For the third year in a row, CarnoSyn partnered with the TEST Football Academy in Martinsville, New Jersey to help prepare NFL hopefuls for the Draft Combine, which took place in late February in Indianapolis. Beginning Jan. 6, Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley, Rhode Island offensive lineman Kyle Murphy and Mississippi defensive back Myles Hartsfield trained for seven weeks with the husband and wife duo of Kevin and Lauren Dunn, both certified strength and conditioning specialists, with Kevin focused on on-field training and Lauren in charge of nutrition. 

Each player hoped to follow in the NFL footsteps of TEST alum Tuzar Skipper, a 6-3, 246-pound linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who in 2019 lost 3.7 pounds of fat while gaining 12.6 pounds of lean body mass for a total swing of 16.3 pounds prior to his day at the 2019 Combine. Skipper went undrafted, but was signed by the Steelers last May. Stanley, Murphy and Harstfield will be eligible for the NFL Draft, which begins April 23 in Las Vegas. 

Tuzar Skipper, a 6-3, 246-pound linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, lost 3.7 pounds of fat while gaining 12.6 pounds of lean body mass for a total swing of 16.3 pounds prior to the 2019 Combine.
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Both Dunns believe carnosine supplementation with CarnoSyn is a vital part of the combine preparation process. Carnosine is a protein building block naturally produced by the body and found in muscles, but also in the heart, brain and other tissues. It is synthesized from the amino acids l-histidine and beta-alanine, with beta-alanine as the rate-limiting factor. CarnoSyn is the only beta-alanine supplement to undergo rigorous testing on a wide range of athletic performance, from sprinting and cycling to rowing and weightlifting. 

CarnoSyn beta-alanine has been clinically proven to increase performance, endurance and strength during high-intensity exercise by increasing muscle carnosine for prolonged periods, increasing muscle buffering, or your body’s ability to remove waste from muscles during exercise, reducing lactic acid formation, delaying the onset of neuromuscular fatigue and accelerating recovery. It has even been shown to enhance mental focus. 

“We see major increases in strength, which leads to more volume, more reps, more sets, and subsequently, increased muscle growth and a better body composition,” Lauren says. “In an industry flooded with nonsense and silly claims, I can confidently say that CarnoSyn enhances the performance of our athletes.” 

Though each player has a vastly different body type and training goals, Lauren had all three supplement with CarnoSyn in the same way: four sustained-release Kaged Muscle SR CarnoSyn tablets with both breakfast and lunch, then Kaged Muscle’s pre– and intra-workout powders, for a total of 9.6 to 11.2 grams of CarnoSyn and SR CarnoSyn combined.

“Every year we are blown away with the results of the TEST athletes,” said Brian Rand, chief innovation officer at Kaged Muscle. “Not only can you visually see the muscle gains and fat loss, the athletes also experienced significant improvements on the field in speed, agility, endurance and strength by following an intense training protocol combined with premium supplements.”

STACK asked Lauren Dunn to walk us through each athlete’s transformation. 

Former Iowa QB Nate Stanley lost 24 pounds of fat and added four pounds of lean muscle prior to the 2020 NFL Combine. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Nate Stanley, Quarterback, Iowa

“Nate came in with a relatively high body fat at 23%, weighing 248 pounds at 6-4. He wanted to lose a lot of weight and body fat to be a competitive athlete, so right away, I put him in a 20% caloric deficit. We teach flexible dieting, so we give the athletes the grams of protein, carbohydrates and fat they should be eating, then allow them to play that game of nutritional Tetris on their own, plugging in the macros as they see fit. His diet, combined with his CarnoSyn supplementation, helped him lose 24 pounds and put on 4 pounds of lean body mass. He left us at 228 pounds.”

Combine Results: 4.81 40-Yard Dash, 28.5-inch Vertical Jump, 108-inch Broad Jump

Former Rhode Island OL Kyle Murphy supplemented with CarnoSyn to add six pounds of lean muscle prior to the 2020 NFL Combine. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Kyle Murphy, Offensive Lineman, Rhode Island

“Kyle’s program was a little different, because he had a shorter amount of time with us due to a break for a Bowl game. He is 6-4 and came in at 300 pounds on January 6th, at right under 30% body fat. He wanted to increase to 310 pounds but obviously did not want to increase body fat. We put him into a conservative surplus, around 200 calories above his maintenance level, so we could fuel him into a well-oiled machine rather than adding body fat. When he left us on March 10th, he had put on 6 pounds while losing body fat and gaining lean muscle mass.” 

Combine Results: 5.3 40-Yard Dash, 19 Bench Press reps, 7.81 3-Cone Drill

Former Ole Miss DB Myles Hartsfield did not participate in the NFL Combine but ran a 4.39 40-Yard Dash with a 38.5-inch vertical at his Pro Day in March. (Photo by Austin McAfee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Myles Harstfield, Defensive Back, Ole Miss 

“Myles started with us on January 6th as well. At 5-11, he was 211 pounds and just under 13% body fat. He initially wanted to drop to 205 pounds, but his goals changed a bit after meeting with Kevin. After some initial issues with his diet, as he had a friend cooking for him rather than using a TEST meal plan, we got him dialed in. He ended up dropping 3 pounds overall and landing at 208, but his fat mass was down over 9 pounds. He’s is a perfect example of body recomposition with diet and CarnoSyn supplementation. 

Pro Day March 16 at TEST Football Academy: 4.39 40-Yard Dash, 15 Bench Press Reps, 38.5 Vertical Jump 

Dunn says the vast majority of TEST athletes continue with their CarnoSyn supplementation after leaving TEST. There are no side effects to being on beta-alanine for prolonged periods of time, so there is no need to cycle off, especially when athletes see such convincing results. 

“These are elite athletes who know what they’re capable of when it comes to things like benching and squatting and overall training volume,” she says. “When they see improvements and advancements in such a short period of time, it really clicks with them that proper nutrition and CarnoSyn supplementation really work.”