Here are my top three favorite carbohydrates of all time: 1) breadsticks, 2) pizza crust, and 3) spaghetti with extra butter. And, you know what, extra butter on the breadsticks and pizza crust as well.
Oh! and beer! Actually, beer is my favorite carbohydrate. Beer with extra butter, and maybe like a cupcake on the side, or something. With butter. Extra butter …and a saltine cracker.
Unfortunately, these aren’t the carbohydrates we’re talking about when we’re talking about the Best Carbohydrate Supplement of 2020. In fact, these are the types of carbs that many of us are desperately (and futilely) avoiding in our diets, let alone in our supplements.
Except it’d be a mistake to entirely avoid supplementary carbohydrates, especially if you’ve entirely removed carbs from your main diet.
Because you need carbs.
Carbs provide the basic food fuel to synthesize the body’s basic unit of energy: ATP. And you need ATP for damn near everything, including sitting up straight long enough to read this article.
So, in this guide, we’ll cover not only the importance of carbohydrate supplements. But also their exercise health benefits, how to identify the best carb stack, as well as which is the best carbohydrate supplement of 2020.
And all you’ll need to do is read the damn thing!
Table of Contents
The Best 5 Carbohydrate Guide
Based on the name alone, there shouldn’t be too much confusion as to what a carbohydrate supplement is: it’s a fitness health supplement primarily composed of carbohydrates. Which are nutrients consisting of organic compounds required for the synthesis of cellular energy.
Grains, starches, sugars—these are basically synonymous with “carbs,”. Because, well, they are carbs; or at least they’re primarily composed of carb compounds.
While, for the most part, people with excess fat tissue who are looking to lose that fat mass via exercise, are trying to avoid carbohydrates to encourage the body to burn fat as a fuel source for energy production.
However, intense athletes and exercisers may significantly improve their competitive training results with a smart carbohydrate supplement.
And, even so, those looking to lose fat may improve their weight composition by cutting dietary carbs while consuming supplementary carbs during exercise.
To explain how all that works, we’ll need to explain in further detail:
Why Take a Carbohydrate Supplement?
The idea of “carb loading” is an old one, and an increasingly interesting one considering how many of us are consuming way too many carbohydrates in our diets as is.
Remember the “Food Pyramid” that recommended a daily diet that’s 40% composed of refined grains, such as pasta, bread, and cereal? Turns out all that was pretty much BS, and that eating too many carbs was actually making most of us fat. Yet, even so, carbs remain incredibly important to our exercise health and importance, which is why many of us still “load up” on carbs prior to competition and training.
Or we lamely joke that we’re “carb loading” while stuffing our faces with Pizza Hut breadsticks and heavily buttered dinner rolls.
This is because carbohydrates provide glucose. This easily converts to ATP energy, the basic unit of energy required for high-intensity training and general muscle maintenance.
Stored in muscle tissue as glycogen, glucose essentially fuels exercise.
So, exercise burns through glycogen; however, once we deplete our glycogen reserves, muscle strength drops off. Resulting in inefficient workouts and poor exercise results.
Naturally, this is a common problem for health enthusiasts who are trying to lower their carb intake.
One of the main benefits of taking a carb supplement is that it allows us to reduce the amount of carbs we consume in our diet without sacrificing the necessity of “carb loading” to exercise.
An effective carbohydrate supplement provides fast-acting carbs that quickly absorb into muscle tissue during exercise, instead of being stored as fat, thereby promoting the following athletic advantages:
Quick Muscle Energy Recharge
Though there are benefits to supplementing them before and after exercise, carbohydrate supplements are typically taken intra-workout (during exercise).
The reason: to provide a quick muscle energy recharge by way of fast-acting, easy-to-absorb carbohydrates.
Emphasis on fast-acting, because when you begin to feel drained from your workout, you’ll want to nip that feeling in the bud quick as possible. And an effective carb supplement will do this by being simple enough to quickly absorb into muscle tissue.
Yes, complex carbs are healthier in a dietary sense, but their complexity takes them longer to act upon the system. And you need those glycogen reserves replenished now.
Prolonged Exercise Endurance
Having said all that… you don’t want an intra-workout supplement that supplies carbs that are too simple.
Really simple carbs do work fast, but they work perhaps too fast, resulting in an unsustainable spike in energy that’s quickly followed by a net energy crash.
Ideally, a carbohydrate stack hits a sort of middle ground between simple and complex carbohydrates to supply not only quick exercise energy spikes but prolonged exercise endurance.
Carbohydrate supplements that hit this happy medium between simple and complex can sustain a muscle energy spike. One that is long enough to enhance immediate exercise performance – without leaving you feeling drained and overwhelmed by the end of your workout.
Enhanced Muscle Growth
Another upside to taking a more long-term, sustainable carbohydrate is the enhanced muscle growth advantages. After all, you need energy not only for “Fight or Flight” exercise performance but also “Rest and Digest” post-workout recovery.
