Energy To Hit The Gym

[robblok]

For many of us myself included its hard to hit the gym all the time. I while back i was just going through the motions without much power and focus. I did use cafeine (got loads of power but it made me crash). I ordered a kg in Holland and made my own 200mg capsules. But i did not use it too much for training because i train at night and then i would not have a good nights rest.

So here GLVB started talking about pre workout drinks, i had bad experience with NO explode (did not do anything for me) But i wanted to try to give it a go, so i got some gaspari superpump max. I was really amazed as it gave me focus and power. Not that i lifted that much more but i did more sets and more reps and the feeling was great. (could have been placebo effect). But i must say it helped me workout harder in the gym.

I have now ordered some white flood too to compare it. Only disadvantage of all these pre workout drinks is that you have to cycle of them because else you get tolorance. Other then that i must say it has improved my workout a lot. I might even choose them over proteins if i had too.

Just giving fellow enthusiasts a heads up it worked for me. You might have to find out what one you like. There are many and not all work the same or work for you.

Just hoping to motivate some people to hit the iron again here in Thailand.

[tropo]

Caffeine in the form of coffee, and Red Bull last year (don't use it now) were the only preworkout drinks I've ever used in my life. Maybe I need some of that caffeine powder. How does a dose compare to a strong cup of coffee?

While I'm training I drink fresh coconut water diluted in my 1.5 L drink bottle. I figured it's a lot better and healthier as a natural electrolyte than wasting money on expensive drinks like Gatorade which are basically just flavoured sugar water.

[robblok]

The cafeine powder if i make 200mg caps (can make some for you) is stronger then a cup of coffee, more like 2 cups. Its no problem for me later to make some caps (let the gf do it) and then give you 60 or so.

[robblok]

But i crash hard on cafeine.. but when i use it during the day its ok. But it just does not work with my night workouts. Cafeine has a halflife of 9 hours or so.

The energy i get from the pre workout drinks is different, cleaner.. dont know how to explaine. The gaspari nutrition one works for me.

[moe666]

What does it contain

[robblok]

It contains loads of stuff, its better to google it then me making an advertisement here. Basically there are according to my friends 2 good ones. White flood, and superpump max. Jack3d is an other one but its loaded with stimulants, not everyone likes it.

Before i once used NO Explode and i did not feel a thing, this superpump max is different, it works for me. More sets more reps and more will to train.

When i just take cafeine powder in tablet form i have a lot of energy too, but it also disrupts my sleep at night. I love training in the evening so i just cant use the cafeine then.

These are all perfectly legal pre workout drinks (best ordered abroad as they are too expensive here). I have no stakes in selling this stuff, but for those who want to spice up their workout once and are willing to try id say give it a try.

I was real skeptical too after the failed results with NO Explode, this however worked. Is it a placebo effect, maybe but i was not expecting much from it to start with so i doubt it.

[tropo]

But i crash hard on cafeine.. but when i use it during the day its ok. But it just does not work with my night workouts. Cafeine has a halflife of 9 hours or so.

The energy i get from the pre workout drinks is different, cleaner.. dont know how to explaine. The gaspari nutrition one works for me.

I train early afternoon and sleep about 3am, so I should be right using it. I wouldn't use it before my evening row though. Currently I drink 1 or 2 cups of brewed coffee before my workout. I wouldn't mind giving them a go. You said you don't need it anymore, so if I like it I could buy it from you.

Is it pure caffeine?

We could do a trade lol. I send you flaxseeds, you send me caffeine.

[robblok]

Tropo,

Its pure cafeine, i will make a load of capsules and send them to you. I do use them but not for training. I use them when i really need to work hard like a kickstart in the morning. But to be honest i try to stay away from them as i hate the crash.

Today i had again my super pump max but i did not row in the end of my session. My back just felt like it needed some rest. I thought hell i rowed already today 2 sessions isnt always needed on training days.

