(Sponsored) Martial Artist goes Focus-XT by SNS

Steelwolf

Steelwolf

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Who I am: I am a 23 year old retired powerlifter and strongman. I had been competing in those sports since I was around 17 years old. I was also a grip fanatic for many years until I suffered some pretty bad issues with my wrists that I have been repairing for the past few years. I was quite well known on the grip circuit. I have moved into MMA for some very person reasons which I don’t feel is necessary to discuss in relation to this log bit either way I am now an amateur mixed martial artists.



The arts I study: I study a combination of Muay Thai, BJJ, Jujitsu, wrestling, submission wrestling, American boxing, Jeet Kune Do and Hung Ga Kung Fu both the internal and the external.


My training implements: Kettlebells, Sandbags, Bodyweight exercises, and grip tools with the occasional dumbbell. If I can find a way to use I will use it though I believe in training something everyday. I have a strength workout everyday in the morning and MMA classes at night at ran by Shawn Terrance (Tinley Park Illinois), who is an amazing coach.


I figure I can give you guys an idea of what will be in store for you when I start this log officially. I should be receiving the product in the mail soon.
A workout:


Warm Up Stretches:

3 different shoulder stretches held for a 20 count

1 pec stretch hold for a 20 count

1 Quad stretch 20 count

2 hip stretches 20 counts

1 calf stretch]

I also do a variety of dynamic motions to warm myself

Static Work more commonly known as isometrics:

Hung Ga Horse Stance 2 sets of 25 seconds

Hung Ga Bow Stance 2 sets of 20 seconds

Cat stance 2 sets of 10 seconds

The stances teach rooting. An ability to not be taken down when someone tries to take you to the ground. I have done everything I could to take my Hung Ga coach to the ground and he does not budge. Despite him being much shorter than me and me being the better lifter, he is more rooted and body stronger.



Kettlebell work:

Circuit fun 1 arms: 10 row, 10 floor press, 10 overhead situp, 10 hammer curl, 10 swing, 10 clean and press, 10 over head squat, 10 snatch… One round

Just to test out a new circuit idea... It wasn't bad but it wasnt easy I will be shooting for a few more rounds next time. When I test out an idea I usually only go through one round or so to see how it feels and to see what needs to be adjusted. I also think I can up the reps a little.




Bodyweight:

Bridges 2 sets

Front Bridges 2 sets

Overall body strength


Grip and teeth:

Ivanko Gripper 20 reps

NO CHALK hub squeeze hard 20 seconds

Plate curl board 15reps

Sand blasting: 20 reps

Teeth lift 10lbs 1 min

No chalk in combat no reason for chalk in training



Conditioning:

Abdominal and shin and forearm… I would gladly explain this guys but because it is a special thing I am being taught in confidentiality this is all I can say about it. If you have ever seen Shaolin Monks do Iron Body... Yeah thats it.

Tonight BJJ and muay thai class

In stand up work:
A few rounds of shadow boxing to warm us up working on moving our bodies for defense.
Partner drill on parrying. This does not seem to be a natural motion for me, but I feel it will become a very powerful tool in my arsenal once it is mastered.
We did some rounds on the mitts focus on hitting fast and technique.
Bag work working on keeping hands up and returning hands to the position.

BJJ:
warm ups: bridging, bridge and reach, shrimping, and a weird drill I dont know the name of.

Most of class we worked on escapes. I am very new to ground work and it is definitely a disadvantage for me. So it's good to start from the basics. Basically for over an hour I drilled escapes.

Questions comments what ever, feel free.
 
Steelwolf

Steelwolf

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People may ask why do you Mr. SteelWolf need focus-xt. Well let me explain my good friends and grasp you into my own world. My strength workout (or Hung Ga technique depending on the day) is usually at around 5am. Now mind you I don’t usually get to bed until 11-12 o’clock Monday through Thursday do to MMA classes. So my brain is in that nice little hazy fog in the morning. I used to take just plain old caffeine in the morning, but it wasn’t doing me even near enough to get that engine firing at full gear. I just didn’t have that powerful drive. Then at night training from 7 to 9:15-30 every night just beats me down even more. If training were the only things in my life and it was my career I could see it being not as bad, but that is not the case one bit. I am also a student and spend Monday through Friday at school from almost 9 to 5 perusing a double major and even most likely another minor on top of that. It’s a rough deal. To top it off I am a sponsored writer of a website and try to put out a few articles a week, and even more work a part time job. My life is a pretty hectic thing. So when it is finally time to hit the grind of the workout my mind is usually still going over the last thing I was doing. To sit down and focus and get that tunnel vision I cant just really on my mind to do it I need a little help. It was suggested to me by a good friend and rep for SNS to give Focus-XT a shot. Without skipping a beat I jumped at the opportunity and said lets give this a run.

So hopefully from this log as it starts you will see the benefit of focus-xt, and maybe just maybe learn a little thing about training from MMA from a traditional arts perspective, after all, this isn’t just combat its an art. And as both my coaches said both Shawn and Hung Ga mentor quoted Bruce Lee: take what works and get rid of what doesn’t
 
sns8778

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Subscribing to follow along. Hopefully you will be pleased.
 
Steelwolf

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So I went to wake up at 4am for my training session, but I just couldn’t get that focus and energy I needed to get out of bed. I fell asleep at one and normally I’d be fine, but today it just wasn’t there at all. I am interested to see if Focus-XT will be able to get me ready to go on mornings like this. They do not happen all the time, but sometimes they do. I await my package in the mail.
Since no one real has idea of how I train I will give another idea of the way I do things. Hung Ga Kung Fu days tend to rely more on isometrics as well as the Kung Fu aspect. Some conditioning may apply. In addition to the MMA workout at night. Here is an idea guys: this took aprox 47 minutes

Various stretches to warm myself up help for 20 seconds a piece.
Neck Bridges front and back 25 seconds
At this point a do a variety of Kung Fu exercises unique to my teacher.
Chi exercises
Body conditioning follows
Parry block 50
High block 50
Middle block 50
Double middle block 50
Low block 50
Isometric 20lb kettlebell hold at top 1 minute
Isometric kettlebell hold at middle 40 seconds
Punch Pushup hold middle 30 seconds
Punch Pushup hold top 30 seconds
Punch Pushup 15
 
GeekPoop

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as far as your focus dosing when ya get it, 1 scoop is pretty potent liek real potent. I like 1/2 lol, works slick.
 
