Do i take zma’s everynite before bedtime or only on days that I work out. The guy at the nutrition store told me that i should only use them on days that i workout and that its a waste if used otherwise. Please advise.
ZMA is cheap, even the good stuff here from Biotest. It’s been shown to raise testosterone levels so why would you not want that every night? I’ve taken it for many years straight and have never heard of anyone cycling it or taking days off. Besides, men tend to be low on zinc. IMHO, it’s well worth taking every night.
[quote]Kruiser wrote:
ZMA is cheap, even the good stuff here from Biotest. It’s been shown to raise testosterone levels so why would you not want that every night? I’ve taken it for many years straight and have never heard of anyone cycling it or taking days off. Besides, men tend to be low on zinc. IMHO, it’s well worth taking every night.[/quote]
thanks for ur advice.
i’ve taken it every night for the past 5 months…i love the stuff - mainly because it helps me sleep like a baby.
i just started using Biotest’s ZMA (i had been using NOW ZMA and also tried cytodyne Zmasspm - or whatever…NOW was cheap, but the cytodyne stuff was like $30, ouch). anyway, i found that i don’t “feel” the effects of the Biotest ZMA like i did the others…i’m sure it’s doing what it’s supposed to, i just don’t feel as ready for bed as i did with the other two brands…just an observation.
obviously it’s main purpose (and the reason why we all take it) is not just to help catch some zzzzz’s, but to increase T levels - i have no data either way whether or not any of the brands are working so i’m not going to knock Biotest on that, but just wanted to share my experiences.
am i alone on this one?
(sorry to kinda thread jack - just adding another dimension)
i took it for about a year and loved it. i would always feel much more rested in the morning when waking up. a friend of mine asked a trainer from back home about the stuff though and he told him that the increase in t-levels causes an increase in estrogen levels as well. i haven’t been able to find any info on that. anybody else heard this? my apologies for also hijacking the thread.
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
ZMA causes me to have crazy dreams which wake me up. I had to stop taking it to get a good nights sleep. Odd huh?
Anyone else ever experience this?[/quote]
actually yeah, lately i’ve been experiencing that also…i’ve been having very bizarre and violent dreams that have caused to wake up abruptly late at night.
i think i’ll take a few nights off and see if it continues.
[quote]cpe21 wrote:
Mick28 wrote:
ZMA causes me to have crazy dreams which wake me up. I had to stop taking it to get a good nights sleep. Odd huh?
Anyone else ever experience this?
actually yeah, lately i’ve been experiencing that also…i’ve been having very bizarre and violent dreams that have caused to wake up abruptly late at night.
i think i’ll take a few nights off and see if it continues.[/quote]
I’d get dreams for the first 5 or so nights of taking ZMA non-stop, but then I seem to not get them when I continue.
If I stop and start again, the dreams start up again for me.
The only time this hasn’t been true is recently. I started remembering my dreams again, even though I’ve been taking ZMA continuously for the past few months now, except for a couple nights here and there when I forget.
I like the dreams, so once in a while I’ll stop taking it for a few nights just so I get the dreams again.
so guys considering this thread has gone on a tangent, can we answer the OP’s orignial question?
True or false…Taking ZMA on days where you dont workout is a waste. And any info substantiating your answer is welcomed.
THanks.
[quote]xvsanta42 wrote:
so guys considering this thread has gone on a tangent, can we answer the OP’s orignial question?
True or false…Taking ZMA on days where you dont workout is a waste. And any info substantiating your answer is welcomed.
THanks.[/quote]
Well it may be a waste if you take it for a whole month without any high intensity athletic activity, but short of that, it just depends how big your Zinc deficiency is. Obviously it is bigger for some people than others.
Its a great idea to take ZMA nightly…and its an even better idea to get it from Biotest. Its SO much better, and SO much cheaper.
I ran out last month and wanted to snag some from a store around town instead of ordering JUST that here…f*ck that; its almost 3x as expensive.
Zinc also helps in keeping colds at bay. I’ve taken it every day for the last few years and I’m rarely sick (even though I’m around 2 kids all the time) Coincidence? Maybe, but it’s so cheap, what the hell.
I get really vivid dreams on zma…its almost like a movie playing in my head…depending on the dream its usually not a bad thing although I nhad a nighmare not too long ago and almost shat myself…and I amen’t the jumpy type.
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
ZMA causes me to have crazy dreams which wake me up. I had to stop taking it to get a good nights sleep. Odd huh?
Anyone else ever experience this?[/quote]
I have taken 3 caps of ZMA everynight for the past 3 months. I agree that it is cheap and i do get great dreams from it. Personally, I do not believe you need 3 caps every night. I think that 3 caps on nights that you work out and maybe 1-2 caps on the non-workout nights.
I have cut back to 2 caps/night this past week and I still get the same wonderful dreams as 3 caps. Everyone is different, see what works for you.
Biotest’s is by far the best i’ve tried. The local supp shop in Akron, OH is a rip off. Nice guy runs the joint and good prices on malto and a couple other things, but most of it is overpriced.
$9.00 for a month, best value and great product…take it every night.
I even got my fiancee taking it and she loves it too.
I have the same problem with the odd dreams. (In fact, I posted this exact question a few weeks ago. Do a site search on this topic…you’ll see you are not alone, and that others experience the same side effect.)
For me, I’ve found that if I take it only before bed on the days I train, I’m fine. On my off or cardio-only days…the crazy dreams wake me up. Don’t get me wrong…I still have the dreams either way…but I’m usually so tired on my training days, that almost nothing will wake me from a sound sleep.
So…on my off/cardio days, I take other T-boosting agents instead.
I hope this info helps.
Train hard. 
[quote]PozzSka wrote:
Biotest’s is by far the best i’ve tried. The local supp shop in Akron, OH is a rip off. Nice guy runs the joint and good prices on malto and a couple other things, but most of it is overpriced.
$9.00 for a month, best value and great product…take it every night.
I even got my fiancee taking it and she loves it too.[/quote]
i agree with it is the best priced…i don’t think it’s the best i’ve tried. honestly, if i had to choose between the 3 i’ve taken (NOW, cytodyne, and Biotest), i would go with cytodyne’s - but it’s like $30.
about cycling or mixing around the doses, forget it…the stuff is cheap enough and works well, i guess think of it like creatine mono…why not just take it??
you should take all 3 every night there is a formula to it and every good brand has the exact same formula. NOW and Biotest have the EXACT same formula and basically the same price, NOW is double the pills so thats why it looks like it costs more. you cant change the formula or it wont work right so most are the same.
[quote]GreenTerror79 wrote:
you should take all 3 every night there is a formula to it and every good brand has the exact same formula. NOW and Biotest have the EXACT same formula and basically the same price, NOW is double the pills so thats why it looks like it costs more. you cant change the formula or it wont work right so most are the same.[/quote]
Actually, NOW’s ZMA has 15mg of B6 whereas Biotest’s has 10.5mg. The MSRP on a bottle of NOW’s ZMA (90 cap) is about double though - $17.99… of course, you can find it for a lot cheaper online
ZMA tends to give me a catatonic, almost deathlike sleep with very lucid dreams. For this trip alone it’s worth it. I’ve even gotten these effects from a pretty cheap brand.