Great info being shared here. Continuing with my stack, I’m definitely getting some increased soreness even still, especially in major muscle groups. Legs and chest are taking it the hardest. Haven’t trained abs in awhile and throwing them in today, so we will see if they have any similar effects
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Is it fair to say that the increase in soreness is from daily dosing?
@Jeremy I am not sure if I already did ask you. Did you dose daily or on workout days only?
With all the talk and reporting about the American diet having a bad ratio of too many Omega 6 fatty acids vs not enough Omega 3 fatty acids, is ARA in a different class of Omega 6 or does it further add to that bad ratio that many have?
100%. It’s definitely a progressive feeling, and it was not as intense when I took a day off earlier. Thankfully, no more days off the rest of the cycle
Yes and no. ARA actually competes with omega 3s for absorption, and I think it’s pretty well established omega 3s are healthy. Also, chronic inflammation is generally a bad thing. But that’s why these products come with warnings, and why they typically recommend shorter cycle lengths (originally 50 days, as that was used in the first human trial). That said, if you limit use to preworkout, you should dump the ARA into muscle tissue fairly efficiently, I wouldn’t think there would be much issue with it going systemic. Also, when you train, you’ll stimulate production of the eicosanoids we’re looking for. In the short term, inflammation isn’t bad, and inflammation resolution is part of the adaptation process.
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I don’t remember if you asked either! I actually train every day, been doing so (usually) for several years now. So yes, but it was always preworkout.
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Here’s a weird one, after doing heavy squats today, 3 plates, actually my back where I rest the bar is sore too. Not raw like it sometimes is, but the muscles are actually sore. Definitely isn’t from training back, as it’s new, and I haven’t done back for several days.
I’m now over a month in, with a little less than 20 days left in the whole cycle. Soreness is definitely really catching up, which is especially being exacerbated by the killer weak of lifting. My volume has felt absolutely insane these past 3 days, and it’s been the best week of lifting in recent memory. Hoping to continue that with arms today. Employing some recovery techniques, notably contrast showers, to help out here. Thankfully, I’ll be spending today relaxing a lot before and after the gym. Getting some cars cleaned and detailed then taking my Impala to the local car show
Long break between posts here, but not much new to add. Same as usual. Hardcore DOMS but I am growing accustomed to it. Frankly I had missed being sore after every workout, like when I first started, so this is quite nice to be honest. With that being sad, I also look forward to not being all achey soon. Coming up on my last week and overall, I’m feeling great
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Time to check and hit some new PR’s on your 1RM’s!!
Anecdotally, and I haven’t tested yet, I 100% feel stronger. I’m repping out some high ass numbers that used to feel heavy. Compound movements are most prominent, but even simple DB curls, I’m feeling great throwing around 40’s with strict form. Due to Ben’s video, I haven’t maxed out in awhile so I’m going to begin prepping my form and making sure everything is good when I test those. I already know my squat has jumped since I’m repping an old 1RM
Final Update with some data for ya. The clear winner here is lower body I’d say!
Bench is up 5 pounds for an official bench press, with super strict form and a long pause. 10 pounds for what I call a “gym max” which was a dirty rep but still touched the chest and got up.
Deadlift was better, 20 pounds added on with next to no direct deadlift training.
Finally, squat has seen a nice increase as well. I wouldn’t say I have totally peaked out yet as I just haven’t been feeling as good as I think I should, but nevertheless, I’ve also seen a 20 pound increase.
Note, these are numbers for free weight, which I have not been directly training at all during this cycle, as I’ve been confined to PF. Used my school gym to acquire these, so I was rusty with my lifts, but still saw nice strength gains. Visually, I don’t see an absurd difference. My lateral delts definitely are popping more, and I fill out my sleeves better than usual, so it appears the best strength gains are for larger muscles, and hypertrophy gains are in the smaller ones.
And for those wondering, the DOMS are REAL with this product
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Sounds pretty solid! How long was the run in total? Should have done some before and after pictures. Can help seeing visual differences.
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Total of 52 days. 50 days of X-Gel and two days I took off due to sickness. And yeah, I regret not taking some pictures. Might not have been a fair comparison with how much tanner I am now though!
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