By the beard of Zeus! Antaeus Labs Thunderbolt Log

[brenthebdog]

Right now recomp season has begun and it is great to be logging Thunderbolt for a much needed cut!

Here are my stats:

Age: 27 M
Weight: 175.5
Height: 5ft. 91/2in.
Body comp: 14%fat (estimated, probably more)
BP: 110/90

The cold hard light of truth shines on a seriously dirty bulk!

Little bit about my training background: High school cross country, Lacrosse, competitive BJJ, and currently trail running and volunteer firefighting. Generally, I never look to put on mass I just end up looking like Mac from Always Sunny. Kinda surprised to find out my diastolic BP was so high, it's usually around 60, but I have been enjoying bbq kettle chips and Alphamine; and not doing any form of cardio.

My goal over the next two months is to get down to 8% body fat at around 160 to 158lbs. Luckily, I have a mesomorph frame and metabolism that helps me shed fat as quickly as I gain it. The thing that has been rough over the past two years is that I just became a volunteer firefighter and virtually no-one eats healthy. Most of the time the food that is available is incredibly calorie dense food or I'm too tired to prepare something healthy ahead of time.

It's 7:30pm in the foothills of CO right now and that means 24hr fitness is packed as hell, so I'll end up heading in around 10 so that I can actually get a good lift in. I'll post results and pics from tonight next time.

Anything you want to know from the log feel free to ask, I don't have a vested interest in the product, I just want to see how it performs.

 

[cdiblasi]

Thanks for posting up! The key to any successful diet usually requires preparing things to bring to work- I wish you the best!

 

[brenthebdog]

Today marks my first lift with Thunderbolt; exhaustion sets for legs and ab work until muscle failure.

Romanian deadlifts: 3sets 25reps @ 135lbs
2sets 15reps @ 155lbs
1 set until muscle failure @ 135

Hack Squat machine: 5sets 40 reps @ 90lbs+carriage weight
3sets 25 reps @ 110lbs+carriage weight
2sets 15reps @ 140lbs+carriage weight

Incline leg raises to hip thrust: 4 sets descending from 18reps to 14 to 8 to 4

Roman Chair situps superset with back extensions: However many I could do until failure for each exercise.

So far I can tell that I got a great full body pump from doing legs today because I got very hot and red immediately, a great unexpected thermogenic effect! Also, before lifting I had a pounding headache from not taking a preworkout or any caffeine today and within 40min of taking Thunderbolt it went away completely. As of now I'll be off of preworkouts and caffeine in general to better assess the Thunderbolt ingredients.

 

[cdiblasi]

Nice first update! I'm glad you're already noticing some of the effects of Thunderbolt- let's see how it treats you as time goes on.

 

[brenthebdog]

Today my lift was virtually identical to yesterday's lift except for the addition of power cleans.

15 reps @ 135
16 reps @ 135
16 reps @ 135
5 reps @ 155
3 reps @ 155
10 reps @ 135

Then Romanian deadlifts

After this I went over to a trail I figured would be dry enough for the first run of the season.

http://jeffco.us/parks/parks-and-trails/hildebrand-ranch-park/

I think the trail works out to around 4 miles for the loop, awesome grade changes, rocks, sand, clay soil mixture. Being that it was my first run out I wasn't expecting much, but, there was a noticeable improvement in lactate threshold. However, a few months off left the soles of my feet and achilles tendon pretty weak and I ended up walking the last few yards. After my first two lifts on Thunderbolt the most noticeable effect in the gym is thermogenesis, and running is a more efficient CO2/O2 exchange and lactate threshold. Also, looking at the sky on the run my vision was clearer.

Luckily, I just put on some fat this winter instead of getting out of shape. Today was a great training day in the foothills of Colorado!

 

[cdiblasi]

Interesting workout scheme- glad you have some clear effects of Thunderbolt early on. I think Thunderbolt will be an endurance athlete's best friend.

 

[brenthebdog]

Just weighed in at 172 after getting back from my run today, a quick 3.5 miler over in Ken Caryl valley.

