TRYING ON MAGNUM FOR SIZE - A sample look at Opus!

While the world of sports supplementation is as much diverse as the general grocery market it get cluttered with tons of products full of synthetic products that are made to be just as effective but less expensive.  Artificial sugars, flavors, colors and man-made extracts that some people would consider unnatural by any means when it comes to food or supplementation. 

Enter the world of Magnum Nutraceuticals (heh get it?  natural!) where the goal is to seemingly provide you with the best in sports supplementation as but naturally without adding additional stimulants or synthetic products.  Recently I decided to snag a sample packed of their "natural" pre-workout booster Opus.  Having thought that this kind of product was more of a gag as being "natural" I threw it in my smart shake and casually headed to the gym.  I must say that as far as a blue raspberry flavor is concerned, it was one of the most delicious and savory tastes I have ever had.  Almost like cotton candy it was mild with no punch and no grit as it all two servings dissolved easily within 10 ounces but I was beginning to think I could be wrong about the casual aspect of it all. 

About ten minutes later I had started warming up my shoulders and minor pectorals for a relentless chest workout when the Opus came into effect.  Like Mike O'hearn's vicious huskies were ready to attack me I felt chills and tingles through my body, a rush of heat pushing through my veins and a hot sweat which I could feel make its way through each and every pore in my body.  I was beginning to think this was something more than an ordinary workout.....

He's really a super nice guy.

Energy came fierce and in incredible quantities that it almost scared me although I never felt out of control.  Jitters were non-existent (a typical side effect of excessive caffeine) and I felt more primed for a workout having been sick and dieting down than I would have at the peak of my last bulking phase. It's been a long time since I've had the barbaric urge to relentlessly pound my way through any workout without no remorse or concern for my own body that it was almost as if Mr. O'hearn was right in my face screaming at me to push out more reps with fiery chains and his dogs barking, snarling and ready to attack if I didn't make the most of each rep.  

Muscular strength and endurance also seemed as relentless allowing me to push and truck on, nothing seemed to be quite enough to satisfy this workout.  The pump was insane and my chest still feeling quite inflated through and still after a mile run, sauna and shower.  All things considered I was quite surprised that something with no creatine or caffeine could deliver such a punch but I wasn't sickly or upset by it's effects.

The bottom line is this.... Well.... it's hard to put into words.  We're so used to the staples of pre-workouts being caffeine, ginseng or even taurine that this was a complete surprise.  Would I consider dropping some money on this anabolic powerhouse at roughly $.80 a servings?  Yes

Just.... Yes...

-Pq

Product Review: Universal Storm

Everyone who sets foot in a gym is dying for the biggest and best "pump" they can get.  Along side this comes the immensely flooded marked of "Pre-Workout" boosters and N.O. enhancers (nitric oxide).  What does that mean?  Mix some sweet powder in your fluorescent colored shaker bottle and drink a magical concoction of typical ingredients to get your mind energized (via caffeine) and your muscles primed for blood flow and performance (arginine, beta-alanine etc.)  The problem with these is that you sometimes want something basic and effective to help you get the job done when tossing around the iron.

While toying around with a few thermogenics and working days (only being able to hit the gym at night) my muscles wouldn't be primed enough for lifting after a long day and didn't want to supplement additional caffeine late in the evening as it would disrupt my sleeping (or make me jittery as all hell).  I thought to myself "There has to be a better way!"   Not too much later it was found...

This is Storm by Universal Nutrition.  More so labeled as a "Creatine Cell Volumizing Supplement" this magical blend of essential manhood can be used as a pre-workout and a post workout supplement as well (a post? yeah I know right?!). 

-          So what’s it got?

o   4 different kinds of creatine

§  Creatine Monohydrate

§  Dicreatine Malate

§  Tricreatine Matrix (consisting of Creatine Gluconate, Creatine AKG, and Creatine Orotate)

§  Magnesium Creatine Chelate

o   INOXsulin-7 (wtf?)

§  A blend of supplements that help speed up the absorption and helps keeps insulin maintained during and after a workout for proper nutrient absorption (your “window of opportunity”).

·         L-Taurine

·         Betanine Ahydrous

·         Citrulline Malate

·         Arginine AKG – Nitric oxide enhancer

·         Beta-Alanine – inhibitor of lactic acid

·         Aplha Lipolic Acid

·         4-Hydroxyisoleucine (20%)

Ok cool, a bunch of scientific mumbojumbo and a bro flexing on the container; who cares right?  How is the experience?

The flavor I had was grape and was about as awesome as any grape Kool-Aid will get.  The mixability leaves a minimal amount of grit but considering this is a creatine based product some can be expected.  Keeping the formula simple allows for a modestly small serving size as well and the 9.4g scoop doesn't require a ton of water to take in and goes right to work.

Where the Beta-Alanine "tingle" side effect is not as present as some other pre-workouts (i.e. Cullucor's C4 or Muscle Pharm's Assault), it makes up for in an unbelievable swelling and engorging of your trained body parts.  Most notably, for myself, was the incredible swell in my legs for leg day.  I was impressed at how much swelling my legs would contain considering it is a rather large muscle group to work and yet the muscular stamina induced was top notch.

"Well I see you get a great pump... but it's not as awesome as Assault of Jack3d!" is what a lot of kids might be saying but here's where it gets good.
-No Caffeine in exorbitant doses (which is a nitric oxide inhibitor anyway!) but can be supplemented additionally and in your desired amount if need be.
-80 servings per container (More than that big ol' jug of whey you have!)
-An unbeatable price!  This can usually be purchased for around $30 or less making this less than $.40 a serving!

Why is this not a more popular pre-workout?  Could it be that it doesn't feature a bunch of gritty and maniacal pictures of Frank McGrath in a dungeon of a gym?  It could be.

Cheer up Frank!  I love this stuff and will recommend it to any beginner who may be sensitive to caffeine, a more advanced level lifter looking for a pure nitric oxide enhancer, or a fellow bro who can't afford the sky rocketing prices of other name brands. 

So go ahead and pick up Storm and make Frank McGrath smile a little (he's so sad looking.)

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/univ/storm.html

-Pq