Adipex-P (Phentermine Hydrochloride)

Adipex-P, i.e. phentermine hydrochloride, is an amphetamine (phenethylamine class) thats an approved appetite suppressant for obese patients engaged in weight reducing diet and exercise regimens. Adipex-P is typically prescribed for individuals who are at increased medical risk due to obesity, and works by helping to release certain appetite controlling chemicals within the brain.

More specifically, Adipex-P stimulates the brains neuron bundles coaxing them to release a particular group of neurotransmitters known as catecholamines which include dopamine, epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). The anorectic (suppressing or causing loss of appetite) activity seen with these compounds is likely due to their effect on the central nervous system and its relationship to feeding behavior. Adipex-P uses the same mechanism of action as other appetite suppressants, like diethylpropion and phendimetrazine. The neurotransmitters signal a fight-or-flight response within the body which, in turn, halts all hunger signals. This naturally results in a loss of appetite because the brain cannot receive the hunger message. Drugs of this class used in obesity are commonly known as "anorectics" or "anorexigenics".

Claims have been made that Adipex-P, and all phentermine hydrochloride brands, also serve as valid fat-burners - agents that possess central nervous system (CNS) and metabolism stimulating properties. However, the study evidence for this argument (mostly compared to placebos) is minute, and largely unsubstantiated at present. However, it is quite interesting and noteworthy that many of the side effects associated with this drug are highly consistent with those of traditional CNS stimulants like Ephedra, L-Tyrosine, Pseudoephedrine, Synephrine, etc.

Indications/Purpose:

For bodybuilding purposes Adipex-P is often administered during the pre-contest phase of training. When taken in conjunction with all the pre-contest principles that would be employed anyway, i.e. cardio and weight training exercise, behavioral modification, caloric restriction, increased protein consumption, etc., Adipex-P can be a great addition to the carbohydrate craving/depleted diet regimen.

The usual adult dose is one tablet (37.5 mg) daily, administered before breakfast or 1-2 hours after breakfast. Bodybuilder dosage recommendations are consistent with those of patients, and should be individualized to obtain an adequate response with the lowest effective dose. For some patients or bodybuilders half a tablet (18.75 mg) daily may be adequate, while others might take half a dose twice daily.

Side Effects:

As cited earlier, Adipex-P and all other phentermine hydrochloride brands have side effects very similar to those of CNS stimulant users. The most common side effects include restlessness, nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, euphoria, warming sensations, and increased blood pressure. Less common side effects include headaches, lowered libido, arrhythmia, rapid respiration, confusion, blurred vision, dry mouth, diarrhea, and fatigue.

Additional Information:

Late evening administration of Adipex-P should be avoided because of the possibility of insomnia. Concomitant (supplemental or incidental) use of alcohol with any form of phentermine hydrochloride may result in an adverse drug reaction.

Albuterol Sulfate (Salbutamol)

This stuff is clenbuterols shorter acting brother. Essentially, it has all of the effects of clenbuterol, but actually may be better for athletes. See, where Clen has a very long lasting effect in the body, Albuterol actually has a comparatively short active and half-life. Since we know that we can expect all of the fun fat-burning effects Clen has, when using Albuterol, lets take a look at some of the more interesting effects its had on strength.

In one study, subjects performed 9 wk of isokinetic knee extensions twice weekly. Albuterol was given to one group, and placebo to the other, for 6 wks; groups received 16 mg.d-1 of either treatment, they were strength trained, and the results recorded. Anyway, making a long story short, the Albuterol group at both midtesting and post-testing had higher scores than the non-Albuterol group. These results give clear indications that even theraptic doses of Albuterol administered with resistance exercise may augment strength gains above and beyond those experienced without Albuterol .

Anecdotally, clenbuterol and ephedrine have both shown themselves capable of temporarily increasing strength, and I would bet most beta-agonists have this effect, but I dont think has been shown as conclusively as it has been with Albuterol.

clenbuterol,steroids,clenThere has also been more than a few complaints of Clen causing athletes to lose their wind, especially those whose sports require a higher Vo2 max than most. Albuterol, perhaps due to its short half-life, may not have this deleterious effect and therefore may actually be a more effective choice for athletes, though not bodybuilders, who can benefit from Clens long-lasting lipolytic effect.

