Distilled Water
Board Sponsor
- Awards
- 3
Alright guys, im going to talk about how to best utilize the SNS line for the most productive contest prep possible. I feel like us at SNS offer the best single ingredient products on the market that can really help customize a prep for a person based on their needs, perfectly. Im mostly going to look at our “burners” and how to use our GDA type products. Now, this doesn’t only apply to contest prep but annoying looking to get ready for this upcoming summer. I’ll rate these in number of importance. If you want a more in depth on how they function, check out our section or website for a more complete write up.
1. Yohimbine 2.5 100caps
Each capsule contains 2.5mg of Yohimbine HCL (YHCL). This is best used in a fasted state, I love this before fasted cardio. I always say start at 2.5mg and work your way up, this can hit some people hard. I like to progress to a dose of 7.5-10mg of YHCL. Some people work up to the old 1mg per 10lbs of lean body mass but when we combine it with the other supplements I’m going to list, 10mg worked wonders for me. This is best taken 30-40 minutes before activity with no insulin present. There may be some water retention but after 3-5 days upon stopping, this will go way. This is also a super inexpensive, it can be found at most our board sponsors for around $10
2. Caffeine 200, 120, 240 or 501ct tabs
Each tab contains 200mg of good ole fashion caffeine. Caffeine is can improve mental alertness and athletic performance and help stimulate calorie expenditure. I like to pair this with my YCHL before morning cardio but can also be used as a pre-workout or mid-day pick me up. Dieting kills our energy but this can help. Keep the dose at 200mg as this combined with the YCHL can increase the stimulant affect and thus not having to use as much YCHL. This is also very inexpensive at most of our board sponsors starting at around $5 for the 120ct. Buying the higher tab count will just help out your wallet.
3. Green Tea 500 75caps
Each capsule includes 500mg of ultra-concentrated green tea. This is also a potent anti-oxidant but will aid in the fat-loss processes while helping to reduce cortisol. I take 2 caps, 1000mg, with my YCHL and Caffeine and again is really inexpensive at our board sponsor stores.
To summarize, taking these three products in conjunction 30-40min, fasted, before cardio can be a tremendous help in oxidizing our fat during cardio and really help push stubborn fat loss in our abdomen, lower back and glutes. These are most commonly found as smaller doses in many of the popular $30-40 fat loss products on the market and are really the bread and butter of the matrix….but now we KNOW we’re getting effective doses!
Fat-Loss Combo Stack
7.5-10mg YHCL
200mg Caffeine
1000mg Green Tea
Now we’ll shift gears to your non-traditional fat burners. These are products that’s main purpose is to nut burn fat, but they do a really good job in helping do so under the right conditions.
4.GlycoPhase
For an overview, here is a write up from SNS in regards to fat-loss…..
Insulin, Glucose, and Glycogen in Laymen’s Terms:
All dietary carbohydrates are broken down into glucose in the small intestine and then absorbed into the bloodstream. From there the glucose will either be used as an immediate energy source for ATP synthesis or will be stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue or be converted to triglycerides and stored as body-fat. Glucose is only stored as glycogen until glycogen stores (in the muscles and liver) are topped off and then the excess is converted to fat.
Insulin, Glucose, and Glycogen – Effects on Fat Loss:
Insulin stimulates fat storage by stimulating fat cells to take in glucose. In a perfect scenario, muscle and liver glucose uptake is high, fat glucose intake is low, and only a small amount of insulin is required. Minimal to no fat would be stored under these circumstances. Under these conditions, a person would be referred to as ‘insulin sensitive’ meaning that a small amount of insulin has a maximum effect.
Remember though, glycogen can only be stored in the liver and muscle tissues until glycogen stores are full, and the remaining glucose is stored as body-fat. Eating too many carbohydrates can cause this process to occur. This overflow triggers an insulin response and the bigger the insulin response, the more resistant the body can become to the effects of insulin, especially in muscle tissue. The more ‘insulin resistant’ the body becomes, the more insulin that is needed to get the job done. This increase in insulin can cause more glucose to be diverted into adipose tissue and stored as body-fat. This can be both a short and long term process. Overdoing carbohydrates in just one meal can cause an insulin response that can temporarily desensitize muscle insulin receptors and cause glucose to spill over into fat stores. Over the long term, this can lead to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and obesity.
