Thoughts on My 'Anaconda Protocol'?

190$
2 Jugs MAG-10 @ 45.00 each
2 Jugs Surge Workout Fuel @ 50.00 each
(I assume any serious weight lifter already has creatine and whey!)

Protocol:

4 Scoops SWF
5 Scoops MAG-10
5g Creatine
10g Whey Protein

Gives:
Same amount of carbohydrates and protein as Anaconda Protocol #1 (The larger one)

Lasts 12 workouts before exactly finishing both the SWF and the MAG-10

SWF contains the same carbohydrates as FINiBARs, and the citrulline malate of Anaconda.
MAG-10 contains the same protein as Anaconda.
The extra whey is added to as there is some whey isolate in the FINiBARs.
Honestly the only difference between this and protocol 1 is generic creatine vs. Anaconda’s special creatine.

Personally, I can’t afford Protocol #1 but I believe this protocol will allow me to essentially get the same benefits.

What do you guys think?

That isn’t the only difference – for example it doesn’t have the beta-alanine – but the above cannot be a bad protocol, as the SWF works very well and the MAG-10 will certainly greatly enhance it.

A completely reasonable plan.

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
That isn’t the only difference – for example it doesn’t have the beta-alanine – but the above cannot be a bad protocol, as the SWF works very well and the MAG-10 will certainly greatly enhance it.

A completely reasonable plan.[/quote]

SWF does have beta-alanine. I don’t know about actual quantities though.

Thanks. Just as an FYI Bill, if you look at the ingredients of Surge Workout Fuel, it does contain beta alanine. It is in the “MAG-10 Anaerobic Amplifier Section”. I am assuming the quantities are similar, or even more due to the double dose of SWF as both products probably dosed the beta-alanine for the same work-capacity increasing effect…

Also, after thinking further I’m wondering about the timing of the whey…

Each FINiBAR has 11g “Milk protein isolate and whey protein isolate”, thus protocol 1 has 33g of this.

I only have 10g of whey because Surge Workout Fuel, according the “Protocol 2 Chart” is considered to have 13g of protein per 2 scoops… thus the 4 scoops of SWF makes up for some of this.

Perhaps to best simulate the timing of the FINiBARs, the whey should be taken earlier…

OR

The whey in the FINiBARs is more designed for FINiBARs as a stand alone product and just isn’t really necessary in the Anaconda protocols.

What do you guys think?

My mistake. It used not to. I was recalling the older formulation: somehow the improvement slipped my mind.

On the whey:

I myself, while liking FINiBARs, do better when working out without any solid food. I suppose most likely I have just become adapted to liquid-only over the years.

When I have time, I like using the Grow! Whey an hour before the workout or before starting ANACONDA (not exactly the same thing, but I don’t have exact timing with regard to the whey) and generally include some coconut oil when I do so.

When I don’t have time, I usually do mix a scoop of it with the overall liquid protocol. Works fine. My intent there is really for post-workout support, as the whey presumably will be delivering most of its amino acids at that time, as enzymatic hydrolysis is necessary for it but not for the MAG-10 protein.

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
enzymatic hydrolysis

[/quote]

Bill,

I’m not going to lie…I had to look this term up and and still feel a bit dumb. Can you explain this a touch further with regards to whey vs MAG-10?

Thanks!

Hopefully you choose a whey flavor that meshes well with the liquid flavoring that you choose :slight_smile:

Other than that, the only thing I would say is to make sure you start taking it ~45-30 minutes preworkout to get a decent amount of carbs in your system before the workout starts. Also be sure to take this with a boatload of water, and then, assuring these, I believe you’ll be good to go!

[quote]JN7844 wrote:

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
enzymatic hydrolysis

[/quote]

Bill,

I’m not going to lie…I had to look this term up and and still feel a bit dumb. Can you explain this a touch further with regards to whey vs MAG-10?

Thanks![/quote]

By referring to “enzymatic hydrolysis” he means that whey must be digested, whereas MAG-10 is already mostly di and tri peptides which can be absorbed in their delivered state.

Alright, after the positive feedback I have received, I’ve decided to give this protocol a try.

What’s really annoyed me about the ANACONDA users forum is how few frickin’ people post either their results or before/after pictures. So, after two run throughs of the protocol, I will be posting before/after pictures and stats.

[quote]OlympicLifter wrote:
Alright, after the positive feedback I have received, I’ve decided to give this protocol a try.

