No. That is low to moderate. Sprinting uphill is intense.

ok, good. ya, im not doing any of that i was doing interval sprints on the tm, but i really do LOATHE running.

i get a rad sweat going if i do the uphill ~ 4mph thing...plus sometimes i put ankle weights on. brutal!

i like the eliptical, but my regular gym doesnt have them i find it hard to pay 9 bucks for a day pass at some other gym just for 30-45 min on the eliptical...

What constitutes intense cardio depends on the person- if it's making your heart beat really fast it's intense. I personally don't do sprint intervals on EC because it makes my heart race too much, but a slow jog is fine. Listen to your body.

[QUOTE=clubsoda]I personally don't do sprint intervals on EC because it makes my heart race too much, but a slow jog is fine.QUOTE]

Ergo: Sprints are intense, jogging isn't. My point exactly.

I can say from experience that the stack does work, but getting off of it is brutal. My weight lifting hubby introduced it to me when we first met, and we both took it for a very long time. I liked it because it made me run effortlessly, and gave me tons of energy. I took 25mg a day off and on for years. Well... as we got older, I knew long term use was not smart, so we had to wean off. Plus they got expensive. After that I found I couldn't run for shit. My appetite came back and so did 50 pounds. That was over 10 years ago though, and I never tried low carb during the time I was taking ef. So I never had the benefits of ketosis to help me with the withdrawl - like appetite. I also became addicted to caffeine from taking this stack, and I still take caffeine pills just to prevent rebound headaches. Well thats my experience, hope yours is better. Sounds like you have this planned out better than I did, you may want to check your blood pressure periodically since both ef and caf can make it go up.

I definitely would not do the stack without doing something like 6 weeks on, 6 weeks off. I can't remember the recommended time-frames (it's been awhile since I read up on it, and I never yet did it for myself). But it is definitely something you want to cycle on/off.

Yeah, I tried BSN's Thermonex, which is an ephedra-free thermogenic enhancer/diuretic, when I had to make weight for tournaments. It had a recommended on/off cycle. I suspect the placebo effect of taking it mattered more than the ingredients. I forget what the cycles were, but it was something like 4 on, 6 off.

well, im up to the max dose (for me) and i do love the energy...im also trying this inconjunction with carb cycling--im so scared! my husband did the ckd and got shredded...so i did some research, and found alot of women on bodybuilding.com that did it (and drooled over pics of their amazing midsections), so i feel that i cant NOT try it. AAGGGGHH!

ill let you know. im going to do it for one month (the ckd) so sunday thru fri night, VERY clean, as close to 0 carbs as possible. then fri night, start with a carby dinner, eat mostly carbs and low fat until saturday night. im terrified!

last night was the first night. naturally, you can imagine how i feel today. but, i guess the whole idea is to get these muscles filled back up with glycogen, and then have some killer workouts, thus building more muscle, thus burning more fat.

i wont know unless i try! heres the cool thing tho: i had to MAKE myself eat carbs. i dont even like them anymore. so if this ckd is a bust, i know i wont have any trouble going back to my good friend, plain ol low carb

Stay strong in your convictions you are absolutely correct!

ECA stacks are a great kick for fat loss but do not do it more than 12 weeks cuz it stops working. Do a twelve week cycle and stop for at least 2 weeks. Depending on how much fat you have to lose after about two to three weeks you can do another 12 week cycle. It is also good to take them for 5 days and off two days, say, for instance, take them Mon-Fri, off Sat and Sun, this causes them to work even more efficiently so your body doesn't get used to a constant supply everyday.

Keep us posted on your success! I've done ECA stacks in the past and have been super impressed with their ability to cut the fat in no time flat. They especially work well with a low carb diet, but obviously you have that under control or you wouldn't be here!

Just curious, where are you getting the ephedrine? It's hard to find.

bkalm, thanks for your response...so how long did it take for you to see results when you did and ec stack? its been 2 weeks today for me...im not sure if i can tell, probably because
a: im my own worst critic
b: im also carb cycling
c: almost TOM (f***)

but from what i read, its pretty fool proof. i think ill do it for 6 weeks, take 2 off, and then another 6 weeks.'

im not sure where my husband gets it...ill have to ask him.

good times, good times. the only complaint i have is that they make me a little, uh...intense...? (ok, very edgy and bitchy is what i really mean). did you get any of that? it seems i have the shortest fuse...

I was using ECA to prepare for an appearance in my bikini at the beach for a special event my sponsor was holding. I did not carb cycle in fact I don't and I won't. I saw results in about 3 weeks. IMHO I think carb cycling sets you back you know the adage one step forward two steps back. You are crashing your body with insulin on your carb days,and once insulin enters the picture the body can readily store fat not burn it. They are opposite in function you see in the presence of insulin your body stores fat. Carbs raise insulin levels. When you are controlling your insulin thru a ketogenic diet your body can in no way possible store fat.

The aspirin is supposed to take the "edge" off! What is the level of aspirin in your pills? It should be around 81mg. Check it and see, if it's not near 81 it wouldn't hurt for you to take a baby aspirin along with it. I know there is caffeine in the stack, but other than that are you watching your caffeine intake. You might consider it and see if this chills some of the edginess.

it seems that the carb cycling only works in conjunction with a marginally strict lifting program...which i do. im going to try it for one month. all the women ive talked with on my other forums swear by it...the pictures of their bodies are so inspiring! i had to try it. i could physically feel my metabolism going crazy on my first carb meal! plus, i only carb up for 24 hours, not 48. from the research ive done, it looks like your body stays in fat burning mode for a majority of that time, so all the sugar goes into your muscles

i havent been doing asprin, the more i read up on it, it doesnt seem to be needed...

3 weeks, eh? yay! now if i could just get that pesky tom out of the way >

The EC stack has two functions, primarily. First, as an appetite suppressant (which often comes with a stimulant effect) and second, as a thermogenic to improve fat burning. The appetite suppressant effects will fade with time (as will the stimulant effect), that maybe be why people feel the EC stack needs to be cycled, because they feel the appetite suppression and energy fade and they feel it's no longer worker. However, studies have shown that the thermogenic effects actually increase with long term use and that part of the EC stack will still be working.

To me, the EC stack is a nice little *booster* if you want. If you are dieting, it will blunt the hunger a bit and maybe improve the calorie burn a little, and that can be a great help, but it's only going to make a difference in the degree of success you have in your plan, not whether the plan works or not, in my opinion.

mattie o- I did something VERY similar the 1st yr I started low carb (and stayed on low carb while doing it) and had zero repercussions once I got off....I want to say I took it for about 3 months total, pill form. I think I got down to about 118 and was ripped.

Actually, I'd love to try something like it again. Keep on updating so I can see how you do if you don't mind


Hey, hey and you're in Longview- I'm in Puyallup!!

bishkah, how long did it take you to see results?

and, hi neighbor! (sort of )