Bodybuilding.com - kerplunk's BodySpace: Supplement Reviews

Review: Okay, let me first start off this review by introducing myself. I am a senior in high school who got into lifting because of injury. I began athletics as a tennis player and pulled a muscle in my wrist. This led me two years ago to give up tennis (since I wasn?t able to play on the team) and get my little 118lb ass into the gym. Yes I was 118lbs and about 5?7??. So two years later (two to be exact) I am 166lbs and about 5?11.
My lifts have all went up. My bench went from 70lb 1RM to a 205lb 1RM. My squat went from 140lb 1RM to a 295lb 1RM, and Deadlift went from 95lb 1RM to a 305 1RM.
I got into supplements as soon as I joined this board, I was sucked into the glutamine craze and whey protein. Eventually I just started reading and reading and became in love with the science of supplementation and working out.

~| My First Post Will Feature My Thoughts and Feelings on the Formula/Ingredients |~

Positives
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Let?s first take a glance at what IntrAbolic has to offer.
The first ingredient that stands out in my mind is the hydrolyzed low-molecular weight whey protein. The low-molecular weight is supposedly to aid absorption along with the fact that they are di- and tri- peptides which enter the blood stream in a shorter pathway compared to its other protein brothering. Then we add to this free form aminos. Now, I?ve read that when free form aminos are present in the body, specifically the kidney, this will in turn aid to the absorption of the protein for the rest of the body. I?m guessing somehow the presence of aminos in the kidney help break or form bonds with the RNA to be used in skeletal muscle cells? Thus being able to create RNA protein chains easier and more efficiently using the whey protein? (Not too sure)

Then, we take into consideration that Leucine is insulinogenic (Leucine being the highest dosed in IntrAbolic). This insulin well help aid in the transport of the whey protein (incase some is not fully absorbed). Knowing this can possibly tell us that almost 100% of the protein is being utilized with ingestion of IntrAbolic.

Now, lets look at what else this ?spike? in insulin will do for us. For one, it should aid to the transport of beta-alanine. But you?re thinking to yourself, beta-alanine is already bioavailable, why would it need help of insulin? I believe that with insulin present it will be carried to its needed area faster. Thus utilizing the premise of ?intraworkout?.

So, as of these ?three? inclusions we have, a super fast digesting protein that will be anabolic and prevent any muscle breakdown, amino acids assisting in the absorption of protein and aid to anabolism, and leucine (yes I know that?s an amino acid too) that will stimulate insulin and assist with the transportation of nutrients and beta-alanine and aid to anabolism.

Okay, so next we look at the next group of ingredients. Electrolytes. Yes, these are important during exercise, as figured out when we were all little sipping on our Gatorade. This will keep us from getting dehydrated and is an obvious addition to an intraworkout product.

Negatives
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So what are my concerns and other thoughts on ?intrabolic?. Lets start off with the addition of Arginine. Yes, it is the famous ?pump? amino we have all come to love or hate. However, a recent study stating that it has a negative impact on hGH when taken pre-workout leads me to think again when considering the use of this pre-workout. Possibly lowering hGH would possibly downgrade our already super anabolism and limit our full potential to grow. What could take the place of Arginine? I think Citrulline would prove more beneficial if looking for nitric oxide, which would be good, do to the increased blood flow. The more blood flow, the faster more nutrients will reach our muscles, which is what we are looking for.

Next, Potassium. I only have one little ?negative? thing to say about this. And that is that it possibly is a b12 antagonist. And can possibly assist in the depletion of B12 (I posted a study about this a few weeks ago). That being said, the addition of B12 would not hurt in this product as it leads to increased protein synthesis, and reaction time for two quick off the top of my head things. Other coenzyme forms of vitamin b could also add benefits.

Okay, so last thing we can talk about, Vitamin C.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Med Joural Watch: Vitamin C as a Training killer
Muscles gain less endurance with the same amount of training when supplemented with vitamin C, so athletes may be better off with both less efforts and less vitamins. This tip, based upon new research done in Spain, seems to be badly needed given all the marketing claims I have found, googling for vitamin supplements and training.

Two things are for sure. Training increases the so-called oxidative stress by formation of free radicals. Vitamin C, on the other hand, acts against oxidative stress. Therefore, it has been recommended for all those who perform heavy workouts.

But there is a serious drawback in this strategy because vitamin C supplements hamper the endurance training effect of exercise. In a double-blind randomized study, fourteen young men have been trained for eight weeks in Valencia, Spain. Five of the men have received a vitamin C supplement, the others only a placebo. With the same amount of training, the supplemented men gained less endurance than those taking placebo. In addition, a similar experiment has been undertaken with rats where the muscles could be analyzed after the training. It came out that vitamin C hampers the generation of mitochondria in the muscle cells. Mitochondria are the "power plants" of the cells, and the number of mitochondria in a muscle cell is a measure for its endurance capacity.

Conclusion 1: Vitamin C may help to reduce oxidative stress caused by training, but for gaining the same training effect as before, a more intensive training may be needed, causing more stress. In the light of this study, it seems to be better to leave the vitamins pills aside and take training a bit easier if done for better health.

Conclusion 2: If want to win a competition and use vitamin C against catching a flu in these days, you must face the fact that you'll need more training and a longer recovery than without the vitamin supplement.
http://medjournalwatch.blog spot.com/...ng-killer.html

So take that article for what you want. But to me, it seems like it is sort of working against what your trying to accomplish.

