My RPM/Drive log

[fbmanimal]

Hello everyone, my name is Mark and I am brand new to this forum.

A little background info:

I am 6 foot and I weigh 165-175lbs. I just started training with weights because I am looking to start gaining mass. In the past all I did was cardio and calisthenic workouts. My diet is pretty horrific, I am a college student with pretty much no money haha, so I get by with what I can while trying to get as much of a balanced diet as I can.


Goals: I am only looking to gain about 10-15 pounds of muscle mass while still maintaining my cardio.

RPM/Drive: also taking whey protein

I am currently on my 6th day (off day) of the RPM/Drive stack. So far I am extremely pleased with the product. The first couple days the only thing it did was give me a little more energy and focus. On wednesday (day 3) I really started to notice the increased libido and the aggression. I noticed the other night at the bar that I was getting pissed off really easy (it was extremely crouded). This usually doesnt happen because I am extremely laid back. (I must admit that I do kind of like the aggression though.) I have noticed that my muscles stay pretty hard and feel pumped and fuller.

I currently work out at about 6 am and take 3 drive and 3 rpm at around 430am. I found the hour and a half benefits me better than taking them an hour before the workout. My second dose is 2 drive around 2-4 pm.

Questions/concerns:

What affect will cardio have on me gaining muscle mass as I currently am running for about 30 minutes everyday with my heart rate between 195-199?

I keep getting head aches ever since I started taking this stack and I was wondering if anybody has had any health related problems with it?

Do I need to cycle this product?

Is this dosage good and what other supplements do you recommend taking with it?

Thanks guys

 

[SilentBob187]

Welcome to the board.

Cardio is usually good when limited to 30 minutes or less per day. More than that and you can start to break down your lean mass. Are you doing your cardio your lifting?

No idea regarding the headaches, I've only experienced a few samples of drive/rpm. I loved them, but I didn't notice a headache.

It's usually a good idea to cycle most products, drive/rpm are no exceptions. I'd recommending searching the board but I'll wager a guess of about 4 to 6 weeks followed by 2 weeks off or something similar to that.

If you're looking at gaining size, supplement with food, lots of food. Another product that would be relatively inexpensive would include a form of creatine.

As it stands right now I'd just stick with the drive/rpm. Work on your college diet and get in ample amounts of protien throughout the day.

 

[stl123]

Welcome

Questions/concerns:

What affect will cardio have on me gaining muscle mass as I currently am running for about 30 minutes everyday with my heart rate between 195-199?

fbmanimal it really depends on your body type, diet, training and goals. If you are trying to gain 10-15 pounds then you will probably want to limit cardio, but it is possible to gain that much weight will keeping your cardio at the same level it is at. Most people say that over 30 minutes of cardio will cause you to lose muscle and this is probably true for most people, but not for everybody(what works for one person may not necessarily work for the next). You can manipulate your diet to compensate for your cardio and training. I am not sure of how drive/rpm will affect your weight being that I have never run it before.

As far as myself, I get at least 30 minutes of cardio every single day on top of weight training, most days more. I have been running 11oxo @ 300mg for 8 days so far and have only lost 1 pound, which fluctuates day to day. On my last Halo run I gained 11 pounds and I was doing 45mins and up for cardio.

Having that said, I will be following your log to see how the Drive/RPM treats you. I have been very interested in Drive after reading some of the logs and reviews. I had some samples of RPM when it first came out and loved it.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Rodja]

Hello everyone, my name is Mark and I am brand new to this forum.

A little background info:

I am 6 foot and I weigh 165-175lbs. I just started training with weights because I am looking to start gaining mass. In the past all I did was cardio and calisthenic workouts. My diet is pretty horrific, I am a college student with pretty much no money haha, so I get by with what I can while trying to get as much of a balanced diet as I can.


Goals: I am only looking to gain about 10-15 pounds of muscle mass while still maintaining my cardio.

