With a lot of amino and BCAA based supplements, most of the time it comes down to two things. You either get a unique mix of extras, which puts some products almost in the post-workout category. Or a simple set of ingredients that you may probably be able to mix together yourself, it just comes down to the cost of it all. There are of course some that fall in between those two areas, with Optimum Nutrition’s Pro BCAA being one of them. The 2014 release is a very straightforward mix of BCAAs and glutamine, although it also lists a PhytoBlend with an above average dose of vitamin C. Usually our reviews are all about the experience, but for today seeing as Pro BCAA is one of the more simple amino mixes we have come across. We are not going to argue it’s effectiveness, especially since it’s basically each their own for BCAAs. We are going to look at Optimum’s Pro Series supplement and detail it’s value.
First off Pro BCAA can’t really be compared to other big brand amino formulas. The main reason being that it’s title feature, is it’s main and almost only ingredient. Products like Muscletech’s Amino Build, Muscle Pharm’s Amino1 and BSN’s AminoX, simply can’t be roped into the same level of play. They combine their BCAA hits with more than one additional feature, which is why compared to one of the transparent supplements of the group. Pro BCAA works out to be roughly 35% cheaper per gram of BCAAs, with it’s 20 serving versus Amino1’s regular 32 serving.
The real argument for Optimum’s BCAA and glutamine mix is value. Looking at the label of the product, all but the PhytoBlend’s grape seed extract and red wine grape extract could be put together fairly easily. With some supplements in the market there is no calculation needed, and you can quickly figure out you’ll be saving money with individual formulas. In the case of Optimum’s product, per tub you’re actually getting a total of 160g of BCAAs and 100g of glutamine. If you were to pull together that little cocktail yourself, and for this example let’s say you stay in house with Optimum. You could purchase the brand’s 150g Glutamine Powder and 300g BCAA 5000 Powder. Which when worked out for the same amount of contents, you’re surprisingly only going to save a buck or two.
While calculated out like that Pro BCAA doesn’t sound like that bad of a supplement, you can look at Optimum’s Pro Series product from both angles. It’s justifiable when going month to month, however it can also be viewed as a rather large rip off if you compare individuals from Dymatize and Universal, or as mentioned invest a bit more in single ingredient formulas. Either way the reason we are not flat out shutting the supplement down, is because it does actually look like Optimum have put in a fair amount of effort to give Pro BCAA a solid price point. They didn’t just throw in BCAAs and glutamine, and give the product a flashy name. The brand flavored (fruit punch experience) the supplement extremely well, packed it with the basics you can count on. Set their own serving size not following any other product, and gave it a price right on what you would pay if you spent around $25 on Optimum individuals.
Pro BCAA is definitely one of the more difficult supplements we’ve got in to review. We knew the formula was very straightforward, almost forcing us to leave it out altogether. Even after using the product and almost clearing out a whole tub, it’s no surprise that you get what’s on the label. The only reason we felt it was necessary to post our review today was because Optimum didn’t just follow the trend on this one. They built an amino supplement with a purpose and a difference. As detailed above, you can look at Pro BCAA from two angles, good or bad. But the fact that it has a good side and may be the perfect solution for someone, we feel makes it a supplement well worth acknowledging.
