BulkSupplements.com BCAA 2:1:1 Powder - Branched Chain Amino Acids, BCAAs Amino Acids Powder - Unflavored & Gluten Free, 1g per Serving, 500g (1.1 lbs) (Pack of 1)

I think it's best if I give a quick rundown of my past BCAA experience before grading this. I have been using this for a couple of weeks after switching from Aminocore BCAA, which is made by ALLMAX Nutrition. There is an ingredient in that product called Alpha K.I.C., which is supposed to help with fatigue, but I didn't personally notice any difference from the other BCAA brand I've taken in the past (Optimum BCAA, Cellucor BCAA, USP Labs Modern BCAA, and Scivation Xtend). In fact, I almost felt queasy when I took it, so I wanted to make a change. Now on to the actual review: First, I have seen some reviews complain about the taste. Yes, BCAAs in their natural form do not taste very good. The fact that these have that taste is a good thing, because the taste is pure BCAAs, and not a bunch of fillers and artificial ingredients. As someone who lives their life with a Paleo/Primal mindset, I don't want all of the artificial ingredients that come with flavored BCAA products. Now, you can easily mask this taste by adding it to juice, but I usually just mix with water and drink it down. QUICK TIP: BCAA powder will mix better in warm water than if you use cold water. I usually drink it with room temperature water so that I'm not left with a foamy mess on top. As far as performance goes, I would rate this as good as the other BCAA product I've taken; probably better than the Aminocore. There are no miracles in a bottle. This is a supplement, and should be treated as just that. With that said, I do work out fasted, and this does help me get through my workouts without hitting a wall. I'm sure the black coffee before hand helps, but the BCAA will help give your body some form of fuel, and they really help prevent crashing, dizziness, and stomach aches. In terms of value, I think this is where it hits the mark. Do you see a fancy plastic tub with superstar athletes on it? Is there a flashy metallic label anywhere? Have you read about this brand in a muscle magazine, or seen their products advertised on the internet? No to all of those questions, right? Good. That means you aren't paying for the marketing, and you're paying for the product. BulkSupplements relies on their product to sell without all of the fluff and marketing. Looking at the reviews, I think they do a very good job of it. I take 10 grams of BCAA's either before I train or when I wake up on non-training days. If my math is correct, I'm getting 50 servings for $30. Most other BCAA's will cost you $25 - $30 for 30 servings, so there is definite value here. Next, I want to hit on the fact that this product is manufactured in China. If you don't want to purchase this product because of that reason, I respect that, but please keep in mind that over two-thirds of the BCAAs consumed in the U.S. come from China. If you question the larger supplement companies on where they manufacture their BCAAs, don't expect an open and honest response like one reviewer received. Now if you are able to find a U.S. supplier, be prepared to pay a premium price. Even then you most likely won't be supplied with reports showing where they derive the BCAAs from. I have conducted research in this area, and the difference between China and U.S. manufactured BCAAs is marginal. As I mentioned, this a supplement. The majority of your BCCA consumption should come from high quality grass-fed meats, eggs, and quality protein sources. For a weight-loss or training aid, you can't go wrong with this product. Finally, I like what this company is doing. They're offering people supplements at a fair price, and are backing it with honest customer service. The product description isn't telling you that you'll "get ripped", "lose massive amounts of fat", or providing any other ridiculous claims. It only states information that I've seen backed up by a lot of research, and I like that honesty in a supplement world filled with false claims that over promise results.