AZMIDLYF

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1 scoop has 200mg caff but it is not like a stimmed out feeling. Your mind just gets a laser like sharpness and tunnel vision. The flavors don't suck either...
 
Steelwolf

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Since it is s till a bit before I shall receive my bottle of focus-xt in the mail I figured I would let you guys see all the different kinds of workouts I do. That way you have any idea of what is going with me before you see the results that focus-xt should bring. So far you guys have seen kettlebell endurance day, a Kung Fu and isometric day, and today you will see one kind of my sand bag routine. The sandbags I use are not traditional sandbags. They are sandbags from a big sandbag company that has all different kinds of handles on the bags. I also use any many different fillers as I can only filled half way so the sand has to shake around. So as the weights will sound light I would gladly invite you to come play with them and say the same. I do not really keep track of rest periods on these days I just go when I breath again.

The workout was completed a little less than 40 minutes. This also includes two trips to the bathroom and one water refill.

I started with my static stretching to loosen up my body. I will eventually add some dynamic flexibility, but for now static works. I have a list of Hung Ga dynamic warm-ups that I should be adding in soon once I can learn the movement pattern.

I then proceed to do my neck work. A back bridge with nose to the ground and a front bridge with chin to the chest for 30 seconds. Then I rollout the neck to allow for maximum flexibility. Neck is usually a little tight after the bridges. The neck needs to be loose for ground work.

I move on to the every day work for Hung Ga, which being the stances. Grounding is the most important thing to me as well as my Hung Ga coach. So I focus a lot of work on that. The Horse stance is held for 40 the bow stance each leg for 20 and the cat for 10. Because of these stances I really don’t do much extra leg work.

It is now time to hit those sandbags. I have a 70lb one and a 90lb one. As I said these ain’t your daddy’s sandbags.
Bearhug the 90lb sandbag with a straight back for one minute
Millitary press minimal back lean the 70lb for 10
Row with the supergrip side handles for 10
Floor press (which is pretty much a CG bench press for me) 11 reps 2 seconds bottom pause 2 second top pause.
Cleans 70lb bag 10 reps. Hang clean style.
Zercher squat 70lb for 10 reps.
Overhead situps with 70lber for 2. (Lay down bench press the bag to full ext, then situp while keeping back overhead)
Goodmornings wide while in bear hug 70lb bag for 10

Then Bodyconditioning

Finishup with that good old stretching
 
Steelwolf

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As soon as I get this in the mail I will start it up. Looking forward to this guys, and thanks again for the opportunity. The expect days to see from me are tuesdays, thursdays, and weekends, and possibly friday. Monday and tuesday are usually to busy to get online.
 
Steelwolf

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August 30, 2010

Well my friends on August 30, 2010 I received my bottle of focus-xt from our lovely SNS crew. I knew as soon as the bell rang it had to be it, as it was the only package I was expecting to receive. It came much sooner than I expected which is totally awesome. I couldn’t wait to find a use for it and thanks to our lovely friend GeekPoop I was able to use it as soon as I received it.
Today was my first day of classes and was already given a complex assignment, and a little before needing to start it I just got in a terrible fight the girl I was kind of seeing. This being a fight where we will probably no longer be dating. So I do into the focus-xt and took out half a scoop to see what would happen. The first thing I noticed was the incredible taste. I got the lemonade flavor. To me it tasted like that old school country time lemonade I drank as a kid. It was amazing and I wanted to make myself another scoop, but I knew that would not be the smartest idea. Within about 15 minutes my mind started to go into this weird feeling. My thoughts seemed to slow down and began to I guess you would say channel. My body began to feel very relaxed as well. It was almost as if my body just knew what to do without even needing to really think about it. The answers that would normally thinking just came to me effortlessly. The work seemed to also go by extremely fast. Despite the fact I spend a good hour on the work it felt only like 10 or 15 minutes of work. This definitely made homework much easier especially on a half scoop it was incredible. A little bit later about 2 ½ hours my mind started to go start to go back to normal though at a very slow rate. When I took my next dose for training (I’ll explain) about 3 hours later I was still having some as they say tunnel vision.
3 hours later I had to go to class so I mixed up another half a scoop. Again I wanted to make myself another scoop or at least add more water so I got more of the flavor. As I don’t include country time lemonade or anything like it in my diet it was awesome to get that sweet tooth fix. I took it at 6:40 and class started at 7.
At 7 we did 6 minutes of jump rope. I am really not that best at it, never been good, and with my weight it is hell on the ankles. My coach feels that doing the jump rope regardless of my weight is good for me but he wants me to practice landing softly which will help me in the ring. So I figured that works. The time seemed to pass very fast again that autopilot feeling. I know I was in control and I easily felt in control, but it was just such a relaxed but powerful feeling.
Next we did 2 rounds of 3 minutes on shadow boxing with call out commands. For me everything seemed to move slow (which is exactly what I wanted) When he would call out a combo it felt like by the time he finished calling it I was already done. It felt as if I was moving a thousand times faster than I actually was, yet at the same time everything felt so much more under control.
Onto the heavy bag. I don’t even know how much time we did on this but it was a few rounds focusing on creating angles. This is where I am good. I am a very bad blocker, but I can bob and weave and create angles like no ones business. This felt much easier again on the focus-xt.
Finally we did mitts. I worked one on with my coach. Despite what he called out I was always prepared and even moved a few times to fast for him.

