MuscleTech Phase8 Whey & Casein Protein Powder, Vanilla

I love this brand. The best value for the money bar none in my opinion. I can get huge quantities, with quality protein, decent flavors and good prices.

I use the regular MuscleTech during the day and at night, right before bed, I mix up one of these bad boys. Let me tell you, I was VERY skeptical since I’m a die-hard chocoholic and generally hate vanilla but this vanilla was the best value and I decided to give it a chance.

I’ve been on a cut and pounding the weights hard to maintain muscle mass and strength during the cut. I wanted to maximize protein/amino acid volume in my blood and protein muscle synthesis. So I figure getting a long-acting protein like Casein during the sleep “fast” would be a great way to do this.

The good news is the protein tastes great by itself and occasionally I mix it up by tossing in cinnamon or cocoa powder or powdered peanut butter and I’m on my way to flavor town. I get an upset stomach, bloating, and gas from some powders, but not Casein. It was gentle on my gut and during this diet cycle I not only lost weight and fat, I seem to have gained a little muscle and everyone is commenting that my back and shoulders and arm actually look bigger, not just due to fat loss, but greater peak and volume and lat spread. ON A CUT! I’m no mass monster by a long shot but it’s a great feeling.

Just for reference I am 186cm and cut 5kg from 100kg to 95kg and was hitting the gym 4 to 5 times a day, walking cardio 6x a week and a short jog 3x times a week and roughly 1.1g of protein per lb of body weight (or 2.42g per kg if my math is right).

Highly Recommended to tweak your MPS (muscle protein synthesis) to a higher level during your training cycle by taking advantage of the benefits of slow digesting protein during your 8 hours of sleep (the 8 hours or more is KEY for growth and recovery).

Good luck!

Good quality. Good price. Good taste.
I buy one per month for the last year and half.

UPDATED REVIEW
I have stopped using this product. The price has gone up some and the quality has gone down or become inconsistent. It’s not terrible, but there are better products out there with similar formulas. I have dropped my rating from 5 to 3 stars, but 2.5 stars is probably more accurate.

My main issues are that the powder is so fine that it goes all over the place when getting it out of the container. And it is not that easy to dissolve. The taste for the vanilla version I used is maybe OK to chalky – varies from container to container. They have also increased pricing somewhat – though to be fair, prices vary depending on where and when you look.

I now use Syntha 6 in regular or Edge version. I think they cost a little more usually, but don’t have the problems of the muscletech product reviewed here.

ORIGINAL REVIEW
I have tired both vanilla and chocolate. They both tasted pretty good – the vanilla tastes like a very good malt, and I liked it a bit better than the chocolate.

I use half milk and half water as the base and add the powder while stirring with a spoon. Easy to blend. The vanilla looks more agreeable when blended. The chocolate not so nice looking then.

I like that it is sort of a time release protein. It keeps the blood level steadier than plain whey protein. I drink one serving first thing in the morning and another before bed. I do use a regular whey product during the day. Trying to get 150 – 180 g of protein a day and would not be able to without protein powders.

One downside of the Phase 8 product in vanilla is that it can be quite difficult to find – here or at a local store. Not sure why that is. The company should up production.

Of all the protein powders I have tried, 8 Hour Protein ( formerly called Phase 8) is definitely at the top for quality, value and price. Pretty good vanilla flavor (recently name changed to Vanilla Cake) and relatively straight forward ingredients. Definitely have seen results when taking it after workouts and at times before bed. A good in between meal snack as well. Mixes well with water or milk.

However, It used to come in a large jug. Was easy to handle, scoop out and seal with the lid. The company recently changed the packaging to a large sack that is supposedly resealable. It is awful. You require scissors to open the package as there is no starter notch or perforation. The resealable zip lock does not work. It is cheap thin garbage. Try pressing it shut and it does not close and the fine powder goes airborne and everywhere. Messy. The jugs were better but they must be cutting costs. Surprise surprise.