Lets KILL IT with ILLICIT!!!!

[grinnell27]

The awesome guys over at Iron Forged Nutrition have sent me a tub of their now 'HEAVY STIM' pre-workout, they currently have another one designed more for other purposes, this is just a massive hit of caffeine and intense energy.​

Its taken a week since posting to get here as I'm in the UK... Ive been dying to try this out as I generally have a strong sim tolerance so this is right up my alley

Lets start with a few pictures of me opening the product up for the first time.

Opening it up

View attachment 113622

I see something

View attachment 113623

View attachment 113624

Fresh Lid
View attachment 113625

Scoop on the top... always a good sign!

View attachment 113626

And a cheeky sample of their other preworkout... Contraband

View attachment 113627

I will be starting the actual logging process tomorrow as its the evening here now and i train early in the morning..

Will report back then. Thanks for looking.
IFN15

 

[McCrew530]

I love me some stims. Im subbed.

 

[grinnell27]

I love me some stims. Im subbed.

Thanks man... Yeah I'm super excited to try this out. In the gym for 6am tomorrow so need a pick me up

 

[IFN15]

Thanks man... Yeah I'm super excited to try this out. In the gym for 6am tomorrow so need a pick me up

Sweet you should be feeling like godzilla lol

 

[grinnell27]

Sweet you should be feeling like godzilla lol

Hopefully man... I got high hopes for this pre

 

[grinnell27]

Well today was the first day of many with ILLICIT.

Heres my initial thoughts and wrokout from today:

I took 1 full scoop, even though it recommends 1/2. Only reason for this is because im generally very stim toloerant.

Taste- 9/10

This tatsted great, very american tasting though, im from the UK so there is a massive difference in flavours.
I didnt use a lot of water so it was a little strong on the flavour side for me, tomorrow ill use more water to dilute the flavour a little. Other than that it was really pleasant, could definatley taste the 'tropical' aspect of the flavouring. Im sure i had hints of strawberry in there. Overall, it was great.

Mixability- 9/10

Again this was very good, did get some sinkers in the bottom of the glass but to be fair i used a spoon and not many pre's mix great doing that, had a lot worse! If i use a shaker i can guarantee it will be perfectly mixed.

Focus- 9/10

This is the main reason I take a preworkout apart from the caffeine buzz, I felt super focused using this, I have no doubt that during a squat or deadlift day where I get myself super hyped and angry, this will shine through amazingly!!!

Energy- 10/10

Well what can I say... I took 400mgs of caffeine lol... It worked great, havent even yawned once today and I took the preworkout over 4 hours ago. This helped me stay focussed all of my workout and also so far at work

Pump- 9/10

Got a great pump in my back & biceps today, I think i will see the full effect on more isolation work like arms, side laterals, calfs and probably leg extensions.
Looking forward to that!

Overall first impression- 37/40. Not bad right! That can be easily changed to 40/40 by the end of this log if things keep going as they are and I try it out on all my other workouts.

Workout itself-

Back only today-

BB Rows-
Bar x12
135 x10
225 x10 (4 sets)
265x 6 (1 sets)

T-bar rows-

2 plates x 15-20
3 plates x 10
4 plates x 10 (3 sets)
4 plates + 25lb x 7 (1 set)

DB Rows-

The gym I went to today only goes up to 70lb DB's (not my normal gym)

70x failure (something stupid like 20 reps each side) 4 sets

Underhand Lat Pulldowns-

150x failure 9min 8-10 reps) 4 sets

Wide grip pulldowns (drop set)-

150x failure, 110x failure, 70x failure. (3 sets)

Back extension machine-

225 x failure (min 10 reps) 4 sets

Incline BB rows (led on a bench, chest of the back pad)-

135x failure (min 12 reps) 4 sets.

So that concludes today. Like I mentioned the scoring may change by the end of this log, either better or worse. (unlikely to be worse)

 

[grinnell27]

Today was arms so was a great test for the pump

Took 1 scoop of Illicit once again as that seems to be perfect for me, the caffeine hit me super quick, considering I was yawning when I woke up, literally 3mins later I was wired!! I was focused and ready for the workout ahead.

