A Recovery Supplement as Strong as Your Workout

Myo-Seq – 5,000 mg

Myo-Seq is a blend of amino acids proportioned to mimic the ratio of aminos in human muscle tissue.

The logic here is that since your muscle is composed of these aminos in a specific ratio, supplying your metabolism with the same amino balance could optimize the efficiency of muscle protein synthesis.

Myo-Seq includes all 20 known amino acids:

• Glutamic acid
• Leucine
• Lysine
• Isoleucine
• Threonine
• Arginine
• Aspartic acid
• Alanine
• Valine
• Tyrosine
• Phenylalanine
• Serine
• Methionine
• Glutamine
• Glycine
• Proline
• Asparagine
• Histidine
• Tryptophan
• Cysteine

That’s right: all 20 common / standard amino acids!

Myo-Seq in context

Myo-Seq was conceived by the brains at Glaxon, an unusually innovative and creative ingredient-designing and supplement-formulating outfit.

It was conceived to take over and expand on the role currently occupied by branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplements, which are used by athletes of all kinds to prevent excessive muscle breakdown during exercise, as well as enhance the post-workout anabolic response.

It’s true that BCAAs do a pretty good job of this, and have been shown to effectively reduce fatigue and prevent catabolism during exercise.^[1-6] But there are only three amino acids that fall into the BCAA category: leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

Granted, those three are especially effective at preventing muscle breakdown and initiating muscle protein synthesis.

But still, although the BCAAs are exceptionally good, one intuitively feels that three of 20 aminos leaves something to be desired.

In an attempt to rectify this, some people began to supplement with the essential amino acids (EAAs), and as it turns out, they are more effective than BCAAs —by quite a bit.^[7,8]

Note that the category of EAAs actually includes the three BCAAs.

Nonetheless, EAAs still only account for 9 of the 20 aminos we mentioned earlier. Even after the introduction of EAAs, the sports supplement world was still waiting for someone to grapple with the whole shebang.

Enter Myo-Seq.

Myo-Seq: the whole shebang

Joey Savage and the Glaxon team, taking their cue from the more-is-better implication of the EAA’s superiority over BCAAs, asked the next most logical question: What if we used all the amino acids, instead of just three or nine?

Even though 11 of these 20 aminos are non-essential, meaning that your body can synthesize them on its own, the reality is that endogenous synthesis…of anything…tends to be less metabolically efficient than just ingesting it in its whole form. Think about it: Every joule of energy that your body spends on making its own arginine is a joule it can’t spend on crucial functions like immunity, reproduction, or higher intellectual functions.

The importance of a balanced amino intake

One reason why we like Myo-Seq so much, and why Joey had such an awesome idea with this one, is that it contains a proper ratio of glycine, serine, and proline to methionine. The first three aminos are abundant in collagenous and gelatinous cuts of meat, like organ meats, whereas methionine occurs more in muscle tissue.

Methionine and its role in homocysteine synthesis

Over time, Americans have been eating fewer and fewer organ meats, also called offal, and replacing them with muscle meats, leading to a dietary methionine to glycine ratio that’s way out of whack.

Over time, this can cause serious metabolic problems. Biochemist, Raymond Peat, Ph.D., explains:

“When only the muscle meats are eaten, the amino acid balance entering our blood stream is the same as that produced by extreme stress, when cortisol excess causes our muscles to be broken down to provide energy and material for repair. The formation of serotonin is increased by the excess tryptophan in muscle, and serotonin stimulates the formation of more cortisol, while the tryptophan itself, along with the excess muscle-derived cysteine, suppresses the thyroid function… A generous supply of glycine/gelatin, against a balanced background of amino acids, has a great variety of antistress actions.”

— Dr. Ray Peat^[9]

A “balanced background of amino acids” is exactly what Myo-Seq is designed to give you.

The glycine and methionine conversation illustrates perfectly why we still have to worry about our intake of the non-essential amino acids: Even though your body is capable of making its own glycine, glycine supplementation, above and beyond what your body can synthesize on its own, has been shown to come with a huge range of health benefits.^[10]

Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) 2:1:1 – 6,000 mg

In addition to Myo-Seq, we also have solid doses of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).

Leucine, isoleucine, and valine are included in the standard 2:1:1 ratio, which means there’s twice as much leucine here – 3,000 mg – as there is isoleucine or valine, which are dosed at 1,500 mg each.

Whether you have a low-protein or even high-protein diet, added leucine will help boost muscle protein synthesis (as measured by FSR, or fractional protein synthesis)

As we said earlier, although the BCAAs are not the complete amino acid picture, they’re pound-for-pound the best at preserving muscle tissue during stress and at amplifying the anabolic response to exercise. Leucine, in particular, is a very effective activator of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR),^[1,11-13] which is responsible for controlling the process of muscle protein synthesis (MPS).This is the reason why you pretty much universally see higher proportions of leucine compared to the other two BCAAs. It’s the best of the three at activating mTOR and increasing anabolism.^[11-16]

Leucine supplementation is also important as we age, since getting older increases our leucine requirement.^[17]

On the other hand, isoleucine and valine are isomers of leucine,^[18,19] meaning that all three of these aminos have the same chemical formula, but slightly different chemical structures. As you can probably guess, this means that they have similar, but complementary, effects.

