Nutrition: Testosterone Booster

Testosterone (test) is the male sex hormone in the body which gradually builds as you age. It seems to peak around the age of 30 however and then start to decline. For some people, their levels may just naturally be low before the age of 30 or be in decline. Declining or low testosterone levels can negatively impact your ability to build muscle and maintain strength. It may affect your bone density, propensity for heart disease, sleep cycle and emotional well-being too. Since it is a sex hormone, it also can be detrimental to your libido as well. There are several different methods you can use to combat this. Some are medical and require consulting a physician for testosterone replacement therapy or possibly steroids. Others are natural and available over the counter as supplements. I turned 34 this year so one could say that I am on the "wrong" side of the hill when it comes to testosterone. I saw a couple positive reviews from a few YouTubers about supplemental testosterone boosters. Due to their testimony, I figured I would explore this option to see if it is something viable that I could add to my supplement stack. There are numerous brands out there and these supps are not cheap so I unfortunately couldn't test several of them. They also each have their own "cycle" in which I need 3-4 weeks off the supplement before trying another one. I will probably review a couple more at a later date. I chose two boosters that have different main ingredients on purpose. After reading tons of reviews, I noticed a recurring theme that different people react (or do not react) to certain main ingredients. This likely caused some reviews to be very negative about certain supplements. The two boosters I purchased both were popular sellers on Bodybuilding.com and had a majority of positive reviews (8+ out of 10). They both had a cycle that made the supplement lapse after a month but advised that the cycle could be stacked into another month. But after two months of use, you have to take a month off. I bought one bottle of each and took one month off in between uses. The left side photo is my general shape at the end of last year (September 2012). Definitely softer but I started to be more serious about meal prep and switched up my workouts. The right side picture is my current shape (March 2013) and a lot sharper. I am not attesting the change seen here to the test booster but I do feel in the case of one of them, that it did help me shred. I testing both of these test boosters during this year when I was well into my current workout split and diet. I did take the recommended one month break between the supplements but I did not change anything workout/diet wise. This was on purpose to give both of them a fair test and try to keep the variables to a minimum. I'll elaborate in the individual reviews below.

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Beast Sports Nutrition Super Test

Main Ingredient: Tribulus Tribulus is an extract obtained from a vine (Tribulus Terrestris) and it has been used across cultures for many years with a long history of uses. Support energy levels Promote hormonal balance Support testosterone release Promote recovery time Enhanced muscle mass and definition

This supplement has a 8.1 rating on Bodybuilding.com and was recommended by a popular YouTuber in his late 30s. The label reads: "Super Test is designed to help you build muscle mass, improve strength, support sex health, help clean your system, and maintain your body so you can be to be fit and healthy". The serving size is 3 capsules which you have to take twice a day. The bottle contains 180 capsules for about $50 that should last you an entire month if taken as directed. Not to say that it may not work for others but this product did nothing for me. I felt no boost in strength or libido. I also didn't like having to take so many pills all the time. Tribulus products may not be very effective for me however. At a later date, I would like to try a different booster with tribulus to try and confirm this. As for this supplement, I will not be buying it again. More detail and purchase info here: Super Test on Bodybuilding.com

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Athletic Edge Nutrition: APE

Main Ingredient: Fenugreek Fenugreek is an herb native to southern Europe and Asia. Fenugreek has been used for thousands of years by native populations for a wide variety of uses. Support normal body response to glucose Promote healthy cholesterol levels already within a normal range May support healthy male hormone levels

This supplement has a 9.1 rating on Bodybuilding.com and was recommended to me by an AE sponsored athlete on Instagram. I was more wary of this supplement due to the source but it actually pleasantly surprised me. APE claims to: "support testosterone production, refine your physique, defy genetic limitations, promote “Alpha-Maleness” beyond normal capacity & intensity and enhance vascularity & athletic performance". The serving size for this supplement is 2 capsules which you only take once a day, 5 days out of the week. The smallest bottle comes with 40 capsules, which will also last you a month when taken as directed. The serving size & directions were much easier to follow and a big positive to me. I simply took it Mon-Fri and could forget about it during the weekend. Initially, I thought this supplement was ineffective as well but around the middle of the 3rd week of taking it, I started to feel it. I had more energy in general and my workouts were more intense. My appetite also majorly picked up. My maintenance calories were leaving me starving. It's almost as if my metabolism picked back up to what it was in my mid-20s. The only thing that was not as advertised is that I felt no increase in sex drive. I was bummed out when I ran out of this supplement. Currently I have an order shipping me a two month supply which I plan on using immediately. I highly recommend this supplement! ***I am not sponsored by AE (or anyone else but I'm open!) More detail and purchase info here: APE on Bodybuilding.com

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Conclusion

I feel the APE is definitely worth the money. It was recommended by an athlete I respect and had an entire point additional satisfaction on Bodybuilding.com. I don't believe that the Beast Super Test is total garbage because there are a lot of people out there that use it. It's just not for me. Like with any supplement, find what works best for your body composition and diet. I would say with these supplements to give them the entire months run before discarding them. The APE took until week 3 to kick in so if I had given up on it week 2, I would have really missed out. The highest rated test boosters on their site are ZMA (zinc) based so I need to try those out too. If you are younger than 30, your levels might be OK based on your age. I think that some people could use the help regardless of age however. Its all based on your individual body. As always, feedback is appreciated, so let us know your thoughts about any test boosters you have tried. Train Hard!

