Phase 8 Protein Reviews (MuscleTech)

Muscletech is not a new name to the bodybuilding supplement industry, but venturing into the sustained release protein market is something new for them. Phase 8 aims to “deliver 8 hours of continuous amino acids” through 6 different protein sources.

Product Profile

Comparing the profile to other sustained release proteins out there: I’ll focus on Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion Probiotic and BSN Syntha-6, Allmax Hexapro and Dymatize Elite Fusion 7 as examples.

Phase8 sources it’s protein from different 6 sources (I’ll list them in order of quantity):

• Milk Protein Concentrate/Milk Protein Isolate
• Whey Protein Concentrate
• Micellar Casein
• Calcium Caseinate
• Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate
• Whey Protein Isolate

Serving Size: 42g. Calories: 150, Fats: 2g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Carbs: 7g, Sugars: 0g, Protein: 26g.

In comparison:-

Myofusion Probiotic

Whey Protein Concetrate, Brown Rice Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Isolate, Egg Protein, Milk Protein Isolate and Partially Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate.

Serving Size: 39g. Calories: 150, Fats: 2g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Carbs: 9g, Sugars: 3g, Protein: 24g.

BSN Syntha-6

Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Isolate, Calcium Caseinate, Micellar Casein, Milk Protein Isolate, Egg Albumin

Serving Size: 47g. Calories: 200, Fats: 6g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Carbs: 15g, Sugars: 4g, Protein: 22g.

Allmax Hexapro

Whey Protein Concentrate, Milk Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate, Micellar Casein, Egg Albumin, Hydrolyzed Whey

Serving Size: 43g. Calories: 176, Fats: 4g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Carbs:10g Sugars:1g, Protein: 25g.

Dymatize Elite Fusion 7

Whey Protein Concentrate And Whey Protein Isolate, Complete Milk Protein, Calcium Caseinate, Micellar Casein, Milk Protein Isolate And Egg Albumin

Serving Size: 44g. Calories: 190, Fats: 6g, Cholesterol: 25mg, Carbs:11g Sugars:1g, Protein: 23g.

So How Do They Compare?

Right away we can see that Myofusion is probably the worst here, using brown rice protein concentrate right after the WPC. If we compare Muscletech’s Phase8 to Syntha-6, you get more protein, less fat and a smaller serving size. The rest of the group all use egg protein which is a great medium duration protein. Phase8 does not have any hence why there is no cholesterol.

Comparing to Hexapro and Elite Fusion 7, Phase 8 does not have a big edge over these two as they both have excellent profiles. What I like about it though is the use of Milk Protein as the primary protein source vs the rest which all have WPC as number 1. This leads me to believe that at least half of the protein from Phase 8 is from casein, which is long duration. Overall comparing to the top protein companies out there this is easily in the top half based on profile alone.

Here’s something I’d like to mention though: the protein count in Phase8 is inflated. Taurine and Glycine aminos have been added to boost the count of the protein. I would say in reality there should be somewhere between 20-23g of actual protein per serving. This is the same for Hexapro, Myofusion and Elite Fusion which has a “bcaa” blend. I recognize this is an industry problem and as long as there isn’t too much of it there’s not much we can do about it. I’m glad to see though that the Phase8 taurine and glycine is listed after the WPI and hydrolyzed WPI.

Based on profile: I would rate this a solid 9/10. It’s missing some egg protein and less taurine/glycine to make it a 10/10.

Mixability

This is one of the most powder like proteins I have ever come across. It’s VERY fine. Mixing it is no problem however, slightly messier as like flour it sticks on to everything and your hands included when you scoop it out of the container. The instructions for mixing are garbage IMO. 8oz water (210mL) for a scoop. This will make it super thick and not really pleasant to drink. I would really advise 300mL or more per scoop, or 100mL per 30cc scoop. The scooper included is quite big and rated at 90cc. I personally like to use a 60cc scooper that I obtained from another product instead.

Mixing it in a shaker is easy and it mixes quite well. I have yet to have lumps after a good shake. My shaker bottle has a blender ball.

Rating: 9/10, If it didn’t stick so easily everywhere it would be 10/10.

Taste

I have Phase 8 in three different flavors – got to be thorough :-). Chocolate Milk, Peanut Butter Chocolate and Cookies and Cream. It is really sweet as far as proteins go, so I mix it with more liquid to dilute the sweetness. If you don’t like thicker shakes, this may also not be for you.

Milk Chocolate: Tastes pretty true to it’s name. Mixing it in milk helps too, It tastes like a chocolate milk shake.
9/10

Cookies and Cream: Smells a little odd when you open the tub but when you mix it up it tastes pretty good! More cream than cookies here but it is easily my favorite flavor of the three. I think they could have included more cookies to it however 🙂
9.5/10

Peanut butter chocolate: This one is highest rated on BB.com but to me, it has too much of a raw peanut smell and taste. I was hoping it would taste like my Peanut Butter Chocolate Isoflex as that one tasted exactly like a reese cup. This one is like the Milk Chocolate + Peanut. More chocolate peanut butter than peanut butter chocolate. A lot of people like this one but to me the strong raw peanut smell is a little off putting.
8.5/10

All of them taste fairly decent though and are quite easy to drink. I’ve tasted much worse so I’m pretty happy with the taste of these. Just slightly too sweet.

Value

At normal prices ($40 a 2lb tub + shipping) Phase8 is a bit expensive (but see below). You only get 22 scoops per tub and the tub basically comes half filled (I guess plastic tubs are cheaper at standard sizes)! At this price the price per shake is quite high. I would give it a 6/10 when on at regular prices.

UPDATE: They now do a 50 serving tub – which is much better value for money.

You can usually find it on sale too, so at street prices value is pretty good! With shipping it’s usually around $50 per larger tub so that’s $1 per serving. At this price you’re getting pretty good value for nutrition, and if you compare $1 to buying 20+g of decent quality meat, this is going to come out cheaper.

Value for big tub is 9/10 and I would only buy this product when it’s on sale.

Effectiveness/Overall

This is NOT a protein with WPC and a little bit of everything else included just to make it seem like a sustained release protein. For sustained release, this is great, and the inclusion of Micellar Casein is really great as that will really take up to 8 hours to digest.

You Can Buy Phase 8 From Amazon Here

I would have liked to see some egg protein in there as well however, but having more casein is fine. Having this profile, I think the best time to take it is in the mornings, mid-afternoons or right before bed. I would stick to a WPC or WPI however for right after workouts.

The 7g of carbs don’t really do too much, but are there to spike your insulin levels, and also makes the shake thicker and more satisfying to drink. I have not felt bloated after having it ever and the inclusion of 100mg per serving of amylase and protease are nice for digestion.

I am lactose sensitive and cannot drink normal milk, so I like to mix this with almond, soy or lactose free. Mixing with milk makes it froth up more so it’s like a thicker chocolate latte – soy and almond do not do that. That being said Phase8 is easy on the stomach and is in my opinion a solid product. Effectiveness, I can only say that protein is delivered more as a food source, and for meeting my macros it’s doing a darn fine job.

Overall: 9/10

Would purchase again (when on sale).