Question: What Is The Difference Between Ripped Fuel Capsules And Powder? What Is The Best Way To Cycle Ripped Fuel?
OK, I've been researching ECA stacks for a little bit now. I thought I'd throw these questions I have out to this newsgroup to see the varied opinions and answers. I've already formed an opinion on some of these points, but will ask anyway.
The scoop on myself: I'm a 28 year old guy, 5'11, 200. Although I've been lifting off and on for many years now, I've been dedicated for the last year. I can see gains in both physique and poundages. I have taken no supplements during my life, except for daily vitamins (which I only take occasionally) and some Met-Rx bars. Before all this, I used to be a regular runner; up to 10 miles a day. I was never runner-thin, however. Even at that stage, I was at 160-165lbs or so (that was also before serious weightlifting). Nowadays, I don't run as much, although I still try to do it 5 days a week or so (maybe 3-4 miles). Last summer I was down to 180, but that was actually difficult in itself. In any case, I plan on turning up the heat this year. I'm going to keep my weight training the same, but my goal is to become leaner, something I seem to have a difficult time doing sometimes. I told myself I would stay serious and supplement-free for at least a year to see what gains I would make. I've concluded that I'm happy with my strength gains, but I still have a hard time shedding fat. It appears to me that trying an ECA stack might help me in this direction, along with careful attention to diet, water intake, and how the stack is affecting me.
I'm aware of the common side effects; nervousness, twitching, being on edge. More seriously, heart flutters, nausea, dizziness. I've read occasional reports of bleeding (although from the evidence presented, I'm thinking it was due to aspirin or excessive dosages, but still keeping it in mind). More on this in a moment.
There's the option of making the ECA stack myself or buying a prepared product like Ripped Fuel. I'm leaning towards the prepared at the moment, and so the rest of the questions will be geared towards this.
Ripped Fuel itself comes in a couple forms, including a capsule and power. Most people seem to speak of capsules, although I much prefer powders. Is there any difference?
TwinLab also seems to have similar products out--Ripped Fuel, Diet Fuel, etc. What is the difference between these? As far as I can tell, they are designed for the same purpose, to increase metabolism.
A typical dose/proportion seems to be in the range of 1:10:7, or about 25mg ephedrine, 250mg caffeine, and 200mg aspirin with no more than about 3x that dose a day at MAXIMUM. Is this generally regarded as correct?
I should've studied the contents of Ripped Fuel before writing this. I could've answered it myself. I know it contains ephedrine, but does it also supply the caffeine and aspirin? Or does it use other forms like guarana? Basically, if you take it, do you need to take anything else (not counting water)?
It sounds very smart to build up to a dose using this supplement. I've seen too many horror stories of people trying a full regular dose from the start. I'm keeping dosage very low at first and plan on paying careful attention to it's effects. I also fully intend to cycle it's use; does a cycling of 5 (weekdays) on and 2 off sound reasonable? And using 5 on/2 off, should I also cycle every few weeks as well? Or is the 5-2 enough to prevent tolerance?
I drink lots of water anyway, so I'm used to that, but is there a certain amount or type of food that should be made sure to be eaten too (I'm not aware of what this stack might make you deficient in)?
Offhand, I think that's it! I'd of course like to hear any personal stories, good, bad or indifferent. As you might guess, I'd like to know as much as possible about this stack before trying it!
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