Product Analysis: Kinetica Whey Protein

OK, sports fans, here we go - kicking off my analysis of the Kinetica product range is the company's back-bone - Kinetica Whey Protein. In last weeks blog (scroll down), I discussed what exactly whey protein is; how it is manufactured, the different types of whey and what the benefits are of each type.

Now, in hind-sight, I may have been a little over-eager in how to analyse this product's effectiveness, value and overall rating. I decided to take Kinetica's offering to the whey protein market and compare it to some of the most popular, well-known and highly effective whey protein powders available today - 13 others to be exact!

I must confess, this was largely due to my own curiosity and penchant for my existing supplement usage from Optimum Nutrition - widely considered to be the very best sports-supplement brand on the market today.

Of course, this might have proved to be unfair to the Kinetica range - although certainly boasting the credentials in the company's science, the positive support from the home Irish community and the purity and 'cleanness' of it's products ingredients - how would a product that has been targeted primarily for the 'everyday athlete' measure up to the big players from the United States? As the results you are about to witness will prove, very well - in fact, surprisingly well.

So lets meet our contestants!

1. Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey - the 'Gold Standard' in whey on the market today
2. Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex - tremendous nutrient profile, the experts choice
3. Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydro Whey - possible the fastest absorbing whey...ever
4. BSN Syntha-6 - very popular, amazing variety of flavours
5. BSN Lean Dessert - when it comes to taste, there's very few better
6. Cytosport Complete Whey - similar to ON's Gold Standard, fantastic overall performer
7. Cytosport Muscle Milk - who hasn't heard of or tried this product?
8. Gaspari Intrapro - Highly regarded company, quality is assured
9. Gaspari Myofusion - Highly regarded company, quality is assured
10. Reflex Instant Whey - Very popular UK manufacturer, provides excellent value for money
11. Dymatize ISO 100 - Big name, big player, unbelievable purity and quality
12. Maximuscle Promax Extreme - tremendous marketing and sponsorship within UK
13. MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro Series - One of the most effective, if not controversial, whey products available today

I decided on creating and rating each product under two comprehensive categories that I then further subdivided into separate criteria:

Basic Attributes

• Number of 60g servings per container (largest available)
• Largest size container (kg)
• Explosive Nutrition price (£)
• Price per kilo (£/kg)
• Price per serving (£/serving)
• Number of available flavours

Nutritional Information

• Energy (kcal)
• Protein (g / 100g)
• Carbohydrates (g / 100g)
• of which sugars (g / 100g)
• Fat (g / 100g)
• of which saturates (g / 100g)
• Cholesterol (g / 100g)
• Dietary Fibre (g / 100g)
• Sodium (g / 100g)
• BCAAs (g / 100g) - where possible
• Glutamine & Precursers - where possible

For each attribute/component, I created a bar chart that would provide a quick comparative analysis for each of the 14 products against Kinetica's Whey protein.

Because we Amish do nothing by halves, I then decided to creates a simple point system. Ultimately, this would translate the above statistics into one, easily comparable chart that would rate all the products on a score between 1-14 (14 products), ranked accordingly. The most points would be rewarded for the most desirable trait e.g. the whey with the most protein, the fewest carbs etc.

In the end, I came up with 3 distinct pie-charts:

1. Total points for Basic Attributes (scored out of a possible 84 points - 6 x 14pts)
2. Total points for Nutritional Information (scored out of a possible 126 points - 9 x 14pts. It should be noted that I awarded additional points for those products that were able to provide BCAA and Glutamine values. An additional 8 points were up for grabs - 2 x 4pts)
3. A grand overall rating, combining both categories points for each product, that would provide the ultimate product score

Before I proceed to the results, there are several things I would like to point out about my thought processes behind this analysis:

• This is a very clinical product analysis. To provide a perfect analysis, I would like to have quantitative data regarding many important factors I was unable to add to my analysis i.e. taste, mixibility
• The BCAA and Glutamine & Precursors breakdown is very important when deciding on the overall worth of a whey protein, but regrettably only 4 of the 14 products made this information available. To it's credit, Kinetica was one of the four, along with the Optimum Nutrition boys, which is no surprise.
• Certain components in the nutritional information were scored, even though that component itself may not have been required or essential i.e. dietary fibre. In this case, the product with the most fibre was scored the highest
• Some products were unable to provide numerical statistics for certain components in the nutritional information. In this instance, no points were rewarded to the product. My reasoning is that there is no reason why this product should not be able to provide all the accepted standard nutritional information, and should be penalised. This is not to say what the actual value is, or the points it would've received.
• All attributes are based on availability from the Explosive Nutrition shop i.e. price, flavours, available sizes. This is not to say that this product would have been scored identically from other stores.

