Vitacost Aro-Final Review

I really enjoyed using the Vitacost Aro Black series of supplements. Here are the supplements I was sent to try.
Glutamine
Creatine
Casein
Whey
BCAA's
Pre-workout 

I'm going to start out talking about the Glutamine-Fruit Punch. This is the only supplement in this stack I was unfamiliar with prior to trying them out but it turned out to be my favorite. Normally my leg workouts have me walking like a duck and cursing every time I have to go to the bathroom or sit (you don't realize how much you use your quads and hamstrings until you have to sit down after leg day) and this definitely helped increase recovery time. I have rarely had DOMS if I take the glutamine and this supplement tasted fantastic! Like a fruit punch drink. It says 6-8 ounces of water, but I just used 2 ounces of water and chugged it, then drank more water (note, this is a common theme with me and supplements).

The creatine was a Blue Raspberry flavor and was pretty good as well. It still definitely tasted like a supplement. I didn't take this as much as I have the others because it's summer and creatine tends to make you bloat a bit, but I did notice a nice muscle pump upon taking it and weights going up easier during the two weeks I did take it.
Cons: it did upset my stomach but other creatine products I have tried did as well so nothing product specific.

The Natural Chocolate Casein is my second favorite product of the stack! Even when mixed with just water in a blender bottle, it tasted like chocolate cake. It actually blended really well and that's hard for casein! I loved taking this stuff when I had night workouts because it tasted like having a dessert, and didn't make me feel sick. No gross aftertaste, and I have an extreme sensitivity to sucralose but it is minuscule in this product, that it didn't trigger a headache. The scoop was a bit bigger than other protein powders I have taken at 37g and 140 calories with 24 g of protein.

Whey in Chocolate Peanut Butter smelled exactly like a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. And tasted mostly like one as well. Didn't have a gross aftertaste and settled really well in my stomach (something I have an issue with regarding certain supplements). It is a bigger scoop with less protein than many others however. It also contains fiber which I find is completely missing from most whey proteins on the market.

I typically take my BCAA's post workout, but sometimes I sip a third of it before, then another third-ish during, and the last after I'm done. This BCAA was lemon-lime flavored, which I pretty much always hate unless it's an actual lemon or lime. I don't even like Sprite, so I wasn't a huge fan of the flavor but the BCAA itself was great. It didn't have that chalky, gag worthy texture or taste that many BCAA's tend to have. It was even tolerable with the lemon-lime flavor!

Pre-Workout concentrate was Pink Lemonade flavor. Why are most preworkouts this flavor? I'm not sure but not a huge fan of the taste on this one but it did work well. I only used 1/2 to a 2/3 of a scoop because I tend to not need much for results. I've tried C4 Cellucor and 1.M.R. before and both of those made my hands and feet tingle. This one didn't while still giving me a bit of energy. The taste was tolerable but definitely not my favorite. I do plan on ordering the Fruit Punch Pre workout soon to see how I do with that.

I liked the packaging as well, and in each container, the scoop was on the top! Lifting problems much? Ha ha. The black and silver, with the supplement flavor in their respective colors looks really nice I think. I plan on purchasing the glutamine, creatine, and protein powders once they are finished, as well as trying a few other products from the line.

If you are gluten intolerant, all of the products listed above are gluten free! A bonus, since many of my celiac friends are finding their proteins contain gluten. :( I believe all of them are nut free as well, at least the proteins are so I would imagine the others are as well.

They are also having a sale on the Aro line right now! 20% Aro products using code AROT20!

Giveaway! Vitacost, in addition to providing me with this supplement stack (and being patient with me when I decided to try them for quite a while first) is giving one of my readers a $25 gift card to their site. US only. Sorry!

Winner was Amy! I've already contacted her and forwarded her information. Congrats!

All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this stack in any way other than receiving the products to try, and being offered a $25 Vitacost gift card for one of my readers which will be emailed to you from Vitacost at the close of the giveaway.

Vitacost Aro Black Series-initial review

When the giant box from UPS arrived a few weeks ago, I was super excited. Except for the part where I had a rolled ankle that still hadn't quite healed up. :( So I had to let the fun stuff sit there for a while. And that bummed me out. You get new stuff, you wanna play!

Thanks to this lovely lady, I got a chance to try out Vitacosts's new line of supplements! Included was Chocolate Peanut Butter Whey Protein Complex, Natural Chocolate Casein, Pink Lemonade Pre-Workout, Natural Fruit Punch Glutamine, Natural Lemon Lime BCAA's, and Natural Blue Razz Creatine Monohydrate. Loads of fun stuff! The black and silver containers look pretty awesome too and nothing is over $25 in this stack!

This week, thanks to this Vitacost stack, I am starting a new workout routine and I couldn't be more excited. I haven't really gotten a chance to lift in almost a month, so this gave me more motivation to do so. I'll update  on how each tastes and at the end of the cycle, whenever I'm done with any one product, I will post a final review of how these products worked for me overall.

Tonight I did a workout at home. Thankfully I have a barbell so I loaded it and did a small leg workout. I haven't worked out in a month so baby steps.

Barbell squats 3x10
Glute Barbell Bridge 3x10
Lunges 3x10
Sumo Squat 3x12
Rear Leg Raise 3x10
Front Leg Raise 3x10
Calf Raises 3x15
Glute Kickback 3x12
Stretching

I mixed a scoop of the BCAA's and drank half of it before my workout, and sipped the rest of it throughout. I also took half a serving of Creatine beforehand. Post workout, I mixed a scoop of the Casein into a blender bottle with water.

BCAA-tasted like Country Time lemonade. Seriously, I actually didn't mind it and compared to other BCAA's I've tried, it mixed really well and no gagging while drinking it. (Note to others, never take unflavored BCAA's, *shudders). Was bright yellow in the cup.

The Creatine was Blue Raspberry flavored and since I diluted it more than I was supposed to, it tasted like grapes to me. I liked it and it didn't really have a color.

The Casein was my favorite flavor wise. It tasted like chocolate cake mix. I used a blender bottle for mixing, and while it was still kind of chunky, it's expected for Casein since it's harder to dissolve. The texture was thicker than normal but serving size is also slightly larger than other Casein proteins I have tried.

Glutamine was a bright rose pink color! I don't know why that intrigued me. The flavor was Fruit Punch and that was EXACTLY what it tasted like. Delicious. It reminded me of candy. Glutamine is supposed to be used post-workout to aid in recovery and is an Amino Acid. From the sites I've looked at, most recommend taking it before and after your workout, and before bed. Since I took BCAA's before/during/after, my workout tonight, I am taking it before bed.

I loved them so far. I didn't feel ick after taking any of the supplements, and that was great for me. I'll be trying the Whey protein and Pre-workout later this week.