Axe & Sledge is excited to announce that The Grind, our essential amino acid & hydration supplement, and Hydraulic, our stimulant-free pre-workout are now Informed-Sport Certified. In the next few months, every bottle of The Grind and Hydraulic will feature the Informed-Sport logo somewhere on the label. But what does that mean? Keep reading to find out more!

In order to be Informed-Sport Certified, every lot and flavor of The Grind and Hydraulic have to be third-party tested by an independent lab to ensure that they don't contain any banned substances.

Obtaining the Informed-Sport certification is just another thing that makes Axe & Sledge Supplements stand out from the rest of the competition. This enables anyone who’s subject to drug-testing, such as high school, collegiate, and professional-level athletes, to rest assured that our supplements are safe for them to use.

It’s estimated that approximately 10-15% of supplements on the market may be subjected to low levels of contamination, which can result in an athlete testing positive on a drug test.[1]

Cross-contamination can occur within the manufacturing process, from impurities within ingredients, and/or between ingredients in the supply chain.[1] Instead of risking your athletic reputation using a supplement that’s not third-party tested, look for products with the Informed-Sport seal of approval, such as The Grind and Hydraulic!

Why Informed-Sport?

The Informed-Sport program was founded by LGC, a world-renowned sports doping and research laboratory with over 55 years of regulatory experience.[2] Over the past 15 years, the LGC has worked with numerous manufacturers and ingredient suppliers to test supplements and ingredients.

Not to mention, LGC has published over 400 scientific papers and continues to conduct administration studies focused on supplement contamination and anti-doping.[2]

The LGC tests for over 250 banned-substances considered to be harmful and prohibited in sport, including:

• Drugs of abuse
• Anabolic agents
• Stimulants
• Beta-2 agonists
• Diuretics
• Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARM’s)
• Vaptans
• Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs)[2]

Informed-Sport is a globally recognized quality assurance program that’s specifically designed for sports nutrition supplements.[2] When you see the Informed-Sport quality mark on a supplement’s label, it demonstrates that every batch of the product was rigorously tested for substances that are prohibited by various sports organizations.

Moreover, it also shows that the supplement is made in a facility that upholds the quality systems required to meet the rigid demands of sports nutrition manufacturing.[2]

In order to be Informed-Sport Certified, supplements must undertake a strict pre-certification and post-certification testing process, which consists of the following four stages:

1. Product review & manufacturing
2. Pre-certification sample testing
3. Product certification, logo use, and web listing
4. Post-certification requirements & testing[3]

As you can see, it’s rather challenging, time-consuming, and expensive, to become Informed-Sport Certified. So only a select few brands are willing to spend the time, money, and resources to obtain this certification.

However, Axe & Sledge Supplements believes that our hard-working customers deserve more, which is why we don’t mind taking the extra steps to ensure you're getting exactly what you paid for.

Since Informed-Sport is considered to be the gold standard when it comes to third-party testing, we chose to use their services as opposed to any other organization. Learn more aboutInformed-Sport and check out their new app, where you can easily scan supplements to check if they are certified!

Now that you’re familiar with Informed-Sport, let’s briefly cover The Grind and Hydraulic, so you know what their benefits are and how to properly take them to see the best results!

The Grind: Recover, Rehydrate, & Perform

The Grind is a comprehensive amino acid supplement that contains the optimal amount of essential amino acids (EAAs), branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and electrolytes to promote hydration, recovery, and performance.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and are crucial for various physiological processes, most notably building muscle. There are at least 20 amino acids that exist, but only nine of them cannot be produced by the body, so they are deemed essential.

Of the nine essential amino acids, three of them are also classified as branched-chain amino acids due to their unique chemical structure, which includes leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Although all EAAs are important for health, BCAAs seem to contribute the most to muscle protein synthesis (MPS).

Muscle protein synthesis is the process of building proteins, whereas muscle protein breakdown (MPB) is the degradation of proteins. During exercise, especially resistance training, MPB is drastically increased. So supplementing with a combination of EAAs and BCAAs may help prevent excessive MPB by activating MPS.

So if your goal is to optimize your recovery and performance, then consuming EAAs & BCAAs before, during, and after training is recommended. Unlike other amino acid supplements, which only contain BCAAs, The Grind contains a total of 7.5 grams of essential amino acids, including 5 grams of branched-chain amino acids.

Here’s a rundown of the exact amounts of each amino acid:

• Leucine - 2.5g
• Isoleucine - 1.25g
• Valine - 1.25g
• Lysine - 750mg
• Threonine - 750mg
• Histidine - 500mg
• Phenylalanine - 250mg
• Tryptophan - 250mg

But wait… there’s more!

In addition to 7.5 grams of EAAs/BCAAs, The Grind also features several ingredients that further promote hydration and recovery, such as:

• Glutamine
• Raw coconut water concentrate
• Betaine anhydrous
• Ornithine AKG
• Electrolytes (calcium, magnesium, sodium, & potassium)

The Grind is one of our best-selling supplements for a number of reasons. It’s versatile, tasty, and excellent for boosting recovery, performance, and hydration.

