Buyer’s guide · Protein for muscle growth
Before You Buy Another Tub of Protein, Check These 5 Things. Number three is the one the modern tub quietly dropped.
Protein was never the whole post-workout. It’s one line of the recipe the research actually tested. Here’s a two-minute checklist that works on any tub, mine included.
When I was editor-in-chief of Muscle Media and senior editor on Body-for-LIFE, serious lifters ran on a packet and a blender. MET-Rx started it. Myoplex was everywhere. Nobody treated those shakes as a supplement. They were a meal on the schedule, every single day, and that habit put on more muscle than any one ingredient in the box.
In 2018, Abbott shut down the EAS brand, and Myoplex came off the shelves with it. The name has since resurfaced under new owners, but the habit never came back. Walk down any supplement aisle today and it’s wall-to-wall tubs of plain whey.
Here’s what nobody on the tub tells you: protein was only one line of the recipe. The studies that found bigger gains used whey with creatine and carbohydrate, in the same shake, taken around training. The tub stops at line one. Then the aisle sells you the rest in separate bottles.
So here’s the checklist I’d hand my own brother. It takes two minutes and works on any tub. And since I make one, I’ll run mine through it too.
What the research actually tested
Skip the label hype. These are the human studies the checklist is built on:
Muscle protein synthesis after lifting with whey, compared with casein. Whey also beat soy by 31%.
Tang et al., 2009 · J Appl Physiol · about 21 g of whey after resistance exerciseMore strength, and 14% more reps, when lifters added creatine than when they lifted alone.
Rawson & Volek, 2003 · J Strength Cond Res · review of 22 training studiesSame shake, same program. Drinking it around workouts built more lean mass and strength than drinking it morning and evening.
Cribb & Hayes, 2006 · Med Sci Sports Exerc · whey, creatine and glucose · 23 experienced liftersMore creatine retained when it was taken with protein and carbohydrate, compared with creatine taken almost alone.
Steenge et al., 2000 · J Appl Physiol · University of NottinghamPut those four together and you get a recipe: real whey, a full dose of creatine, and carbohydrate, taken around training. That’s where the checklist starts.
1Check one
Is it whey, at a real dose, with the number printed?
The dose that works for one shake after training is about 20 to 25 grams of high-quality protein, and whey keeps winning the head-to-head studies. The catch: “25 g protein” on the front of a tub isn’t always 25 grams of whey.
Some brands have padded the protein number with cheap amino acids like glycine and taurine. They register on a nitrogen test, so they count as “protein” on paper, but they don’t build muscle the way whey does. The industry calls it amino spiking.
Red flag: a “protein matrix” or proprietary blend with no breakdown, or free amino acids like glycine and taurine listed right after the protein.
Monster Mix passes. 23 g of protein per serving, with whey protein concentrate as the first ingredient, plus 240 mg of ProHydrolase®, an enzyme matched to the whey. In a 2020 trial, whey with ProHydrolase was the only shake that produced a significant rise in blood leucine 30 minutes after training. Per gram of whey, Monster Mix carries slightly more enzyme than that trial did.
2Check two
Does it carry a full 5 g of creatine, or a sprinkle?
Creatine is the most-researched muscle supplement there is. Across 22 training studies, lifters who added it gained about 8% more strength and 14% more reps than lifting alone. And in a six-week study of 36 men, whey plus creatine added more lean tissue and more bench-press strength than whey by itself.
The dose that does that is 3 to 5 grams a day. Lots of “anabolic” shakes now print creatine on the front of the tub. Flip it over. If it’s buried in a blend or listed at a gram or two, it’s there to decorate the label.
Here’s the part most people miss: creatine works by saturation. Your muscle stores fill over about four weeks of daily use, and they stay full only while you keep taking it. A shake you drink three days a week can’t do that job.
Red flag: creatine inside a proprietary blend, under 3 grams, or “creatine” with no form named.
Monster Mix passes. 5,000 mg of creatine monohydrate, the form behind most of the research, in every two-scoop serving. That’s 70 grams of creatine in every pouch.
3Check three
Does it have carbs on purpose?
Somewhere along the way, “zero carbs” became a selling point. For a diet shake, fine. For a muscle shake, it’s backwards, and this is the line the modern tub dropped.
Same whey-creatine-carb shake. Same training. The lifters who drank it right before and after their workouts gained more lean mass, more strength in two of three lifts and bigger type II muscle fibers than the group drinking it morning and evening.Cribb & Hayes, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2006 · 23 experienced lifters
Carbohydrate earns its place twice. It refills the glycogen your session just burned. And taken with protein, it helps drive creatine into muscle: at the University of Nottingham, creatine taken with about 50 grams each of protein and carbohydrate was retained about 25% better than creatine taken almost alone.
That’s what the old meal-replacement packets had, and the tub of whey left out.
Red flag: a “post-workout” shake that brags about zero carbs, or the opposite, a gainer that’s mostly sugar.
