Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack

[eLm0]

Balance has just reformulated Ultimate recovery stack. There are a few posts on here about this product over the years. Its a pretty popular product and a lot of people swear by it.

I think good stuff and definitely helps with those big sessions. 

New flavours are Grape and Watermelon.

 

The formula is:

 

5g of Creatine Monohydrate 

1.2g of Beta Alanine 

5g of L-Glutamine

3.4g of BCAAs

1g of Calcium-HMB 

3g of Taurine 

42mg of Grapeseed Extract 

Vitamins and minerals including 154mg of Magnesium

 

 

What do you guys think of it?

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I work for Balance

 

[maccaz]

dosage on BCAA is pretty low, negligible almost unless you are taking multiple servings a day?

[eLm0]

Generally one would take this alongside a whey protein supplement, for example balance 100% whey has 4.8g of BCAAs.

 

This would give you a decent dosage.

 

Also, HMB is a metabolite of Leucine (a BCAA)

[jimmybro1]

It's it cheap?

All those ingredients are dirt cheap I never understand why they don't do larger doses.

All studies do on the individual ingredients use high doses.

-creatine 5g is typical

-beta alanine 1.2g is a bit low

Would be good if they added 5g L-citulline that sh@t tastes good by itself

[eLm0]

It's it cheap?

All those ingredients are dirt cheap I never understand why they don't do larger doses.

All studies do on the individual ingredients use high doses.

-creatine 5g is typical

-beta alanine 1.2g is a bit low

Would be good if they added 5g L-citulline that sh@t tastes good by itself

 

 

Everything has to be within the limits of a supplemented food in NZ. So all of these are at the upper end of this.

 

Citrulline is good stuff but generally one would take that pre- or intra- workout rather than post. Gives you some good pumps.

[maccaz]

Everything has to be within the limits of a supplemented food in NZ. So all of these are at the upper end of this.

 

Citrulline is good stuff but generally one would take that pre- or intra- workout rather than post. Gives you some good pumps.

what are these limits? are they written hard limits of specific ingredients per product? i doubt it>?

[eLm0]

what are these limits? are they written hard limits of specific ingredients per product? i doubt it>?

 

https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2011C00549

 

http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/nzfood-supplementedfood-standard-2013.pdf

 

 

Its a bit more complicated than this but feel free to check out those links

[maccaz]

https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2011C00549

 

http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/nzfood-supplementedfood-standard-2013.pdf

 

 

Its a bit more complicated than this but feel free to check out those links

 

can you just make them with a larger  amount per serving then on the packet have a disclaimer that 1/4 serving per day is recommended?

[eLm0]

can you just make them with a larger  amount per serving then on the packet have a disclaimer that 1/4 serving per day is recommended?

 

 

Doing this would make you lose 'claims' such as "supports fast recovery", such claims need to be substantiated by evidence i.e. certain doses of specific ingredients. Not to mention that would be a little misleading

 

Supps in NZ/Aus is a very tightly regulted industry (unlike some other parts of the world... no names). 

[maccaz]

ok fair enough, people are smart enough to look at ingredients and make their own decision, so i  guess the main thing is that the price reflected that 1 "serving" is not really 1 useful serving, and if people wanted to take 3x servings at once to compensate for that, the price shouldnt be prohibitive (pretty easy to price check those ingredients)

 

of course there should be a decent mark up as you take the trouble to mix it up, but not inordinately so eg 500% or something

[eLm0]

Yup I mean the main thing about supplements is convenience/practicality.

In theory everyone could purchase some cows and make their own whey in their garage...

 

This is a blend of a large number of ingredients, glucose for glycogen replenishment accompanied by the other active ingredients in a good tasting formula is pretty much as convenient as you can get. Especially after a killer workout where you don't want to even lift your arms above the kitchen counter

[maccaz]

Yup I mean the main thing about supplements is convenience/practicality.

In theory everyone could purchase some cows and make their own whey in their garage...

 

This is a blend of a large number of ingredients, glucose for glycogen replenishment accompanied by the other active ingredients in a good tasting formula is pretty much as convenient as you can get. Especially after a killer workout where you don't want to even lift your arms above the kitchen counter

 

 

yes, convenience and practicality, but not at the expense of being a complete sucker and getting bent over.

 

is the cost of this product more than 5x the sum cost of the ingredients? 

 

apart from that, i reckon it looks like an all good product but definitely not necessary and probably not even noticeable whether you take it or not.

[Pseudonym]

Is Calcium-HMB the same as the HMB that was the hot supplement about 10 years ago? I thought that was agreed to be largely ineffective, once the hype had died down. Or is this a different form?

[jimmybro1]

Is Calcium-HMB the same as the HMB that was the hot supplement about 10 years ago? I thought that was agreed to be largely ineffective, once the hype had died down. Or is this a different form?

Yup same thing. I'm guessing the calcium just influences the properties of the powder.

[gazza]

 I frequently used this a number of years ago and found it great. Always had a double serve of whey, then guzzled a serving of recovery stack after that. definitely think it helped. 

