SPIKE: The Peer Reviews

Diet and Nutrition
41

[quote]dcrosswell1 wrote:
What are the repercussions of taking the Spike instead of the first HOT-ROX dose? That cuts the HOT-ROX daily intake down pretty low with the single afternoon dose. If I’m trying to lose fat, should I save the Spike for special boost-needing occasions and stick with the HOT-ROX for my regular routine? Thanks, everyone. [/quote]

Take a look at the original SPIKE thread created by Patterson and the rest of the T-Nation boys, this forum is more of a peer review from various people then it is a SPIKE Q&A.

42

Hail!,

I just got my first shipment yesterday. I took two capsules at 5:00 AM this morning before training. And… I have not felt anything in clarity or energy upswing? Little disapointed but not discouraged.
Has anyone else found that they might of taken a little longer to feel any effect??

43

I’ve been taking SPIKE for about half a week now, so I’m starting to get a handle on real differences versus self-induced placebo effect.

Basically, I am taking SPIKE upon waking, which means I am at work all day while the effects are present.

So far, I’ve limited myself to two caps, though I would like to try three at some point. Perhaps some weekend.

While I am not consciously noticing any awe inspiring amazing effect, I am noticing a subtle feeling. I think I’m lucky in that I’ve always been focused and clear thinking, so that doesn’t really change.

What I do notice, and it is a fantastic boon for me, is that my mental energy is higher. I think all day for work, and often is is difficult for me to be motivated about my tasks. It’s really just endless problem solving, solution design and debugging all day every day.

While on SPIKE I don’t have to force myself into my work. Honestly, the biggest issue with my life is how hard it has been to generate the level of interest or the level of energy required to get excited about a project and just belt out the work.

I don’t notice a rush upon entry or a crash upon exit. I just notice that I don’t have these huge energy barriers stopping me from doing crappy tasks that don’t offer much excitement in return.

So yes, I can get the dishes done or clean the place. However, this thing is incredibly valueable to me as a job aid. At this stage of my career the job skills are top notch, but the interest and motivation have been lagging.

It’s as if I’m new to my career again. I remember when all projects were interesting, I had a desire to prove myself, and I could throw myself into my work all day long. Now, without SPIKE, I have to force myself into my work and rarely get anything out of it.

With SPIKE, I just figure out what I should be doing, and start banging away at it. I’m driven to see how much I can get done and when the end of the day comes, I’m not sitting around wondering how I can look busy for the next fifteen minutes prior to going home.

Anyway, to recap, I don’t feel buzzed or anything, just sort of clear and energized. It’s very subtle, but noticeable at times. My mental energy levels are raised (or barriers are lowered) and I find it easy to get into tasks that I may lack motivation for or that might even be demotivating.

Think of when you are bored, and nothing sounds interesting to you, that is where my career was heading.

As mild as this review might sound, if I can continue to reap these benefits this thing will be a gold mine to me. Seriously, having this kind of energy in my career again will be a life changing event.

So, this is really what I was hoping it would be when I decided to try it. Something that lets me apply my productive skills all day long without the large mental inertia. Given that I was already very focused, I don’t feel smarter, I don’t focus more, I don’t feel some amazing buzz, I don’t really consciously notice much at all, but it’s perfect for me.

44

I took 2 this morning, and noticed that I was plowing through my favourite websites w/ ease, really able to absorb the info, hell, I realized I was reading too fast at one point cos my mind was overly focused. My workout today was awesome, Week 2 Day 3 of the waterbury method and I was throwing up greater weight that last week w/ ease.

45

jakewnet44 - Thanks for your post, it’s something I hadn’t thought about.

So, to catch up…

I had taken 7 grams of GABA Sat night and felt somewhat out of it after waking up - even after taking 2 Spike caps at 8 am Sunday - but did have a “Let’s get productive” feeling. I ended up feeling like I had the flu a few hours later complete with achiness and chills for about 6 hours, then felt normal about an hour afterwards - TC’s mentioned one other person had “transient” flulike symptoms.

