Stimulants and Bodybuilding...

Diet and Nutrition
1

Outside of the bodybuilding world, stimulants are huge. It seems like every minute there is a new energy drink, pill, slap-in-the-face coming out to the point where you wonder if anyone even eats food anymore.

Additionally, it seems like stimulants are also fairly popular in the bodybuilding world. Typically for their effects at increasing muscle pump and workout performance, letting you irk out that last rep and then one more.

Personally. I avoid stimulants pretty much entirely. I don’t drink coffee or tea, avoid energy drinks, don’t take any energy pills or supplements. I used to drink coffee quite a bit, but I got to feeling that it was ultimately unhealthy, and I did not like having that kind of dependency.

So, where do stimulants place for you? do you really think they are necessary with regards to maximizing a workout? how many do you take?(different kinds) Are you at all worried about any long-term effects? are they perfectly healthy and reasonable? If you were to cut out all the stimulants from your life(extra stimulants that is) would your workouts become intolerable or difficult?

Any other thoughts?

I appreciate anyone’s input on this, I did some searches but didn’t quite find what I was looking for, feel free to link me to an article or discussion that I may have missed.

2

I’m not a frequent stimulant user, although I do frequently drink tea (green/straight black teas, etc). I personally can be overstimulated very easily, and my performance usually suffers as a result. My answer then is no, they are not necessary. If you are worried about focus, take a quick nap before workouts, it does wonders.

3

I should clarify, I’m not really worried about anything. I’m happy I don’t use stimulants. But I was thinking about it, and I realized I can’t exactly quantify why I don’t use them.

I have naturally high energy levels, and stimulants just make me go crazy. that’s part of it, but other than that, I don’t really have any reasons, so I was curious to hear some user’s opinions on the concept behind them, and what they gain, or potentially lose, or whatever.

thanks for the input though.

4

I dont tolerate stimulants well. IMO most are “borrowed” energy. You’ll have to pay it back with interests down the road!

We all know of people who eat like crap, skip meals, are stressed all the time, and they simply go with coffee after coffee, and cigarettes and blablabla. They usually look 10 years older than they are and are ready to drop.

I’ll be a Biotest pusher now. Spike not only I tolerate well but it gives me an intense focus for hours. Powerdrive is nice too. HOT-ROX Extreme does wonder for fatloss and I could easily tolerate after 4-5 days. IMO that’s their best products right there. Their expertise seem to be stimulants.

Sugary drinks with ephedra and caffeine are NOT the way to go. I know it will make guys like me jittery and irritable. Not good at all.

5

I generally don’t tolerate stimulants such as ephedra well. I do however LOVE Spike. It is an elegant and clean lift with no crash. I find multiple uses for it. I’m a guitar player specializing in acoustic finger pickin’ country blues. A dose of Spike before a session makes for an extended, focused, and very productive time spent pickin’

6

I have been using Ephedrine (Pseudo Ephedrine) for almost 20 years as a training aid;granted,there have been long periods of non-training during that time,due to some pretty nasty injuries,but I still spent a good number of years ‘on’ without any ill-effects or addiction.There was an especially huge advantage to using it after a long break from training,just to get the blood pumping & my attitude right.

So how did I manage to get the balance right?
First rule,I never took it recreationally,only ever prior to a workout.

Second rule,I did’nt use it for every workout,only for the ‘Heavy Duty’ ones,which for me are twice a week(If you can ‘Heavy Duty’ 4 or 5 times a week,or more,then you’re on some great Gear & should’nt use stims anyway.

Third rule, keep the dose low.I took one tab of chesteze (18.31mg) only & it worked for me (@180lbs) every time,if I felt that my body was starting to develop tolerance to it,then I would lay-off for a week to ten days - NEVER ‘up the dose’ from that which originally worked for you - Ephedrine in sustained large doses WILL Firstly,make you paranoid/Schizo & Secondly,make you DEAD!

Fourth,and last rule,take a complete break from it every 4-6 weeks,anyway,for a period of at least 2 weeks - This will break any habit/tolerance cycle which may be forming.

I hope this is of value to anyone considering using Ephedrine for their training - I have found it to be of immense value to my training & still remember the day when a pharmacist (of all people!) recommended it to me for it’s Ephedrine content (20 years ago there were’nt the Ephedrine products that there are today).

Cheers mate,wherever you are,I owe you a Big One!

7

I think stimulants, in moderation, are just another tool in the arsenal. If they let you challenge your muscles a little more in less time, then it can be advantageous.

Obviously, people also use them for body composition purposes as well. Basically, if you aren’t an addictive person, then there doesn’t seem to be any harm in using them.

For example, if I was using a lot of caffeine for a while, I might feel like crap upon stopping, but as long as I don’t feel a need for caffeine (though I know that’s what the issue is) then it isn’t going to be addictive.

Some people are very addictive and they feel that association and develop a craving. C’mon, you know which camp you are in, you want some don’t you? Look, there it is right there, it’ll make you feel better!

I’m so glad I’m not an addictive type of person…

9

Where’d u get modafinil bad boy? I’m in pontypridd. How much does it cost?