For around 6 months now I’ve been using Optimum Nutrition’s 100% Whey in my PWO and MRP shakes. I was always under the impression that ON was the highest quality protein. I enjoy the taste somewhat and it mixes well. I haven’t tried many other protein blends, but, this is easily my favorite so far. Now that I’ve been reading T-Nation for around 2 weeks, I’ve only seen Metabolic Drive supporters and have heard very little praise for other protein supplements. I plan on replacing ON with Surge for during and PWO, but, I’m not sure if it is worth it to alos purchase Metabolic Drive. I feel I can just take ON Whey and ON Casein (half and half) as a MRP. Unless, Metabolic Drive has a large advantage over that? Its almost 50% less in cost per serving, which makes a big difference to me.
The only bias I have is the price difference, other than that, I’m open to whatever you guys suggest. My questions are is Metabolic Drive really that good to be twice the price of ON? If so, I’m deffinately willing to throw down the money!
I used to use ON’s 100%, but I got away from it after hearing some things about the quality not testing very highly. Image, you might get a batch with as low as 40% of what they SAY is in there.
Anyway, that and I started using Metabolic Drive and fell in love with the taste. I now use Metabolic Drive with my oatmeal and at bedtime. I use Surge PWO. I also use an everyday whey only protein, Bioplex brand for during the day(mixes very well with water and not super sweet). But I have stopped buying ON.
If I could use just one Protein powder, I would choose Metabolic Drive.
I have tried almost every kind of protien out there including both Grow! and ON 100% whey. My experience is you get what you pay for. I’m not going to say too many bad things about ON 100% because when i was using it I felt it was an ok product.
However, I have had my best gains using Biotest sups. I’m willing to pay a little more if I can see the results. Also at $23 Grow! isn’t the most expensive thing around.
Metabolic Drive contains Micellar casein which is expensive. If whey is classed as anabolic with a good boost to plasma amino acid levels quickly then casein has a marked anti-catabolic effect with a more prolonged effect on plasma amino acid levels because it is slower in its digestion and synthesis.
Compared to regular caseinates, micellar casein has a higher level of bio-active milk peptides like glymacropeptides and casomorphins. There are too many benefits of these to list here. Just be assured, they are fuckin great.
For my money that I hoard like a scrooge, Grow! was the best I’ve gotten for my dollar. After using that with ice water, even a smoothie seems inferior to me in the taste category. It just plain kicks ass as a food supp too. You gotta try it out!!
Can’t comment on Metablic Drive, but I’ve used MANY different proteins. On, Designer, Muscle Milk, Nectar, Eas, VPX, Prolab, Grow!, and probably a few other that don’t come to mind right now. Can’t say I’ve ever noticed a difference from one to another.
HOWEVER, Surge is definitely worth it and taste great. Not sure if I’d call it a protein drink though. Eitherway it’s worth the $ and I really wish Biotest would sell it in larger containers AND sell it in Stores at the same price they sell it on the website (including s&h). Then again I’d like alot of things, like another inch on my arms.
Metabolic Drive’s not optimal for PWO but is preferable to 100% whey protein any other time of the day. Surge or a homemade version of it is optimal PWO. I’ve done both, depending on financing and what I want to spend. Be warned though, real hydrolyzed whey is very bitter, and it’s hard to get a homeade combo of hydrolozed whey, malto, and dex to taste like anything but ass no matter what you do to it.
[quote]WideGuy wrote:
HOWEVER, Surge is definitely worth it and taste great.[/quote]
I’ve been using ON 100% Whey with glucose which, while is not as optimal as Surge, is much cheaper. I just received my first shipment of Surge and Metabolic Drive today, but I’ve heard nothing but good things. I took Surge after I lifted today and I think it tastes mediocre and it was really gritty (I mixed it the same time I’d mix any other protein)
Perhaps it’s an acquired taste; I know I wasn’t too enthusiastic about ON when I first tried it either. Of course, the most important factor is the result, so I will wait for awhile before developing a full opinion. Although $25 for 10 servings is an awful lot for any result…
[quote]ipjunkie wrote:
I used to use ON’s 100%, but I got away from it after hearing some things about the quality not testing very highly. Image, you might get a batch with as low as 40% of what they SAY is in there.[/quote]
Even if it does have what it says it does, ON and almost all wheys out there are mostly whey protein concentrates (WPC). That’s crappy protein. Milk (casein and WPC)is a much better protein source than WPC.
Never consume whey only as a protein source for a meal (unless it’s post-workout. But even then I still like a combo). Whey alone doesn’t last long and can raise insulin levels. So unless you’re going to eat every 90 minutes, you won’t grow optimally and with the possibility of higher insulin levels, you will sacrifice some body composition.
