EAminoMax from Performax Labs is an incredible intra-workout supplement designed to help stimulate muscle synthesis with a carefully formulated blend of amino acids, mixed in the precise ratios for optimizing hypertrophy and recovery.
Get ready for Anabolic Deliciousness - The Performax Labs EAminoMax 2021 Updates are on point
The main selling point of EAminoMax is that it contains more than just the "branched-chain amino acids" (BCAAs) that are typically sold in pre-workout and intra-workout supplements. It has a complete amino acid profile, and includes the "essential" amino acids in addition to BCAAs.
The "EAA Sports Drink" Just Got Better
EAminoMax also contains some minerals and electrolytes that support hydration and optimal muscle contraction during your workout, helping to maximize performance and prevent cramps.
Below, we get into the specs of the formula updated in 2021 (as part of Performax Labs' ongoing branding updates), which includes popular senolytic endurance booster Senactiv, but first we show the prices (the new flavors at launch will be highlighted below) and our review. In one word, these aminos are delicious:
Performax Labs EAminoMax – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
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But what is an intra-workout supplement?
If you've ever been inside a gym, you're probably familiar with the concept of a pre-workout supplement -- something you take before your workout begins to help improve your performance. Most of us are also familiar with the concept of the post-workout anabolic window -- the period of time immediately following a workout, during which your body is primed for maximum nutrient uptake.
EAminoMax from Performax Labs -- an intra-workout protein-based supplement available in three delicious flavors
A little more obscure than either of these concepts is the intra-workout supplement. Just as the name implies, you take an intra-workout during your workout, in order to maintain hydration, optimize performance, and improve recovery. Intra-workouts are especially useful during extreme efforts, workouts so intense that if you wait until you're done to eat and supplement, you will already be deep in the hole and take an excessively long time to recover.
A good illustration of the intra-workout concept is the habit endurance cyclists have of eating on the bike during hours-long road races, keeping their glycogen stores topped off and protein synthesis primed so that they aren't in a massive metabolic debt when they cross the finish line.
EAminoMax Ingredients
In a single 14-gram scoop of EAminoMax from Performax Labs, you get the following:
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Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) Blend (3g of Leucine, 1g of isoleucine, 1g of valine)
Leucine, isoleucine, and valine are the branched-chain amino acids, well-known as BCAAs. Since the benefits of BCAA supplementation come from taking all three together, analyzing BCAAs as a single ingredient makes the most sense.
The BCAAs present in EAminoMax will help you recover faster, decrease the time you take to recover between sets, and may even slightly improve your ability to oxidize fat.[1,2] We also love them for the endurance benefits, which is why we regard supplements like EAminoMax as being superior to "sports drinks" that have no protein content.
EAminoMax has the classic 5 gram dosage, but has them in a unique 3:1:1 leucine:isoleucine:valine ratio. This is fine by us, since leucine is the most anabolic of the BCAAs, driving muscle protein synthesis through mTOR activation.[3]
As great as the three BCAAs are -- especially at preventing muscle breakdown -- they're even better in terms of muscle growth when bolstered by the other six essential amino acids:[4,5]
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Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) - 2g
The BCAAs mentioned above are three of the nine so-called "essential" amino acids, i.e. the ones your body cannot synthesize from other materials, and must obtain in a complete form from diet.
By including the other six essential aminos, Performax Labs has created a supplement that will help ensure you get optimal recovery and hypertrophy.[4,5] Although supplementation is never a substitute for a complete and balanced whole-foods diet, this is one area where one should definitely consider supplementation, because it's quite tricky to monitor your intake of specific amino acids from food, let alone to eat them all in the optimal ratios.
Think of an essential amino-acids supplement as an "insurance policy" that you can add on top of an already-awesome whole foods diet.
