What are Stimulant Supplements

Written by Physique IQ Admin Wednesday, 25 November 2009 13:15

Guide to Stimulants

An Overview of Stimulants

There is a huge cross section of stimulants, legal and illegal, which can affect your body in various ways. Stimulants can allow for more intense training, increasing your strength and energy levels. Stimulants can also contribute towards fat loss and muscle pumps. Discover which stimulants are the most effective, why and what they can do for you.

Key Ingredients of Stimulants

The three main stimulants which are used in the bodybuilding world to increase energy levels and promote fat loss are Nitric Oxide, Caffeine and Ephedrine. The key ingredient in Nitric Oxide is of course L-arginine, a semi-essential amino acid which your body cannot produce by itself. Caffeine is in itself the key ingredient, which is an alkaloid. Finally, Ephedrine is an illegal stimulant which again is the key ingredient of Ephedra. Ephedrine is a beta-adrenergic agonist.

Effects of Stimulants

With all of the ingredients in mind, you can imagine the effects of these three very powerful stimulants. Nitric Oxide of course is renowned for its vasodilating capabilities which lead to tremendous pumps, increased vascularity and higher energy levels. As a result, further effects of Nitric Oxide include more rapid nutrient absorption, increased muscle growth and increased fat metabolization. The effects of Nitric Oxide are then perfect to enhance muscle growth through an increase in strength, intensity and nutrient supply. Caffeine affects the central nervous system (CNS) which makes you more responsive and alert. This can lead to increased intensity levels in the gym, with improved strength and power as a byproduct. The molecular structure of Caffeine is very similar to that of ATP which gives you an idea as to why it can be such an effective stimulant when looking to increase your strength and energy levels. Finally, Ephedrine also affects the central nervous system and in turn increases your heart rate and body temperature. These affects lead to an increase in fat loss as well as elevated energy levels whilst in the gym. Ephedrine has also been known to induce heart palpitations and headaches due to its strong stimulating components. One common affect each of these stimulants share is that they all cause mild withdrawal symptoms. This usually occurs in the evening following a training session, where you come from having sky high energy levels and alertness to all the way down where you feel very lethargic and spaced out in some instances. This is often dose dependant. There are the main effects of all of these common stimulants.

Advantages of Using Stimulants

Nobody can deny that using stimulants as a direct way of enhancing your performance in the gym does have its advantages. Nitric oxide has many advantages which include increased blood flow to the working muscle, which enables it to train for longer by keeping it oxygenated for longer. Furthermore, Nitric Oxide will increase your lean muscle mass due to constant muscle pumps and increased nutrient support. The L-arginine in Nitric Oxide also has muscle protein building qualities. Caffeine gives you extra alertness, focus and elevated energy levels which is a huge advantage when you’re going into a very intense workout. Ephedrine of course allows for maximum fat burning potential all around the clock, increases energy levels and again affects the CNS which allows for increased alertness and focus whilst training. Therefore as you can see all of these stimulants do indeed have advantages.

Disadvantages of Using Stimulants

There are however some disadvantages to using stimulants. Excessive dosages of Nitric Oxide can lead to over powering pumps which in fact prevents you from training to your full potential. Again, excessive dosages of Nitric Oxide can cause heart palpitations. These are however as a result of misuse rather than typical side affects. Caffeine can cause splitting head aches as it dehydrates you very easily. Caffeine too can cause heart palpitations although again this would require an awful lot to do so. Finally, Ephedrine can cause more vigorous heart palpitations, headaches and insomnia. Ephedrine also cause’s catabolism due to its affect on the adrenal gland, which stimulates the production of extra Cortisol to cope with the stress Ephedrine is causing. Therefore ephedrine is the least preferable out of these stimulants. This is because it doesn’t really do anything else Nitric Oxide and Caffeine together can’t do, however it does come with more drawbacks.

Usage of Stimulants

Nitric oxide should be used as directed by the manufacturer. This is generally to take Nitric Oxide anywhere between one hour and thirty minutes before training. Caffeine can be ingested via a handful of strong coffees through the day, which can in fact be enough to achieve the uplift you crave. An average strong cup of coffee contains 120mg of Caffeine; therefore three cups a day will see you have plenty of caffeine in your system, especially when combined with a Nitric Oxide. There is however specific Caffeine supplements should you so want to use them. Finally Ephedrine comes with directions of use, however due to the fact that it is now illegal, you should take care to check whether these guidelines are solid. Standard dosages of Ephedrine are 75mg a day, broken into three separate dosages of 25mg through the day; Cycle Ephedrine on a day on, day off basis or just use on training days as long as you don’t train for more than five days of the week. After four weeks, cease use of Ephedrine as your body becomes immune to the affect and it can actually become counterproductive.

Summarizing Stimulants

In conclusion stimulants are certainly a great way to add intensity, strength and focus to your workouts. However Ephedrine bares no advantage over using Nitric Oxide and Caffeine, and it does indeed cause much more undesirable side affects. Therefore, it would be advisable to use Nitric Oxide and Caffeine in order to boost energy levels as well as fat metabolization.