Muscle gains don’t just appear out of thin air (unfortunately). And while we have protein supplements to help us keep up with our worn-and-torn muscles’ exceptional nutrient demands, supplementing a carbohydrate stack, even on our off-days, helps us keep a healthy, well-stocked reserve of glycogen fuel for cellular ATP energy synthesis.
This benefits not only anabolic muscle growth but later exercise performance, especially for fitness enthusiasts with carb-restricted diets.
What to Look for in a Carbohydrate Supplement
Okay, so you want a carbohydrate supplement that supplies a carb form that hits that perfect Goldilocks happy medium between simple and complex… but how the hell do you even know what that looks like? Are we supposed to just take these supplement manufacturers’ word on all this?? No! Don’t be an ignoramus.
Not all carbs are the same, but the two most common carbohydrates for enhanced exercise performance are:
- Dextrose: basically pure glucose, a monosaccharide with a very sweet taste that requires practically zero absorption to work.
- Maltodextrin: a polysaccharide made from starch that lacks dextrose’s sweet taste, yet it’s commonly used as an additive and a source of “pure energy” in sports nutritional drinks and supplements.
Neither are optimal carbohydrate supplements for improving fitness health and performance. Rather what you should for in a carbohydrate supplement is KarboLyn®. This is a homopolysaccharide carbohydrate (meaning that its composed of many monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds) that not only absorbs and acts quicker than dextrose and maltodextrin but hits that simple-complex sweet spot, thanks to its unique homopolysaccharide structure.
Intentionally designed for elite-level athletes, KarboLyn® is the carb ingredient to look for in a carbohydrate supplement. Its unique structure allows it to absorb quickly in the body, yet its semi-complexity sustains its effects for 2+ hours. This spread of effect results in an energy spike that’s quick and powerful without the usual post-energy crash side effects or GI discomfort that come with these types of supplements.
Additionally, look for electrolytes in a carbohydrate supplement. Yes, electrolytes—i.e., those salty trace minerals that help you stay hydrated in the face of a grueling, sweaty workout. These salts not only assist with staying hydrated, which is incredibly important for anabolic muscle gains, but they also help transport carbs into muscle tissue.
Best 5 Supplement’s Criteria for the Best Carbohydrate Supplement of 2020
KarboLyn® and electrolytes—is that all it takes to qualify as the best carbohydrate supplement of 2020? Well, they do make for a great stack, buuuuut the best stack also meets the following criteria:
- Quality: powerful, potent ingredients in an easy-to-absorb formula;
- Quantity: adequate dosages and no unnecessary ingredients;
- Transparency: no proprietary blends that hide the dosages;
- Additives: no unnecessary, junky fillers, colorants, etc.;
- Reputation: the company must also demonstrate exceptional integrity;
- Affordable: the price must match the value.
Plus, it’s best that a carb supplement stays focused on what it does best: have carbs. And not a whole lot else, considering that any unnecessary “hybrid” ingredient elements may detract from the carbs’ absorption rates and, thus, effectiveness.
And the best carbohydrate supplement that fits these criteria:
Best Carbohydrate Supplement of 2020: Performance Lab SPORT Carb
*To Buy, Visit: www.performancelab.com/products/carb
By far the best carbohydrate supplement of 2020 is Performance Lab SPORT Carb.
It’s the new carbohydrate supplement by one of the best supplement manufacturers around. Featuring KarboLyn®, this powder stack delivers a powerful, fast-acting supply of muscle fuel that may go a long way in boosting your muscle gains and competitive exercise performance.
The carbohydrates are top-notch, the flavors are mm-mm good. Inside and out, this supplement stacks all-natural ingredients and additives for all-natural performance enhancement.
Let’s take a closer look at the formula:
Performance Lab SPORT Carb Supplement Facts
Really, there’s not much to this formula, which is a good thing. Many intra-workout carb supplements try to pull off a hybrid mix of (usually) stimulating ingredients, such as caffeine, with their carbohydrate ingredients.
However, Performance Lab SPORT Carb keeps its formula simple. With a clean, easy-to-absorb stack of highly optimized carbohydrates and natural food additives that further optimize the carbohydrates’ efficacy.
All in all, the main bio-active constituents of this formula include:
- KarboLyn®: Performance Lab SPORT Carb fits a solid 40g of this awesome, advanced carbohydrate form into these tasty, 50g scoops of clean, cinnamony goodness. This amount will definitely have you quickly feeling good. Without also feeling like you’re getting an overload of “carb loading” action.
- Himalayan Pink Salt: this is a smart source of natural electrolytes, a mini-mix of trace minerals that help sustain hydration levels throughout the body while also promoting carbohydrate transport into muscle tissue.
- Organic Coconut Sugar: another smart, interesting ingredient, one that also assists with carbohydrate transport into muscle tissue, thereby enhancing the efficacy of SPORT Carb’s KarboLyn® content, while providing natural, delicious flavors to these powder scoops.
Why Performance Lab SPORT Carb is the Best
Powder workout supplements boast a big game when it comes to the ingredients within their formulas, but they become suspiciously quiet when it comes to the “Other Ingredients” that sustain their formulas. This is because they’d rather you not pay too close attention to all the gut-distressing additives and preservatives and artificial flavors. And who knows what the hell else what, they’re filling supplements with these days.
