MusclePax

This month’s MusclePax contained:

BEEFit Biltong
Protein Pops crisps
The Gym Chef lemon and herb seasoning
Syntha-6 Edge salted caramel protein bar
Optimum Nutrition oats and whey flapjack
QuestBar chocolate chip cookie dough protein bar
C4 Extreme Icy Blue Razz supplement
C4 Extreme LemonLime supplement
Nutrition One Power Greens powder
Optimum Nutrition Lean Whey strawberry milkshake flavour
Amino X Blue Raz supplement
EX Edge Tropical Burst supplement
ComVits vitamins assortment
MusclePax wristband
MusclePax lanyard
MusclePax Hard Core core workout
MusclePax coconut coffee chicken recipe

I love the idea of working out, it’s just that – like most of the population – I sometimes (often) struggle actually to make it to the gym. You finish work late, and the last thing you want is to go into a sweaty room and swing round a kettlebell. It can be tempting – and I know I’m guilty of this sometimes – to pick up your energy pre-gym by prematurely treating yourself to a snack. “It’s fine, I’ll burn it off on the cross-trainer”, I tell myself. We all know that’s no way to get a six-pack.

That’s where MusclePax comes in. It is a monthly subscription Box designed to motivate seasoned gym bunnies and reticent exercise-phobes alike to reach their fitness goals, and to push themselves to the next level physically and mentally. Each month, the MusclePax carefully selects a range of new supplements, high protein snacks, seasoning, recipes, exclusive discounts to partner services, planning material and motivational workouts to help you shake up your gym routine (workout fatigue is one of the best ways to ensure you never get rid of those chicken wings).

Whilst the Box looked a little worse for wear when it arrived, the content more than made up for it. First thing to mention is just how products are inside. The Box was brimful with fourteen diverse products, which demonstrates great value for money, and really enables you to try out a variety of items that you might not have discovered otherwise.

The contents includes a healthy of mix of food items, supplements, and accessories.

On the food front, I couldn’t resist diving into the packet of Protein Pops as soon as I opened the MusclePax Box. I’m a bit of a sucker for snacks, and whilst grazing goes against the advice of almost all nutritionists, I find it very difficult to resist the four p.m. trigger for a snack when I’m at my desk. It’s often tricky to find a munchie that quenches those mid-meal hunger pangs, but is also healthy (despite however much I try to kid myself that digestive biscuits are wholemeal and therefore healthy). These Thai sweet chilli crisps strike just the right balance, and contain 65% less fat than regular crisps. Bonus points, they’re deliciously moreish, too.

Next up was a packet of Beefit Biltong. I love the design of the packaging and the word play in the brand name; since, dare I say it, fitness products aren’t often the most aesthetically pleasing, it really makes the item stand out. I was converted to biltong (air-dried, seasoned beef) a few years ago by a colleague, and this one really delivers in terms of flavour: it is Bristish beef that is seasoned with coriander, garlic, pepper, nutmeg, cloves,and chilli. The concept of dried meat might sound a little bizarre for a snack, but it’s high protein, and low sugar, and really keeps you going.

A recurring problematic when trying to eat healthily is to ensure that your meals don’t just taste of steamed vegetables or plain chicken. The Gym Chef lemon and herb seasoning will spice up meat, fish, and vegetables alike. I tried it on a some baked cod, and only a spoonful was needed to elevate the flavour.

For sweet-toothed fiends like me, MusclePax also has a number of healthy treats in store. The oats and whey flapjack had the delicious, squidgy texture normally reserved for products full of sugar and butter – plus the chocolate covering added an extra indulgent touch.

The salted caramel protein bar ticked all the right boxes for me as I have a penchant for salted caramel, and it has 20g of protein. I had it before the gym and it kept me going through my workout.

As for the QuestBar chocolate chip cookie dough bar, well, the flavour speaks for itself. This bar could almost wean me off Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie ice cream, and only has 5g of carbohydrates. Protein bars often have a strange taste, but these bars were all extremely tasty, and could also be mistaken for real chocolate bars.

Moving onto supplements, the C4 Extreme supplements were as explosive as the name suggests.

The Icy Blue Razz flavour and the Amino X Blue Raz supplement reminded me of the bubblegum flavoured Mister Freezes I used to enjoy when I was younger.

I took the XE Edge Tropical Burst supplement when I was flagging on a weekday evening just before going to the gym, and it really perked me up – despite how tired I was feeling before, I ended up having one of my most productive spinning sessions.

Where possible, I try to opt for natural dietary supplements, and so I was pleased to receive the Optimum Nutrition protein powder, which, as well as being strawberry milkshake flavoured, also contains green tea. This kept me going whilst doing the Hard Core cork workout routine included in the Box featuring planks, crunches, and atomic sit-ups.

Green juices and spirulina have become a lifestyle trend more than anything, but that doesn’t detract from the fundamental goodness present in ingredients like spirulina, wheat grass, and the ubiquitous kale. I added the Nutrition One Power Greens to my morning NutriBullet smoothie, and felt more ready to tackle the day ahead than on an average weekday!

The final items in my MusclePax Box were two sachets of pills. Whilst at first this seemed a little dubious, you can rest assured that this isn’t a sophisticated subscription Box take on Nacros, but these are actually high-quality vitamin supplements from ConVits. I’d been trying to try ginkgo biloba and, thanks to the handy £5 discount for MusclePax subscribers, I have a great way to subscribe to get my share of vitamins, too.

My Box also contained a handy MusclePax branded keyring lanyard, a branded wristband, a recipe for a very exotic sounding coconut coffee chicken that I can’t wait to try out. Finally, subscribers have access to an exclusive online zone, where you can get even more fitness materials from diet plans to workouts.

MusclePax has a unique offering, and should be every fitness fan’s gym accessory. It’s rare that I actually really, really want to go the gym, but trying out all the different products left me angling for a workout. The only things I’d like to see improved are the packaging, and level of information provided – it would be helpful to have a booklet explaining the different products in each Box. For £21.99 for one month (and with discounts if you sign up to a longer subscription), you receive a fantastic range of muscle-strengthening, high-protein products that will mean you’re more likely to get the results you’re looking for from all your working out. Now, time to hit the gym…