I’ve been working out for a while now, but I finally decided to get serious and was curious to know if supplements could augment my fitness program. After looking at some of the bigger supplements typically used, I decided that a good “pre-workout mix” would be a valuable addition to my lifestyle. However, there were two problems to this solution. First, I found that most pre-workout’s were just out of my budget. I mean, it is outrageous what some of the more name brand companies charge. There is no way I am willing to spend twenty to thirty dollars a month on just a pre-workout mix alone, along with the other supplements that are necessary for a weightlifter. See, this feeds into the second issue I found, which is that even when using the top rated pre-workout mix on the market, you find that they fail to provide the necessary “quantities” of individual supplements. For example, most pre-workouts will put Creatine in their mix as a selling point, but they will skimp on the dosage. It is generally accepted that you need to dose around 5g per day to maintain proper Creatine levels. Very few, if any, pre-workout mixes will contain the proper dosage of key ingredients. And this is only one example; there are several other supplements (e.g., BCAA’s, Taurine, or Vasodilators) that are only added in minimal levels. So, if you use a pre-workout, you will STILL have to purchase additional supplements on top of the monthly mix you buy. This is where Bulk Supplements comes in. After analyzing the costs, I decided it would be cheaper to just buy my own supplements and make my own pre-workout mix. Since Bulk Supplements offers such a variety of vitamins, minerals, and supplements, and offers them in many different quantities (I love that you can purchase some in the 1kg package), I was able to order most everything I wanted for my mix from them on Amazon. And the best part is that, not only do I control what I put in my body, and the dosage of the supplement, I also only pay about .80 cents a day, total for all of my daily supplements! But I’ll digress from the info-mercial. I ordered BCAA’s from Bulk Supplements because, like many people, I’m trying to slim down as I strengthen my body. As such, I workout first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, since I’m lifting hard several times a week, I don’t want my body cannibalizing itself, so I made sure to add in these BCAA’s to my supplement mix. That way, I can cultivate an environment where I can burn fat, while still allowing my muscles to thrive, rebuild themselves, and come back stronger than ever each workout. I am no scientist, but I seldom get weak while working out now, and I have noticed I manage to hold onto my gains now better. Plus, although BCAA’s are expensive everywhere, Bulk Supplements prices are decent. And as always, Bulk Supplements ships their supplements in hermetically sealed foil pouches. Just transfer into another container if you want and you’re done. The only downside is that they don’t offer a measuring scoop of some kind. But the only way they could improve their products is if they mixed and provided their own pre-workout mix!

In short: Wanted something simple, proven and I could readily mix with Gatorade, Powerade or other liquids. Goals with the product are to see testable performance gains over time, which I will. Long Story: Been weight lifting in some capacity since I was 16. I'm almost 40 and have been doing Crossfit for the last 3 years exclusively. I look like I workout but also have enough of a dad's bod not to be intimidating. You know the shape that someone says "oh they workout, but they also don't turn down taco's either." The current Male Champion at the Crossfit Games had some good advice in a recent movie about the CF Games. He said " buy products that have no hype or special blends. Simpler is better!" Been focusing on training & improving my diet over the last couple years so now is a good time to add supplements to shore up weak areas. Went with BCAA, Glutamine, Creatine Monohydrate because they have proven track record IMO and are as old as dirt in the supplement realm. Stumbled across Bulk Supplements on Amazon while doing some research. Seemed like a no-nonsense product with packaging and definitely NO HYPE marketing screaming " I'm the best so buy me." I mean it's basically white powder in a nice sealable white bag. So I ordered from them. The packages came as described. No scoops provided which is fine. Simple fine thread resealable bags (though I wish they went with the double seal method like zip lock does to help ensure freshness), though no trouble sealing bags so far. The taste mixed with just water is not very specific, not enjoyable either but very very and easily MASKABLE TASTE with any flavored liquid (simple go-to is chocolate milk). Product mixtures seem to dissolve clear with no clumps at all with little effort of stirring. Nice thing about CrossFit is that it constantly gives you measurable means & methods on your performance. I don't think these supplements will make or break me, but realistically give me a 2% gain. While that might not sound like a lot the compounding effects over months, days and years add up and that's what I am in for. I can already tell I can push myself just a little harder than I use to after about a month of using these supplements. The quantity should last me a few months and at the price point can't be beaten for quality. WIN-WIN in my book. Update: 12/4/2009. Love the products still and stand by them. I definitely can tell when I have been on them for longer than a week. Use them when trying to trim up and ready for competitions (local crossfit events) or other highly physically challenging situations. When I'm on glutamine, creatine, and BCAA (in order from most helpful to least helpful for me) I notice some bigger improvements than off when I'm off and just adjusting my diet. The biggest changes occur naturally when I clean up my diet for a while and add in supplementation. So even if "placebo is an effect" this stuff makes me feel better and allow myself to push harder during workouts. That's what I want and willing to pay for.

