C4 Extreme Review

Well it’s time for another supplement review.

This time, a Pre-workout, C4 Extreme by Cellucor to be precise!

I will be trialing a few pre-workouts and other supplements on the market in the coming weeks and months as a gym buddy and co-owner of a pharmacy hooks me up with some samples.

So how am I going to judge these things?

Well there will be my take on some particulars like taste and effect on the body, but I will also be testing the products claims as per its advertising. I’ll also try and breakdown the components and explain why these product do or don’t work.

So let’s start with C4 and review each one as they come!

Taste: Samples were of icy blue razz. Taste wise it is like drinking an energy drink, sweet with little “bad” taste or that, “shot it and chase it” taste that some pre-workout s seem to have.

Effects Pre: Nothing. I did not experience anything between taking it and making it to the gym

Effects Post: No crash experienced, slept well and felt normal through the rest of the day.

Price: Average price of about $60 for 60 serves. So a dollar a pop if one serve is enough, or two dollars per workout, so that’s about a month worth of workouts.

Effect on Workout: Ok so reading the ingredient list, I was pretty aware of what to expect. A flushing or tingle sensation at moments of peak muscle tension, some feel this as itchy. This is the key ingredient doing its thing, check the Sciency stuff a bit further in to find out what that’s all about!

Product Claims!!

BURN THROUGH EACH AND EVERY WORKOUT
WITH EXPLOSIVE ENERGY AND FOCUS* - ok what is “FOCUS” in this case? I’m a lone wolf trainer at most times so between the weights and I, I’m pretty focused. But I don’t think they are talking about getting distracted by booty or a talker, they are talking about the focus on the muscle or exercise that you are training. I did find my focus felt targeted and as always for me, I burned through my workout with explosive energy. Was it the PRE?

Amplified Energy* - Unsure how to measure the Amplification besides gauging max weight or ability to carry out more reps than usual. I did indeed push out an extra set or two AND in some instances pushed into a new max weight level that I was not at before.

Intense Focus* - I feel like we’ve been here before…

Unbelievable Muscle Pumps* - Yes, but you have to be willing to earn this pump. The formula will require you to really push hard to get your pump… but when you do it will be worth it.

Mouthwatering Flavors – Well I only tried one, and I would have to admit that this flavour was exceptionally tasty.

Award Winning Formula – well the award is pretty thin, but I believe it won some award for best pre-workout supplement some year…

Science Stuff!!

CREATINE NITRATE – you can ready sooooo much about creatine online, as this supplement is toted as one of the most proven breakthroughs in supplements since steroids and it scientifically works. (so they say) Gone are the days of needing to load up for a few days then settle down the dose, but just getting your creatine from this preworkout alone will not normally suffice the three amounts that you might need to be taking if you are serious about your fitness regime. It does not however give you instant POWER rather it remains in your body ready to use, so potentially you might have even better effects with this pre-workout after a few days as the creatine levels buffer in your body.

BETA ALANINE – I have blogged about this supplement by itself before. This is the part of the mix that gives the tingle and itch. By increasing the carsonine in the muscles you can flush the lactic acid build up better and therefore prolong how long it takes to get a muscle pump. This means that you can break the threshold of failure. Thus tearing more muscle fibre and thus creating gains. It then also means that your body can go back to repairing quicker due to the fact that it gears the muscle up to balance acidity produced from a workout quicker.

ARGININE AKG – this is the part of the formula that is designed to increase the nitric oxide levels in your blood. Higher NOx levels are supposed to increase blood flow and vascularity ergo, more blood to the muscle. Reaserch is yet to be verified if this is actually a working component in any supplementation. So the presence of it in this PRE is most likely there for the sake of not missing out on what others are doing.

N-ACETYL-L-TYROSINE – this component is for sparking the protein synthisis into play. You can get the main component of tyrosine from dairy products. It is also the portion of the fomula that is supposed to help your “FOCUS”.

VITAMIN B12 – Brain and blood function. Also found in most animal derived food sources.

CAFFEINE – You know, like the stuff you find in coffee, another stimulant for the EVERYTHING.

NIACINAMIDE – could be in the formula to help with anything from acne to reducing swelling…

FOLIC ACID – Folate for helping with cell growth.

SYNEPHRINE HCL – this is for burning fat and cranking up the body furnace. How does it do it? Some studies have shown that it can slightly trigger the adrenaline response in the body. *Advised not to be used by people with heart problems.

Once I’m done reviewing the Pre-workouts I will pass judgement of which ones I would or would not recommend… stay tuned.

Back to basics.

I sometimes forget that not everyone reading this blog has been in the game for as long as I. I read a lot on this fitness topic and realize that many posts are about the upper echelon of the game, this I believe will lead many into trying something too advance and failing too often, this leading to an inevitable failure in fitness. 