Lastly, due to the limitations of the Blogger software, I have had to post the graphs on the Explosive Nutrition profile page on Facebook. I will provide hyperlinks wherever possible, and a brief review of the results with each graph.

Click Here to go the the Explosive Nutrition Produt Review Facebook page for full findings and results.

Kinetica: New Player in UK Sports-Supplement Market

Let's face it - when it comes time to choosing the best sports-supplement available, there are just too many variable to take into account. Too many compromises, too many promises that you don't know are fact or just well-scripted fiction. You may be looking for a product that best fits your budget. You may be looking for a product that possesses or lacks certain compounds. Or, you could just be looking for the best possible sports-supplement available that will meet your personal training requirements.

So what do you do? You do your homework. After all, this is your body we're talking about - you need to know that all your hardwork, dedication and pennies are being supported to achieve the most effective, efficient and satisfactory results possible.

Which brings me to the exciting task of this weeks blog: reviewing a relatively new sports-supplement brand on the market that has received very little, if any, product reviews that are available on the Internet - Kinetica.

Kinetica is an Irish-founded sports-supplement company that first rolled out its product range to the home Irish market in 2009. The company made their first impact in UK markets in January 2011. Like any reputable sports-supplement company, they boast offering athletes a wide range of products to suit their sporting needs. However, where this company becomes refreshingly different is to produce all of their products with 100% natural proteins and flavours. Each product is made up from natural ingredients, sourced and produced in Ireland. Kinetica also prides itself as being the best in the business when it comes to creating and developing new delicious flavours.

Kinetica has received tremendous positive support from the home Irish market, as it is designed to cater not just to professional athletes, but to the everyday athlete and fitness enthusiast. To develop premium quality protein-based supplements, the range has been developed by a team of sports nutrition experts, including Matt Lovell - Nutritional Advisor to the England Rugby team and the UK Athletics squad for the 2012 Olympics.

Kinetica is part of Irish dairy manufacturer the Carbery Group, producer of the famous Dubliner Cheese brand. Carbery also owns innovative flavor house, Synergy - based in High Wycombe, UK. All whey protein used in Kinetica products is sourced from Irish Dairy farms.

So what exactly is Whey protein?

Whey protein is a high quality protein powder derived from cow's milk. Milk has two proteins: Casein (approximately 80%) and Whey (approximately 20%). Whey protein is more soluable than casein and also has a higher quality rating. It is often reffered to as the 'Gold Standard' of protein, as it is the most nutritious protein available.

There are 2 types of whey protein: Concentrate and Isolate. Isolate is the most pure and concentrated form of whey protein available. It contains 90% or more protein, and very little (if any) fat and lactose. Concentrate has between 29%-89% protein depending upon the product. As the protein level in whey protein concentrate decreases, the ammount of fat and/or lactose usually decreases.

For more information on whey protein, visit the Whey Protein Institute website.

Are all whey proteins created equal?

Simply stated, no. There are many factors that can influence the quality, including:

• Number and quantity of essential amino acids
• Digestion and absorption rates
• Fat content
• Taste
• Purity

Milk only contains about 1% of whey protein. So in order to get all the benefits of whey protein, you need to take a concentrated whey protein powder.

So next week, get ready for the first of a series of reviews focused on the Kinetica range available through Explosive Nutrition. Train hard!

Product Review: Animal Pump

Let's face it - when it comes time to choosing the best sports-supplement available, there are just too many variables to take into account. Too many compromises, too many promises that you don't know are true or just well-scripted fiction. You may be looking for a product that best fits your budget. You may be looking for a product that possesses or lacks certain compounds or ingredients. Or, you could just be looking for the best possible muscle-building product available that will meet your personal training needs.

