MyProtein aim to offer “the widest range of the highest quality proteins, sports supplements and other ingredients at the lowest possible prices,” according to their website blurb.

The range is certainly impressive. In fact, with so much to choose from, it’s overwhelming. Fortunately, the website offers a useful ‘shop by goals’ tool that allows you to find supplements either by sport or training objective. Unfortunately, triathlon is not yet included in the list, although swimming, cycling and running are.

The other thing we liked about MyProtein was the plain, clean packaging – presumably part of their objective to keep costs down. However, this does mean there is little information on the packaging. On the other hand, the website has comprehensive ingredient listings as well as detailed descriptions on the product usage.

We tried the following:

Product: Tri Carb (unflavoured)

Purpose: Energy drink and electrolyte replacement

Taste: n/a

Cost: £7.95 for 800g (50g mixes to 700ml of drink)

What we thought: Tri Carb mixes easily with water to form a slightly sweet tasting but otherwise bland drink. Alternatively, MyProtein recommend mixing the powder with fruit juice. This works fine and has little impact on the fruit juice flavour, but we found using undiluted juice hard on the stomach during intense exercise.

We preferred mixing Tri Carb with water and adding a small amount of juice or cordial for flavour, which seemed to give the best of both worlds: light on the stomach and enough flavour to ensure you drink it. It certainly seems to help maintain energy levels during longer training sessions.

The product derives its name from its three carbohydrate ingredients: Palatinose, Maltodextrin and Fructose. Palatinose is the trade name for Isomaltulose, which, according to Wikipedia, is “a disaccharide that is commercially manufactured enzymatically from sucrose via bacterial fermentation. It is a natural constituent of honey and sugar cane and has a very natural sweet taste.”

Moreover, Palatinose has a low glycaemic index and therefore does not create blood insulin spikes.

Product: Recovery XS – Choc Smooth

Purpose: Promote muscle growth and post-exercise recovery

Taste: 4 to 8

Cost: £19.95 for 1800g (90g mixes to about 500ml of drink)

What we thought: We discovered that one of our testers has a strong aversion to chocolate flavoured drinks (and ice cream) and was about to write a poor review. Luckily, other people liked it much better and concluded this was “one of most pleasant tasting recovery drinks on the market.”

In our view, making up the drink with about 50% milk works best. We liked that the powder mixes easily without the need for a shaker bottle and that it’s suitable for vegetarians. We’d also recommend mixing the drink before exercise and leaving it ready in the fridge for immediate consumption on finishing your workout.

As a recovery drink, Recovery XS contains a mixture of proteins, carbohydrates, electrolytes and vitamin C. However, we thought the suggestion on the packet to mix the chocolate flavour powder with fruit juice somewhat bizarre.

Energy and recovery/protein products are key components of many triathletes training regime and the two drinks we sampled here provide good value alternatives to many other similar offerings on the market. However, MyProtein’s vast product range is a little intimidating, and some of their other supplements may be of little interest to triathletes. Nevertheless, the website is a comprehensive resource so it should be possible to find what you want.

www.myprotein.co.uk

Note

At Tzero we believe nutrition should be based around a healthy balanced diet of natural, unprocessed foods. We recognise however that food supplements play a role in athletic performance and recovery. While we are unable to carry out controlled scientific tests to validate (or otherwise) performance claims made for any products, we are happy to review products for taste, ease of use and our perception of effectiveness.

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