Metabolic Drive is more than twice as good as ON whey. Plus since the quality is much higher, you’ll be able to consume less protein (if you want) and consume less calories in the process. This will lead to a better body composition. Lower quantity of calories with higher quality of calories equals more muscle and less fat.
[quote]WideGuy wrote:
Can’t comment on Metabolic Drive, but I’ve used MANY different proteins. On, Designer, Muscle Milk, Nectar, Eas, VPX, Prolab, Grow![/quote]
[quote]ipjunkie wrote:
I used to use ON’s 100%, but I got away from it after hearing some things about the quality not testing very highly. Image, you might get a batch with as low as 40% of what they SAY is in there.
Anyway, that and I started using Metabolic Drive and fell in love with the taste. I now use Metabolic Drive with my oatmeal and at bedtime. I use Surge PWO. I also use an everyday whey only protein, Bioplex brand for during the day(mixes very well with water and not super sweet). But I have stopped buying ON.
If I could use just one Protein powder, I would choose Metabolic Drive.[/quote]
That’s odd. I was ordering some non-Biotest supps at another store and they had a quality assay on their site that showed Optimun beating it’s label claims.
I used Optimun for a year or two. For the other proteins on the markets it’s awesome; it’s cheap and primarily isolate over concentrate. It also mixes OK. It was one of the first proteins I tried that was palpable.
But it still tastes like protein.
Metabolic Drive tastes like an actual shake; atleast the chocolate, vanilla (little weaker than the rest) and banana (pretty creamy) do.
And for everyone that is talking shit about whey I think you’re getting too far ahead of yourselves and I reccomend that you re-read a certain article Berardi wrote before about the different types of protein. If anyone, maybe a really really cool Mod wants to link it, that would be awesome. I’d have to research it.
But it seems to be a common theme on this site that way Biotest says go; and they make some hella good products. So with that acknowledged what’s the first ingredient in Metabolic Drive.
HINT: It’s not micellar casseine…
Also mixing protein is a good idea for those of us that are cost-prohibited. When I do the V-diet during normal activity levels I use a 50/50 blend of Chocolate Metabolic Drive and a cheaper whey protein for 4 of the shakes and just the Metabolic Drive for my last shake. The Metabolic Drive makes the cheapo stuff taste good at least…
[quote]WideGuy wrote:
Can’t comment on Metablic Drive, but I’ve used MANY different proteins. On, Designer, Muscle Milk, Nectar, Eas, VPX, Prolab, Grow!, and probably a few other that don’t come to mind right now. Can’t say I’ve ever noticed a difference from one to another.
HOWEVER, Surge is definitely worth it and taste great. Not sure if I’d call it a protein drink though. Eitherway it’s worth the $ and I really wish Biotest would sell it in larger containers AND sell it in Stores at the same price they sell it on the website (including s&h). Then again I’d like alot of things, like another inch on my arms. [/quote]
I agree, I’ve used a lot of the different varieties of protein over the years, including ON, and honestly I’ve never noticed a diffence in results from one to the other. I do, however, use Metabolic Drive exclusively as my protein supplement, mostly because of its taste.
A few years back, I used to work for one of ON’s largest customers. I was able to tour their HUGE facility near Aurora Illinois. This is where they make and blend their powders, and a new bar production line. I will say that their facility is impressive; however, they mix their powders by hand.
First, workers dump sacks of bulk protein powder and other ingredients into a “cement-truck” like mixer. I saw different lots of ingredients getting mixed together, hence why some batches taste fine, and others taste like crap. It is mixed for about 10 minutes or so, and then the mixture is dumped into a hopper. This hopper then fills the 2 and 5 lb jugs. I noticed a lot of variation in the product when it was being dispensed-uneven mixtures. I hope that the problem has been solved.
Next issue, is the quality of the whey they use. ON uses a lot of whey isolate and concentrate from New Zealand. The problem with the whey concentrate, is that it is 38% whey concentrate BY VOLUME. So, only 38% of the 80-100lb sack of raw material is actually protein, the rest is filler. BUT, the FDA will still allow it to be 80-100 lbs of protein. Shugart hinted about this practice in his article.
So, if you mix two scoops of 100% Whey, it should be about 40 grams of protein, yet you will trully get about 18-20 grams of protein. Yes, this is legal, yet shady.
This is also why some companies can pimp out the protein dirt cheap. This is why I will only use Metabolic Drive series of proteins. I have used Grow! since 2000, and it has consistently tasted the same, and the quality of the product is outstanding. -Starkdog
I haven’t tried to cut since I started lifting 10 years ago.
That in mind, you can be pretty sure I never tried low carb anything. The Grow! I got was just plain Grow! bro. Now I think I’ll watch a show. Brush my teeth then bang my ho. Wake up in the morning and head off to make some doe. I just hope it doesn’t snow. You know? Sorry for the post I’m a lil slow.