Side Effects

Although the manufacturer lists numerous possible side effects, the use of Albuterol and its beta-agonist relatives generally result in very few which typically include: shakiness or slight tremors; increased mental alertness; muscle cramping; difficulty falling asleep and; slightly accelerated (not irregular) heartbeat. However, when excessive amounts are taken, or when someone is reacting poorly to these medications they often experience: dizziness; headaches; uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body; nosebleeds; nausea; fast pounding or irregular heartbeat; chest pains; fevers; blisters or rash; hives; swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs; difficulty breathing; difficulty swallowing and; hoarseness.

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine)

Caffeine!.the stuff that you get at Starbucks. Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is yet another sympathomimetic, and a member of the xanthine family. Luckily for us, most of the United States (and the world) is addicted to the stuff, so the FDA will probably leave us alone on this issue. Also, it's over 99% orally bioavailable, so a cup of black coffee is still socially acceptable, and basically is as good of a delivery method as a pill is.

Caffeine will raise your body temperature a bit, and also increase your ability to focus and concentrate on simple tasks. It's got both (slight) strength (neuromuscular) enhancing effects as well as endurance enhancing abilities. Those effects are noticeable enough that caffeine, in large doses, has been banned by both the IOC and NCAA. Of course, take too much, and you'll just be jittery and anxious. Tolerance, therefore, needs to be assessed by the individual (you) ingesting it. Performance decreases seem to occur past 500mgs in a serving, though they following a bell curve. Lets go over that a bit more.

There is an inverted-U shaped curve (like a glass with the open side on the table, instead of sitting properly). Ergo, more isn't always better. Anxiety seems to set in at doses of 1,000mgs/day, and performance can suffer after 500mgs/day. 1-2mgs/kg of bodyweight seems to be optimal for strength, endurance, and cognitive ability enhancement, not to mention being within the acceptable range for stacking with ephedrine in a 1:10 (E:C) ratio.

Bottom line Caffeine is easy, cheap, fast and effective for a quick mental and energy increase.

Cimaterol is a stimulant, a fat burner, and similar to clenbuterol in many ways& and different in some very important ones. Both clen and cimaterol are beta-adrenergic agonists, and thus are both anabolic as well as thermogenic and also, stimulate your adrenal glands, increase your body temperature, raise your heart rate, etc& i.e. they mimic the "Fight or Flight" response quite well. Cimaterol, however may stimulate the beta-1, 2, and 3 receptors while clen only stimulates the beta 2 and 3 receptors. This may cause increased fat burning by cimaterol when compared with clenbuterol. Also, a far greater portion of brown adipose tissue is burned with the use of Cim over Clen, as far as I can tell.

Cimaterol stimulates both lypolisis (burning fat: the release of free fatty acids and glycerol) as well as inhibit lypogenesis (gaining fat: the incorporation of 14C into fatty acids from [14C]glucose) and may even do both more effectively than clen, possibly making it a more potent fat burner. In addition, it stimulates protein synthesis and thus could increase Fat Free Mass via this mechanism while at the same time burning fat. After a couple of weeks, however, the anabolic effects might lessen, as one study showed weight gain (with fat loss& ergo a PURE muscle gain concurrent with fat loss) halted after 14 days . Energy metabolism has been shown to be greatly increased with Cim as well. Cimaterol also stimulates blood flow and causes acute mobilization of nitrogen (alanine), significantly increases amino acid uptake in muscles, and mobilizes lactic acid out of muscles . Thus, it may not have the athletic performance (endurance and possibly speed) decreasing effects of clen (which Ive written about and referenced studies about previously, so I wont get into that here& .its beyond the scope of this article). This is pure speculation on my part, and Cim may still have some of the performance decreasing effects of clen, but as other beta-andrenergic-agonists like ephedrine dont, I see no reason to think Cim does (as I havent read any studies which indicate this). In any case, alot of the studies Ive read and compared with those on Clenbuterol seem to indicate that Cimaterol is actually more potent for fat burning than clen is.

Ok...so now you know what I have to say about Cimaterol, lets see what some other people have said...

Heres Dan Duchaine (R.I.P.) had to say about Cimaterol:

"Until some new synthetic beta-3 agonist is commercially available, the beta agonist of choice is still clenbuterol (although the STRONGER cimaterol is available as a research chemical in the U.S.)."

Doug Kalman (author of "Fat Attack)" has written about Cimaterol, and said:

"Though its yet to be tested in humans, animal studies have determined that Cimaterol is a more powerful beta-agonist than clenbuterol, promotes protein retention and accretion, and has shown powerful anti-catabolic properties in cases of cancer or burns."

So yeah, not only is this stuff a great fat-burner, its anti-catabolic.

Looks promising, huh? Unfortunately, it down regulates the beta receptors just as clen does  so a 3 week on 1 week off type of schedule may be appropriate, as would the addition of Ketotifen after ever 3 weeks (and not going off the cimaterol& so in 4 weeks on cimaterol, every 4th week youd be adding in 2-3 mgs of Ketotifen every night before you go to bed). You could also use 50mgs of Banadryl instead of the Ketotifen, in the same manner.

As with any new drug, caution should be taken with this stuff.

A dose of 0.15 milligram per kilogram administered subcutaneously is the standard dose in a lot of human studies, so Id be comfortable trying that dose myself, but Id prefer a tablet (which is also available). Thats a fraction of any sort of dangerous dose.

Clen

Although it is commonly confused as one, Clen is not an anabolic or androgenic steroid. Is actually a thermogenic that is most often used during cutting and fat loss cycles. As a thermogenic agent, it has a tendency to stimulate the users metabolism to a point where they can really feel the increase in body temp. Its equally popular among both male and female bodybuilders. Most users experience a very strong energy rush within 15 minutes of each dose. This characteristic makes it a popular pre-workout intensity pill. Approximately 8% of users experience the opposite effect making them drowsy. For this group of individuals, taking Clen at night before bedtime is a reasonable compromise.

Dosage:

Clen is a very powerful stimulant and should be used with care. Start with small doses and move up as needed. It is highly recommended that a person take their first couple doses far apart on a non-workout day so they can judge the effects of the product better. Do not take your first dose immediately before working out. Typical dose is 1 capsule twice per day. If you need more than that to feel the effects of the product, you probably have over stimulated your receptors and need to take a 30-60 day off cycle.

Side Effects:

Overuse of Clen can lead to unhealthy rate of fat loss. Such fast results can induce addictive behavior and can lead to burn out and overtraining. Sides to watch for include excessive heart rate, dry mouth, vomiting, restlessness, sleeplessness, drowsiness, and loss of appetite.

Counterfeits:

Counterfeits have been reported but not confirmed to date. Clen is easy to find and inexpensive making it less desirable to fake. You can get real Clen at Anabolic Research. Each bottle of Clen has a holographic logo applied to the label to ensure its authenticity.

Cytomel (Liothyronine Sodium)

Cytomel is a synthetic T3 hormone. As you may already know, most natural T3 is not produced directly by your thyroid gland, but rather is converted from the T4 thyroid hormone. 

Cytomel T3 Weight Loss:

Natural T3 is a regulator of the oxidative metabolism of energy producing substrates (food or stored substrates like fat, muscle, and glycogen) by the mitochondria. The mitochondria, as you will recall from your high school biology class, are usually referred to as the "cells powerhouses" because they produce ATP. Taking Cytomel (supplemental T3) greatly increases the uptake of nutrients into the mitochondria and also their oxidation rate (i.e. the rate at which they are burned for energy), by increasing the activities of the enzymes involved in the oxidative metabolic pathway. Everything is working harder, in other words, and more fuel is needed to supplement this increased work rate. Therefore, as you can guess, taking supplemental Cytomel will increase your bodys energy demands. And if you are in a hypocaloric state, you will begin burning even fatter primarily due to an increase in ATP. This increased ATP causes an increase in overall metabolic activity. This is exactly what we want, and is why we would be taking thyroid hormones like Cytomel in the first place. If you arent taking anabolic steroids with your Cytomel, however, your body may start to eat away muscle to provide energy for you to function. Remember mitochondria/ATP arent very picky, but they are very efficient. What I mean by this is that they will use whatever is on hand to generate energy for your body to continue functioning, fat, protein, glucose; it doesnt matter to ATP, as long as theres something to give them energy. Taking this drug will increase their need to find something to burn to create this energy. Ergo, if we arent taking anabolic steroids while taking our T3, we may lose too much muscle, especially while dieting.