Over all today’s experience with focus-xt was hands down amazing. It surpassed what I expected. Can’t wait to see what is going on tomorrow.
 
Steelwolf

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As I type this now almost 3 hours later I am just starting to lose the focus affect from focus-xt. So this mornings training session was in interesting one I was operating on an extreme lack of sleep. Last night my best friend/ex girlfriend was going through a lot of difficulties in her life so I stayed up with her until late last night. Followed by that I needed to run into work for a bit, all of these factors leading to less sleep than I normally receive. My alarm buzzes for me at 4:00am and today I slept right through it. I woke up around 4:30. Seeing this I bolted out of bed got dressed for training and headed out to the kitchen to get my preworkout nutrition in. This is actually pretty simple 10 desicated liver tabs, and a full scoop today of focus-xt. I will say though that I personally believe one full scoop of focus-xt is much to strong for me personally. Though I know of many people who like a full scoop my body was just not able to handle it. Basically the focus ability just felt to much for me. Though there were some major upsides. Being on the lack of sleep this extreme focus was a good thing for today’s workout. It allowed me to wake up much more and get to business much faster. Normally I would just take 400mgs of caffeine to get myself going, but this was a much better wake up. Today’s workout overall was fantastic. It moved much quicker than I expected. I had no idea only aprox 25 minutes actually passed. It was an amazing feeling. Pretty cool actually.
I decided to make a few changes and took out the neck work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I decided that 3 days of neck work is much more than enough. Also since tonight I work with my Hung Ga coach I decided against practicing my stances today. I think that would be devastating on the legs. I believe in every day stimulation, but that’s just it stimulation.

Workout aprox 25 minutes:
Started out with stretching. Decided to add in another hamstring stretch as I am really needing it.
All sandbag work was performed with my 70lb sandbag. As I said to those who think a 70lb sandbag is light, I invite you to try it the way I have mine set up. Much harder than you expect. I should also note I do not use a belt, well any equipment actually.
Military Press 2 seconds hold at top 2 seconds pause at bottom 10 reps
Row with a double over hand grip 2 second hold at top 2 second pause at bottom 10
Floor press 2 second hold at top 2 second hold at bottom 8 reps today (I thought hard and why I got 3 less reps today, and then I realized it. On the first part I’m moving much faster through sets and in addition I added the pauses on the military press. This is going to take much more out of me. It’s a double hit.)
Curls 2 seconds hold at top and 2 seconds pause at bottom. These were 5 reps.
Combo lift time: One armed grab to chest, hold into chest with one arm, then squat for 5 reps a side.
Forearm conditioning, shin conditioning, stomach conditioning.
I was shot from this. I couldn’t even figure out how many seconds of rest I was taking more or less how fast my sets were going but this was a heavy conditioning workout. I enjoyed it, if you can say that.

Today was also grip day 9 minutes:
Pegasus wrist curl 20lbs 15reps aprox 30 rest
Pegasus reverse wrist curl 16.25lbs 15 reps aprox 30 rest
Titans Telegraph key index and middle with thumb on top: 6.25lbs 10 reps
Dynamic crushes on an extreme shaved gripper: 11
Stretch flexors and extensors of each hand 20 seconds a piece
 
Steelwolf

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SNS rep Geekpoop have been talking about my ideas on diet and supplement timing etc etc. So I decided I might as well put it here so he and others may see it.

I use an idea based around carb cycling with very low fats when I diet. To high of fats will effect the absorption process of the carbs. So i keep the fats low while cycling the carbs daily. I have 3 low days 2 low days and 2 high days. As I tend not to just cheat I dont leave days open for it. I also do not need to cheat as I'm getting carb spikes which help to rest the metabolism. I do not believe you need eat every 3 hours your muscles fall off. I do it because I tend to get hungry pretty fast so I like being full. I am also happier full, but I have noticed no difference between eating 3 or 5 meals or even one meal. I just tended to get sick from eating to much in one sitting.

Low Day:

Meal 1:
Cream of wheat 100 grams
Shake 35 grams
vitamin
500mgs ginsing

Meal 2:
230grams liquid egg whites
25 grams shake
6 fish oil
vitamin

Meal 3:
same as meal 2

Meal 4:
Barilla plus (legume pasta) 4 oz
Shake 30 gram
600mg ALA

Meal 5:
Barilla plus 2oz
Shake 30gram
600mg ALA

500mgs ginsing


Medium day:

Meal 1:
100grams WMS
230 gram egg whites
25 gram shake
500mg ginsing
vitamin

Meal 2:
110 gram cream of wheat
36 gram shake
vitamin
600mgs ALA

Meal 3:
110gram cream of wheet
36 gram shake
vitamin
600mg ala

Meal 4 and 5:
230 gram egg whites
25 gram shake.

High day:

Meal 1:
100grams wms
230 gram eggwhites
25 gram shake

Meal 2, 3
110 gram cream of wheat
36 gram shake
600mgs ala

Meal 4:
Barilla plus 4oz
40 gram shake
600mgs ala

Meal 5:
230 gram egg whites
25 gram shake


as you can see I dont really eat a lot of real food. i dont enjoy eating so I dont
 
GeekPoop

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Very nice and descriptive friend, Im glad you seem to be enjoying it!! I dont got to much to say cuz we discuss stuff already lol :wavey:
 
Steelwolf

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I am guessing with the situations in my life this is the perfect timing for my log. My ex gf/best friend is still having issues going on in her life so I was up later into the night talking with her, and even later worrying about her. I pass out for some reason waking up a bit earlier than planned by a half hour. I lay in bed till around 4am (my standard waking time) and ponder why I got up early. Anyways I go to check my phone and notice she discovered one of my friends trashing the crap out of her do to her weight. So not even fully awake for more than 5 minutes and my stress levels are already shooting the rough. I do my best to calm myself down, but it just isnt working. At least not well. So I spend the next 20 minutes (till 4:20 yes laugh) trying to write messages to calm her as things that I said through text could be misconstrued as bei)ng shots at her weight in reality it was points of indifference. So at this point I have to move the cars outside to begin training. I take my half scoop which I started measuring at 5grams so an exact half dose. And head out to to move the cars. My car then my moms. So I head in to train and there is a rather large dragon fly trying to get out but cant. I wait for a good ten minutes then finally kill it with a kettlebell. I felt very bad, but if I didnt the dogs or my mom would.

