Supplements are a really tricky subject for a number of reason, one of which (caffeine) you addressed in your Tweet. There is definitely a huge mental aspect that comes with taking supplements and it is impossible to tell how much of a placebo effect occurs. A lot of people get excited because of a new supplement and that excitement alone may be enough to allow them to have a much better workout than before. Also, many of the supplements similar to N.O. Xplode have a ton of sugar and caffeine in them which will rev your body up no matter what. Having more energy means that you are lifting more intensely which will result in muscular gains.I have at least tried out just about every type of strength/size supplement and will say that some of them definitely work.  Than again I have taken some that have showed me no significant results at all.

The vast majority of supplements are never tested by a third party so the supplement companies can put just about any statements they want to on a label.  They are also not regulated by the FDA, so really they can get away with whatever they want. Since they don’t do third party testing you really cant say whether or not the claims are true and really if any of the ingredients really mean anything. Most supplements use what is called a “blend” which mixes a few different chemicals together. This is usually their “secret formula” and is the main ingredient in the supplement. The problem is that the blend can be 90% sugar and only 10% of whatever else they are claiming is in it.  So if you look at this label below, the main ingredient which accounts 18,000 mg is the “N.O. Xplod Proprietary Blend” and it doesn’t even tell you what is in that. Something that tips me right off the bat is how they try to deceive you into thinking it works by throwing a big number at you like 18,000 mg. Why can’t they just say 18 grams like it truly is? These are the kinds of things to look at when shopping around for supplements.

When it comes down to it I will advise you to do a few things. The first is to try some different supplements out for yourself and see which ones you like. The reason there are so many supplements out there is because some people swear by one brand while others swear by another. Since there is no real scientific data stating that one is supreme, we will never really know which brand is better. Another thing you need to do is realize that just about all of those supplements are pumping some not so great chemicals into your body. These supplements taste terrible naturally so they pump a lot of artificial flavors into them to make them taste better. Its your call on whether or not you mind putting those chemicals into you, just be aware of them.

There are a few brands that I like and will recommend, but it is strictly from my experience with them. The first is anything by BioTest. From a product development standpoint I think they have a lot of really smart guys working together to create these products. They get a little corny with the way they pump their products to you, but all in all I think they are one of the better companies. The other company is EAS. While they don’t have as many products as some other companies, they are one of the few that does third party testing. They are NSF certified which basically means that all of their products are approved for use with NFL athletes. In my personal experience with N.O. Xplode, I felt that it worked well but it wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. When it comes down to it, nothing beats hard work.

This is a great question because I feel like millions of people have the same one. Losing weight and improving physique are two different things that go with each other hand in hand. You can lose weight and not have such a great physique, but in order to accomplish a great physique, you will likely need to lose weight. Either way there is really only one way to go about it. If you just simply do cardio, you will for sure lose weight but getting a nice physique will not necessarily come along with that. At the same time if you need to lose weight, weight training will not be the absolute best option for you. This is why I like to combine aspects of both into workouts, in order to accomplish the overall goal of leaning out and looking good.

You can do this in a number of ways, but there are a few different workouts systems that I like to use in order to accomplish the goal. They all involve different types of “metabolic training” which is the best way to lose weight and turn fat into muscle. My favorite system is something I made up called Cx3 (for lack of a better term). This stands for cardio, complex and core. You basically pick one type of cardio exercise, one type of complex (which I will explain in a minute) and one type of core exercise. You put the three exercises together and make a circuit out of it, going from one exercise to the next until you finish all three of them. For cardio, you should pick an exercise that will get your heart rate up really high in one minute or less. This can be running on a treadmill at an incline, jumping up and down or using my favorite tool, the Versa Climber. The important thing is just to get the heart rate up and keep it there for about 30 seconds before moving on. Then from there you will go right into a set of complex’s. Complex’s are a group of individual exercises strung together and done one right after the next. You might be thinking “Isn’t that circuit training?” and in a way it is, but there is one key element which is different. A complex must be done with either a barbell or dumbbells. During the complex circuit, you will never put down the bar or dumbbells in between each exercise. Every exercise should be done as quickly and aggressively as possible. So for example, I like to do a complex with an upright row, snatch, shoulder press, bent over row and another snatch. You will do 6-8 reps of each one moving from one to the next immediately, until all exercises are complete. This will sent your heart rate through the roof and get you a total body workout going on. The final stage is just picking your favorite core exercise and doing about 20 reps of that. Then you rest for amount of time as possible and repeat 2-6 times.

Examples of all the exercises that make up a Complex:

Upright Row

Snatch

Shoulder Press

Bent Row

This workout is highly effective because you are challenging yourself in both in cardiovascular and muscular standpoint, which will help you lose weight and exchange some fat for muscle. Another great thing is that the Cx3 workout is so intense and you are accomplishing so much at once that you can actually get a great workout in, in a lot less time.

When it comes down to it, the important thing is to get the heart rate up, challenge your muscles and take as little rest as possible. Doing so will allow you to accomplish your goals in a shorter amount of time.

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