Athletes are always looking for ways to get the most out of their workouts. Whether it’s running or biking further, or getting the most from a bodybuilding regimen, the quest for the ultimate combination of workout-aiding supplements never ends. This search for the best in sports nutrition can lead to seemingly unlikely combinations. As a case in point, let’s look at CytoSport’s Cytomax and Muscle Milk.

What Are Muscle Milk and Cytomax?
CytoSport developed the blend of protein and creatine found in Muscle Milk for bodybuilders and other athletes who are looking to build strong, lean muscle mass. Muscle Milk’s special combination of EndoCreatine, Lean Lipid fats, protein powder, peptides, and amino acids has proven effective at building muscle mass and helping athletes recover quickly from workouts. Sold in a powdered mix, this supplement is easy to prepare and formulate for your exact needs.
Cytomax isn’t as common in the gym. More likely, you’ll find it in the bottles of long-distance runners, cyclists, and triathletes—people who are looking for an energy drink that provides clean-burning carbohydrate fuel. Its ingredient blend of lactates, amino acids, and carbs gives them what they’re looking for, and lowers lactic-acid levels and improves oxygen utilization along the way.

Why Carbs Matter
If you’re an endurance athlete, you’re used to thinking about carbs—but if your workouts tend more toward pumping iron than logging miles, you may wonder what the big deal is. It’s simple—your body can only store so much fuel for your muscles, and when that’s gone, performance suffers. Your body tries to burn fat, an inefficient process, and then turns to the only thing left—protein from your muscles. Since fat and muscle don’t provide energy quickly enough to keep you going, you just plain run out of gas. It’s what runners and cyclists refer to as “bonking.”
To beat the bonk, you’ve got to ingest calories. Carbohydrate-based calories burn quickly, so they’re perfect for the task. That’s why most sports drinks are packed with simple sugars, usually sucrose and fructose—hence their sweetness. The majority of them, whether it’s Powerade or Gatorade, are mostly sugar water with salt added.

Cytomax Keeps You Going Strong
The problem with sugars is that they can turn to fat unless you burn them all up. But if you fuel with Cytomax, you don’t have to worry, since it contains no sucrose—just electrolytes, lactates, and a pinch of sodium. The energy from Cytomax burns cleanly in your body, so Cytomax keeps you working at peak levels longer. You’ll train harder, and burn calories without burning muscle.

Fuel Up for Success
So next time you’re getting ready for a hard set at the gym, mix together some Cytomax and Muscle Milk and give it a try. You’ll be giving your body the two things it needs for the maximum payoff: energy to burn while you work out (Cytomax), and a sophisticated blend of proteins and other nutrients to build muscle (Muscle Milk).
Best of all, you won’t have to choke down a disgustingly sweet and chalky beverage to get it done. Muscle Milk is a perfect mixing medium for combining with Cytomax and comes in a variety of tasty flavors, like Chocolate Malt, Blueberries and Cream, and Peanut Butter Chocolate. So drink up, and enjoy getting more out of your workout!—Ken Nail

You know the basics to lead a vibrant, healthy lifestyle: Eat a balanced diet that includes carbohydrates, protein, and fat; drink between eight to 10 glasses of water a day; and exercise at least three times a week. But to improve and then maintain your health and fitness, you may want to consider the benefits of using additional nutritional supplements, such as consuming multivitamins daily and, when you work out, opting for a sports drink, such as best-selling Cytomax Sport Drink, over water.

Why a Sports Drink?
When you perform any intense physical activity, such as running, biking, hiking, or climbing, your body sweats out its hydration and loses complex carbohydrates, which are responsible for keeping your strength levels up. In addition, your body produces lactic acid from glucose for energy. The downside? That “burn” you feel during strenuous exercise, which could lower your ambition or ability to perform to your potential. While water is, as always, crucial to maintain hydration, it cannot help with the “side effects” of exercising—which is where sports drinks come in.