Performance Lab SPORT Carb, like all Performance Lab products, maintains a degree of naturalness and cleanliness not seen in other supplements. And this comes at no cost to the taste of the SPORT Carb powder formula. Cinnamon, chocolate, coconut—these are the literal, not imitative, flavors to this vegan-friendly, eco-friendly stack that genuinely fulfills the “health” promise implied within the term “health supplement.”
How to Take Performance Lab SPORT Carb
The directions for Performance Lab SPORT Carb suggest that you:
Mix 2 scoops (50 g) with 12 oz. (360 ml.) of water. Take 30 minutes before, during, and immediately after training and competition to support fast muscle energy, extended endurance, and robust growth and recovery.
For each of those respective goals, strategically taking this supplement at different times relative to exercise and/or competition may result in various athletic advantages. In more specific terms of when to take this stack, Performance Lab recommends taking SPORT Carb as follows:
- Strength: 2-3 hours prior to training or competition
- Endurance: during training or extended exertion
- Recovery: within 30 minutes after working out
- Growth: during rest day
Where to Buy Performance Lab SPORT Carb
Performance Lab exclusively sells their supplements through their website. To buy Performance Lab SPORT Carb—and all other Performance Lab stacks—head to performancelab.com.
How Much Does It Cost?
As with all Performance Lab products, there are three pricing options for Performance Lab SPORT Carb, depending on how many bottles you add per order. Up to three bottles.
Here’s the total price(s) for how much this stack costs:
- One Bottle: $50 for 40 scoops
- Two Bottles: $95 for 80 scoops (5% saving)
- Three Bottles: $135 for 120 scoops (10% saving)
If you’re planning on taking Performance Lab SPORT Carb daily, or at least each time you work out, definitely buy in bulk to get that discount and save that dough!
Stack Performance Lab SPORT Carb with…
Performance Lab SPORT Pre
Performance Lab’s line of products is great in how easy it is to customize your own mix-and-match stack of sport supplements. One of the more obviously awesome stack combos being SPORT Carb and Performance Lab SPORT Pre; a stim-free pre-workout supplement that packs its capsules with creatine, for cellular energy enhancement, and L-citrulline, for N.O.-boosted muscle pump. And many more powerful pre-workout ingredients.
If muscle fatigue and burnout are major barriers to your exercise goals, Performance Lab SPORT Pre is one of your best stack options to pair with SPORT Carb. Together, these stacks will keep your muscles primed and energized well throughout your workout.
To learn more about Performance Lab SPORT Pre, click here.
Performance Lab SPORT Protein
With SPORT Carb supplying the intra-workout muscle energy fuel necessary to work out harder for longer, you’ll need an additional protein source to meet the heightened nutritional demands of your thoroughly exhausted muscle tissue. Performance Lab SPORT Protein fulfills the post-workout recovery end of this equation. With its impressively effective and unique Oryzatein® certified organic brown rice protein, the only rice protein patented for athletic performance.
Similar to SPORT Carb, Performance Lab SPORT Protein is an all-natural powder stack of vegan-friendly ingredients and flavors.
All vegan-friendly, eco-friendly, clean, green stuff here. Not to mention this protein source is probiotic-enhanced, making it one of the more gut-friendly and digestible protein supplements out there.
To learn more about Performance Lab SPORT Protein, click here.
Performance Lab Stim
Intra-workout carbohydrate supplements don’t need caffeine, despite how many supplement companies try to make this “EXTREME-O!” energy duo work.
However, that doesn’t mean you couldn’t add a little caffeine to your carb stack. For a more stimulating mid-exercise boost, and Performance Lab Stim supplies exactly that and then some. Mixing a modest amount of caffeine with a smart complex of B-vitamins, L-theanine, and L-tyrosine, Performance Lab Stim takes a more brain healthy “nootropic” approach to stim-fueled performance enhancement.
While the caffeine pill market has become somewhat of a cynical, stale affair, Performance Lab Stim is an exciting twist on the familiar caffeine experience. A twist that pairs incredibly well with the more nutritional energy enhancement brought by SPORT Carb.
To learn more about Performance Lab Stim, click here.
Final Thoughts
There you have it: the best carbohydrate supplement of 2020. As well as a few supplement stack options to go along with this awesome intra-workout carb stack. Because, let’s face it, if you’re interested in a carb supplement, odds are you’re also looking at other fitness and health supplements. Given that carb supplements are somewhat of advanced-level fitness interest.
Most fitness noobs are still realizing that there’s such a thing as responsible carb intake. Too bad too many of these fitness noobs define responsible carb intake as no carb intake. Rather it should be less carb intake but also the right type of carb taken at the right time.
There’s a reason our bodies crave them: they are important, especially for high-intensity activities such as exercise. You simple can’t bench-press 315 lbs for multiple sets on water alone. Just ain’t happening, dood.
PS: To Buy Performance Lab SPORT Carb, Visit: www.performancelab.com/products/carb
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