All three BCAAs have anti-catabolic^[20-22] and endurance-boosting^[23-25] properties.

The standard BCAA dose is 5 grams of all three aminos combined, so it’s nice to see a little extra — 6 grams — in Storm Revive.

Taurine – 2,000 mg

The conditionally essential amino acid, taurine, is a complicated ingredient to discuss becuase it does a lot of different awesome stuff in the human body.

The first clue to taurine’s importance is the fact that when it’s ingested or produced, it naturally concentrates in muscle, heart, eye, and brain tissue.^[21]

Taurine’s CNS effects

As it turns out, taurine is a powerful tonic for nervous system function, and for the physical integrity of your nerves as well. Taurine has been shown to both protect nerves from injury,^[26] and also support nerve development and regeneration,^[27,28] which is a pretty big deal. Nerve growth is a difficult process and in our experience, there aren’t many nutritional supplements on the market today that can speed it along.

Bring your recovery to a new level.

Taurine also acts like a neurotransmitter in the brain, where it helps oppose the action of excitatory neurotransmitters like glutamate by mimicking GABA.^[29-33] By binding to GABA receptors, taurine can help promote a state of relaxation,^[34] while also improve learning and memory.^[35,36]

Taurine’s glutamate antagonism makes it a great ingredient to synergize with caffeine, helping dampen the excitatory effects of big caffeine doses^[37] while preserving the metabolic benefits associated with caffeine use. Of course, caffeine isn’t in the Storm Revive formula, but let’s be honest, most of us are habitual caffeine users, so we figured it’s worth mentioning.

Because of this, taurine is recognized as a powerful anxiolytic agent, helping reduce potentially debilitating symptoms of anxiety.^[38-40]

So taurine can be awesome for your brain, your nervous system as a whole, and for your mental energy levels. Research shows increased neurological stress and even temporary cognitive impairment following exercise, so using a big 2-gram dose of taurine (twice the standard 1-gram dose^[41]) is just what the doctor ordered.

Taurine: potent anti-catabolic and recovery aid

Remember, taurine is also concentrated in muscle tissue. So let’s talk about what it’s doing there, which gets to the core of why we see taurine in pre-workouts and recovery supplements these days.

There is some evidence that taurine can improve athletic endurance and power and strength.^[41,42] However, the evidence is far from unequivocal and one study calls taurine’s status as an ergogenic aid “controversial.”^[43]

Where taurine undeniably shines, though, is as an antioxidant and anti-catabolic agent.

In addition to Gnarly Grape, Storm Revive also comes in a delicious Mixed Wild Berry flavor.

One study on taurine supplementation during aerobic exercise found that although taurine didn’t improve the subjects’ performance, it did substantially reduce their burden of exercise-induced oxidative stress. This was assessed by measuring the subjects’ blood levels of malondialdehyde, a toxic byproduct of the polyunsaturated fatty acid peroxidation that’s part of oxidative stress.^[44]

Another study on taurine supplementation in weightlifters found that it was able to completely prevent the usual increase in thiobarbituric acid substances (TBARS), another marker of lipid peroxidation.^[45]

Taurine also boosts insulin sensitivity,^[46] which is great in many ways, including the role that insulin signaling plays in nutrient partitioning during recovery from exercise.

So although taurine may or may not push your performance during your workout, it seems clear that it can help you recover faster between workouts, supporting your long-term performance and gains.

Velositol (Amylopectin chromium complex) – 2,000 mg

Velositol is a chemical complex of chromium picolinate, chromium histidinate, and amylopectin starch.

Made by Nutrition 21, the experts in Chromium and Insulin management, Velositol can boost Muscle Protein Synthesis by using chromium and a ‘tickle’ of insulin-spike from amylopectin!

It’s designed to increase your body’s rate of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) by making the protein you eat more bioavailable. However, as we will discuss, Velositol brings some benefits of its own, independent of the effect it has on protein metabolism.

It makes total sense that Nutrition21 would be the outfit to come up with Velositol since they’ve been something of an industry chromium guru for a couple of decades now. Nutrition21 made their bones, in part, with Chromax, a designer form of chromium that’s extremely bioavailable compared to generic chromium, and whose efficacy in raising insulin sensitivity has since been attested to by more than 50 peer-reviewed studies.^[47]

The effects of chromium on insulin sensitivity and, hence, blood glucose levels is what got Nutrition21 interested in chromium in the first place.

What their scientists eventually realized is that if chromium improves insulin sensitivity, it could potentially enhance muscle growth and recovery from exercise as well.

That line of inquiry eventually led to the creation of Velositol.

How Velositol Works

Insulin has been a big supplement industry watchword for at least a decade, ever since the increasingly popular insulin-obesity hypothesis got people thinking about how their macronutrients affect blood glucose control.