By this time *BING* my light switch is going on and I'm ready to rock and roll. The focus is starting the energy level is starting to build and my mind is ready to go. Realizing this is just a kung fu day made me a little sad, but then I realized the new things I was taught yesterday and I was ready to go.

Started with our Hung Ga for those that wonder dynamic exercises. I bust those out pretty fast. Getting better at getting through all of them without much needed rest.

Next I go to my stances and I work on a fluid transition between them all a few times. I have 3 basic stances down, but now my job is to let them flow naturally through them. power AND fluidity.

Following the transition stance work I move on to holding stances for time. The time has changed up a bit as he wants me counting a different way. So that was good to go.

Moving on to the dynamic tension exercises. Hung Ga is known for power and these help to root that power. I did these and was again good to go.

Realizing how much strength and tiredness the dynamic tension exercises cause I decided to cut it there, and move bodyweight stuff in with my kettlebells.

Then I stretched and stretched and stretched. Good flexibility means less likely to get injured.

To top it off another good training session thanks to focus-xt. Good sharpness in the mind, but still a good calm feeling. Got me ready to go after being upset (which is a miracle) and kept me strong throughout the workout. Pretty nice stuff.

Tonight I went to class and did some american boxing. Also took a half scoop of focus. Felt good felt powerful. My skill wasnt as good because I was exausted but thts just lack of sleep
 
RenegadeRows

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How far along are you in the Hung gar?

I love the dynamic tension in the forms. Do you use brass rings?
 
Steelwolf

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How far along are you in the Hung gar?

I love the dynamic tension in the forms. Do you use brass rings?
Very very new to it. My coach is extremely traditional and told me to expect to spend the next 10 years working with him. For his talent and ability I have no second thoughts about it. So far we have gotten into 3 stances, 4 different types of dynamic tension, 4 blocks, and a few chin na movements. Plus the standard warm up movements i have no idea what they're called but stuff like pushing heavens, and Buddhist walking. We still have not gotten into the rings yet. he says I am a while off from that. He is very big on preserving the art so he wants each part I do to be perfect before I move on. Though I was started on a bit of body conditioning since it takes so long to do. It has already started to work to some extent, but probably only like 2% of where it will be.
 
GeekPoop

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Looking good man, loving the updates :)
 
Steelwolf

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Well guys I ended up getting a pretty bad sinus infection hence lack of posts past two days. Weather, season change, combined with new girl I'm dating = sick. Gimmie a day or two and Ill be back good as new.a
 
GeekPoop

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get well soon, i make u chicken noodle soup lol
 
Steelwolf

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Well hey guys,

Still haven't hit the gym yet 3 days later on antibiotics. I can get up and move and walk around still rather fatigued though. Spend Sat and Sun on teh bad end of the diet scale. Back to good today. Might do a good old flexibility workout and maybe some stretching later depending. Hopefully gonna try and be back at this tomorrow.

I did get a chance to try out focus in a new setting. I work for my dad and decided to go in and catch up on some work today. I deal with money and keeping track of it as my job. My brain was a little foggy and was a little rough today, but I missed my normal sat sun work days so I came into today for a bit.

Took down a 5gram shake and went to work. As I drove my mind started to clear up a little from the fog that I was experiencing. I wouldn't say I got the "focus" like I used to, but it lifted the massive fog I had for days. I went to work and was able to get most of I wanted to accomplish. I was a little slow but hey, I'm sick. I feel though that the focus did allow me to accomplish more than I would have though without it.

It seems we have found another use for focus. So far we have: workouts, school, work, and I am still thinking that if done a certain way it may be able to help ward off over training.
 
GeekPoop

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I used focus for training and like early AM classes when its hard to pay attention let alone stay awake, versitle stuff it is!
 
Steelwolf

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Well I did do some grip work still running on a good feeling from the previous dose. Again cant say focus power, but I can say clear head. Which is a good deal for being sick.

Pegasus normal
30lbsx5
pegasus reverse
20lbs x5
Overcrush gripper
20
TTK
10lbs x3
Sand blasting
30
and done pretty fast
 
Steelwolf

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Still pretty sick but decided to give it a shot today... Took my half scoop and headed to the training room. Still sick so not getting the intense focus, but definitely more alert and awake. Which is definitely a bonus. Cant wait til I can start healing up and getting a normal training day. Would be pretty nice. Though the focus is helping to get through these rough few days.

Stretching out
Stance work for time horse was up to 30 bow was up 20 same with cat
Sandbag circuit: millitary, row, floor press, curl, side deads, zercher squat 6 reps a piece... Wanted to do more but with no nasal breathing kinda sucked.
Dynamic tension work
called it a day.
 
ohiostate2827

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if companies didnt put cancer causing dyes in their products like red#40...which btw has been linked to behavior probs in children like add and adhd..i would buy from them..but till then jack3d is my focus of choice..
 
Steelwolf

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if companies didnt put cancer causing dyes in their products like red#40...which btw has been linked to behavior probs in children like add and adhd..i would buy from them..but till then jack3d is my focus of choice..
Please link studies to this. Peer reviewed, double blind studies... Coming from a biology background and also a psychological research based background I would love to see this. Because I really dont beleive it. Heck I will google it..
 