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Submitted by Bars

Nutrition: Cutting Results

This is an update post w/ results of a four week "cutting" (weight loss) cycle in which I dropped down to my summer maintenance weight and also helped me test out a supplement called "Animal Cuts". I've used that product the past two summers to help add some extra definition right before a vacation. The above picture of that nerdy black dude (me) is a before and after. The left side "before" pic shows when I weighed-in between 196-198lbs during the week of May 21-25. That pic was taken May 23rd. I had more mass from "bulking" (gaining weight) through the winter/spring but looked "softer" overall, especially around my midsection. During the winter I upped my calorie intake and cut out cardio completely. I'm a hard-gainer so running 5k's three times a week made it too hard to stay in a calorie excess. I also hate doing cardio so that dropping that was easy. During this period I did gain mass and strength but it came along with extra fat. I think if I try to bulk again this winter, I will actually track my calories and try to not to bulk "blind" by just eating based on how I felt. The right side "after" pic displays me currently and I weighed-in between 190-191lbs during June 18-20. The pic was taken June 20th. I feel I was able to shred my midsection and still maintain some of my mass up top. There is no way to target a specific area (i.e. abs) and just lose weight there unfortunately. You have to try to drop your overall body fat pecentage and if the muscle is present underneath, it will shine through. So my cutting strategy is to still lift heavy and try to maintain muscle mass but intake less calories and incorporate cardio to drop weight.

NUTRITION CHANGES

Basic biology dictates that if you eat less and move more you will lose weight. I outline in a previous post how to calculate a rough estimate of your maintenance calories (Macros Post). I used that method to estimate my "cutting" (weight loss) calories at 195lbs was about 2975 on training days and 2700 on rest days. This is down 500 cals from my maintenance calorie calculation. It was hard at first since I had become accustomed to my "bulking" (weight gain) diet of never being hungry and eating anything that wasn't nailed down. My stomach was used to having any urge satisfied immediately. I would still eat clean but I ate all the time with my calorie and carb intake insanely high. The key for me to control my nutrition was to track it (also detailed in the previous macro post). It was really surprising to see how easily you can exceed 1k cals with only a few food items. I had to space my meals back out and have short times where I was slightly hungry. As you drop weight however, those urges tend to go away since you don't need as many calories at a lower weight. In my case, using the formula from the macro post, my maintenance calories are roughly 2964 at 190lbs. This is lower than my "cutting" calories at 195lbs (2975). So as I dropped weight, I was slowly sliding into the calorie range I needed to maintain a lower weight and my hunger adjusted with it. I would have never been able to gauge whether or not my hunger was legitimate if I wasn't tracking my calories. The last remaining challenge was to manage the timing of my meals and still hit my macros. I needed to start spacing out my meals again instead of just eating all the time. I also had to make sure I was still maintaining a good amount of protein with the lower calorie count. I needed to start eating high protein meals for breakfast and dinner since I was reaching my calorie cap much sooner than I was used to.

WORKOUT CHANGES

The primary change to my routine is that I incorporated cardio back into my routine. Cardio makes it easier to create a calorie deficit, which helps drop weight. I do cardio three times a week now. Another difference was to change one of my workouts to a high-intensity, high-rep workout. A group of my friends started doing circuit work at a park in town on Sundays, so I join in every week. My rest day is Saturday and I hit the gym Mon-Fri. The circuit work is a lot of body weight and high-rep work. It also is outside and helps generate a lot of sweat! It includes some sprints and agility work that helps me meet my weekly cardio requirement ( Example Workout Here). As far as gym work goes, I kept my routine pretty much the same as far as reps and muscle groups.

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ANIMAL CUT: Shred Supplement

This supplement is used to help create more definition in your physique. It combines a mixture of several different elements that promote fat loss. A serving is a packet of about eight pills. I placed some brief bullet points on the components of the supplement below. Some people optionally remove either the thermogenic (red pill) or the diuretic (blue pills) if it causes weird reactions for you. The instructions state to take two packs a day for three weeks in a row but I only took it Mon-Fri and skipped the weekend. Since I skip the weekends I wound up with enough servings for an entire month and change. The caffeine in the supplement (red pill) is extreme but my body got used to it after a few days. Due to the diuretic (blue pill), you want to make sure that you ingest a higher than normal amount of water a day. As with any supplement, this will not single-handedly bring you to your goal on its own. If I continued to eat and workout as I did while bulking, I wouldn't see any results from this. Since I already had a plan to cut calories and adjust my workout, the pills helped "supplement" my work toward weight loss. I do admit the appetite suppresors helped control urges when I first started cutting. Once I got closer to my goal weight, it wasn't needed however. Overall I like the supplement but wouldn't recommend it for sustained use. Even the manufacturer states that you should take a week off between cycles. I think it is best as either a jump-start or finishing touch to a cutting cycle. If your body fat percentage is already pretty low you will see results. More detail and purchase info here: Animal Cuts on Bodybuilding.com

Components

1 - Thermogenic *** Red capsule The ingredients in this complex help boost the bodys natural ability to burn stored body fat.

2 - Metabolic Helps raise your body's core metabolism which increases the rate at which your body converts food into energy. A quicker metabolism will ensure that less food is being stored as body fat.

3 - Thyroid Helps support healthy thyroid gland function and avoid a catabolic state

4 - Diuretic *** Two blue capsules Sheds excess water weight by promoting an increase in the excretion of sodium & water from the body. It also helps lower the blood pressure.

5 - Nootropic Provides increased oxygen supply to the brain to promote better focus and increased alertness.

6 - Cortisol Inhibiting Helps regulate the hormone cortisol (aka the "stress" hormone). This hormone is said to break down muscle mass and help cause weight gain if present in execessive levels. Inhibitors should decrease stress levels and help maintain muscle mass.

7 - CCK Inhibiting Appetite suppressors, such as hoodia, joboba seed and cha-de-bugre, which help curb sugar and carb cravings.

8 - Proprietary Bioavailability This is Universals proprietary blend of random stuff.

Submitted by Bars