1: Insulin binds to its receptor, 2: activating various protein cascades, including translocation of GLUT4 transporter to the plasma membrane. 3: The influx of glucose. 4: The synthesis of glycogen. 5: Glycolysis. 6: Triglyceride synthesis. Image courtesy Wikimedia.

But insulin isn’t just for metabolizing glucose – it’s responsible for moving nutrients in general into your cells, which is absolutely critical for post-exercise recovery. After all, exercise causes strengthening adaptations by damaging your muscles, so for those muscles to repair and grow, they have to draw in amino acids, glucose, and trophic factors.

Insulin is the mechanism behind all of that cellular refueling and rejuvenation.

So by improving your cells’ insulin response, Velositol improves their ability to take in nutrients, which ends up making the recovery process both faster and more effective.

For insulin to have this effect, it has to have something to move, which is why Velositol is intended to be taken alongside plenty of dietary protein, which we definitely have in Storm Revive.

Studies on Velositol

A 2017 clinical study on Velositol set out to demonstrate how it works. Researchers started by randomizing participants to one of two groups.

New research shows that Velositol in combination with 15g of whey protein boosts exercise performance!

Both groups did the same workout, upon the conclusion of which one group took only whey protein while the other group got a combination of whey protein and Velositol.^[48]

The researchers then measured the participants’ rate of MPS and found that the group taking both Velositol and whey had significantly higher MPS activity than the group that got whey only.^[48]

This result was replicated in a follow-up animal study, where Wistar rats were randomized to one of three different groups:^[49]

1. Whey protein with gradually rising doses (human equivalent dose of 6-40 grams)
2. Pea protein (human equivalent dose of 6 grams)
3. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs – human equivalent dose of 6 grams)

These treatments were given to the rats after they were forced to exercise on a treadmill. Then the researchers measured their MPS rates.

These researchers got the same result as the other study: The animals who got a combination of Velositol and protein had significantly higher MPS rates than those who got protein only.^[49] The Velositol groups were observed to have much higher amounts of musclin, a muscle messenger protein (myokine) that is secreted in response to exercise and triggers MPS.^[50]

Long-term Velositol supplementation increases fitness

Since MPS is a huge part of your body’s adaptation to exercise, we would expect to see greater fitness gains in those taking Velositol and supplemental protein than those taking only supplemental protein.

As it turns out, that’s what the research on Velositol indicates.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study published in the Journal of Exercise and Nutrition assigned subjects to one of three groups who took the following treatments daily for an 8 week training period:

1. 2 grams of Velositol and 15 grams of whey
2. 15 grams of whey
3. 30 grams of whey

By the end of the eight weeks, the group taking Velositol with 15 grams of whey saw greater improvement in their total squat reps, vertical jump power, and vertical jump height than the groups who took protein alone.^[51,52]

The group taking 15 grams of whey and 2 grams of Velositol did better than the group taking 30 grams of whey – meaning that the Velositol basically made supplemental protein twice as effective!^[51,52]

Velositol is one of our favorite ingredients, and we’ve written about it at length before. If you’re curious to read that article, visit the following link: Velositol Increases Exercise Performance: New University Study Published.

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) [Fruit] Water Powder – 1,000 mg

When it comes to supplying electrolytes with ingredients like coconut water powder, we have two main concerns:

The first is that your body loses lots of electrolytes through sweat when you exercise, and for your optimal health and recovery, these electrolytes need to be replenished .

The second is that if you’re combining an exercise regimen with a low-calorie or ketogenic diet to change your body composition – a common practice, to say the least – you’re at even greater risk of an electrolyte imbalance since both ways of eating have been statistically associated with increased electrolyte elimination.^[53]

Coconut water, which naturally contains lots of electrolytes, is great at improving whole-body hydration.^[54] It’s even been shown to improve hydration status just as well as certain commercial hydration drinks,^[55] except without the sugar, sweeteners, or artificial food colorants.

Astragin (Astragalus membranaceus [Root] & Panax notoginseng [Root]) Extract – 50 mg

AstraGin is a special kind of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) booster.

Increase the absorption and effectiveness of your supplements with AstraGin from NuLiv Science!

ATP is the fuel for all your body’s cells – in order to perform any kind of work, they need access to ATP and the potential chemical energy stored in the high energy phosphate bonds within the ATP molecule.

Lots of ingredients boost whole-body ATP production, which can lead to gains in performance, health, and wellness as cells get access to the fuel they need for optimal function.

AstraGin, however, boosts ATP availability specifically for intestinal cells, which use the extra ATP to absorb more nutrients.^[56,57]

Thus, AstraGin can increase the bioavailability of whatever it’s taken with.

It’s becoming an incredibly popular ingredient as supplement manufacturers realize that AstraGin’s ability to increase the bioavailability of common ingredients means it can ultimately provide more value to their customers.

Over 20 published studies demonstrate the efficacy of AstraGin and its bioactive constituents.^[58-63]