I am taking my GMAT’s at the end of October and as a result… begun my test preparation a few weeks ago. It’s been about 15 years since I took a a standardized test and about 10 years since I spent time on these types of problems.
Needless to say I have a lot of brushing up to do, particularly in the Quant area. For the schools I am targeting, I need to score a 700+. The good news is that I scored over 600 on my baseline practice test I took 2 weeks ago without any real preparation.
The tough part is that going from say a 650 to a 710 is a whole lot tougher than going from a 550 to 600. Aside from putting in the prep hours (approx 10 per week x 2 months), I am looking for some supplement help going into test day to make sure my brain is operating at its peak.
I am looking to specifically hear your opinions/suggestions on various supplement combos for the actual test day and maybe in the weeks leading up to test day.
For test day, I was originally planning on taking Power Drive alone. Then I thought about possibly taking a combo of Power Drive and one dose of caffeine-free Spike (stimulants make me anxious).
Then I read the thread about ‘Brain Boosters’ and saw a bunch of discussion about Vinpo and Oxi that looked compelling… I am not necessarily familiar with them, but it sounds like they are legal in the US and easily purchased.
I plan to take about 6 full-length practice tests between now and test day. I will most likely test-drive a few combinations during those days to see what agrees with me and what doesn’t.
So, what supplement would you suggest if I were to take just one thing? Or, what combo would be safe and worth trying?
-Power Drive by itself
-PD with Caffeine-Free Spike
-PD with vinpo or oxi or both
-just vinpo/oxi together or by themselves
-… you get the idea.
if you haven’t been using them, i would just stick to eating well and relaxing, that alone will allow you to perform better.
for such a task i personally like Power Drive and caffeine-free Spike. my friend took CF spike, Power Drive and HOT-ROX together before his LSAT and was a little overstimulated. he should have stuck with HOT-ROX and Power Drive as he was used to that.
oh ya, i would be swallowing fish oil like mad, making sure every meal has animal protein, fruits and veggies, and healthy fats, ZMA for a good nights sleep. but that is my normal routine, so i don’t have to stress to do it, thus that leaves us with the Power Drive and the caffeine free Spike once again.
So you think Spike, specifically Caffeine-Free Spike, is too much to take before a test?
I would have thought that the claims for increased cognitive function and focus would be a good thing when you take away the true stimulant effect from caffeine.
Caffeine free Spike does not provide near the kick of regular for me. It does give the mental boost I like from Spike but it doesnt get you “revved up”… like restless leg status like Spike does. I personally use it for tests and long lecture sessions in school.
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
Never take ANYTHING that you haven’t trial run several times, on the day of a test.
Bad I dea to start messing with unknown variables in a stress situation.
You might start to jitter, or tic, or you might sweat uncontollably, or even have a mild hypoglycemic attack.
Bushy[/quote]
Fortunately, I have a couple months to experiment. It would be interesting to hear some first-hand experiences with Power Drive and Caffeine-Free Spike. I will report back with my own observations when I try it out.
On the hypoglycemic note, why does that happen? I used regular Spike back when it first came out. Though I can’t confirm it without blood tests, it did feel like I had hypoglycemic episodes about 4 hours after taking it.
It’s been a while since then, but I believe that eating a few times after taking Spike reduced that effect. Does your brain/body just start consuming all circulating sugars/nutrients at a rate too fast for feedback loops to regulate? I’m hoping that the caffeine-free version has a more muted effect in that department.
Anyone see issues with taking Piracetam and Power Drive together?
What about those two with with Caffeine-Free Spike?
It seems like some of the Power Drive ingredients, namely DMAE, would be beneficial while taking Piracetam. However, I can’t figure out the theoretical interaction with the Caffeine-Free Spike active ingredients.