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In this post we are going to be carrying out an in-depth review of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA Powder to see what’s making it popular with athletes right across the board including bodybuilders, endurance athletes, professional sportspeople, and gym-goers to name but a few.
Gold Standard BCAA promises improved energy, power, and performance along with enhanced immunity and reduction in muscular fatigue and recovery both during and after workouts.
We’ll be going through it step-by-step, starting with its effectiveness, taste and when to use it, right through to the customer feedback it’s been getting, the price, and the best place to buy it from.
If you just want to buy some Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA Powder and don’t have the time to read the full review, we understand, and we’ve got you covered there too.,.
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If you do have a few minutes and would rather read the full review on Gold Standard BCAA Powder before making a decision that’s fine too so stick right with us and we’ll get straight into it.
Here’s Our Review Of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA Powder…
As always we’ll start with the main features:
Main features…
- Packaging may vary: Fresh pack, same number of servings
- An Optimum Nutrition muscle support and fatigue reduction easy-to-mix formula that provides a delicious and refreshing supplement drink ideal for heavy-duty workouts
- 374 mg of electrolytes and 200 mg of rhodiola in each serving
- Vitamin C gives a helping hand to your immune system while you push yourself towards optimum fitness goals
- 5 g of BCAAs in each serving provides a 2:1:1 ratio of amino acids
- A composition of vitamin C, zinc and magnesium, that is designed to reduce fatigue and tiredness so you can train for longer
- Ideal for all manner of sports and intensive workout sessions
- Source: Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012
BCAA’s support your muscles in a number of ways. They reduce muscle fatigue during strenuous exercise to help you pump out those few extra reps. Plus they also supply you with an amazing energy boost leading to improved performance.
They speed up the recovery process after training so you’re ready to hit the weights again sooner. They also greatly reduce the muscle soreness you get after training too. And they also help your muscles burn fat for energy more effectively.
BCAA’s are also an excellent source of muscle fuel which also helps prevent muscles from breaking down during intense workouts as well as kickstarting post-workout protein synthesis which leads to an increase in new muscle mass.
There is also 374 g of performance-boosting electrolytes in Gold Standard BCAA Powder:
Sodium helps to regulate hydration and supports muscle contractions, potassium helps muscle function and reduces soreness and magnesium reduces muscle soreness and is essential for proper hydration.
The vitamin C in this formula helps to support growth and repair and also keeps testosterone levels up by lowering the amount of cortisol to testosterone.
The addition of 200 mg of the adaptogenic herb Rhodiola Rosea allows you to train more efficiently and intensely. It does this by lowering stress levels placed on the body during training, increasing energy levels and boosting testosterone.
And because it’s tested for banned substances you can use it to give you an edge during competition without fear of breaking any rules.
Finally, the low calorie count makes it perfect if you’re following a calorie-restricted nutrition plan at the moment.
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Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA Train And Sustain Nutrition…
How To Take It…
Optimum Nutrition recommends taking 2 rounded scoops which they say is 9.5g and mixing with 350 ml of cold water.
We recommend measuring out your servings according to the advice given in this article as scoops are very often inaccurate and can see you using considerably more than you need to.
Effectiveness…
As you would expect with a product from Optimum Nutrition, Gold Standard BCAA Powder does what it says on the tin.
We found it took around 20-30 minutes to kick in, and when it did it was instantly noticeable.
Not only does it allow you to power through your lifts like you’re on aviation fuel, it also allows you to complete your workouts faster too. We found it shortened our workouts by around 10-15 minutes, plus most of our lifts were up too!
Recovery is also excellent with Gold Standard BCAA Powder and you can expect some noticeable fat loss too.
How It Tastes….
As with most products by Optimum Nutrition, we think this stuff tastes pretty good.
We had absolutely no problems getting it down or keeping it down, in fact we enjoyed it.
However we only tried 3 out of the 4 flavours. We gave the Cola flavour a very wide berth.
And rightly so too if some of the customer reviews are to be believed, apparently it’s rank!
However the Apple and Pear, Peach and Passion Fruit, Strawberry Kiwi and Raspberry and Pomegranate all passed the taste test for us.
How It Mixes…
We had no problems mixing it either.
Just add it to a shaker cup with your preferred amount of water, give it a quick shake, and that’s it-job done.
It dissolves completely and doesn’t leave any gritty bits or lumps and there’s no unmixed powder coating the inside of your shaker after you’ve downed it.
