Resolving the Debate: Animal Pump v. Shock Therapy

[Resolve]

I was one of the lucky folk to receive a week's worth of both Animal Pump and Shock Therapy by Universal Nutrition.
Animal Pump (30 servings) By: Universal Nutrition
Shock Therapy (2.22 lbs) By: Universal Nutrition


Today marked my first workout using Animal Pump - Thursday I will have another, and a final workout on Saturday. Next will be devoted Shock Therapy: same workouts, different pre-wo supp.

I am doing a total body routine right now, and will post weight and movements following each day. I am eating approx. 3600cal/day right now, slightly below maintenance, to recover from the spree of my Honeymoon, which consisted of pretty much the whole month of July. The only supps I am currently on are: Fish Oil, ZMA, ALCAR, Whey, Creatine Mono, EgCG, Multi and VitC, Malto and Dex.

Animal Pump pack was ingested about 30min prior to workout. At first I felt fine, but I began to feel light-headed about 15-20min into the WO. I am presuming that the stim effect of Pump is just greater than I anticipated (even though I am typically not so stimulant sensitive) and I will be avoiding caffeine for the remainder of my WO while using it. No more cup of coffee with Breakfast.

Pumps, however were increased, particularly in legs and chest. I look forward to Thursday's session, sans morning coffee, to better evaluate the pack.

Today's Workout:
Squats: 315: 5sets of 3 (my squat sucks; I'm working on bringing it up)

DB Pullovers: 95lbs: 15reps,
100lb: 10reps, pause, 3reps, pause, 2reps

Chin-ups: BW w/3sec eccentric: 12reps, p, 3reps
10reps, p, 4reps, p, 1rep

Snatch-Grip BTN Push Press: 135 w/3sec eccentric: 13reps, p, 2reps
10reps, p, 5reps

Barbell calf-raises: 225: 3set of 18
Reverse Hypers: BW+35: 3sets of 10
Barbell Preacher Curls: 135: 8sets of 3

I will update again following Thursday's workout.

 

[King Con]

Definitely take it easy on the caffeine and readjust accordingly. Hopefully that light headedness is just temporary.

Glad the pump was increased looking forward to more.:thumbsup:

 

[Universal Rep]

Subbed. Lookin' forward to Thursday.

 

[Resolve]

No coffee today, and no lightheadedness either! Animal Pump again was ingested about 30min before lifting. No particularly overwhelming effects; I had a typical amount of energy and stamina - comparable to when I just have my cup of coffee.

Pumps again were higher than normal - I thought my calves were going to fall off! Seriously, I have never had my calves be the limiting factor on an upper-body movement before but they were so weak it was making my reverse preacher curls almost impossible.

Today's Routine:

Platform Deadlifts: 315!!!: 15reps no pause! Personal Best!
11reps, p, 3, p, 1

Hack Squat: 275: 13, p, 2
9, p, 3, p, 3

Dips: BW: 15
10, p, 5

DB Shoulder Press: 65lb DB: 15
9, p, 4, p, 2

Seated Calf Raises: 125: 3x18
Reverse Preacher Curls: 105: 8sets of 3
Reverse Hypers: BW+35: 3x10

Felt much better all the way through than on Tuesday. A good workout all around.

 

[Resolve]

Last Workout on Animal Pump:

Leg Press: 400: 12, p, 5, p, 3 (total of 20)
13,p,4,p3

Incline Press: 75db w/3sec eccentric: 15 no pause
11,p, 4

Clean & Press: 115: 8,p, 5, p, 2
9,p,6

Tricep Extensions: 95: 2x15
Hammer Curls: 55db: 8x3
Reverse Hypers: BW+25: 2x20
Machine Calf Raises: 105 w/10sec pause at stretch point between each rep: 2x15

Final Thoughts on Animal Pump: It's decent. Didn't make enough of a difference in any respect to make me want to add it to my regular stack. Energy, focus and drive just weren't what they can be when I just use coffee, Creatine Mono and a good multi.
This is not to detract from Universal's product in any way - I merely did not respond to it particularly well.

From what I have heard, Shock Therapy is more intense and for this reason I am really looking forward to next week, when I will be running that supp.

 

[Universal Rep]

Animal Pump is clean and smooth. Shock is much more of a swift kick in the pants.

 

[Resolve]

First Workout on Shock Therapy was yesterday!

Initial Thoughts: much better energy and drive, no particular effect on focus. Liked it much better than Animal Pump right off the bat! Not crazy about the taste, but if you take a supp for the taste and not for it's benefits, there's something wrong with you.

Workout consisted of the same movements as last week:

Squats: 315: 4x4
DB Pullovers: 105: 15 no pause; 9,p,4,p,1
Chinups: BW: 2x15
Snatch-Grip BTN Push Press: 155: 15 no Pause: 8,p,4,p,3

Barbell Preacher Curls: 135: 4x7
Barbell Calf Raises: 245: 3x16
Reverse Hypers: BW+35: 3x15

 

[Universal Rep]

First Workout on Shock Therapy was yesterday!

Initial Thoughts: much better energy and drive, no particular effect on focus. Liked it much better than Animal Pump right off the bat! Not crazy about the taste, but if you take a supp for the taste and not for it's benefits, there's something wrong with you.