Why Cytomax Sport Drink?
CytoSport, which produces Cytomax Sport Drink, is a company dedicated to providing quality dietary supplements for both beginning and professional athletes. It based Cytomax Sport Drink on its original high-performance powder mix, which has been used by professional athletes for more than 15 years. Cytomax Sport Drink provides electrolytes to help your body rehydrate, as well as complex carbohydrates to help stabilize your blood sugar during exercise, so you’ll maintain your strength for longer periods of time. Possibly the drink’s most noticeable benefit comes from its patented alpha L-PolyLactate energy formula, which lowers lactic-acid levels both during and after a workout by a staggering 40 percent—letting you recover your energy and return to your daily routine (including exercise!) faster.
Cytomax Sport Drink consumers, including pro cyclist Michael Sayers, say the drink has positively influenced their athletic development. Their reviews make sense. After all, in addition to its other benefits, Cytomax Sport Drink enhances oxygen delivery by up to 11 percent during exercise, making the activity seem easier and, more important, minimizing the damage to your muscles that leads to next-day soreness. According to CytoSport, its product boasts 80 percent less sugar than comparable ones, aiding in overall fat burn and weight loss.

Bonus!
A bonus? Happily enough, the taste. In Furious Fruit, Citrus Blast, and Wicked Orange, Cytomax Sport Drink is easy to enjoy both during and after workouts.
—Katie Gutierrez

How do you keep your energy from flagging when you’re regularly working out intensively? How about when your training sessions are especially long? Cytomax Energy Gel can help keep your energy levels in high gear, offering cells and muscles a chance to recover quickly after intense workout sessions, as well as stabilizing blood sugar while you exercise. An energy gel offers a quick, efficient way to increase energy levels right when you need it.

Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
Pre- and post-workout nutrition are essential for athletes, bodybuilders, and those who exercise regularly. Making sure your body has enough energy to get through a workout requires eating foods that are high in both carbohydrates and protein, giving you the right type of fuel to sustain your body during training.

Pre-workout nutrition is recommended up to one hour before your workout; you can snack on a variety of quality foods and supplements that are high in complex carbohydrates. These carbohydrates in particular release a steady supply of sugar to the muscles, so you don’t experience a sugar crash during or after a workout. Cytomax Energy Gel from CytoSport is made of complex carbohydrates, and works well as a meal replacement or addition to a small snack before a workout.
Post-workout nutrition helps your muscles and cells recover, and eating quality complex carbohydrates and protein blends after workouts can help supply the body with fresh energy, vitamins, and minerals. This is often considered the “optimal window” for nutrition, because the body is processing energy at a very high rate. Replenishing electrolytes is essential at this stage, and Cytomax Energy Gel contains electrolytes that can help restore cells for optimal nutrient balance.

What’s Inside?
With a thick, creamy consistency, Cytomax Energy Gel tends to be more satisfying than other water-based gels. It’s made of a blend of complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and, in the Orange flavor, even caffeine. (Vanilla is also available.) The gel makes a convenient snack, and it’s ideal for busy lifestyles when a CytoSport shake or snack isn’t available. The unique formula is also ideal for sugar-sensitive athletes, since it improves digestion with ingredients that encourage rapid gastric emptying. Cytomax Energy Gel contains:

• An alpha-L-PolyLactate blend to buffer lactic acid production in muscles, counteracting muscle soreness and making it easier for muscles to recover after the workout. This can also help replenish liver glycogen more efficiently than glucose alone.


• Succinates, to enhance delivery of oxygen to working muscles.


• Guarana and ginseng, as natural herbal stimulants.

Get with the Program
Cytomax Energy Gel is ideal for busy athletes, or regular exercisers who need a quick snack. The gel travels easily in a single-serve pouch, and can be thrown into a gym bag when you’re on the run. Just one packet before and after a workout can help enhance performance, providing steady energy as you push yourself through the workout, and aid in muscle recovery afterward.
—Sabah Karimi

Eating a well-balanced, energy-enhancing diet is essential for athletes, bodybuilders, and other active people. However, many people don’t grasp the importance of timing their meals and miss out on critical periods during the pre- and post-workout stages when the body can make the best use of supplements and nutrition. Cytomax Pre-Formance is a formula of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats that can be used as a convenient supplement for any nutrition program.
Eating Well = Performing Well
A consistent meal plan can make a significant difference in performance, endurance, and strength-building. Regularly eating quality meals ensures that both the muscles and the body have a chance to recover, and a balanced program can also lead to sustained energy the rest of the day. No matter what your fitness goals may be, the proper timing of your meals is essential for muscle growth, physical recovery, and cell repair. Cytomax Pre-Formance offers many benefits for all athletes, regardless of their fitness level.

A Pre-Workout Meal Helps You Heal
Any form of exercise leads to a process of protein synthesis and cell breakdown. If the body doesn’t have access to vital building blocks for cell growth and repair before a workout, it will start to use the body’s own resources for energy. This often leads to muscle weakness, fatigue, and burnout. An effective pre-workout supplement, Cytomax Pre-Formance can help increase amino acid availability in the body, which in turn prevents muscle tissue breakdown. What you eat before a workout is just as important as what you eat directly afterward in the post-workout recovery stages; a pre-workout formula ensures that you’ll have the nutrition you require at the ready, right when your body needs it most.
The Lowdown on Pre-Formance
Cytomax Pre-Formance is a blend of important macronutrients the body needs daily. Its formula consists of a balanced ratio of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals carefully designed to promote sustainable energy levels and encourage the recovery process. The formula is available in four flavors:

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  Chocolate Milk.


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  Creamy Orange.


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  Vanilla Crème.


• 
  Wild Berry.

As a meal replacement, try mixing Pre-Formance with the original Cytomax formula. This combination is best taken 15 minutes before a training session, and since it’s easy to digest, blood will be made available to your muscles and joints, flowing smoothly through your stomach. This process provides extra energy to your entire body.
Why Cytomax Pre-Formance?
Cytomax Pre-Formance is made of a proprietary blend of antioxidants that can reduce free-radical damage in the body; lean fats that promote protein synthesis; and alpha PolyLactate, which can help minimize post-exercise muscle soreness. It also contains CoQ10, a supplement that can improve cardiovascular performance—a necessity for anyone following a strenuous exercise regimen.
Cytomax Pre-Formance is ideal for athletes who are attempting to perform for long periods of time or exercising intensively. Since it can help reduce production of stress hormones, the formula also makes it easy to train harder and more frequently.—Sabah Karimi

Athletes, bodybuilders, and others who live active lifestyles need to follow key principles of nutrition for effective post-workout recovery. Training and exercise can put stress on the body, and performance and endurance can suffer without adequate nutrition. Cytomax Recovery offers a convenient option; since the formula is infused with healthy fats and quality carbohydrates and proteins, it offers the ultimate replenishment for cell and muscle restoration.
If you’re planning on starting a new training program, or simply looking for ways to increase strength and power for future workouts, be vigilant about what you eat after working out.
Cytomax Recovery
Cytomax Recovery is a post-workout meal-replacement powder made with quality ingredients. Once it’s mixed with the liquid of your choice, it becomes an effective post-workout recovery formula that is balanced in carbohydrates, protein, and fat and easily absorbed by the body. Athletes of any age need to take advantage of the “absorption window” that lasts at least one hour after exercise. A balanced recovery formula can help keep the metabolism running at its peak levels, and even help with muscle growth and repair. Cytomax Recovery contains critical ingredients that are not commonly found in food: EvoPro, Lean Lipids, and CytoVite.
EvoPro
A complete protein formula that mimics mother’s milk, EvoPro is designed to help muscles grow and repair themselves easily and is made of an amino acid and peptide complex. It is one of the key ingredients in Cytomax Recovery, and the proprietary blend may aid in muscle growth.
Lean Lipids
Lean Lipids are the healthy fats your body needs in your daily diet. These can help improve body-fat metabolism and encourage protein synthesis, and are vital for muscle recovery and mineral retention.
CytoVite
CytoSport’s proprietary blend of alpa L-PolyLactate and other nutrients, CytoVite is designed to protect your muscle cells and tissues from oxidative stress and replenish the body with essential glycogen.

Post-Workout Recovery
Consuming the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats immediately after a workout can speed up the body’s natural recovery process, strengthening the muscles and delivering vital nutrients to cells. Right after a workout, the body is in a high-absorption state; this means that anything ingested up to two hours after an intensive training session is likely to be absorbed immediately. Since the body’s metabolism and core body temperature are also raised, digestion and assimilation of nutrients are smoother and much more efficient.

Training Hard? Eat Right

A balanced diet made up of quality foods and supplements can complement any training program, but pay special attention to your post-workout nutritional needs. Since you’ll be absorbing most of the nutrients from food and drinks during this time, it is essential that you provide the body with the strength-building nutrition it needs. Drinking Cytomax Recovery is an easy and convenient way to encourage cell repair and muscle growth after a strenuous workout.

—Sabah Karimi

Whether you’re a runner, a weight lifter, or just an active person, making sure your body has a quality source of energy is critical for high performance. Endurance athletes in particular need to eat for strength and recovery after intensive workouts, and having the right type of fuel available can be easier with a nutritional supplement. Cytomax provides a convenient way to get just the right amount of nutrients you need to reduce fatigue, enhance performance, and enjoy a healthy recovery.
Importance of Energy Drinks
When you’re busy training, it can be challenging to eat a balanced diet, especially if you don’t always have time to prepare meals. Meal-replacement bars, shakes, powders, and ready-to-drink energy drinks offer an alternative for any busy athlete. With a variety of flavors and combinations, it’s simple to include these in a daily diet.
Energy drinks are a tasty alternative to food and meals during training and exercise, and are readily absorbed by the body for immediate digestion. Since it doesn’t take long for the body to process the formula, energy drinks can be enjoyed before or after a workout for maximum absorption.
Benefits of Cytomax
Cytomax is one of the leading high-performance energy drinks on the market, making it easy to achieve optimum performance and quickly stabilize the body after intensive workouts. The formula’s proprietary blend of fast-acting ingredients includes:

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  Alpha L-PolyLactate: an ingredient that can prevent the lactic acid buildup that’s often the cause of a “muscle burn” sensation.


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  Guarana extract: an energy-boosting herb.


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  Ginseng extract: another herbal supplement that can increase energy and boost circulation.


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  Essential amino acids: the building blocks of protein that aid with protein synthesis and muscle recovery.


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  Electrolytes: substances that help the body recuperate sufficiently by balancing salt levels in the blood.


• 
  Lactate-based calories: sustainable energy from a quality complex carbohydrate source.

Cytomax is designed to reduce oxygen consumption for the muscles, a process that often leads to muscle breakdown and fatigue. A serving of Cytomax, both before and after a workout, can increase the recovery rate and make it much easier for your body to perform at a higher level. University studies suggest that Cytomax can reduce perceived exertion during workouts by as much as 20 percent.

Many athletes don’t realize the importance of electrolytes; electrolyte depletion can very easily lead to muscle cramping, fatigue, and energy loss. Cytomax delivers these much-needed electrolytes with each serving.
Including Cytomax in Your Diet
Cytomax is available in a variety of tasty flavors and can be enjoyed as a shake when combined with water or milk, or even mixed into oatmeal or cereal. Top flavors include:

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  Cool Citrus.


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  Go Grape.


• 
  Peachy Keen.


• 
  Tangy Orange.


• 
  Tropical Fruit.


• 
  Cranberry Grapefruit.


• 
  Pink Lemonade.


• 
  Apple Berry.

Just a serving before or after a workout can provide your body with essential nutrients and an added energy boost.
—Sabah Karimi

Because of the extra demands they make on their bodies, it’s especially important for athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts to maintain a steady diet of complex carbohydrates. Balanced nutrition is essential during training, and knowing which foods and supplements to choose is part of the process. Cytomax Lite offers one convenient option to get the quality carbohydrates and electrolytes you need for optimal performance, without extra calories.
Complex Carbohydrates’ Role in Training
Complex carbohydrates provide a steady source of energy for even the most intensive workouts; this provides just enough fuel during training, and can help protect the cells during the recovery process. Among the main food sources for complex carbohydrates are potatoes, brown rice, and plant-based foods. These are also considered to be low-glycemic foods that can be beneficial to any diet.
Dietary Importance of Low-Glycemic Foods
What you eat at every meal affects the level of insulin released in your body, and this is determined by the amount of sugar in your blood. If you’re constantly experiencing a rise in blood sugar and glucose, the body will have difficulty going into “fat-burning” mode and using food for energy. Slow-burning carbohydrates are found in a variety of foods such as oatmeal, beans, and brown rice. However, these can be cumbersome to prepare and travel with. Cytomax Lite offers another option.
Electrolytes Play a Part
Hydration and electrolytes are necessary for cellular balance, helping you sustain muscle strength through even the most challenging workout. Electrolytes are chemicals in the body that carry a charge to nerves and muscles. Common side effects of electrolyte imbalance include cramping and muscle weakness, and electrolyte replenishment is necessary for all athletes to stay healthy and strong.
Exercising in the heat often leads to large losses of salt, which can in turn lead to an electrolyte imbalance. At this stage, the body naturally sends a signal to increase fluids. Puffiness, fluid retention, and swollen hands and ankles are some signs of an imbalance, and replenishment is necessary after every workout. Cytomax Lite contains just enough electrolytes to bring the body into balance after a demanding workout.
Cytomax Lite
A balanced meal or replacement, both before and after a workout, ensures that your body maintains steady energy throughout your training session. Cytomax Lite is made with a proprietary blend of low-glycemic starches, fructose, and maltodextrin. This means it is released into the bloodstream slowly and steadily, providing just enough energy to get you through a workout without losing strength or stamina.

Hydration and balanced electrolytes will help your muscles stay strong while reducing the chance of fatigue. Cytomax Lite also contains electrolytes that can make it much easier to recover after a workout. It also contains ingredients that help you:

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  Overcome muscle “burn” by delivering alpha L-PolyLactate to muscles. By helping manage buildup of lactic acid in the muscles, it can reduce lactic acid-based muscle pain and soreness.


• 
  Maintain a steady level of energy. The complex carbohydrates in Cytomax Lite can help keep blood-sugar levels steady and balanced throughout your workout.


• 
  Maintain a low-calorie diet. At just 80 calories per serving, Cytomax Lite offers a healthy meal option when you are on a low-calorie eating plan.


• 
  Absorb natural nutrients for energy. Infused with lemon bioflavonoids and amino acids, Cytomax Lite makes it easy to push your training to the next level.


• 
  Reduce free-radical damage. Cytomax Lite contains high levels of antioxidants and minerals that can protect cells and reduce the risk of damage.

—Sabah Karimi

CoQ10 sounds more like a play shouted out on the football field than what it really is—a vitamin-like substance found in nearly every cell of the body. CoQ10 is the abbreviated version of its more formal name, Coenzyme Q10. A coenzyme is sort of like an assistant that helps complete chemical reactions in the body. CoQ10 has an important job working in the mitochondria, a fancy name for the energy-producing part of cells, where it assists in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is what cells use for energy to make chemical reactions and muscle contractions. In addition to assisting with the vital job of energy production, CoQ10 also functions as an antioxidant.

The Heart Helper
Although it’s an important substance to every cell, there are a few vital organs that have especially high concentrations of CoQ10, including the heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. It’s in matters of the heart where CoQ10 has generated the most excitement concerning its potential, but other areas of use are emerging, too.

Research that has found CoQ10 supplementation can be of great benefit to certain groups of people, especially those with lower than normal levels of CoQ10. One such group at risk for suboptimal levels is people with congestive heart failure, or CHF. CHF occurs when the heart has trouble pumping enough blood to all the organs. Studies have found that adding oral CoQ10 supplements to the current medication regimen of CHF patients, but not alone, seems to help improve their quality of life. These patients require fewer visits to the hospital and also report improvements in their CHF symptoms. Those with the lowest levels of CoQ10 initially tend to have the best results after correcting those low levels with supplements. In Japan and in many parts of Europe, CoQ10 is part of the standard treatment plan for CHF and other heart-related problems. Most studies have used dosages of 100 milligrams per day.

