Amino Energy has been one of Optimum Nutrition’s flagship products for many years, promoted as an anytime energy booster, focus and recovery aid, and pre-workout. It contains an "Amino Blend" consisting of 5 grams of amino acids for muscle recovery support between workouts, and a 160mg "Energy Blend" consisting of 100mg of naturally sourced caffeine, 50mg of green tea and 10mg of green coffee to heighten energy levels, support mental alertness and focus, and a slight boost in metabolism. Amino Energy is also available in a wide variety of flavors to fit pretty much anyone's taste preference.

It’s important to note here that the "Amino Blend" is a proprietary blend of amino acids, so there’s no way to know if you’re receiving the standard 2:1:1 ratio of leucine, isoleucine, and valine that is an ideal ratio for a BCAA supplement. The issue with any proprietary blend is you don't actually know the individual doses of each of the ingredients in the blend. In this instance, you just don’t know how many grams of each amino acid are present in the 5 gram serving, only that there's 5 grams of amino acids in total.

"Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up." - Rocky Balboa.

Amino Energy has been the frontrunner for quite some time now when it comes to energizing amino formulas, but now a new contender has entered the game, and they are bringing the heat to say the least! Nutrabio is highly known in the sports nutrition world for their ultrahigh quality products containing formulas based on the latest science and health research, and full transparency. Nutrabio just released their newest and very promising energy infused amino acid product Amino Kick.

Amino Kick boasts a powerful amino acid formula combining 2.5 grams of BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids) and 3.25 grams of EAAs (Essential Amino Acids), along with a potent hydration complex comprised of 294mg of Himalayan Sea Salt, 250mg of CocoPure (Coconut Powder Water), 227mg of Potassium Phosphate, and 103mg of Magnesium Oxide. This blend will aid in muscular recovery, help decrease muscle soreness, increase muscular endurance, delay muscle fatigue, boost hydration, and improve athletic performance.

Nutrabio has topped off Amino Kick with a 160mg blend of green coffee and green tea to increase mental alertness, boost energy levels with a clean, smooth, and sustaining energy source, and increase cognitive abilities such as focus and concentration so you can tackle your work day and boost productivity. 

The Amino Kick formula appears to be a true contender for the top spot of energizing amino formulas, and with several absolutely mouthwatering flavors, they are bringing a strong case to dethrone the longtime frontrunner. Today we're going to do a side by side comparison of these 2 delicious, recovery enhancing formulas, comparing each category of the 2 formulas to see who reigns supreme! Could there be a new king of energizing amino acid products? Let's find out!

Amino Blends

• Amino Kick "Amino Recovery Matrix" - 6 grams

• BCAA content - 2.5 grams per serving

• EAA content - 3.25 grams per serving

• Amino Energy "Amino Blend" - 5 grams

• BCAA content - unknown

• EAA content - unknown

I know what you're thinking... only 1 gram difference? Why would that matter? Let me explain. We don't know the doses of each amino acid in the Amino Energy formula, so a 1 gram difference could make a vast difference depending on which amino acids contain the higher doses. We know the exact BCAA and EAA count in Amino Kick, so a 1 gram difference in BCAAs could be huge. Ideally, you would want 6-7 grams of aminos per serving to help fuel muscular growth and repair optimally. 

WINNER: Amino Kick

Energy & Focus

• Amino Kick "Energy & Focus Matrix" - 160mg

• Amino Energy "Energy Blend" - 160mg

Both formulas contain 160mg energy blend sourced from green coffee extract and green tea, so the energy and focus from both will be pretty much identical. Both will provide a smooth energy source and boost in cognition to help power you through your workout or workday. 

WINNER: Tie

Flavors

Both Amino Kick and Amino Energy have a wide variety of delicious flavors that will have your tastebuds craving another sip (or gulp). Let's take a look at some of the most popular flavors in both products to see how they compare, and the ultimate test.. how they actually taste!

Transparency

• Amino Kick - Full transparency

Like every product in the Nutrabio line, Amino Kick has full disclose/transparency of each ingredient in the formula. Why is this important? As we discussed earlier, without a transparent label there's no way of knowing how much of an ingredient you're actually getting with each serving. This transparency helps customers understand how their supplement will deliver the desired effect, depending on their health goals.

• Amino Energy - Proprietary blend

The "Amino Blend" in Amino Energy is a proprietary blend of amino acids, so there’s no way to actually know if you’re receiving the standard 2:1:1 ratio of leucine, isoleucine, and valine that is an ideal ratio for a BCAA supplement. There's also no way of knowing how much of each amino acid you're consuming. This is just one reason why fully transparent labels are so important and are becoming more of the norm.

WINNER: Amino Kick

Performance & Hydration

• Amino Kick 

On top of the 6 grams of amino acids and the energy and focus blend, Amino Kick is also formulated with a 624mg "Electrolyte Hydration Matrix". This matrix contains high amounts of electrolytes from natural sources like Himalayan sea salt and Potassium Phosphate (for repair and growth of cells and tissues), and a 250mg dose of CocoPure (coconut water powder) to further fuel performance and hydration. 

Amino Kick also includes a 500mg dose of L-Taurine in the Amino Recovery Matrix. 500mg of Taurine will definitely present some great benefits for athletic performance -  increased power/force output, enhanced muscle contractions, improvements in stamina and endurance, increased cellular hydration, accelerated recovery, increased cognitive function (focus, concentration, memory, learning), and supports central nervous system function.

• Amino Energy 

The original Amino Energy formula doesn't contain any further ingredients to boost performance in the gym or on the field, or increase hydration. The "Amino Blend" does contain L-Taurine as well, but without knowing the exact dosage, there's now way to tell if the dosage is enough to actually be effective. 

Amino Energy does have a 2nd version that includes electrolytes, but it's only available in a select few flavors. This version contains an additional 440mg of electrolytes to help fuel hydration.

WINNER: Amino Kick

Amino Kick delivers a higher electrolyte dosage, along with the addition of coconut water powder to increase hydration. Both formulas contain Taurine, which does fuel performance, but without knowing the dose in Amino Energy, there's no way to tell if it will be effective at actually providing benefits to fuel performance.

Price

• Amino Kick - $23.99

• Amino Energy - $24.99

Despite the higher doses of amino acids per serving, the addition of electrolytes and coconut water, and the transparent ingredient label, Amino Kick is actually actually lower in cost than Amino Energy. Faster recovery, better hydration, AND delicious flavors to match, all while delivering a lower cost per unit... Amino Kick is definitely bringing the heat here!!

WINNER: Amino Kick

WINNER

AMINO KICK by Nutrabio. 

Nutrabio has created a champion in the class of energizing amino formulas with Amino Kick. While Amino Energy has long been the top of the class in this category, comparing these 2 formulas highlights the differences between the two, and demonstrates that Amino Kick is a superior product. While both products are great at what they are designed for, the additional benefits of Amino Kick, and knowing exactly what you're getting, give it the definite edge!