Just curious to see what other people take before they go to the gym. From the simple coffee, to the people who use cialis before the gym, the whole gamut. What do you use? Also, what do you use for the pump?
Why go to the gym without carbs having been eaten?
I just lose easier cutting carbs. Or what can I take that will give me a great pump in the gym with carbs. I’ve seen for example, cialis and test suspension.
Hey, I gotta run to the corner store. Better fire up my Bugatti.
You’re probably much better served focuing on worthwhile workout nutrition. Read up on Plazma.
That was almost funny. Maybe next time. I get it though. Shilling for the man.
Yes. You busted me. A total shill. So much shilling my name is Curt.
How dare I offer a suggestion on a thread asking for suggestions…
It was a bit douchbaggy though. My Bugatti, yadayadayada. I’ve just seen some of these ways to get a good pump going and was curious of any pharmaceutical means. Did I put this in the wrong forum?
This is one of the least douchebaggy things I’ve ever read on this site TBH lol!
I’ve seen some anecdotal evidence that suggests that higher sodium intake can help you get a pump. I don’t know what the science is behind this, or if there is any. Could be worth looking into for you
Pre Workout Carbohydrates
Very few individual need to consume carbohydrates prior to a resistance training session that are a hour or longer.
That because very little glycogen is utilized during normal daily activities and virtually no glycogen is burned when sleeping. Sleeping amounts to performing 8 hours of an aerobic activity at the lowest level.
The lower the level of intensity, the more the body accesses fat over glucose.
Thus, muscle glycogen is pretty much full prior to resistance training.
Another factor that determines the amount of glycogen used is the…
Training Energy System
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Phosphagen System: Short, highly intense training that involves resistance sets (Limit Strength, Power, Speed Training) of around 10 seconds and up to 30 seconds, with rest period between set of 3 minutes or longer utilize ATP, not glycogen.
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Oxidative System: Endurance training session of low intensity/long duration (2.5 minutes and longer) reliance is more on ketones/body fat rather than glycogen.
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Glycogen System: Moderately intense training that involves resistance training repetition that require over 30 seconds and up to 2.5 minutes and short rest periods of of around 60 seconds are reliant on glycogen.
With that said, the majority of individuals performing resistance training in the “Muscle Glycogen Zone” have more than enough glycogen for their training, with some left to spare after the training session.
That because the body stores from 400 to 500 grams of glycogen, 1600 to 2000 kcals.
No resistance training program is going to burn that amount of glucose/calories during a workout.
The Truth About The Fat Burning Zone
Research in the article demonstrated that…
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Low Intensity Training utilized 50% of the calories from glycogen and 50% from body fat.
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High Intensity Training utilized 60.15% of the calories from glucose/carbohydrate and 39.85% from body fat.
Mathematically, that would mean after a high intensity training session that leaves you with almost 40% of you glycogen, you would still have 160 to 200 gram of glucose left.
Glycogen Restoration Time
After an intensity training session full glycogen restoration occurs in around 24 hours. Thus, normal food consumption during that 24 hour period works.
However, if you are performing a morning and evening workout, reloading glycogen post workout becomes more necessary for your evening session.
The Take Home Message
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Preforming a high intensity training session, which depletes greatest amount of glucose/carbohydrates, leaves you with close to 40% of glycogen at the end of your training session.
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Very few if any carbohydrates are needed prior to resistance training sessions of around an hour.
Kenny Croxdale
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The fire up my Bugatti thing was a bit douchey, but kinda common here. I have plenty of nutritional knowledge and I can’t afford a Bugatti or Plazma. I lose fat better with a low carb diet, but it makes going to the gym less enjoyable. Hence, why I asked the question in the first place. This is the Pharma forum, no? If you want to shill for t-nation, do it in the proper forum. Maybe you’ll get a free Spike shooter. I love Biotest products, but unfortunately they’re very expensive for me at the moment. Why would I buy Plazma when I could get 2-3 bottles of suspension for the same money? Besides, none of these products are a substitute for real food.
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Just an FYI, no this is not the pharma forum and Biotest/T-Nation are the sole owners of all of the forums and sections of it, including the pharma section.
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I use carbs to keep the shakes away. I use a NO Stack for pumps.
Nitric Oxide Stack:
2.5 mg of Tadalafil (Cialis)
3000 mg of L-Arginine
1500 mg of L-Citrulline
750 mg of L-Norvaline
taken 30 minutes before exersize and bed time.
The Tad comes from India and all the others stuff I buy from bulksupplies since you need so much everyday.
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I agree lol. And I’m the same way with low-carb diets. Much easier to cut out carbs and live in a caloric deficit than any other macro, but it affects me mentally and physically which is pretty annoying. But like I said in my original response, I’ve heard that increasing sodium intake helps with pumps. I haven’t tried it myself, but it could be worth a shot if you’re really missing the pump right now
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I would consider myself fat-adapted from keto dieting and I can achieve skin-splitting pumps on minimal pre-wo carbs. Electrolytes are the key. Even with a high carb pre like Plazma, it has electrolytes as a key ingredient. Many folks mistakenly assume they need carbs when their electrolyte balance is actually out of kilter. Thankfully for the supplements companies, it’s easier to push expensive pre-wo formulas than cheap Himalayan salt or a boulien cube!
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Thanks my friend, nice to get an actual answer without the sarcasm and know-it-all mentality that keeps me from asking questions more often. I see I did end up in the wrong forum though. My bad. Thanks again, sir.
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Just an FYI, I mistakenly put my post in the wrong forum. However, I’m the sole owner of my post and sections of it, including pointing out a douchey comment. Thank you for your reply.
Thanks for the honest reply. This is much more helpful than talking about exotic sports cars. Thanks again!
This had me thinking about something that lifters often talk about when dieting.
I’ll often hear guys saying that “they are looking flat and depleted,” referring to the lack of intra muscular glycogen, which supposedly causes the muscle to not look “full.”
So is this visual effect not to be blamed on lack of glycogen due to training sessions and not replenishing them subsequently?
If it’s true that training doesn’t burn that much glycogen, hence unless one is going zero or extremely low carbs they won’t really be depleted, then what causes this look?
One part is that people on higher fat diets load far more free fatty acids into their muscle cells. This results in what has been referred to as physiological insulin resistance, not pathological, but high fat dieters will secrete more insulin to manage the same amount of carbs as high carb dieters because their muscles are fat loaded, and their glucose burning enzyme levels are decreased so it is harder to dispose of a given amount of carbs-harder to move it into muscle. (Note that I personally do not define this as insulin resistance because the high fat dieter will need less insulin for a given amount of daily calories, even though they will need more per given amount of grams of carbs).
That being said, muscle can be loaded with fatty acids just as they can be loaded with glycogen, but inter-muscular volume loss from burning x calories of fat will be a lot smaller than inter-muscular volume loss from burning x calories of carbs. Glycogen is a sponge for water. Burning 300 calories of glycogen (75 grams) will result in a loss of about 300 milliliters of muscle volume. Burning 300 calories of fat will result in a loss of about 36 milliliters of muscle volume.
Also, creatine is stored in the aqueous (water/glycogen) matrix of the muscle, as are electrolytes.
Another issue may be that when you are burning more carbs, your muscles take in carbs more easily for a given amount of insulin because they are less fat loaded. When the body starts to burn the carbs, the liver starts to release glucose and vasodilation occurs resulting in more blood flow to the muscle. Anytime you are eating sub-maintenance calories, your insulin levels drop, and fatty acids are mobilized into the bloodstream from adipose. This results in much less of a blood volume increase than moving liver glycogen into the blood. Glucose in the blood also exerts an osmotic pressure that pulls more fluid into the bloodstream while fatty acids have little effect on this.
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Hypochondriacs
The majority of guys/gals look in the mirror or take pictures of themselves, see thing that no one else sees and isn’t there.
One day they think they look okay and the next day they believe they “look flat and depleted”.
It’s like thin women who look in the mirror and see themselves as fat.
Men look in the mirror and believe one pec or arm is larger than the other;
One arm may be minisculely larger but not so much that anyone can see it.
These individual are hypochondriacs.
JamesBrawn007
" Electrolytes are the key. …Many folks mistakenly assume they need carbs when their electrolyte balance is actually out of kilter. …Thankfully for the supplements companies, it’s easier to push expensive pre-wo formulas than cheap Himalayan salt or a boulien cube!
It’s True
There plenty of online research regarding the fact that an hour or plus of training doesn’t deplete as much glycogen as individual believe. I provided some of that information.
Do you own research and come to your own conclusions.
The majority of individuals have more than enough muscle glycogen that will get them through their workout and still have more than enough glycogen left in the muscles.
Endurance athletes in Marathon’s are at a much greater risk of running close to empty with muscle glycogen. That is why they “Bonk”. There appears to be a solution to “Bonking”; another topic for another time.
Zero Carbs
There is no such animal even on a Ketogenic Diet.
The only way to achieve Zero Carbs is to Fast; not consume any food.
Low Carbohydrate Diet
Let use the Ketogenic Diet as an example.
Research shows that “Keto Adapted” individual have the same amount of muscle glycogen as individual consuming the Traditional Western Diet
Starting A Low Carbohydrate Diet
Let use the Ketogenic Diet for this example, as well. During the first few days (about 3 days) in an very low carbohydrate diet…
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Muscle glycogen is going to be depleted.
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The initial weight loss will be in “Water Weight”, as most know.
That because a high carbohydrate diet cause water retention. For every gram of glycogen stored approximately 3 gram of water is also stored.
Greater water retention occurs because your kidneys hold on to sodium in response to higher carbohydrate intake.
Going low carb cause dehydration, sodium is dumped causing the “Keto Flu”.
The Take Home Message
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Going from a Traditional Western (High Carbohydrate) Diet to a Ketogenic (Very Low Carbohydrate) will initially decrease muscle size, strength and performance.
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JamesBrawn007’s post provide great information on electrolytes.
Kenny Croxdale
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