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Muscle Excellence
Muscle Excellence (MEX) was established in 2010 with one goal in mind: to make high-quality sports products, including dietary supplements, health foods, gym and street wear, as well as training accessories. Our desire is to offer reliable products that are trendy and available at competitive prices. This philosophy is what allows us to excel as one of the leading brands.
Since 2010, we have opened several local offices in different locations (e.g. USA, Germany, Poland, and Spain). We distribute our products to about 50 countries world-wide. We have co-operated with many sports champions, including such stars as Flex Wheeler, the bodybuilding legend, who held the position of Vice President of MEX for over three years.
Our products are designed for active people, including pro athletes (PRO LINE), who demand more than just standard nutrition, enthusiasts of different sports (SPORT LINE), who need to develop a variety of motor skills, regular gym goers and fans of outdoor activities (FIT LINE), who wish to shape their bodies and keep their minds in balance, and everybody else interested in well-being and comfort (MEX 2GO). The universality of our nutrition products makes this division into various lines rather symbolic, as pro athletes often reach for fast snacks, just like ordinary people do. Besides, most of us exercise in order to achieve better health, often looking for a breakthrough in our nutrition programs. At different times, we have different targets, such as strength, energy, recovery, or endurance, or simply need help with burning fat. We may also reach for products that help our bodies to heal, remove excess water and unwanted toxins, strengthen the immune and cardiovascular systems, fight cramps, improve sex drive or have a better sleep. MEX offers the complete range.
Our gym accessories, developed exclusively for us by our own designers, are in great demand in many fitness clubs around the world and, in 2017, we entered the realm of sports fashion, promoting bold, extraordinary designs. Not surprisingly, MEX female leggings have become bestsellers in many countries.
Outlook For The Future
Our team of professional designers and dietitians are working hard to expand our range of nutrition products, gym accessories and clothing. In 2015, we launched a major re-branding operation, introducing a new logo and superb graphic design of packaging. Encouraged by its success, in 2018, we re-designed the Pro Line, which now boasts a distinguishing, “million-dollar” look.
The MEX gym accessories and clothing lines will soon be complemented by training and sports shoes, fancy gym bags, fitness corsets, lunch bags, as well as heavy-duty clothing, such as a winter collection.
Regardless of your personal goal, MEX products can help you effectively improve every aspect of your training.
MEX ICE
MEX ICE – from the Ice Age to the Anthropocene
The creator and founder of the MEX Nutrition brand began his adventure with ice baths at the end of 2022. In his case, it was an attempt to relieve tension and free himself from everyday stress. Over time, ice bathing turned into a passion, which he fully developed over the following year. On the one hand, he was fascinated with the potential health benefits (the positive effect on the psyche could be seen immediately), and on the other, he wanted to explore the limits of the human body's endurance. Despite his short experience, he quickly achieved a level of advancement comparable to experienced winter bathers. He took cold dips several times a week; some were several-minute entries and some two-hour attempts at staying in water with a temperature close to 0°C. As a result, he found out that recreational cold water immersion (entries lasting from 5 to 15 minutes) compared to extreme ice baths (entries exceeding 30 minutes) produces much better results, especially when it comes to one’s well-being. As is the case with recreational or sports training, the key to success here is regularity (e.g. taking a cold bath every other day). Moreover, as with professional sports, extreme cold bathing carries the risk of damage to health, which is opposite to what you want to achieve. This risk is all the greater because it is easy to reach a state of hypothermia (a drop in core body temperature below 35°C). Thus, the only basis allowing for verification of the difference between one's own experiences and marketing claims, i.e. for distinguishing truth from myths, are research and scientific reports on the effects of cold on the human body. Unfortunately, the small number of studies currently available do not allow for any definitive statements on this issue.
