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Some supplement companies are better than others – more reliable, effective, and trustworthy. In this Transparent Labs review, I’ll be looking at the science-based, California supplement company offering an interesting range of honest, effective products.
I’ve worked with a range of Transparent Labs supplements and have put together this article to look at the bigger picture.
We’ll look at a few important, flagship products, and how TL products work, as well as whether they support high-quality healthy weight gain.
Let’s ask the big question first – the one you should always ask about supplement companies…
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Transparent Labs – Is The Company Legit?
Transparent Labs are one of the most legitimate supplement companies around, with layers of integrity.
They use independent testing on all of their products, their advisory board is packed with experts, and the end result is a series of products that live up to the claims.
This legitimacy and dependability is the result of active work. Transparent Labs’ philosophy on supplement design is selling things that work, being open and honest about them, and putting time and money into quality assurance and independent testing.
This is why they’ve made it onto the GainingTactics review list – and have come out with a positive overall reputation as a good supplement company.
Transparent Labs
- 100% Transparency in Supplements
- Unique Products with Studied Ingredients
- Great Line of Supplements for Every Use
Why Did I Try Transparent Labs?
I tried transparent labs because of their transparency about products, their bulking supplements, their trustworthy approach, and unique products like Build and INTRAA.
Transparent labs represent an honest and open approach to supplements – which we should all want more of in the supplement market.
1. Transparency In Supplement Manufacturing
Transparent labs are transparent about their products which helps consumers stay informed and support better choices. This is one of the most important factors in a supplement manufacturer – it’s something that separates good supplement companies from bad ones.
It’s important that consumers can make clear, informed choices about what they put in their bodies. It’s why GainingTactics exists – so we can make sure you have the information and get the best results for weight gain.
Transparent labs are clear on all of their ingredients and ensure that their choices are supported by a weight of scientific evidence. This means clarity on what you’re putting in your body, as well as knowing that the choices of ingredients are selected to actually help you improve.
2. Bulking Supplements: Mass Gainer, Bulk Pre Workout, Build And Vitality
Transparent labs’ range offers strong bulking supplements, making them a great choice for weight gain and muscle building. This is perfect for our reviews, offering a range of products like Mass gainer, Transparent Labs BULK pre-workout, and VITALITY.
These are all effective, interesting products with good designs and a focus on weight gain. We always focus on healthy weight gain, building muscle mass, and helping hardgainers bulk up. Transparent labs’ supplements were a perfect choice to review for these fitness goals.
3. Trustworthy Approach To Nutrition
Most Transparent Labs reviews are positive, and their history and approach to supplements is honest and trustworthy. The focus on clean label design and transparency speak to the larger fact that they’re honest and upfront.
This isn’t just a good way to do business, but it’s an important approach to supplements when we’ve seen bad examples elsewhere. For example, you know Transparent Labs aren’t going to put steroids in their supplements to sell more, which Bodybuilding.com did.
I have worked with Transparent Labs supplements extensively and have come out with great products, a reliable approach, and a range of good products.
4. Unique products: BUILD and INTRAA
Transparent labs offer a fantastic set of unique products, including BUILD and INTRAA. These are excellent takes on a muscle gain supplement and an intra-workout supplement, respectively, with great twists on what you’re used to.
The addition of interesting and effective supplements is always worth reviewing. Smart designs that use synergistic ingredients to get better results are fantastic ways to get more weight and muscle mass gain.
Transparent labs are making products worth our attention and yours.
Transparent Labs Supplement Reviews
We have put together a transparent labs supplement review on a range of products – from Transparent Labs BULK pre workout to the transparent labs mass gainer – to get the best impression. The whole range of transparent labs supplements works well together, which has been a key part of our ongoing review series.
Let’s look at some of the flagship products from the range, what they do, what we make of them, and why they’re good examples of what Transparent Labs has to offer.
Transparent Labs Vitality Review
Transparent Labs Vitality isn’t a weight-gain supplement, but it does improve hormonal health and a number of other important factors in high-quality weight gain. It drives up muscle growth indirectly and has some wellbeing benefits that leave you better-prepared and recovered for great workouts
Vitality is about health, wellbeing, and male performance. This overlaps performance and health. I used vitality because I liked BULK pre workout and Transparent Labs’ approach to supplements – so I stacked it with other products to get better health, focus, and energy levels.
It’s a way of adding long-term support on top of the short-term benefits of products like Transparent Labs BULK pre workout.
