Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by tomverve:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by Solace:

What about energy drinks? One energy drink a day vs. a cup of coffee. Is the coffee better?

Give this product a try:
http://www.biotestsupplements.net/products/spike.html
Biotest makes the best athletic supplements. If you're trying to get a lot of work done or want a good, intense workout, or want to kick ass playing basketball, Spike will give you tremendous energy and focus. Most energy drinks are just junk with a lot of caffeine.

I'd be really careful about taking any kind of energy supplement like that. Especially when the maker says something like this about it on its own web page:

No one else in the world has access to the power ingredients in Spike. A patent has been filed and I'll keep the formula-activation secret out of the public domain forever. Like the secret Coke formula, I consider the Spike formula to be one of our most-valued assets. As such, I'm not going to discuss one single thing about the science behind it, and I'm certainly not going to publish what makes the power turn on.

And before some of you punks assume that the secret behind Spike is simply caffeine or some other pusillanimous, everyday substance, it’s not! So don’t waste your time asking me about it!

wow, sketchy.

I guess. Weightlifters have been taking it for many years, but it is a slight risk. I only take about one-third the recommended dose and only before lifting. And most energy products (as well as products in general like Coke) don't list every ingredient they include.

Stimulants have a catabolic effect - they'll hurt your lifting efforts. I ran a quick literature search and, not surprisingly, there's nothing there. Any supplement with a dearth of peer-reviewed literature is a risk and its a poor decision to continue taking that. How potent are its vasoconstrictive effects? Does it put you at risk for seizures? What are the known drug interactions? If you don't know, don't take it.

Ok stimulants.

What about NO(nitric oxide) supplements? Its basically L-arginine (I know I spelled that), which is an amino acid. I read as much info as I could on it and nothing bad was found. The body needs nitric oxide to perform various everyday functions. In body building, it helps get nutrients to the muscles faster by improving blood circulation. You feel it working almost imediately. Its not like caffiene or taking energy pills. You just get that extra "pump" you are looking for to get you through a tough routine. There is no crash or anything like that. You body actually feels the pump well after you have worked out. You can take it everyday, but in my use of it, once you start taking it. You don't need to take it cuz your body kinda gets jump started from it and takes it from there.

Again it sounds like a stimulant but its just a large dose of a certain amino acid. No negative side effects. Its about as safe as creatine. Actually creatine is part of the mixture in NO supplements. Creatine is found in meat anyway. Its a type of amino acid itself.

Anyway I'm a little all over the place with my comments.

Anybody know anything else about NO?

Posted by EnySpree:

Solace - doing push ups are mainly chest and tri-cep workout. The back equivalent would be standard pull-ups. Everyone hates them cuz they are hard but as you get used to them they can get easier like with anything else.

If you start to bench press press you could do the much harder wide-grip pushups.

I agree pushups and pullups are an excellent combination.
I going to mention http://www.crossfit.com again, it's probably the best exercise site I've seen.

[Edited by - oldfan on 05-13-2007 9:32 PM]

Posted by EnySpree:

Ok stimulants.

What about NO(nitric oxide) supplements? Its basically L-arginine (I know I spelled that), which is an amino acid. I read as much info as I could on it and nothing bad was found. The body needs nitric oxide to perform various everyday functions. In body building, it helps get nutrients to the muscles faster by improving blood circulation. You feel it working almost imediately. Its not like caffiene or taking energy pills. You just get that extra "pump" you are looking for to get you through a tough routine. There is no crash or anything like that. You body actually feels the pump well after you have worked out. You can take it everyday, but in my use of it, once you start taking it. You don't need to take it cuz your body kinda gets jump started from it and takes it from there.

Again it sounds like a stimulant but its just a large dose of a certain amino acid. No negative side effects. Its about as safe as creatine. Actually creatine is part of the mixture in NO supplements. Creatine is found in meat anyway. Its a type of amino acid itself.