What is the solution?

Well long before I was pyramid setting, drop setting, supersetting, lifting heavy, TuTing and all the other fitness "Ings", I was performing all over body workouts with the basics. 

I would still to this day say that this is the fundamental key to maintaining the fitness gig over time and not just making it the January phase each year. 

So what am I really saying?

If you don't want to train alone, get a gym buddy that is at almost equal level in fitness as you. Too advance, and they will leave you feeling unsatisfied AND leave you trailing behind. 

Next, structure a workout around circuit training, getting a whole body workout in and adding cardio. 

CARDIO IS IMPORTANT! Do not skip this! In the basic stages you cannot ignore the fact that a solid foundation if cardio means that you will survive longer for resistance training AND be able to return you heart rate back to normal after burst of intensity. 

Stick with BASIC moves, lat pull downs, bicep curls, shoulder presses, chest presses, squats, etc. Do not jump into advance moves like deadlifts, spider curls, skull crushers, bent over flys and so on. Pick one simple exercise for each area on the body and perform it WELL and for a minute or two (or as your routine and body allow). 

Building a steadfast body FIRST will fortify your body and prevent injuries in the future. 

If you want a basic workout plan, hit me up! I am always happy to create something for those looking to start this fantastic mind and body journey of investment into your future!!!

Exercise of the week - the "Carry Along"

Something the erks people at the gym is a hard trainer that is hell bent on gathering ALL of the weights so that they can either perform drop sets or just be a regular idiot at the gym.

 

However, my exercise of the week will have you taking along a piece of gear for your whole workout… so don’t judge too harshly on those who gather, it might be legit!

 

I’m not normally a fan of barbells, they promote LH/RH bias in a workout, but they do have their place. Normally these are good to use, mixed in with free weights or to really tire out a muscle group after you have hit them with isolated dumbbell weights.

 

The “carry along” is your little buddy to carry along with you on any particular muscle group day and the idea is to really tire out that target muscle, what might start off feeling too light at the start of your workout, might end up being a load that you just want to throw through the gym window (but you can’t because you are too tired!!)

 

Here is how it works.

 

Choose a weight that is reasonably weighted but nowhere near your maximum for any target muscle group (see suggested buddy up exercise list a bit lower)

 

Then carry out your normal routine, but at the end of each set, use the “carry along” to insert a superset straight after.

 

Keep the same exercise throughout and don’t stop super setting until your workout is 100% complete.

 

Here is the list of suggested “Carry along” exercises for each muscle group.

 

Chest – incline/lying bench press

 

Biceps – Preacher curls

 

Shoulders – Standing Military Press

 

Legs – A$$ to ankles squats

 

Triceps – Standing French press

 

Back – straight leg back raises

 

Abs – Straight arm lying crunches.

 

If you want more tips hit me up, otherwise take that “carry along” and get that swole on!

Workout of the week! Shoulder gauntlet!

This is a regular blog blast that I used to run back in the beginning stages of my blog, so I thought it about time to run with it AGAIN!

Sometimes after hitting really heavy weights, or if you are looking for a way to really smash a target muscle group, drop sets are the answer!

SO here is my work out of the week – the Shoulder Gauntlet

The workout take approximately 10-15 minutes depending on how many you smash. The intensity level is high and it involves a snatch move that is best performed by those already experienced in using the technique well before using it in this level of exercise.

Ever wanted to test your shoulder and lat prowess? Put this at the end of a shoulder day, chest day or combine with a mixed workout session.

Get 3 bars set up with weights that drop from heavy to light, with 5 or so kg’s of increments between them. If you feel keen, set up some light weight dumbbells at the end of the run.

The bars require “16 of your best”. WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKIN BOUT WILLIS? “16 of your best” is 8 standard standing shoulder presses, then 8 presses but with an upright row added for each press. i.e shoulder press, come back to chest level, drop your bar over and towards the front  till you are in the start position for a upright row. Then upright row and flip your stance back to the shoulder press start position. REPEAT.

Do this "16 of your best" for each of the 3 pre prepared bars laid out in front of you, try not to resort to a push from the legs to help in the shoulder push and ensure that you do not loose form on your back posture.

Once at the end of the 3 bars, no rest between each, grab the smaller dumb bells and carry out individual front shoulder raises.

That, is the end of 1 set!

Repeat for the desired sets. (3-4 if you are keen, or more)

Each set will have you doing, 48 shoulder presses, plus the added raises, not to mention that extra movement for the upright row.

Enjoy and you are welcome!

When is best to train?

Well I know it has been a little while, we have had some great public holiday long weekends hit us.