Steelwolf

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Please link studies to this. Peer reviewed, double blind studies... Coming from a biology background and also a psychological research based background I would love to see this. Because I really dont beleive it. Heck I will google it..
A search through my schools database has come up with nothing. And even though I HATE google searches I also searched google. There are no proven studies to say this. There is some anecdotal evidence of kids behaving better when its taken out. But also things like high sugar and caffeine were being removed. Now for that aspect lets play the ADD and ADHD factor. Hmm the kids are acting better when the caffeine is removed. Well high sugar diets and high stimulants will also cause similar symptoms. Let us play more into this shall we... The kind of evidence means nothing at all. It is like saying subway makes you lose weight like Jarad. We are leaving out the fact he ate healthy and exercised but hey its subway that did it. The only proven evidence was on die#2 but the Russians in the 1970s which has been banned since the 1970s. Oh and btw ANYTHING can theoretically cause cancer.
 
Steelwolf

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Wait look heres a study that actually says die #40 prevents cancer :sombrero:

red 40 cancer studies google that then go down.. there will be an ohio state supposed study on it. I would link you but it says i cant post links yet
Now I dont see any real studies on the fact yet but hmmmm.
 
sns8778

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if companies didnt put cancer causing dyes in their products like red#40...which btw has been linked to behavior probs in children like add and adhd..i would buy from them..but till then jack3d is my focus of choice..
At first it almost seems like that would be someone just trying to promote Jack3d, but I really believe USP is above coming into a logging thread and saying things like that. Especially being that Focus XT and Jack3d are different types of products. If someone wants a cracked out, high intensity energy, Jack3d is certainly a good product. If someone wants a smooth, more focused energy and increased clarity and concentration, then Focus XT is a better option.

As far as the claims you make in relation to dyes being linked to any type of behavioral problems, there has never been any conclusive evidence that I have seen on that subject, especially at dosages used in common nutritional products. Sure, someone can in theory take so much of anything that it can be bad for them - ie.. water - but common products contain no where near any high level of dosing like you are talking about.

Also, Focus XT nor Jack3d nor any other product like this is targeted towards children.

Please link studies to this. Peer reviewed, double blind studies... Coming from a biology background and also a psychological research based background I would love to see this. Because I really dont beleive it. Heck I will google it..
I dont believe it either. It's one of those things that is thrown out there, but never really backed up.

A search through my schools database has come up with nothing. And even though I HATE google searches I also searched google. There are no proven studies to say this. There is some anecdotal evidence of kids behaving better when its taken out. But also things like high sugar and caffeine were being removed. Now for that aspect lets play the ADD and ADHD factor. Hmm the kids are acting better when the caffeine is removed. Well high sugar diets and high stimulants will also cause similar symptoms. Let us play more into this shall we... The kind of evidence means nothing at all. It is like saying subway makes you lose weight like Jarad. We are leaving out the fact he ate healthy and exercised but hey its subway that did it. The only proven evidence was on die#2 but the Russians in the 1970s which has been banned since the 1970s. Oh and btw ANYTHING can theoretically cause cancer.
Excellent point. And most of the studies that would show kids behaving better without, the kids already have disorders such as some level of autism. And when you remove sugar, caffeine, and colors, it seems like a real stretch to say its the colors that were causing problems.

Life causes cancer. The only way we as humans wont die of cancer is to die of something else first. Thats an unfortunate part of fate and reality.
 
GeekPoop

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if companies didnt put cancer causing dyes in their products like red#40...which btw has been linked to behavior probs in children like add and adhd..i would buy from them..but till then jack3d is my focus of choice..
Do you have any proof or studies backing this?
 
Steelwolf

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Well maybe the red #40 got to him and we wont be hearing from him anymore :(

Today was isometric day:
Squat over head kettle bells 30 sec
Mid Curl KB 30 sec
Middle press 30sec
Mini Band crusafix feet together 30 sec
mini band half press 30 sec
miniband top press press 30
Chest expander pink away top all the way 30 sec
" " chest level all the way 30
" " top half way 30 second
" " chest half way 30
Knuckle push up bottom 50 second
Knuclke push up top 30
finger tip top 10

neck work

Grippies

board for 10lbs: not enough reps
Green gripper 7 marking 5 reps
30 seconds on block no chalk no drying hands 11.25lbs
Sand blasting 30

As for the focus well it did wake me up from a dead sleep
 
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GeekPoop

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that damn #40 lol!!!!
 
Steelwolf

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as everyone knows life sometimes get in thee way of training that was friday. Late wakeup from no alarm, the school, the doctor apt, then I had to go do my night job. It worked out well.

Saturday morning I got my shot to train again. Wanted to experiment with focus a little bit. Took my focus at 7am and started training at 11.. a 4 hour difference. Well let me tell you, It wasn't as powerful as taking it before a workout, but it still was pretty damn strong. So I guess you can say that 4 hours later and focus still working must be one hell of a product.

Took out that 90lb bag. Which is loaded with 3 mini bags. So this thing shifts like all hell. Ive ton much heavier with a keg and even more heavy with a barbell but this was a bitch.

Millitary 5 reps
Row 2x6
Bench Press 11 reps
Side deads 5
Bear hug isometric 20 seconds
Dynmaic tension and stance work.

Grip work
12lb hammer iso marking 1
12lb hammer turning 5 reps
Hub 30 seconds 2.5lbs isometric power squeese
gripper 20 second hold
Isometric extensors
 
Steelwolf

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Today was quick and fast. Took my focus and ran to it. Today I went to see how fast it works. Took and it started working out. I wana say within 15 minutes I started to notice the effects of it. Late late night last night not much sleep but it worked out well.