The superpump max is great but like with all stims you do get used to it a bit after a while and it cant combat total fatigue. I will get the gf to make 120 caps.. really that would see you through for a while.

[aussiebebe]

Thanks for the heads-up robblok about experiences with pre-workout drinks, I'm always looking for new tips to improve my energy during workouts. I've always been interested in keeping my body-fat low with minimum effort and still follow the 'body-for-life' eating and exercise routine from all those years ago (I don't however use the EAS supplements that the system was shamelessly written to promote). I always work out first thing on an empty stomach and your idea of making caffeine capsules is great, I just drink black coffee which is hard to stomach but caffeine really helps energy levels and seems to me to aid the process of encouraging the body to use stored fat as fuel. I wouldn't take pre-workout drinks as my focus is fat loss, but your capsule solution is clever, thanks for the tip.

[robblok]

Just for your information, the pre workout drinks that i take don't contain carbs. I also work for fat loss and i do some fasted cardio first thing in the morning. Not really to promote more fat loss but just because it fits in my shedule. I like doing my rowing first thing in the morning.

[robblok]

I also think that is important to make sure that if your training hard you have enough time to recover. I might be guilty of overdoing things once in a while no matter how wel intended it is and then you are left without power for sure.

So over training can be something that happens. However not many people get there fast. You must be really pushing it to get there.

[tropo]

I also think that is important to make sure that if your training hard you have enough time to recover. I might be guilty of overdoing things once in a while no matter how wel intended it is and then you are left without power for sure.

So over training can be something that happens. However not many people get there fast. You must be really pushing it to get there.

To be honest, I see many people overtraining down at the gym. There's one guy there that trains biceps for as long as I train my legs. Another guy I see does endless sets for shoulders. These guys always look the same, week after week.

There are many types of overtraining, eg. systemic (the whole system wears down), or specific - for example, a person may overtrain a particular muscle group. They may ignore crossover effects when doing split routines. For example, a person will train chest one day and triceps the next. In this case the triceps could easily become overtrained and possibly lead to an elbow injury. At the very least it will inhibit growth due to overuse.

A lot of people overtrain their joints, not allowing suitable recovery between workouts. For example a personal trainer at my gym said he trains chest one day, and shoulders the next. How can a person get a decent shoulder workout the day after chest - all compressing the shoulder joint. I couldn't count the number of people walking around nursing bad shoulders caused by rotator cuff damage. I used to be one of them.

People think too much about muscles and ignore tendons, ligaments and joints. These are more important as they can prevent any type of productive training if they go bad. A sore muscle recovers quickly. Sore joints and tendons can soon become chronic problems that won't heal without a total lay off and rehabilitation.

Systemic overtraining is just wearing out the body's recovery ability in general. Signs are low energy, moodiness, disturbed sleep, depression etc.

I could go on and on. I've made just about every mistake possible. The important thing is to learn from mistakes.

Edited June 13, 2012 by tropo

[robblok]

True, and actually i was talking about systemic. Obviously those other forms are also possible just never occured to me that there are people who don't spread their workout out. But yes you are right here are people who believe more is better and train biceps day to day.

I think i had some tendons sore a while back (year or so) my whole neck was cramped could not move it and it took forever to heal loads of massages and cafeine (strange but it killed the pain). No training at that time because just could not be done.

Because i was talking about energy i was really thinking about the systemic one. But you made some good points. Your also right that making mistakes is human and as long as you learn from them its ok.

Most of my over training has been mental. That is something i really need to guard for.

Edited June 13, 2012 by robblok

[tropo]

Most of my over training has been mental. That is something i really need to guard for.

Mental burnout is often caused by systemic overtraining. I can always feel my mood changing when I'm overtrained. I get grumpy and I'm always nagging my wife. If I don't heed the warning signs I can become quite depressed. Sleep becomes difficult. I've been fighting this over the last week - sitting on the edge of overtraining. I just got through a few tough days.

