Collagen Sport Review and Giveaway!

I'm a smoothie girl.

My standard mix is almond milk, a scoop of powdered greens, a frozen banana, and either frozen strawberries, blueberries or raspberries.  The frozen fruit makes a thick shake, and with all that goodness in one shot, it gives me a head start on my day.

I haven't used whey protein powder in a while, and when the folks at Neocell contacted me about trying their Collagen Sport powder, designed for muscle recovery and helping with pain after training,  I was all for it.

Collagen is used to strengthen and repair your body, specifically your bones and muscles, and it helps muscle mass to regenerate after sports-related injuries.  

This is the low down on Collagen Sport:

• 15 grams Pure Ion-Exchange Whey Protein Isolate
• 15 grams Super Collagen™ Bioavailable Peptides
• Rich in BCAAs
• Good source of L-Glutamine
• Enhanced with Exogenous Amino Acids

It does NOT contain:

• Gluten, Wheat, Sugar & Lactose Free
• Artificial Sweeteners or Flavors
• Fillers or Synthetic Ingredients

Put this all together, and you get a powder that helps you to refuel and recover after a workout, while replenishing and regenerating your muscles. 

I received my bottle of Collagen Sport (I chose the chocolate flavor, obviously) right before the NYC Marathon, which was perfect timing.  When I opened it, the first thing I noticed was the scent, it smelled good!  Which isn't always the case with whey powder.  I put a few scoops in a plastic baggie, to bring with me to NY.  Collagen Sport is formulated to mix with a spoon if you don't have a shaker, so I figured I would mix it with water when I was ready.

I tried it two days after the marathon, I mixed it with a glass of water, and drank it down.  But once I was home, I added it to my smoothies, it mixes very well in the blender, and it gave the shake an almost silky texture.  The chocolate flavor got a thumbs up from Eliza, who loves to share my smoothies.  

I've said this before, but my marathon recovery has been going really well. I ran 3 miles two weeks after the race, and everything felt great, including Pez.  I ran a 10k on Thanksgiving Day, my legs were a bit sore the next day, but I didn't have a chance to make my smoothie with all the cooking I was doing, and I was on my feet the entire day and night, so it made sense that my legs were tired.   But overall, my body feels pretty good!

There are profiles of the athletes who use Collagen Sport, including Triathlete Russ Jones, on the Neocell website, which you can find here. 

Now for the giveaway, here is how you can enter for a chance to win a full size bottle of Collagen Sport, in your choice of vanilla or chocolate.  (Giveaway is open to residents of the US).  You can leave one comment, just be sure to list all that you did:

1. Check out the Neocell website here, like them on facebook here, or twitter here 

2. Be a friend of my blog, or a twitter follower @MollySBaker

3. share the giveaway info, by blog, facebook or twitter

4. tell me your favorite smoothie combos

5. tell me your fitness goals for 2012(!)

I will use random.org to choose a winner on Friday December 9th.  Good Luck!

I received a sample of Collagen Sport for the purpose of this review. The opinions of the product are my own.