CGBP-

bar x 12-15
135x 10
225x 3x3 (really trying to bring my tricep mass and strength up)
135x failure. Hit 15reps total

Seated plate loaded dips:

2x 35lb plates each side (150lb total + weight of the bar)- x failure (min 12-15 reps, 2sec up/2 sec down.)

Smith machine Skull crushers-

This is a new one for me and I really liked it! Kept a lot of tension on the tri's.

75x failure (min 12 reps) 3 sets

Tricep extensions from the chest-

35 each arm x failure (min 8-10 reps)

Tricep rope pulldowns-

Cant remember the weight I did but I went to failure and it burnt like a mother!

Just so you know, by this point my arms had the most INSANE pump!

Standing Bicep hammer curls-

45lb each arm xfailure (min 12 reps each) 4 sets

Standing BB curls-

70x failure, controlled and strict form (stood against wall) 4 sets

Fat grip bar curls-

70x failure, designed to blast forearms and biceps... love this exercise. 4 sets

And that concludes arms.

I have to admit that I had the most crazy pump ive ever come across... It was genuinely painful in my arms and forearms... they were on fire. I love that feeling where you can go anymore purely because of the pain, then you pump out a couple extra reps

The focus was incredible today, just put my headphones in and went to work. My headphones actually broke which was annoying, but it didn't break my concentration.

Not sure if im going to do a workout tomorrow, undecided. But will report back when I do.

 

[RegisterJr]

Good logger here.

I'll participate...

 

[grinnell27]

Good logger here. I'll participate...

Thanks for following along man... Something else for you to read once I finish G8

 

[IFN15]

Sweet glad your enjoying it bud.

 

[grinnell27]

Sweet glad your enjoying it bud.

Thanks man, yeah all good so far. I'm super excited to try it out on a max effort day.

 

[grinnell27]

Well... HOLY SH*T is all I can say for my session tonight (late night)

I thought I'd go for some heavy deads... Like 90-95% of my max as after I took ILLICIT I genuinely felt like killing the weights I was sooo pumped and ready!

Back-

Deads

Bar x10
135 x8
225 x6
315 x2
405 X1
500 X1

510x 1 (2 sets) this is a PR FOR ME AT MY CURRENT BW. I'm currently sat at 189lb.

My all time best pull was 530 at just over 200lb so I'm super happy with tonight's pull.

T-bar rows-

4 plates xfailure (min 8 reps) 4 sets

Underhand lay pulldowns-

150x failure (min 8-10) negatives. 3 sets

Wide grip pulldowns-

150x failure (4 sets)

Seated rows-

Stack x failure (not sure if weight, estimate 280lb) 4 sets

Back extensions-

Stack (265lb) x failure. Min 8-10 reps. 4 sets

DB rows-

70lb + 25lb on top (stacked)- xfailure.

That was it, quick 45min session.

I can't even begin to explain the ridicilous pump I had and the focus was just INSANE. That was probably the most intense workout of my life and don't I feel it now! I actually feel a little sick as my CNS is so fried.

Loved it! Love this PRE!

 

[RegisterJr]

Sweeeeeeeet DL PR.

 

[grinnell27]

Sweeeeeeeet DL PR.

Thanks man! I was super stoked when I hit that twice. I had a new song playing too which made me rage hard.

 

[McCrew530]

Damn man thats a solid session right there. It is my goal to hit 500 this year on deads!

 

[grinnell27]

Damn man thats a solid session right there. It is my goal to hit 500 this year on deads!

That was mine last year

I'm trying to hit 550 this year now.

Goals-

S- 450
B- 315 x2
D- 550

200-210lb 10%.

Not asking much haha

 

[McCrew530]

You should be able to get it this year bro. Hell at 194 6 lbs aint nothing

 

[grinnell27]

You should be able to get it this year bro. Hell at 194 6 lbs aint nothing

Yeah true, and keeping body fat in check isn't too bad of a chore anyway.

Got some great products to try out this year too so that should help out

 

[RegisterJr]

I like those goals. Let's do it!