So what do you do? You do your homework. After all, this is your body we're talking about. You need to know that all your hardwork dedication and pennies are being supported to achieve the most efficient, effective and satisfactory results possible.

But this can prove to be a time-consuming venture - for every proponent you find, there will always be an opponent. But the chances are that the true quality, effect and value of any given product will be reflected in sheer weight of numbers. What that means is; unless you have tried a particular product and know what results you can expect to gain given your own unique biochemistry, you put your faith in others - as many 'others' as possible.

It takes a wise man to ask for the advice of others, and with that thought in ind I'm going to continue to select certain products that are available through the Explosve Nutrition website that have received numerous and/or widespread results. This should allow you - the consumer - to make your purchases in confidence with the most comprehensive information available.

This weeks product review: Universal Animal Pump

The first thing you should notice when reviewing the data above, is that 67 user reviews is an impressive and confidence-boosting factor when deciding to purchase this product. What's more favourable is the near 80% approval rating for this produ t, with only very low negative and undecided user feedback at 5% and 11% respectively. In the breakdown ratings of value, effectiveness and overall perceived worth of this product, Animal Pump performs splendidly, with excellent values all in the low 8 region. Animal have produced another consistent winner. Below are the pros and cons that were given by each person who reviewed this product, giving you more detailed insight as to what this product is really all about:

FINAL THOUGHTS

When it comes to pre-workout supplements, I freely admit that I have very little personal experience to draw upon - a few attempts at NO Xplode is about it. So, like any new product being considered for use, I first look to see who's responsible for it. Universal is one of the longest running and surviving sports-supplement companies in the world and they've established a well-deserved reputation for delivering some of the best tried-and-tested products available today. Animal Pump certainly fits that description. With a 30 day supply, this product is not only budget friendly, but very effective: greater pump, energy and focus are consistently reported. The cons, like many Universal products, focus on the quantity of pills needed to be ingested, together with a seemingly delayed effect from taking the product to experiencing the effects. The importance of an empty stomach is likely to make a large impact on the effectiveness of this product, so if you're going to use it, make sure you follow the guide-lines for usuage. Bottom-line: Great company, excellent product with a reassuring number of reviews. If you're looking for a pre-workout supp, look no further.

To purchase your order of Universal Animal Pump, Click Here.

Product Review: Cytosport Muscle Milk Bars

Lets face it - when it comes time to choosing the right sports-supplement available, there are just too many variables to take into account. Too many compromises, too many promises that you don't know are fact or just cleverly scripted fiction. You may be looking for a product that possesses or lacks certain ingredients or compounds. You may be looking for a product that best fits your budget. Or, you could just be looking for the best possible muscle-building product available that will meet your personal training goals.

So what do you do? You do your homework. After all, this is your body we're talking about - you need to know that all your hardwork, dedication and pennies are being spent to achieve the most effective, efficient and satisfactory results possible.

But this can prove to be a time-consuming venture - for every proponent you find there is always an opponent. But the chances are that the true quality, effect and value of any given product will be reflected in sheer weight of numbers. What that means is, unless you have tried a particular product and know what results you can expect to gain given your own unique bio-chemistry, you put your faith in others - as many 'others' as possible.

It takes a wise man to ask for the advice of others, and with that thought in mind I'm going to continue to select certain products that are available through the Explosive Nutrition website that have received numerous and/or widespread reviews. This should allow you, the consumer, to make your purchases in confidence with the most current and comprehensive information available.

