Bad joints run in my family.
Both of my grandmother’s knees have been replaced – one of them twice!
My older sister and I both tend to roll our ankles easily.
When I began exercising in college, knee pain would often hit me like a truck the next day.
The point is, I’m no stranger to joint pain, and getting something like the Performance Lab Flex supplement might be a whole lot better than just another bottle of over the counter pain pills.
Before You Buy
There are a lot of wonderful supplements out there, and they can help with many different problems.
Joint supplements can relieve pain and help keep you active as you get older or help to care for your body as you do an exercise program.
It’s important to remember that supplements are lightly regulated in the U.S., so it’s a very good idea to do research on any supplement you’re thinking about taking and consider talking to a health care provider about your unique needs as well.
Joint supplements like this one are good for people looking to, you may have guessed, support their joints.
Many supplements are plant-based for people concerned about artificial compounds.
Whether you just wake up with sore joints or only feel the pain after a good workout, taking joint supplements can reduce wear and tear on your body and help you feel good enough to stay active.
Supplements may not be a good fit for you if you’re on certain medications – another reason to talk to your health care provider – or if you’re allergic to anything in the supplement itself.
You may feel more comfortable changing your diet, adjusting your exercise to go easy on your aching joints, or do specific exercises or stretches to strengthen joints.
Presenting Performance Lab Flex
Performance Lab Flex is designed to aid in joint flexibility, comfort, and long-term joint health.
It is vegetarian and vegan friendly, free of allergens, gluten, soy, and is non-GMO.
It’s part of Performance Lab’s CORE Formulas, a range that covers everything from focus aids to multivitamins.
It can be taken as a daily supplement or as part of a pre-workout plan.
Pros
- Vegan
- Can be Used Daily or as Needed
- Aids Joint Health
Cons
- Health Claims are not Tested by the FDA
- Not Available on Amazon
Features and Benefits
Because this is a review of a supplement and not exercise equipment or something similar, I’m going to go a little more in depth about why certain features matter and try to give more background knowledge than usual.
Shock Absorption
Ever ridden in a car where the shock absorbers are worn down? Or even just at the back of a school bus going over train tracks.
The feeling of being lifted up only to slam back down is one of my least favorite feelings in the world. Now picture that on your joints, especially if you like to run or cycle.
Did you know your knee takes pressure equivalent 5X your body weight with every step you take?
That’s a bit mind blowing to think about, and it’s what makes the shock absorption benefit of Performance Lab Flex shoot to the top of my list of features.
With improved shock absorption, you may find your movements flowing better and your joints less sore at the end of the day.
Supports Ligaments & Tendons
Ligaments and Tendons are a huge part of what holds your body together.
Ligaments attach bones to other bones, and tendons attach your muscles to bones.
In short, if they don’t work, you don’t move. Damage to ligaments or tendons can be hugely painful and reduce your physical ability.
Supporting ligaments and tendons means this supplement is designed to both a) prevent damage to these tissues, and b) help with faster recovery if they are injured.
This is especially important when exercising because you may be moving your body in new ways which can cause strain on your muscles and connective tissue as they adjust.
Cartilage Support
Cartilage isn’t just that stuff your nose and ears are made of, it’s found all over your body and in every joint.
Slightly softer and more flexible than bone, but more stable than muscle, healthy cartilage is the perfect balance point between bone that is supposed to be solid and muscle that is meant to be flexible.
Performance Lab Flex helps keep cartilage healthy and hydrated as part of its mission to improve joint health. Healthy cartilage can reduce friction from movement and ease stiff joints.
Relieves Joint Aches
When your joints hurt, it’s hard to summon motivation to do anything physical.
While pain relievers can help, they treat the symptom and not the actual problem of what’s causing the aching joints in the first place.
That’s where a supplement like Performance Lab Flex comes in, because it targets the source of joint aches – stiffness, connective tissue injures – not only to aid in recovery but to prevent injury in the first place.
GMP Certified
GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practices.
This means that an independent agency has certified that Performance Lab meets guidelines for a good food safety program.
Since the supplements they produce are meant to go in your body, this adds a level of reassurance that this isn’t just a garage supplement business hiding behind a fancy website.
Informative Website
I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to what I put in my body and have been since I started researching some of the more obscure ingredients in my favorite foods – now former favorites.
While independent research is still a good idea, the website for Performance Lab Flex goes above and beyond just the basic information people expect.
Not only can you find all the ingredients right at the top of the page, further down they give a breakdown of what every ingredient is made from, what benefit it’s supposed to provide, and the steps Performance Lab has taken to get the most out of their ingredients.