 

[IFN15]

Glad your digging the illicit my man.

 

[grinnell27]

Sorry for the missed update yesterday, meant to do it when I got home from work but found out that my GF is pregnant with our second child (6 weeks)

Ill post it now for you anyway.

Well on Monday I took 3/4 of a scoop, only beauce last time I felt really rough afterwards with 1 full scoop, tbh I was 100% positive that I felt bad because it was a late workout (11.30pm) and Id normally be snoozing at that time and because I went super crazy with weight and rests etc.

And I was correct, 3/4 made me feel fine all day with no issues and to be honest it didn't hit me as hard as I wanted it to, mainly due to stim tolerance lol.

Still worked though, got crazy crazy pumps, mental focus was really good and it did perk me up with approx. 300mgs of caffeine.

Monday-

Arms-

Triceps-

CGBP-

Bar x10-15
135 x15 (3 sets)
175 x8-10 (3 sets)
90x failure (1 set)

Tricep rope pulldowns-

150x failure (min 8-12 reps) 4 sets

Plate loaded dips-

2plates each side (205-225 w/ sled etc) x failure (2 sec up/down) min 10 reps, 4 sets

Tricep extension from chest-

35x failure (min 12-15 reps) 4 sets

Decline Skull crushers-

90x failure (min 10 reps) 4 sets


Biceps-

BB curls-

Tried heavy work this week and dropped it down after each set-

135x 3
110x 6
90x 6-8
45x failure

Did this 3 times... Arms were pumped like crazy!!!

Seated alt curls-

35x failure (min 10 reps each arm) 4 sets

Standing hammer curls-

45x failure (each arm) 4sets

Fat grip bar-

70x failure (min 10 reps) 4 sets.

So that was arms. Ill post another reply below with todays (Tuesday) workout.

 

[grinnell27]

Sorry for double post, just makes it easier to read split up into 2 reply's.

Today was legs... yep the day 90% of people dread. I like it though

Took 1 scoop as normal today, woke up a couple times in the night as my daughter isn't 100%, got a cold so she moaned and sneezed a lot (bless )

1scoop did the trick however, perked me up straight away! Was ready to get in there and kill it, I have to admit that the fous wasn't really there today, likely due to other things going on in my head.

That's one thing I have always noticed, even if you take an amazing preworkout, if your head isn't 100% in the game then it wont work like it should, all of lifting is mental.

Anyway, pump was amazing as always.. Love a quad pump! and energy was perfect.

Couldn't squat today however... Squat rack was taken the entire workout

Leg extensions-

150x failure straight into 80x failure, 4 sets with only a short break between (30secs max) INSANE PUMP!

Lying ham curls-

90x failure, straight into 60x failure, again short breaks to keep the pump up. They were burning lie crazy after this!

SLDL's-

135x 10 (1 set)
225x 8-10 (explosive) (3 sets)
315x 5 (2 sets) explosive here too.

Close stance leg press-

Stack of weight (something around 370lb) x 6, straight into 110x failure... Sweet jesus my quads were pumped and burning, couldn't walk afterwards... had to sit on the machine for a minute or 2 lol.

Calf raises-

Stack of weight (roughly 265lb) x failure, straight into 80x failure... 3 sets. Again couldn't walk after this lol.

Feel like im missing something but I think that was it.

Not to mention im doing 20-30mins of cardio everyday.

Thanks

 

[RegisterJr]

Congrats on the new addition!

I'm the same way: If I'm mentally not there, even with my favorite pre, here's nothing I can do about it.

Grr, squat rack thievery...

 

[grinnell27]

Congrats on the new addition! I'm the same way: If I'm mentally not there, even with my favorite pre, here's nothing I can do about it. Grr, squat rack thievery...

Thanks man

Suppose it was a good thing it wasn't free actually, my lower back is still fried from heavy deads on sat!

And if I'm not 100% there then I would have been annoyed my squats were off.

 

[McCrew530]

Dang man #2?! Congrats brother oh and solid sessions

 

[grinnell27]

Dang man #2?! Congrats brother oh and solid sessions

I know right! Just starting to enjoy my sleep again haha, my first didn't sleep through the night until she was 1!!

Not looking forward to that again lol.

At least I'm 25 this year so I won't be too old when they are teenagers or in early 20's.

 

[grinnell27]

1 scoop again today as I was feeling really drained this morning... Daughter had me up at 5am... I normally get up between 5.30-5.40, so not a massive difference in time but my body noticed haha.

Im amazed just how fast this caffeine hits me, within a maximum of 10mins im buzzing and all ready to go.
One thing ive noticed with this flavor is that the first thing you taste is the tropical mixture, then almost a 'chemical' taste, that's not super pleasant... but then back to the nice tropical flavor... Its a little weird lol but like I said its still nice to drink.

^^^ Also not that I normally have brushed my teeth within about 10-15mins of taking this so that wont help.

Right... In the car and off I go.

Today is back day.

Paused deadlifts-

bar x 10
135x 12
225x 2
315x 5 (3 sets)

Really focusing on form at the moment so don't want to push too hard on the weight, ive done 405 before but form broke down too much... I tell you what though 315 doesn't feel light when pausing lol.

T-bar rows-

2 plates x6
3 plates x8
4 plates x 8-10 (3 sets)

Then a drop set..

4plates x failure, 3 plates x failure, 2 plates x failure.

Crazy pump from this in my back and biceps!

Wide grip lat pulls (partials)-

Just tried these out today, instead of pulling all the way to your chest you only pull until your elbows bend, keeps all the focus on your lats... Pumps them amazingly.

150 failure (min 8-10 reps)

Seated rows-

150x failure (min 8-10 reps) negative movement.
The burn in my arms is just stupid from this.

BB rows-

135x failure (min 15 reps) 4 sets... Didn't go heavy with this today as my grip wasn't 100%. Still got me pumped though!

DB rows-

70lb + 25lb (stacked DB's) x failure, 4 sets.

That was it for back day, did some foam rolling at the end and 30mins of cardio.

Really enjoying this pre-workout at the moment, liking everything except the weird taste, its not horrible though by any means. I think its likely due to me brusing my teeth. I don't want people to think its horrible tasting... Id still give it 8/10 without a doubt!

 

[IFN15]

Awesome bud, nice log so far.

 

[grinnell27]

Awesome bud, nice log so far.

Thanks man appreciate you following along.

 

[grinnell27]

Right, I thought today I would just add little more water to the pre workout to see if i could dull the weird flavour I was picking up.... SUCCESS!

To be fair its my fault as i never put much water with my Pre's so it is bound to be stronger in taste so I have changed my mind 100% and I really enjoy the taste now. Good work.

What I was surprised with (forgot to mention) was that the label and text colour on the tub made my brain thing it would be a yellow/gold/orange colour when mixed... But its Red lol.

Right anyway, todays workout:

Wasn't in the zone 100% today as I was still thinking about baby no.2 on the way, nothing bad just thinking about having to re-do the 3rd bedroom etc.
Took my 1 scoop, caffeine hit me straight away as normal, no yawning in the workout and not even one until about 1-2pm.

Trained Arms again so was looking forward to the pump. Wasn't dissapointed, skin splitting pumps... hurting and I loved every second of it

Biceps-

EZ curl bar-

70x failure (min 10 reps) 4 sets, already my biceps were on fire lol.

Machine Preacher curl-

60x failure (just for the pump, 15-20reps or so) 3 sets

Standing Hammer Curls-

45x failure each arm (min 7-8 reps each) 4 sets

Seated DB curls with negatives-

25x failure, amazing how many less reps you can perform while using a negative movement, only got something like 10 reps each arm. 3 sets.

Neutral grip pull-ups-

BW x 8-10 (3 sets)

Triceps-

Smith machine CGBP-
Set the safety bar to my chest level so i can come down with the weight controlled, then effectively pause and press after a 2second pause.

1x 45lb each side x 10-12
45's + 25 each side as well x 8-10
45's+25's+10's x 6-8

This pumped my trips like crazy!