Monster Mix passes. 26 g of carbohydrate and 230 calories per serving, with only 2 g of sugars. It’s built to be drunk within the hour after your last set.
4Check four
Does it cover the rest of the stack, with every dose printed?
Get serious about training and you end up with a shelf: whey, creatine, something for testosterone, something for your joints, something for recovery. Five labels, five bills and a fistful of capsules every morning.
One shake can carry most of that shelf. The question is whether the doses are real, or whether it’s a “blend” that lets 20 ingredients share a few hundred milligrams. Here’s mine, line by line:
Other ingredients: whey protein concentrate, maltodextrin, flaxseed, natural and artificial flavors, xanthan gum, sucralose. Contains milk and crustacean shellfish. Flavor: vanilla-cinnamon.
The Tongkat Ali isn’t a garnish. In a four-week, placebo-controlled trial, 200 mg a day cut cortisol 16% and raised testosterone 37% in moderately stressed adults (salivary measures). Monster Mix carries 250 mg. The glucosamine and MSM, 500 mg each, are there for the joints that have been carrying the bar for years.
Red flag: an “anabolic matrix,” a “test-boosting blend,” or any line where several ingredients share one milligram total.
Monster Mix passes. 15 actives, each with its own milligram amount. Nothing hidden in a blend.
5Check five
What does a day cost, against building it yourself?
Ignore the sticker on the tub. Price the daily dose, then price everything you’d have to add to match it. So we priced the whole Monster Mix label: thirteen products from the brands lifters already buy, each counted at the exact dose in two scoops.
What a day costs, at listed prices
One-time prices at iHerb.com, checked Nov 10, 2026, before shipping and tax, divided by each product’s daily dose. Plain whey is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey at 23 g. Monster Mix is shown at the Daily Plan subscription price, shipping included.See the 13-product receipt
- Whey protein, 23 gOptimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey · 2 lb · $64.99$2.15
- Creatine monohydrate, 5 gOptimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine · 300 g · $17.97$0.30
- L-Glutamine, 2.5 gOptimum Nutrition Glutamine Powder · 300 g · $26.89$0.23
- Tongkat Ali, 250 mgNutraBio Tongkat Ali (LJ100) · 60 capsules · $44.99$0.94
- Tribulus, 250 mgNOW Sports Tribulus · 100 capsules · $10.40$0.05
- Glucosamine + MSM, 500 mg eachNOW Glucosamine & MSM · 180 capsules · $20.81$0.23
- Protease enzymes, 240 mgCalifornia Gold Nutrition Digestive Enzymes with ProHydrolase · 90 capsules · $25.19$0.67
- Flax oil, 1,300 mgNOW Flax Oil · 120 softgels · $13.46$0.15
- Post-workout carbs, 22 gNOW Sports Carbo Gain · 8 lb · $34.98$0.22
- Cinnamon bark, 500 mgNOW Cinnamon Bark · 240 capsules · $16.52$0.06
- Rhodiola, 50 mgNOW Rhodiola · 60 capsules · $18.96$0.03
- Alpha lipoic acid, 25 mgNOW Alpha Lipoic Acid · 120 capsules · $17.50$0.04
- Zinc, magnesium + B-6NOW Sports ZMA · 90 capsules · $19.59$0.07
- Thirteen containers$332.25 at checkout, before shipping$5.14
Glucosamine + MSM is counted at two capsules, the number it takes to reach 500 mg of MSM. Carbohydrate is counted at 22 g, the label’s 26 g less what the whey already carries. ZMA is counted at the label’s zinc dose. Brand names are trademarks of their owners, who have no connection to Team ANR.
Yes, plain whey is cheaper. It’s also one line out of thirteen. Matching the whole label yourself runs $5.14 a day and fills a shelf. The Daily Plan runs $4.86, ships free, and fits in one pouch.
Monster Mix passes. 28¢ a day less than the parts, $7.84 back every 28 days, and one container instead of thirteen.
The scorecard
| 1 · Real whey dose, printed | ✓ 23 g |
| 2 · Full creatine dose | ✓ 5 g |
| 3 · Carbs on purpose | ✓ 26 g |
| 4 · Every dose printed | ✓ 15 actives |
| 5 · Less a day than the parts | ✓ $4.86 |
Run your current tub through the same five questions. If it passes all five for less, keep buying it. I mean that.
The daily muscle meal, brought back
Lifting days: two scoops in cold water or milk within the hour after your last set. That’s the timing the ten-week study rewarded.
Rest days: make it breakfast. Two scoops in 12 ounces of cold milk is about 35 grams of protein. After one lifting session, muscle protein synthesis was still 65% above rest a day later and 34% above rest at 48 hours, so your day off is a building day.
Every day, either way, because creatine only works by saturation. That’s why the plan I built is two pouches, 28 shakes, every 28 days. One pouch is 14 shakes. That’s fine for training days only, but it leaves 14 days a month with no creatine going in.
Skip it if this is you
You want a 120-calorie isolate and nothing else. This is 230 calories with 26 grams of carbs on purpose. Buy an isolate.
