The new fuel for muscle.
by Sandy Dover / @SandSeven
In the NBA world, athletes in that particular universe 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 that we presently are and can continue or aspire to be.
One of the most important things about training is the subject of hydration. It’s something that either hinders or enhances performance, and therefore, addressing the matter of hydration in exercising is tantamount to anything else. As we all may know, Gatorade has been the life blood of sports drinks, largely because it was able to pioneer the idea of adding salt to flavored water to improve the training regimens of athletes worldwide (I still wish that they would use glass bottles, though…the plastic bottles make the Gatorade taste “less than”); later, Powerade would become its main competitor, and a host of other manufacturers have produced similar products, but unsurprisingly enough, CytoSport decided to make its own version with a great twist.
In the beginning, there was just hydrogen and oxygen. Later, electrolytes and sugar joined the mix, then even a dash of vitamins. Now comes Muscle Milk Protein H2O. … Naturally flavored, delicious and completely sugar-free. Doing what water was always intended to do—rehydrate, replenish, and refresh.
With those words, CytoSport introduced Muscle Milk Protein H2O to me on its sports bottle, and I was very satisfied.
The unique qualities of the Protein H2O drink are that it contains 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, which is really fantastic, and it only nets 1 carbohydrate, which also is a wonderful, wonderful thing. The protein in the drink gives it a distinct advantage over many other carb-loaded sports beverages in that the protein content aids in burning fat and promoting muscle-building, so if you’re drinking it during exercise, it’s really only helping you in your own goals, and it basically acts as a boost to your metabolism. Particularly, the whey protein isolate will stay in your system longer to help satisfy your body’s needs as you put to work. And here’s what I really, really like: unlike most other drinks on the market (with the distinct exception of vitaminwater), there are no artificial dyes to color the Protein H2O, and instead, uses fruit and vegetable extract for color.
First off, the Protein H2O hydrates very, very well. In the testings that I conducted, I varied the use of the drink in my weight training session and in my running sessions, and it stood up with great endurance and took to my body’s needs. In my weight training, I felt very good and was sated by the drink in my typically rigorous training. When I used the Protein H2O in my running, I used it in two different ways to test its hydrating ability. In one cardio session, I used the drink with some food already in me, just before I was to go on a run—it held up well; in another, I used the beverage right when I woke up from a night’s sleep, with no food in me, as I started a 35-minute walk/run session soon after—in this way, I was still satisfied and it seemed to meet my body’s needs without me feeling depleted of energy. I was convinced that the Protein H2O was a winner on all fronts.
I tested the Protein H2O in its three flavors that I found available to me, in orange, grape, and raspberry. To touch on the flavor, the drink is very good and satisfying according to my taste buds, though I gravitated toward the grape and raspberry flavors; in the orange flavor, though it was acceptable, the whey protein isolate was more evident to me than in any of the other flavors, and it was somewhat off-putting because of the aftertaste, but not so much that I didn’t drink all of the rest that I had available to me in the bottle; others may feel differently.
Right now, the Protein H2O isn’t prevalently found in as many places as its competitors, but if you can find it, give a sincere try, and I trust that you will be very, very pleased by its ability to aid in your own exercise regimen.
For more information, go to cytosport.com or musclemilk.com.
Sandy Dover is a published novelist/writer, artist, and fitness enthusiast, currently working toward getting board certification as a fitness trainer. You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline, as well as at Facebook and Twitter.
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