Increasing the body’s uptake of glucose is important for people who are trying to lose fat or stay lean because they are often ‘glucose intolerant’ or ‘insulin resistant’ to some degree. This means that the person’s body is not able to achieve normal blood sugar levels after a meal which causes them to have a high blood sugar level. High glucose levels contribute to fat storage and inability to lose weight. High glucose levels can also contribute to nerve damage, blood vessel damage, and a variety of other health issues.
What I suggest doing is keeping carbs out of the first meal of the day unless it somehow aids to your particular situation. For example, it seemed that when I did not have carbs in my first meal, my legs seemed to lose volume so they were added back in. I would also take 1 GlycoPhase with my fat burner stack before fasted cardio, reason being that adding in a gda can help clear any glucose that may still be floating around and is used to help me utilize my carbs in my first meal, the greatest.
For most, I suggest taking them out of their first meal (as I typically do with all my clients). It allows fat burning from fasted cardio to continue to crank as the day goes on. I would have them add their GlycoPhase roughly 15min before the first carb meal of the day and 15min before their pre-workout meal. I would also add in 300mg Alpha Lipoic Acid with the GlycoPhase and with other carb meals of the day (yes, even post workout). It is always a must before cheat meals as well, you’ll still get a great response from the cheat and help get back to baseline faster than without. In theory, should help speed up the process of getting back into the “fat burning mode”
5. Reduce-XT
Controling cortisol can help remove fat from our stubborn areas (much like YHCL) For a little more info, heres something from the SNS site…
Cortisol's Effect on Fat Storage:
Cortisol assists in breaking down stored body-fat into fatty acids so that the body can have an immediate energy source to help combat the stressors. This at first sounds like a good thing, but the long term effect of this action is these fatty acids being stored as the most easily accessible type of body-fat for the same future use, visceral fat. Visceral fat is the type of fat that is located around the internal organs; it is also the type of fat most closely associated with a variety of health conditions including heart disease. Also, by altering fat distribution from subcutaneous fat to more cortisol sensitive areas, physical appearance can be detrimentally affected. For example, cortisol sensitive areas include the abdominal 'pot belly' appearance, excess facial fat storage, etc.
It is important to note that while cortisol has negative effects on overall body-composition, it is not entirely negative as it does have useful applications in the body. That is why it is important to look at cortisol in terms of controlling it, rather than eliminating it.
It can also help retain lean muscle mass. I suggest dosing with the morning fat-loss stack, again 4-6hrs later and taking one in the evening. Doses can be ramped up as body fat levels become lower but have personally seen no advantage to taking more than 4 caps per day. (ive tried 6 for roughly 10 days and didn’t see much of a difference, at least not cost:benefit)
6. Thyrocaps
These are kind of looked at as a T3 or T4 alternative. A product that will help increase metabolism without any stimulant affect and help create a better environment for protein synthesis. From the website….
Metabolism in layman's terms:
A lot of people talk about different types of fat loss aids being metabolism boosters without really having a clear understanding what their metabolism actually is. Your metabolism is basically the rate at which food is digested, absorbed, and used by the body. By increasing your metabolism, you can burn more fat as energy. Keep in mind that this doesn't require the stimulant heavy products that a lot of people view as 'fat burners'. Just because a product gives you a lot of energy or suppresses your appetite does NOT mean it increases metabolism. Sure, a higher activity level and eating less are helpful for weight loss, but the higher your metabolism is, the better a higher activity level and healthier diet can help you.
How do Thyrocaps work:
Thryocaps can help by two different mechanisms, but helping to optimize thyroid function and by helping uncouple proteins. Uncoupling proteins helps to break down and burn fatty acids (fat) to be used as energy.
I would also include these with my morning fat-loss stack and another cap later in the day. As body fat gets lower you can up to 4 caps a day but I do not really see the need for it, if everything else is on point.