If you don’t have a shaker cup at the moment, don’t worry it probably mixes just as well in a glass using a fork.
If you happen to be on the lookout for a shaker, check out the PhD Mixball, it’s brilliant little shaker and they’re literally selling it for peanuts!
Best Time To Use…
According to Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA Powder can be used before, during and after training.
We would recommend using it pre-workout, however, it’s also great to use during your workouts as an additional clean energy source for improved performance, as well as post-workout to fire up the recovery and growth process.
Having said that don’t be afraid to experiment a little to see what works best for you.
Price…
Right now there’s 44% off the RRP of £34.99 meaning you can grab a 266 g tub for just £19.48.
You get 28 servings in a tub which works out at £0.69 per serving.
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Pros and Cons…
Pros…
- Tastes great
- Combats muscle fatigue during training
- Excellent energy boost
- Reduces recovery times
- Noticeable difference in gains and performance
- Mixes well
Cons…
- Costs more than most other brands
What Others Are Saying…
At the time of writing this, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA is getting some excellent customer feedback on Amazon.
Right now it has an average customer rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars from an impressive 2,111 customers. A massive 74% of them are rating it a 5-star product, with a further 16% rating it 4- star.
Here’s some of what they like about it…
The majority of users are very happy with the way it mixes and tastes.
They are also praising it for the extra energy they get from using it which allows them to train with more intensity and for longer.
A lot of users are also saying how they like the improved mental focus they get, probably from the Rhodiola, which helps them train harder and more efficiently.
And they also like that they don’t feel as tired after workouts as they did before and that they recover more quickly between sets, and don’t feel as sore the next day even after heavy workouts.
There are some users who are less impressed and who are giving it 3-stars or less as they have issues with…
The way it tastes-they don’t like it, and they also say it’s not as effective as it could be.
Some are saying that they think it’s too expensive.
Some think it contains too many sweeteners and sugars…which probably means they just think it’s too sweet, they don’t make exactly what they are saying very clear.
And a number of customers received tubs with damaged seals.
We think you’ll agree that on the whole, the vast majority of buyers are very happy with their purchase and with the service they received.
Click here to check out all the Amazon customer reviews being left for this supplement…
Conclusion…
We like it.
It mixes well, tastes good and does what it’s supposed to do.
The energy boost you get from this will help you through even the most demanding workouts and not leave you feeling shattered afterwards. In fact don’t be surprised if you feel like you could do it all over again!
Recovery is a breeze on this too and we highly recommend it if you’re looking for something safe to take your workouts to the next level.
The only thing we didn’t like is the price.
Especially when you will get pretty much the same results from Opal Fitness BCAA+ or Iron Labs BCAA which cost a lot less.
Our Final Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Where To Buy Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA Powder…
To get your Gold Standard Train And Sustain at the best price we recommend first going over to Amazon and checking through the entire product listing to make sure it’s the best bcaa supplement for you.
We find it’s also a good idea to check out the customer reviews and the customer answered questions too as they give a pretty good insight into how well a product is actually performing for real people in the real world right now.
Amazon usually has the best prices, plus they often run some pretty decent deals and discounts which can save you a bit of money too.
Then, once you’re happy you’ve found the right BCAA powder for you and you’re ready to buy, head over to eBay and see if you can get a better deal there.
It does happen quite often and so is well worth taking a couple of minutes to check.
Sellers on Amazon and eBay also deliver pretty quickly, however in our experience Amazon are most often the fastest, even when you don’t take advantage of their Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial offer, so if you’re wanting your BCAA’s in a hurry, Amazon will probably be the best place for you to get therm from.
Amazon and eBay sellers also make returning any items you are not happy with easy to do too.
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And there you have our full Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard BCAA Powder review.
We hope you found it helpful and that you are now in a better position to decide if it’s going to make a worthwhile addition to your supplement plan.
Gold Standard BCAA Train And Sustain is a fantastic choice if you’re looking for enhanced energy, strength, performance, recovery, and growth following your workouts.
It can also see you shaving quite a bit of time off time spent working out as it can dramatically reduce rest times between sets, as well as see you squeezing out extra reps too.
All that remains for us to do now is to thank you for reading this review and to wish you every success on your muscle and fitness journey.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this, we really do appreciate it and we look forward to seeing you again in the next one…