Thus we can see that there are many advantages to using Cytomel to optimize our metabolic rate. It will also increase your bodys ability to synthesize protein, but from what Ive seen personally, it acts as a catabolic when it isnt administered with anabolic steroids. It is often the last thing added into a precontest diet, as it has a reputation for getting rid of the last few percentages of bodyfat& the "sticky fat" as its called in bodybuilding, the fat that just doesnt want to leave you in the last few weeks of dieting. I think this is a poor use for this drug, and that it should be the first thing added into a diet to lose fat, as it will optimize your metabolic rate, which should be done at the outset of a diet, not after the calorie restriction has diminished your thyroid output and you are adding it in simply to replace what was lost.

Cytomel Side Effects:

Unfortunately, in all of the studies Ive seen, T3 also increased growth hormone production. As we all know, GH is also a strongly lipolytic compound, and this is another mechanism by which T3 may exert its effects, although I suspect this would only be a small percentage of its overall effects. This being the case, it has always been somewhat problematic to me to note that when GH and T3 are used together, the increased nitrogen retention normally found with GH use is negated. . If you were only using T3 and GH this may be a problem, but as Ive already stated, you are going to need some anabolic agents if you are using T3. And as you have read previously, I recommend the veritable anabolic/lipolytic orgy of Insulin, T3, Anabolic Steroids, GH, and insulin, for 100% maximum results in minimal time.

On the brighter side, and of special note to dieters, administration of T3 has been shown to upregulate the beta 2 receptors in fat tissue. As you know clenbuterol and similar compounds downregulate this receptor, so using T3 with your clen will help stave off or reverse this downregulation. I would still recommend taking your benadryl every third week, though.

Going off Cytomel:

Finally, I would like to address the issue of recovery of your natural thyroid function after you stop taking cytomel. The horror stories of people on permanent thyroid replacement just arent true. I remember a few years ago, the rumor was circulating that the current Ms.Fitness had permanently shut off her thyroid gland, and was now fat and on thyroid hormone permanently. This is just another horror story based in nothing but conjecture and rumor, the studies Ive looked at have shown people recovering their thyroid hormone relatively quickly (within months, at most) after going off of several YEARS (!) of thyroid replacement therapy. I speculate that you can optimize your metabolic rate with Cytomel for 9-10 months a year, and just normalize yourself for 2-3 months (perhaps the winter, when you are mostly covered up), and then go right back on. Some people in the studies I read were on T3 for 30 years and recovered their natural thyroid function within short order. I think we can safely spend an athletic career using Cytomel 9-10 months out of the year, and just taking those few months off to normalize ourselves. Is this aggressive? Yes. Is this unsafe? NO.

DNP (2,4-Dinitrophenol)

DNP was first introduced to the bodybuilding world by Dan Duchaine. In the late 90s, the body building magazine Muscle Media 2000 was offering this special deal to anyone who subscribed to their magazine. If you subscribed, you got a bunch of audio cassettes containing interviews with 10 bodybuilding experts. Those cassettes included interviews with noted bodybuilding experts, and Im sure they were very interesting. I only listened to two of them, and the other eight collected dust in a drawer somewhere in my bedroom, Im sure. But one of the two I listened to had an interview with Dan Duchaine on it, which ended with him promising to tell the bodybuilding world about a new substance which would revolutionize the bodybuilding world. Fast forward a year, and there was a question in MM2K asking him to let the cat out of the bag.

