ARMA energy review

ARMA

For anyone who has ever listened to the Pulp MX show or watched AMA supercross/motocross over the past year or two; chances are you will have seen or heard ARMA being spoken about. This is because people like Jeremy McGrath, Adam Cianciarulo, Chad Reed and Nick Wey are all part owners of the business. With people like that backing it, it was always going to make some noise, but it is not just all noise. I’ve had the opportunity to try out all four of their products (FIRE, BLITZ, RELOAD and the newest edition HYDR8) over the last few weeks.

All loaded up for a day at the track.

FIRE: ARMA say that the morning is the best time to take FIRE, 1 scoop in 8-10 ounces of water. They have 2 flavours at the moment, orange crush and strawberry lemonade, I had the strawberry lemonade, which to me tasted a little bit like a bag of skittles. For the first time round I stuck to the manual and tried it first thing on a day I was riding, but found by the time I actually got down to riding I had used a lot of that fire energy up. The next time I had it when I got to the track, as I was at signing on, walking the track etc. For me this was the best time to take it as it was just kicking in as I was getting my helmet on for practice. I would imagine the time it takes to kick in closely reflects the size of the person. For example if you are 7ft and 16 stone you may not notice it as quickly as someone who is 5’5 and 11stone. 

BLITZ: This is more of a supplement designed to be used before, during and after your workout. , they just have the one flavour at current which is the berry blast which is a nice fruity blend with a few little kicks. This is suitable at any point during the day, from listening to other people and some of the head ARMA guys I've learned that a lot of them choose to mix the FIRE and BLITZ in the morning to make sure they stay hydrated as well as focussed. Learning this was big game changer, where as before i was drinking the 10 ounces of fire then trying to drink a litre or two of water before riding to make sure i was hydrated. I was then able to mix the BLITZ and FIRE and not have to worry about trying to drink so much water.

The heads behind ARMA have made sure that there are no banned substances in BLITZ so you do not have to worry about a knock on the door from WADA.

All the ARMA products can be mixed up right at the track.

RELOAD: Now for me this is the one that I had the most benefit from. If like me you suffer with a few aches and stiff muscles the next day after riding, this is for you. ARMA suggest you use it before a weight work out, cardio work out and post work out, but for me post riding was the best. First go around I mixed it with water, and i have to be honest it was a tough one to get down. I had a deep chocolate flavour instead of the very vanilla which is their other flavour, so in my mind that needed to be more of a milk shake. ARMA say you can have it with water, milk, on your yoghurt, porridge, pretty much with anything. Milk was the best for me and made a nice chocolate milkshake flavour drink. I found that if I drank it with in 30mins of my last race i had no issues the following day. Those aches and pains were a thing of the past. So this one I really recommend to anyone who would like to feel brand new again after a hard day at the track.

HYDR8: This is ARMAs newest edition to their line up of supplements, HYDR8 has a mixture of specific sugars, bioavailability enhancers and electrolytes to keep you performing at an elite level. There are 2 different flavours of HYDR8; watermelon and lemon & lime. At current I am using the watermelon flavour, which quite literally tastes like watermelon flavoured squash. HYDR8 is a great one to just stick in a water bottle and just sip at throughout the day. Personally during the summer I filled up a 2Litre bottle with it and froze it the night before riding, it was great way to stay cool and keep hydrated throughout the day, especially if you are someone that struggles to drink water. The HYDR8 can also be added to BLITZ and FIRE to give you that bit extra on a hot day or on a day where you just feel you need that little bit of a boost. 

The thing I like about the ARMA line is that unlike generic supplements on the market, it is made by racers for racers. The guys behind have been there and done it and know what it takes to succeed at any level. So overall I think they all have their own benefits and I feel its certainly worth the investment if you are fed up of feeling tired and lethargic at the track as well as stiff and sore the next day. They offer different types of packages but I recommend the ARMA pro kit. This consists of:

1 x ARMA Blitz

1 x ARMA Fire

2 x ARMA Reload

All packaged up in a cool ARMA box for easy storage. 

In my opinion if its good enough for the King of supercross then its plenty good enough for me.

All ARMA products are available at https://evenstrokes.com/

Written and tested by Brad Wheeler