L-Lysine (750mg)
L-lysine is a precursor to carnitine,[6] an amazingly beneficial compound that long-time PricePlow readers will already be familiar with. Lysine is an essential part of muscle protein synthesis, calcium absorption, and muscular recovery. Evidence from animal models suggests those processes are supercharged by lysine supplementation.[7,8]
Delicious is right! These aminos taste phenomenal
Lysine is also crucial for the absorption of calcium[9] and the production of collagen[10] -- nothing to sneeze at since your bones need calcium and collagenous fibers are used by your body to produce tendons. Bones and tendons are both stressed by heavy lifting, or any high-impact aerobic exercise such as running. If they fail, the results are catastrophic. So providing them with the support they need to heal and grow stronger should be a top priority for anyone who's straining their body in the pursuit of fitness.
At the same time, lysine will also prevent the buildup of calcium in the arteries,[9] meaning that high lysine intake will help you get the upsides of calcium without the downsides -- much like vitamin K2.
L-Phenylalanine (500mg)
Phenylalanine is eventually transformed into tyrosine,[11] one of our other favorite supplement ingredients. Tyrosine helps the body produce dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine,[12] so phenylalanine can potentially help you get in the zone during your training sessions.
Conversions like these are why we love getting all the EAAs -- with BCAAs alone, you miss out on a lot of little benefits that don't mean much individually, but can add up to a significant advantage.
L-Threonine (500mg)
Threonine is an essential component of serine and glycine and plays an important role in stimulating muscle protein synthesis,[13] so have some on the ready in your bloodstream and avoid "anabolic bottlenecks".
L-Tryptophan (150mg)
Amongst these primary amino acids, the essential amino acids are in red. Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine are the three Branched-Chain Amino Acids.
Tryptophan helps improve pain tolerance,[14] which could translate to more intense anaerobic sessions. It may also help with mood by providing a serotonin boost.[15] Don't fret about all the Thanksgiving anecdotes regarding tryptophan, because this isn't a dose that would put you to sleep (also realize that plenty of other foods have more of this amino than turkey, but that's another story).
L-Histidine (50mg)
Histidine is beta-alanine's best friend, as it's the other half of carnosine production. In animal models, deficiencies of histidine have been shown to decrease muscle synthesis -- but also, high levels of histidine have been shown to increase the rate of muscle synthesis above baseline,[16] so histidine is one case where there's a clear argument for experimenting with supplementation.
L-Methionine (50mg)
Methionine acts as an antioxidant, protecting your body during times of stress[17] -- stress such as weight training! It is also eventually converted to L-taurine or L-cysteine, two acids that have also been shown to boost performance.
Methionine is also required for the production of carnitine,[18] a compound with many benefits, and methionine intake has been correlated with carnitine blood levels.[18]
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Senactiv (Panax notoginseng [root] & Rosa roxburghii [fruit] extracts) - 50mg
Possibly the most exciting ingredient in EAminoMax is Senactiv, a patented blend of ginseng and rose root extracts.
Out with the old, in with the new
Check out our detailed, long-form article: Senactiv from NuLiv Science: Regenerate Senescent Cells and Perform Better
Senactiv is considered to be a senolytic, which means that it causes programmed cell death in old, dysfunctional cells -- also known as senescent cells[19]. This is basically a process of creative destruction -- by clearing out these old cells, a senolyte can make room for new cells to emerge and grow. If this sounds scary to you, don't worry -- this process of cellular turnover is natural, and occurs constantly in everyone's body. Senolytics just accelerate it and make it more efficient.
Senactiv functions as a senolytic inside skeletal muscle cells, so it's not really that surprising that in a placebo-controlled study, people who took Senactiv prior to exercise replenished their glycogen more quickly and showed fewer signs of inflammation, compared to the placebo group.[20]
Amazingly, Senactiv also improved time to exhaustion during a cycling test by 20% compared to the control group,[20] which is very difficult to achieve for any supplement, let alone an herbal extract.
Biopsies of muscle tissue showed that Senactiv increased levels of citrate synthase (an enzyme critical for the production of ATP) by 47%.[20] Such a massive increase in the availability of cellular energy is undoubtedly a huge part of Senactiv's broad benefits for physical performance.
Senactiv has also shown promise for improving markers of lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress, inflammation, and muscle damage.[21-24]
Want to learn more about Senactiv? Check out our detailed, long-form analysis: Senactiv from NuLiv Science: Regenerate Senescent Cells and Perform Better
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L-Alanyl L-Glutamine - 2000mg
Not many flavors more refreshing than Cucumber Lime
Beyond Senactiv, it's time to meet another key differentiating ingredient in EAminoMax.