For the second run of the season, not bad, but still not great. Anyone from Colorado knows about this sonofabitch flu that has been going around and the 2 months of dry coughs that come with it. So far the bee propolis, NAC, and Oregano oil extract have been the best thing for treating it. Today the Thunderbolt was mostly placebo effect, my legs felt heavy, upper body felt heavy, lungs were burning. But, it was 60 degrees outside the trails were almost completely dry and nobody was on them, couldn't possibly ask for more!

Like I said above, couldn't tell anything from the Thunderbolt today, I just felt heavy on my feet. The only really noticeable thing I feel is tired from not taking a preworkout for the past 3 days. Usually I advocate for stim loaded preworkouts, but not cycling off them is not very wise.

 

[cdiblasi]

Everyone loves their stims- myself included. Just gotta keep on truckin'.

 

[brenthebdog]

Everyone loves their stims- myself included. Just gotta keep on truckin'.

I'm giving Adrafinil a try right now, very strange stim. At 50mg it's a barely noticeable alert feeling that takes at least an hour to kick in.

 

[cdiblasi]

I'm giving Adrafinil a try right now, very strange stim. At 50mg it's a barely noticeable alert feeling that takes at least an hour to kick in.

I play with adrafinil on occasion- I generally dose about 200 mg which has a nice feel to it. 200 mg + Demiurge leads to some wonderful study sessions.

 

[brenthebdog]

Outstanding training day!

Today was one of those days where everything was working in my favor, go to sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, then head to the gym and begin training. More than training for power, endurance or strength; my main goal right now is correcting muscle imbalances throughout my body. So far my left quad is pretty weak compared to the right quad and has been messing with my running stride. The best exercise to deal with that is leg raise machine with super high reps alternating between one leg and both legs, I have been going with modified strip-sets to 150 reps, taking however many sets to complete that number of reps. The cool thing is I really felt a sick pump in my quads that I would definitely attribute to the Thunderbolt. The next portion of training was dedicated entirely to core and looked like this:

Elbow planks alternating with lying planks: 1x1min, 1x45sec, 1x1min, 1x45sec, 1x1min, 1x30sec, 1x45sec, 1x30sec, 1x45sec- finish

Back extension superset with roman chair situps: 30reps, 20reps, 25reps, 20reps, 20reps, 15reps, 15reps, 10reps- finish

At this point I grabbed some Honey Stinger bites and a 1.5L bottle of essentia water and started to fuel up for the run over at Deer Creek Canyon Park. It is a brutal sumbitch around 4.5 miles alternating between a switchbacked and gradual 2 mile beginning and 2.5 mile downhill section. For the most part the trail was dry and in great condition, but the shade sections were sheets of ice and treacherous on the downhills. I was very pleased with my performance today, I feel like Thunderbolt is helping with VO2 max and lactate threshold. In the gym I get a pump and on the trail I don't get a pump, which is exactly what I want!

 

[cdiblasi]

Nothing better than a great day training- glad to see you're doing so well in the endurance aspect. Everyone seems to be noting great endurance thus far.

 

[brenthebdog]

I left it all on the trail today, just about at the point where my legs were cramping up too badly to run anymore. All together, 10.5 trail miles split between two runs.

About 20min before my first run today I took a serving of Thunderbolt with some Honey Stinger gummies and 2 scoops of Aminocore, then I hit the trails around Red Rocks Ampitheater and Matthew Winters park. Usually I can make it through the stair and rock formation section without having to walk it, but I didn't quite have it today. As far as the Thunderbolt goes, I didn't really perceive its' effects today, whether trail or gym. Matthew Winters is just brutal, there is no pill, potion, or powder that gets you up the south switchback section any faster. So far I am pretty pleased with the Honey Stinger gummies, ie. no bubbleguts while running.

Great news, I woke up weighing in at 170.5, after getting back from my second run I weighed in at 168.5 lbs. It was mostly due to water weight loss, but it means I'm on great track being below 170 this early on in the season!

 

[brenthebdog]

Nothing better than a great day training- glad to see you're doing so well in the endurance aspect. Everyone seems to be noting great endurance thus far.

