ECA Stack (how long should I be on)

Hi guys

I have been using the ECA stack for the last 15 weeks with a 2 week break in-between. I was just wondering if anyone knew how long i could safely take ECA or MD6 without casuing serious side effects. I still need to lose about 15lbs should i continue with the eca stack ?

Thanks jag

My MD6 label says no longer than 12 weeks. Read the ‘Ultimate Diet Pill’ article in issue 17 to see what happens when you abuse ephedrine.

If you’ve been using the stuff for 15 weeks without reading the label recomendations, you’re probably lucky you took any break at all. The general rule of thumb for ephedra/caffiene supps. is not to use them for a period (of continous use) exceeding 12 weeks. Go to the Biotest online store and read the instructions for using MD6, if that’s what you’re using. They’re pretty clear-cut. Also, it might be a good idea to do a little product research next time, as ECA stacks can have serious side effects if not used properly. You’re probably fine, but you don’t want to push it. If you’re actually looking to exceed the label recomendations, my advice is don’t. Biotest isn’t just looking to cover it’s ass legally, I really think they want consumers to use their products safely and effectively. It only makes sense; the more people that abuse ergogens like ECA and pro-thyroid products, the more the feds sit up and take notice. Good luck.

I think this is a good question. How long is too long? Is a two week break enough time off before starting another cycle?

I think studys on ephedrine have been done over years, with some evidence that the ephedra continues to work, even more so as time passes because of the prolifiration of capiliary circulation in BAT cells

one thing to remember is that unless you are either an animal or a new born baby, you dont have hardly any BAT

Last I checked … I was an animal, a homeotherm at least.
At the extremes in the animal world are what in the popular language are referred to as warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals. The more precise scientific terminology is:

Poikilotherms - Animals whose body temperature is labile, it moves with the temperature of their environment.

Homeotherms - are at the other end of the spectrum, these animals have a variety of structural and physiological adaptations which maintain their body temperature at a very stable value in spite of wide fluctuations in their en vironmental temperature. Humans are homeotherms, except under some pathological conditions.


Sources of Heat

Metabolic Thermogenesis – as glucose/lipids are metabolized by the Citric acid cycle and the other metabolic pathways there is “waste” heat produced as the chemical reactions occur. This metabolic source is greatest in skeletal muscle, since skel etal muscle constitutes the largest mass of metabolically active tissue in the body. The brain has a very high energy requirement and a large heat production related to all the action potential, synaptic, and membrane transport activity, but is relative ly smaller in total mass and volume. The level and efficiency of metabolism e.g. metobolic rate is regulated by several hormonal and neuro-regulatory mechanisms. Thyroxine release from the thyroid gland, produces both short and long-term increases in gneralized metabolism, with subsequent increases in thermogenesis. Likewise cortico-steroid release from the adrenal cortex trigger increases metabolic thermogenesis.

Contractile Thermogenesis - Muscle contractile activity is a particularly large source for heat production. Large amounts of metabolic energy reserves are consumed in activating the muscle biochemistry, with subsequent "waste heat". The contractile response itself converts chemical to mechanical energy with large amounts lost as 'frictional' heat is stretching the elasticity of muscle/tendon structures. Muscle is large source of heat when engaging in a variety of 'useful' muscle activities, and a neurologically regulated heat source when reflex 'shivering' is produced by drops in core body temperature below the optimum. This results in a reflex activation of many large muscle groups in continuous transient contraction-relaxation cycles with cons equent heat production, and restoration of appropriate core temperature.

Lipolysis with oxidation of fatty acids requires oxygen and can produce quite large amounts of heat. Brown fat cells are especially adapted to thermogenesis; it appears that they produce heat with little production of ATP, hence an uncoupling of t he lipolysis from the usual end-product. Brown fat cells are relatively abundant in species which are highly cold-adapted, and in most species including humans as neo-nates. Urban humans who are usually reared in warm tightly temperature controlled envi ronments tend to have reduced populations of Brown adipose tissue and hence reduced capacity for non-shivering thermogensis which has high survival value in cold environments. Long-term cold adaptation increases the amount of brown adipose tissue. Norep inephrine release triggers lipolysis, oxidation of fatty acids and heat production in both White and Brown Adipose tissue.

You can use MD-6 as long as you are tring to lose weight.
Bill Roberts has posted here “Stay on it until you are done cutting-it’s not something that really needs to be cycled.”
Tim Patterson told me the same thing via e-mail once.