Putting it all together
So now that we have a basic understanding and outline of what products will suite us best, or best bang for our buck, let’s put it into action now. Here is an outline of my prep with cardio and training at roughly 6 weeks out (when fat burning is cranked up)
8am:
16oz water
10mg YCHL
200mg Caffeine
1000mg Green tea
2 Thyrocaps
1 Reduce-XT
1 GlycoPhase
300mg ALA
8:45am:
45min LISS Cardio
10:00am
1.5 cups Egg Whites
1 cup oatmeal
1/2tbs MCT Oil
1 Reduce-XT
12:00pm
8oz Tilapia/Chicken
2 cups greens
300mg ALA
2:00pm
8oz beef
6oz sweet potato
4:00pm
8oz tilapia/fish
2 cups greens
1 GlycoPhase
300mg ALA
1 Thyrocap
6:00pm (pre-workout)
8oz Tilapia/Chicken
1/2 cup rice
300mg ALA
Post-Workout
1 scoop whey
1 scoop Karbolyn
1 Reduce-XT
10:00pm
1 cup egg whites
½ tbs MCT oil
1. Yohimbine 2.5 100caps
Each capsule contains 2.5mg of Yohimbine HCL (YHCL). This is best used in a fasted state, I love this before fasted cardio. I always say start at 2.5mg and work your way up, this can hit some people hard. I like to progress to a dose of 7.5-10mg of YHCL. Some people work up to the old 1mg per 10lbs of lean body mass but when we combine it with the other supplements I’m going to list, 10mg worked wonders for me. This is best taken 30-40 minutes before activity with no insulin present. There may be some water retention but after 3-5 days upon stopping, this will go way. This is also a super inexpensive, it can be found at most our board sponsors for around $10
2. Caffeine 200, 120, 240 or 501ct tabs
Each tab contains 200mg of good ole fashion caffeine. Caffeine is can improve mental alertness and athletic performance and help stimulate calorie expenditure. I like to pair this with my YCHL before morning cardio but can also be used as a pre-workout or mid-day pick me up. Dieting kills our energy but this can help. Keep the dose at 200mg as this combined with the YCHL can increase the stimulant affect and thus not having to use as much YCHL. This is also very inexpensive at most of our board sponsors starting at around $5 for the 120ct. Buying the higher tab count will just help out your wallet.
3. Green Tea 500 75caps
Each capsule includes 500mg of ultra-concentrated green tea. This is also a potent anti-oxidant but will aid in the fat-loss processes while helping to reduce cortisol. I take 2 caps, 1000mg, with my YCHL and Caffeine and again is really inexpensive at our board sponsor stores.
To summarize, taking these three products in conjunction 30-40min, fasted, before cardio can be a tremendous help in oxidizing our fat during cardio and really help push stubborn fat loss in our abdomen, lower back and glutes. These are most commonly found as smaller doses in many of the popular $30-40 fat loss products on the market and are really the bread and butter of the matrix….but now we KNOW we’re getting effective doses!
Fat-Loss Combo Stack
7.5-10mg YHCL
200mg Caffeine
1000mg Green Tea
Now we’ll shift gears to your non-traditional fat burners. These are products that’s main purpose is to nut burn fat, but they do a really good job in helping do so under the right conditions.
4.GlycoPhase
For an overview, here is a write up from SNS in regards to fat-loss…..
Insulin, Glucose, and Glycogen in Laymen’s Terms:
All dietary carbohydrates are broken down into glucose in the small intestine and then absorbed into the bloodstream. From there the glucose will either be used as an immediate energy source for ATP synthesis or will be stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue or be converted to triglycerides and stored as body-fat. Glucose is only stored as glycogen until glycogen stores (in the muscles and liver) are topped off and then the excess is converted to fat.
Insulin, Glucose, and Glycogen – Effects on Fat Loss:
Insulin stimulates fat storage by stimulating fat cells to take in glucose. In a perfect scenario, muscle and liver glucose uptake is high, fat glucose intake is low, and only a small amount of insulin is required. Minimal to no fat would be stored under these circumstances. Under these conditions, a person would be referred to as ‘insulin sensitive’ meaning that a small amount of insulin has a maximum effect.
Remember though, glycogen can only be stored in the liver and muscle tissues until glycogen stores are full, and the remaining glucose is stored as body-fat. Eating too many carbohydrates can cause this process to occur. This overflow triggers an insulin response and the bigger the insulin response, the more resistant the body can become to the effects of insulin, especially in muscle tissue. The more ‘insulin resistant’ the body becomes, the more insulin that is needed to get the job done. This increase in insulin can cause more glucose to be diverted into adipose tissue and stored as body-fat. This can be both a short and long term process. Overdoing carbohydrates in just one meal can cause an insulin response that can temporarily desensitize muscle insulin receptors and cause glucose to spill over into fat stores. Over the long term, this can lead to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and obesity.
Increasing the body’s uptake of glucose is important for people who are trying to lose fat or stay lean because they are often ‘glucose intolerant’ or ‘insulin resistant’ to some degree. This means that the person’s body is not able to achieve normal blood sugar levels after a meal which causes them to have a high blood sugar level. High glucose levels contribute to fat storage and inability to lose weight. High glucose levels can also contribute to nerve damage, blood vessel damage, and a variety of other health issues.
