booneman77
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For the next few weeks, I'll be logging my experiences with Performax labs pre-workout: Powermax. Special thanks to all the guys over at performax and nicksox15 for the opportunity to try this stuff out. Final review will be at the bottom of this first post for those too lazy to read through but ill be keeping a detailed log so for all you research junkies the info will all be there day by day.
Some quick background stats: 25yrs old/ 5'10"/ 180lb/ 11.5%bf/ Lifting serious for about 4-5 yrs
Currently looking to cut some bf so this should be a nicely timed addition to a restricted calorie (500-700kcal below maint.) diet. In the past, I've tried out a plethora of other pre's with varying degrees of success... My top 3 go to's (in no particular order): Jack3d (original), C4, and volatile. I'm a total stim junkie, and love the beta-alanine tingles so I'll be interested to see how this product works out for me without having BA in it.
As far as diet/training: I'm working out eod; chest/triceps, back/biceps, legs/shoulders all working in the 12-20 rep range (usually about 15 for most sets). Diet is standard bb style, eat every 2-3hrs, 45/35/15 p/c/f split, no direct carbs after 3pm (veg only).
Typical training weekday: 5am 20min cardio, 6am p/f/c, 9am p/f/c, 12pm p/f/c, 3pm 25g protein shake, 3:30pm pwo drink, 4pm lift, 5:15pm post shake (pro, bcaa, creatine), 6:15pm p/f, 8:30pm p/f, pre bed (usually ~10pm) casein shake
Training Weekend: 9am pwo/bcaas/creatine, 9:30am 20 min cardio and lifting, 11:45am post shake/bcaa/creatine, 12:30pm p/f/c, 3pm p/f/c, 6pm p/f, 9pm p/f, pre bed casein shake.
Off days: meals are the same except no pre/post w/o shakes, and instead of lifting its another 20min cardio session and some ab work.
So that should about cover the general layout of what the next few weeks should be like. I'll be updating with how I felt, timing, etc. as I go. Feel free to post up any questions or thoughts throughout. First workout will be this afternoon (legs/shoulders) and the plan will be to jump right on the 2 scoop train due to my usual tolerance. Should be a good ride!
FINAL REVIEW:
Taste: 10/10- I really enjoyed the flavor of powermax. The fruit punch was plenty sweet for me (and I like my stuff sweeeeetttt) even mixed with far more water then recommended. I usually went about 14-16oz per scoop and it was still basically koolaid at this level.
Mixability: 7/10- overall this mixed pretty well with minimal effort. A few shakes and it was 90% mixed but there was still a bit of powder that settled if it sits for more then a few seconds. This went away if you kept shaking off and on for about 5min but that's a bit of a pain. I chose to just swirl before I drank and that worked well enough.
Energy: 8/10- for me, I needed 3 scoops to really get me going which really shortens the life of a tub so that's why the lower rating here. Very clean energy though that had a nice build up and zero crash. Energy lasted well through my workouts even when they were 1.5hr or so. I did enjoy adding a bit more stim to this but that's all a personal preference.
Focus: 7/10- this was off and on for me. I didn't feel that this product had a major impact on my focus on days that I already felt "off" but at times it was like a laser so it's hard to judge. I wouldn't take this specifically for focus if I was having a mentally off day.
Endurance: 10/10- for me this is where this product absolutely went above and beyond. Easily the best endurance supplement I've ever taken and in my current cutting stage this was a wonderful addition. I was felt like I could run/lift for days and never once encountered a drop in theis throughout the log. For anyone that is doing a lot of cardio or long workouts I would highly recommend powermax as your pwo.