Workout consisted of the same movements as last week:

Squats: 315: 4x4
DB Pullovers: 105: 15 no pause; 9,p,4,p,1
Chinups: BW: 2x15
Snatch-Grip BTN Push Press: 155: 15 no Pause: 8,p,4,p,3

Barbell Preacher Curls: 135: 4x7
Barbell Calf Raises: 245: 3x16
Reverse Hypers: BW+35: 3x15

Yup, def more energy. Some stim junkies take Pump and they're disappointed from an energy point of view. If you have a high tolerance, Shock is the better choice for sure.

 

[Resolve]

Don't consider myself to have a high stim tolerance - I usually only have one cup of coffee in the morning and that's it for caffeine or stims all together.
Still, can't argue with the fact that Shock Therapy really affected me far more than Animal Pump.

Guess I'm a closet stim-junkie?

 

[Universal Rep]

Don't consider myself to have a high stim tolerance - I usually only have one cup of coffee in the morning and that's it for caffeine or stims all together.
Still, can't argue with the fact that Shock Therapy really affected me far more than Animal Pump.

Guess I'm a closet stim-junkie?

Hahaha.. For sure, Shock should elicit a greater response in terms of energy than Pump... I prefer the clean, smooth energy of Pump though.

 

[Resolve]

Yesterday's workout: #2 on Shock Therapy

I feel like I'm chugging Dimetapp before working out - but the stuff works. Approximately 15-20mins after ingestion, I feel a marked increase in alertness, drive and anticipation to hit the weights. While lifting I had great focus on Shock Therapy and stamina was increased, but I still wound up drained by the end of the workout. Which is as it should be.

Deads: 325: 13,p,2
9,p, 3, p, 3

Hack Squats:275: 15 no pause
12, p, 3

Dips:BW: 15
13, p, 2

Shoulder Press: 65 DB: 12, p, 3
12, p, 3

Reverse Preacher Curls: 105: 7sets of 4
Seated Calf Raises: 125: 3x20
Reverse Hypers: BW+35: 3x12

I enjoyed this workout - I love deadlifts, what can I say?
One thing I noticed after I was done is that blood pressure seemed to remain somewhat elevated for several hours - not to an alarming degree, but I could definitely tell I was on something.

 

[King Con]

I have never heard of it being similar to Dimetapp...

Sounds like you had some great energy and who doesn't love deads? Regarding blood pressure have you had problems in the past with it? I know caffeine has been shown to temporarily increase blood pressure, especially with lifting... I would keep an eye out on it as you may be sensitive to this effect. Shock does hit hard though.

 

[Resolve]

No, my bp is normally about 110/65, it gets checked fairly regularly.
Honestly I think it was just a combo of the caffeine and the blazing heat that I was out in for several hours after working out - it was like 106 out yesterday. So it could have even been mild heat-stroke, either way it was weird.

 

[Hoomgar]

No, my bp is normally about 110/65, it gets checked fairly regularly.
Honestly I think it was just a combo of the caffeine and the blazing heat that I was out in for several hours after working out - it was like 106 out yesterday. So it could have even been mild heat-stroke, either way it was weird.

The heat can do it for sure bro. Gotta watch that. So it looks like you may be leaning towards the ST at this point eh? It's a great product. The taste grows on you too. I had the same reaction as you to my first serving but now I love the taste of the stuff.

This log is very well done my man. Nice work. Subbed...

Hg

 

[King Con]

No, my bp is normally about 110/65, it gets checked fairly regularly.
Honestly I think it was just a combo of the caffeine and the blazing heat that I was out in for several hours after working out - it was like 106 out yesterday. So it could have even been mild heat-stroke, either way it was weird.

Definitely as HG said, heat + exercising + caffeine is a brutal combo on the elevated BP. Should only be temporary though...I would just watch it and be careful.

 

[Resolve]

Thanks for the feedback and rep guys - I'm just trying to provide Animal/Universal with an honest review, you all were nice enough to supply me the supps after all!

Today marked my final workout for Shock Therapy.
I believe I'm becoming more accustomed to the stuff - even being out in the heat hasn't affected me adversely. Still benefitted from increased energy, and pushed myself pretty hard, particularly on my clean and presses. High Volume Olympic Lifts are crazy.

Anyways:
Leg Presses: 450: 15, p, 5
15,p 3, p, 2

Incline DB Press: 80 DBs: 15 no pause x 2

DB Clean and Press: 60 DBs: 12,p, 3
12,p,3

Hammer Curls: 55 Dbs: 7sets of 4
Machine Calf Raises: 115 w/10s pause, 2x15
Reverse Hypers: 3x12

This marks the end of my Animal Pump vs. Shock Therapy Log. You can check out the Poll for my results and final review at: http://anabolicminds.com/forum/company-promotions/101618-poll-results-animal.html

 

[Hoomgar]

You did a great job on this log bro. Thanks for the honest review.

 

[Resolve]

My pleasure Hoomgar

 

[King Con]

You did a great job on this log bro. Thanks for the honest review.

x 2. Definitely well done and great job. :thumbsup: