A Beginner’s Guide to Optimum Nutrition

Whether you’re just starting on your fitness journey, have been working at it for quite some time, or even consider yourself a gym veteran, you don’t have to be an elite supplement enthusiast to know who Optimum Nutrition is...and there’s a good reason for it. Yep, we’re talking about the leading American brand who has been manufacturing premium supplements for over 30 years and has taken home the gold medal for both supplement and protein of the year for 10 years and counting. Keen to find out everything you need to know about Optimum Nutrition’s top 3 products? Let’s get started! 

If you’ve heard of Optimum Nutrition, you’ve no doubt heard of Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein. These two names generally go hand in hand. Why? Well, Optimum Nutrition’s long-standing reputation is mostly credited to the release of their premium protein, Gold Standard 100% Whey aka the world’s best selling whey protein.

What is it?

To keep it simple: Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey is a fast-digesting protein best consumed post-workout to enhance muscle recovery and growth. 

Whey protein delivers amino acids to the body, which are the building blocks for muscle growth and repair. As whey is a complete protein source, it contains all nine essential amino required for protein synthesis. Whether you’re a bodybuilder, athlete, sporting professional or simply a fitness enthusiast, Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein caters to the high protein demands and goals of all fitness levels. 

Let’s take a closer look…

• 24g of whey protein - Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein’s protein content consists of primarily microfiltered Whey Protein Isolate, which is one of the purest forms of whey. Additionally, the protein blend also contains ion exchange Whey Protein Isolate, ultrafiltered Whey Protein Concentrate, and hydrolysed ‘Hydrowhey’ peptides. What does this mean for you? A high-quality protein source that is delivered to your working muscles rapidly, allowing your muscles to utilise the nutrients for recovery and growth. Likewise, you can enjoy a quality serving of ultra pure whey protein, without any other hidden nasties that might set you off course - including fillers and additives.
• 5.5g of BCAAs - Branched Chain Amino Acids, more commonly known as BCAAs, are a group of three essential amino acids: Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. BCAAs are referred to as ‘essential’ because your body cannot produce them on its own, unlike non-essential amino acids. As such, it’s important to source it from your diet. So, what do BCAAs do? BCAAs are most commonly taken to boost muscle growth and enhance performance and energy. Of the three, Leucine is suggested to play the most prominent role in enhancing your body’s ability to build muscle proteins, while isoleucine and valine play an important role in energy production. 
• 4g of Glutamine & Glutamic Acid - Put simply, glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body and is a building block of protein and a crucial part of the immune system. Glutamine aids immune function as it acts as a critical fuel source for immune cells, including white blood cells and certain intestinal cells. Additionally, it also helps to maintain muscle mass. Here’s why: If the body’s need for glutamine is greater than its ability to produce it, your body is more likely to break down your protein stores (including muscle) to release more glutamine. As such, supplementing with glutamine allows your body to maintain an adequate glutamine supply to reduce muscle breakdown.   

If you’re looking for a little extra assistance to help you train longer and harder, Optimum Nutrition Essential Amino Energy is your go-to!

What is it?

Turns out that whey protein isn’t the only product Optimum Nutrition can excel in. Optimum Amino Energy is one of the most versatile amino acid products on the market, capable of being integrated into your daily routine as a morning pick-me-up (for those who struggle to get out of bed in the morning), a pre-workout (for those who need a little boost in the gym), intra-workout (for those who want to feed their muscles as they train), or to sip on throughout the day to enhance your BCAAs intake. 

Optimum Nutrition Essential Amino Energy contains a powerful amino blend and energy blend to deliver essential amino acids to your body to facilitate muscle recovery, while simultaneously helping to enhance energy and focus to help you power through an intense workout. 

Let’s take a closer look…

• 5g of Amino Acids - The Amino Acid Blend found in Essential Amino Energy combines all of the essential amino acids (Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, and Valine) required for cellular health, optimal recovery and performance. However, essential amino acids cannot be produced by the body, which means they must be sourced from food or supplementation. The formula also contains amino acids, Taurine, Citrulline and Beta-Alanine, which have been added to help maximise muscle recovery, improve blood flow, enhance nutrient uptake and reduce fatigue. 

• 100mg of Caffeine - Essential Amino Energy contains naturally occurring caffeine sourced from green tea and green coffee, which supplies a natural and steady release of caffeine to enhance energy levels, performance output, and cognitive function. 

• L-Arginine and Citrulline - These two ingredients play an important role in boosting nitric oxide and subsequently vasodilation, whereby it relaxes the inner muscles of blood vessels, allowing them to widen and increase circulation. As a result, more blood, nutrients, and oxygen can reach your spent muscles to assist with recovery and growth.

• Customisable - Whether you’re looking for a gentle morning pick me up or an intense pre-workout, Essential Amino Energy is designed to be easily customised to suit your needs. Simply adjust the serving size to adjust the energy - Choose between a standard two scoop serve containing 5g of amino acids and 100mg of caffeine or double down with four scoops and receive a generous serving of 10g of amino acids and 200mg of caffeine. 

Focus, energy and endurance in one? You’ve got it! 

Just as you’d expect, Optimum Nutrition has lived up to the iconic “Gold Standard” name with the launch of their Gold Standard Pre-Workout. Containing quality ingredients dosed specifically to enhance athletic performance, Gold Standard Pre-Workout is a must-have for anyone serious about reaching their goals.

Pre-workouts are designed to provide you with a clean and sustainable hit of energy to boost your workout output, allowing you to train harder and for longer. So, who is it for? Essentially anyone who needs a push getting out the front door or a little extra help taking their performance to the next level. 

Let’s take a closer look...

• Banned substance tested

• Energy and focus complex - A combination of N-Acetyl-L-Carnitine HCL, N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, Caffeine and Citrus Bioflavonoids delivers intense alertness, energy and sharp focus, all from natural sources.

• 1.5 grams of Beta-Alanine and 1.5g of L-Citrulline - Beta-Alanine and L-Citrulline have been added to the formula to help improve performance. So, what do they do? CarnoSyn, which is a patented and scientifically proven form of Beta-Alanine, assists with enhancing your physical working capacity and endurance, while simultaneously helping to delay fatigue. Beta-Alanine is a naturally occurring amino acid that is essential for muscle carnosine synthesis. Carnosine helps to delay the onset of muscle fatigue, which means your muscles are in a better state to train harder and for longer before tiredness kicks in. Likewise, L-Citrulline Malate is a key ingredient in many pre-workout formulas as it helps to reduce fatigue during high-intensity training and increase nitric oxide production, which in turn, helps to increase blood flow, which subsequently enhances the amount of nutrients reaching spent muscles to enhance muscle growth and recovery. 

• 3 grams of Creapure® Creatine Monohydrate and 25mg of AstraGin - Creapure and AstraGin have been added to the Muscle Matrix. Creapure Creatine Monohydrate is a German engineered product highly regarded as the purest form of Creatine Monohydrate available. Creatine Monohydrate is suggested to enhance explosive energy, as it’s linked to improvements in the availability of ATP, which is responsible for our ability to generate explosive movements. Additionally, AstraGin is a patented product renowned for its ability to enhance the absorption of key nutrients. When paired with Creapure, it allows your muscles to take full advantage of key nutrients at a much quicker rate.