What's more, The Grind is vegan-friendly, gluten-free, keto-friendly, and doesn’t contain any stimulants. So you can take The Grind any time of the day, even on rest days.

Needless to say, if you’re serious about maximizing your performance and recovery, don’t settle for a basic amino acid supplement. Instead, grab a tub of The Grind and get to work!

Suggested Use

• As a dietary supplement, mix 1 scoop of The Grind with 10-12 oz of cold water.
• For optimal results, consume one serving pre-workout and one serving during training.

Flavor Profiles

Beyond its comprehensive ingredient profile, The Grind comes in several delicious flavors, such as:

• ICEE® Blue Raspberry
• ICEE® Cherry
• Shark Bite (orange mango)
• HWMF (blue raspberry, lime, & cherry)
• Scorpion Venom (mixed berry)
• Unicorn Blood (rainbow sherbet)
• Deadlifts & Gummy Bears (sweet gummy candy)

Hydraulic: No Stims, All Performance

Hydraulic is a stimulant-free pre-workout that contains numerous patented ingredients, such as Nitrosigine, AgmaMax, CarnoSyn, Glycersize, and Creatine MagnaPower. Hydraulic is specifically formulated to boost muscular endurance, pumps, strength, energy, and focus. Hydraulic has everything you need to maximize your workouts, without the stimulants, which means that you can take it any time of the day.

To learn more about Hydraulic, check out our comprehensive product breakdown titled, Hydraulic: The Master of Pumps. But, here's a brief explanation of each ingredient found in Hydraulic.

• B-Vitamins: Hydraulic contains three different B vitamins (B3, B6, and B12) to increase energy levels through enhancing your body's ability to convert food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
• L-Citrulline: an amino acid that gets converted into arginine in the kidneys. Arginine gets further converted into nitric oxide, an neurotransmitter that causes expansion of your blood vessels, leading to better blood flow, nutrient, and oxygen delivery to the muscles.
• GlycerSize: a trademarked form of glycerol, which promotes hydration, performance, and pumps by drawing water into the muscles. Since glycerol attracts water, it can cause the powder to clump if exposed to heat, humidity, and/or moisture. However, if stored properly, you shouldn't have any issues!
• CarnoSyn: the only patented form of beta-alanine on the market. Beta-alanine is an amino acid that's used to create carnosine in the muscles. Carnosine is a lactic acid buffer that's been shown to boost muscular endurance.
• L-Taurine: a conditionally essential amino acid that promotes hydration, muscular endurance, and supports numerous bodily functions
• Creatine MagnaPower: a patented form of creatine that consists of creatine bound to magnesium. This ingredients assists with increased strength, power, and muscle mass by replenishing energy in the form of ATP. Magnesium is also an essential mineral that plays an important role in muscle contractions and nerve impulses.
• AgmaMax: a trademarked form of agmatine sulfate that further promotes better pumps and increased focus by acting as a neurotransmitter and preventing the breakdown of arginine.
• L-Tyrosine & N-Acteyl-L-Tyrosine: Hydraulic uses two different forms of tyrosine, a conditionally essential amino acid that's used for the production of several key neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Tyrosine boosts mental focus and helps users overcome stressful situations.
• Nitrosigine: a patented complex of arginine, silicate, and inositol. Nitrosigine provides you with a more bioavailable form of arginine, so the body can better use it for nitric oxide production. Nitrosigine works synergistically with L-citrulline to increase blood flow, pumps, and performance.

Suggested Use

• As a dietary supplement, mix 1-2 scoops of Hydraulic with 8-10 ounces of cold water.
• For optimal results, consume 20-30 minutes prior to training.

Flavor Profiles

Beyond its comprehensive ingredient profile, Hydraulic comes in several delicious flavors, such as:

• ICEE® Blue Raspberry
• ICEE® Cherry
• Shark Bite (orange mango)
• HWMF (blue raspberry, lime, & cherry)
• Scorpion Venom (mixed berry)
• Unicorn Blood (rainbow sherbet)
• Deadlifts & Gummy Bears (sweet gummy candy)

Key Takeaways

• The Grind and Hydraulic are now Informed-Sport Certified, which means that it’s third-party tested to ensure that it doesn’t contain any banned substances.
• The Grind is a comprehensive amino acid supplement that contains a full-spectrum of EAAs, BCAAs, and other ingredients to further aid recovery, performance, and hydration.
• Hydraulic is a stimulant-free pre-workout that supports performance, focus, pumps, and hydration.
• The Grind and Hydraulic are available in several delicious flavors, including ICEE® Blue Raspberry & Cherry.
• The Grind and Hydraulic are caffeine-free, gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and keto-friendly.
• The Grind can be used by anyone who wants to optimize their performance hydration, and recovery.

References

1. Informed-Sport. Accessed, March 2021. “Education: Athletes.”https://sport.wetestyoutrust.com/education/athletes
2. Informed-Sport. Accessed March 2021. “About Us: Science & Testing.”https://sport.wetestyoutrust.com/about/science-testing
3. Informed-Sport. Accessed March 2021. “About Us: Certification Process.”https://sport.wetestyoutrust.com/about/certification-process