Question
That pre-workout suggestion you had a few weeks back – Burn Up something or other? Can you go over the “1st stage/2nd stage” thing again?
Answer
So if there’s one thing I know, it’s stimulants. I fell in love with them at age 15 and never looked back.
Mostly I think, because I’m naturally a VERY laid back person.
When I discovered ephedrine/caffeine, I vividly recall thinking “Wow. This must be what it feels like to be normal…”
Not everyone comes from that background, so just understand that’s where I’m coming from.
Give someone stims who has an underlying anxiety problem for example, and bad things happen. Just keep that in mind.
I’ve Tried Them All
In the past 35 years, I’ve tried just about every stim type product to come down the pike.
With the exception perhaps of DMAA or AMP Citrate, nothing held a candle to Ephedrine for me.
And nothing (bar none) was better health wise either (that’ll be true for most BTW, as ephedrine can and usually does improve your HDL or “good” cholesterol numbers.
Be that as it may, many people found out the hard way too much caffeine/ephedrine left them TOO wired, and to add insult to injury there was a crash.
So as much as I love the stuff, there’s a definite downside – strong stims can often times work against you.
Meaning they generate too much cortisol and “take away” more than they “put back.”
You only begin to appreciate that fact in your 30’s I think, and it just gets more noticeable as time goes on.
To find the appropriate middle ground, stay 100% legal and not break the bank I came up with a 2 tiered system so to speak – Stage I and Stage 2.
Stage 1
Stage 1 was straight ephedrine and USP caffeine. EphedrA would be better, but that’s illegal now so ephedrine will have to do.
USP caffeine kicks in quick but washes out quickly too, putting you at risk for the dreaded crash.
And again, neither of those “puts back”, allowing your body to recover from the training session much less get a jump on building back better. The CNS gets drained, and whether that comes from ephedrine or amphetamines, the result is the same – burnout.
The same 25mg ephedrine doesn’t cut it anymore – you need 50 now. 200mg of caffeine has become 600mg and yes, I’ve been above 1,000mg – it all works against you.
To combat this, you need something that first smooths out any crash – natural caffeine from Kola Nut/Guarana, Red Panax Ginseng and Yerba Mate are great choices.
Aminos such as Tyrosine and Taurine too can be useful, as each has a unique benefit. Tyrosine increases the level of stimulatory neurotransmitters for example, while Taurine prevents cramps that might come about due to dehydration.
You also need things that put back. Adaptogens, anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories are of great use here. MACA, Ginger, Green Tea catechins – even cinnamon. I’ve also become partial to a smidgeon of white willow bark along with those things, as it seems to hasten recovery.
Dr. Squat Fred Hatfied said as much in his book “Power, A Scientific Approach” 30 years ago. Had an entire chapter on its benefits post workout and advocated strongly for it.
Stage 2
Burn IT Up has most if not all of those, and I find 2 caps in addition to the synthetic ephedrine/caffeine is the perfect “stage 2” for me.
Now, it’s not perfect as some people just don’t like prop blends. I can understand that, because in most cases companies pixie dust stuff when using one.
The other side of that story is this: If you have a winner, you can certainly patent or trademark the formula. The problem is that you’ll still spend tens of thousands of dollars taking companies to court who do copy your formula ripping you off, and here’s the important thing: There are NO guarantees you’ll win.
Being a MASS product I’m not particularly concerned about it being a prop blend, because Synthagen is too. That was their choice, not mine but I have to admit looking back it was the right thing to do – we have enough attempts where other companies have called the lab trying to steal it… so I get it from their perspective.
You need to protect your hard work, and right wrong or indifferent – it’s the easiest way to do so. At least in this business.
Hell, look at what happened with Thriv right? Perfect example IMO.
Anyway, if memory serves BIU is around $.60 cents/serving, so you get a lot for the money.
Anyway, that’s the Stage 1/Stage 2 story. If you’re not happy with your current pre-workout or looking to make a change, give that a shot. I think you’ll like what you’re going to see.
