One of the biggest things for us for Muscle Pharm’s Arnold Schwarzenegger Series was not the combination of the iconic bodybuilder and the athlete’s company. Nor was it the variety of formulas the brand were going to use for the name driven line. But something we discovered a month or so after the Arnold range launched, with news that our beloved nighttime recovery complex Bullet Proof, was being replaced by the concentrated sleep aid Iron Dream. Initially we did doubt the all in green overnight supplement, as you do when your favorite player gets cut from the team. Although Muscle Pharm did say it was a new and improved version, so we gave the product the benefit of the doubt, invested in a full size tub, and put it to the test.
The most noticeable thing with Iron Dream is as you would expect, the considerably smaller scoop size. Something that is written clearly on the face of the supplement with the words “concentrated nighttime recovery”. With that being said it still does not prepare you for the major different in scoop size Iron has compared to Bullet. Aside from the obvious change in Muscle Pharm’s nighttime formula, the brand have a done great job at continuing over the unique taste of Bullet Proof’s grape fusion, to Iron Dream’s grape. While we can not speak for the comparison of orange raspberry versus fruit punch. The grape variants taste almost identical. Their strength of flavor will of course depend on how much water you like to have with your pre-bed product, but the strange sour aftertaste is still there. Giving you that overly sweet sensation that for those on a tough diet, will work as an end of day treat.
Moving on to the actual performance of the Schwarzenegger Series Iron Dream, we will cut straight to the point and say that it falls short of Bullet. It is however worth saying that it only falls short by the smallest of margins. The three awesome effects that were ever so present in the original sleep aid were it’s knockout ability, recovery power, and exclusive AM alertness. Starting from the top, Dream has no problem putting you to bed. Simply take the supplement the usual 15 minutes before you hit the hay, or even 15 minutes before you want to go to sleep, and the Arnold product will do the rest. The second area which is repair ability, is where Iron Dream really begins to fall short of the Hybrid Series supplement. You will find muscle soreness and overall recovery a lot better on the Muscle Pharm formula, than you would if you weren’t taking anything at all. Although it is not to extent that made Bullet Proof so overwhelmingly impressive.
The last department where Dream needed to follow on from Bullet was with it’s morning alertness effect. This is something that is definitely a spin off property due to the other two abilities being present. But still a power we have only ever experienced with the original overnight complex. The best way to describe it is basically once your eyes open in the morning, they will not close. The combination of deep sleep and nighttime recovery gives you enough shut eye to clear away that hard to get up feeling, and enough muscle repair to see you flip out of bed, and welcome the day with open arms. While all that does sound great, we unfortunately did not see the signature effect in Iron Dream. It has a pinch of that, when you’re awake you’re awake feeling. Although it is not powerful enough to pull your eyelids completely back, or stop you from hitting the snooze button on the worst of mornings.
All in all Muscle Pharm’s Schwarzenegger Series Iron Dream does work, and well enough to be one of our favorite recovery formulas. It was always going to be a challenge to replace that original nighttime recovery complex, let alone make it better. In which we have to give it up for the brand as they attempted to do so with a smaller scoop, and as a bonus did mange to deliver a finished product with 10 more servings than Bullet Proof. Despite it’s losses compared to it’s Hybrid Series predecessor, Dream is Muscle Pharm’s soon to be only overnight supplement, and like most champions. The brand had room to drop a few points from their legendary formula, and still be considered one of the best. Hence why the athlete’s company has re-entered our top five recovery products list, in a position we feel is only points behind the number one spot.
