I saw a really good question on another board and wanted to reprint the question and my answer for all my readers here.
Q:
quote:
Just wondering if any of you guys use a pre-workout energizer or thermogenic. I have been using a product called "Hollywood Cuts" (only bought it because they were out of the straight ECA stack I prefer) and it has actually worked pretty well. Its basically just caffeine, norephedrine, and yohimbine. I have been using products similar to this for years and have built up a bit of a tolerance to them. Any other suggestions?
A: Rather than burn yourself out frying your adrenile system, why don't you supply your muscles with a big dose of the proper mix of carbs. The best one I have found is called "Pure Muscle Carbs" by Ultimate Nutrition. Take it about an hour before you train and you will NOT believe the deep down muscular energy you have. You will have a good workout, and get a good pump.
Q:
quote:
You know, I have heard that somewhere else, about depleting the adrenile system. Would you can to elaborate on that? Where you refering to the thermogenics as the cause for that?
I do usually eat something before I train, usually from the carb family in the form of a smal bowl of Cheerios or brown rice cakes. But I can not work out with a fullness filling in my stomach, which a lot of shakes give me. I have used some of Ultimate Nutritions stuff in the past so I might need to give that a try... Thanks.
A: If the thermo is using the traditional stack (ephedrine, caffiene) then several things take place. First, on the pro side, the two combined create an effect called supra-additive thermogenic synergism, meaning that they are greater than the sum of their collective parts in thermogenic effect.
Your fat cells have many receptor sites, each playing a different role in the fat cell. The main players that we are concerned with are the alpha-2 and the beta-1 receptors. A2's are the bad guys, giving the "command" to the fat cell to store fat for later use. The B2's are the good guys, giving the command to use the contents of the cell to be converted into a usable form of energy. When you take the "cocktail", it effectively blocks the A2 receptor, virtually crippling your body's ability to store fat. It doesn't really increase or enhance the burning effect, it just shuts down the mechanism that counters the B2's, leaving the B2's to shine. It has an added bonus of stimulating the CNS right before your workout, and it when you take it your brain dumps norepinephrine into your system, putting you in fight or flight mode. Your lifts will literally increase 10-20% when you take this.
Okay, now for the cons. The final effect of going into fight or flight mode is severe fatigue. It is really stressful on the body to go in FOF mode. Think about a car that has nitrose oxide... you may win the race, but you stress your car, and possibly do damage to your engine. This is not much different. If you continue to force yourself into fight or flight mode, you will burn out. Eventually your adrenile production drops off. It is not REAL energy. It is just your body being in panic mode. If you are experiencing adrenile burn-out, I have seen 17 Keto-roid work really well to restore your levels.
In closing, supply the muscle some real energy, not a trick to your brain chemistry. Every now and then it is fun for maxing out, but long term it will not serve to help you reach your goals. Hope this helps. Good luck!
[img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]
Linear Mode
