MPS MAX TBJP - Intra-Workout Protein Synthesis

What is TrainedByJP MPS MAX?

MPS MAX is a powder to drink during training, with a serving of 22 g. It combines three things you rarely find together: 10 g of free essential amino acids, 2.5 g of PeptoPro® (hydrolysed casein) and 2.5 g of hydrolysed whey protein. The flavours listed: Blackcurrant Squash, Peached Ice Tea and Sunny Orange.

On top of that come four trademarked ingredients: Peak O2® at 1 g, a blend of five mushrooms (cordyceps, reishi, king trumpet, shiitake and lion's mane); Velositol®, an amylopectin-chromium complex; Aquamin®, minerals derived from marine algae; and AstraGin®, a blend of astragalus and Panax notoginseng extracts. The rest is maltodextrin, citric acid, trisodium citrate, flavouring, sucralose and beta-carotene as a colouring.

It is a dense formula, and it is also a formula you need to know how to read. Below we set out what the manufacturer puts a figure on and what it does not, because the gap matters. The full range sits in our TrainedByJP aisle, and the category as a whole in EAA.

What does a 22 g serving contain?

What is missing has to be said plainly, because it is substantial. The manufacturer publishes no energy value, no macronutrients and no salt figure for this product, and does not break the 10 g of essential amino acids down amino acid by amino acid: it states only that leucine is the largest share. Nor does it put a figure on the Velositol®, the Aquamin® or the AstraGin®. The direct consequence: no magnesium, calcium or chromium content can be declared, and so no regulatory wording can be used for those minerals. On a product positioned like this one, that is a shortcoming, and we will not fill it in with figures found elsewhere.

What can be said with confidence comes down to two points. The first: 15 g of protein material in 22 g of powder, between the free amino acids and the two hydrolysates. That is a straightforward dose for a training drink, and clearly above an ordinary EAA that stops at the amino acids alone.

The second: pairing free amino acids with hydrolysates is rare, and there is logic to it. Free amino acids have no digestion to go through; a hydrolysate is a protein already broken down into short peptides. Both therefore go through without sitting heavily on the stomach, which is exactly what you ask of a drink taken between two sets.

A regulatory framing to close, and it is a necessary one: no health claim is authorised in Europe for free amino acids, nor for the Peak O2® mushrooms, nor for astragalus. So you will read here no promise of amplified protein synthesis, no quantified performance, no percentage improvement. Those figures do circulate about this product; they cannot be repeated, and we will not repeat them.

How do you take MPS MAX?

Serving: 22 g, that is one scoop. Liquid: 200 to 600 ml of water depending on how concentrated you want the taste. Timing: from 15 minutes before the session, then throughout the session. Frequency: one serving per training session. Duration: continuous, as no cycling is required.

The liquid range is wide, and that is deliberate: at 200 ml you get a very concentrated drink, at 600 ml a light one you can sip over an hour and a half. Our advice is to aim for the top of the range: the point of a training drink is as much to get you drinking as to supply amino acids, and 500 ml worked through over a session beats 200 ml downed in one go.

The manufacturer's protocol is precise on one point: start 15 minutes before rather than at the first exercise, and keep going throughout. For a session longer than 90 minutes, it recommends saving the whole serving for intra-workout.

A common-sense remark that holds for this whole category: if you have eaten a full meal one to two hours before the session, an amino acid drink during the effort is of little use. The amino acids from that meal are still circulating. This product makes sense when you train fasted, early in the morning, or a long way from any meal — not stacked on top of an already well-filled day.

Who is MPS MAX for, and who is it not for?

It is intended for adults engaged in intense physical activity, those are the manufacturer's terms, and it targets long or fasted sessions in particular. The liquid, tangy, non-heavy format is its real argument: nobody downs a whey shake between two sets of squats.