What I suggest doing is keeping carbs out of the first meal of the day unless it somehow aids to your particular situation. For example, it seemed that when I did not have carbs in my first meal, my legs seemed to lose volume so they were added back in. I would also take 1 GlycoPhase with my fat burner stack before fasted cardio, reason being that adding in a gda can help clear any glucose that may still be floating around and is used to help me utilize my carbs in my first meal, the greatest.
For most, I suggest taking them out of their first meal (as I typically do with all my clients). It allows fat burning from fasted cardio to continue to crank as the day goes on. I would have them add their GlycoPhase roughly 15min before the first carb meal of the day and 15min before their pre-workout meal. I would also add in 300mg Alpha Lipoic Acid with the GlycoPhase and with other carb meals of the day (yes, even post workout). It is always a must before cheat meals as well, you’ll still get a great response from the cheat and help get back to baseline faster than without. In theory, should help speed up the process of getting back into the “fat burning mode”
5. Reduce-XT
Controling cortisol can help remove fat from our stubborn areas (much like YHCL) For a little more info, heres something from the SNS site…
Cortisol's Effect on Fat Storage:
Cortisol assists in breaking down stored body-fat into fatty acids so that the body can have an immediate energy source to help combat the stressors. This at first sounds like a good thing, but the long term effect of this action is these fatty acids being stored as the most easily accessible type of body-fat for the same future use, visceral fat. Visceral fat is the type of fat that is located around the internal organs; it is also the type of fat most closely associated with a variety of health conditions including heart disease. Also, by altering fat distribution from subcutaneous fat to more cortisol sensitive areas, physical appearance can be detrimentally affected. For example, cortisol sensitive areas include the abdominal 'pot belly' appearance, excess facial fat storage, etc.
It is important to note that while cortisol has negative effects on overall body-composition, it is not entirely negative as it does have useful applications in the body. That is why it is important to look at cortisol in terms of controlling it, rather than eliminating it.
It can also help retain lean muscle mass. I suggest dosing with the morning fat-loss stack, again 4-6hrs later and taking one in the evening. Doses can be ramped up as body fat levels become lower but have personally seen no advantage to taking more than 4 caps per day. (ive tried 6 for roughly 10 days and didn’t see much of a difference, at least not cost:benefit)
6. Thyrocaps
These are kind of looked at as a T3 or T4 alternative. A product that will help increase metabolism without any stimulant affect and help create a better environment for protein synthesis. From the website….
Metabolism in layman's terms:
A lot of people talk about different types of fat loss aids being metabolism boosters without really having a clear understanding what their metabolism actually is. Your metabolism is basically the rate at which food is digested, absorbed, and used by the body. By increasing your metabolism, you can burn more fat as energy. Keep in mind that this doesn't require the stimulant heavy products that a lot of people view as 'fat burners'. Just because a product gives you a lot of energy or suppresses your appetite does NOT mean it increases metabolism. Sure, a higher activity level and eating less are helpful for weight loss, but the higher your metabolism is, the better a higher activity level and healthier diet can help you.
How do Thyrocaps work:
Thryocaps can help by two different mechanisms, but helping to optimize thyroid function and by helping uncouple proteins. Uncoupling proteins helps to break down and burn fatty acids (fat) to be used as energy.
I would also include these with my morning fat-loss stack and another cap later in the day. As body fat gets lower you can up to 4 caps a day but I do not really see the need for it, if everything else is on point.
Putting it all together
So now that we have a basic understanding and outline of what products will suite us best, or best bang for our buck, let’s put it into action now. Here is an outline of my prep with cardio and training at roughly 6 weeks out (when fat burning is cranked up)
8am:
16oz water
10mg YCHL
200mg Caffeine
1000mg Green tea
2 Thyrocaps
1 Reduce-XT
1 GlycoPhase
300mg ALA
8:45am:
45min LISS Cardio
10:00am
1.5 cups Egg Whites
1 cup oatmeal
1/2tbs MCT Oil
1 Reduce-XT
12:00pm
8oz Tilapia/Chicken
2 cups greens
300mg ALA
2:00pm
8oz beef
6oz sweet potato
4:00pm
8oz tilapia/fish
2 cups greens
1 GlycoPhase
300mg ALA
1 Thyrocap
6:00pm (pre-workout)
8oz Tilapia/Chicken
1/2 cup rice
300mg ALA
Post-Workout
1 scoop whey
1 scoop Karbolyn
1 Reduce-XT
10:00pm
1 cup egg whites
½ tbs MCT oil