RPM/Drive: also taking whey protein

I am currently on my 6th day (off day) of the RPM/Drive stack. So far I am extremely pleased with the product. The first couple days the only thing it did was give me a little more energy and focus. On wednesday (day 3) I really started to notice the increased libido and the aggression. I noticed the other night at the bar that I was getting pissed off really easy (it was extremely crouded). This usually doesnt happen because I am extremely laid back. (I must admit that I do kind of like the aggression though.) I have noticed that my muscles stay pretty hard and feel pumped and fuller.

I currently work out at about 6 am and take 3 drive and 3 rpm at around 430am. I found the hour and a half benefits me better than taking them an hour before the workout. My second dose is 2 drive around 2-4 pm.

Questions/concerns:

What affect will cardio have on me gaining muscle mass as I currently am running for about 30 minutes everyday with my heart rate between 195-199?

I keep getting head aches ever since I started taking this stack and I was wondering if anybody has had any health related problems with it?

Do I need to cycle this product?

Is this dosage good and what other supplements do you recommend taking with it?

Thanks guys

I assume that's a typo because that is not possible. That cannot be sustained for that long of a period of time.

 

[fbmanimal]

Rodja,

Yeah, your right, that was a typo. I do not sustain that heart rate the whole period of time...I slow down to take rests, but not that much. I just figured that would be assumed, sorry. However, I am a masochist when it comes to my running. I love to push myself beyond my limits when it comes to cardio. Weight training seems to be much harder for me, probably because I'm new to it. (not implying that its not hard)


I forgot to post today that I only took 2 capsules of drive/rpm. I was going to take 4 drive, but I forgot the other 2 for when I went to work.
This was my first day taking them on an off-day. I noticed the energy a lot more than when i am working out. Its almost like something is stimulating your muscles as well.

 

[stl123]

Fbmanimal. Any updates?

 

[Rosie Chee]

I am currently on my 6th day (off day) of the RPM/Drive stack. So far I am extremely pleased with the product. The first couple days the only thing it did was give me a little more energy and focus. On wednesday (day 3) I really started to notice the increased libido and the aggression. I noticed the other night at the bar that I was getting pissed off really easy (it was extremely crouded). This usually doesnt happen because I am extremely laid back. (I must admit that I do kind of like the aggression though.) I have noticed that my muscles stay pretty hard and feel pumped and fuller.

You noticed the added aggression too, huh. It's great, aye. I started taking these products 5 weeks ago now. I've seen some pretty good gains, and they're consistent too, which is what you want.

What affect will cardio have on me gaining muscle mass as I currently am running for about 30 minutes everyday with my heart rate between 195-199?

As for gaining mass, whilst doing that much running; if you are eating enough to COVER your energy expenditure and resistance sessions, then it shouldn't have too much effect. And noticed someone made the comment that the HR was a typo; not necessarily; when I run my HR is always well up there in the 190s (and it doesn't go down much either)!

Do I need to cycle this product?

Yep, you should cycle Drive/RPM 10 weeks on, then 2 weeks off.

Is this dosage good and what other supplements do you recommend taking with it?

Maybe your second dose of Drive could be 3 instead of just 2 capsules? NeoVar and IGF-2 are some other AN supplements that you could consider adding, especially if you're looking predominantly to build muscle mass.

 

[fbmanimal]

Sorry for the lack of updates, I was extremely busy with finals week and trying to get my workouts in.

Anyway, I started doing the hammer down strength routine from t-nation because it seems like the kind of workout I am looking for.

So far I am really impressed with RPM and Drive. In the short time that I have been taking it I have noticed significant strength gains. I just feel like I can push weight around better and more explosively. I am loving the aggression this product gives me for the most part. I seem to have a lot shorter of a fuse now which is not particularly a good thing, but it makes it easier to speak my mind when people are giving me ****. (could be a placebo affect, i dont know...nor do i care)

I increased the dosage also. I now take 4 rpm and 4 drive in the morning and 3 drive around 2 pm.

