Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

Bolt hits up NO Uptake, Free Test, and IGF-2

bolt10 said:
Ok just had the worst work shift I have ever had in possibly forever. I wanna bash my head against a wall. I'd make a reference to some real nerdy scenario but I am too exhausted. :(
Click to expand...

Sorry man! Just hang in there and take it out on the iron tomorrow.
 
Dewey99 said:
Sorry man! Just hang in there and take it out on the iron tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Off day! :( :( :(

I'll be fine as I get to sleep in to a decent time. Gonna go finish Justified season 3 and watch The Following tho...should be nice. :cool:
 
bolt10 said:
Off day! :( :( :(

I'll be fine as I get to sleep in to a decent time. Gonna go finish Justified season 3 and watch The Following tho...should be nice. :cool:
Click to expand...

I just watched the first episode of The Following yesterday. Good stuff. I wish it was on cable so it could be even better. I have to admit that I am spoiled by cable shows. The quality is just superior to network stuff in almost every case.
 
jimbuick said:
I agree.

There is not enough witty banter in my logs either.
Click to expand...

A crucial part to any successful log - 3 pages of complete deviation from the purpose of the log. Yes, it is pertinent to the topic we just dont always know why.

Dewey99 said:
I just watched the first episode of The Following yesterday. Good stuff. I wish it was on cable so it could be even better. I have to admit that I am spoiled by cable shows. The quality is just superior to network stuff in almost every case.
Click to expand...

Netflix and Hulu+ are going to be my ruin. I feel accomplished watching an entire season of American Horror Story when I should be doing research.

-OS-Team AppNut
 
OrganicShadow said:
A crucial part to any successful log - 3 pages of complete deviation from the purpose of the log. Yes, it is pertinent to the topic we just dont always know why.
Click to expand...
answer: because (as bolt knows) variety and change is the spice of life, and is pertinent and applicable to many different fields :D
 
Man, I am sad to see this log end. I can't wait for Bolt's final review but it has been a spectacular log as usual for him.
 
I remember when I was in college I used to literally watch entire seasons of shows in days. I used to just sit there with Hulu or Netflix and watch, watch, watch.

Slept in today and got a lot more typing done on work stuff and final review thoughts. Triceps have some insane DOMS, which is crazy based on the low volume yesterday. Also, I feel like this is the most typing I have done since school and I don't know why I have so much random stuff to type. I have 10 NO Uptake left. :sad:

I did receive a couple samples of Enhanced yesterday but will wait to use them after NO Uptake runs out (no need to combine nitrates). I will probably be taking a break from logging for a little bit, but I am sure I'll be back one day! Or I should probably just start a log in the training section regardless. :o
 
bolt10 said:
I remember when I was in college I used to literally watch entire seasons of shows in days. I used to just sit there with Hulu or Netflix and watch, watch, watch.
Click to expand...
sounds like my life right now (kinda)
i mean, i'm swamped with things to do, but i work from home, and since the ex took damn near everything in the divorce (including my friends lulz) except my big-screen & furniture, i don't have much of a social life..i sleep very little relatively speaking..lotta time on my hands
not complaining - i'm enjoying the isolation actually, and reading books & watching tv shows/movies has always held my interest anyways

oh - as always man, great log, look forward to your next one my friend :)
 
snagencyV2.0 said:
sounds like my life right now (kinda)
i mean, i'm swamped with things to do, but i work from home, and since the ex took damn near everything in the divorce (including my friends lulz) except my big-screen & furniture, i don't have much of a social life..i sleep very little relatively speaking..lotta time on my hands
not complaining - i'm enjoying the isolation actually, and reading books & watching tv shows/movies has always held my interest anyways

oh - as always man, great log, look forward to your next one my friend :)
Click to expand...

I enjoy isolation too. Unfortunately, my live-in girlfriend of many years does not. Cherish the peace and quiet while you have it. You get to watch sports without constantly being interrupted by stupid questions and you don't have to explain plot twists in TV shows. Then again, you probably have to do you own cooking and laundry though. I guess life is full of tradeoffs.
 
Dewey99 said:
I enjoy isolation too. Unfortunately, my live-in girlfriend of many years does not. Cherish the peace and quiet while you have it. You get to watch sports without constantly being interrupted by stupid questions and you don't have to explain plot twists in TV shows. Then again, you probably have to do you own cooking and laundry though. I guess life is full of tradeoffs.
Click to expand...
yep
we have 2 kids - they're older (14 & 17) and she got custody, and i love them & enjoy our time together make no mistake..
but - i dint always like their frends who came over and flooded the house, causing these interruptions you mention :p

on the cooking aspect - we always ate seperately anyway, i've long prepared seperate foods/times from the fam, even when i made the meals for them i'd be making something different for me :shrug:
we still ate the main meal (dinner) together tho even if i was eating something different
so no biggie there..

the laundry tho bro..the laundry :rant: man that sux

:D
 
Ya I am a longer. Always have been always will be. I quite enjoy working with people all day long but by the end of the day I need that isolation to recharge. Use the night to watch TV or recreational reading (as opposed to work studies).

Got some new bands from EliteFTS today. Excited to implement some new things down the road.
 
For a while I was considering finding a girlfriend just so I can split rent on a one bedroom (NYC is f*ckin expensive!). But the total displacement of personal space and bachelor status isn't worth it.

-OS-Team AppNut
 
OrganicShadow said:
For a while I was considering finding a girlfriend just so I can split rent on a one bedroom (NYC is f*ckin expensive!). But the total displacement of personal space and bachelor status isn't worth it.

-OS-Team AppNut
Click to expand...

Stay single unless you find a sugar mama.
 
lol
marriage should be outlawed
that, or divorce should be
once you are stupid enuff to get into it, they certainly shouldn't give you a reprieve
 
Just read up a bit great log Bolt and congrats on the Rep position!
 
MrKleen73 said:
Just read up a bit great log Bolt and congrats on the Rep position!
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Unfortunately this will be my last workout with NO Uptake and Drive today. Been pretty solid this last two months so it will be weird not taking these yellow pills every day.
 
Yeah I can imagine. Nothing like coming off a product that is really working for you.
 
Ok I know I seem a little light in the posting in here, but that is a common theme in my logs. I like to reflect at the end because I feel sometimes I can get caught in the moment of a log and miss some things so going back through my workout notes can help illuminate things/trends that may have been missed while actually logging all the workouts.

I will say that while V-1 and Alphamine may have skewed some results this week, I am looking very lean and feeling awesome. Deload went great. Current training is the same basic outline but volume is down, intensity is up, and exercises have changed. Yesterday I did:

Dynamic Effort Squats/Deadlifts at 55% 1-RM for 10 x 2 on squats and 10 x 1 on DL. I still feel hesistant about my back, but after yesterday have determined it is all mental. Zero issues and feel awesome so that is behind me (hasn't felt bad in awhile but my mind has been holding me back). Weight felt super light.

Added rear foot elevated split squats in the program (I hate these, but probably because they are sorely needed) and Dimel deadlifts for a couple sets and some low back, mid trap, and abs work. I am insanely sore today but the pump yesterday was great. Awesome final lift on NO Uptake. :)
 
Had a couple lifts off of Drive and NO Uptake so far. Feels weird not taking all those pills each day and there is a different feel to my workouts without it so I think I have a good idea about some things and this should make my final review very close (final impressions soon).

Feel like I am being a big tease. Oops. lol
 
Review is finished, just some formatting (typed it in word which doesn't perfectly transition to forum posting). Will post tomorrow since most are probably busy with the SB today anyways. ;)
 
bolt10 said:
Review is finished, just some formatting (typed it in word which doesn't perfectly transition to forum posting). Will post tomorrow since most are probably busy with the SB today anyways. ;)
Click to expand...

Translation: I am going to be busy eating and watching commercial today. I will finish the reviews tomorrow if I am not in a food coma.
 
Dewey99 said:
Translation: I am going to be busy eating and watching commercial today. I will finish the reviews tomorrow if I am not in a food coma.
Click to expand...

Friends Bday and SB party...quite busy yesterday. Format is ehhh but here is the final. Broken into three posts so skip to last one if you want just the overall stack thoughts people!

Final Review:​
​
Dosing:​
Weeks 1-4: Free Test + NO Uptake (dropped IGF-2 after ~1 week)​
Weeks 5-8: Free Test + NO Uptake + Drive​
The first month was sponsored, but I bought the second bottle of NO Uptake and was gifted some Free Test and Drive to continue with it for a second month. :)​
I used Black Cats v2 + Body Octane + Core ABC as my pre-workout combo for about the first month and then switched to Origin + Core ABC the second. All actives in the pre-workouts (other than stims) had been already used for 1-2 months prior to starting the log and I dropped Agmatine during this log.​
Staples included: Vit. D3, CL Oximega, and Genomyx Gut Health and Slin-Sane v2. Note that I did drop Selenium and Zinc containing mineral products due to inclusion of them in Free Test (I typically always have Zinc and Selenium in my staples).


​
Free Test:​
​
-Dosed 2 caps upon waking and 2 caps later in the day with SSv2 prior to a CHO rich meal.​
-Switched to a full 4 caps each morning near the 1 month mark in my log.​
-Note that I have used pretty much every ingredient within this product before (multiple times) and am a big fan of those included. I probably post about using forskolin and ALCAR daily as a recommendation to others.


​
-Strength: ​
There were solid strength gains during my log (more on this in later sections), but I feel the majority of these had to do with other factors.


​
-Body Comp.: ​
Huge fan of the forskolin + 7-keto combo for body fat loss and body comp changes. This was most apparent in the second month of supplementation (during addition of Drive). The first month I did note very little (if any) accumulation of body fat while adding a couple of pounds. I did tend to look very "dry" for the vast majority of my time on Free Test, which does not mirror a direct impact on body fat levels but does give a better overall look.


​
Overall:​
-While I don't feel Free Test gave the strongest benefits of the products taken within this log, I do feel it may have been the most important, as a solid base. The best part about it is how this single product covered multiple areas of supplementation for me all within one convenient product. Normally I would have to include forskolin, NAC, ALCAR, and 7-keto (in addition to other ingredients as well) in individual products, which adds up to a lot of separate bottles and pills to dose each day. The convenience factor was huge for me. ​
-This is the kind of product I would include before any of the other sexier options, just due to the very solid choice of ingredients. I feel without it things may not be as solid throughout. My only real concern was the prop blend of ingredients, but based on how it treated me I feel there must be a decent dose of the actives found within. Another minor issue is the addition of Zinc + Selenium. It may limit the stacking with other products (lots of things try to put selenium in there) but not really a problem just have to watch the intake with other products.​
-Only negative I would note is some increased gas and minor stomach discomfort. Never had any major issues (compared to past products) but took it as there must be a solid forskolin dose in Free Test.
​
 
NO Uptake​

-Worked my way up to 6 on workout days (took 4 on off days to keep the bottle to roughly 4 weeks each). Preferred 6 caps pre on upper body days and 4 caps pre on lower body days.

-Mood:
One thing I look for is an increase in mood on test boosters. This wasn't very apparent on this (or the whole stack as a whole). Overall I did notice some lowered stress levels that helped improve my mood but not on the levels I notice with something like Fadogia or when I used Test Powder.

-Recovery:
This was one of the greatest benefits. DOMS did not always ensue and when it did it did not last very long. I was impressed with this, especially given the max effort work on some days. I felt I recovered with plenty of time to be able to retrain the same body parts again within the week. The most noticeable effect on recovery was that I actually did not feel run down for about 95% of this log. I had a couple days where I felt a little beat up, but only really took a deload because it had been awhile since the last one and based on my training plans it was the best place for one. Very impressed given how hard I pushed in the gym and how great I continued to feel and perform.

-Strength/Endurance:
While I rotated in some max effort exercises I had never done before I did put more weight on the bar than I had ever done before and at a much lighter body weight than some of my previous PRs. Was easy to continue to add weight/reps to assistance work each week as well. After my deload I felt extremely strong and my dynamic effort work on the last day of NO + Drive felt light and moving faster than it had at any point in the log. Definitely ended on a high level.
Endurance was probably my favorite aspect from a performance stand point during the log. I was working in a high rep range on assistance work with short rest and typically hate this kind of work. While I didn't necessarily enjoy doing it, the effects from this stack helped to make continual progress on this noticeable. Made time to exhaustion and RPE lessened throughout the log and allowed me to get a full 8 weeks with this work done rather than trying to cut it short prematurely.

-Pumps/Vascularity
At some points in the log these were extreme. I noticed very fast increases in pumps and within the first week. By the 2-3 week mark this turned into intense pumps that could be initiated with even the slightest amount of high rep sets. At some points in the log I felt the ROM was decreased due to the amount of blood flow and even noted extreme forearm pumps on some leg days hindering my grip strength. Vascularity was at an all time high. Despite not losing body fat during the first month I was seeing new veins in areas I would not anticipate added vascularity.

Negatives:

-Acne:
While there wasn't much, I did note some increases on the shoulders/upper back. This could be attributed to a combination of all the products though and was definitely less than I have experienced with some products before.

-Headaches/Lightheadedness
I did note this at the very beginning of the log during some workouts and also during the day (which I had attributed to IGF-2). While the daily headaches disappeared with dropping of IGF-2, I did note some light headedness with some higher doses of NO Uptake. While this is a negative it can also be noted as a positive, there must be a solid dose of Nitrates or else these kind of headaches wouldn't appear. Whenever taking a Nitrate containing product it is always important to be wary of this kind of side effect, that is easily remedied by lower doses.

Overall:
Cannot say this was the greatest of a test boosting experience (and would have no bloodwork to confirm), I feel this would more aptly be named a performance optimizer. Strength, recovery, endurance, and pumps were all greatly enhanced by this product. I felt it was the strongest product in this log and had the greatest impact on my performance. I had not used Nitrates in awhile but now wonder why I hadn't.
 
Drive:
​
-Worked up to about 8 caps a day with Free Test and 12 caps once it was gone. Spread out doses but made sure 3 caps were always taken as part of my pre-workout plan.

