Every time pre-pump gets mentioned I get sad because it always reminds me how Jack3d was just baned when I got into supplementation. I searched for it everywhere but naturally it was always sold out.
Speaking of, anyone here actually used it with the old formula?
Me and basically everyone in my Army unit who were part of our little rat pack of lifters did it religiously till it was banned. We were young and dumb, and at the time we didn't give a shit what was in a product, so long as it made us feel the "hype" and the "pump" lol. Shit was extremely effective man.....of course it also made us way too hype and it made my scalp tingle. If memory serves, that was probably due to a high dosage of beta alanine in the formula, but I can't remember exactly whether that was there in a large amount or not. I think it was, but don't quote me on that. To be honest, being that hyper when lifting heavy weight isn't really a good thing at all. If you're just doing lots of reps of lighter weight or even moderate weight, it was a pretty great supplement, especially for my little group of miscreants as we were all into the body building thing, but it probably would have been dangerous if we were using it to lift some serious weight. Energy in the weight room is a good thing, but not nervous twitchy energy. That's for cardio bunnies and people who flex in the mirror after every set. If you're looking to train intelligently and effectively, you'll find no better pretraining supplement on the planet than a banana and a black cup of coffee. If you're lifting heavy, make sure you eat enough carbs in general, (it doesn't have to be an hour before your set, that's misinformation and it's nonsense), throughout your days, unless you're obsessed with having a six pack. Creatine is also pretty useful for lifting in general, though some folks heavily overestimate its use and misunderstand its applicability. Creatine, when property saturated into your bones and muscles, improves your ATP capacity, which is a specific energy pathway that your body uses for INTENSE activities. Emphasis on the intense there. In other words, a compound lift that you can perform in a lower rep range due to the weight, (a lot of debate on what that specific rep range is due to how many different strength coaches there are out there, but let's just say eight and under to keep it simple), sprinting, plyometric movements, max effort lifts, jumps, strikes, and throws, stuff like that. Creatine has no effect whatsoever on the glycolytic and oxidative energy pathways, but can still enhance your performance in movements primarily dependent upon these pathways very slightly due to the fact that we are always using all three energy pathways at all times, though with different pathways taking precedence as the priority energy pathway depending on the intensity of the movement performed and for how long the movement is performed. For example, if you all out sprint to capacity for 8 seconds, then run pretty fast for about 2 minutes, then jog for a half hour, then you were primarily using ATP for 8 seconds, glycogen for 2 minutes, and oxygen for 30 minutes. Though all three energy pathways were utilized for the entirety of the training, you can see how the primary energy provider changed depending on the intensity of the movement. So, so, so, so, SO many people don't understand this basic premise of training and have a hard time making the most of their training programming as they tend to waste energy on exercises that don't fit their goals.
TL;DR: Program appropriately for your goals, and train to meet them. If a particular supplement, such as creatine or the like, will help you to reach your goals, then take it. I take it as I like lifting heavy these days. If the supplement is not going to enhance the primary energy pathway that you're training to meet your goals, don't waste your time. I knew a guy in the Army who didn't lift at all but ran marathons often, and he took creatine as part of his training stack. That creatine, for him, was largely pointless and unnecessary. If you go into the gym with no goal in mind and no real program or method, you will leave the gym as directionless as you were when you entered.
In answer to the thread in specific, all mass gainers are horse shit and terrible for you, and you don't need a prework supplement at all. They always toss heavy metals and idiotic shit in that garbage. Like I said, banana and cup of black coffee and you're good for pre work out man. If you need a mass gainer, just eat more calories. Clearly you're trying to place yourself in a caloric surplus to gain more muscle mass, so eat what the best lifters in the world eat to get larger when they need to. Rice, eggs, steak, milk, peanut butter, and cottage cheese. If you're trying to keep it lean, (which you're clearly not as you mentioned a mass gainer), then your diet would look substantially different than what I just mentioned, but if you're trying to get larger and stronger, then that's the stuff you need to be eating. Also, check out Stan Efferding, Dave Tate, Jim Wendler, Swede Burns, JM Blakely, and Mark Rippetoe on Youtube for lots of great tips about lifting and eating in general, and good luck to ya brother.