I would say my favorite part of this product is the fullness in the muscles. It makes me feel as if I am constantly contracting my muscles...they just feel harder.

 

[stl123]

Sounds like it is really going well bro. Keep it up.

I remember finals week. Pretty stressful. Hope you passed.:lol:

 

[fbmanimal]

Day #12

I was not feeling the energy and focus I usually get from the RPM. I think it is probably due to my lack of sleep last night. Regardless I still felt great in the gym. I'm still trying to figure out my max for pretty much all the lifts (yeah I'm a beginner) so I can lift more efficiently. I will also try to get some pics posted so that you guys can see a before and after of this cycle.

One thing I do not like about this product: Yesterday I did not take any RPM or drive and I had a horrible headache the whole day. Its almost like I was going through withdrawl or something. This really gives me an uneasy feeling about these products.

 

[stl123]

One thing I do not like about this product: Yesterday I did not take any RPM or drive and I had a horrible headache the whole day. Its almost like I was going through withdrawl or something. This really gives me an uneasy feeling about these products.

hmmmm. It could be a number of things other then the RPM and DRIVE. I wouldn't worry if it's only happend once. I really haven't heard of anyone else having this problem. If it happens a couple times, then maybe start worrying.

 

[SamBoz19]

Count me in!

I'll follow along as well.

 

[SamBoz19]

It was the sleep!

Day #12

I was not feeling the energy and focus I usually get from the RPM. I think it is probably due to my lack of sleep last night. Regardless I still felt great in the gym. I'm still trying to figure out my max for pretty much all the lifts (yeah I'm a beginner) so I can lift more efficiently. I will also try to get some pics posted so that you guys can see a before and after of this cycle.

One thing I do not like about this product: Yesterday I did not take any RPM or drive and I had a horrible headache the whole day. Its almost like I was going through withdrawl or something. This really gives me an uneasy feeling about these products.

I'm quite certain the reason you didn't feel the energy from RPM was due to the lack of sleep. I'm a frequent user and I can attest that does happen. When you sleep like crap it appears that RPM won't help much and even sometimes you might feel a bit sluggish or unmotivated.

As for the headaches, I wouldn't blame them on the products just yet...if you notice this being a consistent problem than that could be cause for concern. However, I have to ask...are you keeping your water intake high enough?

Beyond that, as I stated already...I'll be following along, but if you need help with anything don't be afraid to shoot me pm.

 

[fbmanimal]

Day #14


Today is an off day for me which leads me to the following question. How much, if any, should I take on my off days? I currently take 3 rpm and drive in the morning and 2 drive in the afternoon on days I am not working out.

As for the headaches, well they have happened more than once. I have to admit that my water intake has not been up to par, nor has my sleep. I will try at least to take in more water, but the sleep I have no control over.

I've attached some pictures. Sorry about the low quality/gayness, I don't have anybody to take them for me right now. I'll post better ones when I can. haha, go easy, I know I'm skinny, but these are the BEFORE photos.

 

[drummaboyzl]

how many cals are you consuming?
how many hours of sleep are you getting on average?
how much water are you drinking a day?

 

[fbmanimal]

drummaboyzl,

I am not sure how many calories I consume in a day, but I am certain its not enough. The only problem is I dont have access to healthy foods most of the time, but again, this thread also serves as a motivational means to reach the goals I want to obtain. I drink about 104 grams of whey protein a day though. So the whey along with protein from other sources I think should be enough, maybe not.

I will be getting more sleep than usual for about the next 2 weeks due to spring break. As far as a regular schedule goes. On a typical day I will wake up at 5 am so that i could have enough time to work out, then I go to school, then i go to work until 11, after work I come home and study/do homework. I typically study until about 1 am, sometimes earlier sometimes later.

However, with the hammer down strength routine that I just started, I will only be doing strength exercises 2 times a week so it should give me some time to sleep in on the rest of the days because my cardio is typically very intense and fast.

 

[drummaboyzl]

drummaboyzl,

I am not sure how many calories I consume in a day, but I am certain its not enough. The only problem is I dont have access to healthy foods most of the time, but again, this thread also serves as a motivational means to reach the goals I want to obtain. I drink about 104 grams of whey protein a day though. So the whey along with protein from other sources I think should be enough, maybe not.

I will be getting more sleep than usual for about the next 2 weeks due to spring break. As far as a regular schedule goes. On a typical day I will wake up at 5 am so that i could have enough time to work out, then I go to school, then i go to work until 11, after work I come home and study/do homework. I typically study until about 1 am, sometimes earlier sometimes later.

However, with the hammer down strength routine that I just started, I will only be doing strength exercises 2 times a week so it should give me some time to sleep in on the rest of the days because my cardio is typically very intense and fast.

wow 4-5 hours of sleep is terrible. sleep is when your muscles rest and grow. you should be getting 8-10 hours of sleep to be at optimum performance.
as far as your calorie intake i know how difficult it is to eat healthy and sufficiently when going to college and working at the same time. if you have the money maybe invest in an MRP to help get you more calories and nutrients each day. most lifters drink 1-2 MRP's a day anyways.
try and get your protein intake to 170g a day and your cal intake to about 3000 if you can. with as much cardio as you do and as busy as your days are you burn alot of cals. in order to put on that muscle you need to be consuming more than you are burning.

 

[stl123]

wow 4-5 hours of sleep is terrible. sleep is when your muscles rest and grow. you should be getting 8-10 hours of sleep to be at optimum performance.
as far as your calorie intake i know how difficult it is to eat healthy and sufficiently when going to college and working at the same time. if you have the money maybe invest in an MRP to help get you more calories and nutrients each day. most lifters drink 1-2 MRP's a day anyways.
try and get your protein intake to 170g a day and your cal intake to about 3000 if you can. with as much cardio as you do and as busy as your days are you burn alot of cals. in order to put on that muscle you need to be consuming more than you are burning.

Personally, I would shoot for 200g or higher for protein intake. 3000 calories should be good. I am @ 3000 + a day and 300g of protein, 300g carbs and I have LOST 2.5 pounds in 17 days of 11oxo. Very lean though.

What do you mean you don't have any control over how much sleep you get?

 

[drummaboyzl]

Personally, I would shoot for 200g or higher for protein intake. 3000 calories should be good. I am @ 3000 + a day and 300g of protein, 300g carbs and I have LOST 2.5 pounds in 17 days of 11oxo. Very lean though.

What do you mean you don't have any control over how much sleep you get?

he is only 170 lbs tho. u dont need any more than your body weight or you just end up turning it to waste.
look at your body like a glass. you only need to be 10% full. and if i fill yourself to 15%, you dump 5% out to keep yourself happy.
if your taking in 300g of protein i hope your 285 lbs at least :-s

 

[Rodja]

he is only 170 lbs tho. u dont need any more than your body weight or you just end up turning it to waste.
look at your body like a glass. you only need to be 10% full. and if i fill yourself to 15%, you dump 5% out to keep yourself happy.
if your taking in 300g of protein i hope your 285 lbs at least :-s

I wouldn't make such a blanket statement without knowing exactly his diet, training, and experience. It's foolish to think that a one size fits all approach is useful to BBing.

 

[drummaboyzl]

I wouldn't make such a blanket statement without knowing exactly his diet, training, and experience. It's foolish to think that a one size fits all approach is useful to BBing.

your right. not everyone is affected the same by everything. however if you have taken a nutrition class and apply it to alot of the supplements and ideas of people, its very easy to display what the ''text books'' are saying.

 

[Rodja]

your right. not everyone is affected the same by everything. however if you have taken a nutrition class and apply it to alot of the supplements and ideas of people, its very easy to display what the ''text books'' are saying.

And I will say that 99% of nutrition books are horribly outdated. Hell, most of the supplements that are now in-vogue are completely alien to nutritionists.

