MuscleTech Clear Muscle

MuscleTech Platinum Clear Muscle — 1,000mg BetaTOR HMB Free Acid Per Softgel

Clear Muscle delivers 1g of BetaTOR, the free-acid form of HMB, in a single liquid softgel, plus 250mg of betaine anhydrous. Taken three times daily that is 3g of HMB free acid, the dose used in the research. Available in 42 and 84 softgel bottles. In stock at TopDog Nutrition.

What HMB Actually Does

HMB is a metabolite of leucine. When you eat protein, roughly 5% of the leucine in it converts to HMB, which means you already produce small amounts every day.

Its main job is defensive rather than constructive. HMB works chiefly by slowing muscle protein breakdown, largely through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, the system your body uses to dismantle muscle tissue. It has some effect on protein synthesis too, but leucine itself is better at that side of the equation.

This distinction matters when you decide whether to buy it. HMB is not a muscle builder in the way creatine is. It is a muscle protector. It earns its place when something is actively working against you.

Free Acid Versus the Calcium Form

This is the real difference between Clear Muscle and standard HMB, and it is worth understanding.

Most HMB supplements use calcium HMB, a powder bound to calcium. It works, but it has to dissociate before absorption. Peak blood levels arrive around two hours after taking it.

BetaTOR is HMB in its free acid form, suspended in a liquid softgel. It skips that step. Absorption is faster, peak plasma concentration lands at roughly 30 minutes, and the peak is meaningfully higher.

That pharmacokinetic difference is measured and real. Whether it produces a better training outcome is less settled, because very few studies compare the two forms head to head over a full training block. What you are paying extra for is better absorption, which is a reasonable thing to pay for, not a guaranteed difference in results.

If you want the conventional form at a lower price, Nutrex HMB 1000 is the straightforward comparison.

Who This Is Genuinely For

Being straight about this, because HMB has been oversold for a decade and the research is more conditional than the ads suggest.

HMB shows the clearest benefit when muscle breakdown is elevated:

• In a calorie deficit. Cutting is when you are most at risk of losing muscle alongside fat. This is probably HMB's strongest use case.
• High training volume or a hard block. When you are deliberately overreaching and recovery is lagging.
• Returning after a layoff. Injury, illness, or time away from the gym.
• Beginners. Untrained people respond better to HMB than trained lifters do.
• Older adults. Age-related muscle loss is one of the better supported applications.

Where it does less: a well-fed, well-trained lifter eating adequate protein in a calorie surplus already has muscle breakdown under control. The effect in that population is small. Some of the headline studies on HMB free acid reported gains far beyond what independent research has reproduced, and later analyses have been considerably more conservative.

If you are in a surplus and chasing size, your money goes further on creatine and hitting your protein target with something like Gold Standard Whey. Come to HMB when you are cutting.

About the Betaine

Each softgel carries 250mg of betaine anhydrous, so 750mg across a full day.

Worth knowing that research showing betaine benefits for power output generally uses around 2.5g per day. At 750mg you are well under that, so treat the betaine as a minor addition rather than a reason to buy. The HMB is the product.

Supplement Facts

Serving size: 1 liquid softgel. Servings per container: 42 or 84.

• BetaTOR (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate free acid) — 1,000mg
• Betaine anhydrous (from Beta vulgaris root) — 250mg

Softgel: Glycerin, Modified Food Starch, Carrageenan, Sorbitol, Purified Water.
Coating: Hypromellose, Glycerin, Natural Flavour.

How to Take It

• Dose: One softgel three times daily with water. Morning, mid-afternoon and evening.
• Training days: Take one of those three about 30 minutes before you train.
• Maximum: Do not exceed 3 softgels in 24 hours.
• Consistency: Like creatine, HMB works on accumulation. Daily use including rest days, not just before sessions.
• Protein first: HMB cannot compensate for inadequate protein. Get the diet right before adding it.

If you want HMB alongside creatine in one product, Nutrex Creatine+ HMB covers both, and Nutrex Recovery Stack is the broader recovery option.

Common Questions

Is it a steroid or prohormone?
No. HMB is a naturally occurring leucine metabolite. You produce it from the protein you eat.

Can I take it with creatine?
Yes, and they work differently enough to be worth combining. Creatine supports power output, HMB limits breakdown.

Do I need to cycle it?
No. There is no established reason to cycle HMB.

How long before I notice anything?
HMB is not something you feel. Any effect shows up over weeks in recovery and in retained muscle during a deficit, not as an acute sensation.