Promoting cold baths involves a great deal of responsibility, precisely because of the significant number of risks, mainly resulting from the belief in myths or disregard for safety rules. On the other hand, in many countries the culture around cold water immersion is developing very dynamically and cold baths are treated almost like a recreational activity, such as running or cycling, and often as their alternative in the winter. In addition, almost anyone without any clear medical contraindications can do cold bathing, which in turn allows overweight people, for whom other forms of recreation may be too difficult, to find their way, and a higher percentage of fat tissue proves to be a natural insulator that maintains the core body temperature at an appropriate level. Additionally, women usually cope better than men. For many people, cold baths, which force them to leave their comfort zone, have become a stimulus and a source of energy in the process of setting their own goals, whether it is the reduction of body fat, biological regeneration, stronger immune system, fulfillment, or simply support in their professional field (cold baths are especially recommended for managers). It is said that if cold baths were available in tablet form, they would become the most effective (though addictive) stimulant, one without any side effects (when used rationally).
After several months of intensive bathing in cold water and participation in numerous training sessions and courses on the effects of cold on the human body and safety rules, in order to be able to continue his new hobby in the warmer months, MEX’s CEO decided to order an ice tub for home use. Due to his muscular figure and weight exceeding 100 kg, he had a problem selecting the right device, because the tubs produced on a mass scale did not meet his expectations, being either too small, too unstable, or not strong enough, and most often all at once. Traditional folding tubs have a diameter of 65-75 cm, while comfort can only be achieved using tubs with much larger dimensions. Another problem was the height of the tub, which should allow free immersion up to the neck and take into account people of above-average height (e.g. a professional basketball player whose height exceeds 2 m). The tub should also allow for independent entry and exit, and, unfortunately, tubs in the form of a tall barrel (over 1 m high) require additional accessories such as internal and external steps, and aluminum ladders are not suitable for use in winter months. In addition, muscle cramps are not uncommon during cold baths, and so the right size of the bathtub is extremely important so that the user can get out of it independently.
Another problem concerned cooling units. Most of them, despite the bombastic declarations on their manufacturers' websites, did not provide the expected results, mainly concerning their insufficient cooling power. Units with a power of 0.3 HP (approx. 250 W) are in fact designed for water tanks with a capacity of 100-150 liters (such as aquariums), and those with a power of 0.5 HP (approx. 375 W) for tanks with a capacity of no more than 300 liters. If the capacity of the tub is about 500 liters, as in the case of tubs with a diameter of 90 cm, then cooling units with a power of at least 0.8 HP should be used, and preferably 1.0 HP (750 W). Therefore, producing his own tub and selecting an appropriate cooling unit required of him dozens of attempts.
An additional stimulus to proceed in this direction was a conversation about his own ice tub project, which he had at a meeting of graduates of the Academy of Physical Education with Doctor Głowacki, one of the lecturers of his former university, and privately a friend with whom he had shared a room in a dormitory years earlier. Głowacki proposed participation in a scientific conference and carrying out joint research on the issue of cold baths. Tubs with controlled water temperature make it possible to conduct research in stable external conditions (in a closed room and at a constant external temperature), in contrast to existing studies, which were usually conducted in variable external conditions. Moreover, most of the existing studies concern primarily winter swimmers, i.e. people who had already adapted to cold. The condition for potential participation in research with the affiliation of the Academy of Physical Education was to guarantee that the tubs and cooling units used would have all the required health certificates, including the CE declaration, meaning that the requirements of many EU directives and national standards would be met. The declarations and certificates for each individual tub had to be accompanied by numerous test reports and extensive technical documentation. The certification process turned out to be a time-consuming challenge. An additional difficulty was the EU regulation on fluorinated greenhouse gases (HFCs – hydrofluorocarbons) and finding a production plant that would be able to make cooling units with an HFC refrigerant with a global warming potential (GWP) below 750*. Practice shows that 99% of manufacturers and 99% of importers do not have a valid CE declaration (lack of accredited reports from individual tests), use illegal refrigerants, or fall victim to false assurances about the properties of the gases they use. The significant financial outlays related to the compiling of full documentation and to ensuring quality control regarding the correct gas required drawing up an appropriate contract, and consequently, many weeks of continuous effort by the MEX legal department. This meant that such investment would only make sense in the case of larger-scale production of ice tubs, not just a few pieces for own needs.
