The FIT: Herbalife 24

by Sandy Dover / @San_Dova

In the NBA world, athletes are subject to physical rigors that most laypeople cannot comprehend. For the elite basketball player, his/her body is his/her literal temple and principal livelihood, and while the roughly 400 players in the NBA put their bodies and minds to the test daily and yearly, those outside of that realm (in the so-called real world) also have become just as conscious about their fitness and health. The FIT is a series that will concentrate on the Fuel, Information and Training (F.I.T.) that it takes for both NBAers and laypersons to be at their very best in the world, as well as focusing on the literal Food, Intelligence and Technology that also comes into play in our physical fine-tuning—because after all, without having the vital fuel, guidelines and tech advancements to feed our bodies, help us better absorb and process what’s necessary, and make the labor efficient and effective, we don’t have much to advance our collective health and performance. The FIT is here to bring to light what can make us all the uniquely tuned creatures who we presently are and can continue or aspire to be.

Herbalife24 is the first comprehensive performance nutrition line empowering athletes 24-hours a day. We have redefined industry standards to help you train, recover and perform like never before – with all the nutritional support you need as an athlete. This seven-product line is customizable so you can determine your day-to-day needs based on activity levels and training demands.

Herbalife24 is based on the latest proven science and every product batch we produce is third-party tested for substances banned by sport. It assures the athlete that what is listed on the label is exactly what is in the product. All products serve a specific nutritional purpose and contain all-natural colors, flavors and sweeteners.

Herbalife24. Nutrition for the 24-Hour Athlete.™

This is how Herbalife 24 describes its innovative product line. Made for athletes from all backgrounds (especially athletes like basketball players) and all walks of the life, Herbalife 24 is literally made to meet the needs of those who train every day and at any time of the day to boost the nutrition necessary to be healthy. The system is made to focus around five key times of a typical person’s day and training: Morning, Before Workout, During Workout, After Workout, and Night. To meet those time needs, Herbalife 24 is complete with seven supplemental products: Formula 1 Sport, Hydrate, Prepare, Prolong, Rebuild Endurance, Rebuild Strength, and Restore, all of which are protein-infused products to benefit the physical needs of activity and recovery. Because of the customizable nature of the Herbalife 24 program, I engineered the products according to my heavy weight training and aerobic activity and it largely revolved around four key supplements (Formula 1 Sport, Prolong, Rebuild Strength, and Rebuild Endurance).

Formula 1 Sport is engineered for the morning, or for any time of the day as a meal replacement beverage, and for me, it was sufficient. Often I used F1S in the morning and it was augmented with other ingredients, as was appropriate for its Creamy Vanilla flavor (which is truly vanilla-tasting and very palatable); the augmentations in and of themselves were to better serve my appetite and hunger level, which came in the form of milk, water, peanut butter, flaxseed, eggs, and/or raw oats all shaken together and consume. F1S was a great stop-gap in my meal schedule and in my training.

Prolong is characterized by its Subtle Lemon flavor, which was quite different from what I expected in flavor. Though not as true in a citrus flavor (and to be fair, it is called Subtle Lemon), it’s still palatable; it has a milky kind of taste, but that’s largely because of the protein. It’s filling, and made so for the purpose of keeping athletes properly fueled in long workouts. When I used Prolong, it was during the weight training and cardio macro-workouts I partook in, and I used Prolong during the split of those bigger workouts (often an hour of weights and 30 minutes of cardio work on the treadmill or recumbent bike). Prolong, engineered to sustain performance and enhanced with antioxidant support and multiple B-vitamins, is very much replenishing and I felt sufficiently recovered, without feeling like I’d sacrificed any muscle gains from my prior workout.

Made mainly for post-resistance training recovery, the Rebuild Strength product was the best product that I used of the bunch, as it was made for immediate and sustained muscle recovery and 24g of protein per serving. One reason is that its Chocolate flavor is like consuming real cocoa, and it’s unparalleled in its flavor among other like products. It was best for my lone resistance training workouts, and a very good recovery product. Many times I consumed with milk and/or water as its base and was sufficiently pleased, and other times I added peanut butter and olive oil for a smooth Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup-like taste and was pleased either way I consumed RS.

Following that is the Rebuild Endurance product, which is geared mainly towards post-sole cardio workouts. In its Vanilla flavor, it has the same creamy and tasty qualities of the Formula 1 Sport, and is a good recovery product overall. It’s staggered anatomically to serve carbohydrate loss in the process of burning fat and promoting lean tissue, which is beneficial to keeping a healthy weight and fueling the body adequately.

In my humble opinion, having trained extensively for nine years and having used an array of different protein and performance products, Herbalife 24 as a performance system is one of the more reliable fitness and diet food programs I know. It’s not a weight-loss program, per se, like many of the contemporary food systems of present day. Because it’s fully customizable and covers your lifestyle and time in your day, it makes good nutrition a priority without much stress; Herbalife 24 is like a reliable friend and it makes planning easier for training. Herbalife 24 is multi-faceted and versatile, making each person who has the system empowered when they use the products according to their needs – it definitely made my life easier in my training in the past six months.

Sandy Dover is a published author, media consultant, and web & print magazine columnist in the world of publishing, while acting as a sports product evaluator and fitness/training advisor & journalist in the fitness industry (with the two worlds often colliding). You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline, as well as About Me, Facebook and Twitter.