Posted on 14 Feb 2014
3 min read
The ultimate reviewer’s dichotomy:
Brilliant product, godawful taste.
What stars should I give?
I’m actually thinking of submitting those lines to a poetry website.
No doubt some clueless, jumped up Sylvia Plath clone will see the significance in ending it like a Haiku.
Basically, every product I’ve reviewed so far for Gymtalk has been somewhat of a taste sensation.
Indeed, I even made the decision to buy Go Nutrition Solo based on the delicious ‘Maple Syrup Pancake’ flavour of Go Whey Protein 80.
Gorging on thick shakes I almost felt like I was back Canada.
So I jumped straight onto Go Nutrition’s website and spent some loonies on Go Nutrition Solo.
Solo, which is part of Go Nutrition’s strength range, is a product aimed at the weight/power lifting community, but also those wanting to add size and weight to their physique.
It contains a whole host of carefully selected ingredients including whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, creapure, maltodextrin (which seems to be the carb of the moment right now – sorry oats (not of Hall & fame)), amino acids, and vitamin c.
Per 70g serving the key macro/micros look like this:
Kcal: 229
Protein: 35g
Carb: 17.6 (11g simple)
Fat: 1.6
Creapure: 5g
L Glutamine: 5g
(Plus a few others – more info here.)
Great, I thought, everything I could wish for and in my new favourite maple syrup flavour…
Just imagine my disappointment after tearing open the bag.
(Side note: Go Nutrition’s packaging is better than any other companies – zip seal innit.)
I made my first shake with all the voracity of Shinji Kagawat at a buffet, took my first gulp, and then wretched like a cat with a hairball.
Where did it all go wrong!?
Such was my umbrage that I took to social media to ask Go Nutrition why this product tasted so piss poor.
In fairness they responded quickly stating that with so many ingredients in this product it was hard to get the ratios sufficient compared to something simple like whey protein.
But this earnestness didn’t improve the taste.
Although Solo tastes disgusting, this is, in fairness, the only paragraph that really matters, and in this department the product really excels.
I felt strong, alert, energised, and looked forward to every session.
On top of that my 1rm max on the three main powerlifts increased considerably over the course of the six week period of using this product, taking it 1-2 times per day.
Cannot fault the gains.
As with other Go Nutrition products, the price – compared to many other ‘all-in-one’ supplements on the market – is rock bottom.
4kg of Solo will set you back a mere £58.99.
Obviously one man’s slop is another man’s caviar, but I just could not drink another drop of this product once it was finished.
However, the overriding thought in my mind is the feeling when lifting a new deadlift PR.
Although it’s a highly effective supplement, and while performance should undoubtedly be the key decision driver, it’s always nice to look forward to your post workout shake.
I will be buying GN Solo again – but a different flavour.
Order Go Nutriton Solo by shopping here at the Go Nutrition website.
And don’t forget to check out our Go Nutrition discount code page when ordering to save yourself some cash.
Have you tried Solo or any other Go Nutrition products?
Hit me up in the comments section below!
Having spent every waking hour of his childhood swimming, Greg now works, lifts, eats chicken and travels. He is our (un)masked Zorro of bodybuilding academia.
Posted on 10/10/2014