I drop the GABA for Sunday night (had a restless sleep, but a much easier time waking up) and take two Spike caps before going into work. While driving in I start to mentally perk up, but still feel physically tired - only slept 4 1/2 hours that night. So I think about grabbing some coffee later.

Then the Spike kicked in 30 min after getting into work and all I can say is “wow”. Like Vroom, I felt clear headed, focused, and incredibly productive at the job, even prompting some comments from my co-workers. I also felt I could speak my mind without feeling an aggression spike like on Alpha Male. My body temp went up too. I was sweating under my short sleeved shirt even though I wasn’t walking around, but I didn’t feel sick like the day before.

I did feel a ‘crash’ of sorts at 2:30, which falls in the 8-12 hour range Tim mentioned. I felt less productive and my focus wasn’t as sharp, but on the plus side I wasn’t feeling tired from lack of sleep.

Had two caps again this morning with the same effects as yesterday, except there was no ‘crash’ this time and my body temp was normal. I kept up my productivity until I left and my energy level has been good, though it felt stronger in the morning.

Overall, I like it. I’m waiting to see how the rest of the week goes.

46

[quote]TommyRewind wrote:

You know, it would be great if T-Nation could create a seperate forum for SPIKE like they did for HOT-ROX when it was introduced. There’s so many directions that this discussion can go on this product.[/quote]

How many T-Nation members would like this?

47

If convenient for you guys, I wouldn’t mind seeing a Spike forum

48

[quote]Tim Patterson wrote:
TommyRewind wrote:

You know, it would be great if T-Nation could create a seperate forum for SPIKE like they did for HOT-ROX when it was introduced. There’s so many directions that this discussion can go on this product.

How many T-Nation members would like this?[/quote]

This poster would be interested in seeing it’s own forum. My concentration and memory problems, the former which have never been even average due to my lifelong battle with ADD, has become somewhat of a serious problem considering my age (30). It would be advantageous to many to witness the effects of this supplement on those with such a condition, positive or otherwise.

49

ok, day 2 of Spike, feeling it soooooo much more than yesterday. I am definitely ready to go (it helps that I am feeling a lot less sick than I was yesterday). I have a midterm coming up thursday and friday, so this afternoon/evening is full of studying, will post late tonight w/ my results for the day.

50

[quote]Tim Patterson wrote:
TommyRewind wrote:

You know, it would be great if T-Nation could create a seperate forum for SPIKE like they did for HOT-ROX when it was introduced. There’s so many directions that this discussion can go on this product.

How many T-Nation members would like this?[/quote]

Count my vote. I think these kind of conversations could be going for quite a while, and well, they should be. I think having it’s own forum would keep the feedback coming, so we can evaluate it’s long term effects as customers. I can’t see how this would be a bad thing.

51

Took my first dose (one capsule) this morning at 4:00am. Then ate my bowl of oats with raisins. Forsook my morning cup of green tea.

While driving to my workout (I get there at 5:15), I realized I felt as awake and alert as if I’d already had the tea. (I’m pretty well conditioned, and without the tea I can be real sluggish.) I did add 10-20 pounds to rack pulls and bent-over rows and pulldowns, but I might have gone there anyway.

Now, 7 hours after taking the capsule, I am feeling my usual mid-morning dip. I’ve read that prolonged use will make the experience/effect even better, so I’m not going to jump to 2 capsules right away. I may stick with one/day this week, then advance to 2 next week.

52

I like it! First day is today, I only took one, the “clean” feeling everyone is mentioning is definitely there and hard to describe, but this might be the coolest part about it. I will definitely need two capsules in the future, but if it gets better the longer you use it, this stuff has great potential. There was no particular moment that I felt it kick in, it was a gradual build up. Have not yet worked out while using it, I’m curious how it affects you physically also, but the mental benefits are very good.

53

Tim, although I haven’t tried Spike yet (soon!), I think the overwhelming volume of feedback, so far, indicates that a Spike forum might just be really useful.