This is how the MEX ICE brand was born.
For this reason, the first MEX ICE tubs, meeting all the legal requirements and manufactured according to strictly defined standards, could only hit the market a year later, i.e. in the 2024/2025 winter season. Some of the MEX ICE models are equipped with a water heating option, which allows them to be used even if the external temperature does not rise above 0°C without fear that the water in the cooling system could freeze. At the same time, the first year-round cold bath center in Poland was established in he city of Łódź, where ice tubs are exhibited. The center offers the opportunity to test the tubs and cooling units, both with and without your actual immersion in water. Customers can test ice tubs in single-person and multiple-person versions (up to 12 bathers), both outdoors and indoors. For those willing to take an actual bath, a clothing change zone has been prepared in a large outdoor tent, where there are lockers and individual changing rooms ensuring full privacy. You can also use a sauna. Additionally, the center offers training sessions regarding the impact of cold on the human body and treatments focusing on biological regeneration.
At the time the new brand is being introduced to the market, several models of MEX ICE tubs and cooling units are available:
• folding bathtubs
• inflatable bathtubs
• single, double and six-person bathtubs
• cooling units
• cooling and heating units with variable power (from 750 to 1500 W)
The range of MEX ICE products will possibly be expanded if demand for other models arises. We also offer a variety of accessories, including soft water-absorbing mats, water cushions, bathrobes and many others.
All MEX ICE cooling units are equipped with filters that ensure water purity, while the tubs have protective covers that provide thermal insulation and protection against water contamination. If a MEX ICE bathtub is used at home, the water does not need to be replaced for many months, even up to half a year.
MEX ICE is probably the only manufacturer on the Polish market offering ice tubs with a full safety and quality guarantee. MEX ICE tubs are devices designed not only for individual customers, but primarily for medical, rehabilitation, physiotherapy and recreation centers, such as hotels, as well as for sports and recreation clubs, biological regeneration centers and beauty salons. A great advantage of MEX ICE bathtubs is their convenience in transport (low weight and small dimensions). All you need is access to water and electricity, and you can take your ice tub to competitions, sports camps, courses or training sessions, using it for post-workout regeneration, body hardening and many other purposes.
MEX ICE devices are also energy-efficient. For example, a 1 HP generator with a power of 750 W will consume approx. 0.75 kWh. Assuming an average use of the cooling unit for 3 hours a day and 15 days a month (cold bath every other day), the monthly cost of electricity consumption will be much lower then the cost of dry ice for a single bath. Therefore, so far, cold baths have been available mainly in the winter months, or during expensive training courses, with the cost of ice divided between the participants. Currently, baths of this type are available all year round, and at low operating costs.
The innovation of the MEX ICE ice tubs is the balance between functionality and purchase costs. In addition, for the first time on the market, our tubs are available with the option of connecting a cooling unit. This solution allows you to adjust the cost of purchasing the tub and the unit to your home budget, with the additional option of deferring payment. You can also start by buying just the tub for the winter period, and if you think this is an activity you want to continue in the summer, you can buy a cooling unit at a later date. It is important to remember that the pro-health benefits of cold baths come from taking them regularly.
We should add that the MEX ICE brand, like MEX Nurtition, is appreciated for its excellent customer relations and extensive customer support. Those who want to start their adventure with winter swimming can come to our center in Łódź, Poland, and take their first steps under the supervision of an expert, with full medical support.
Do contact us!
* CO2 equivalent, which indicates to what extent a given substance contributes (over a 100-year period) to global warming, assuming CO2 with a GWP = 1 as the reference substance.