 

This has made me lazy… BUT only lazy for the blog, not for the FITNESS!

 

I made sure that I utilised the sleep ins and the time off work to work out without having to get up super early to fit my fitness in.

 

But that has me thinking.

 

What is better? Morning, Noon or night?

 

There are so many 24 hr gyms about and one of the biggest catch cry’s is, Player 1 – “yeah but I could go to the gym at 2AM if I wanted!”, Player 2 – “yeah, but who goes to the gym at 2AM?”.

 

My workout starts at about 5:30 most mornings during the working week. This fits my schedule better.

I also train on a Tuesday arvo (bit of cardio).

But it wasn’t always like this, I used to mainly do my exercise in the afternoons after work. Heck at one point I was session-ing it up in the mornings and then hitting it again in the arvo.

 

On the weekend my workout normally occurs a bit later in the mornings to fit with my gyms opening times. Some days I won’t train on a Saturday until after lunch.

 

Besides dodging the hordes of gym goers that tackle peak times, there can be other reasons for choosing particular training times.

Morning is best for fat loss targeting as you can get to the gym PRE breakfast and burn extra fat. Some people also struggle to work out on a fuller stomach so hitting the gym pre breaky can avoid that.

 

Afternoon might be better for some as they gain momentum with fuelling up during the day. It can also be a great way to alleviate the days stress’!

 

What about the midday workout? Harder to do if you are working, but this can be achieved if you have a no work day, work at night or just don’t work… have a sleep in, have breaky, even have lunch, then BAM gym time!

 

No matter which time you choose to train, can train, or happen to train, it really doesn’t matter, as long as you are training.

 

NEWS: SOLID STATE CARDIO IS DEAD!

They say that solid state cardio is DEAD for fat loss.

And I couldn’t agree more.

You want to run a marathon, no worries; solid state cardio is going to get you there. Conditioning your body for a marathon is different to building strength and leads to a different shape for the body and muscle units involved. But a lot of people get it in their heads when they start the fat loss mission that running for long periods of time will lose the weight.

Wrong! It will for a little while, but then slowly but surely the body WILL catch up and beat you at this game. Your half hour treadmill drone jogs will slowly become less efficient at burning the calories because your body is your worst enemy and will figure out your plan.

Solution? You HAVE TO KEEP CHALLENGING YOURSELF!

One way to do this is by resistance training; here you can always up the ante by adding more weights, staggering the repetitions, trying different moves etc. Then while your body is at rest you are STILL burning fat as your body recovers and stays in a anabolic state for longer than what cardio can provide.

Another way to lose the pounds is by utilizing the latest buzz word HIIT (high intensity interval training). Now you can do this in a few ways, many gyms now run one of the biggest HIIT training programs in the world, Les Mills Grit. This is a half hour of HELL on earth that will test your medal and have you burning up the calorie monster where it stands. Again the principle of using weighted bars means that you can be forever increasing your challenge weight, and with new launches constantly varying the routines you will be forever in a state of challenge any way.

Les Mills RPM and other spin classes are another great HIIT inspired class that gives you less of an upper body workout and more cardio and legs. But with the ability to always challenge your last personal best by altering the gear or resistance on the bikes wheel you will never get ahead of yourself. Best thing is, these HIIT classes are normally only around half an hour long and are super effective for those who are time poor and looking for fitness that will ACTUALLY work.

You can also create your own HIIT if you don’t fancy the classes by hitting the footpath, treadmill or bikes and cranking up some loud tunes. Simply increase your speed or resistance in an alternating fashion, listen to the music for the cues of when to start a sprint or when to leave the seat and STOMP up a make believe hill. Don’t spend too long on the exercise; 30 to 40 minutes would be ample. Then wait for the weight to fall off (along with great nutrition OBVIOUSLY).

Don’t let your stale routine of half an hour on the treadmill catch you and your body out! Beat your body and keep challenging yourself.

Don't burn that candle from both ends!

Eat, sleep, train - repeat!

You want results?

You gotta work for them, right?

Well, yes AND no. 

Here is the deal;

Need to train hard to get results, need energy to train, need rest to get energy (plus nutrition) need to train hard to get results and there is the loop. 

Some people ONLY train hard and struggle with the whole REST thing. You feel bad when you miss a day of training or you don't know if one day is enough or three is too many. 

Listen to your body and build your rest days around events or times where you can really rest, recover and relax. 

Sometimes you will need one day, other times you might require a whole week.  It won't undo all of your hard work. In fact it will most likely enchance your gains and it will get you ready for your next session.

So for me, a week of workouts and early mornings will be recovered upon over the two days of the weekend. Relaxing, catching up with friends and eating healthy to regain my strength, ready for another week of hard training!