This weeks product review: Cytosport Muscle Milk Bars

Surprisingly, given that I have reviewed and analysed quite a few of Cytosport's products and concluded that nearly all of them are very good/excellent products, this is by far the most heavily criticised product I have covered. Even after only 7 submitted reviews, I think its a reasonable conclusion to think that the above ratings are truly representative of this poor protein bar. For the first time, more people would not recommend this product than those that would. Across the board in value, effectiveness and perceived overall rating, this product scores very badly in the 5-6 range. Below are the pros and cons that were provided by the people who reviewed this product, giving you more in depth insight as to what this product is really all about:

FINAL THOUGHTS

Simple. Cytosport have committed a rare faltering step with Muscle Milk Bars. Given the hugely popular acceptance of Muscle Milk, I find it hard to believe this product would let the brand down so badly. With most protein bars packing on average between 30-35g of protein, only 25g seems a little lacking. These bars aren't even that healthy for you; they contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, 14g of sugar, 30g of carbs and 310mg of sodium! What I find incredibly amusing, however, is that the company product blurb for this product states: "Stimulate growth and recovery in a manner similar to a mother's milk nourishing a baby". Bottom-line: Do yourself a favour and do not buy this product - there are many better products available.

Product Review: Cytosport Monster Pump

Lets face it - when it comes times to choosing the right sports-supplement available, there are just too many variables to take into account. You may be looking for a product that fits your budget. You may be looking for a product that possesses or lacks certain ingredients or compounds. Or, you may just be looking for the best available muscle-building product that will meet your personal training goals.

So what do you do? You do your homework. After all, this is your body we're talking about - you need to know that all your hardwork, dedication and pennies are being spent to achieve the most efficient, effective and satisfactory results possible.

But this can prove to be a time-consuming venture - for every proponent you find there will always be an opponent. But the chances are that the true quality, effect and value of any given product will be reflected in sheer weight of numbers. What that means is, unless you have tried a particular product and know what results you can expect to gain given your own unique bio-chemistry, you put your faith in others - as many 'others' as possible.

It takes a wise man to ask for the advice of others, and with that thought in mind I'm going to continue to select certain sports-supplements available through the Explosive Nutrition website that have received numerous and/or widespread reviews. This should allow you, the consumer, to make your future purchases with confidence, knowing that you have the most current and comprehensive information available.

This weeks product review: Cytosport Monster Pump

As you can see from the statistical analysis above, Cytosport have delivered another solid performer, this time in the pre-workout category. 17 reviews should be enough to deliver trustworthy opinions, and an 82% positive recommendation rating is encouraging. Only 2 people who reviewed this product decided they would not recommend this product to others, with only 1 person being undecided. Across the board in effectiveness, value and perceived overall rating, this product scored an average of 8/10. Below are the pros and cons that were given by each person who reviewed this product, giving you more in depth insight as to what Monster Pump is really all about:

FINAL THOUGHTS

The first thing to notice when reviewing the above pros and cons is that the frequency of positive comments far outweigh the negative. The main purpose of this product is to deliver good pre-workout energy and pump, and it seems to deliver in those areas. I'm also encouraged that several people listed that there are no side effects - getting the jitters, anxiousness and palpitations are often associated with such products. Sleep loss and a high carbonating nature were the highest scored cons, so be sure not to take this product to late in the day if you normally work in evening or night sessions. Be aware that the lid on your shaker may pop off due to the high carbonating effect! Mixibility is also an issue, albeit a minor one, though I hear the taste more than compensates for this. For those who are particularly sensitive to the effects of caffeine, you may want to avoid this product - at 200mg, you may experience some strong heart palpitations, so be aware of over-loading on volume. Bottom-line: This is a solid pre-workout product with some encouraging feedback. Definitely worth a try from a reputable company.

To purchase Monster Pump from Explosive Nutrition, please Click Here

Product Review: Cytosport Monster Maize

Let's face it; when it comes time to choosing the right muscle-building product available, there are just too many variable to take into account - too many compromises, too many promises that you don't know are fact or just well-scripted fiction. You may be looking for a product that possesses or lacks certian compounds. You may be looking for a product that will best fit your budget. Or, you may just be looking for the best possible muscle-building product available that will meet your particular training requirements.

So what do you do? You do your homework. After all, this is your body we're talking about - you need to know that all your hardwork, dedication and pennies are being supported to achieve the most efficient, effective and satisfactory results possible.