You don’t actually train. Without the work, this is an expensive breakfast.
You’re allergic to milk or shellfish. The protein is whey, and the glucosamine comes from shellfish.
You’re under 18, pregnant or nursing. The formula includes Tongkat Ali and Tribulus. It isn’t for you.
What lifters say
4.9 out of 5 from 87 reviews. Not one under four stars. Collected by Judge.me, an independent review service.
“This month I decided to have a serving on non-workout days. I was not before. What a difference. In the last 4 weeks I have added 15 lbs to my bench, 25 lbs to my squats and 1/2 inch to my arms. I should have followed the recommended dosage months ago.”
“Increased energy and strength, what more can you ask at 64 yrs young. A noticeable difference in just 15 days.”
“I would consider myself an old dude. But Monster Mix has enabled me to lift much heavier than those guys in their twenties. Plus I had joint pains before using the mix. Now they have disappeared.”
“I am a really hard gainer no matter what I do or take. With Monster Mix I have managed to put on about 15 pounds in six months. It works for me.”
“This is the best combination powder I’ve ever used. Just have so much more energy and feel so much better after my exercises. Never made gains like this so quickly.”
“I’ve been training for over 45 years and have seen supplements come and go, some good, some not so good. Monster Mix is simply the best protein supplement on the market today!”
Why I’d subscribe, out loud
Nothing in this pouch works in a weekend. The creatine needs about four weeks to fill your muscles. The Tongkat Ali trial ran four weeks. The timing study ran ten. The gains show up when the shake shows up, every day, for months.
So the Daily Plan sends two pouches every 28 days for $136, which is $24 less than buying them one at a time, shipped free. And it’s built to be easy to leave: every order email has a link to change or cancel it. No phone call, no minimum, no retention script.
Monster Mix
23 g whey · 5 g creatine · 250 mg Tongkat Ali · 15 actives · 14 shakes a pouch
60-day money-back guarantee. Use it for up to 60 days. If you’re not thrilled, email us within 60 days of your order and we refund your purchase price.
Subscriptions renew every 28 days at the price shown, shipping included, until you cancel. Change or cancel any time from the link in your order email.
Questions people ask before they order
Is this a meal replacement?
It’s a muscle meal, not a multivitamin in a shaker. Two scoops is 230 calories, 23 g of protein and 26 g of carbohydrate, plus the creatine and the rest of the label. In 12 oz of milk it’s about 35 g of protein, which is a real breakfast for a lifter. It isn’t built to stand in for every meal, and it doesn’t carry a full vitamin and mineral panel. Make it one meal a day and eat the rest.
How do I take it?
Two scoops a day, in the same slot. On lifting days, within the hour after your session, in cold water or milk. On rest days, make it breakfast. That’s the whole routine: no second tub, no capsules to count. One pouch is 14 servings.
Is 5 g of creatine a real dose? Do I need to load?
It’s the full dose, and no. Three to five grams a day is the studied daily dose. Loading, about 20 g a day for a week, fills your muscles faster, but 3 g a day gets to the same place in about four weeks. Creatine works when you take it every day, which is why the Daily Plan exists. If you only drink Monster Mix on training days, take plain creatine on your days off.
Why does it have 26 g of carbs?
Because it’s a muscle meal, not a diet shake. Training drains muscle glycogen, and carbohydrate with protein refills it. The carbs also help carry creatine into muscle. If you want protein with nothing else, an isolate is the right tool. This is a different tool.
What does it taste like?
Vanilla-cinnamon, one flavor. It mixes in water or milk, and most customers say it tastes better with milk. The cinnamon isn’t only there for taste: every serving has 500 mg of cassia cinnamon bark.
How does the subscription work? Can I really cancel?
Yes, any time, from your inbox. You’re charged for your first box today. A new box ships every 28 days at the same price until you cancel. Every order email has a link to your subscription where you can change it or cancel it. No minimum number of orders, no fee, no phone call.
Daily Plan or Training-Day Plan?
Count the days you want it working. The Training-Day Plan is one pouch: 14 shakes, one every other day. The Daily Plan is two pouches: 28 shakes, one a day for 28 days. Both ship free. Creatine needs a daily dose to keep your muscles saturated, and the Daily Plan gets you there on Monster Mix alone.
What if it doesn’t work for me?
Then you get your money back. Use it for up to 60 days. If you’re not thrilled, email support@teamanrstore.com within 60 days of your order and we’ll refund your purchase price. If you’re on a subscription, cancel it from the link in your order email so nothing else ships.
Can I take it with Adaptophen?
Yes, and customers already do. There’s some overlap between the two labels: Tongkat Ali, Tribulus, Rhodiola, zinc and B-6. If you take prescription medication or you’re on TRT, run both labels past your doctor first.
Why only from teamanrstore.com?
Because genuine Monster Mix is only sold here. Listings on Amazon or eBay are not authorized and may be counterfeit or expired, and we can’t honor the guarantee on them.