MuscleTech PHASE8 Protein Review

To refuel your body after working out, you need to find the right protein powder. I’ve been doing research on several different protein formulas on the market and reporting on the ingredients and benefits of each. Today I’m taking a look at Phase8. I’ve noticed this at the Vitamin Shoppe and thought it looked interesting. It has great packaging and marketing. I thought I’d take a deep dive and see what it’s all about.

To start off with, a creditable company has developed the supplement. MuscleTech has been around since 1995 creating high quality products. They have a commitment to doing research and testing on all of the products they produce. So everything is backed by science and quality checked before releasing anything to the public.

PHASE8 is marketed as 8-hour protein power. This means that formula contains 6 different protein sources that digest in your body at different rates over an 8-hour period. The blend includes milk protein concentrate (supplying calcium caseinate and whey), whey protein concentrate, micellar casein, calcium caseinate, hydrolyzed whey protein isolate, and whey protein isolate. Each of these different forms of protein has its pluses and minuses. We’ll go into this later in the post. Besides protein the formula also includes Glutamine and BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids) for additional recovery benefits.

Below is my full review on MuscleTech: PHASE8 Muscle Building Protein Powder Blend.

Pros and Cons of Phase8 Protein

As I stated like any product on the market PHASE8 has both its positive and negative points. You might be interested in learning these points before getting any deeper into the review. From my research this is what I found out.

Lets start off with the good stuff first. One of the great things about this protein is that it can be taken anytime of the day. Because of the different forms of protein in the formula it you can drink a shake in the morning, as a pre-and post-workout and at night. So if you regiment includes taking Whey in the morning and casein at night then PHASE8 could be an all-in-one supplement to take anytime.

PHASE8 also tastes better then other protein powders. MuscleTech worked with one of the world’s top flavoring houses to develop a best in class flavor profile for this supplement. By having the protein flavored by experts they ensured the end result would taste great. It comes in six different flavors so you should be able to find one that you will enjoy.

The protein will also keep you full during the day, after your workout or at night. Because the supplement contains different protein sources each are digested into the body at different times. This helps to make you feel full and avoid hunger pains. The final positive point is that it’s macro friendly food source. Meaning its high protein, but any supplement in this category can provide this so lets get into the negative points.

The biggest drawback of PHASE8 is that it’s a preparatory blend. So, even though you can see the ingredients used in the formula there is not a full break out of each ingredient. The label states that it includes 26 grams of protein but because it has a blend of six different sources you do know exactly how much of each are included.

This is where it gets a little tricky. Each type of protein has a different quality and cost. For instance micellar casein and whey protein isolate are the two best proteins in PHASE8, but there is no mention how much of each are included. They are also listed below the less expensive proteins, milk protein concentrate and whey protein concentrate in the blend list. You could conclude that the blend includes more of the low quality protein sources then the high quality sources.

This conclusion can be made because the FDA requires the dietary ingredients in a proprietary blend to be listed in order of predominance by weight. So, the product has deceptive labeling without a list of specific details of each ingredient. This could indicate that the blend has a higher percent of lower quality ingredients. If this is the case then the protein is overpriced for what you really get.

The final draw back I want to talk about is the consistency of the shake. Even though it tastes really good it can be a little chalky and powdery compare to other powders. Besides that it takes forever to mix. You’ll need a blender or good mixer cup to get the most out each serving.

PHASE8’sFormula/Protein Blend

As I stated above PHASE8 is a preparatory blend. This means they provide all of the ingredients on the label but not a complete break of the amount of each ingredient. PHASE8 consists of more then just one type of protein as well as few additional bonus ingredients then a standard protein powder.

The Mutli-Phase 8-Hour Protein blend includes milk protein, whey protein concentrate, micellar casein, calcium caseinate, hydrolyzed whey protein isolate, and whey protein isolate.The micellar casein protein will digest in the body over an 8 hours period, allowing for maximum recovery. A 42g scoop yields about 26g of protein, which makes the formula 61.9% protein.

The formula also includes 4.6g BCAAs per serving. Branch chain amino acids also help your muscles recover after a workout. Combined with the slow digesting micellar casein allows the body to receive a steady flow of BCAAs over and 8-hour period. The formula also includes 2.2g of Glutamine per servings, which additionally helps with recovery. So if you are pushing yourself hard in the gym and need supplements to help you recover then this might be what you are looking for. Instead of purchasing separate supplements of each you can get everything in one shake.

Ingredients

Calories  150

Calories From Fat  20

Total Fat  2 Gm

TRANS FAT  0 Gm

Cholesterol  5 Mg

Total Carbohydrate  7 Gm

Dietary Fiber  1 Gm

Sugar  0 Gm

Protein  26 Gm

Calcium  20 Mg

Sodium  120 Mg

DIGESTIVE ENZYME MATRIX  100 Mg

Papain  50 Mg

Amylase  50 Mg

Other Ingredients:

PROTEIN BLEND (MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE [SUPPLYING CALCIUM CASEINATE AND NATIVE WHEY], WHEY PROTEINCONCENTRATE, MICELLAR CASEIN, CALCIUM CASEINATE, HYDROLYZED WHEYPROTEIN ISOLATE, WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE), MALTODEXTRIN, TAURINE,GLYCINE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SUNFLOWER BASED CREAMER(SUNFLOWER OIL, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SODIUM CASEINATE, MONO ANDDIGLYCERIDES, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, TRI-CALCIUM PHOSPHATE,TOCOPHEROLS [EMULSIFIER]), SALT, GUAR GUM, SUCRALOSE, ASCESULFAMEPOTASSIUM. CONTAINS MILK AND SOY INGREDIENTS.

Results of using PHASE8

Like all protein supplements, you will not feel or see an immediate change or effect the first time you take it. It’s meant to be taken everyday when you are consistently exercising. Protein powder is more of a matter of convenience than anything else, because it ensures that your body gets the right amount of protein each day for optimal recovery.

This is one of the great things about PHASE8. The formula was developed to help with recovery over an 8-hour period. So you’ll be able to recover faster and hit the gym harder to make greater gains over time.

PHASE8 can be taken anytime of the day to work with your schedule. The combination of whey and casein should be superior to either one alone. The whey provides a quick hit of aminos to boost protein synthesis, while the casein provides a slower source of aminos to slow down protein breakdown, plus you get slightly different amino acid profiles. Despite the old school belief that a purely fast protein is ideal post-workout, research supports that slow proteins or a combination of slow and fast proteins can be more effective.

 Conclusion of MuscleTech PHASE8

From my research there are definitely some pluses and minuses to this product. The concept behind the supplement is great and the company has done a great job to differentiate it from other proteins on the market. It contains all of the right ingredients to provide a phased 8-hour release of proteins and aminos into the body. But without a complete break out of the total of each ingredient I can’t tell if the product lives up to it’s promise. Because of this I can’t give it two thumbs up and my total recommendation. If it only contained the highest quality forms of protein then the supplement would be almost priced right, but it doesn’t. From what I see I will not be adding PHASE8 to my list of proteins that I’ll test out in the future.

I hope you enjoyed my review of MuscleTech: PHASE8 Muscle Building Protein Powder Blend.