There are even graphics of the molecular structure if you’re into that.
Easy on the Stomach
Some supplements aren’t as effective as people hope because the process to concentrate a certain vitamin or mineral makes it harder for the body to absorb as it is used to pulling nutrients from food.
Performance Lab tries to mimic food molecules as closely as possible so your body can easily absorb and use what their supplements provide.
Ingredients
Performance Lab takes great pride in Flex’s ingredients.
They are non-GMO, soy free, gluten free, synthetic additive free…you get the idea.
All their ingredients are vegan friendly, meaning they only use plant sources, even for ingredients that traditionally come from animals, like Glucosamine.
While it usually comes from shellfish, Performance Lab gets the ingredient from Corn instead.
What Buyers Are Saying
I make very few purchases, especially online, without reading a ton of reviews from actual users.
You can only find what average people think of Performance Lab Flex on their website since the product is not available anywhere else online.
For ones specifically about Performance Lab Flex, I’ve pulled a few out to quote here and save you some work, and people seem to like Performance Lab Flex a lot!
All the reviews are from verified buyers.
Review #1
Shannon A. states “It seems to be helping my husband’s low back pain after lumbar surgery last year. Tried Relief Factor. Too expensive and did not work. Thanks for your product!”
Review #2
Jeffery R. tells us “Excellent product. After 2 weeks my knee pain is manageable now. I take it everyday.”
Review #3
And finally, Dwayne S. raves “I have had hip issues for quite a while and have not felt better until after I had started taking FLEX!!! I just ordered another 3 bottles.”
Joint Supplement Alternatives
Performance Lab Flex may not have everything you want in a supplement or have the wrong amounts, so here are a few other joint health supplements for you to consider.
Arazo Nutrition Joint Support Supplement
Arazo Nutrition Joint Support Supplement has many of the same ingredients as Flex, so I’ll stick to the ones that differ.
Performance Lab Flex has Strontium, which this supplement does not, but it does have Hyaluronic Acid which is not present in Performance Lab Flex.
Arazo Nutrition Joint Support Supplement has higher levels of Glucosamine, Chondroitin Sulfate, and MSM, though it has less Turmeric than Performance Lab Flex.
These ingredients are not confirmed or denied to be vegan friendly, so some of the ingredients may be derived from animal sources.
Arazo Nutrition Joint Support Supplement vs. Performance Lab Flex
- Higher Levels of Some Ingredients
- Hyaluronic Acid that Flex does not have
- May be Unsuitable for Vegetarians/Vegans
- No Strontium
Vimerson Health Glucosamine
Like Performance Lab Flex, the Vimerson Health Glucosamine proudly states that it is non-GMO and free of gluten, dairy, soy and sugar.
Once again, this supplement and Performance Lab Flex share most of their ingredients, differing in amounts. Instead of Strontium, this supplement contains Bromelain, Quercetin, and Methionine.
There is no mention of the purpose of these ingredients.
This supplement is #1 on Amazon for Chondroitin and Glucosamine Combination Nutritional Supplements and has a 4.5 star rating with over 8,000 reviews.
While they mention being non-GMO, there is no statement that their Glucosamine or other ingredients are plant based instead of from animal sources.
Vimerson Health Glucosamine vs. Performance Lab Flex
- Vimerson Supplement is Highly Rated on Amazon
- Both are non-GMO
- Contains Bromelain, Quercetin and Methionine Unlike Flex
- No Strontium
Move Free Joint Health Advanced
Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Hyaluronic Acid and MSM are all present as might be expected in a joint supplement, so the most unique ingredient in this supplement is called Uniflex, which claims to support joint comfort in two weeks or so.
The recommended dosage of the Joint Health Advanced is three pills per day, higher than the two capsules of Performance Lab Flex recommended per day.
There is still no mention of the sourcing for the Glucosamine in this supplement, so it may come from shellfish and be non-vegan.
The amount of Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM are all higher than Performance Lab Flex, however there is no Boswellia, Turmeric or Strontium in Joint Health.
Move Free Joint Health Advanced vs. Performance Lab Flex
- Fewer Ingredients
- Unique “Uniflex” Ingredient
- Unknown if Vegan-Friendly
- Recommends 3 Pills per day
Conclusion
Supplements are a wonderful way to boost health, cover nutritional gaps, and aid treatments from medical professionals.
I use them in my daily life all the time to great effect.
The benefits of a well-made, well-researched supplement can be too numerous to count.
If you want to protect your joints as you get in shape or simply want to ease old pain, Performance Lab Flex might be the right choice for you too.
