I signed up to test the Beachbody Performance products thinking that it would be fun to try something new. I didn't really know much about them at all. The products arrived while I was vacationing in FL and my elderly neighbor took care of the box until I got home. My husband went to retrieve it and when I saw the enormous box I was like, "WHAT DID THEY SEND ME?!"
I was thinking I would get a can of protein powder. Um, no. I got the entire Advanced Performance stack! AWESOME!
The Advanced Performance stack consists of four products:
Energize
Hydrate
Recover
Recharge
Prior to getting the opportunity to test this system, my typical hydration plan for running consisted of maybe drinking some electrolyte drink after my workout. On a long run, maybe bringing some electrolyte drink with me in a handheld water bottle. Key word in these statements: MAYBE. In other words, I didn't really ever have a "plan". For someone who always wants to be hydrating more, this was dumb. Step 1. Make a plan!
The nice thing about this bundle was that my plan was made for me. The directions provided very clear direction as to how much and when I should be ingesting these. Let's start with the first product: Energize.
From the website:
Directions: If you are <160 pounds (me), the directions are to mix a scoop of this powder with 8 oz of water, shake and drink within 30 minutes prior to exercise.
My experience: I loved this product. I would make it the night before a morning run and keep it on my bathroom counter and drink it as soon as I woke up. The tart flavor definitely helps wake me up on early mornings. A fellow BibRave Pro compared the flavor to Lemondheads candy and I concur. I have been drinking this before all of my runs for the past 3.5 weeks and I love it. I think it definitely primes my body to get going. It is now a big signal to my mind and body as soon as that lemon pucker hits my tongue - time to get going! Additionally, it hasn't upset my stomach or caused any cramping. The one thing that surprised me about this product is the color. It is NEON yellow. I mean it almost looks radioactive!
Next product: Hydrate
From the website:
My experience: I also liked this product. The taste is very faint, not too sweet, and easy to consume while on the run. (I put it in this Nathan hand-held water bottle.) I used this for any run that was over 5 miles because I am trying to train my body with hydration after 30 minutes of running. This plan is going well for me. I feel like this was mentally helping me get over hurdles and physically I have felt good and not at all crampy while using this product "on the run". To date, this is the only nutrition/hydration I have used on any runs in this current marathon training cycle.
Next product: Recover
From the website:
Directions: Mix one scoop powder with 8 oz of water and consume within 30 minutes after exercise
My experience: I had the orange flavor of this product. (Chocolate is the other alternative.) I liked this product. The flavor was not too intense and I did not experience a lot of clumping that often occurs with protein powders. I started out having 8 oz of this after every run. My stash quickly dwindled and I switched over to having this after my 3 substantial runs (speed, tempo, long) per week. I also have a RX Bar after these runs with this shake.
I have noticed some of the other BibRave Pros use this to make smoothies. This is an idea I have yet to try - mostly because I don't want to turn the blender on at 6 AM and wake up my family!
Final product: Recharge
From the website:
Directions: Mix one scoop powder with 8 oz of water and consume within one hour of going to sleep
My experience: In terms of taste, this was my least favorite product. The flavor isn't awful, just kind of "eh". A very faint vanilla milk flavor. I noticed again other BibRave Pros using this for smoothies which is something I should try. Like Recover, I was using this every night that I ran - so 6 nights a week - until my supply dwindled and then I switched to using it only on nights of my 3 substantial runs (speed, tempo, long). Again I thought this product mixed well and I did not have a lot of clumping issues.
Entire System
The Beachbody Performance line is NSF Certified. The NSF Certification process is meant to ensure that there are no banned substances in sports performance products. I consider myself very aligned with the Clean Sport mission so I appreciated this. You can read more about NSF here.
Some of the products are also the "official" sports nutrition products for the Ironman North America series.
I have enjoyed these products and felt that they have definitely given my marathon training a boost. My body has been recovering and adapting to the increasing stress I have put on it, which is something I was concerned about when attempting to use a Hanson's Marathon plan for the first time. I do like that with this system, I have been hydrating more and hydrating at optimal times. I think the biggest pro of this system for me was that I didn't have to figure anything out. Here. Buy this bundle, here is your plan, follow it. Easy peasy.
If you are interested in checking out the Beachbody Performance Line, click here. The 4 product bundle is $199.99 with $23.95 shipping and handling. You can also buy each product separately. They have a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.
Disclaimer: I received the four-piece Beachbody Advanced Performance Stack to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! All opinions are my own and the links within this post do not provide any incentive to me personally, nor does your purchase of the product benefit me personally.
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