[Pseudonym]

I've got another question... What does beta-alanine actually do (other than make you tingle), and why is it good post-workout? I've only ever seen it in pre-workouts before.

[eLm0]

yes, convenience and practicality, but not at the expense of being a complete sucker and getting bent over.

 

is the cost of this product more than 5x the sum cost of the ingredients? 

 

apart from that, i reckon it looks like an all good product but definitely not necessary and probably not even noticeable whether you take it or not.

 

I can assure that is is not 5x the cost of making the stuff. This isn't an overly expensive product. To say that all the ingredients are cheap is incorrect. Things like HMB and instantised BCAAs are by no means cheap materials.

There's nothing stopping somebody from buying BCAAs, a carb source, vitamins, minerals, taurine, beta alanine, creatine, HMB, and a high quality antioxidant like grapeseed extract. - Then weighing these out in the right quantites. Then flavouring it without modifying the nutritional content. Or alternatively buying everything in capsules and taking a couple handfuls.

 

This is more about a convenient and effective recovery product

 

 

 

Is Calcium-HMB the same as the HMB that was the hot supplement about 10 years ago? I thought that was agreed to be largely ineffective, once the hype had died down. Or is this a different form?

 

All your questions answered here: http://examine.com/supplements/hmb/

 

 

I've got another question... What does beta-alanine actually do (other than make you tingle), and why is it good post-workout? I've only ever seen it in pre-workouts before.

 

http://examine.com/supplements/Beta-Alanine/

[jimmybro1]

http://www.eatmesupplements.co.nz/our-range/amino-acids/bcaa-500g.html

[GyzzBrah]

What do BCAA's do? Like I am aware of what they do, after being separated from whole proteins after digestion. Why is it different when having them on their own? Fast digestion is obviously one good thing, but what makes BCAA's beneficial that I cant get from whole protein, since I should probs be getting 30g BCAA from food alone.

 

Love the new crunchie flavour and shaker btw from balance!

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

if you try supplementing with leucine 6-10g a day you'll notice a difference in recovery after a couple months. i don't do it anymore, too much hassles so i keep my 'stack' simple. the idea of a 'ultimate recovery stack' is good for people with the money to spare i suppose, it's certainly easier than all the things you gotta get yourself. pity though it can be difficult to put decent servings in based on nz rules.

[maccaz]

if you try supplementing with leucine 6-10g a day you'll notice a difference in recovery after a couple months. i don't do it anymore, too much hassles so i keep my 'stack' simple. the idea of a 'ultimate recovery stack' is good for people with the money to spare i suppose, it's certainly easier than all the things you gotta get yourself. pity though it can be difficult to put decent servings in based on nz rules.

There is a supplement out that is good for recovery and relatively cheap, much cheaper than otc supplements i reckon called testosterone and it does everything this product promises and a lot more

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

lol maccaz i hope you are staying stafe still bro

[Pseudonym]

There is a supplement out that is good for recovery and relatively cheap, much cheaper than otc supplements i reckon called testosterone and it does everything this product promises and a lot more

You know that's hardly a fair comparison! You could say the same thing about any supplement, including protein. Or even diet as a whole - don't bother eating more, just take testosterone.

 

The point is, they're two totally different categories of products. One is designed to improve your health, and will appeal to people who want a legal, OTC supplement. The other is known to adversely affect your health, and the people who use it probably aren't interested in OTC supplements anyway. The two markets are almost mutually exclusive.

 

 

All your questions answered here: http://examine.com/supplements/hmb/

http://examine.com/supplements/Beta-Alanine/

That's an excellent site, and I hadn't seen it before. Thanks!

 

What's the rationale for including L-glutamine? I've used it, but Examine.com doesn't seem to think very much of it at all...

 

We've definitely given you a grilling on this one, eLm0 - but I'm sure you expected that! It's an interesting topic though, so thanks for discussing it with us. :nod:

[maccaz]

Sorry guys was kidding lol. Just saying. Convenience isnt everything.

[eLm0]

What do BCAA's do? Like I am aware of what they do, after being separated from whole proteins after digestion. Why is it different when having them on their own? Fast digestion is obviously one good thing, but what makes BCAA's beneficial that I cant get from whole protein, since I should probs be getting 30g BCAA from food alone.

 

Love the new crunchie flavour and shaker btw from balance!

 

Good question. Here is a good article on BCAAs from Poliquin:

 

http://www.poliquingroup.com/articlesmultimedia/articles/article/1088/ten_benefits_of_bcaas.aspx

 

 

 

 

That's an excellent site, and I hadn't seen it before. Thanks!

 

What's the rationale for including L-glutamine? I've used it, but Examine.com doesn't seem to think very much of it at all...

 

 

Yes, awesome site, probably my favourite.

This is from examine.com: "Glutamine is a very effective intestinal and immune system health compound, as these cells use glutamine as the preferred fuel source rather than glucose."

Recovery isn't always about building muscle, things like immune and gut health are often overlooked and can have a significant influence on training