54

This probably won’t make it to the forum, but I want to throw it out there anyway. May the God’s (or Biotest braintrust) bless the T-Nation with an A7-E stand-alone product that can be taken concurrently with Spike. Amen…

55

[quote]michaelv wrote:
Tim, although I haven’t tried Spike yet (soon!), I think the overwhelming volume of feedback, so far, indicates that a Spike forum might just be really useful.[/quote]

I think you’re right. All the feedback (personal and public) indicates Spike is a huge hit (maybe our biggest), which creates a whole set of unique problems – like answering all the questions.

We have numbers of new users coming on board each day and a very large number of Spikers who are gaining a lot of insight, regarding usage. If we connected everyone in a convenient way, we’d all learn a lot more. And a 300-post thread can’t do that very well.

56

Second Day on Spike, still one capsule to get used to it. However much caffeine there is in there might happen to equal or exceed what I get in my usual morning cup of green tea, which would explain the alert feeling I get within a half hour. But for the second day I saw improvement in lifts, and it was more than I would have expected from the steady progress I had been making lately pre-Spike.

Got to work to face a busy morning, but got through a typical gamut of stuff and was more “on the ball” than usual during similar tasks. Some tasks that normally seem like drudgery went faster and with a minimum of “stop and think” time. I’m starting to notice more and more the subtle differences when I’m on. And I’m liking it. I want to be familiar with the 1-capsule dose before I try 2. Can’t wait to see the effect on my workouts with 2 capsules.

Tomorrow I have a 300-mile drive to CT first thing. It’s a drive I have done 100+ times in the past several years. Seeing how it goes with Spike will be interesting.

57

Does Spike cause swimmer’s cock like other stims?

58

Took spike without water to wash it down today and it started to dissolve in my mouth. WOW, that was nasty. Other than that it’s one of the best products I’ve used in awhile.

59

Well, after a week of 1 pill/day, I finally decided to test drive Spike like a man and try two pills. Let me first say that I fall under the category of Stimulant-Sissy. Thus far, I’ve had NO problem with one pill a day. If one was not sensitive to their body rhythms, the effects of Spike would probably be somewhat undiscernable from a “Feel” perspective. However, if my heart rate goes up one beat/minute, I “Feel” it, so I was really able to get a sense of Spike’s effects, even at the one pill dosage.

One pill review:
After one week, I have definitely noticed, while being Spiked, that I have more sustained energy, better focus and MOST significantly, my mood has been NOTABLY better. Similar to other stimulants I’ve used, it also seems to heighten the libido. BTW, for those of you concerned about bringing the soldier to attention while on Spike, no problem there at all…Great motivation and drive in the gym.

Two Pills

This was my first day trying two pills. Let me say that for those of you that are hypersensitive, like myself, this will be eye opening (literally and figuratively). The first hour was pretty intense. Anyone who has dabbled with stimulants, legal or otherwise, will know what I’m talking about here. A pure stimulant rush is the best way I can describe it. Personally, I don’t like that feeling. However, my wife, who has super human tolerance to stimulants, LOVES it…It’s preference. After the first hour, I leveled out and the ride was great.

So, for me, I will probably stick with one pill. It gets me where I need to go.

Overall review after one week: Five silver dollar nipples out of Five…Sorry ladies, I rate everything in nipples. Wow, I need some more Spike after that review.

60

Holy HELL!!! My friend let me try 1 capsule of Spike that he just got, and I took it with 6 capsules of MAG-10 (non-Legacy) this morning, and I have been sweating profusely all day . . . it’s great. I should mention that today is my cheat day/ carb up day, so I decided to chug 64 ounces of gatorade with 40 grams of protein shake 90 minutes after my postworkout Surge.

For the duration of 2 hours, my body felt cold from chugging 64oz gatorade, but then it magically ramped up temperature and my body temperature that been ramped up to sweaty/near sweaty for the past 9 hours.