A while ago I started the quest to find the best muscle recovery and energy supplement in the market. This was not meant as a broad scientific experiment, after all it’s my body! I trusted the recommendation from several closed friends on this subject and wrote about it in a previous post. My goal was to improve my overall strength and endurance during sports conditioning training. After a lot of reading, I came to understand (and agreed) that the best way to improve strength and endurance was to accelerate the body recovery after workouts. This is, focus on natural antioxidants and amino chain supplements only. While this is still heavily debated, I feel that this approach is the most effective and natural, instead of going down a performance enhancing supplement route.
The basis for my experiment was to use each product for a period of 2-3 weeks and pay attention to my body reaction and results. I tried to followed the recommended usage on each case. The sample set included three different formulations:
- Endurox
- MaxGXL
- Cocktail of L-Glutamine, BCAA and One-a-Day vitamin
Observations
I took MaxGXL during my 3-month P90X workout. I noticed improved recovery, more energy and mental alertness. Take one 3-pill packet to take once a day. If you know me, I’m pretty hyper and always active just with water. However, I did notice that my energy level increased during the day. I was also able to increase the intensity of my workouts and pump a few more reps consistently.
Then, I took Endurox during my VBall pre-season training. Endurox R4 comes in powder form. You mix with water and take as an after workout recovery drink. Good taste, somewhat heavy but not chalky. I did notice much quicker recovery time and felt less sore the next morning. Again, this help me felt more eager to want my next workout. Not sure that my intensity during workout changed much though. During volleyball tournament, where you play the whole day, I took Endurox midday and felt that it digested very quickly and it pushed me for a strong 2nd wind.
Lately, I’ve been trying a cocktail of 3-5 grams of L-Glutamine with 1gram of BCAA. I like the Optimum brand. Good reputation and support through positive feedback and a wide array of products and sizes. I take BCAA and Glutamine (3-4 pills alltogether, once a day). Again, I notice good recovery and feel less sore after workouts. During workout, I feel comfortable increasing the intensity in early reps and feel more durable over time.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Since my training and activity level changed during my test over several months, I’m unable to isolate the results and declare a clear winner.
All formulations yielded positive results. I suggest any option to anyone thinking seriously about increasing their strength and endurance.
Endurox was great not only for after-workout recovery but also as a food suplement during long-day tournaments.
MaxGXL seems to have more of an edge on sustained energy during the day.
For 7 months, I haven’t had any cold, serious headache or muscle aches. I feel these do enhanced immune function by increasing the body glutathione levels. All good!
In terms of cost per day, Endurox is the most expensive followed by MaxGXL and the cheapest being the BCAA/Glutamine/Vitamin cocktail.
BCAA contributes to protein absorbption which has an edge on lean muscle development if used in combination with Whey protein.
I notice no negative side effects.
Final Thoughts
Although my tests are not conclusive, I really like the Endurox as a recovery drink after heavy workouts and all-day tournaments. I will likely continue to combine the Endurox with either MaxGXL or my cotcktail. I feel my cocktail could be more effective as I can tune the amount of Glutamine and BCAA whereas the MaxGXL is a fixed amount. I like the MaxGXL since I felt more alert and a bit more energy during the day. Although there are many other environment factors and I’m unable to stock to this claim for good. Bottom line, pick one or the other here. it works!
Please feel free to share your thoughts here.
