I am drinking Ximo right now, this stuff suplements air and water and is the life force of the universe in a neatly packaged bottle. It is the strongest ephedra drink you can get (If you can get it). My number 2 would have been Ephedra Tea before they changed it, if you can find it with the black caps and not the clear ones it should be the OR.
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These are supplemental energy drinks without all the sugars and chemicals found in most energy drinks. But these are also about 10x stronger.
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It's been a while since I did that reseach (back in '99-'00) Have no clue if I still have that research around. But this was the case. This was also in the time that creatine was at the top of the "crazy". So a lot of people were saying "well if a little of this makes me do good, more will make me do better". I don't see/hear this as much any more.
Believe it or not there have been cases of ointments like BioFreeze and Tiger Balm that have caused death in over dosing with them even if it is a topical ointment. If you take anything that is over what your body can uptake than there will be consiquences.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,279482,00.html (there was also a case I remember in MA a year or two later, couldn't find the article quickly)
Just remember supplements are not governed by any agency. And because they are fairly new, there aren't too many long term independant studies out there.
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Todd, I will agree severe overuse of most supplements can cause issues. I thought your first post seemed to imply that normal creatine use was causing numerous cases of kidney failure...if I misread, I apologize.

I use Biofreeze from time to time on osteoarthritis on my wrist....looks like I am a human recipe for disaster. :-)
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In my opinion and it actually works best for me; whole food is best. I used to take anything and everything under the sun besides roids and or any of the HGH products, and I saw little improvement as far as my physique went. When I decided to drop all supplements (protein, multivitamins, pre-workouts, etc.) and have 4 square meals a day that consisted of plenty of protein, carbs and a good amount of healthy fat; I was finally happy with the way I look after months of hard work. So I would suggest having whole food and limiting the amount of supplements you intake.
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I agree that whole foods are most important, Alan. I eat good protein, low carbs (of a whole grain or natural souce) and low fat. I use supplements to give me an extra edge beyond a solid diet.
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In my opinion with creatine and any supplement for that matter, anything over 100% of your daily recomended amount is too much. I went into a GNC the other day, my friend was looking for an herb supplement for migrains, and there was a muscle buider that had 1000% of the daily amount!!!!! Your body is not designed to uptake this, it has to go somewhere, it either is water soluable like creatine and gets flushed through the kidneys hense over loading them, or gets stored in fat and who knows what that will cause later in life.
As for the Biofreeze, the case in MA specifically, the runner used it first thing in the AM, lunch, right before running, after running, before dinner, before going to bed, and who knows how many other times. The point is did you realize that it's a drug and can be over used?
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can anyone recommend a good fat burner/thermogenic?
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I hear the one from USP Labs (the makers of Jack3d) is pretty good...but that's what I hear; can't tell you first hand cause was always afraid of it messing up my liver :-)
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I've tried ephedrine and caffeine stack and it works amazingly well. Here's a link on dosage. Disregard pics of hot chicks. :-)

http://www.hotnfit.com/ecstack.htm

May not be for everyone so do your research to see if you may have potential complications as with any supplement. Of course, if you don't figure out your cutting cals then it won't work but it does a great job at curbing appetite. Do a google search for ephedrine substitutes- Bronkaid is one but I think there are a couple of other over the counter meds.
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Welcome to the forum?!
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Talk to me about BCAAs and Glutamine.....

I do weight training (mostly upper body)3 times a week. I also do cardio 3 times a week. One day off.

I understand that doing the cardio undermines my attempts to gain muscle mass because my body will cannibalize the muscle during hard cardio sessions. I am not trying to bench 400 lbs, I am trying to look good so long lean muscle is what I seek.

The monkey at GNC tried to sell me on BCAA & Glutamine stating they would prevent the cannibalization of muscle. While he may be 100% accurate, my experience is that the GNC do not always have my best interests in mind.
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if you are gonna go the GNC route it may be a tad more expensive, but i like the GNC mega men sport multi, Optimum Nutrition protein, the GNC brand glutamine or whatever is the cheapest unflavored powder. sorry this is late
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he is right, it dose help preserve the muscle while you do cardio... you can take up to 10g of BCAA 3 times a day, and in a glutamine study doctors were giving AIDS and Cancer patients 30g-40g of glutamine a day to prest wasting away
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Thanks a bunch Gerry. I may load up on both from A1. Decent prices on the Optimum brand stuff. Or...just find a protein that has them built in.
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welcome sir
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Time for me to re-up my protein.

I want to supplement BCAA & Glutamine as I am doing cardio with my lifting and do not want to catabolize the muscle. Should I be taking one over the other or both or none?

Do you think it would be better to

1. Get a Protein with heavy Glutamine/BCAA built like GNC Wheybolic 60 or Optimum Hydrowhey/Pro Complex

or

2. Get a plain multipurpose protein line Gold Standard and spend the extra $ to supplement BCAA and Glutamine in pill/powder form?

Also. I have been introduced to the term broscience. As in---> there is a lot of marketing hype behind whey hydrolizing etc in HydroWhey/GNC Wheybolic, but it really does not matter or it makes such a small difference that no one other than professional body builders will get the advantage.

One more...where do u guys buy your protein? I have heard it can be cheaper on the ol interwebz, but I am not familiar with who to order from.
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i would go with all three seperate... BCAA powder before or during your workout, protein right after your workout, and 10-20g glutamine before you go to sleep.

i would go tigerfitness, DPS nutrition, or bodybuilding...
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I buy my protein through bodybuilding.com, they are fast and much cheaper than anywhere else.

As far as protein goes I try to stick with something that is high in protein and less in carbs and fats. To me, when taking protein, it should just be protein and nothing else because I getting your fats and carb is simple. I take Hydrobolic FX made by Muscle FX. One of the purest form of protein, that I could fine (93% protein).

Forgot to mention I also take a casein protein (ON) as well before bed.
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Thanks Huy. The Casein is kinda what I was talking about with BroScience. Does it really matter if it is slow digesting/fast digesting. I'll look at Hydrobolic as I agree with you on fat/cals and cholesterol is a hang up for me. My family has chunky blood in the genes, so even as clean as i eat, i still have elevated Cholesterol.
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Beyond a good multi, 1000 mg of Omega3, I would highly recommend:

Copper and zinc supplements are essential for fitness and muscle growth. They are not advertised much because there’s little profit in them. Take them daily in the morning. Cinnamon capsules are great to help regulate insulin; also inexpensive.
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