What he did was tell us about DNP. Since then, we have a lot more experience with it, due to feedback from bodybuilders who have used it, and figured out the optimal doses and such from trial and error. The first thing that I will tell you about DNP is the first thing Mr. Duchaine said about it:

DNP Side Effects:

DNP is Dangerous................

If you screw up using it, you may go blind, or end up in the hospital on an ice bed receiving ice-water enemas as the doctors frantically try to make the temperature of your yellow and sweaty body go back down. And no, Im not joking. On the positive side, very few people have died from DNP use, although it remains a distinct possibility, as some DNP related fatalities have been reported. 

Outside the Bodybuilding world, DNP is used to make certain dyes, break open a capsule of it and youll see that the distinct color you get on your hands is nearly impossible to wash off. It can also be used as a fungicide, herbicide, and insecticide. Before that, in the early part of the 1900s it was used as an explosive.

Clearly, this is stuff you dont want to take lightly.

DNP works by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation, which increases the bodys temperature and metabolic rate . Synthesis of fatty acid in adipose tissue requires cooperation of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic enzymes. Mitochondria release energy from food molecules and transform energy into useable form via the production of ATP. ATP is the primary carrier of energy within your cells, and most cells die quickly in the absence of it. ATP in turn powers your muscles. What does DNP have to do with all this? DNP depletes your muscles ATP, thus requiring your mitochondria to convert more energy from food molecules, and thus create more ATP to replace what was lost. This makes your body use more energy to do anything from walking the dog to benching 315lbs. In addition, since cellular levels of all these metabolites depend on the efficiency of mitochondrial energy conversion, a mitochondrial proton leak via uncoupling proteins (UCPs) could modulate Fatty Acid synthesis. Paradoxically, DNP inhibits muscle contraction, even though it accelerates the ATPase activity activity of isolated myosin. ATPase is the enzyme that causes ATP molecules to release the energy they store, and myosin is a protein that (along with actin) is responsible for both muscular contraction and relaxation.

DNP Weight Loss:

All of this tells me that your body will need to create more energy than usual to keep up with the demands DNP is placing on it. In addition, it will have to use more of the food you take in to produce that much-needed energy, and less of that food to create and store fat. In fact, youll start using stored fat as energy to attenuate the energy deficit DNP creates. Ive seen studies on animals where a +60% increase in metabolic rate is achieved with DNP use , although I feel that in humans, the rate may actually be higher. My speculation is that proper DNP use in humans can net a 40-80% rise in BMR (basal metabolic rate). This is all from hypermetabolism, or the increase in metabolism or your bodys need to use more energy to perform tasks.

So what happens when your body requires more energy to do today the same things it did yesterday? You lose more fat today than you did yesterday...in this case, a lot more. What else? You get tired more quickly as your body struggles to convert food into energy. Your endurance will suffer. Your staying power in the last few reps of a set will vanish. Your ability to complete the same amount of sets as you did yesterday, with the same intensity and weights will suffer. But that wont seem like much of a big deal to you at the time, because you probably wont get much of a "pump" at all from the workouts you are completing because DNP reduces the amount of available glycogen in your muscles. DNP will also increase your rate of ventilation, as your lungs try to get oxygen into your muscles . Your blood will be moving a bit slower than usual, as DNP will increase the viscosity (thickness) of it. Basically, it will increase your bodys need for oxygen as well as your blood viscosity , and it nearly doubles the rate of oxygen consumption in muscles. Thus, your body will have to work much harder to oxygenate your blood, and then transport it to working muscles. Cardiac output will then increase proportion to this new rate of oxygen consumption .If you are an athlete, youll play like garbage on DNP because of all that stuff I just mentioned. For these reasons, I see it as very useful for a bodybuilder (who only has aesthetics to be worried about, not functional ability or performance), but not very useful for an athlete. If (and this is a big if), you are badly out of shape and fat before you have training camp for your sports preseason, then I suppose you can try to use this stuff to lose some fast weight. But in all honesty, a 20 day cycle of DNP, no less than a month away from training camp is all Id risk. Youll lose some weight, and only have to keep it off for a month until training camp starts. I really want to stress, though, that this stuff is an exceptionally poor choice for use by an athlete. And remember that part I told you about earlier, about DNP inhibiting muscle contraction? Yeah, thatll make you weaker, also.