What’s really annoyed me about the ANACONDA users forum is how few frickin’ people post either their results or before/after pictures. So, after two run throughs of the protocol, I will be posting before/after pictures and stats.[/quote]

Sorry bro,… I used the full protocol for my recent prep, and not only came in tighter and larger than my showing last year, but nabbed my pro card in the process. Of course even my ‘before’ pics were far from a beginner, so I can’t do much about that… I do however plan to stay using the protocol as I put on some quality size this summer, and then maybe a few shows in a different federation in the Fall. You can check weekly pics in my ‘2010 countdown’ thread, I think the sheer amount of size I was able to maintain while on a caloric deficit should speak volumes about the efficacy of the products.

S

I also used it recently but didn’t post pics in the ANACONDA users forum; I did post pics in the regular training log forum though, which can be found in my log here: Forums - T Nation - The World's Trusted Community for Elite Fitness

I can’t attribute all my success to the protocol, as I think my consistency had something to do with it, but the lifting methods and supplements certainly were a cornerstone of the program I followed.

@BulletproofTiger

Wow, I’m very impressed. That is quite the change for roughly three months! You should really post that in the “ANACONDA Progress Pics thread” so more people can see it: Forums - T Nation - The World's Trusted Community for Elite Fitness

I’ve been a huge T-Nation fan for four years now, but even I was doubting the seemingly over-hyped and over-marketed “Protocols”… Have you guys seen what people on other forums have been saying? Literally everyone is trashing ANACONDA, and honestly other than a very small number of people’s posts, their hasn’t been much support or evidence for its efficacy…

That’s why I feel that everyone who supports T-Nation and has had success with ANACONDA should say so! I figure if there’s a flood of 50 or 60 people who show their great results from ANACONDA, that might be enough to finally shut up the haters…

Who’s with me?

[quote]OlympicLifter wrote:
@BulletproofTiger

Wow, I’m very impressed. That is quite the change for roughly three months! You should really post that in the “ANACONDA Progress Pics thread” so more people can see it: Forums - T Nation - The World's Trusted Community for Elite Fitness

I’ve been a huge T-Nation fan for four years now, but even I was doubting the seemingly over-hyped and over-marketed “Protocols”… Have you guys seen what people on other forums have been saying? Literally everyone is trashing ANACONDA, and honestly other than a very small number of people’s posts, their hasn’t been much support or evidence for its efficacy…

That’s why I feel that everyone who supports T-Nation and has had success with ANACONDA should say so! I figure if there’s a flood of 50 or 60 people who show their great results from ANACONDA, that might be enough to finally shut up the haters…

Who’s with me?[/quote]

I personally don’t care what people say online. I’ve been using protocol 1 since its release and have been extremely pleased.

There are always going to be people bashing anything successful, especially online where most of the people that post about supplements still live with their parents and are afraid of losing their abs.

That’s one of the things I like about this site. While there are still know-it-all newbs here, they don’t dominate the discussions on training.

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]OlympicLifter wrote:
Alright, after the positive feedback I have received, I’ve decided to give this protocol a try.

What’s really annoyed me about the ANACONDA users forum is how few frickin’ people post either their results or before/after pictures. So, after two run throughs of the protocol, I will be posting before/after pictures and stats.[/quote]

Sorry bro,… I used the full protocol for my recent prep, and not only came in tighter and larger than my showing last year, but nabbed my pro card in the process. Of course even my ‘before’ pics were far from a beginner, so I can’t do much about that… I do however plan to stay using the protocol as I put on some quality size this summer, and then maybe a few shows in a different federation in the Fall. You can check weekly pics in my ‘2010 countdown’ thread, I think the sheer amount of size I was able to maintain while on a caloric deficit should speak volumes about the efficacy of the products.

S[/quote]

Stu, or anyone else who can help, what would you do with Anaconda alone? I bought the 4 tub sale and was wanting to know the best way to use it around workouts.

I also have a lot of BCAAs at my disposal right now if I should add those. I was thinking

2 scoops Anaconda
30g BCAA

Drink half right before my workout and finish the rest during. Anyone have any suggestions?

And I’m only going to be using the Anaconda for my back and leg sessions so it will last longer.

[quote]BulletproofTiger wrote:

[quote]JN7844 wrote:

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
enzymatic hydrolysis

[/quote]

Bill,

I’m not going to lie…I had to look this term up and and still feel a bit dumb. Can you explain this a touch further with regards to whey vs MAG-10?