It's always crazy to see the inverse relationship between endurance and strength, one goes up the other goes down. Haven't even touched a weight for upper body in the past week and a half!

 

[cdiblasi]

It's always crazy to see the inverse relationship between endurance and strength, one goes up the other goes down. Haven't even touched a weight for upper body in the past week and a half!

It's very difficult to manage being proficient in both and really takes a very different type of training. If I ever heal up, I may try more athletic training as opposed to strength training.

 

[brenthebdog]

It's very difficult to manage being proficient in both and really takes a very different type of training. If I ever heal up, I may try more athletic training as opposed to strength training.

Tendon rescue gel, that stuff works miracles! It got me through a dislocated elbow, torn rotator cuff, and a sprained ankle.

 

[cdiblasi]

Tendon rescue gel, that stuff works miracles! It got me through a dislocated elbow, torn rotator cuff, and a sprained ankle.

Thanks for the suggestion- if I believed in homeopathy in the least I'd pick some up. I'm pretty beyond repair at this point (knee and shoulder issues).

 

[brenthebdog]

Yesterdays lift and run

Good mornings superset with Romanian Deadlifts (yes, it is virtually the only thing I do for legs):

60lb straight curl bar, 4 sets x 15reps; Romanian Deadlift 135lb 4sets x15reps getting incredibly easy at this point. Abs, 3 sets of planks held for 1.5min, 1 min, 45sec, Weighted V-ups 16lb for 10reps x 3sets. Then I went over to Bear Creek lake park and ran 4 miles wearing my Hoka Mafates. The Thunderbolt is definitely noticeable at this point, enhanced work capacity, higher lactate threshold for high rep workouts. So far I think it's best usage is in the gym, that is where a great pump helps. Getting a pump while running usually means my legs are just about spent, so it works against my favor at that point. With the running I've lost around 5 pounds within the last two week and am staying under 170, and the Thunderbolt helps that by having more productive training sessions at the gym.

 

[cdiblasi]

Hmm that all seems to be very productive. Maybe when utilizing Thunderbolt it would be best to run first to avoid the big pumps? I know I'm not much of an advocate for running before working out but that may be helpful for your endurance-style training.

 

[brenthebdog]

Hmm that all seems to be very productive. Maybe when utilizing Thunderbolt it would be best to run first to avoid the big pumps? I know I'm not much of an advocate for running before working out but that may be helpful for your endurance-style training.

I lifted before I ran yesterday and had two great runs afterwards, combined they put me at a little over 10miles for the day. So far Thunderbolt seems to be more noticeable in the gym during anaerobic exercise.

 

[dsade]

Just wanted to pop in here. Thunderbolt is amazingly potent. I have added this to my essential preworkout stack.

 

[brenthebdog]

I worked shoulders a little bit yesterday and got an amazing pump, definitely does what it promises for a pre-workout pump!

 

[cdiblasi]

Just wanted to pop in here. Thunderbolt is amazingly potent. I have added this to my essential preworkout stack.

Thank you for your feedback- if we make claims at AL, we make sure to back them up.

 

[brenthebdog]

Been slacking on the log lately, lifted today it was awesome, shoulders and back. I'll go into more detail later, running late for a department membership meeting.

 

[cdiblasi]

No rush, I hope all has been well.

 

[brenthebdog]

Yesterday was core, shoulders, and arms; which happened to be followed up by the same exact body group today. Also, that is where Thunderbolt has the most pronounced effect. Being that I'm using a fairly catabolic cutting strategy, the pump from Thunderbolt has been excellent for keeping intensity up while lifts are going down significantly. For example, my single arm dumbell hammer curls on a preacher bench have dropped to 25lbs at 12rep sets. But, this is awesome considering that I'm consistently loosing weight and have dropped down to 167.5lbs today from around 175-177lbs a month ago.

Running is going great, every 5lb loss brings an exponential increase in stamina and power on the trails. Ultimately, Thunderbolt is better for weight training in the gym and feels like it wears off too quickly on long runs, anything over 10mi Thunderbolt just feels like a placebo. With that being said, in the gym it is absolutely dynamite as a standalone preworkout or combined with with something like a can of Spike or a pre-workout powder. Like I said above on shoulder and arm days are where Thunderbolt has been absolutely noticeable, within the first few sets I've been getting red, hot, and swole while not feeling any increase in perceived work capacity in calorie deficit training.

