by Chris Shugart
Protein, Energy, Hydration
If you're not too serious about your sport or hobby, just eat a mom-bar from Target. If you want to perform better, these protein-energy bars are made for you.
Brad is an elk hunter and mountain biker. Thomas is a CrossFitter. Bret is a competitive road cyclist. David is a career military operator. I'm just a guy who lifts weights and wants to look better naked. A few weeks ago, all of us were standing at a trailhead in Cheyenne Cañon after finishing a hike. (Thomas wore a 40-pound weighted vest during the hike. You know how those CrossFitters are.)
Naturally, we started talking about performance and health. Even with all our various activities, everyone had two things in common:
- We all wanted to improve at doing what we loved.
- We all wanted to keep doing what we loved for a long time.
Everyone in the group was curious about two things: TRT and nutrition. I texted them the appropriate T Nation articles about testosterone replacement therapy, then started thinking of the simplest advice I could give them about performance nutrition. What one thing could they do to support their diverse activities, something easy that doesn't require a diet overhaul?
Easy: consume a protein-energy bar that fuels their jobs/sports and helps them recover so they can keep doing what they do. In other words, I suggested FINi Bars (Buy at Amazon), the protein-energy bar I'd eaten before the hike.
Why Those Bars?
Because we make them, and I have a mortgage. Okay, that's only partly true. Before FINI Bars came along, I'd given up on protein-energy bars. They were glorified candy bars, probably a better choice than real candy, but they weren't doing anything for me. The protein quality was generally poor, and the sweeteners they contained wrecked my gut. Plus, they were mainly made for emergency snacks and weren't actually "functional."
FINi Bars are different. First, they weren't initially made for the general public. Instead, Biotest was approached by an Olympic cyclist and her team. The bar was designed for her performance needs, and then later tested on pro-bodybuilders, football players, and extreme endurance athletes.
The protein part was easy: skip the soy and junky "filler proteins" and instead use a high-quality protein blend to enhance muscle protein synthesis. Likewise, skip the sweeteners that cause gut issues. The energy part, the carbs, was trickier, but one source fit the bill: isomaltulose.
Isomaltulose – The "Work Hard, Play Hard" Carb
Instead of being primarily made from syrup and cheap sugars like most "energy" bars, FINi Bars contain isomaltulose as the primary carbohydrate. Isomaltulose is known as a "functional carb" because it's a low glycemic index (GI) carb that prompts the body into using body fat for energy by improving fat oxidation to a much larger degree than other carbs.
Isomaltulose is the only carb that provides sustained energy while simultaneously supporting fat mobilization – releasing free fatty acids from fatty tissue. In turn, that greater fat oxidation rate improves endurance and athletic performance. As a bonus, it's a "safe" carb to consume if you worry about carbs making you fat. (I tested that out myself.)
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 slower than regular, non-functional carbs.
Studies show that cyclists improved their time trial tests by over a minute when using isomaltulose – the difference between winning gold and going home with a few cheap souvenirs.
The Quick List of Benefits
FINi Bar...
- Provides sustained high-level energy
- Protects against muscle damage and catabolism
- Boosts metabolism
- Promotes fat burning
- Supports muscular active hydration and "the pump"
- Soothes the digestive system
Whether you're a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, FINi Bars (Buy at Amazon) fuel all your hard work and hard play.