Thanks![/quote]

By referring to “enzymatic hydrolysis” he means that whey must be digested, whereas MAG-10 is already mostly di and tri peptides which can be absorbed in their delivered state.[/quote]

Yes, exactly.

[quote]OlympicLifter wrote:
Alright, after the positive feedback I have received, I’ve decided to give this protocol a try.

What’s really annoyed me about the ANACONDA users forum is how few frickin’ people post either their results or before/after pictures. So, after two run throughs of the protocol, I will be posting before/after pictures and stats.[/quote]

I’ve used it since October. I dropped about 25lbs with no loss in strength. I have also posted pics even if they are mostly of the same pose done in the mens room.

Advanced lifters are not going to show as much progress VISUALLY over a couple of months like those who are new to this. At this size, I could gain 10lbs and you likely wouldn’t even notice in a picture without standing next to me.

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]OlympicLifter wrote:
Alright, after the positive feedback I have received, I’ve decided to give this protocol a try.

What’s really annoyed me about the ANACONDA users forum is how few frickin’ people post either their results or before/after pictures. So, after two run throughs of the protocol, I will be posting before/after pictures and stats.[/quote]

Sorry bro,… I used the full protocol for my recent prep, and not only came in tighter and larger than my showing last year, but nabbed my pro card in the process. Of course even my ‘before’ pics were far from a beginner, so I can’t do much about that… I do however plan to stay using the protocol as I put on some quality size this summer, and then maybe a few shows in a different federation in the Fall. You can check weekly pics in my ‘2010 countdown’ thread, I think the sheer amount of size I was able to maintain while on a caloric deficit should speak volumes about the efficacy of the products.

S[/quote]

Stu, or anyone else who can help, what would you do with Anaconda alone? I bought the 4 tub sale and was wanting to know the best way to use it around workouts.

I also have a lot of BCAAs at my disposal right now if I should add those. I was thinking

2 scoops Anaconda
30g BCAA

Drink half right before my workout and finish the rest during. Anyone have any suggestions?

And I’m only going to be using the Anaconda for my back and leg sessions so it will last longer.[/quote]

I use ANACONDA daily. I usually get down one scoop during lifting everyday. I do not do well with a ton of liquid in my stomach while lifting so I just try to get that down and leave it at that. MAG-10 is used before training (like in the hour before when I am getting ready to go to the gym) and drunk throughout the day (I am drinking it now while typing this).

That seems to work for me.

Since using ANACONDA Protocol 2 (I am on a diet otherwise I would use protocol 1), I no longer have any DOMS. I did not get this effect from my previous workout drink consisting of 2 scoops Surge Workout Fuel + 20g PeptoPro + 2 scoops Surge Recovery. After 3 workouts so far I cannot say more. But I am quite confident that my recovery has improved and I will be able to maintain my muscle mass during my diet.

As long as I can afford it, I will also not go back to Surge Recovery just because ANACONDA Protocol 2 with orange flavor tastes so much better.

[quote]OlympicLifter wrote:
Alright, after the positive feedback I have received, I’ve decided to give this protocol a try.

What’s really annoyed me about the ANACONDA users forum is how few frickin’ people post either their results or before/after pictures. So, after two run throughs of the protocol, I will be posting before/after pictures and stats.[/quote]

I have stats and pics posted here:

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Stu, or anyone else who can help, what would you do with Anaconda alone? I bought the 4 tub sale and was wanting to know the best way to use it around workouts.

I also have a lot of BCAAs at my disposal right now if I should add those. I was thinking

2 scoops Anaconda
30g BCAA

Drink half right before my workout and finish the rest during. Anyone have any suggestions?

And I’m only going to be using the Anaconda for my back and leg sessions so it will last longer.[/quote]

When CT and Tim were first ‘experimenting’ with the optimal method of utilizing the several supplements that comprise the protocol (or at least what they had ACTrain, Nate n Myself do back in Oct), we were downing 2 scoops of ANACONDA during the workout, and then taking some MAG-10 afterwards. My impression has always been that the MAG-10 is a better approach than using BCAAs, although the absorption is much quicker. With that being the case, I would imagine you could get decent results simply from using the ANACONDA by itself during the workout (possibly start drinking it 15 mins beforehand?), nurse it throughout your session, and then take a hit of BCAAs post (maybe 20-30 mins after).

S