The first thing you have to know about L-alanyl L-glutamine, also known as alanyl-glutamine, is that it's basically a more bioavailable form of glutamine. Alanyl-glutamine supplementation has been shown to increase blood glutamine levels more efficiently than L-glutamine, the "free" form of the amino acid.[25]
Glutamine has been shown to reduce soreness in athletes after exercise,[26] but the big benefit of glutamine and the reason people usually take it, is that glutamine is fantastic for gut health. Because glutamine is such a great source of energy for intestinal cells,[17,27] it can help those cells maintain the integrity of the gut, thereby preventing "leaky gut,"[17,27] a condition where undigested food leaks out of the gut, causing chronic inflammation and a whole host of other maladies.
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Taurine - 2000mg
Like methionine, taurine can act as an antioxidant during stress, protecting even healthy young men from the oxidative damage caused by intense exercise.[27] Supplementation with taurine has been shown to improve endurance and performance in runners[28] and cyclists,[29] and helps minimize muscular damage in weightlifters.[30]
Another broad metabolic benefit of taurine, which pretty much any athlete will enjoy, is its ability to increase the body's use of fat for fuel during exercise.[31]
We love this two gram dose, twice (and even 4x) what many supplements are using. Don't go without this one!
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Raw Coconut Water Powder (1000mg)
Coconut Water is often used for its naturally-occurring electrolytes. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Coconut water is a natural source of potassium, an electrolyte that athletes may be deficient in during and after exercise.[6] Potassium deficiency for athletes is bad news -- if you're cramping a lot, it's time to look into it and even consider getting tested.
Due to the performance-based nature of EAminoMax, throwing in a non-trivial dose of coconut water is a good move by Performax Labs. A serving will ensure that you're properly hydrated throughout the day and during training. It may even provide some of those sweet, sweet water-based pumps we all know and love.
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Pink Himalayan Salt - 250 mg (sodium and potassium)
You know why these are here. Sodium and potassium are electrolytes essential
for your body's functionality. You lose a ton of both when you sweat, and as mentioned above, adequate potassium is a serious requirement for athletes. EAminoMax should keep you in the game with both (but again, it depends on your potassium status). If you ever feel irritable after a workout, electrolytes may help you return to the world of the living.[6] Sometimes it's the simple things!
New Flavors Available: Cucumber Lime, Passionfruit Ice Tea Lemonade, Pineapple Mojito
Back in the day, with any product containing every EAA (including that sulfur-smelling methionine), you had to set your flavor expectations low -- it's notoriously hard to make EAAs taste good. But with EAminoMax, we can say that the gents over at Performax Labs got the flavors right.
Below is a list of up-to-date flavors, with the new ones launched in 2021 highlighted in yellow (the older ones will eventually be out of stock and disappear, so if you're a big fan of those, stock up while you can):
Conclusion: Performax Labs is annihilating this brand refresh
EAminoMax is what a real zero-carb sports drink should be like -- it gives your body all of the amino acids it needs for optimal performance and recovery while keeping you hydrated, without any high-glycemic carbs.
Performax Labs is pushing a rebrand that re-defines who they are -- aggressive supplement formulators! Get ready for some potent products!
So if you sweat a ton during your cardio sessions, are an athlete who can't afford to miss practice or to be sore for long, or are just ready to dump the BCAA for a full-spectrum EAA, then EAminoMax may be your new best friend.
We've got to say, after covering these rebranded Performax Labs supplements, the brand did exactly what they said they were going to do: keep the formulas aggressive. Too many brands water formulas down over time - Team Performax did the opposite. A list of them is below, and yes, you can stack most of these together (just don't mix OxyMax and HyperMax):
To that list above, we say cheers to Performax Labs. They smoked 2021 here.
Performax Labs EAminoMax – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
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No spam, no scams.
Disclosure: PricePlow relies on pricing from stores with which we have a business relationship. We work hard to keep pricing current, but you may find a better offer.
Posts are sponsored in part by the retailers and/or brands listed on this page.
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