Stances
Pull overs with 20lb KBs
Dynmanic tension
Neck work

and done
 
Steelwolf

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Went to wake up at 3:30 as normal and it just didnt hit happen. Hit my alarm until 4:30, an hour later. At this point I took my focus and decided I need to wake up a bit more and since it does take some time to kick in I went to lay back down. I laid for a half hour just letting my thoughts go and wonder. I didnt get tired but I did get very relaxed and pretty calm. kinda nice. At 5:15 I woke up and headed to train. I was on borrowed time and had to finish quick. I had to skip a lot of my normal **** today, but I still did what was needed to win. The focus got ready for this and I notice the longer you let it wait the better it is. It works fast but if you give it a little extra its even better. Speaking of that I have another dose ready to take before class.

started with some quick dynamic mobility drills, big difference between flexibility and mobility guys.
Sandbag circuit: millitary, row, floor press, curl, zercher squat, side deadlift 7 reps a piece. For those who say these are easy I invite you to try one. Set up the bags up like mine, then you can talk :) I have yet to see anyone be able to do them faster than me and not need to lay down afterwords. Especially after doing normally a ton of stuff before it.
Did some neck work: bridges and manual resistance every way possible.
and done

Gripping yay:
Pegasus flex 21.25
Ext: 17.25
Grippers shaved for reps
TTK 6.25lbs for 10 reps a side with 2 fingers.
Extensor tool 2.5lbs for 35 seconds

and I bent a 60 penny nail. It has been almost a year since I've it do to wrist injuries. It was fast and easy.
 
Steelwolf

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Well guys our Teamone MMA family may be expanding. We seem already have one awesome coach, it seems we may be gaining the additional help of another 2, a wrestler and possibily a very experinced muay thai guy.

Took my focus after a quick nap by the time class was ready I was wide awake and alert. Ready to go. I knew I only 50 minutes to get class through as I had to finish up some homework (which I will get back to in a minute, but want to write this up while its fresh) My professors are assigning **** thats not on our assignment list all the time lately and expecting it the next class.

Today we learned the pivot for a roundhouse. Spent pretty much all class on it. A very important fundamental and very good to know.
 
Steelwolf

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Alright guys, sorry for the lack of posts. didnt do much friday as I had a wedding to go to on saterday. Needed to keep the bloat down and everything so I only ate one meal, which meant no training.
Saterday was the wedding... So obviously no eating until the wedding.
Sunday... stil recovering the from the night before, but did a quick grip workout, no focus though.

Just hammer isometrics 1 minute on the 12lber for marking 1.
Rotation on the 8lber marking 2 for 15
Gripper hold for 15seconds
and done

Today was the focus day: took 5grams along with 200mgs c affine as I needed a kick in the balls to wake up.

Hung Ga stance work: 2 sets of everything which breaks down to 4 stances with 2 sets a piece.
Then I did transitioning from stances worked 2 sets of that holding 5 seconds in each stance.
Horse stance squats 10 reps
Wall sit 30 seconds
Dynamic tension
neck work 30 seconds front and back bridge
stretch out 30 seconds a piece

and then I was out. Took about 55 minutes. Legs are sore but not muscle, tendon sore.

How did the focus work today. Well here it was interesting. Full dose focus is a bit to strong for me, but I enjoy the higher caf level of it. So when I combined it with a little extra caf I got the bonus of the focus and awakeness I needed. Now for the average person who is not doing these super early morning training sessions: start time 4-4:30 am i dont think this is needed, but for me it is an absolute. Later in the day 5 grams is rockin. Overall the focus gave me the power to stay in my stances for minutes at a time and keep my mind on the stance and the grounding ability. A well needed thing to keep my ADD mind from wondering.
 
Steelwolf

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Lets get down today...

I took my focus 10grams today ( A WHOLE SERVING) felt kinda good felt kinda nice. And 200mgs of caffeine to wake me up a bit. In 15 minutes I was totally ready to rock and roll. I totally forgot how good my pink lemonade focus tasted by the way. I realized that when I was drinking it today. It really does taste like countrytime. Great great stuff. Mind was a little hazy waking up to do stuff. THis is a good time to run the focus log because I'll tell you life is like hey wolfy lets dump a ton of stuff on you right now. Trust me its a ton of big things and a ton of little things, but hey we cant let it get in the way of living. So within those 15 minutes my mind was ready to rock and roll. Kinda joke its like Johnny Torch "FLAME ON" And I was ready to roll.

I was going to do my sandbag circuit today, but my body was jut not feeling it. Cant explain it, but was just feeling it. So I moved it to the isometric day.

Squat and OHP with kettlebell 40 seconds
Middle of the curl with KB 40 seconds
Middle of the OHP with KB 40 seconds
Almost lockout OHP 40 seconds
Miniband crusafix feet together 40seconds (one may ask why i use the mini band for this... Well because I find it gives a better strength aspect then the dumbell or kettlebell. I feel though I will be switching over to eventually, though just right now I think this is the better bet)
Mini band half OHP: 40 seconds
Chest expander top half arms locked 1 minute
CHest expander front arms locked 1 minute (guess I can add some more weight to this awesome)
Knuckle puship bottom 30seconds (one may ask how I dropped 20 seconds.. well my counting changed. I was counting to fast before in my opinion)
Knuckle pushup top 30 seconds
Finger tip bottom hold 5 seconds (this is much tougher from the bottom position plus my hands hurt)
Stance work switching
stance work time
wall sit 40 seconds
dynamic tension

and stretch stretch stretch.. almost have the splits down american and chinese awesome sauce.

Now no grip today. woke up with pain in the left wrist a little and a lot in the right. I have injured myself so bad it took me out of grip for a year so I know to watch myself. I took the time to stretch and do a little prehab with them.

So does anyone have any questions?
 
mattikus

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Awesome log Steelwolf, detailed and very interesting.
 
Steelwolf

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Thanks guys. I wana get across how focus effects me and works with my body and workouts. I also want people to get a glimpse into a martial artists training.
 
Steelwolf

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Hello boys and girls, wonderful morning. Today we will be getting focus used in a few ways.