Tricep extension from chest-

35x failure (min 12 reps) 4 sets

Single arm tricep DB extensions-

25x failure each arm (4 sets)

Rope tricep pulldowns-

150x failure (min 10reps) 4 sets

Tricep Kickbacks (rope)-

55x failure (min 10 reps each arm) 4 sets

And thats it for today, my arms were sooo pumped that my polo shirt for work was a struggle to get on my arms lol.

Thanks

 

[grinnell27]

No workout today guys. Actually took a rest day, just going to probably do 20-30min cardio at lunch.

 

[grinnell27]

So today I decided on a back and arm workout... But fancied trying SUMO deadlifts... Damn these were hard, Compared to conventional!
Linked a video to my intagram of me pulling.

So anyway i took 1 scoop as usual in a considerable amount of water and guess what... Still tastes amazing, no weird chemical taste or anything, must have been the amount of water i was using. Was really pleasant

Back-

Deadlifts-

Bar x10
135x 8
225 x6
315 x2 (4 sets. just getting used to the feeling of the pull... this felt HEAVY though!)

Video of sumo- http://instagram.com/p/yy-oziFfgO/?modal=true

Any advice? Looks like im leaning forward too much

Video of me pulling convectional with the same weight (315)... You can see im 10x faster and this isnt even my normal speed!

http://instagram.com/p/yy-1wGFfgd/?modal=true

DB rows-

70 x failure (4 sets)

Rack Pulls-

225x 10
315x 8
405x 6
440x 3x3

Had to stop there because my hands starting tearing open.. the knerling on these bars is crazy.

Neutral grip Pullups-

BW x8-10 (4 sets)

DB Rows on a bench (chest on back pad)-

70x failure (4 sets)

Arms-

Bicep curls EZ bar-

70x failure (4 sets)

Preacher curls-

90x failure (3 sets)

Cable curls-

110x failure (4 sets)

Reverse curls-

70x failure (3 sets)

Tricep extensions from chest-

35's x failure (5 sets)

Rope pulldowns-

90x failure (4 sets)

Overhead extensions-

90x failure (3 sets)

Machine Dips-

Stack x failure (4 sets)

Thats it for today... The pump is just the craziest thing ive ever experienced with a PRE, im sure my rms were about 1" bigger lol.

Thanks

 

[Rocket3015]

Great log dude, sorry I'm late to the party. Congrats on your 2 child!

 

[grinnell27]

Great log dude, sorry I'm late to the party. Congrats on your 2 child!

Thanks for following along!! Better late then never!

And thanks

 

[grinnell27]

No gym today, day with the family.

Back at it tomorrow, back and arms.

 

[Rocket3015]

But Daniel, Monday is International Chest Day.............Even in the UK !!

 

[grinnell27]

But Daniel, Monday is International Chest Day.............Even in the UK !!

I know haha... I like to break the mild and be different. To be fair my shoulder is playing me up so that's why my training is mainly back, arms and legs.

I'll admit that if my shoulder was alright I may have had a cheeky chest session

 

[grinnell27]

1 scoop as normal today, was weird though as I didn't feel it on the way to the gym and even after a few warm up sets I thought... Oh that's disappointing, perhaps I need to up the dosage.

Then BAM!! it hit like a god damn fright train, my aggression was much higher today and lets just say.. I went crazy with the rest times, volume and sets today.

Warm-up exercises... Note that it hadn't kicked in yet.

Pull-ups-

BW x 8-10 (3 sets)

Underhand seated rows (cable)-

110x 10-12, slow and controlled to get the blood pumping. (3 sets)

This was the turning point right!

T-bar rows-

1 plate x 10
2 plates x 10
3 plates x 10
4 plates x10
5 plates x8
6 plates x5 (haven't been this heavy and was amazed at the endurance and strength!!!)

Drop set from 5 plates to 2 plates.... Pumped doesn't even begin to describe it!

DB Rows-

110x 10-12 (wayyy too light today)
110 + 45lb DB x8 each arm.. PR here, heaviest ive gone is 110 + 25. (4 sets)

Underhand Lat Pulldowns-

225x failure (4 sets) Hit around 6-8 reps each set.