 

[drummaboyzl]

lol. i just think its funny cuz the colleges are still teaching the same **** as they were 20 years ago

 

[Rodja]

lol. i just think its funny cuz the colleges are still teaching the same **** as they were 20 years ago

I think it's one of the reasons that their is so little respect for the industry. Most of the "nutritionists" at my Uni are fat...WTF is that??

 

[bolt10]

I think it's one of the reasons that their is so little respect for the industry. Most of the "nutritionists" at my Uni are fat...WTF is that??

yea it is really really really annoying....my health class was taught by an overweight dude. I was like your really trying to teach me about health?? and the stuff seemed so old school too

 

[stl123]

he is only 170 lbs tho. u dont need any more than your body weight or you just end up turning it to waste.
look at your body like a glass. you only need to be 10% full. and if i fill yourself to 15%, you dump 5% out to keep yourself happy.
if your taking in 300g of protein i hope your 285 lbs at least :-s

Roja is right. If you look right under my avi you can see I am the exact same weight as you. My metabolism is insane. I have my diet public in my profile if you want to check it out too if you don't believe me. I am at 3100 cals, 311g of protein , 330 carbs right now @ 10pm. I am probably going to eat more later. Just in case you think I am a chubster, I have pic posted on my profile. Just click on my pics under my avi in the profile. The pics were taken a week ago.

 

[drummaboyzl]

i dont doubt u.

 

[Rodja]

I will make this addendum: if you're having trouble gaining/maintaining mass, then eat more carbs and healthy fats. 1.25-1.5g/lb is plenty and fill your kcal requirements from the other macros.

 

[fbmanimal]

I explained what I meant about not being able to control my sleep in the next post. However, I forgot to add that it is not always this bad because I typically have 2 days off a week so I get decent sleep them nights. Anyways, I usually wake up at 5 to take the RPM/Drive then get to the gym by 6, go to school after that, then work until 11 then i study, sleep and do it all over again.

I will definitely try to get in more calories (protein, carbs) during the day. One thing I absolutely do not want to do is lose definition though. I've been thinking about checking out some mrp. I work at walmart so i get a discount. Does anybody know if their brand of weight/muscle mass gainer powder stuff is any good. Myoplex is a little too expensive for my budget.

Thanks a lot for all the information guys, seriously, I appreciate it.

 

[drummaboyzl]

I explained what I meant about not being able to control my sleep in the next post. However, I forgot to add that it is not always this bad because I typically have 2 days off a week so I get decent sleep them nights. Anyways, I usually wake up at 5 to take the RPM/Drive then get to the gym by 6, go to school after that, then work until 11 then i study, sleep and do it all over again.

I will definitely try to get in more calories (protein, carbs) during the day. One thing I absolutely do not want to do is lose definition though. I've been thinking about checking out some mrp. I work at walmart so i get a discount. Does anybody know if their brand of weight/muscle mass gainer powder stuff is any good. Myoplex is a little too expensive for my budget.

Thanks a lot for all the information guys, seriously, I appreciate it.

before u get started on mrp's how old are you?
and what kind of protein are you taking? you may just switch protein to get one with more calories in it....mrp's are more expensive and may have more stuff in it than the 3 things you need....cals, carbs, protein.

 

[stl123]

I explained what I meant about not being able to control my sleep in the next post. However, I forgot to add that it is not always this bad because I typically have 2 days off a week so I get decent sleep them nights. Anyways, I usually wake up at 5 to take the RPM/Drive then get to the gym by 6, go to school after that, then work until 11 then i study, sleep and do it all over again.

My bad bro. I must have skiped right over that part but I see it now. That's a pretty hectic schedule

 

[fbmanimal]

Day # 15

TESTOSTERONE NATION

This is the strength portion of my workout that I started last week. I realize it wont make me huge, but it should definitely put some mass on me. I am more worried about functional strength than size.

I realize some of the exercises described in there are retarded. I switched the one legged dumbell deadlifts to regular barbell deadlifts. I also changed around some other stuff.