​
-Pumps/Endurance
Adding this to NO Uptake the second month did make a noticeable increase in both. While it wasn't as extreme as the increase of just adding NO Uptake to the month before it, it did give an increase as well. Endurance was highest the last several weeks of the log. High reps seemed like a breeze and I was hardly ever out of breath in the weight room, despite doing increased workloads. Most noticeable was how doing heavy sled pulls didn't leave me gasping for breath even with increases weekly. My conditioning obviously was increasing due to my work in the weight room, but this addition seemed to accelerate that pace.


​
-Body Comp
Just look at the pics. Size was gained the first month or so, but apparent fat loss occurred in the second. Body weight remained stagnant through some of the second month, but the effects in the mirror were obvious and I didn't change too much diet wise as I enjoyed the changes that were occurring. I feel this increased the "hard" feeling of my muscles and gave a denser look that occurred over the second month of my log.​
-Negatives:
-Stomach Discomfort:
Did note increased stomach irritation at 3 caps per dose with Drive at first. This subsided quickly and even at 12 caps per day I did not notice any issues, so not a very large negative.


​
Overall:
​
-Huge fan of forskolin and icariin so already felt this was an awesome addition. Great for added recomp effect and added endurance on top of the already high endurance from NO Uptake.


​
Overall for the Complete Stack of Free Test + Drive + NO Uptake:
​
-Biggest Positives between the combo:

​
-Body Comp/Mass gain:
​
-Gained a solid amount of weight in this time frame. I don't ever look to really add more than 2-3 pounds a month otherwise it usually just ends up being extra fat. My calories were pretty high (up to 3400 on some days) and I didn't notice much body fat gain and defintely some loss of body fat towards the end.


​
-Endurance:
​
-Muscular endurance and fatigue were greatly reduced throughout the log. I wasn't doing much running or cardio but had plenty of circuit work throughout. Sled pulling was where I saw the greatest improvement (or the best area to measure this with). Usually regardless of weight at a certain number of steps the burn kicks in and beats me up with sleds, but I kept adding weight and distance without much detriment throughout the log. Comparing the difficulty of the high reps work from the first workout to the last was impressive. Much less heavy breathing and peripheral fatigue in the muscles.


​
-Pumps/Vascularity:
​
-Pumps were on par with ArA during this log. Vascularity was at an all time high and I have noticed a slight drop off after the cessation of use. Also noting a slightly lessened "fullness" currently but I have dropped calories and a pound or two since the log ended. I had veins prominent in the arms and legs pretty much all day long at any time at levels that matched or exceeded the norm even at a lower body fat percentage. Pumps came on strong and fast when taken 45 minutes pre-workout and were painful at points throughout the last two months.

​
-Overall:​
-Overall I think the biggest testament is just how much I enjoyed my workouts every time I got to lift. While the all day fullness wasn't the best I have ever had, the strength increases weren't insane, the overall lack of negative training days is not something I take lightly. Ability to hammer things in the gym and recover adequately over and over was very impressive. Felt this was a solid performance stack as far as increasing numbers in the weight room. I look to implement Drive and NO Uptake in the next couple months when I cut on ABE+EP. So get that into some stores so more people can grab it!


​
The actual numbers:
​

Body Weight: ​
-Final total after the 8 weeks of this log: ~3-4lbs gained.​
The majority of this gain came by weeks 5-6 with the last several weeks staying constant yet apparently dropping some body fat. I could have bumped up cals to ensure another pound or two by the end but enjoyed the way the workouts were still improving while seeing changes in the mirror so didn't push it.​
-Dropped half an inch on my waist and notice less fat in the pinch test. Really been slacking on getting my body fat checked with calipers lately (my usual measurer is MIA and I don't trust most people with this). Pics tell the truth tho. ;)​
-Strength was not the easiest to compare as my program isn't linear at the moment so things changed up pretty quickly. I did notice the ability to push more reps or higher weight at each workout for 90% of my workouts. After coming back to some of my max effort attempts this week and last I have hit higher numbers on each so strength levels are above what they were at the beginning of this log (10-15lbs on several big lifts).

 
I liked you final review so much that I made your rep power 888888. Hopefully nobody else reps you and ruins it!

In all seriousness, this was a fantastic log and your final review is great too. So much detail right up until the end. Great job man!
 
Negs to whoever ruins my rep number! lol

Glad to have been able to run this log for AN. :cool:
 
Very detailed review excellent Bolt job well done here.
 
Awesome job on the review bolt. Very thorough feedback.

I swear I wasn't the one that ruined your rep :)
 
breezy11 said:
Awesome job on the review bolt. Very thorough feedback.

I swear I wasn't the one that ruined your rep :)
Click to expand...

I know who it was. ;)

Glad you guys followed along. I know my logs tend to be more serious with less extra convo compared to most but I appreciate the follows.
 
I may have not posted a lot but I followed on both forums, solid review and glad you enjoyed your run!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top