XTEND BCAA
Pros
- Value
- Profile
Cons
- Mixability
Use coupon code INFORMANT to save 5%!
Overview of XTEND BCAA
The brand that started it all, Scivation (now more predominately known as XTEND) is still around and still on top of the hill. They provide 7g BCAA (2:1:1) in seemingly everything they do for a solid value.
XTEND BCAA is the OG in this category. They give us 7g 2:1:1 BCAA along with the addition of 1g Citrulline Malate, 2.5g Glutamine and an electrolyte blend over 1g. This is more than just a BCAA but a recovery powder that you still have a hard time finding one that beats it on value.
Why You Should Trust Our Reviews
- EXPERT REVIEW PANEL
Our review panel is made up of individuals with many years of experience in the sports nutrition industry, dating back to the early 2000’s. Their tenure gives them knowledge on brands, supplements, ingredients, dosages and more. - FULL CONTAINER REVIEWS
Unlike the majority of “review” sites on the internet, Fitness Informant reviews every supplement on a full-container basis. What does this mean? It means that a review is not written or recorded until the last serving of that product has been finished. We’ve all had products that were great for the first couple of days, but then lost their effectiveness shortly after. We want to ensure you are getting a full review based on a full product. - INGREDIENT EDUCATION
We breakdown each ingredient in our reviews to educate you on exactly what the ingredients do, and what is the proper dosage of each ingredient to effectively do what they are intended to do. - 100% HONEST – NO B.S. REVIEWS
Our number #1 priority is to inform you proper supplement selection through honest reviews. The majority of “review” sites on the internet will push you to buy a certain product based on the commissions they received. Not us. We want you to purchase the highest quality supplements at the best value. We put your health and wellness first. To achieve your goals we want you to use only the best supplements that you can afford. We do this by being honest.
Thrive Leads Shortcode could not be rendered, please check it in Thrive Leads Section!
Testing Results and Ratings
We reviewed XTEND BCAA on five categories. We first start by looking at it’s ingredient profile. This portion of the review looks at the different ingredients used in this amino acid supplement, what their intention is and how effectively dosed are each ingredient.
We then look at effectiveness. An effective amino acid product will use high quality, proven ingredients, at clinically backed dosages. This is generally an extension of the profile section. The higher quality ingredients used at proper dosages, the more effective that amino product will be.
Then we move into the taste of the different flavors we’ve tried. We grade each flavor separately and average the scores for their overall taste rating. We were able to test out the following flavors: Italian Blood Orange.
Mixability refers to how well the powder mixes in 12-16 oz of water. We use the shaker bottle test. This would be your typical Blender Bottle with the spiral chrome ball.
Finally, we talk about value. Value is the combination of profile, effectiveness, taste and mixability in relation to cost. Another part of value are the competitors and other versions of BCAA/EAA products on the market.
Ingredients Profile
BCAAs are at the center of a debate if they truly work or not. The answer is they work just fine in aiding in MPS. They just need to be used with other EAAs in your system. What I mean by this is if you workout and you’ve had something to eat within the last 2-3 hours, BCAAs are fine. If you are fasted, then you should look into EAAs.
XTEND starts with 7g of 2:1:1 BCAA ratio. This is the most proven ratio of BCAAs, one that XTEND made fameous. This is a solid dosage of BCAA per serving. They are not InstAminos or Vegan, but molecular they are still BCAAs.
We also get 2.5g Glutamine. Recent research shows that it is better for digestion than recovery, but has helped with burn victims recovery faster. The accepted dose of Glutamine for recovery has always been around that 5g mark.
Citrulline Malate is used at 1g (1:1) which means we are getting 500mg Citrulline and 500mg Malic Acid. I am not overly excited about this as it is such a small amount, but it can help improve blood flow to get the amino acids to the muscles they need to repair quicker.
Lastly, we get 1.1g of an Electrolyte Blend. This helps quench thirst and can improve overall performance.
Overall, this is a solid, proven BCAA product. The only thing to knock would be that they are not Vegan Aminos so they could come from places unknown, but as we mentioned earlier, molecular they are the same.
Effectiveness
Effectiveness of an amino acid product comes down to the profile. Are you getting an adequate amount of BCAAs at a proper ratio. The answer here is yes. You want to look at muscle soreness as another area of effectiveness. If you’re just beginning your fitness journey, you are going to be sore. This is just going to happen because you’re shocking your muscles. However, BCAAs should help alleviate some of that soreness by reducing the build-up of lactic acid.
In XTEND’s case, you can also look at hydration. This has an electrolyte blend that a lot of BCAAs lack. This helps quench thirst and keep you hydrated while lifting (this is an intra-workout after all).
Overall, this is going to be a very effective BCAA product due to the 7g 2:1:1 BCAA and the added Glutamine and Electrolyte blend.
Taste
Italian Blood Orange:
I was SO excited to try this. I love orange anything. This isn’t your typical orange. This is blood orange so it has a slightly different taste. I liked it, but after a bit it got old to me. With that said, you can get these in a 30-serving so you don’t have to commit to 90-servings of one flavor (with that said, 90-servings of any one flavor can get old). It is enjoyable, refreshing and tastes like you’d expect.
Mixability
This is a larger serving size for an intra-workout. Aminos are also not soluble in water. With that said, there is quite a lot of residue and build-up of powder on the bottom of the shaker. You are constantly shaking this to get it shook up. For me this isn’t a major issue as I am always shaking my shaker, but as you can see from the video, it could be a lot better.
Value
At the end of the day, you will be hard pressed to find a better value than XTEND. The 30-serving version retails for under $25 which is less than $1 per serving for 7g of 2:1:1 BCAA + Glutamine + Citrulline Malate + Electrolte Blend. Because XTEND is so popular they are able to mass produce saving on cost of goods passing this savings onto the consumer.
See the best BCAA products here.
Available at these Fitness Informant Approved Retailers
30-SERVINGS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
FITNESS INFORMANT'S EXCLUSIVE DEALS | |||
 | $23.99 | ||
Save 5% with coupon code INFORMANT | |||
PRICE COMPARISON: | |||
| |||
 | |||
30-SERVINGS |
|---|
FITNESS INFORMANT'S EXCLUSIVE DEALS |
|
PRICE COMPARISON: |
$23.99 $27.99 |
XTEND BCAA
Pros
- Value
- Profile
Cons
- Mixability