Transparent Labs Vitality helps boost testosterone in the short term, reduce feminizing hormones in the body, and prevent aromatizing. This weighs the scales towards testosterone, and then protects those T levels with anti-stress, pro-health compounds. It also supplements essential vitamins and minerals (like Zinc) to support male health.
I found this product was a great, hard-to-define choice. It was hard to see the benefits early on, but I later realized that I’d just felt really good and productive for a few weeks. It was a creeping improvement to my focus, energy levels, and gym results that were hard to see while they were happening.
I didn’t get as stressed, I wasn’t feeling as beaten up with workouts, and I felt like I could just handle life better.
This was one of the clear signs of better hormonal health and I felt like everything in life was working well, though it did take a few weeks to really ‘kick in’ and tapered off a little in week 4.
I recommend getting 2-months’ worth, because I felt like 4 weeks was only just the tip of the iceberg.
Transparent Labs BUILD Review
We reviewed BUILD because it was a unique weight gain supplement that focused on better PeakO2, ElevATP, and HICA – which all improve muscle gains and recovery. This was perfect for bulking up and building lean muscle.
Specifically, I used this with a whey protein (for muscle soreness) and creatine supplement to build a basic weight gain supplement stack. It was effective, and I found there were a few areas where the benefits stood out:
- It helped with recovery and made me feel better sooner. I also performed better from workout to workout.
- Vascularity was clearly improved and I saw this during workouts where the PeakO2 blend really improved pumps and made my veins “pop”
- I was building more muscle and noticed clear strength-endurance gains from the combination of creatine with ElevATP
I can’t say for sure that all of these benefits were just from BUILD. The creatine and whey must have done something – but I was taking those before, so I would say there’s some benefit to using BUILD on top of those.
They also synergize well with the ingredients in these blends, so I recommend running all 3 together.
One thing I didn’t like, despite the results, was to avoid the peach mango flavor – which didn’t really land.
It lacked the fresh, summery flavors and was a little bit jarring due to the extreme sourness of the ingredients. Avoid that one, and it’s a good product.
Transparent Labs BULK Pre-Workout Review
Transparent Labs Bulk is a pre-workout supplement that supports muscle building and weight gain. It’s a complementary supplement that I tried because it paired well with my goals and other supplements I was using from Transparent Labs: BUILD, Creatine, and TL carb powder.
Transparent Labs Bulk pre workout is the first time I’ve used a pre-workout for weight gain. They’re rare on the market because the two don’t overlap closely.
Recommended: Here’s our detailed comparison between Transparent Labs Bulk vs Lean.
Transparent Labs BULK improves workouts (as any pre workout supplement), which can improve muscle gain, and does include some ingredients for recovery and performance (like Beta-Alanine and Citrulline).
The workout effects were potent and I felt more energized and stronger through workouts. However, I was stacking this product with creatine, which was also improving these areas. I also noticed better vascularity and pumps, which have some evidence for better muscle growth, and that was all because of Transparent Labs BULK pre workout.
Transparent Labs BULK pre workout works well as a pre-workout supplement for weight gain. Even without the weighty gain focus, good workouts are at the core of progress. I enjoyed the manageable caffeine content and the fact it uses so many performance-boosting ingredients.
This pre workout supplement won’t improve weight gain by itself, but it does fit well with the weight gain diet and supplements I was using. I would recommend using Transparent Labs Bulk pre workout with the other supplements listed in this review, because it fits well into the bigger picture of weight gain with Transparent Labs.
Overall, it’s a strong pre-workout supplement, but it’s in this stack that it shines, helping build muscle and gain weight.
Transparent Labs StrengthSeries Creatine HMB Review
I’ve used many creatine supplements in the past – including popular choices like Optimum Nutrition Creatine, Dymatize, and MyProtein creatine. I’m very familiar with the experience and what to expect.
There’s not much difference between creatine powders – you’ll typically find that some mix better than others, but the results are similar. They use the same serving and they’re derived from the same sources. Sometimes, they even come from the same factory.
I used StrengthSeries Creatine HMB because I wanted a good, simple creatine supplement to stack with other weight gain supplements from Transparent Labs. The range works well together and I saved on shipping by bundling everything together from TL instead of shopping elsewhere.
The results are what you’d expect from a high quality creatine powder. My strength and strength-endurance improved within 2 weeks of using the product and they stayed high while I was building muscle and getting stronger for weeks afterwards.