It contains MILK, twice over: PeptoPro® is a hydrolysed casein and the second hydrolysate comes from whey. The product is made in a facility that handles MILK, SOYA, EGGS and GLUTEN, and traces of NUTS, CRUSTACEANS and PEANUTS are possible. It is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women and must be kept out of reach of children. If you are on medical treatment, the manufacturer asks that you seek professional advice beforehand.

So it suits neither vegans nor people allergic to milk proteins — unlike a BCAA or an EAA made of free amino acids alone, which are often vegan. That is the price of the two hydrolysates.

What you should not expect from it: a shortcut. Fifteen grams of protein material during the session do not make up for a day at 90 g of protein, and no trademarked ingredient replaces a sound daily total. Nor can we assert anything about the mushrooms, the astragalus or the chromium in this formula: with no published contents and no authorised claim, there is nothing honest to say about them. What you are buying that can be verified is a training drink very well supplied with amino acids and easy to digest.

MPS MAX or a hydrolysed whey?

Both target the same moment of the day and are digested quickly. The choice comes down to texture and to price.

A hydrolysed whey supplies 22 to 25 g of complete protein per serving, at a far lower cost per gram of protein. It is the better choice if your aim is to add protein around training and you tolerate a milky shake. Its drawback lies in the taste, frankly bitter with a pure hydrolysate, and in the texture, which goes down badly mid-session.

MPS MAX wins on that precise point, and that is its reason for existing: it is a clear, fruity drink you can sip during the effort, where no shake would go down. It also wins on leucine, the largest share of the 10 g of free amino acids. It loses clearly on price per gram of protein, and on dosage transparency.

If your need is more about slow release outside training, it is the casein aisle that answers it, not this one. And if what you are after above all is replacing sweat losses on long sessions, our electrolytes will do it better and for far less — since the marine minerals in this formula carry no figures, they cannot be counted as an intake.

Frequently asked questions

How much of each amino acid is in the 10 g?

The manufacturer does not publish the breakdown in the data available to us: it states only that leucine is the predominant amino acid. We will not complete that table with unverified values. If the breakdown matters to you, the label on the tub you receive is what counts.

What is the difference from a standard EAA?

A standard EAA stops at free amino acids. This one adds 5 g of hydrolysates — casein and whey — that is, short peptides on top of the isolated amino acids. It is more complete and more expensive, and it brings milk into the formula, which rules out vegans.

How much water should you use?

From 200 to 600 ml, depending on how concentrated a taste you can handle. Our advice: aim for 500 ml. A training drink is there as much to get you drinking as to supply amino acids, and regular sips over an hour beat a concentrated glass downed at the start of the session.

What is PeptoPro®?

It is the trade name of a hydrolysed casein, that is, a milk protein pre-cut into short peptides. The stated benefit is faster digestion than an ordinary casein, which is consistent with use during effort. We are describing the ingredient, as no claim is authorised for it.

Does the product contain usable electrolytes?

The formula contains Aquamin®, minerals derived from marine algae, but the manufacturer does not publish the contents. Without figures, we can declare neither magnesium nor calcium, nor use any regulatory wording. If mineral hydration is your goal, take a dedicated electrolyte product.

Is it suitable for vegetarians or vegans?

For vegetarians yes, for vegans no: the formula contains two milk proteins. It is also made in a facility that handles soya, eggs and gluten, with possible traces of nuts, crustaceans and peanuts.

Should you take it on non-training days?

The manufacturer does not provide for that: the protocol is set around the session, from 15 minutes before. On rest days, ordinary protein intake does the same job for far less. This product answers a digestion constraint during effort, not a permanent need.

Where to buy TrainedByJP MPS MAX?

The flavours can be ordered from this page, and we ship throughout France and Europe. It is a product for the seasoned: it assumes the rest of your diet is already in place.

At the Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, this is the kind of label we read line by line with the customer, because it mixes very precise doses with trademarked ingredients whose quantity is not given. Knowing how to tell the two apart is what stops you paying for a name. The rest of the amino acids can be compared in our sports nutrition aisle.