Granite Supplements Recovery Review: Recovery and Growth Supplement

Ingredients Profile

(9.3/10)

Granite Supplements, and specifically the man behind the brand, John Meadows, know what it takes to improve your overall health and wellness, especially those of us in the bodybuilding world. Recovery by Granite Supplements uses several ingredient selections that promote muscle recovery and endurance, making this a solid choice for an intra and even post-workout.

We start with 15g of Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin as ClusterDextrin. This is a solid carb source that does not cause insulin spikes or stomach issues (for the majority of people). It is our favorite carb source available today. At 15g you are getting a solid dosage to restore glycogen stores to help with energy levels and muscle pumps. We also get another source of a carbohydrate in 5g of Palatinose (Isomaltulose) which is glucose and fructose. 

We get a total of 7g amino acids in Recovery. We get 6g from a 2:1:1 BCAA ratio as InstAminos (3g Leucine, 1.5g Valine and 1.5g Isoleucine). BCAAs are best taken when you have a full pool of EAAs in your system. The best time to consume BCAAs is within a three hour window from your last protein rich meal. In addition to the 6g BCAA, we are getting 1g of the other six EAAs. 

Granite Supplements Recovery also uses 1.5g L-Glycine. Glycine, when dosed at 3-5g, is a solid addition to a sleep aid to improve sleep quality. At 1.5g it is a solid dosage for muscle recovery and anti-inflammatory properties. If you were to dose at 3g you may get a sedative effect which is exactly what you don’t want during your workouts. 

Glutamine is used at 675mg. We won’t spend a lot of time on this as it’s not enough to really do anything. Glutamine was once thought to be a solid ingredient for muscle recovery, but has since emerged as an ingredient promoting gut health. We would like to see 5g of Glutamine, if anything.

We find NALT, a cognitive enhancing ingredient, in Granite Supplements Recovery product dosed at 575mg. This will help improve focus and mental clarity during your workout.

The last key ingredient is Sensoril Ashwagandha at 125mg. This is the clinical dosage of Sensoril which has been shown, in clinical studies, to reduce stress, improve strength and aid in joint health, among other benefits. Seeing this used at the correct dosage is great since it is a more expensive ingredient and it has a multitude of benefits.

Overall we really like this profile. We could use more EAAs in relation to the BCAA (maybe up it to 2g) to be more in-line with other full spectrum amino products, but the addition of high quality carbs and other key ingredients will make this a solid intra/post workout supplement.

Effectiveness

Granite Supplements Recovery is an effective muscle recovery product. When consumed intra-workout you’re getting the 15g carbs to help restore glycogen stores. This gives you more energy and better pumps, something a lot of recovery/amino products don’t use. The 15g carbs come from Cluster Dextrin which is one of our favorite carb sources so your body can utilize them quickly and efficiently.

On top of the carbs to restore glycogen, we are getting 7g amino acids. Out of the 7g, 6g are from 2:1:1 BCAA and 1g from EAA. This will help aid in muscle protein synthesis and mTOR activation to start the recovery process. You should experience less muscle soreness with Recovery due to the aminos and the removal of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). In addition to the aminos, we are getting Glycine too which will aid in muscle recovery.

Overall, you do experience more gas in the tank, if you will, while you workout with the addition of 15g HBCD. Muscle recovery is faster, especially for those trained athletes. If you are new to the sport, you may still experience soreness in the muscles as your body is getting used to the stimulus you are putting on it.

Taste

Blue Crush: (8.3/10)

One would think that Blue Crush would be blue raspberry, but it isn’t. It actually is pretty hard to explain. It is a sweet flavor, a little more sweet than usual (but that has to do with the Cluster Dextrin). We really wish we could explain exactly what this tastes like, but we can tell you it is good and drinkable. 

Mixability

Each serving of Recovery is 33.4g. This is a big scoop size (15g comes from carbs). The instructions say to mix it with 12-16oz if water. We did exactly this for our mixability test (as seen on the video). Overall, the powder mixes very well. We do have some foaming going on with the mixture (inside the cup too after we pour it out). The best news is there is no clumping of the powder or many particles floating around in the liquid. We are happy with the mixability of Granite Supplements Recovery.

We used the official shaker cup of Fitness Informant, the Ice Shaker Cup.

Value

Granite Supplements Recovery is a solid recovery product containing 15g of high quality carbs (HBCD) 7g of Amino Acids (6g BCAA and 1g EAA) plus other ingredients to aid in muscle recovery like Sensoril Ashwagandha. These branded ingredients do cost more, so it is important to note that. The price tag is $60 for 20-servings. This is $3 per serving. This is a bit on the higher side. You can buy a quality carb source for $30 for 30-servings, and a quality EAA/BCAA for $30 for the same price. Now, we get there are additive ingredients like Sensoril and Glycine, making this convenient, but the $60 price tag is still a bit high for a recovery product, especially at 20-servings. We’re not saying it isn’t worth $60, but this would be a better buy on a deal somewhere.