So far I'm about halfway through the bottle and my opinion is that this is absolutely the best pump product I've ever tried; it beats the **** out of Agmatine, Citrulline and GPLC, which are great in their own right. While it's not absolutely revolutionary to the point that I would pick up a bottle of this over a tub of protein powder Thunderbolt is awesome for weight training and I would chose this over a stim-cocktail preworkout powder.

 

[brenthebdog]

No rush, I hope all has been well.

Things are better man, family in the hospital trumps training.

 

[brenthebdog]

Outstanding arm day last night, I finally caved and had a scoop of the new Assault in addition to the Thunderbolt.

I started of with triceps; Standing rope handle triceps extension superset with V handle triceps pushdowns until failure. Crazy pump!

-Dumbell pullovers until failure superset with incline dumbell crush press
-Dips until failure
-Biceps on the preacher bench, single arm hammer curls superset with E-Z bar curls focusing on contraction more than weight

 

[cdiblasi]

Awesome feedback thus far and I'm glad this is the best pump product you've tried- we wouldn't claim such a thing if it weren't true.

I hope your family is feeling better and I have been back and forth to the hospital recently too which is why I haven't provided as much feedback recently.

I would never be able to willingly drop weight like you do but I'm glad your training has been to your liking.

 

[brenthebdog]

Hope all is well man, feedback about supps is pretty trivial

 

[brenthebdog]

I finally caved and grabbed a tub of Assault yesterday before I lifted, the syneiirgy between a preworkout and Thunderbolt is phenomenal!

Both yesterday and today I lifted shoulders legs and core, today was more power clean and shoulder centric and yesterday was more smith machine lunge and core centric. Being that I added the preworkout back in after about 2 weeks off the intensity was through the roof, daily caffeine and stim use is just brutally hard on the body and I needed it just to get out of the bed. Again, my best results from Thunderbolt are coming from the gym on upper body and arms days which is pretty much par for the course in weightlifting in general. At 30min after a dose when I've begun my warmup sets I can definitely feel the pump kick in significantly earlier than it would naturally, also the thermogenisis is an awesome factor that comes along with the pump. It's been dificult to be super strict and stick with low weight high rep training so I lifted heavy for shoulders today and finished up at 60lb dumbells for military presses at 8 reps x 3 sets.

So far Thunderbolt is delivering on it's claims, novel ingredients that give and incredible pump. I even brought the bottle of Thunderbolt into the local place where I usually buy my staple supps and the owner had never seen or heard of the ingredients or Antaeus Labs.

 

[brenthebdog]

Last night was the leg session I wanted to get in 2 days ago.

Power cleans superset with good mornings, smith machine single leg lunges superset with goblet squats, hack squat machine, hip flexor machine, toe touches. And all exercises performed until muscle failure, moderate weight high rep strategy. After I finished off legs I spent 35 minutes in the sauna and drinking a 1.5L SmartWater while intermittently taking cold showers to bring down my core temp. Although 24 only runs the sauna at 160F it's still a great training aid to build endurance and stamina. Thunderbolt is noticeable for leg training and helps blunt fatigue, but I've found that BCAA's are much more helpful for leg days.

 

[brenthebdog]

This is my midpoint pic after todays run

This time I took a serving of Thunderbolt along with CardioTryx by EvoMuse, my endurance is definitely where I want it to be at this point in the season. So far the fat loss is going along steadily and is becoming very apparent on the trails. My main goal for the year is to successfully complete the Grand Canyon South Kaibab trail Rim-to Rim for the 42 mile loop. Luckily living in Colorado close to 14'ers and minutes away from a dozen or more mountain trails simulates this kind of running perfectly.

Also, I do want to mention water intake. I've been steadily increasing to around a gallon and a half on training days and it has helped with fatigue resistance immensely both in the gym and on the trail, especially the trail. It's easy to make the lifter mistake and think "I exercise and I drink enough water," but unless you've got clear pee most of the time it might not be enough with heat steadily increasing along with perspiration rate.

