When I first started working out, I was very much against the notion of most fitness products. “They taste bad and are awful,” I would insist, having tried a few too many health bars that tasted like potpourri and bark.

As my workouts started getting more intense, and my trainers started encouraging me to find a protein shake to help with workouts, I started exploring my options/ I wanted something that would deliver great results while also tasting great. Yes, I wanted it all.

I was willing to sacrifice some of the over-the-top fitness things for flavor — typically the things that some He-man usually yells about in those Fitness commercials — which opened up my options a little bit.

I’ll save you the harrowing flashback montage narrative, but I slogged through forums looking for firsthand recommendations and reviews. I hunted, and I searched, and I eventually decided to go with CytoSport CytoGainer in Chocolate Malt.

The reviews were all consistently good, and heralded this as soemthing that tasted like chocolate cake. Which I can totally vouch for — I’m a huge fan of these shakes, especially when made with coconut milk. Rich, creamy, and actually kind of delicious. Just make sure you have a protein shaker bottle, and you’ll be good to go.

Shake, shake, shake yourself to fitness.

This product is built for people looking to gain muscle, and is specially formulated as a pre- and post-workout supplement. 2 servings have 54g of protein, 560 calories, 74 grams of carbs, and 3g of creatine. There are also a whole lot of amino acids in that that I have no technical knowledge about (what up honesty!) but the you can find more info on that over at the CytoSport site.

I used this all through my 30 Days of Fitness and I put on muscle at a really quick rate. In general, I do put on muscle rather quickly, but I genuinely felt like I was more toned and built than I normally would be. I also definitely felt a boost from the creatine during my workouts, and my muscles didn’t ache as much as they did when I was working out without this shake.

I’m no fitness instructor, but I am a newbie looking to ease my way into things, and I think this is a great mix. Look into it more for yourself, and buy yours on Amazon.com — about $40 for a 6lb container.