I took this with whey protein, BUILD, and Transparent Labs BULK pre workout to get the best results. I found it difficult to say where the results were coming from because of the stack.
However, I did notice an improvement to my muscular size from:
- The increased strength training capacity and muscle-building effects of creatine and BUILD/BULK, and
- An improved muscle fluid retention from creatine (binding more glycogen) to make muscles look fuller (more muscle growth)
These paired well and I felt significantly bigger throughout the workout program. This was the result of other factors, however, like the whey and other supplements I was using.
Transparent Labs Carb Powder Review
Carb powders replenish glycogen levels to support muscle growth and energy levels. They boost your calorie intake and spike insulin response, which drive up muscle growth and signal for energy abundance.
Carbs are the easiest – and often most fun – nutrient to eat. For that reason, carb powders haven’t been my focus, except when using them to make homemade weight gain shakes, a type of cheap mass gainer.
However, I was already buying a bunch of supplements from Transparent Labs to review. I wanted to support muscle recovery and that’s the point of a carb powder: easy energy at a good price and super versatile for high-calorie shakes.
Since I was bulking – and had a busy academic and work schedule – carb powders were a perfect addition to hit my macros on the go.
Fun Fact: Transparent labs use cluster dextrin, which is a great choice. It’s a super-mixable form of carb that helps provide a smoother consistency in your shakes. It’s an enzyme-engineered form of starch that plays well with other nutrients during digestion (rare for a carb powder) and has a slower release than low-quality carbs (like dextrose or plain old sugar).
This reduces the “dumping” of carbs into the bloodstream, but still improves insulin response. The difference is that it’s a sustained level, which makes it perfect combined with a whey protein for post-workout muscle growth and recovery (muscle soreness). They release at the same speed for perfect muscle-building signaling.
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While they’re not necessary for optimum muscle mass growth, they definitely do make it feel easier. Just remember they’re not a replacement for a real carb source from whole foods, and you’re not going to get all your nutrients from a carb powder!
Should You Buy Transparent Labs Supplements?
You should buy Transparent Lab supplements if they make sense for your budget and goals. They can be a little pricey compared to some options on the market, but we think they back those prices up with smart ingredient choice, design, and integrity.
The price of Transparent Lab supplements does tend to be on the higher side of the market average, and many are definitely premium supplement products. This can be a problem if you’re just looking for a cheap, no-frills approach to a supplement (like a pre-workout).
However, these are premium supplements and they offer great value on their dollar cost. They are justified by the scientific backing for the ingredients, the overall quality, and the synergies between ingredients.
If you’re looking for a good brand for honest supplements that work – especially for high-quality weight gain – Transparent Labs might be a great choice for you.
Recommended: Checkout some other Transparent Lab Product Reviews:
Transparent Labs ZMO Review
Transparent Labs Collagen Review
Transparent Labs Bulk vs Pre JYM
Transparent Labs Post Workout Review
Transparent Labs Krill Oil Review
Transparent Labs Nootropic Review
Transparent Labs Review: Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Our Transparent Labs review is mostly positive, and the company is one of the most interesting and trustworthy companies on the supplement market – and it shows in their products and seen on the transparent labs website.
They offer a high standard across the whole range, while some products stand out as best on the market – or a smart and effective take on a type of supplement that needed a fresh approach.
Transparent Labs’ strength is in the products themselves, which are effective, independently tested, and compare well with alternatives on the market.
The approach they take to supplements is exactly what we want to see on the market, and it’s a refreshing change to see supplements that live up to the marketing materials according to their transparent labs website.
This is one of the best supplement makers on the market for getting what you paid for, effective results, and peace of mind that it’s not contaminated or full of useless junk. For those reasons, Transparent Labs get our seal of approval and have featured regularly in our reviews.
You Might Like:
- Transparent Labs Bulk Vs Lean: The Best Pre Workout?
- Transparent Labs Bulk vs Pre JYM – Best Pre-Workout
- Transparent Labs ZMO Review 2023
- Transparent Labs CoreSeries Post Workout Review 2023
- Transparent Labs Bulk vs Pre Kaged – 2023
Rohan Arora is a Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutritionist and has been actively involved in sports and fitness for over 8 years. He now leads the team of fitness specialists and personal trainers who help people around the world with personalized workout and nutrition plans, along with providing the right information on sports supplements.