I took a full dose (10grams) with 200mgs of caf as it was a very late night last night. Studying for tests. Its a fun deal having two majors (theoretically three)

Got up rolled out a bed a little groggy and a little slow. Didnt even bother to put on my Kung Fu pants as I normally do when I roll out of bed. What I did was walk to the bathroom and take about a good 10 gulps of water and pee out bright yellow. You know golden rod yellow. Why I am talking about my pee habbits. Well I have been having the feeling I am a bit dehydrated, guess I am right. Gonna try to get in an additional 16 oz of water every 2 hours in addition to my shakes. No worries there.

So I stepped down and opened my focus originally thinking 5 grams would be enough I slamed down the whole 10 and thought about country time again. I know it keep saying it but its true. Then decided I need that kick in the butt to wake up and took some caf. Bout 10 minutes I was ready to roll. This would not be a long workout but a quick one. I am getting like 30 minute workouts done now in days. Sadly probably wont have time to go to MMA classes for a bit as I was just assigned a huge paper 20+ pages so that will be taking a lot of my time, as its 2/3s of my grade. Ill practice at home and when I find time to make it in there.

So anyways went out set up my mat and went to roll at this.

Did some of my dynamic flexibility to warm up my body. Try to get some mobility out of myself as I always mobility is different than flexibility. That took a very short time and I was ready to go.

Then started on some movement drills for Hung Gar. Took me very little time as I move through these pretty quick and flow pretty well. Finally getting the hang of them. They are soft and hard mix it seems, though not sure if its hard soft or soft hard.

That was done BAM...
Squat kicks for 6 a side

Then went into my blocking.

And heavily heavily stretched out.

DONE...

Now here is the thing I also have a big test today, so I will be taking some focus with me before the test. Lets see how it goes guys.

Steelwolfy out
 
Steelwolf

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Greetings friends,

Alright lets finish up with yesterday. My good idea of bringing focus to the test didn't work out as planned. I kinda left it in the fridge. With me getting to school a little later than planned going back was a no go. So the day drudged on slowly and longly as I awaited my test. Did not go over the greatest. A health class where all the information is watered down so brutally it sucks. I am a double (possibly triple major) My main focus is psych. We had psych questions on this test that were so watered down, with someone of my caliber in psych I didnt know which answer to pick. In some cases technically all the answers were wrong, in other cases all the answers were right, and in some cases the questions made 0 sense. The book also really screws with the question. My favorite was something along the lines of "the magical life force of the body is harnessed with this" the answer was Tai Chi..... It is not magical, and while it is a lot of us having to do with living there is a thing such as dead Qi. So it may be a life force it is not. The part that angered me the most is magical. It is bioelectric energy. *sigh*

YAY RANTING

so when I got home I worked a little on homework and decided it was time to slam down my focus and get to work. BAM it went down easy as always. The more I begin to focus on Mindfullness the better stuff tastes and the stuff that tastes good is even beter. So gave it about 20 minutes to kick in and no extra caf. I was ready to roll. Had to get this done quick as I had a TON of homework to right. A thesis paper, an exercise program for 90 days (which the prof expects mine to be perfect to the extreme) and a powerpoint on cardiovascular disease, and in 2 weeks when I watch a seminar I have to write a ten page review on it. but anyways.

After talking to my instructor I can every so often give you an idea of how I do my Hung Gar stuff instead of just saying stuff like stance work.

Half horse with a bar: 2 minutes
Half horse with my hands in the socket: 2 minutes
Horse bar: 50 seconds
Horse with hands in the socket: 50 seconds
Bow with bar: 20 seconds
Bow with hands: 20 seconds
Cat with bar: 15
Cat with hands 15
Took the time to really lower into cat. I'd rather drop lower than more time for higher. This stance screws me over. Yet the grounding I am achieving from this is pretty good. The goal from this is to avoid being taken to the ground.
Stance change ups: 7 seconds a stance x2
Wall sit: 45 seconds
Some bodyweight stuff.
Finger tips from the bottom 6 seconds
Special ab work.

Dynamic tension

STRETCH STRETCH STRETCH.. also did some dynamic warm ups the good old stand bys.
 
Steelwolf

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Lets hit up today:

Was dead tired today. Went to see a movie with a friend I guess you could say I'm casually dating. Havent seen her in 3 weeks so this was nice. Ended up talkiig way to long after the movie, and when I got home I had to wite. So FML. Woke up this morning groggy and tired. Slamed the focus full dose to open the mind and slammed some calf to wake up. 200mgs off caf for me personally is not enough, but for everyone else you should be good to. In 15 minutes i was ready to tear it up.

Dynamic mobility work
special hung gar exericses
(forgot to do squat kicks)
Blocking

DONE
now grip

I have some very bad injuries from rushing bending (I was good not to toot my horn, very good) within a month I was bending 5/16 7" CRS and rolling pans. But my tendons werent ready and I screwed them. So I have to be very careful trying to build my way back up. I have to really really strengthen them up again on a slow process. In this my left wrist has been brutally killing me the past week. My hands always hurt, but not like this. They were also pretty week on tuesday. So I may have to drop the intensity.

Board curl 10lbs for a single.. Not happy with this but wrist stayed how I wanteed it dead straight. So it wasnt a waste. I'll deal.
Gripper Green: Marking 7 for 5..Grip slipped a little as hands were sweaty and I wont use chalk for this.
Block ISO pinch: 5lbs for 30 seconds
Again why did my weights drop.. I was counting to fast.
STRETCHHHHHHH and massage themed. Call it a day
 
Steelwolf

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As I said in the last post "flame on" took a 5 gram dose no extra caf and was ready to roll. Had to quell the anxiety i was suffering from school and it seemed to do a pretty decent job. Realizing I have to get away from pure power workouts mainly I decided to a little crazy conditioning stuff.