DNP Fat Loss:

Speaking about getting weaker, DNP will lower Thyroid (T3) and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone levels . Lower thyroid levels are positively correlated with lethargy (tiredness) and muscle weakness. So its pretty fair to say that just as DNP makes you lose fat via several mechanisms, its just as fair to say that it will make you feel like garbage through several mechanisms. Dont get me wrong, not everyone feels like total garbage on DNP, but its by far the most common side effect Ive heard of, next to bad breath. No, really. Oh, and I almost forgot yellow(ish?) sweat and body odor thats brutal. Then theres this weird taste in your mouth .On the bright side, were talking about fat loss of almost a half a kilogram per day (1lb/day), when DNP is properly used.

One of the most worrying side effect of DNP use is its ability to cause vision problems . Realistically, you should be alright if you keep your doses and duration of use reasonable.

A lot of the side effects (at least the more dangerous ones, including the ones associated with vision problems) need to be addressed before I tell you how much DNP you can use, and for how long. First of all, you will want to make sure you are taking in enough carbs. Yeah, thats right, a ketogenic diet (thats a diet with no carbs, essentially) is too dangerous to consider with DNP use. In fact, I recommend taking in a good amount of carbs after your workouts, at least 1-2g/kg of bodyweight. Glucose metabolism is enhanced in less than a week , and Im wary of depriving your body of carbs while using DNP. All of these extra carbs are going to make you sweat more, as your body literally burns them up. Id still say you can take in as many carbs as you want& and youll want a lot (carb-cravings are a side effect of DNP use).

The other thing you want to use is pyruvate, which at the very least will have occularprotective properties (yes, I made that word up, and it means something that protects your eyes). Pyruvate will also have some other cool effects on your bodys energy production ability, but here, were primarily concerned with not developing cataracts or floaters in our vision.

Thankfully, DNP is not particularly hard on your heart, blood pressure, or liver. The only reason youll experience increases in cardiac output is as a response to the increased ventilation DNP will cause while you are exerting any kind of muscular force, and even then it isnt particularly dangerous . Most DNP users feel this effect only vaguely, certainly nothing compared to what would be experienced with use of Ephedrine or maybe even caffeine. So were really only dealing with the lowering of thyroid values and the possible eyesight problems. Oh& and that pesky "death thing"&

So far, we know we need to keep some carbs in our body, and take some pyruvate. I can only assume you will also be taking a multivitamin/mineral while using DNP, just to keep all of our bases covered. Theres also some good reasons to take an energy supplement with DNP use, since it will sap energy out of you. I recommend something in the morning, and pre-workout, as a minimal insurance against feeling too tired all the time. Also, you want to take some T3 with your DNP, because of DNPs aforementioned ability to lower conversion of T4 into T3, 50-100mcgs/day should suffice. Taurine and potassium are popular additions to a DNP cycle for many experienced users& they may not help, but if cramping becomes an issue, then they could help. Because wed never even consider using DNP and not taking in enough water, right? Id suggest water intake be kept obscenely high, and as close to two gallons per day as you can get.

So now that you know all about DNP, and how to avoid most of the negative side effects, Ill tell you how much to take. From my research, Id say 2mgs/kg-5mgs/kg is optimal. If I were going to use this stuff personally, Id stay on the low end of that, but I am aware that the "Underground Standard" is 600mgs/day. Thats still a reasonably safe dose, for most. Ill also say that were I to personally use DNP, I would limit its use to less than 3 weeks, 20 days is the longest Im comfortable recommending.

Buy DNP:

Even at a high(ish) dose, this stuff is very cheap, the UnderGround Lab most popular for this stuff sells it for around a dollar per 200mg pill, so youre looking at $20-60 to lose 10-20lbs of fat. Its a bargain, by any standard, if you do it properly and safely.