by Chris Shugart
Performance-Enhancing Protein/Carb Bar
When does a nutrition bar become a true, performance-enhancing food? When it's made like this.
A while back, Biotest received a big delivery of product – a huge pallet of Fini bars in unmarked white wrappers. In case you don’t know, good supplement companies do "pilot runs" of their products to test for things like flavor and texture before they produce millions of them.
The pilot run turned out great and production was cranked up. But that big pallet of Fini bars, cases of them left over from testing, was just sitting there… right outside my office.
Naturally, I started to grab one here and there. Then I grabbed another couple. And maybe a couple more. Sometimes I’d stack a dark chocolate crunch bar with a peanut butter crunch bar, stick them in the microwave for 10 seconds, and eat them like giant, high-performance Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Now, if you’re a fan of these bars, you’re probably saying, "Um, Chris, those bars are designed to be eaten before hard workouts and competitions. They aren’t snacks!"
Yeah, I know. And I still worked my way up to eating five of them every day: one before training and four more spread throughout the day or as a lunch replacement. I fully expected to gain some body fat. But, weirdly, I didn’t. The only thing I noticed was having the best workouts of my life and muscular pumps so tight they were almost painful.
So I decided to take a closer look at the ingredients of Fini bars and figure out what was going on.
Protein and Functional Carbs
Aside from 16 grams of protein – a blend of high-quality whey protein isolate and milk protein isolate, not cheap soy like most food bars – Fini bars contain 39 grams of carbohydrate. That’s what initially had me worried. I was a low-carb guy at one time. I’m not anymore, but those carbs scared me a little, given the number of bars I was scarfing down.
Turns out, instead of being primarily made out of syrup and cheap sugars like most "energy" bars, Fini bars contain isomaltulose as the primary carbohydrate. It’s truly a "functional" carb.
Isomaltulose is derived from beets, but the molecules have been enzymatically rearranged to create a carbohydrate that’s fully digested and fully absorbed — but much, much slower than regular, non-functional carbs. That’s how Fini bars sustain your energy for competition or long/intense workouts.
Also, isomaltulose induces a very low blood sugar response. As such, the body releases a very small amount of insulin, which prompts the body to burn stored fat for energy production. Yes, that means these bars actually promote fat burning and improve metabolism.
That explains how I was able to eat so many of them and stay lean. Isomaltulose is a functional carb source that causes the body to oxidize fat at a greater rate, which is one of the ways it improves endurance and athletic performance.
What’s more, studies – randomized, double-blind, controlled cross-over studies – show that cyclists were able to improve their time trial tests by over a minute when using isomaltulose – the difference between winning gold and going home with just the free T-shirt.
Fuel for the Finish
Fini bars weren’t made because Biotest wanted a piece of the nutrition bar market. No, it happened organically. An Olympic cyclist we were working with said she needed a bar that fueled her competitions and helped her stay hydrated without upsetting her stomach.
Finibars were designed just for her and not sold to the general pubic. Later they were tested with every type of athlete, from ultra-marathoners to pro bodybuilders and NFL football players (who would eat them before games and during halftime).
Actor Bradley Cooper would eat them before and after his brutal workouts to prepare for his role in American Sniper. Coach Christian Thibaudeau uses them to tamp down excess cortisol from training and stress. He calls Fini bars "the muscle saver."
Fini bars also provide anti-catabolic protection (very important for natural lifters and athletes) and something called "superhydration." They help pull water into muscle – when consumed with fluids of course – for a superhydration effect, which is critical for supporting and sustaining high-level performance.
And unlike a grocery-store "energy bar," which can upset your stomach during training and sports, Fini bars soothe the digestive tract. As a bonus, they’re wheat-free and gluten-free.
Who Should Use Fini Bars?
- Lifters and bodybuilders who train intensively and love a good pump
- Combat-sport athletes and fighters
- Runners and obstacle racers
- CrossFit athletes
- Military personal
- Hikers
- Anyone who trains their butt off
You won’t find this on the label or on the store page, but I also think Fini bars make a great anytime snack or meal replacement. Hey, life is a competition. Fuel up and win it.
To Sum Up, Fini Bars...
- Fuel tough workouts and competitions
- Provide sustained high-level energy
- Protect against muscle loss (catabolism)
- Improve metabolism
- Promote fat-burning
- Support a muscular pump
- Soothe the digestive system
- Taste damn good
Get more details here.
Reference
- König D et al. "Substrate Utilization and Cycling Performance Following Palatinose Ingestion: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial." Nutrients. 2016 Jun 23;8(7):390. Pubmed: 27347996.
if you leave them in the car in Texas they are " just right" by afternoon snack time… lol