In other studies, heart attack sufferers who begin taking 120 milligrams of CoQ10 per day appear to significantly reduce their risk of having additional cardiac events, including having another heart attack.

Statin Drugs and CoQ10 Depletion

Statin drugs, commonly prescribed to lower high cholesterol levels, appear to deplete natural CoQ10 levels in the body. Many health-care professionals recommend supplementing with CoQ10 while on these statins or the dietary supplement red yeast rice, which works like a statin, to replenish potentially depleted stores. Some popular statins are Lipitor, Zocor, and Crestor. Beta blockers taken for high blood pressure can also lower natural CoQ10 levels. Some research has found that taking CoQ10 in addition to prescribed blood pressure medication can further reduce blood pressure, decreasing the need for higher drug doses and sometimes eliminating the need for medication altogether.

Additional Areas of Interest
Higher doses of CoQ10 appear to improve immune system function in those with HIV, and delay the decline associated with Parkinson’s when given in the beginning stages of the disease. Researchers have also studied CoQ10’s effect on migraines, breast cancer, and athletic performance.

Manufacturers not only offer stand-alone CoQ10 supplements, but they also include the compound as an ingredient in some of their products, such as Nature’s Way’s cholesterol control formula Sytrinol with CoQ10 and CytoSport’s meal replacement powder Cytomax Pre-Formance.

Always talk to your doctor before adding more supplements to your current regimen. Although CoQ10 is generally considered safe with few side effects, it could interact with certain medications, including Coumadin (warfarin), a commonly prescribed blood thinner, and some chemotherapy drugs.
—Megan Witt

If you’re going to run, lift, bike, or train, you’ve got to have carbohydrates. Carbs are like gas in your tank—if you run out, you’ll go nowhere fast. Supplement with CytoCarb II when you exercise, and it’ll be like filling your tank up with premium.

Why Do We Need Carbs?
Our body converts the carbohydrates we eat into glycogen, which in turn is converted by our cells into adenosine phosphate (ATP). ATP provides the cellular energy that makes our muscle cells work. Without ATP, your muscle cells can’t do any work, and the big workout you planned grinds to a humbling halt, well short of your goal.
To stay fueled up and going strong, you’ve got to replace the carbs you burn when you exercise. Sounds easy, but getting the right amount of carbs is the trick. CytoCarb II is designed for custom formulization. Mix up the blend that’s right for you, and you’ll go longer and harder and feel better doing it.

Formulate CytoCarb II for Your Needs
Chugging a bottle of sports drink and reaching new heights of athletic prowess may work on a television commercial, but in the real world, there’s no one-size-fits-all recipe for peak performance. Since we all have different metabolisms, we require different amounts of carbohydrates to function at our best.
CytoCarb II is an easy-to-mix powder; perfect for customizing the concentration that works for you. You can custom-blend the amount of carbs you’re taking in by mixing CytoCarb II into juices, water, or shakes. You’ll have energy to burn—the right amount of it for your needs.

Make the Most of Recovery Time
While you’re enjoying a pleasant post-workout buzz, don’t forget to take care of your body. The 30 to 60 minutes after exercise are crucial to muscle recovery. CytoSport II will reload your cells with the glycogen they need to stay anabolic, preventing muscle breakdown and rebuilding your glycogen stores. This post-workout carbo boost allows your muscles to recover and rebuild themselves, ready to go for the next session.

Complex Carbs, Not Simple Sugars
CytoCarb II isn’t loaded with sugary, fat-producing carbs. It’s packed with complex carbohydrates that burn clean and provide more lasting energy than sugary sports drinks. And it’s easy to tap into this gold mine of solid carbohydrate power. CytoCarb II dissolves quickly—it’s easy to blend with water or whatever else quenches your thirst. Mix some up a half-hour or so before your workout, and keep drinking every 15 minutes while you’re exercising. Blended with Cytomax, it’s a great way to stay hydrated and keep your energy levels high when you’re working hard.

You’ll Feel the Difference
Fueling up with CytoCarb II will make a difference when you exercise, and help speed recovery after you’re done. When you need more carbs to achieve your goals, CytoCarb II is the key ingredient that will fuel your success.
—Ken Nail