Recently I got the chance to try Cellucor’s new product Alpha Amino. It was sent to me weeks ago before it became available for purchase but do to traveling much of the last month for the holidays I just got a chance to try it this week. My goal here is to not only provide a honest review but also break the product down in a way that may help you make better quality decisions when buying supplements in the future. I get asked to review far more supplements then you actually ever see me review. However, Cellucor is a great company so I have no problem providing this review for them. Lets see what Alpha Amino is all about.
The Formula
The First thing that jumps out to me on the Supplement Facts is the “Alpha-BCAA Matrix” which is 5000mg (5g) of BCAAs comprised of 3 different forms of leucine. The inclusion of 3 different forms of leucine is unique, something I have not seen in other products.
The 3 forms are:
*L-Leucine (the standard)
* Leucine Nitrate
* Leucine Peptides
The addition of the leucine nitrate is intriguing. Its leucine with the addition of a nitrate molecule bonded to it. Nitrates have been shown to be effective in inducing muscle pumps through the process of vasodilation by assisting the release of Nitric Oxide. I really like the addition of the leucine nitrate, and feel its one of the highlights of the product. In my opinion nitrates are going to become a lot more common in the supplement game in 2014!
The second thing that sticks out to me is the “Alpha Hydration Formula”. This is another unique feature for Alpha Amino. By including electrolytes, you are basically getting a sugar free sports drink. Raw coconut water and Chia Seed Extract is included in this blend. However, its fair to say that most people will not see much of a difference with the inclusion of electrolytes. It is a nice “luxury” feature to include I suppose.
Lastly, I want to touch on the other proprietary blend included in the product, “Alpha Amino Complex”. First I would like to point out like everyone else I am not a fan of proprietary blends. I understand that companies use it to help protect their formula but you can do that with just ONE proprietary blend, the whole product doesn’t need to be one.
The “Alpha Amino Complex” consists of 10 different micronized amino acids. The micronization helps keep this product able to mix easy, which is a huge plus. This proprietary blend of amino acids is 2500mg (2.5g) with the first amino listed being glutamine. Glutamine in my opinion is useless in a sports supplement as it has little to no research showing any benefit other then immune or gut health support. Because there is ten different amino acids in this blend it is impossible to know how much of each you are getting. If all the amino acids in the Alpha Amino Complex were equal (probably not the case though) there would be .25g of each in one scoop, so not very much.
Flavors / How it Mixed
Alpha Amino is coming in four flavors – Blue Raspberry, Fruit Punch, Lemon Lime, and Watermelon. One thing I have found with Cellucor products is their flavoring is always on point. The samples I received were lemon lime and watermelon. Between the two I tried the watermelon was by far my favorite.
This might have mixed and dissolved better then any other BCAA formula I have tried. It mixed very easy and did not have the typical texture of a BCAA product.
Bottom Line – Would I Recommend it?
Overall Alpha Amino is a good product, I like and recommend BCAA formulas. However, I really like Cellucor’s Cor- Performance BCAA product and in my opinion its still my choice over Alpha Amino. At first glance you are probably wondering how that could be the case. Cor BCAAs is such a simple formula with only six compounds compared to Alpha Amino’s 20+ ingredients. Maybe its just that I like simplicity. I guess my point is don’t be fooled by an abundance of ingredients within a product, more is not always better.
Although the products definitely have their differences, I prefer a more Beta-Alanine / Citrulline Malate driven intra workout product. Typically most pre workout products do not contain studied dosed CM in the first place so having an intra workout formula with it included is a huge benefit. I do really like the addition of leucine nitrate in the Alpha Aminos but nothing else about the product would really make me want to go out and buy it.
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