Neck bridges (as always) 50 seconds
Front Bridge 50 seconds

Shrugs (actually using chalk) 50reps with 20KB 10 seconds rest every time I needed it
Ohp press one arm KB 10 second rest everytime needed 50lbs
double row same as above
knuckle pushup slow and punch style 10/10rest/5
Floor press same as other KB exercises
stance changes 8 seconds a stance
Pull over with KB 5 second neg for 6 reps

Half horse squat 14
calf raises 50 rest as above
finger tip bottom hold 7
iron board 30 seconds
dynamic tensions

10 second stretching

got this done pretty fast then went right back to HW.... crazy how college is with a double major. Also used the focus to help with HW which is a pretty awesome thing. A+ for focus
 
mattikus

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Good to have supps like these when you are busy as hell, they really can help keep motivation high.
 
Steelwolf

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Good to have supps like these when you are busy as hell, they really can help keep motivation high.
Agreed man. Between work, school, trying to add extra money from a scholarship for writing, taking care of the family home, and then possibly moving out this is rough stuff. Gotta do what you gotta do though. Weak of the mind is weak of the body. Part of why I do one workout around 4:30am. It sets my mind to go you got and accomplished something the rest of the day will be nothing

Today was fun fun fun.... Did not want to wake up. I was up kinda late working on assignments. I have to make a 90 day workout plan. Normally id have no issue but it has to be based on how we are learning. I have more flexibility than others, but I cant put ridiculous stuff in.
Alarm went buzz buzz around 3:45. At this point I was not a happy dude. I said F you to the alarm and hit snooze. 10 minutes later BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ. I realized guess its time to get up. Put on my kung fu pants took off my shirt and went to the bathroom to wash my face with some cold water. walked down to the kitchen and made myself a 10 gram focus drink and 200mgs of caf. By the time 4:30 rolled I was like lets do this. I was awake and ready to make rock and dreams come true... kinda like meatloaf except not so fat.

Dynamic mobility warm up
Then went on to my technique/mobility drills... Im moving through these much faster now and more clear.
Did my Qigong.. This is getting much easier to energize the Qi.
Squat kicks 7 a side these are so easy now.
Finally stretched me out for 20 seonds a piece. I was ready to go start my day and i did.
 

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real solid log. I have some focus in my cart at NP and will be picking it up shortly. Just curious what you think about adding some other goodies into it (ie. Beta Alanine, Citrulline Malate etc...) It seems like a versatile enough supplement where ading this could make it beneficial
 
Steelwolf

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real solid log. I have some focus in my cart at NP and will be picking it up shortly. Just curious what you think about adding some other goodies into it (ie. Beta Alanine, Citrulline Malate etc...) It seems like a versatile enough supplement where ading this could make it beneficial
Glad you are picking up the focus you will not be disapointed. I will advise this though start with 5grams first. Some people will only need 5grams. I only need for 5grams for my night workouts or late afternoon which every you wish to call them. In simple terms anything where I have been up for a while. For my morning workouts where I'm up for about a half hour before I start training I take my 10grams of the focus power and a slap in the face 200mgs of caf. I doubt anyone else will need this as a fulll dose is already 200mgs of caf.

I think it is good with just about anything except just remember it does have caf in it but not much.

Here are my thoughts on the two you mentioned.

BA- It takes a little bit to kick in according to most research 4-6 weeks. Once it does you'll get about an addition 10 weeks of it working before it needs to be cycled off for a little bit. According to research done on it the results will begin to slightly decline. Why that is I dont know. Do I still recomened of heck yes. I use it and think its great. It really does help with endurance for sure. If combined with creatine you are going to the quick ATP production as well as the oxidative-glycolosis-phos abilities. People tend to beleive BA is meant for extremely low reps but in all actuality it is meant for mid to high. I'm not going to bore you with the how unless you want me to. In theory it should help more with the lower to mid, but in testing it helps much better with the middle to high. The dosing for BA is a little different what they advise. Now I get mine in my multivitamin packet so i do not use another ATM, but may for dosing. Because this is an SNS log I will tell you how to dose for SNS brand there is aprox 750mgs of BA in a cap. Sure go ahead and take it all at once, but in my opinion that would be as bright me walking into my catholic Uni wearing a dress. (long story but was actually going to for research) I would take 4-5 caps a day. Will use my day for example. I get up at 4 and go to bed around 9.
4
9
1
5
9
a four hour difference. You want to keep that body saturated. Some guys like Charles Poliquin say take oh 10 grams a day. I can also take 300grams of creatine a day, but what is it going to accomplish, nothing. The research was done between 3-5 grams and said it needs to be spaced out throughout the day to keep saturation levels high. So thats my thoughts on BA

Citraline has some good bonuses for vein health and for ED. In terms of muscle gain I dont see much. I am not a fan of the regular NO boosters for muscle gains. At least how people today are using them.... What do I mean by that well I have some ideas, but I'll simplify it buy saying this.... Blood=heart=cardio. Anerobic training is one thing but cardiovascular training is where that heart gets super strong. Yes through anerobic, but the body does need both. So why take it for anerobic reasons why you could benafit much from from cardiovascular training ;) The other thing I dont like plain old NO boosters. Since again this is an SNS and in all honesty I fully support their products and truly beleive in them (after all I am taking this logging opportunity because I love their stuff) Acording to the label it says 250mgs a pill I would dose it between 750-and 100mgs. There is a bons to CM that i remembered this morning it is a lactic acid buffer in away (in theory) so that could have some benafits to higher rep anerobic training.

Dosing like this: normal days no cardio
Once in the morning get that blood flowing
Once before training to give you a tiny benafit
1-2 before bed empty stomach for gh release

Normal day nothing
Once in morning
One mid day
1-2 before bed

Just cardio
one before cardio - if done in morining otherwise one in morning
one before cardio- if done in afternoon other one in afternoon
1-2 before bed

Hope this helps
 

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