 

[cdiblasi]

A gallon and a half of water is a ton of water intake- congrats to you if you can drink all that. The only way I can drink so much water is if it's flavored.

I've heard a lot of people with the synergy with preworkouts and that's likely due to most products having nitrates in them these days, but adding any other pump ingredients to it should provide some ridiculous pumps.

Unless you have a habit of reading PubMed articles and digging through the archives you're unlikely to have heard of these ingredients before.

 

[dsade]

renthebdog;4440751]

[/B]This time I took a serving of Thunderbolt along with CardioTryx by EvoMuse, my endurance is definitely where I want it to be at this point in the season. So far the fat loss is going along steadily and is becoming very apparent on the trails. My main goal for the year is to successfully complete the Grand Canyon South Kaibab trail Rim-to Rim for the 42 mile loop. Luckily living in Colorado close to 14'ers and minutes away from a dozen or more mountain trails simulates this kind of running perfectly.

Also, I do want to mention water intake. I've been steadily increasing to around a gallon and a half on training days and it has helped with fatigue resistance immensely both in the gym and on the trail, especially the trail. It's easy to make the lifter mistake and think "I exercise and I drink enough water," but unless you've got clear pee most of the time it might not be enough with heat steadily increasing along with perspiration rate.

Excellent choice.

 

[brenthebdog]

A gallon and a half of water is a ton of water intake- congrats to you if you can drink all that. The only way I can drink so much water is if it's flavored.

I've heard a lot of people with the synergy with preworkouts and that's likely due to most products having nitrates in them these days, but adding any other pump ingredients to it should provide some ridiculous pumps.

Unless you have a habit of reading PubMed articles and digging through the archives you're unlikely to have heard of these ingredients before.

I'll read through PubMed occasionally just to see if a supplement is actually effective or if the in-vitro rat studies are a stretch. Nitrates seem to work well for me, Condense and the new Assualt have good formulas, Red Ace seems kind of gimmicky though.

As far as massive water and electrolyte consumption goes I went into hyponatremia on a run a few years ago and it was terrifying.It felt like I was getting hit in the kidneys with a baseball bat from the inside out and could barely move my legs, DMAA on a 100+ degree day and a long trail run was dangerous and stupid. Flavored or otherwise water is crucial for good training.

 

[brenthebdog]

Yesterday was an epic shoulder day!

Within two sets of Arnold Presses I had a savage pump going which got even better when I superset with supinated grip front delt raises. Once I hit failure on the Arnold presses I continued on with regular dumbell military presses stepping down in weight until I hit absolute muscle failure and could barely rep out 30's. After that I went over to the lat pulldown tower and changed out the lat bar for a rope handle and did standing facepulls until my rear delts were completely smoked. Altogether, not many exercises performed, but the exercises I did perform were extremely intense and the pump keeps on getting better the more I train with Thunderbolt. For upper body and arms it is phenomenal, for legs it's pretty good, and for running and cardio it's not very noticeable.

 

[cdiblasi]

Training until failure on Thunderbolt just sounds painful. I typically don't get a huge pump with legs unless I do supersets.

 

[brenthebdog]

Terrible lift today!

My mind wan't in it, my heart wasn't in it. Did some step ups superset with smith machine single leg lunges and just started to zone out. My trail miles are quickly progressing and I'm running better than I ever have in my life. Yesterday was a breakthrough run and today was pure ****.

On a related note, my grandpa passed away on Easter sunday. He was a great man who inspired the greatest man I have ever known, at 82 years old after 10 years on dialysis and respiratory failure he went a good 6'1" 210 and was still strong as a ****ing ox when I helped pick him up and load him onto the funeral home gurney. Throughout his life he was a consumate athlete and coach; to his credit he was a golden gloves boxer, college football player, baseball player, and both army and navy in Korea. He went to my baseball games as a kid because I was a good player and never sugarcoated things when I played badly, he took both me and my sister to track, and always came out and talked with me when I went over to his and my grandmas' place to do yard work even though he had to carry an O2 tank everywhere. My grandpa came from tough Irish-Italian stock and grew up in the projects with a ton of brothers and sisters, being an athlete and being a fighter was a given. He passed these values along to my dad and my dad has passed them on to me and my sister, his legacy is that I am his only grandson and his death was an extremely painful reminder to always play my best and be strong.