But this can prove to be a time-consuming venture. For every proponent of a given product, there is always an opponent. But the chances are that the true quality, effect and value of any given product will be reflected in sheer weight of numbers. What that means is, unless you have tried a particular product and know what results you can expect to gain given your own unique bio-chemistry, you put your faith in others - as many 'others' as possible. It takes a wise man to ask for the advice of others, and with that thought in mind I'm going to continue to select certain products that are available through the Explosive Nutrition website that have received widespread and/or numerous reviews. This should allow you, the consumer, to make your purchases in confidence with the most comprehensive information available.

This weeks product review: Cytosport Monster Maize

The first thing you should be aware of when considering the above results, is that 6 reviews is not a great number to form conclusive opinions on. However, given the available reputable products that Cytosport has made available, I believe the above results could well be a just representation of Monster Maize. This is the first product I have reviewed that has received a 100% recommendation rating - a tremendous confidence booster. In the breakdown ratings of value, effectiveness and overall satisfaction, Monster Maize performs brilliantly - 9/10 value rating should really help those who have a limited budget to experiment on supplements, and an almost identical effectiveness rating of 8.7 is a superb compliment. Below are the pros and cons that were provided by each person who reviewed this product, giving you more detailed insight as to what this product is really all about.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In all honesty, there's very little that needs to be said concerning this product, other than it has been given a very limited, but 100% satisfaction and accompanying recommendation by those who have taken the time to review it. Nice to see 'good value' at the top of the pro list. This product looks like an excellent post and pre-workout supplement to take when engaging in intense cardiovascular or resistance training. Bottom-line: If you are looking for such a product to fill your training requirements, this comes highly recommended. Try it!

Click Here to purchase Cytosport Monster Maize

Product Review: Animal Cuts

Let's face it; when it comes time to choosing the right muscle-building product available, there are just too many variables to take into account - too many compromises, too many promises that you don't know are fact or just well-scripted fiction. You may be looking for a product that possesses or lacks certain compounds, you may be looking for a product that best fits your budget. Or, you may just be looking for the best possible muscle-building product available that will meet your particular training requirements.

So what do you do? You do your homework. After all, this is your body we're talking about - you need to know that all your hard work, dedication and pennies are being supported to achieve the most efficient, effective and satisfactory results possible.

But this can prove to be a time-consuming venture. For every proponent you find there will always be an opponent. But the chances are that the true quality, effect and value of any given product will be reflected in sheer weight of numbers. What that means is, unless you have tried a particular product and know what results you can expect to gain given your body's own unique bio-chemistry, you put your faith in others - as many 'others' as possible.

It takes a wise man to ask for the advice of others, and with that in mind, I'm going to continue to select certain products that are available through the explosive nutrition website that have received numerous, widespread results. This should allow you, the consumer, to make your purchases in confidence with the most comprehensive information available.

This week's product review: Universal Animal Cuts

After 66 reviews, which is a more than adequate number to form some substantiated opinions on, my first thought is that this is a 'good' but certainly not an 'excellent' product choice for a thermogenic. With just under a 70% approval rating, the majority of people would recommend this product. However, nearly 10% wouldn't recommend this product, and a surprisingly high number (13 people) were undecided if the effects were worth the time and money. Across the board in effectiveness, value and perceived overall rating, this product remains in the mid 70th percentile. Below are the pros and cons that were provided by each person who reviewed this product, giving you more indepth insight as to what this product is really all about:

FINAL THOUGHTS

The first obvious visual difference between the pros and cons for this product, is that there is much more focused variety of positive comments whereas the cons are quite ranging in terms of scope. 93-86 is the pro-to-con split, a pretty closely matched statistic which does not inspire confidence in itself. As with all Animal products, the number of pills is always the greatest perceived negative comment, but there is a worrying number of comments which suggest increased fatigue and a decrease in energy levels (16-41 is the pro-to-con split on energy levels being effected by taking this product). However, a loss of body-weight and increased definition are the overwhelming positive factors agreed upon by those who have taken this product. Bottom-line: This is a decent thermogenic, but by no means the best when compared to the likes of Oxy Elite Pro - the No1 perceived fat-burner. Universal is one of the longest running supplement companies with a good reputation. If you're looking to experiment with a thermogenic, give it a try, but be aware of those decreased energy levels, especially if your daily active level demands your energy to be a reliable level.