Ephedra and cardio

[thepostman]

Is it safe to take ephedra before short duration, high intensity cardio?

Since I am pretty sensitive to it, I only take one per day (Dymetadrine Extreme, which has 30mg of the actual alkaloid). I am guessing a lot of extra water is the safest way to do this.

[Frosty]

Originally posted by thepostman
Is it safe to take ephedra before short duration, high intensity cardio?

Since I am pretty sensitive to it, I only take one per day (Dymetadrine Extreme, which has 30mg of the actual alkaloid). I am guessing a lot of extra water is the safest way to do this.

Unless you have cardiac problems, it should be safe. You seem to know how you react to it, so that is good. Just take a nice moderate dose, as too much is counter-productive. Keep well hydrated and monitor how you react to the training with it. If you get really lightheaded or anything out of the ordinary, stop immediately. If you don't have any bad reactions to it, you should enjoy a nice intense workout

[thepostman]

Yeah, i stopped taking it for about 2 weeks, then took one this morning.

Heart felt like it was going to explode, and i was hitting 190 on the monitor after my sprints. I didnt want to quit, so i walked at 3mph on the incline...HR was still between 140-160 and thumping funny.

No more of that on cardio days..because i cant control the dose if i am only taking one pill.

Anyway, thanks Frosty.

[Musclemar]

Isn't 190 BMP a little TOO HIGH? How old are you? I dont think you should take your bpm more than 80-85% of your maximum for your age.

[thepostman]

I am 17. I don't know man, it was going really fast and a little later that day i felt really lightheaded. I had done cardio with eph before, and it wasnt as extreme as that time. Who knows.

[Popichulo]

To get your HR that high you had to have been running at an overly fast pace slow it down and keep it within 120-140. Running is catabolic bro.

[thepostman]

12mph (full speed on my treadmill) @ 10% incline.

Aren't sprints less catabolic than other long duration methods?

I usually keep it within 12-15 min, alternating between ~1min sprints and ~1 walking.

[Popichulo]

Try walking at a speed 3.3 at a 12 degree incline gets your HR up and in the fat burning zone, and you still sweat like a *****.

[Frosty]

Originally posted by thepostman
12mph (full speed on my treadmill) @ 10% incline.

Aren't sprints less catabolic than other long duration methods?

I usually keep it within 12-15 min, alternating between ~1min sprints and ~1 walking.

Well, sprinting is a muscle-building activity, so it's actually anabolic to muscle tissue while burning tremendous calories. A high percentage comes from carbs and glycogen, but the amount of calories burned is very very high. The other added benefit is increased glucose uptake after sprinting (which is tremendously higher than even lifting) and also increased metabolic effects over the next 24 hours (I *think*).

Walking isn't anabolic, but you do burn a significantly high percentage of calories as fat. It's not catabolic to muscles like jogging would be. The only downside is that you have to do it for a significant amount of time to burn a good amount of calories. If you have the time, this would be a good tool for fat loss. You do not get the increased metabolic effect over the next 24 hours, and glucose uptake afterwards isn't increased a huge amount (but it is still increased a bit).

[thepostman]

Makes sense. So it sounds like doing a sprint session would be a good idea, say, in the morning where the metabolic boost would be most beneficial, whereas a walk at night would burn any extra calories off so they dont turn to fat while I sleep. Sound good?

BTW - Max incline on my treadmill is 10%

[Frosty]

Originally posted by thepostman
Makes sense. So it sounds like doing a sprint session would be a good idea, say, in the morning where the metabolic boost would be most beneficial, whereas a walk at night would burn any extra calories off so they dont turn to fat while I sleep. Sound good?

BTW - Max incline on my treadmill is 10%

If you could handle it, sprints combined with walking would be great. What you said sounds good. If you sprinted at night, you might get too wound up to sleep well (maybe you wouldn't, but I dunno).

[thepostman]

Works for me.