Before I get into this, I need to let you in on some background information.

I am not a die-hard gym rat.  Not even close.  In fact, I hadn’t worked out, at all, in a few months.  And most times, I don’t even know what I’m doing.  But, anything has got to be better than…nothing, right? Anyway, I am really trying to do better and so I am making some very much so needed changes in my life.  One of my biggest challenges is being consistent in my workouts.  I started working out in the mornings, but then one night of not enough sleep messes that ALL the way up.  So okay, let’s do evenings.  FAIL. Too tired (mixed with I just don’t wanna).

So one day I read about “pre-workout.”  It was probably on Twitter or something.  So I asked about it and was pointed in the direction of Cellucor C4 Extreme Pre-Workout.  Which lead to this post >>> Amazon Strikes Again (Cellucor C4 Extreme Supplement Powder). So yeah.  I got really nervous.  Really really nervous.

But.  I bought it anyway ($29.99 at The Vitamin Shoppe).  I was advised to not take a whole scoop and to just try a half scoop to see how my body would react.  So that’s what I did yesterday.  I was going to start a new workout, but I decided to do one that I’ve done before so I could have something to compare it to.  The workout I am doing is Jillian Michaels Ultimate Kettlebell.

I read that as soon as people drank it, they IMMEDIATELY “had” to workout. So.  I took my little half of a scoop, mixed it with 6oz of water…and waited.  The flavor (pink lemonade) almost killed me. It tasted kind of like trying too hard artificial sweetener to me. Anyway, so I sat.  And I waited for it to make me wanna work out.  I just…sat there. My friend told me he didn’t think that’s how this works.  Tuh.  So then my body started tingling juuuuuuust a little bit (this was about 30 minutes after taking it).  I put that information on Twitter. Another friend read that and told me to “GO WORKOUT RIGHT NOW!”  So I did.

I noticed a difference.  The previous times I did day one of this workout (yes, times…plural), I cheated cause I got tired.  This time…I WANTED to get through it.  There was a time when I thought…LET’S GO! I had the tv on while doing it and at one point I wasn’t focused on the tv at all (VERY unusual). I was focused on finishing.  I was hurting (the first couple of days of doing kettlebell work always makes my back hurt.  Always.), but I just modified and…FINISHED!

So today.  Day two.  I decided I could do a whole scoop.  So I did.  The flavor was MUCH better.  In fact, it was GOOD.  That same friend from above initially told me to take the half scoop cause it may give me “crack itch” and sometimes some of the pre-workouts she took made her want to peel her face off.  So that’s what I was trying to avoid, ya know?  Cause…I don’t want that. But I figured one scoop wouldn’t be bad.  I drank it (one scoop with about 5 oz. of water…VERY easy to mix, too (just put the mix in a cup with a lid and shook it), and sat down to do some work on my laptop.  Had everything in place to get up and get started tho…JUST in case.

So.  After about 15 minutes I caught myself touching my ears.  A lot. Not really wanting to scratch them, but…almost.  Turns out they were tingling.

(oh. another thing….both days, about 10 minutes or so after drinking…I had to poo.  Just being honest.)

And then about 25-30 minutes later, THIS…

started to make me feel like this…

I’m serious (not really).  I really felt like my muscles (or something) were bulging (or something).  Then I started doing stuff and was doing everything kinda fast.  Walking, taking my water bottle out the freezer, plugging in my tablet…I was just moving a bit faster than normal.  So yeah.  Figured it was time to workout.  And I did.  And again, I had a good workout!  Got through it.  I didn’t experience the “throw around a sofa” kinda strength, but I was just….wanting to finish the entire day two workout.

So.  I’ve basically found my best friend.  I’m currently wondering if I am going to increase to a scoop and a half. I’m…not sure. I guess I’m just wanting to see where my perfect level is.  Especially when the workouts start to get more challenging.  But I also don’t want to die so. Yeah. We’ll see.

But yeah.  This stuff is my new best friend. So…go get it.  Unless you’re training for some type of important league or whatever cause I don’t think you’ll pass the substance use test if you use it.  But yeah, everyone else who needs an extra kick to workout? GET. THIS.

P.S. I took this pic because all of the other pictures made it look like it was a HUGE bottle.  In fact, I straight passed it up in the store cause it was so small! AND, when you open it up, about 60% of the bottle is empty! Don’t be alarmed, that’s normal.

UPDATE: March 13, 2014 11:55pm

Ok. So about me going to sleep last night.  I was sleepy, right?  So I went to sleep, but right when I did I felt this jolt of a tingle wave literally move from my feet to my head.  I woke up like this:

Yeah.  It was…interesting.  Okay so then I tried to just lay down or whatever, but my entire body just was tingling.  Then I kinda felt like I was floating. It was kinda cool until I realized this shouldn’t be happening.  I felt like it must be the whole anxious feeling I read about so I took a Nerve Tonic (available at your CVS drugstore <— this stuff is a miracle pill, seriously) and all was well.

I am led to believe this was the Cellucor C4 that did this.  However, I’m wondering if something else could be the culprit.  I say this because the first day I drank it (half of a scoop) I took it in the afternoon, at like 2pm.  ZERO problems going to sleep that night.  This day, when I took the full scoop, I took it at 10:15 am.  I went to bed around 1am the next morning.  Surely it couldn’t be the C4, right?  Plus, earlier that day, at 2pm, I went to get a massage and I couldn’t keep my eyes open cause I was so sleepy!

So what I think I will do is just stick to the half scoop for now.  While I was up this morning at 2am reading about if C4 could be the reason I was up, I read that sometimes your body needs to get used to the stimulant in there.  I think I will try the full scoop again next week on one of the mornings I wake up before work to work out.  That’s really why I wanted this stuff in the first place.

(Note: I have anxiety issues that almost regularly mess with my sleep so it could be that I’m extra sensitive to the stimulant…)

Ok, that’s it.