I am trying this brand out for BCAAs just because it's clean, no-nonsense without artificial flavors and such. BCAAs are already reasonably cheap (average around $.03/gram) and I'm a little disappointed this supplement doesn't have a price break below that, unless I ordered 55lbs of the stuff (lmao). Anyway I've been using for a few weeks and can't complain. BCAAs are one of those supplements that I wouldn't know if it is working really well or not at all so I'm going with 4 stars (I like it) because I've received high-quality products from Bulksupps in the past so I'm using that to assume this is high-quality as well. PROS No nonsense flavors or fillers, just BCAA, probably high-quality. CONS Measurements - If you're shooting for an even 2000mg leucine, 1000mg isoleucine and 1000mg valine it takes some calculations and getting used to the measurements unless you want to weigh the powder every time (since it doesn't come with a scoop, amount is based on teaspoon fractions or weight with a scale) Price - No price difference between this product and others which have a flavor profile and taste much better, quality differences unknown. Package - I've ordered about a dozen items from bulksupplements and gawd I wish they would just seal the ziplock in the factory. When the product arrives, powder will inevitably have gotten into the ziplock strip during transit and it always takes a modestly unreasonable amount of effort to get the tracks clear of powder and get it sealed. Once you get the zip lock sealed the first time it will seal easily each time after that. Summary, this is not a supplement where my reaction was "Yes! This is awesome and what a great price too! Definitely my supplier from now on" My reaction is more like "Okay, I hope and assume this is high quality, I don't mind the no flavor and assume it's better than consuming a bunch of artificial ingredients everyday, but I do miss flavor a bit and I REALLY miss a standardized scoop to get the even 2000/1000/1000 mix." If this product was significantly cheaper without having to order an obscene amount than that would tip the scales in favor of me ordering in the future, but at this time I'm not sure if I will but I'm still happy to give it a chance.

I really like this company and all their products I tried so far, and I have tried quite a few! Great quality in a non-flashy, sturdy bag that has a zip-lock. All products have very little or no smell from I could tell and more importantly, they all mixed really well with my drinks. The one that smelled kinda bad was Agmatine. Now, back to BCAA. I didn't know anything about this product but after buying some of their other products they sent me an e-mail asking me to pick a product to receive as a free sample (free shipping too) and all they asked was a review of it! How cool is that? So, after some browsing the list of their products and some online research, I decided on trying the BCAA. They sent me a 100gr bag! First week I didn't get a chance to consume it properly, then started using the suggested 1500mg but once a day. I felt slightly better after workouts but nothing significant. Then I wised up and started using 2-3 times a day, at least one 30-45 minutes before workouts and one about an hour after. Wow, even after only 2 workouts the result was impressive. On non-workout days, I still consume at least one dose but ideally and normally 2 doses. I will increase it to 3 on workout days as suggested on the package. It is, after all, what you are supposed to do, experiment on your own, but, prudently! The smarter and safer way is to start your dose on the small side. For instance, if recommended dosage is 1000mg (1gr) 3 times a day, start with 250mg or 500mg once or twice a day and observe your body's reaction for a few days and see if you notice the expected/anticipated changes or not. If not or very small, then increase the dosage and times, simple as that. I was so impressed with the product that I just ordered another 250g bag. I typically order bigger amounts so I can have a stash of the same supplements at home as well as at work (I hit the Gym right after work) which ensures that I get to take them at the suggested intervals. Along with Glutamine and AAKG, BCAA become a must for me. I have no post-workout soreness and I noticed I can last quite a bit longer in the gym just by taking the above 3. I am 43 and after a solid 60-90 minute workout, I have no problem riding my motorcycle back home. I still feel energetic and alert. Even if I get less than ideal hours of sleep, I noticed I was feeling peppier, sharper, and I am far from a morning person! Remember to consult your doctor beforehand if you have any doubts, or if you experience any issues after taking any kind of supplement. So far, no issues with any of the supplements from this vendor, very impressed with the company, their prices, their customer service and of course, their products. Highly recommended! My pre-workout stack (occasionally changing as it is an ongoing discovery): 1500mg L-Glutamine 1500mg AAKG 1500mg BCAA 500mg-750mg Beta Alanine 2000mg L-Arginine 2000mg L-Carnitine 1000mg-2000mg Creatine + occasionally: 750mg Agmatine - currently experimenting with I don't really lift heavy or push myself like I did when I was in my 20s but once in a blue moon, if I feel like pushing the old muscles a bit further, then I increase the AAKG, Beta Alanine, Creatine by 1000mg-1500mg more, and also add 1000mg L-Citrulline Malate plus 25mg-30mg of Dendrobium, which I got for testing. Post workout: 1500mg-3000mg L-Glutamine 1500mg AAKG 1500mg BCAA The only issues I encounter were: Once by accident, I took about 2000mg of Beta Alanine with the rest of the list. It was late in the afternoon and I turned into Hulk, yes I had way more power and felt good but I was a little too wired and made it very hard to fall asleep. Creatine may cause slight bloating or stomach discomfort, especially if taking with water on an empty stomach. too much of it can actually cause bowel movement in some cases but nothing sudden or extreme. I always mix Creatine with a low carb drink and eat a non-citrus fruit like a banana right before. I also take Acetyl L-Carnitine which actually does everything regular L-Carnitine does but it also hits the brain so it is awesome in the mornings, before breakfast but not so wise to take it later in the day. Anyhow, I yapped a bit too much and perhaps digress a tad too, if indeed so, please forgive me! Cheers, SMA