That was it for back... I was feeling sick at this point due to short rest times and a seriously elevated heart rate.

Arms-

Fat bar Curls-

70x failure (4 sets)

Alternating DB curls (standing)-

40x failure, min 8 each arm. (4 sets)

Hammer curls-

45x failure (4 sets)

Tricep Rope Pulldowns-

110x failure (4 sets)
60x failure (3 sets)

Seated Tricep Dips (plate loaded)-

2 plates (each side) x15-20 reps
3 plates (") x10-12

Tricep extensions from chest (Still need to find the name for this exercise)-

40 (each arm) x failure, 4 sets.

I had to stop here because I needed to eat something lol, I train fasted and all this volume and intense sets made me super hungry and light headed haha.

Great workout, every workout has been great in fact so far on ILLICIT.

 

[IFN15]

Nice workout my man, i like working fast as well.

 

[grinnell27]

Nice workout my man, i like working fast as well.

Definatley makes a change to a normal 60sec or so rest. Damn site harder though lol

 

[Rocket3015]

Great looking workout, I hope you can move tomorrow !

 

[grinnell27]

Great looking workout, I hope you can move tomorrow !

Haha let's hope so, legs tomorrow

 

[grinnell27]

Today was legs so i definitely needed ILLICIT!

Took 1 scoop in around 300ml of water (not sure in oz) sipped on it while on the way to the gym, very pleasant as always.. Caffeine kicked in quickly as per usual.

Back Squats-

Bar x10
135x 12-15
225x 10 (4 sets)

Front Squats-

135x 6 (could easily pump out 10-15+ but it KILLS my front delts, need to find a way to stop that happening) 3 sets

Close Stance leg press-

320x failure (4 sets)

Leg extensions-

4 sets
150x failure
straight into
70x failure

Lying ham curls-

4 sets
110x failure
into
70x failure

SLDL's-

135 x 10 (2 sets)
225 x8 (2 sets)
315x 3 (2 sets)

Thats it for legs... I can tell you that they are feeling tight right now as I'm typing this... Time to foam roll and have a hot bath

The pump today was insane as always, my quads were on fire and looked amazing! (wish i took a pic)
So another great day while using ILLICIT.

 

[RegisterJr]

135x 6 (could easily pump out 10-15+ but it KILLS my front delts, need to find a way to stop that happening) 3 sets

Isn't that the point?

 

[grinnell27]

Isn't that the point?

Hurting my front delts? Don't think so haha... Maybe my quads.

 

[RegisterJr]

Hurting my front delts? Don't think so haha... Maybe my quads.

Lol. I read delts as quads.

 

[grinnell27]

Lol. I read delts as quads.

Oh haha. I thought I missed something to start with.

It's so annoying, how people do it with 315+ is beyond me.

 

[RegisterJr]

Oh haha. I thought I missed something to start with. It's so annoying, how people do it with 315+ is beyond me.

I have issues with them too.

Maybe these will help:

http://youtu.be/wyDbagKS7Rg

http://youtu.be/5EEV0WKvMkA

 

[Rocket3015]

135x 6 (could easily pump out 10-15+ but it KILLS my front delts, need to find a way to stop that happening) 3 sets

StingRay

http://www.performbetter.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_10151_10751_1004167_-1_2018513_1000239_1000239_ProductDisplayErrorView?utm_********google+product+ad&************cpc&utm_**********weight+training

 

[grinnell27]

I have issues with them too. Maybe these will help: http://youtu.be/wyDbagKS7Rg http://youtu.be/5EEV0WKvMkA

Think I have the bar resting on my delts as opposed to behind. I'll try this out Thursday! Awesome link man. Thanks!

135x 6 (could easily pump out 10-15+ but it KILLS my front delts, need to find a way to stop that happening) 3 sets StingRay http://www.performbetter.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_10151_10751_1004167_-1_2018513_1000239_1000239_ProductDisplayErrorView?utm_********google%2Bproduct%2Bad&************cpc&utm_**********weight%2Btraining

That's an amazing idea and if I had my own gym I would use them for sure... Think the people in my my may mock me just s little if they saw me using these haha. Great find however