Disclaimer: I’m a long-time Vega user and Brendan Brazier follower. For those who don’t know, Brendan is a Canadian vegan former pro triathlete. I have all his books, and learned a lot about stress and its effects on sports performance, and plant-based nutrition.
I’ve used the Whole Food Optimizer (now replaced by Vega One) and the original Pre-workout Sports Optimizer and Sport Performance Protein. So I was super-excited to be contacted about trying out the new Sport line, as well as some different products.
They definitely get points for the packaging! This stuff just SEEMS special..
Because these supplements are vegan, gluten-and soy-free and have no artificial additives, they’re a little different from your standard supplements.. or to be blunt, a previous oft-heard complaint about Vega was that it “tasted like plants” or was gritty. Although I’ve become accustomed to their old line, I did find that the new products had improved in this respect, although they still separate a bit if you let them sit in your blender bottle for too long before drinking.
The new Vega Sport line is being promoted basically as an entire system, with three phases: Prepare, Sustain and Recover. There are different products for each phase, with recommendations on what to take based on the intensity of your training. Kudos to Vega for seeking to be an athlete’s sole source of sport supplementation (but if you made the chart small enough, I’d have embedded it right in this post…).
Specific Products
PREPARE: Pre-workout Energizer
As I mentioned, I’ve used the old lemon-lime product. I found that the new product seemed to mix easier. I’ve used other pre-workout supplements for body-building, but those tend to be chock-full of additives, and left me jittery. The Vega products give me some energy, but a more steady energy. The trade-off of course is that I really feel “amped up” when I take something that’s full of caffeine and whatever else, whereas there is some nagging feeling of “how much is this really doing” with the Vega product. That being said, even if it’s mental, I do enjoy taking the product before a hard workout just to “get in the zone”.
One thing I alluded to earlier is the topic of stress. In his books, Brendan talks about all the different stresses we have, and the impact that can have on our body. Our body can become overstressed by working out, but also from our nutritional choices. It seems to me that we shouldn’t prepare for a hard workout by first taking in stimulants that are going to stress us out before we even do the workout.. something like the Pre-workout energizer just seems to be a smarter choice than something full of caffeine and whatever else.
SUSTAIN: Endurance Bar
One product that I was interested to try was the endurance bar. As a runner I rarely eat while working out (confession: I have trouble chewing and running at the same time), but I tried the Acai berry flavor before a run. First off, it was delicious! A great quick snack that I felt didn’t count as “bad for me”. Because it is intended for eating during a workout, I wasn’t too worried about digestion and as it turned out, I had a great run. If I were a cyclist or someone who needed to be eating while working out, I’d consider this.
SUSTAIN: Endurance Gel
I actually didn’t have any long runs scheduled when I had this product to review, but I’d purchased some of this gel (raspberry flavor) back in December for a long run. It was sweet and reminded me almost of jam. I don’t think I could eat too many of them during an event, but I felt much better eating this than some of the other products out there with tons of weird additives.
Because of the length of my workouts, I did not get the chance to try the Electrolyte Hydrator.
RECOVER: Protein Bar
I consider this the “big dud” of the entire Vega Sport line. Granted, I’m a tough sell as I don’t like chocolate-flavored protein bars. But a quick glance at the ingredients showed that this contains sugar, which I avoid in my everyday diet. I’m disappointed a different sweetener wasn’t used, but I suspect the goal was to appeal to people who are more accustomed to all those other protein bars out there. It did taste better than some of the other chocolate protein bars I’ve eaten before (less chalky-tasting.. you know what I’m talking about), but it just seemed a real departure from the rest of the Vega line. With the other products, I feel like they’re healthy. This one, not so much.
RECOVER: Recovery Accelerator
I was really intrigued by this product, as I’d just been taking the Vega Protein post-workout. However, this product is intended for immediately following a workout, with that coveted 4:1 Carb-to-protein ratio to restore your glycogen stores. I took it after a workout and liked the sweet tropical taste. Again, I didn’t have any crazy long workouts to test against, but I suppose this would be great for a quick hit right after a run, perhaps if you were feeling too exhausted to want to start sucking down a protein drink.
RECOVER: Performance Protein
This was the replacement for the Vega product I’m most familiar with. As a vegetarian athlete, I take my protein intake seriously. I do feel as though the Vega protein seems easier on my stomach than some others (dairy-based, like whey or casein). It also has BCAAs and Glutamine right in there, so you don’t need to supplement further. Unfortunately I grabbed the chocolate flavor and mixed it with water, which was not good. I imagine mixing it with a coconut or almond milk (or even cow’s milk, if that’s your thing) would have probably tasted amazing.
All in all, I’m pretty impressed with the new Vega Sport line. Sure I was already an advocate for their brand, but I was really happy with the Endurance bar and I’d definitely pick some up. I really like their protein and use their pre-workout energizer, and I think the gels are a great alternative to some of the others on the market.
Curious to try them on their own? I see that there is a Vega Sport Starter Bundle for sale for $25. What do you have to lose?
Note: I received products from Vega Sport free of charge, but my opinions are my own.