Overall: 8.5/10- definitely one of the better pre workouts I've tried, however it does have a specific place for me. I can't rave enough about the endurance factor but would like to see a higher stim content to really get that energy/focus that pushes you through a tough day. One area that I did enjoy as well was the sense of "well being" that I felt about 20min or so after taking. This was more of a mood improvement vs strict focus or energy but also a great thing to have in a pre if you're going to the gym frustrated or right after work. Personally I would add in some other stims to compliment (and lower the scoops to 1.5-2) this when used on a heavy lifting day. I will definitely be purchasing a tub of this on my own to have for upcoming endurance events
Some quick background stats: 25yrs old/ 5'10"/ 180lb/ 11.5%bf/ Lifting serious for about 4-5 yrs
Currently looking to cut some bf so this should be a nicely timed addition to a restricted calorie (500-700kcal below maint.) diet. In the past, I've tried out a plethora of other pre's with varying degrees of success... My top 3 go to's (in no particular order): Jack3d (original), C4, and volatile. I'm a total stim junkie, and love the beta-alanine tingles so I'll be interested to see how this product works out for me without having BA in it.
As far as diet/training: I'm working out eod; chest/triceps, back/biceps, legs/shoulders all working in the 12-20 rep range (usually about 15 for most sets). Diet is standard bb style, eat every 2-3hrs, 45/35/15 p/c/f split, no direct carbs after 3pm (veg only).
Typical training weekday: 5am 20min cardio, 6am p/f/c, 9am p/f/c, 12pm p/f/c, 3pm 25g protein shake, 3:30pm pwo drink, 4pm lift, 5:15pm post shake (pro, bcaa, creatine), 6:15pm p/f, 8:30pm p/f, pre bed (usually ~10pm) casein shake
Training Weekend: 9am pwo/bcaas/creatine, 9:30am 20 min cardio and lifting, 11:45am post shake/bcaa/creatine, 12:30pm p/f/c, 3pm p/f/c, 6pm p/f, 9pm p/f, pre bed casein shake.
Off days: meals are the same except no pre/post w/o shakes, and instead of lifting its another 20min cardio session and some ab work.
So that should about cover the general layout of what the next few weeks should be like. I'll be updating with how I felt, timing, etc. as I go. Feel free to post up any questions or thoughts throughout. First workout will be this afternoon (legs/shoulders) and the plan will be to jump right on the 2 scoop train due to my usual tolerance. Should be a good ride!
FINAL REVIEW:
Taste: 10/10- I really enjoyed the flavor of powermax. The fruit punch was plenty sweet for me (and I like my stuff sweeeeetttt) even mixed with far more water then recommended. I usually went about 14-16oz per scoop and it was still basically koolaid at this level.
Mixability: 7/10- overall this mixed pretty well with minimal effort. A few shakes and it was 90% mixed but there was still a bit of powder that settled if it sits for more then a few seconds. This went away if you kept shaking off and on for about 5min but that's a bit of a pain. I chose to just swirl before I drank and that worked well enough.
Energy: 8/10- for me, I needed 3 scoops to really get me going which really shortens the life of a tub so that's why the lower rating here. Very clean energy though that had a nice build up and zero crash. Energy lasted well through my workouts even when they were 1.5hr or so. I did enjoy adding a bit more stim to this but that's all a personal preference.
Focus: 7/10- this was off and on for me. I didn't feel that this product had a major impact on my focus on days that I already felt "off" but at times it was like a laser so it's hard to judge. I wouldn't take this specifically for focus if I was having a mentally off day.
Endurance: 10/10- for me this is where this product absolutely went above and beyond. Easily the best endurance supplement I've ever taken and in my current cutting stage this was a wonderful addition. I was felt like I could run/lift for days and never once encountered a drop in theis throughout the log. For anyone that is doing a lot of cardio or long workouts I would highly recommend powermax as your pwo.
Overall: 8.5/10- definitely one of the better pre workouts I've tried, however it does have a specific place for me. I can't rave enough about the endurance factor but would like to see a higher stim content to really get that energy/focus that pushes you through a tough day. One area that I did enjoy as well was the sense of "well being" that I felt about 20min or so after taking. This was more of a mood improvement vs strict focus or energy but also a great thing to have in a pre if you're going to the gym frustrated or right after work. Personally I would add in some other stims to compliment (and lower the scoops to 1.5-2) this when used on a heavy lifting day. I will definitely be purchasing a tub of this on my own to have for upcoming endurance events