Quote:
Oral administration of vitamin C decreases muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and hampers training-induced adaptations in endurance performance.
Gomez-Cabrera MC, Domenech E, Romagnoli M, Arduini A, Borras C, Pallardo FV, Sastre J, Vi?a J.

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.

BACKGROUND: Exercise practitioners often take vitamin C supplements because intense muscular contractile activity can result in oxidative stress, as indicated by altered muscle and blood glutathione concentrations and increases in protein, DNA, and lipid peroxidation. There is, however, considerable debate regarding the beneficial health effects of vitamin C supplementation. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to study the effect of vitamin C on training efficiency in rats and in humans. DESIGN: The human study was double-blind and randomized. Fourteen men (27-36 y old) were trained for 8 wk. Five of the men were supplemented daily with an oral dose of 1 g vitamin C. In the animal study, 24 male Wistar rats were exercised under 2 different protocols for 3 and 6 wk. Twelve of the rats were treated with a daily dose of vitamin C (0.24 mg/cm2 body surface area). RESULTS: The administration of vitamin C significantly (P=0.014) hampered endurance capacity. The adverse effects of vitamin C may result from its capacity to reduce the exercise-induced expression of key transcription factors involved in mitochondrial biogenesis. These factors are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor co-activator 1, nuclear respiratory factor 1, and mitochondrial transcription factor A. Vitamin C also prevented the exercise-induced expression of cytochrome C (a marker of mitochondrial content) and of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase. CONCLUSION: Vitamin C supplementation decreases training efficiency because it prevents some cellular adaptations to exercise.
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/conte nt/abstract/87/1/142

So, wanna discuss Intraworkout Vitamin C. Lets. I posted the studies. I posted the info. I have little more to say.

However, although I say Vitamin C is "negative" in intrabolic, I think we can all agree on the fact that it only has 60mg and that we really have no need to worry because of that fact. (The study is based on 1gram)

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I will base my review off the write ups claims:

IntrAbolic Highlights:

1. Stimulate Muscle Growth
2. Fight Muscle Breakdown
3. Boost Explosive Muscular Strength & Increase Endurance
4. Increase Muscle Fullness and Vascularity
5. IntrAbolic-Peptides provide rapidly absorbed, low-molecular weight di- and tripeptides
6. Blends easily with spoon or in water bottle

Ingredients/Formula
9.5/10

The ingredients and formula are based off science and research which therefore prove points 1, 2, 3, 5. (As I discussed above)

DAY ONE:

So today, I walked out to my car as I was leaving for the gym and reached into my mailbox to check the mail, and there was lying my samples of IntrAbolic. I got really excited, ran back into the house, and made myself some! I grabbed my blender bottle, filled it with three ice cubes, 15oz of filtered water, and IntrAbolic. I shook that shit like it was my ****ing job. I then filled up a water bottle with the IntrAbolic and placed it in the freezer for 5 minutes.

The entire shake mixed perfect. Reminds me of a lighter consistency of torrent. No bumps, no powder. However there was foam, but that settled fast!

I took it out as I was leaving for the gym and took a sip of it. Hmmmm, I said to myself, what the hell does this taste like? And I have come to a conclusion that its a bitter orange juice flavor with not alot of sweetness and maybe a hint of lime or something. Its really hard to distinguish, but heck, its a new flavor all on its own.

Before Walking Into The Gym
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TA STE: 7.8/10
----- The flavor is unique. I dont hate, I then again do not love it. However I would drink it each workout as it is almost refreshing (as long as it stays cold). I am deducting points due to at the end of my bottle the flavor was pure bitterness (due to the protein). The upside to this was that the flavor is about a million times better than Purple Wraath, which I found to taste like baby powder in water with a grape aftertaste, yuck.

----- Overall, the flavor is refreshing and enjoyable. Some may like it more than others, but I am sure no one will hate it.

MIXABILITY: 9/10
-----Mixed perfect other than lots of foam. However the foam settled and it stayed mixed throughout my workout. Not much more to say here.

In The Gym
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WO RKOUT: 9.3/10
-----Overall, my workout was very good. What was most noticeable was I was able to bang out my sets really fast and easy. I was ready to go to my second set right after my first and was ready for the third right after the second. It was something rare when I workout.

STRENGTH: 8/10
----- I didn't see much strength increase, but I was able to put up my regular set of bench after being out of the gym for about 10 days.

POSTWOKROUT SORENESS: 9/10
----- What soreness? I couldnt find it. Seriously, it was odd, I wasn't sore at all, can I contribute all that to IntrAbolic? No, but it could play a factor.

GI: 10/10
----- In no way shape or form did this upset my stomach. Simple

FOCUS: 9.6/10
----- This is where I was very pleased. I was so focused. Thats a rarity for me as I have a hard time focusing in the gym. I felt like I was in the f*cking zone! Even after leaving the gym I was focused.

OVERALL: 9.18/10
-----------Need I say more?

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Kerplunks Corner: This being the third IntraWorkout product I have tried, I current tie this in first place with SizeOn, with Purple Wraath so far behind you cant even see it. I really like IntraBolic and would like to try adding carbs to it. That would be a whole other experiment for another time though. Yesterday was my first day back to the gym for a while, so... all I can say is 190lbs here I come! I will be using many supplements along the way, I have X-Factor, Amino Vital, Storm, Torrent and Anabolic Pump in my stash waiting to be used. Amino Vital will be used intraworkout...so I'll compare that to this. Maybe I'll try mixing them...hmmmm. Lemon Amino Vital Endurance + IntrAbolic anyone?

Stay tuned for DAY 2.