395lbs falling on his face. I can help pull up 395lbs if he is failing the press, but if he drops it, a nice power clean of almost 400lbs isn’t exactly my forte.

So, I then told him he needed to wrap his thumb around the bar during those lifts. Offended, he snapped back exclaiming that, “If i could lift as much as him, I would know what I was talking about”.  He unfortunately didn’t know, pound for pound, I rep his max for a warm-up.

I asked if he considered wrist wraps.  A decent pair of wraps will run you around $30 at the most and it will really alleviate any wrist pain you are having and will also enable you to lift plenty of more weight.  Obviously, he hadn’t. So, I jumped onto the bench and began repping 225 like a linebacker at the NFL combine while wearing a pair of good wraps.  I was even talking to him while repping, showing that there was no pain in my wrists (my wrists happen to very small compared to most people).

As always, here’s a video to for my case in point.  This guy drops the 295 right on his sternum. How fun!

I then had him wrap his wrists with my wraps and not use the thumbless grip.  Of course, magically, he was able to press a substantial amount of weight without complaining of any pain. I asked him, “Why risk your life when these are only $30, in fact, these are free” and I walked away, letting him keep my set of Lifting Large “Parallel Breakers”.  I liked those wraps…

-bpr

Apr 26, 2012 | 1 comment | View Post

Lifter Mikhail Algash dead at age 23

When things like this happen, you quickly come back to the reality and dangers of powerlifting.  After training last week, Mikhail Algash, one of Europe’s finest lifters began to quickly lose blood.  Pressure placed on the body from his workout lead to a liver rupture. Unable to recover, the 23 year old lifter passed away just days after.

The complete story can be found at RT

-BPR

Apr 24, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post

BPR’s Menu for the Week

This week, BPR will be introducing a complete listing of all American Records by Federation along with pound for pound and top 20 records.  We are hoping to have the complete list of records up by Wednesday. There are over 2500 records in total so it has taken more time than originally planned.

A couple videos on technique will also be shown, including some terrible techniques that we have seen around the net recently.  On the same note, we will begin uploading articles on proper techniques and what it takes to really complete a big lift.

Finally, we will continue our weekly product reviews with Lifting Large’s set of “Parallel Breaker” wrist wraps along with a side by side comparison of Nitrix vs. plain Arginine.

-BPR

Apr 24, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post

“Unreal Phil” Benches 225 for 41 reps

Ok, hopefully everybody knows the NFL combine test and 225 rep test on the bench press. Well, “Unreal Phil” would definitely teach them a thing or two. He recently repped 225 for 41 reps. Did we mention he only weighs 175lbs? Incredible. Check out the video below. Lift begins at 3:10.

-BPR

Apr 18, 2012 | 2 comments | View Post

Supplement Reviews are Coming!

BPR will soon be adding supplement reviews to our website along with our new powerlifting product reviews.  Supplements that are covered will be rated on their effectiveness based on label claims, taste, delivery, pricing, etc.

For testosterone related products, we plan to post “pre” and “post” testosterone and other hormone levels to show their effectiveness.  If you have any supplements in mind that should be reviewed first, post below or send us an email.

-BPR

Apr 16, 2012 | 3 comments | View Post

BPR reviews APT’s 20″ ZRV-Pro Wrist Wraps

BPR reviews APT’s  20″ ZRV-Pro Wrist Wraps.

We purchased a pair of these 20 inch ZRV wraps about a month ago and have spent some time with them.  APT’s description of the product includes “light to super-heavy lifting”.  We thought that may be stretching it a bit and sometimes when a wrap is trying to do both light and heavy, you get an average wrap.

It turns out the product is great, but really not meant for lighter lifts.  Warming up on the bench press was almost uncomfortable at 135lbs and even through 185lbs.  Once we progressed to 315 and 365, the wraps began to feel more at home. For those of you who find your wraps slipping, you may want to look at a longer wrap.  We felt that 20inch was a tad too short for these particular ZRV’s.

As always, the quality is great, the thumb wraps work well and the Velcro is very grippy.  What we didn’t like?  Customer service at APT was slow and has been this past year and we aren’t sure why.  These wrap took a while to be shipped without much of an explanation.  If you can find a reliable vendor, we suggest you stick with them.

Our Ratings

Support: 8.5/10

Break-in Period: 9/10

Comfort: 7.5/10

Elasticity: 8/10

Velcro Grip: 9/10

Visual Design: 7/10

Apr 11, 2012 | 0 comments | View Post
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