im posting this question at the request of one of my bros…
what effect does ephedra and/or caffeine have on a carb-up day? does it help or hurt the carb-up?
thanks
I’m not too sure about the ephedrine, but the caffeine will effect insulin sensitivity.
It depends on when you’re going to take the ephedrine/caffeine. If you are just taking it pre-workout, then I don’t see a problem, because the exercise should off-set the Caf. Taking it at any other time of the day would cause your body to react similar to that of a diabetic.
If you have to take caffeine, try some R-ALA before your carb meals.
ephedrine and caffeine both have a negative effect on insulin sensitivity. i would definitely not take either on a carb-up day (not even pre-workout) and possibly not even the day before. r-ala will help to some degree, but i believe that these stimulants can have a longer term effect on insulin sensitivy–especially when taken habitually.
That is correct, they have negative contributions to insulin sensitivity. The caffeine in green tea has been shown to not have the same effect, so it is preferred in such examples for that very reason.
So, would a good pre-workout look like:
3g Tyrosine
400mg Green Tea Extract
Maybe some niacin, choline
(Or you just could shell out some money for powerdrive)
if this works for you, then that’s a great alternative. you might also want to look into GO by black star labs.
and for the record, I don’t think that using 100-200mg caffeine pre-workout a few times a week is going to cause you to become chronically insulin resistant. a problem is more likely to develop if you add in diet sodas, multiple cups of coffee, thermogenics, etc. on top of this, though.
agree with powergrudge.
also note that many herbal diuretics have caffeine in them so if this is a pre-show carb up becareful of that too.
p-dog
go to the “refeed hq” thread: