OutWork Nutrition’s vs Bare Performance Nutrition’s ‘Recovery’
OutWork Nutrition & Bare Performance Nutrition are the two supplement brands I recommend most; almost exclusively.
Now, they each have products entitled ‘Recovery.’ Seemingly, with the same aim: to improve your recovery in between workouts. However, they’re formulated differently; each containing different ingredients.
So, my aim is to fully breakdown what the difference is between each product and help you understand which is the superior product (there is a clear winner).
Ingredient label breakdown
The images below are the supplement facts of Bare Performance Nutrition’s Recovery and OutWork Nutrition’s Recovery, respectively.
To start, let’s look at what’s the same. They both contain 2 grams of L-Carnitine L-Tartrate and 480 mg of Tart Cherry Powder.
L-carnitine L-tartrate is a naturally produced compound with many responsibilities in the body. Most notably, it is responsible for transporting fatty acids into the mitochondria; where they are turned into energy (hence why it’s called the powerhouse of the cell). Other roles include inhibiting proteolysis (muscle breakdown) and acting as an anti-oxidant & anti-inflammatory. [1]
When a dose of 2 grams per day is taken chronically, it has been shown to improve multiple markers of muscle recovery and decrease perceptions of soreness. [2,3]
Tart Cherry Powder is an extract from Montmorency tart cherries. The extract of this food is very high in compounds called anthocyanins, a group of polyphenols that are are very powerful anti-oxidants.
Supplementation of a dose of 480 mg of Tart Cherry Powder has also been shown to improve multiple markers of muscle recovery and decrease perceptions of soreness. [4,5,6]
So, the inclusion of both of these ingredients is warranted and will likely boost your recovery after exercise when taken chronically.
Now, let’s look at what’s different between them.
Besides, L-Carnitine L-Tartrate and Tart Cherry Powder, Bare Performance Nutrition’s ‘Recovery’ contains a full scope of the essential amino acids (EEAs).
Amino acids are the individual constituents that form proteins. We can naturally produce 11 of these amino acids. 9 of them we are unable to produce, and must consume them from diet.
Historically, various forms of supplemental of amino acids have been available for purchase including EAAs, Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs), Leucine, Glutamine, etc.
However, if you eat enough protein in a given day (1.6 grams of protein per kilogram body mass or more, [7]), consuming any further amino acids does virtually nothing. [8,9]
So, Bare Performance Nutrition’s inclusion of essential amino acids is not warranted and adds no value.
In addition to L-Carnitine L-Tartrate and Tart Cherry Powder, OutWork Nutrition’s ‘Recovery’ also contains creatine, betaine, and ashwagandha.
I’ve written about creatine extensively. Creatine is 2nd most widely studied supplement behind caffeine. It has also been shown to be one of the most ergogenic (performance enhancing) and safest of supplements. Among its many benefits, recovery from exercise and injury have been well documented. [10]
Betaine is a supplement known by fewer people. It has been shown to improve power and muscle endurance, hydration, markers of recovery, and may improve absorption of creatine. [11,12,13,14,15]
Ashwagandha is a supplement that has grown in popularity in recent years. It is an adaptogen best known for its ability to help your body modulate stress. [16] Supplementation of Ashwagandha has also been shown to improve strength, power, endurance, and recovery compared to placebo. [17] It’s also been shown to greatly improve sleep quality [18], which is what I assume is leading to the aforementioned benefits.
Differences in cost
As of the writing of this article, the prices for each product are as follows:
Bare Performance Nutrition: $45 for 25 servings
$1.80/serving
~$54/month if taken everyday
OutWork Nutrition: $40 for 20 servings
$2.00/serving
~$60/month if taken every day
Who wins?
To summarize:
Two ingredients are found in each product at the same dose: 2 grams of L-Carnitine L-Tartrate and 480 mg of Tart Cherry Powder.
All other ingredients in Bare performance Nutrition’s ‘Recovery’ do not provide any benefit (assuming a person eats enough protein in a day). The 3 other ingredients in OutWork Nutrition’s ‘Recovery’ have beeb consistently shown to boost recovery and exercise performance long-term.
Given that the prices are practically the same, it’s very clear that OutWork Nutrition is the superior product.
I want to make it clear, though, this isn’t meant to bash Bare Performance Nutrition as a whole. When you look holistically at all their products, they’re one of the highest quality supplement companies you can buy from. As I said before, I recommend them very often. It is just in the case of this one product that I do not think they are the right option.