I noticed a BIG improvement from last week. My strength felt great for about the first time ever. I had great pumps. One thing I noticed though is that i didn't feel the volume that I usually did a couple weeks ago, however when I first started using RPM/Drive my workout consisted of only isolation exercises, I think this is why.

Libido is still up as usual.

My aggression is still there, but I am starting to learn how to channel it instead of getting mad/irritated.

I had an intense mental focus in the gym today. I really pushed myself outside of my comfort zone. The energy seems to be consistent. I had a good night sleep last night so I'm sure that contributed.

My cardio today was on the treadmill. Alternating 1 minute at 6.5 and 1 minute at 10.5 for 20 minutes at a 1.5 incline. I'm still hooked on the treadmill because of winter, but I have to start hitting the road. For some reason this seemed pretty hard today, I started to feel a little dazed towards the middle. I dont know why because my heart rate was around 190. Oh well, it was a good day all around.

drummaboyzl-
I am 22 years old. The protein I take is 100% whey protein, has 52 grams protein per 2 scoops, 6 grams carbs, and 210 calories. I also usually eat chicken breast every day as well.

 

[drummaboyzl]

try different things with the chicken. you need more calories and im sure your eating healthy. try a batter on the chicken and fry it. if you need a recipe for a good batter ive got one that i like.

 

[stl123]

try different things with the chicken. you need more calories and im sure your eating healthy. try a batter on the chicken and fry it. if you need a recipe for a good batter ive got one that i like.

Be careful when making fried chicken. What kind of oil do you fry your chicken in? I think the same recipie would work if you baked it. It would also be a lot healthier.

When I think of fried chicken, I think of Saturated fat (the bad kind). I agree that he probably needs more calories. I just think there are healthier was to go about doing it. For instance add more Whole grain carbs to your meal (ie, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, ect...). Maybe try a big Sirloin steak. Sirloin cuts are very lean. They have fat but they aren't "loaded" with fat, but are loaded with protein. If you like seafood a talapia or salmon fillet would be good as well.

There are healthier ways of getting good fats that you need.

Hey DB what is your recipie for the battered chicken? I am always interested in new recipies if they are healthy.

 

[drummaboyzl]

its actually very easy and can be used on several things

put 2-3 eggs in a bowl

put 2 cups flour
salt and pepper (as much or little as you want)
in a ziplock baggie

just take your meat...chicken, pork chops, etc....

dip the meat in the egg to cover it completely
place it in the ziplock bag and shake till the meat is covered in flour salt pepper mix. bake it or fry it like that.

as simple as it is, its awesome how delicious it is.



ive also tried it with yellow neck squash
cut them into 1/2'' slices and do the same thing and bake or fry or grill them.

 

[stl123]

its actually very easy and can be used on several things

put 2-3 eggs in a bowl

put 2 cups flour
salt and pepper (as much or little as you want)
in a ziplock baggie

just take your meat...chicken, pork chops, etc....

dip the meat in the egg to cover it completely
place it in the ziplock bag and shake till the meat is covered in flour salt pepper mix. bake it or fry it like that.

as simple as it is, its awesome how delicious it is.



ive also tried it with yellow neck squash
cut them into 1/2'' slices and do the same thing and bake or fry or grill them.

I'll have to give that a try (baking it of course ) I just went to the store today so I have plenty of chicken breasts. I have actually done that with zuchinni before. Very good

 

[fbmanimal]

Day # 17

I've decided I am going to discontinue my use of RPM and Drive. For me, the cons definitely outweigh the pros with this product. I realize everybodys body is different and this product is just not reacting well with my body. Dont get me wrong this product does everything it says, but it also makes me feel sick everytime I use it. I constantly get headaches and feel nauseous. I just do not have a good feeling about using these products.

Anyway, thanks to everyone that helped me out. I still gained a lot of useful information. I am probably going to try some other products, does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[stl123]

Sorry to hear that bro.