First log: Bulking with SNS stack (PA, PrimeXT, XGels, Amento)

Kman2244

Kman2244

New member
Hey guys, decided to do my first log. Just starting this new stack, and after maintaining weight for a few months, I’m ready to bulk up a bit more and hopefully make some great strength gains. So I figured this would be the perfect time to start a log to contribute to the community and also to help hold myself accountable and stay on track.

Bit of my background for anyone interested: I’m 24yrs old and have had type 1 diabetes for 20 years. Always was pretty active, but not an athlete by any means. In my later teen years I started to get interested in working out, as I was pretty thin (135lb 5’9.5”) but never got consistent unfortunately, and would just work out a little at home here and there. Gained a little weight slowly over my early 20s, and by the start of 2023 I weighed 148 and was getting more serious about lifting and eating to put on some size, but was still working out at home. Definitely didn’t have things as dialed in as I could have, although I was making progress. On oct/6/2023 I decided to finally get a gym membership and I weighed about 157 by then. Since I got the membership, I’ve been very consistent with my workouts, I try to go to the gym daily, unless I’m feeling too sore or had to do something physically active most of the day, then I’ll take a day off. As of this morning (June 27th 2024) I now weigh 173.6 and am still relatively lean although I have gained a little bit of fat as well, which I don’t mind at all right now, as I can still see my veins and abs. I’m very happy with my progress, but I know I could be eating more. I enjoy working out, but recently getting enough calories to keep bulking has been my main struggle and I’ve been in the 170ish range for the past few months. Although the impatient part of me wishes I had kept the calories up consistently, maybe it was for the best that I eased up for a few months to let my body adjust to the new 170ish weight level. Now after having a few months of maintenance, I’m ready to get to 180.

So I will be attempting to increase calories, (and track them, as I’ve been struggling to track consistently). I’m also implementing this sns stack, and will be tracking my workout progress, as recently I have just been going with an intuitive approach these past few months, not recording anything. This log will hopefully help me stay on track with all this!

The stack:
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Today is the third day of PA and PrimeXT, I’ve been taking double the dose of PA and will continue to do that for a few more days to help saturate quicker as recommended by Steve. Taking amentoflavone pre workout. PEA + kidney assist at night (obviously these two won’t help the gains much, but wanted to add them for overall health and hoping the pea helps with little pains here and there). I’ve held off on the X gels so far because I had a little bit of pain in my left elbow and wanted to clear that up before adding the gels in. It already feels like it’s getting better, so I’m planning to add the X gels after a couple more days.

I will be posting each workout as a separate post, on the same day of the workout. Decided to stick to a relatively intuitive approach for now, but track everything so I can gauge progress. This means that I won’t be following set-in-stone rep counts/sets, but most importantly I will always try to do better then whatever I did on the previous workout, and as a bare minimum match it. If I improve on at least one exercise each workout I’ll be happy! Excited to see how fast I progress once the supplements start kicking in. Anyways, this first post went on a lot longer than I expected, hoping to have a consistent and successful log here, thanks for reading!
 
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Today was leg/core day, I wouldn’t say legs are my strong point (neglected them for a while) but I felt pretty strong today and it was a good leg day for me. Maybe the PA and Prime is already starting to do something, who knows. All numbers are in LBs, bw just means body weight only. Each exercise was also started off with a super light warm up set, which I’m not bothering to record.


Leg press 308x10 286x15 264x15

Decline sit ups 45lbx20 25lbx20 30xbw

Leg curls 100x8 80x12 60x10

Leg extensions 170x10 100x12 60x12

Back hyperextensions 15xbw 15xbw
 
That's a great stack. I hope that you'll like it.

I'll be following along. If you have any questions, let me know. I'm glad to help in any way that I can.
 
sns8778 said:
That's a great stack. I hope that you'll like it.

I'll be following along. If you have any questions, let me know. I'm glad to help in any way that I can.
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Appreciate it, I’m excited to see how this goes! Since I haven’t added the X gels in yet, I think the effects will really start kicking in around the same time as the pa and prime (X gels kick in a bit faster than those two if I remember correctly). Should be interesting to see what kind of a boost I get once all three are fully kicked in 😁
 
In on this for sure!
 
Felt tired this morning, kinda sore, and just not particularly strong or energetic. Was thinking about taking a day off, but at the same time wanted to work out still because I enjoy it and gives me something to look forward to. Decided I was gonna push through.

I was too impatient to wait any longer to start the X gels, so I took my first dose about 45 min before the workout (4 gels/1000mg). Also had my usual pre workout (pump addict) and the 2 caps of amentoflavone. I should also note that I take creatine daily since I didn’t mention that in the initial post.

To put it simply, had a much better workout than I was expecting given how I felt before hand. Was motivated, felt pretty strong, great pump. All around above average workout in terms of how I felt, really enjoyed it. Not sure if the X gels had any effect already, but man if they were doing something on the first dose I’m excited for what’s to come based on how good this workout was. Of course it could have also been the PA, Prime, Amento. Hard to tell when stacking stuff. But maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that I had an unexpectedly good workout the first time I took the X gels. Time will tell!

Anyways here was today’s workout. Could have done more dips, or body weight dips instead of assisted, but they cause a little bit of joint discomfort sometimes so I decided to keep it light on those.

Bench press 185lbx8 185lbx7 135lbx12
Shoulder press machine 170lbx8 170lbx8 150lbx12
Assisted dip 60lbx15 70lbx15
Rope push downs 85lbx10 65lbx12 45lbx15
Chest fly machine 170lbx10 150lbx7 120lbx7
Ez bar skull crushers 70lbx12 50lbx15 40lbx10
Side lateral raises 25lbx12 20lbx15 20lbx20

Was feeling pretty pumped after the workout so took a pic which is attached 😁
 

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Took yesterday off as I was sore everywhere, today was pull day. Had the usual pump addict pre. Bumped the X gels up to 5 gels (1250mg) instead of the 4 I did before last workout. Not sure what would be optimal here, but I figured an extra gel wouldn’t hurt. Had the 2 caps amentoflavone pre as well. Didn’t sleep good last night, and felt pretty out of it (before I had the pre and supplements), but once I got into the workout I felt good and pretty strong. I can only imagine I would have felt even stronger with a great nights sleep beforehand. Was very happy with how the workout went, all things considered. Probably goes without saying but the weight listed on dumbbell exercises is the weight per dumbbell, not total weight.

Pull ups BWx8 BWx6
Lat pulldown machine 140LBx10 120LBx10 120LBx10
Chest supported row machine 140LBx10 100LBx15 100LBx15
Lat pullovers 145LBx10 135LBx10 125LBx10
Dumbbell shrugs 100LBx6 80lbx10 65LBx12
EZ bar curls 100LBx6 80LBx8
Single arm rope curls (hammer style) 45LBx8 35LBx10 25LBx12
Ez bar reverse grip curls 50LBx12 40LBx20
Dumbbell wrist curls 40LBx10 30LBx12 20LBx12

Happy that I got one of each workout logged (push, pull, legs), as progress can now be tracked 💪🏼
 
Glad that you're liking you results so far.

I've felt pretty tired myself - I think for me its the heat + allergy season.

I love Pump Addict, I wish that product got more attention. It's a great pre-workout and I use 1 scoop as an energy drink a lot of days.
 
sns8778 said:
Glad that you're liking you results so far.

I've felt pretty tired myself - I think for me its the heat + allergy season.

I love Pump Addict, I wish that product got more attention. It's a great pre-workout and I use 1 scoop as an energy drink a lot of days.
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That’s what I do for most workouts, just 1 scoop or a little bit over. But rarely two scoops at once. Two can make it an extra good workout with maximum strength, but also a higher chance of having some heavy sweating and potentially a bit of stomach upset (just due to all the caffeine at once), which isn’t the end of the world, but not ideal of course haha. So I feel like two is best saved for occasionally, just in my experience.

Also on the X gels, how many would you recommend I take pre workout, if I don’t seem to be noticing any side effects so far? Was doing 4 caps the first 2 workouts and tried 5 last workout like I said, not sure what’s optimal as I’ve heard people say to take more than what’s on the bottle, but I was wondering: if more is better, than why is 4 the dosage on the bottle? Thank you
 
Kman2244 said:
That’s what I do for most workouts, just 1 scoop or a little bit over. But rarely two scoops at once. Two can make it an extra good workout with maximum strength, but also a higher chance of having some heavy sweating and potentially a bit of stomach upset (just due to all the caffeine at once), which isn’t the end of the world, but not ideal of course haha. So I feel like two is best saved for occasionally, just in my experience.

Also on the X gels, how many would you recommend I take pre workout, if I don’t seem to be noticing any side effects so far? Was doing 4 caps the first 2 workouts and tried 5 last workout like I said, not sure what’s optimal as I’ve heard people say to take more than what’s on the bottle, but I was wondering: if more is better, than why is 4 the dosage on the bottle? Thank you
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I'm the same way - I'll do 2 scoops occasionally, but most of the time 1 scoop to 1.5 scoops is all I need. I do 2 scoops in a day a lot of days, but its 1 scoop before a workout and 1 scoop in place on an energy drink normally. Or like on a day where I'm going to be doing physical activity all day, I'll drink one scoop before I start and then sip on one scoop throughout the day.

For X-Gels, I would say 4 to 6 softgels. The way the bottle directions are, we list 4 softgels as the normal dose and 6 softgels as the advanced user dose. I wouldn't take more than 6.
 
sns8778 said:
I'm the same way - I'll do 2 scoops occasionally, but most of the time 1 scoop to 1.5 scoops is all I need. I do 2 scoops in a day a lot of days, but its 1 scoop before a workout and 1 scoop in place on an energy drink normally. Or like on a day where I'm going to be doing physical activity all day, I'll drink one scoop before I start and then sip on one scoop throughout the day.

For X-Gels, I would say 4 to 6 softgels. The way the bottle directions are, we list 4 softgels as the normal dose and 6 softgels as the advanced user dose. I wouldn't take more than 6.
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Thanks, maybe I’ll stick with 5 gels since that’s right in between. Sorry, I forgot the bottle listed two dosage levels!
 
Kman2244 said:
Thanks, maybe I’ll stick with 5 gels since that’s right in between. Sorry, I forgot the bottle listed two dosage levels!
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No worries at all. I thought you meant you'd seen some people taking more than 6, which I've seen, but I wouldn't advise it. I don't think its necessarily going to hurt, I just don't think its necessarily going to help anymore past that point.

I tell anyone thinking of exceeding 6 that money wise, just add Super Swole caps. The pumps from Super Swole caps + X-Gels ae insane. Especially since you're already taking Pump Addict.
 
Was leg/core day today, increased reps by at least a little on every exercise. I even still felt slightly sore beforehand from the previous leg day, so I’m going to make sure I’m fully recovered before the next one and hopefully increase weight a little next time!

Leg press 308LBx12 286LBx16 264LBx16

Decline sit ups 45LBx25 25LBx20 30xBW

Seated leg curls 100LBx12 80LBx15 60LBx15

Leg extensions 170LBx12 100LBx15 60LBx15

Back hyperextensions 15xBW 18xBW
 
Subbed, great intro and very solid progress to date. Good starting numbers too. Interested to see how you like this stack.

Also, I know you mentioned wanting to focus on cal increase and bulking. Can you give us an idea of what you're currently consuming? Always a proponent of shakes to make the cals go down easily when trying to bulk. And addition of healthy fats, PB, ground oats, etc to those. But since you also mentioned being diabetic I'm uncertain how careful you have to be with certain things.

Best of luck!
 
Segansational said:
Subbed, great intro and very solid progress to date. Good starting numbers too. Interested to see how you like this stack.

Also, I know you mentioned wanting to focus on cal increase and bulking. Can you give us an idea of what you're currently consuming? Always a proponent of shakes to make the cals go down easily when trying to bulk. And addition of healthy fats, PB, ground oats, etc to those. But since you also mentioned being diabetic I'm uncertain how careful you have to be with certain things.

Best of luck!
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Appreciate it, I’m interested to see how I like it as well, so far so good, just going to stay consistent with the workouts which shouldn’t be a problem :) Regarding your question about calories, that’s my biggest struggle right now. Part of the reason I think it’s hard to track it all, is because I already have to think about what I eat more than most people in terms of carb content, so adding any more steps and complexity to eating isn’t appealing (by complexity I mean when the calories aren’t clear for a portion, such as home cooked meals). I have tracked daily calories for a bit in the past (during the gain from 150s to 170) so I can estimate that on average I’m eating around 2500-3000 a day right now. On a bad day (in terms of appetite), I might not even hit 2500 though.

I need to be over 3000, the problem is my appetite isn’t the best a lot of time. I know daily caffeine consumption probably isn’t helping here, but I’m nervous to go without pre workout as im so used to having that extra boost. On the topic of appetite, if anyone knows of natural supplements that increase appetite, let me know! I do eat quality food for the most part, generally low carb, but I’m not following a keto diet as I still have carbs daily. I feel like not being able to eat a lot of carbs is probably part of the reason why I struggle with the calories, as the low carb, high fat, and high protein foods, are very filling. Can’t have too much of stuff like ground oats, rice, bread, etc. It is what it is though, going to keep pushing, maybe I’ll get myself to start tracking the calories here soon, I already know I can do it after all 😂
 
Today was push day, got off to a rough start but ended up being a great workout with a nice pump!
So here’s what I mean by rough start, I did my bench warmup with just the bar, then eagerly slapped a 45 and 25 on each side, or so I thought lol. I felt weaker on one side and overall just unbalanced and not strong lol. Was pretty unhappy after a sad 4 reps (since it was half of last workouts first set), not looking forward to the rest of my workout based on that. Next set only did 2 cuz I felt so unbalanced and figured I better lower the weight. I go to lower it and find a 45 and 35 on one side, with a 45 and 25 on the other. In my haste I didn’t even notice when I was putting them on lol. I was happy since that explained why I felt so off, it had me worried 😂 Decided to just not record those messed up two sets and continued on set two with 185 and I got the same as first push workout, and I managed to get some extra reps on the last lighter set, so overall felt good on the bench and I bet I would have been able to do an extra rep or two on the first set if it weren’t for my mistake.

Last set of chest flys I skipped only because when I went to go to the bathroom someone got on the machine so I decided to move on lol. Other then that I got at least a rep or two more on every exercise compared to last time, so I was happy with the workout


Bench press 185LBx? 185LBx7 135LBx15

Shoulder press machine 170LBx10 170LBx10 150LBx12

Assisted dip 40LBx20 60LBx15

Rope push downs 85LBx10 65LBx14 45LBx20

Chest fly machine 170LBx11 150LBx10

Ez bar skull crushers 70LBx14 50LBx16 40LBx15

Side lateral raises 25LBx15 20LBx20 20LBx20


Pump was also great, decided to take a pic flexing to highlight the pump, the level of shoulder definition was the best I’ve ever seen on myself, of course the lighting did help show it more too though. Overall been feeling like my muscles are pretty full in general, and I haven’t been having any workouts so far where I felt weak (occasionally was having weak feeling days prior to this), so I’d say I’m liking the stack. Although I know I’m still early into it and placebo could be a factor among other variables, so time will tell how big the effects get 💪🏼
 

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Today was pull day, was feeling pretty sore but was eager to workout and I’m glad I did because it ended up being a great workout, will probably take tmr off before leg day though, to give myself a day to recover as my legs are still a little sore.

Increased reps or weight by at least a little on every exercise! I feel like the progress will have to slow a little soon, as I don’t expect to get stronger on every single exercise each workout, but we’ll see, I’m definitely going to try. Happy with how the workouts are going so far 😁

Pull ups BWx9 BWx6

Lat pulldown machine 140LBx12 120LBx11 120LBx10

Chest supported row machine 140LBx14 100LBx20 100LBx15

Rope lat pullovers 155LBx10 135LBx12 125LBx15

Dumbbell shrugs 100LBx7 80lbx15 65LBx15

EZ bar curls 100LBx7 80LBx9

Single arm rope curls 45LBx8 35LBx15 25LBx12

Ez bar reverse curls 60LBx12 50LBx20

Wrist curls 40LBx12 30LBx12 20x10

Just to update on the supplement dosages, decided to stick with the standard dose of 4 Xgels pre workout for now, and I’ve stopped doubling the PA dosage, so I’m sticking with the standard 4 PA caps per day (pre workout). Taking 3 Prime XT caps pre workout, and 3 in the evening. Before bed I’m taking 3 caps of zma, 1 cap of PEA relief, and 3 caps of kidney assist. I know that’s half the dosage on the kidney assist, but since I don’t have any kidney issues right now and I’m more taking it for general health and prevention, I figured 3 would be sufficient and I can stretch out the bottle a lot longer that way.
 
So I said I was probably going to take today off, ended up hitting legs hard instead 😂 Managed to add reps or weight on every exercise, which was a pleasant surprise!


Leg press 308LBx14 308LBx12 264LBx16

Decline sit ups 45LBx30 25LBx25 35xBW

Seated leg curls 120LBx12 100LBx16 80LBx16

Leg extensions 170LBx15 120LBx15 80LBx15

Back hyperextensions 20xbw 18xbw
 
Wow, today was an amazing workout. Felt very strong and hit a new PR on bench like it was nothing. Never have done 225 bench before, I had tried to hit 225 for one rep a few months ago and couldn’t even complete one rep.

Today I knocked out 185 for 10 which I don’t think I’ve ever done so that’s a pr right there, and wasn't feeling too worn out after that set, so decided to try 225 since it had been a while. I was expecting to barely grind out one rep maybe, since I’d already did the set of 185 for 10 (was near failure), but I actually hit 3 solid reps of 225! Now that I know I can do it, I’ll probably go for 225 on the first set next push day to see how many I can do without any pre exhaustion. And what’s even more crazy is that I hit 185 for 9 reps on the third set, only one rep less than the first set. Was extremely happy with this and pretty surprised to be honest.

Rest of the workout also went good with increased weight or reps on every exercise. I don’t expect this to continue to for too long but it’s sure nice getting stronger on every workout 😁


Bench press 185LBx10 225LBx3 185LBx9

Shoulder press machine 170LBx15 170LBx15 170LBx15

Assisted dip 25LBx20 40LBx15

Rope push downs 85LBx12 65LBx16 55LBx18

Chest fly machine 170LBx12 150LBx13 130LBx8

Ez bar skull crushers 80LBx10 60LBx16 40LBx18

Side lateral raises 30LBx15 20LBx15 20LBx20


Also another thing I was surprised to see, was I weighed 178 this morning after going to the bathroom and before eating anything. I weighed 175 on the 4th, so I know this can fluctuate a bit for a variety of reasons, but 178 is still the highest weight I’ve ever seen in the morning. This surprised me since I haven’t been tracking calories, just trying to eat a good amount, but I feel like I’m not having enough due to lack of appetite at times. Regardless of my concerns the scale doesn’t lie, I’m surely not losing weight and appear to be gaining so I’m very happy about that too.
 
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akboom87 said:
Congrats on the rep pr, then the 225x3 that’s awesome!!
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Thanks man! It really surprised me, I’m always hesitant to make assumptions, but the rate of progress does seem abnormally fast for me right now, so I’m definitely feeling like the supplements have to be kicking in. Who knows which are doing the most right now, but the stack does seem to be working which I’m super excited to see
 
Congratulations on the PR's and progress. I'm excited to see what is to come.
 
Today was pull day, didn’t get as much sleep as I wanted so was feeling pretty tired before the workout, but the pre workout helped. Forgot to take the amentoflavone pre workout too. So overall wasn’t feeling perfect going into the workout and didn't have the amento like I have been, but I still managed to increase reps or weight on most exercises so ended up being pretty happy with the workout considering!

Also dropped the lightest set of shrugs since I felt it was kinda junk volume, and added 3 sets of face pulls right after, to burn out the traps from a different angle and hit rear delts at the same time


Pull ups BWx10 BWx7

Lat pulldown machine 150LBx12 130LBx11 120LBx10

Chest supported row machine 150LBx14 130LBx15 120LBx15

Rope lat pullovers 155LBx12 135LBx15 135LBx15

Dumbbell shrugs 100LBx7 80lbx15

Rope face pulls 85LBx20 85x15 75LBx15

EZ bar curls 100LBx8 80LBx9

Single arm rope curls 45LBx8 35LBx15 25LBx15

Ez bar reverse curls 60LBx14 50LBx20

Dumbbell wrist curls 40LBx14 30LBx12 20LBx12
 
Congrats on the PR!

Only supp I can think of that naturally will increase appetite was called Black Hole from Controlled Labs. Not sure they still make it, but they used to be really popular on the BB forum back in the old days...
 
Segansational said:
Congrats on the PR!

Only supp I can think of that naturally will increase appetite was called Black Hole from Controlled Labs. Not sure they still make it, but they used to be really popular on the BB forum back in the old days...
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Thanks! And ill have to look into that 💪🏼
 
I missed any question about increasing appetite.

Anacyclus XT increases appetite in some people.
 
sns8778 said:
I missed any question about increasing appetite.

Anacyclus XT increases appetite in some people.
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No worries it was hidden in a wall of text 😂 Last stack I ran had anacyclus as part of it, I didn’t really notice a boost in appetite but when I look back, maybe my appetite was better. Hard to tell since it was months ago, maybe I’ll have to give it another shot. Thanks
 
Kman2244 said:
No worries it was hidden in a wall of text 😂 Last stack I ran had anacyclus as part of it, I didn’t really notice a boost in appetite but when I look back, maybe my appetite was better. Hard to tell since it was months ago, maybe I’ll have to give it another shot. Thanks
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No problem at all. I'm sorry if I missed it.

A lot of people say that Anacyclus XT helps them with their appetite. My appetite is pretty high anyway so I can't say it makes a big difference for me personally though, but that's a good thing in my case.
 
Today was leg day, energy wasn’t good today and I almost took the day off but decided to go anyways. Despite not feeling the best, I was still able to do better on most exercises! Definitely was worn out after though haha


Leg press 308LBx15 308LBx14 286LBx15

Decline sit ups 45LBx32 25LBx25 35xBW

Seated leg curls 120LBx13 100LBx18 90LBx17

Leg extensions 170LBx20 120LBx15 80LBx20

Back hyperextensions 20xbw 18xbw
 
Today I did push day, and it was the first day of the log that I didn’t get stronger than the previous workout, actually was weaker compared to last push day. I’m not surprised or upset, as I knew this would happen at some point, but of course I wasn’t happy with it either 😂

To me this is probably a sign that the fast strength gains and frequent workouts have caught up to me and recovery was lacking prior to this workout. Of course it could have just been a one-off, just not an optimal day for whatever reason, who knows.

For the sake of thoroughness, here’s a few small things that were different, but I highly doubt this affected my strength much, I think it just was a recovery thing. Although I suppose not taking the X gels as close to my workout could have changed something, but I’d be very surprised if that was responsible for the decrease in strength.

-Took the X gels right after waking up and waited about an 45min-hour before eating, instead of taking the X gels 45 min pre workout around the same time as my breakfast.

-Took 500mg ALCAR at the same time as the X gels

The reason for these two changes was I read taking X gels with much insulin present causes less of it to be directed to the muscle tissue, hence why I took it fasted. Also read carnatine or baby aspirin is beneficial to take with X gels, which is why I took the ALCAR. Is taking the ALCAR a good idea in your opinion Steve? I also know when taking the X gels pre workout, the exercise helps direct it to the muscle tissue, but I usually eat around an hour prior to workout, so I don’t know if in my case, with this timing, the negative effect of the insulin being present outweighs the benefits of taking pre workout, or if I’d still be better off just taking it pre workout like I have been. I’d appreciate your input here @sns8778 as I’m a little unsure of the best route to take.

Anyways here’s the workout, clearly I wasn’t as strong, and my endurance also didn’t feel as good. On the bright side at least I could still do a couple reps of 225, still stronger than before the stack, but compared to last push workout where I felt very strong, it wasn’t optimal.

Bench press 225x2 225LBx2 185LBx8 135x12

Shoulder press machine 170LBx15 170LBx12 170LBx11

Assisted dip 25LBx20 40LBx15

Rope push downs 85LBx10 65LBx16 55LBx18

Chest fly machine 170LBx12 150LBx8 130LBx8

Ez bar skull crushers 80LBx7 60LBx12

Side lateral raises 30LBx15 20LBx20 20LBx20

Going to listen to my body and take tomorrow off (unless I somehow wake up feeling extra strong and energized lol). Also going to try to get on a better sleep schedule. Hopefully next workout (pull day) I crush it 😁
 
Kman2244 said:
Today I did push day, and it was the first day of the log that I didn’t get stronger than the previous workout, actually was weaker compared to last push day. I’m not surprised or upset, as I knew this would happen at some point, but of course I wasn’t happy with it either 😂

To me this is probably a sign that the fast strength gains and frequent workouts have caught up to me and recovery was lacking prior to this workout. Of course it could have just been a one-off, just not an optimal day for whatever reason, who knows.

For the sake of thoroughness, here’s a few small things that were different, but I highly doubt this affected my strength much, I think it just was a recovery thing. Although I suppose not taking the X gels as close to my workout could have changed something, but I’d be very surprised if that was responsible for the decrease in strength.

-Took the X gels right after waking up and waited about an 45min-hour before eating, instead of taking the X gels 45 min pre workout around the same time as my breakfast.

-Took 500mg ALCAR at the same time as the X gels

The reason for these two changes was I read taking X gels with much insulin present causes less of it to be directed to the muscle tissue, hence why I took it fasted. Also read carnatine or baby aspirin is beneficial to take with X gels, which is why I took the ALCAR. Is taking the ALCAR a good idea in your opinion Steve? I also know when taking the X gels pre workout, the exercise helps direct it to the muscle tissue, but I usually eat around an hour prior to workout, so I don’t know if in my case, with this timing, the negative effect of the insulin being present outweighs the benefits of taking pre workout, or if I’d still be better off just taking it pre workout like I have been. I’d appreciate your input here @sns8778 as I’m a little unsure of the best route to take.

Anyways here’s the workout, clearly I wasn’t as strong, and my endurance also didn’t feel as good. On the bright side at least I could still do a couple reps of 225, still stronger than before the stack, but compared to last push workout where I felt very strong, it wasn’t optimal.

Bench press 225x2 225LBx2 185LBx8 135x12

Shoulder press machine 170LBx15 170LBx12 170LBx11

Assisted dip 25LBx20 40LBx15

Rope push downs 85LBx10 65LBx16 55LBx18

Chest fly machine 170LBx12 150LBx8 130LBx8

Ez bar skull crushers 80LBx7 60LBx12

Side lateral raises 30LBx15 20LBx20 20LBx20

Going to listen to my body and take tomorrow off (unless I somehow wake up feeling extra strong and energized lol). Also going to try to get on a better sleep schedule. Hopefully next workout (pull day) I crush it 😁
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I think it was likely just a coincidence or recovery related moreso than what you did.

I don't think it matters whether you take the X-Gels 1 hour 45 minutes prior on an empty stomach or 1 hour prior with your meal.

ALCAR is a good ingredient but I don't think its necessary to take it just to take X-Gels.

I talk about a lot about strength gains being great but sometimes we need to pace ourselves bc they can be taxing on our body. I think what you ran into was likely just an example of that and that with a little recovery, it will be right back to increasing. I'm very guilty of the same thing myself.
 
sns8778 said:
I think it was likely just a coincidence or recovery related moreso than what you did.

I don't think it matters whether you take the X-Gels 1 hour 45 minutes prior on an empty stomach or 1 hour prior with your meal.

ALCAR is a good ingredient but I don't think its necessary to take it just to take X-Gels.

I talk about a lot about strength gains being great but sometimes we need to pace ourselves bc they can be taxing on our body. I think what you ran into was likely just an example of that and that with a little recovery, it will be right back to increasing. I'm very guilty of the same thing myself.
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve, yeah I agree, I think the strength reduction was just from lack of recovery. With strength increasing substantially every workout it’s hard to not get excited and want to workout as often as possible and then overdo it a little, which I think is what happened.

Regarding taking the X gels around food and adding ALCAR, I really don’t want to worry about the dose timing but here’s what I read which led me to start even thinking about these things. Just thought I’d paste it here in case you have any additional thoughts based on this, or curious if you think this information is outdated (from 2018). The last sentence is what made me worried about taking it near my pre workout meal.

“As explained above, Arachidonic Acid allows for the production of eicosanoids which also includes amplifying an increase thromboxane formation. The idea of inhibiting this pathway is to allow for more Ara to be converted to prostaglandins and prevent/limit platelet aggregation and vasoconstriction bought upon by thromboxane production. To counteract this, a low dose aspirin (81mg) or Carnitine salt is often suggested. The reason a low dose aspirin is used over a higher dosed aspirin is because the lower dose will not affect the CoX-2 pathway in which Arachidonic acid works but it will deactivate Cox-1 and thus reduce thromboxane formation.

It is also suggested that Ara be taken with Glycerol Monosterate (GMS) to emulsify the Ara (breakdown fat globules into smaller, more uniform particles).

It is also suggested to take Arachidonic Acid either completely fasted or 45 minutes Pre-workout. The reason for this is that both scenarios favour the depositon of Ara into skeletal muscle which is what we want (for its effects on building muscle). Pre-workout is favoured even more as eicosanoid biosynthesis begins when a body cell is activated by mechanical trauma, or in this instance, exercise. Ara also has the ability to act as a vasodilator which further solidifies its use pre-workout. Avoid taking with food as insulin will deposit Ara in adipose tissue and the effects of the compound will be wasted.”
 
I wouldn't sweat it. Sometimes things are just down even for no reason and if everything is done right, it is more about watching trends than any one singular blip, unless it is massively off. I usually don't sweat it until it starts to repeat more of maintaining and even then maintenance might be fine as long as it isn't going down.

I always used to take my carnitine and gms with ArA, but again I wouldn't overly worry about it. The studies weren't ever done in that fashion, it really is just like an overly focused approach. Does it theoretically make sense? Sure. Would I likely do it that way still? Ya, but I know I border on a bit obsessive. Would I tell people they have to dose it that way? Not anymore, I think consistency is more important.
 
Kman2244 said:
Thanks Steve, yeah I agree, I think the strength reduction was just from lack of recovery. With strength increasing substantially every workout it’s hard to not get excited and want to workout as often as possible and then overdo it a little, which I think is what happened.

Regarding taking the X gels around food and adding ALCAR, I really don’t want to worry about the dose timing but here’s what I read which led me to start even thinking about these things. Just thought I’d paste it here in case you have any additional thoughts based on this, or curious if you think this information is outdated (from 2018). The last sentence is what made me worried about taking it near my pre workout meal.

“As explained above, Arachidonic Acid allows for the production of eicosanoids which also includes amplifying an increase thromboxane formation. The idea of inhibiting this pathway is to allow for more Ara to be converted to prostaglandins and prevent/limit platelet aggregation and vasoconstriction bought upon by thromboxane production. To counteract this, a low dose aspirin (81mg) or Carnitine salt is often suggested. The reason a low dose aspirin is used over a higher dosed aspirin is because the lower dose will not affect the CoX-2 pathway in which Arachidonic acid works but it will deactivate Cox-1 and thus reduce thromboxane formation.

It is also suggested that Ara be taken with Glycerol Monosterate (GMS) to emulsify the Ara (breakdown fat globules into smaller, more uniform particles).

It is also suggested to take Arachidonic Acid either completely fasted or 45 minutes Pre-workout. The reason for this is that both scenarios favour the depositon of Ara into skeletal muscle which is what we want (for its effects on building muscle). Pre-workout is favoured even more as eicosanoid biosynthesis begins when a body cell is activated by mechanical trauma, or in this instance, exercise. Ara also has the ability to act as a vasodilator which further solidifies its use pre-workout. Avoid taking with food as insulin will deposit Ara in adipose tissue and the effects of the compound will be wasted.”
Click to expand...

I did a very detailed post on the subject of ARA awhile back and some of the myths and things about it, but to put it simply, no, I wouldn't worry about it.

ARA was so discussed and argued about at one time that I remember saying - people agree on 95% of it but spend 95% of the time arguing over the 5% they disagree about.

It was the same people that were overanalyzing the crap out of it and stopping their joint supplements when taking it because of over worrying about anti-inflammation supplements rather than just spacing them out from it that were the ones saying they were having joint pain, whereas everyone not overthinking it was just taking it however and going on about their business and not experiencing that. Basically, the overthinking it may have helped in one way, hurt in another if that makes sense. (Bc it wasn't the ARA making their joints hurt, it was that they stopped taking the things that made their joints not hurt and then added strength so of course they were going to lol).
 
sns8778 said:
I did a very detailed post on the subject of ARA awhile back and some of the myths and things about it, but to put it simply, no, I wouldn't worry about it.

ARA was so discussed and argued about at one time that I remember saying - people agree on 95% of it but spend 95% of the time arguing over the 5% they disagree about.

It was the same people that were overanalyzing the crap out of it and stopping their joint supplements when taking it because of over worrying about anti-inflammation supplements rather than just spacing them out from it that were the ones saying they were having joint pain, whereas everyone not overthinking it was just taking it however and going on about their business and not experiencing that. Basically, the overthinking it may have helped in one way, hurt in another if that makes sense. (Bc it wasn't the ARA making their joints hurt, it was that they stopped taking the things that made their joints not hurt and then added strength so of course they were going to lol).
Click to expand...

Yeah it makes sense, I’ll stop worrying about it for good, sorry for even bringing it back up I’m sure you’re sick of the whole topic by now 😂 I’ve been taking it right near my pre workout meal and not worrying about the insulin effect or anything and my strength has been going up regardless, so I suppose it’s a waste of time to worry about theoretical optimal conditions when the results are good.
 
Resolve10 said:
I wouldn't sweat it. Sometimes things are just down even for no reason and if everything is done right, it is more about watching trends than any one singular blip, unless it is massively off. I usually don't sweat it until it starts to repeat more of maintaining and even then maintenance might be fine as long as it isn't going down.

I always used to take my carnitine and gms with ArA, but again I wouldn't overly worry about it. The studies weren't ever done in that fashion, it really is just like an overly focused approach. Does it theoretically make sense? Sure. Would I likely do it that way still? Ya, but I know I border on a bit obsessive. Would I tell people they have to dose it that way? Not anymore, I think consistency is more important.
Click to expand...

Good point, I just assumed it was due to lack of recovery as I have been working out frequently, but it is possible I was recovered enough and it just one of those days. Very true about the trends, if I kept getting weaker or suddenly wasn’t making any progress whatsoever over the course of multiple workouts, then that would prove there was something I needed to adjust, but I can’t assume much off one workout. Thanks for the perspective
 
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Kman2244 said:
Yeah it makes sense, I’ll stop worrying about it for good, sorry for even bringing it back up I’m sure you’re sick of the whole topic by now 😂 I’ve been taking it right near my pre workout meal and not worrying about the insulin effect or anything and my strength has been going up regardless, so I suppose it’s a waste of time to worry about theoretical optimal conditions when the results are good.
Click to expand...

Oh no, I don't mind answering questions at all. I'm glad to help.

I just think that while there is some validity to a lot of the information posted back then about arachidonic acid, some of it was just so over thought and over analyzed that it would never make a difference in the real world.

Or, like what I mentioned about the anti-inflammatories, that people wound up overthinking it to where they did more harm than good. Some people went to such an extreme that they stopped all their joint health stuff to use ARA but then when they used it and their strength went up and their joints started hurting, they blamed ARA for the 'inflammation' causing their joint pain, which was ridiculous from a common sense level bc if you already have joint pain and take something to help the joint pain, it should be common sense that your joints would start hurting again if you stopped taking it and especially if you stopped taking it and then your strength went up dramatically. But instead, they blamed ARA for making their joints hurt lol.

I want to clarify - I'm not poking fun at them - it does seem common sense in hindsight but a lot of people got so caught up in overanalyzing it at the time that they really did believe it.

But it kind of goes to the question - did they gain more strength by taking their joint support products out, but their joints not been able to handle the strength they were gaining? Or would they have been less miserable and gained more strength if they'd left their joint support in and their joints would have then been able to accommodate more strength gains?
 
So instead of taking today off completely, I decided to still do a pull day but just take it easier and only focus on getting a good pump instead of beating past numbers. I’ll call it active recovery lol. Didn’t count reps on most exercises, just got a good pump and left. Didn’t record the workout so there’s nothing to put down here as far as that goes, but still wanted to make an update.

Might take tomorrow off then, and come back strong the following day for leg day and try to beat past numbers. Want to keep making progress so trying to make sure I’m fully recovered so that it’s possible!

Also I do have to say muscles have been feeling pretty full lately, vascularity is great too. Visible veins on the biceps, forearms, lats, even a little on the shoulders and chest. Starting to see some on the back lower part of my triceps too. Considering that I’m not cutting, it’s cool to be even a little more vascular than normal. Not sure what’s contributing the most to this, as multiple things I’m taking could be helping in that regard. Maybe it’s a combo of everything. Who knows but in any case I’ve been pretty happy with how I’m looking recently!
 
Today was leg day, I was able to do better on every exercise! Definitely think taking yesterday off helped, I doubt I would have been as strong if I hadn’t. Hopefully can get stronger on push day tomorrow as well, now that I’ll be fully recovered


Leg press 308LBx17 330LBx14 286LBx15

Decline sit ups 45LBx40 25LBx25 35xBW

Seated leg curls 120LBx15 110LBx16 100LBx15

Leg extensions 170LBx20 120LBx18 100LBx20

Back hyperextensions 22xbw 20xbw
 
Today was push day. Last night I had a rough night and was up to 6am, I slept a decent amount but woke up pretty tired, so definitely wasn’t in an optimal state. Was a solid workout considering the bad night beforehand, but didn’t beat past numbers. So I didn’t manage to beat the 3 reps of 225, but the day I hit that (after repping 185) I was feeling extra strong so I’m not surprised. There’s a chance I could have got 3 but didn’t feel like I was going to, so I didn’t try since I didn’t have a spotter.

On the push downs, skull crushers, and side lateral raises I switched from going down in weight each set, to climbing up. The reason for this is I felt like it was stressing my elbows/shoulders by going straight into the heaviest set, so I figured it would be foolish to continue doing it just to try and be able to hit a few more reps.


Bench press 135x10 225x2 225LBx2 185LBx9 155x13

Shoulder press machine 170LBx15 170LBx15 170LBx11

Assisted dip 20LBx19 40LBx15

Rope push downs 55LBx20 65LBx15 85LBx12

Chest fly machine 170LBx8 150LBx8 130LBx8

Ez bar skull crushers 40LBx20 50LBx15 60LBx12

Side lateral raises 20LBx20 25LBx20 30x15
 
Yesterday was pull day (14th), was feeling pretty tired beforehand, really need to work on my sleep schedule. Decided to make a few changes to the workout: Added a couple sets of rear delt flys to target those a little more, took away one set of rows and pulldows and added two sets of T bar rows in their place to try and target the lower lats more with the unique strength curve and great stretch, and changed from ez bar curls to dumbbell curls to help balance out left bicep with the right. I’d welcome any input on whether or not these changes seem like a good idea.

Wasn’t exceptionally strong but wasn’t a bad workout considering I felt pretty tired beforehand. Had controlled form on the t bar rows, was kinda surprised by how little weight felt challenging, but I’m not sure how much weight the bar adds and it was the first time doing them really. I also did them after multiple pull exercises so that reduced my weight by a good bit I’m sure. Going to try and get stronger on those fast though. Took today off but going back tomorrow for leg day!


Pull ups BWx9 BWx7

Chest supported row machine 160LBx15 140LBx15

Rear delt flys 100LBx10 80LBx12

Lat pulldown machine 150LBx12 130LBx12

Chest supported T-Bar row 70LBx9 45LBx12

Rope lat pullovers 155LBx14 145LBx12 135LBx14

Dumbbell shrugs 100LBx7 80lbx15

Face pulls 95LBx20 85x20

Dumbell curls 50LBx6 40LBx9

Single arm rope curls 45LBx9 35LBx15

Ez bar reverse curls 60LBx15 50LBx20

Dumbbell Wrist curls 20LBx20 40LBx8 30LBx12
 
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