Yes it is good quality and it really works. I purchased 5 products from Bulk Supplements to be honest: Whey Protein Isolate, L-Glutamine, Beta Alanine, Creatine, and this BCAA. I mix them all together. Together these work as muscle fuel promoting healing, and muscle growth, while inhibiting fatigue, and tissue breakdown. I'm 44, ride a bicycle 200 miles a week total to get to and from work where I'm on my feet all day as a line cook in a high volume restaurant. I wouldn't be able to do it without this concoction. I use to be completely wiped out and sore at the end of the week and barely able to make it to the end of each shift let alone my long 10 mile bikes ride home, but these supplements work like meth and painkillers except they don't burn you out; instead you get stronger, faster, and better looking. You can really feel it when you take them unlike taking just a regular vitamin. The energizing feeling is noticeable, and it is so nice to not rely on IB Prophen anymore for sore and stiffness. I haven't taken the BCAA independent of these other supplements I mentioned but thought to write this review to indicate how I feel about the quality of the products sold by this company in general as I am an avid consumer/customer of Bulk Supplements. Originally I was suspicious because their prices are so low, but after seeing and feeling major results I doubt no more. I'm an ectomorph (tall and thin), yet in the last 6 months since I've been taking these products my lower body has gotten HUGE from all the biking. I've always been into biking but I don't recall ever having bulging muscles. It's kind of cool yet lame because now I have a huge lower body and skinny upper and no time to frequent a gym, but I'm confident if I did, I'd pack on muscle in just a few months now that I finally have the right supplements. All these supplements mix well with water, meaning they are water soluble and you don't need a blender. Just put them in water or whatever and they dissolve instantly. There is no caking, clumping, or powdered milk syndrome going on. Side note: Since I buy this in bulk, I have found a vacuum sealer to be a very great asset in preserving the life of said products...could be an idea for you too since 2 pounds may last you a while; just a thought. Oddly, and I don't know for sure if I can attribute this to these supplements or the BCAA in particular, but I've noticed my cuts (and Ive had a couple of real dozies lately) and burns seem to heal at an accelerated rate. A quality "Made in America" product with a "Made in China" price!

I usually have no issues with powdered supplements, and I don't think I have ever found anything to be genuinely bad tasting, but sadly that trend stopped when I tried this powder. I can't describe the taste because I had one sip of it and couldn't stomach a second. While I usually would want to have better information for a review I'm not doing it this time. The only other thing I noticed about the powder was that it mixed with water very poorly and ended up more of a powdery mess on top of the glass of water with little apparent solubility. Could the taste have been ok had it actually mixed the way it was theoretically supposed to? Very possibly, but I am not willing to try a second glass to check this out, sorry.

Let's start off by saying no matter what when this is about $30 for a 2.2 lb bag it's the best bang for the buck. BUT, since this is a review let's nit pick and explain why it's only a 3 star product overall. First off I've been using BCAA's for the past 3 years and normally I buy flavored Xtend. Xtend is excellent and gives you everything you need in an actual 2:1:1 ratio with random stuff tossed in like electrolytes. My only issue is the additives in Xtend like yellow5 for color (cancer causing) and so on which is why I moved away from flavored and started mixing my own. #1 product mixes well and easy to dissolve even in large quantities (only down side is it bubbles up). #2 it's cheap and pure you can mix it into anything and create your own flavors based on how you feel that day, you're not locked into any one flavor for a month. #3 reason I moved a star down is because it tastes like crap. It's very bitter and gets worse as concentration of powder to whatever solvent you're using increases. #4 it's not actually a 2:1:1 ration. If you look at the label on the back it's actually listed as a 2:0.5:1 ratio which means you'll never get an actual 2:1:1. If you want more you just have to use more.. however the ratio is off. Another star down. #5 the bag it comes with sucks... it wont close even if a little powder gets on the strips.... the powder is easily aerosolized and will float around the bag and some particles get into the air. After getting some powder out you're almost always needing to clean off the bag strips to zip it back up... I'm not too picky about this cuz I place it into an actual container which solves this issue for me... but for other people this might also drop a star for convenience. Conclusion..... I'ma keep buying it cuz bulk wise it's a good products for the price... with it's own issues and limitation which I have come to accept.