I’ve always like Power Drive before leg day and before I study for a little extra brain boost. Yesterday I took the lead of some of the others on this board and did a double shot with a caffeine tablet mixed with club soda. I think it was Charles Staley who said to use it with club soda.
Wow! I’ve never felt anything like that! I was a freakin MACHINE for hours - incredible workout, incredible brain surge as I wrote a paper and studied. And I should add that I don’t like an ECA kind of ephedra buzz. I just don’t feel good on it. But a double shot of Power Drive is awesome! Thanks to those who’ve been writing about this. Workouts and any intense mental activity just got a lot easier! Wish I would’ve had this for the SATs…
I agree. Powerdrive is the most under-rated sup. out there. I have amazing workouts and it also helps me for a big test as well. For those who think it’s some type of stimulant, they’re wrong. Stimulants mask most feeling. Rather, Powerdrive allows you to get the most out of what you have, and the result is better than any ECA.
For those of you who workout in the evening and get to bed before midnight, do you find that Powerdrive keeps you awake at all, or makes sleep difficult?
Though I never have taken close to bedtime, I would bet that it does not effect sleep. If you’ve taken PD, you would understand. It’s really hard to describe exactly how this stuff makes you feel: not wired, just very focused. For example, when I take PD on back day, I can feel all the contractions on my pull movements so much better than when not on PD. Trust me, feeling your lats stretch and lock in during contraction is the essence of what I want in a quality rep.
I had eaten 2-3 hours before. I thought the carbination made it taste better believe it or not. Like orange soda. I had the club soda in the fridge so it was nice and cold. Tasty.
Oh, and I may be wrong, but I think I’ve heard people say to take other supplements with club soda as well, like tribex. Sorry, don’t recall who said it or their reasoning. I too would like to hear why Staley recommends this. I can’t say it was the club soda that made all the difference, it was mostly the double dose of PD I’m sure. I’ve done caffeine with one serving before so I know how that feels.
As for the bedtime question, one serving never bothered me taking it late. Sleep was fine. But I would be hesitant to take two servings late in the day. Maybe drop the caffeine from the stack if takng it after 6PM or something. Just a guess.
I believe the carbonation in club soda helps it absorb into the body faster (side note, a bartender friend of mine told me the same think about alcohol, carbonation gets you drunk quicker).
So is it Power Drive or Surge that you shouldn’t take on an empty stomach? I work out at 5:45am, and I remember reading something about that.
DreadRedHead (aka Captain DooDoo)
The club soda recomendation did come from Staley, he also recomended it with surge. He reasons that the cabonation helps absorbsion, although he didn’t give any evidence for why this would be. Experience has told me he was on th money with this practice though, my first go with this technique was before the LSAT in June, and I seemed to be more on point than anyone in the room.
I’ve always done the double shot of Powerdrive. One dose never did anything for me. I’ve also taken it with caffeine and caffeine/ephedrine—those were awesome workouts.
Dreadredhead - You can and should take both on an empty stomach. They tend to work better that way - PD because it hits you faster, and Surge because you don’t want to F-up the macro ratios. Most other Biotest products are best taken with food though, except for M which I think you’re still supposed to take on an empty stomach. Bill Roberts says most stuff works better with food, but that doesn’t go for Surge and Power Drive.
Steve F.- You can buy caffeine tablets (Vivarin or generic) just about anywhere you buy aspirin - convenience stores, grocery stores, pharmacies etc. I get a generic kind called “Stay Awake” at Wal-Mart, cheaper than Vivarin, but they’re all cheap.
On that note, I kinda wish Biotest would just put a little caffeine in Power Drive and make in one nice package.
Powerdrive works; it doesn’t improve my workouts but does lift my mood and really helps my memory. The carbonation thing is true, it helps the active ingridents cross into the blood, but I haven’t had a bio class in two years so I can’t remember how.
I may well be talking out of my ass here, but I think that when you drink a carbonated beverage,it passes through the stomach into the intestines at a more rapid rate(not exactly sure why). With less time in the acid environment of the stomach, you get better absorbtion in the intestines, so you get more bang for your buck. I think that’s the theory behind all those fizzy creatine drinks(and champagne).