Training can also be dreadfully repetitive, so I suppose mental burnout can result just from boredom. If you don't see any real progress it can be very hard on the brain too. We need to see progress to motivate us to continue this boring, repetitive sport.

Edited June 13, 2012 by tropo

[robblok]

Today i received white flood from controlled labs, its also a pre workout drink. Its more friendly in price and i heard many good things about it. I just want to give that a go too. Just to see what works for me.

I had NO explode ages ago and it did squat for me. I think these things are personal and just should be tried. Anything that really helps my workouts is appreciated. Sometimes you just need that extra bit of energy or the focus.

Strange actually, i never thought stuff like this would work and only bought it to test it. I am actually not that much of a supplement guy.

[tropo]

I think one has to be careful not to use pre-workout supplements to push one's body when it is asking (or pleading ) for a rest.

In this case a pre-workout supplement could push one into an overtrained state.

Knowing when to rest is difficult for people when they're developed an extreme workout habit.

This is something I need to be weary of when experimenting with caffeine.

[robblok]

You are right, that is part why i am monitoring how i feel in the morning and how much sleep i get. Once i send the caffeine ill send 2 scoops of white flood for you to try too. I am really aware about pushing my body too hard.

[smiljanic]

For pre-workout supplements, you can't go past mesomorph. It's absolutely brilliant. While not the cheapest, its effects are unparalleled. Be careful though, I have heard of it (and other pre-workouts) having adverse side effects for those with pre-disposition to anxiety, depression etc..

My paranoia re: these effects generally restricts to me a pre-workout banana, but I had a good couple of months on mesomorph

[Trenton42]

Got some free samples of Animal Rage in my Animal Pak. Wasn't expecting much of them, but I was way wrong. They really rock.

Right now I have enough energy for my workouts, but if I ever feel I need something, I'm spending my money on Animal Rage.

[robblok]

I think people should just try a few of these if they are serious. I never expected them to work but they did. Also had one that did not work for me but worked for others. In the end its better to do without i guess. Because you will get used to the stuff and need to cycle off.

[tropo]

I think people should just try a few of these if they are serious. I never expected them to work but they did. Also had one that did not work for me but worked for others. In the end its better to do without i guess. Because you will get used to the stuff and need to cycle off.

I'm about to take some "White Flood" and head off to the gym. I will report back with my findings. In 36 years of training I have never used a specialised pre-workout supplement other than a cup of coffee.

[Shurup]

I tries SuperPump from Gaspari and didn't do anything for me just as most of other supplements.

The only supplements that I know worked for me is Protein and Creatine from Gaspari (I think it's called Size On).

When I have time I will prove to Tropo with medical results (I know he's skeptical about proteins) that proteins work up to a point, you don't piss it all out.

[robblok]

I tries SuperPump from Gaspari and didn't do anything for me just as most of other supplements.

The only supplements that I know worked for me is Protein and Creatine from Gaspari (I think it's called Size On).

When I have time I will prove to Tropo with medical results (I know he's skeptical about proteins) that proteins work up to a point, you don't piss it all out.

Shurup i tried No explode totally did nothing for me. Superpump did. I have been reading about those pre workout drinks and there are so many mixed stories coming out that it might very well be that what works for me does not work for you ect.

I am not a big supplement fan but this did work for me so did the white flood. Maybe because i have been on a diet for a long period lacking some stuff. I dont know. I do know that after a while of use it gets less. But i got the same thing with cafeine requiring more and more.

I also believe in creatine and protein. Just don't always think its needed if you are getting enough already.

[Shurup]

Maybe the stuff really works, I'm not arguing, maybe a guy just needs to stay off any kind of stilumant every once in a while to see the benefits. My work schedule is 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off so when I'm working, I'm drinking a lot of coffee, sometimes just because I like it, but I don't really feel it does much to me. On the other hand when I'm on my days off I don't drink much of it and then when I do, it really hits me. Everyone is different.

Going back to the OP, when I don't feel like going to gym because of overtraining (happens on average once a month with me), I just let it pass, takes me 3-4 days, but if I just don't feel like it, I would drag my rear end to gym and do a short session of light cardio to get the blood moving. Jenerally I do feel better after that and since I'm in the gym already, I would go and do my normal routine. Works most of the time.

[tropo]

When I have time I will prove to Tropo with medical results (I know he's skeptical about proteins) that proteins work up to a point, you don't piss it all out.

You got the wrong impression somewhere along the line. I don't believe the minimum requirement of protein is nearly as high as most bodybuilders or protein manufacturers state, but I consume at least 300 grams of high quality protein per day. Why? Because I've got to eat something and I don't want to overdo the carbs and fats.

I'm sipping on my 60 gram WPI post workout drink as I type this. I had about 70 grams of protein before I went to the gym and I'm about to consume a 50 - 60 gram (protein content) beef/egg meal in an hour.

Edited June 17, 2012 by tropo

[Shurup]

I may have got a wrong impression indeed. I can't recall now if we were arguing about the minimum, but I recall saying recommended for BBs. 1g per lb of body weight, some need more, those who don't exercise hard, need less. Taking more won't hurt if you're healthy. I'm not as big/tall as you, I'm 5-10 at 200lbs and 200 g of protein does a trick for me. I consume about 100g of protein from food and the same amount from shakes. I definetely can't eat twice of what I eat and if I don't drink shakes, I don't grow, if I consume more than than, my urine become murky which I suppose is the excess protein that gets wasted. Should be easy to check and see what's that.

[tropo]

Suffice to say that very few people wouldn't be growing because of protein deficiency. Growth is such a ridiculously slow process for natural bodybuilders anyway, so I don't see how anyone could possibly say they grow or don't on a certain level of protein.

Now onto the subject of energy drinks.

Here is my experience with "White Flood" today.

I took it exactly 30 minutes before I started my workout. It made me feel a bit fuzzy in the head after about 15 minutes.

I had more energy than usual on my 15 minute warmup row and knocked out just over 200 calories, which is better than usual on a warmup.

When I finished that I felt quite hyper on my way over to the weights. It felt like a strong caffeine hit. It was hard to concentrate because I was a bit over-hyped.

There was no increase in strength and no increase in pump but a definite increase in general energy and once the initial hyper feeling subsided after about 15 minutes in I had better than usual mental clarity. If anything, it made me rush a bit more than I usually do.

Finished with an HIIT session on the Cybex but I didn't need to drag myself over to start it.

All in all a definite improvement in energy levels and a worthwhile supplement.

[robblok]

To be honest on both the superpump max and the white flood i never had extra pumps. I got some samples of something that should help with that. So far nothing spectacular, but i like the extra energy. I have had caffeine pure many times problem is for me it makes me crash.

Glad it did something for you Tropo, like i told you before i still think the stuff works different for anyone. Hear reports on stuff that does not work for me but works for others (talking NOexplode here). Ill send a scoop of superpump max with the rest of the cafeine.

Sorry just found out i already sealed the enveloppe. (next time you will get some)

Edited June 17, 2012 by robblok

[tropo]

Rob, what does this "White Flood" cost you all up, landed? How many serves do you get in a container? Could you PM me your source?

Cheers

PS. Upon looking at the ingredients, I noticed it does contain caffeine. How much caffeine would you be getting per serve?

Regarding the caffeine tablets - would you recommend just one before a workout? How long before the workout do you take them?

[robblok]

Actually white flood is one of the cheaper workout drinks so far. Its a lot cheaper then gaspari superpump max.

I gave you 1,5 scoop and a box holds 100 scoops. You only take it on workouts. I paid $53,41 inclusive shipping. Healdesigns.com is where i got it. It does not say how much cafeine is in it so i cant tell you. I believe superpump is without cafeine.

Cafeine, i would say take just one depending on your tolerance. Truth be told i have taken more in the past. I would take it about half an hour or so before training. You will feel it hit you.