G.E.C. 1931-2014

 

[brenthebdog]

Whoa dude, just whoa! Thunderbolt makes beta alanine burn like battery acid!

The past two times I've gone the gym I go the beta alanine flush like crazy! It starts out in my ears and elbows and starts spreading like crazy, at the 40min mark I look like the cartoon version of the devil. That being said for those who enjoy the beta alanine flush like I do, the synergy between the ingredients in Thunderbolt and the ingredients in something like the new version of Assault is absolutely incredible!

Yesterday I ended up doing shoulders and triceps as heavy as I could possibly lift for as many reps that I possibly could (I have not had the strict discipline to stay on low weight super high rep to intentionally keep upper body bulk off for ultra running). And, I gotta say that it was one of those "peak moment" training sessions. Arnold presses, supinated grip straight bar front delt raises, dumbell miltaries, cable tower front delt isolation work, and the coup de grace - pull ups until absolute muscle failure!

Without any doubt I can say that Thunderbolt works, unless the next 3 or 4 serving I have left in the bottle are bunkum this is a pump product that works exceptionally well!

And, for a fun brain teaser try loading Ubuntu onto your computer from a flash drive.

 

[brenthebdog]

Delt and tricep day again!

Everyone has their favorite day in the gym, most people would say chest day, mine will always be delt and tricep day. Today was another heavy lift and superset day. Finally after addressing some nagging rotator cuff issues I'm back up to 70lb dumbells for seated military press. It is undoubtedly the best upper body exercise out there, followed immdiately by Arnold presses.

As far as Thunderbolt goes, I'm usually looking at a 20-30min drive to the gym from where I live and if I take it with a sip of Assualt before I walk out the door and it kicks in by the time I'm on my first set. The Assualt however, I don't drink that until I'm about 10 min away from the gym to prevent the beta alanine sunburn sensation. Thunderbolt lasts the full duration of the workout and tends to work best for upper body pumps. It's somewhat noticeable for leg days but not nearly the level of upper body or arms. At first I was hesitant to try Thunderbolt with a preworkout after reading the PubMed articles about bradykinin and kallidinogenase, and thinking that it would cause a massive blood pressure drop and it did no such thing. Now, after trying Thunderbolt as a standalone pump product and with a preworkout I definitely favor using it with a preworkout for the synergy that the two have with each other. A preworkout is still going to be one of my monthly supplement purchases unless I'm cycling off of stims for a adrenergic system reset. However, with all that being said; I'll give praise where praise is due, this is the best pump product on the market by a longshot!

 

[cdiblasi]

Thanks for your great review and for your high praise. Thunderbolt truly is a gem and I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I wish the best for you and your family.

 

[brenthebdog]

Finished the bottle of Thunderbolt today these are before and after pics

Beginning- 175.5lbs

Finish- 170.5lbs

My overall opinion is that Thunderbolt works great and is absolutely as effective as touted...for upper body lifts. It works for lower body but it's not nearly as noticeable as it would be for arms or shoulders day. It works great with pre-workouts and solo, my preference has been stacking it with a pre for excellent synergy. I would absolutely buy this product myself for that extra pump and intensity in the gym. I tried it a few times as an ergogenic for trail running and didn't have the same positive effects in the aerobic endurance arena that I did in the anaerobic arena.

Big thanks to the Antaeus Labs rep who made this log possible cdiblasi! The dude knows the products he sells! I've tried Oneiromancer and Achilles before and I'm impressed by both, overall Antaeus puts out some very innovative niche products that are interesting to try if you've got some extra supplement shekels to part with.

 

[cdiblasi]

Thank you so much for your time and for the review. We put out products backed by science that the people love and Thunderbolt has become a new favorite for many. Thanks again for all of your detail and hard effort and I'm glad you enjoyed Thunderbolt so much.