Why cycling?

rodherm

Member
Just wondering what is the rational for cycling things such as fat burners? I understand the fact that the body might get used to things like high levels of caffeine and as such a break to detox would allow you to feel the energy again when back into stims. BUT does that mean that the products have no effece in aiding fat loss if you don't cycle them? For example if you take Ignit3 or Oxymax XT for 4 months non-stop would that mean after 2 months the products don't have any effect anymore? Or the cycling is more related to taking care of your own health?

Bottom line I have been taking fat burners for about 2 months now and I am close to reach my goal (maybe another month or so?) so should I continue taking them or should I do a 2-4 weeks off first?

Thanks!!
 
Depending on the ingredient, your body will get used to the product and not work as effectively or a higher dose may be needed. Some ingredients like forskolin and ashwagandha can be ran longer than others, but you should always take a break. I would take some time off once you hit the 8 weeks. One can lose fat without supplements, just make sure you're in a deficit.
 
So, would it be OK to bridge these by using maybe a non stim? Or another fat burner that uses other pathways?
 
rodherm said:
So, would it be OK to bridge these by using maybe a non stim? Or another fat burner that uses other pathways?
Click to expand...

Try not to overlap ingredients and use separate pathways and you should be alright... while in a deficit, eating properly.
 
rodherm said:
So, would it be OK to bridge these by using maybe a non stim? Or another fat burner that uses other pathways?
Click to expand...

That would be a good option, but as JPARKS42 said, make sure there isn't an ingredient overlap. I feel that Oxymax XT have more of a pronounced energy and appetite suppression when I cycle it 8 weeks on and 3-4 weeks off. Your body will adjust to most stimulants and downregulation will occur, which will make you feel the stims less
 
It gives your body a chance to reset back to normal. Especially with stims, prolonged use can reduce energy.
 
rodherm said:
Just wondering what is the rational for cycling things such as fat burners? I understand the fact that the body might get used to things like high levels of caffeine and as such a break to detox would allow you to feel the energy again when back into stims. BUT does that mean that the products have no effece in aiding fat loss if you don't cycle them? For example if you take Ignit3 or Oxymax XT for 4 months non-stop would that mean after 2 months the products don't have any effect anymore? Or the cycling is more related to taking care of your own health?

Bottom line I have been taking fat burners for about 2 months now and I am close to reach my goal (maybe another month or so?) so should I continue taking them or should I do a 2-4 weeks off first?

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Great question! As you may have seen in my prior posts...I am stimulant dependent due to the nature of my job (working nights). Oddly enough, I still respond quite well to stimulants/thermogenics without having to go overboard to achieve the same effects. For example I can just take one OxyMax XT at 1am in the morning and my energy comes back and my brain gets fired up. If I am to take something really thermogenic based like IGNIT3...I start sweating while just doing nothing. So for me, I really can't say that I have experienced too much of a decline in efficacy. I do tend to switch up what I take though to avoid building a tolerance to a specific product or ingredient. This is probably not the most healthy lifestyle, but I have had no issues thus far.

In general: taking a stim break after 8 weeks would be the recommendation but you will surely see a difference in your motivation; especially in the short term. If you think you can still be motivated without stims...give Assassinate a try solo for at least 2 weeks and then get back into your IGNIT3 or OxyMax. Another alternative would be to switch to a something like OG Norcodrene (only 100mg caffeine per capsule) and pair that with Assassinate. OG Norcodrene is very smooth and is much less harsh on your CNS than just about anything else in this category. You could possibly do that combo for the next two months and continue to get great results. That is just my 2 cents anyway...
 
john.patterson said:
That would be a good option, but as JPARKS42 said, make sure there isn't an ingredient overlap. I feel that Oxymax XT have more of a pronounced energy and appetite suppression when I cycle it 8 weeks on and 3-4 weeks off. Your body will adjust to most stimulants and downregulation will occur, which will make you feel the stims less
Click to expand...

Thanks John! That is exactly the key to my question. Is the rationale behinh cucling the fact that the body can feel the impact of the stims again but the underlying components work in fat burning anyhow? Or does the whole system/body get use to it and ergo the fat burning properties reduce/diminish? Regardless of any energy feeling from the stim.
 
Ricky10 said:
Great question! As you may have seen in my prior posts...I am stimulant dependent due to the nature of my job (working nights). Oddly enough, I still respond quite well to stimulants/thermogenics without having to go overboard to achieve the same effects. For example I can just take one OxyMax XT at 1am in the morning and my energy comes back and my brain gets fired up. If I am to take something really thermogenic based like IGNIT3...I start sweating while just doing nothing. So for me, I really can't say that I have experienced too much of a decline in efficacy. I do tend to switch up what I take though to avoid building a tolerance to a specific product or ingredient. This is probably not the most healthy lifestyle, but I have had no issues thus far.

In general: taking a stim break after 8 weeks would be the recommendation but you will surely see a difference in your motivation; especially in the short term. If you think you can still be motivated without stims...give Assassinate a try solo for at least 2 weeks and then get back into your IGNIT3 or OxyMax. Another alternative would be to switch to a something like OG Norcodrene (only 100mg caffeine per capsule) and pair that with Assassinate. OG Norcodrene is very smooth and is much less harsh on your CNS than just about anything else in this category. You could possibly do that combo for the next two months and continue to get great results. That is just my 2 cents anyway...
Click to expand...

Thanks Ricky that was exactly my thinking:

- would changing products be OK to avoid cycling?
- if so, do I need to pay attention to the pathways and stim/non-stim components

Guess what I will do is probably take a 2-3 weeks break from a stim fat burner and use Assess1nate alone in the interim (maybe with Bloodshr3d raw as pwo once or twice a week) and perhaps some Forskolin that i have never used before.

Then, after this 'stim break' I will do a month with Norcodrene (original formula that I managed to found) stacked with shift. When that is gone and depending on my results I might do an extra month with Ignit3 amd whatever has remained from Assess1nate at probably half dose.
 
JPARKS42 said:
Try not to overlap ingredients and use separate pathways and you should be alright... while in a deficit, eating properly.
Click to expand...

Thanks JPARKS42 and yes diet is checked. I am in a ca 500 calories deficit with a diet high on protein, low on fat (or mostly coming from the protein ie meat) and very low carbs. Lately I am adding a refeed/cheat day per week to give me a break since so far I had none before. To date this has helped me cut some 20kgs but I still have 6-8 more to go! Getting there...
 
rodherm said:
Thanks Ricky that was exactly my thinking:

- would changing products be OK to avoid cycling?
- if so, do I need to pay attention to the pathways and stim/non-stim components

Guess what I will do is probably take a 2-3 weeks break from a stim fat burner and use Assess1nate alone in the interim (maybe with Bloodshr3d raw as pwo once or twice a week) and perhaps some Forskolin that i have never used before.

Then, after this 'stim break' I will do a month with Norcodrene (original formula that I managed to found) stacked with shift. When that is gone and depending on my results I might do an extra month with Ignit3 amd whatever has remained from Assess1nate at probably half dose.
Click to expand...

Yes..I think your plan is solid. As an alternative to Assassinate, you could do Evomuse DCP instead. I have no opinion either way on which one.....particularly since I have yet to try Assassinate or the latest version of DCP. I picked up a bottle of that OG Norcodrene myself...I should have gotten two!
 
rodherm said:
Thanks John! That is exactly the key to my question. Is the rationale behinh cucling the fact that the body can feel the impact of the stims again but the underlying components work in fat burning anyhow? Or does the whole system/body get use to it and ergo the fat burning properties reduce/diminish? Regardless of any energy feeling from the stim.
Click to expand...

Stimulants all work in different ways. For example, caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, which blocks sleepiness and feeling tired. Yohimbine works by increasing adrenaline levels in the body, and Ephedrine acts as a beta 2 agonist which can help to increase adrenaline and RMR. If you over use any of these stimulants, your body will begin to down regulate and respond less to the stimulants. Typically the fat burning effects are still present, especially with ephedrine, but you won't "feel" the effects of the stimulants as much.

With any supplement, whether its a natural test booster, stimulant, nitrate, etc; it's best to cycle on and off to allow your body a break
 
Research the ingredient you want to take - some cause 'de-sentization' or 'down regulation' - some don't. Ephedrine is a good example - you can take it for a year straight and it will work just as well. I believe Long Jack was administered by Tambi for a long time too. Just two examples. I'd say some / a lot of the "Breaks" on labels are for CYA liability reasons. You should research every ingredient you swallow on Examine.com and Suppversity.com first.
 
Thanks john.patterson I will follow your advise and take a few weeks off before I start with OG Norco and Shift then. Will give me enough time for then to arrive hopefully!

When in a break should I avoid the use of Bloodshr3d RAW as PWO I imagine as it also has caffeine and Alpha-Y?
 
rodherm said:
Thanks john.patterson I will follow your advise and take a few weeks off before I start with OG Norco and Shift then. Will give me enough time for then to arrive hopefully!

When in a break should I avoid the use of Bloodshr3d RAW as PWO I imagine as it also has caffeine and Alpha-Y?
Click to expand...

I would take a 3-4 week break from PWO and thermogenics if you can. I usually can't bear to go that long without caffeine haha, but it would be beneficial to take a complete break. It's up to you though, maybe drop the Bloodshr3d to a half serving on your "break" period
 
Was thinking exactly the same on how to survive that long with nothing hahahaha but maybe better to slightly shorten the period a bit (let's say full 2-3 weeks instead of 3-4) with no stim AT ALL would be the way to go! I will need all of my will power here!!!
 
rodherm said:
Thanks JPARKS42 and yes diet is checked. I am in a ca 500 calories deficit with a diet high on protein, low on fat (or mostly coming from the protein ie meat) and very low carbs. Lately I am adding a refeed/cheat day per week to give me a break since so far I had none before. To date this has helped me cut some 20kgs but I still have 6-8 more to go! Getting there...
Click to expand...

Wow! 20kgs gone!?! That's incredibly impressive bud, keep up the hard work!
 
Yes...extremely impressive! Shows that you know what you are doing even more than you seem to realize. You could probably give us some tips too!
 
Ricky10 said:
Yes...extremely impressive! Shows that you know what you are doing even more than you seem to realize. You could probably give us some tips too!
Click to expand...

Trust me, all I have is a strong determination in my mind to get where I want to get and lots of eager to read and learn. Hope i am making some solid steps here and that I can sustain it over time and start a more regular training as part of my daily life.
 
rodherm said:
Trust me, all I have is a strong determination in my mind to get where I want to get and lots of eager to read and learn. Hope i am making some solid steps here and that I can sustain it over time and start a more regular training as part of my daily life.
Click to expand...
Something tells me you will..
 
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