Anyway I'm a little all over the place with my comments.

Anybody know anything else about NO?

Eny, arginine is an essential amino acid so you actually need to have dietary arginine everyday. And unless you have a urea cycle disorder, taking arginine, in reasonable amounts, shouldn't be a major problem (I wouldn't take it, however). Its true that arginine is a precursor of nitric oxide, but its help in excercise is probably not due to NO production - your sympathetic nervous system will cause a sufficient vasodilation in the musculature anyway. (Local nitric oxide production - through viagra - actually works well for erections). In my estimation, arginine's excercise benefits, which are themselves unclear, are mostly related to the fact that it is a precursor of creatine, which is important in muscle energy storage. Although, again, there is limited evidence suggesting that normal creatine phosphate levels are insufficient.

Let me warn you, though, that the chronic use of creatine based supplements MAY put you at risk for kidney problems. I would not take it.

Posted by EnySpree:

Posted by BlueSeats:

IMO, caffeine is underrated. Been around for eons, side effects are understood, and if it isn't abused it works. They're starting to appreciate it's antioxidant contributions.

May not be for everyone, but I'd prefer it to some snake oil, secret sauce, voodoo crap.

But when I speak of caffein I mean in small doses and natural forms, like coffee or tea. I really don't know about how it's used in some of these "energy" products.

[Edited by - blueseats on 05-13-2007 9:57 PM]

Caffine is the devil. Its gotta be the most abused drug ever. People can't function until they have their first cup of coffee. There is something wrong with that.

It does come in handy when you just need a burst of energy to get you from point a to b. Aside from that I think any other use of caffine is just abuse.

I'm drinking an energy drunk right now ny the way, lol. Its vitamin energy by glaceau, same dude that make vitamin water. Its pretty good.

Caffeine is the last thing I would be worried about. There's evidence it might actually be protective against Alzheimer's disease.
I'm not suggesting that you go OD on it, however.

Posted by EnySpree:

Codeunknown - you a nutritionist or something? Just asking, cuz your advice is turning me on. LMAO.

I'm a thoracic surgeon.

Btw, any thoughts on artificial sweetners? I've been using Splenda and Stevia (Stevia is actually a natural sweetner) as a replacement for some of the sugar intake lately. Supposed to be better for you. I know aspartame and saccharine are not good for you.

[Edited by - Solace on May 17 2007 09:25 AM]

Milking the trout? Lmao. Is that similiar to spanking the monkey?

Hey solace, good for you! Keep up the good work.

I have added deadlifts and bent over rows to my workouts. I hurt my back really bad doing deadlifts around this past Christmas.it was like this internal pain in my lower back that shot down my leg! Why am I doing deadlifts again? Well I wasn't doing them correctly. Form is everything and I was really damaging myself the way I was doing them before. Form is everything when working out. I learned that the hard way. Well I'm doing them again to yet to get better muscle balance. I'm noticing that I'm over training some areas and neglecting others. Its important to have that balance in your body. No sense in having a big chest but have a weak back. Its important for posture and for overall strength. Shoulder presses are something I'm trying to get in also.

Its hard to put on the muscle I want cuz I'm a vegetarian. I have to force down a lot of protien shakes to get the protien I need to repair my muscles. "they" say you need to have 1 gram of protien per pound of body weight to insure you are building not losing muscle. The average person gets that type of protien without even thinking about it.

Posted by Marv:

^ don't get so caught up in this physical fitness stuff that you neglect your regular routine of milking the trout. it's vital for physical and emotional well-being, and good for the skin.

But lets remember that milking the trout can be a team effort. And to the victor, go the spoils.

wft? Milking the trout? Is that a 50s term?

Posted by Solace:

Posted by martin:

wft? Milking the trout? Is that a 50s term?

Are you saying that Marv is old?

how dare you accuse me of accusing Marv as old! He is! But he knows how to hang with the best