Fat Loss Supplements Part II
I covered clenbuterol and thyroid hormones in part I. Now, I’ll be covering caffeine, ephedrine, aspirin, and yohimbine. Check my YouTube for info on DNP, a different kind of beast. All information that I’ll be covering is for entertainment purposes only. Be sure to check your country’s laws and comply with them accordingly. I am not a medical professional and I suggest seeking help from one for medical issues and prescription medications.
I will reiterate that your diet, cardio, and training should be 100% dialed in before looking to supplements like these to help in fat loss. By dialed in, I mean you could keep losing fat with just those but these supplements will give that extra boost from 10% body fat down to 5% or 5% down to 3% for contest prep.
Caffeine is the most abused performance enhancing drug in existence. There is tons of data on it, it’s relatively safe, and provides immediate results. It can also be great for fat loss if used correctly. Caffeine is a methylxanthine and adenosine receptor antagonist. I’m going to assume you already use caffeine at about 100mg (8oz Dunkin coffee) 5-6x per week total or 500-600mg per week. In the final stages of fat loss, when your calories are under 2000, your body fat is <10%, and you feel like you’re running on fumes, 500mg spread through the day and not within ~6 hours of bedtime can give huge benefits to energy and metabolism.
Ephedrine is a sympathomimetic that mimics norepinephrine (adrenaline). This means that it causes you to bounce your leg, feel good, and increases overall metabolism. Aspirin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory that most people have heard of. It also blocks the action of thromboxane allowing blood to be thinner. That’s why it’s given to people with heart disease. Ephedrine in combination with aspirin and caffeine has been shown to be effective at inducing fat loss over a short term, such as 2-4 weeks.
Yohimbine is an alkaloid derived from Yohimbe bark. Yohimbine is effective at inducing fat loss as well. It acts by activating alpha adrenergic, serotonin, and dopamine receptors.
A sample protocol would be for an individual who is at the tail end of their cutting phase or contest prep and sitting at 10-12% body fat with 4-6 weeks left to go and a diet, cardio, and training regimen that supports maximal fat loss with minimal muscle loss:
Week 1-2: 200mg caffeine, 81mg aspirin per day
Week 3-4: 300mg caffeine, 25mg ephedrine, 81mg aspirin, 20mg yohimbine per day
Week 5-6: 400mg caffeine, 25mg ephedrine, 325mg aspirin, 20mg yohimbine per day
By adding these supplements in, I’d say that you’d lose an extra 2-4% body fat than you would have with diet, training, and cardio alone. Instead of going from 10% to 8% body fat in those final 6 weeks, you might drop to 5% body fat. That could be the difference between winning your contest and not even being in first call out.
Regardless of approach to fat loss, there is one constant across manipulation of fitness variables, and that is conservative, gradual changes are the healthiest and most sustainable over longer periods of time. If you’re ready to move forward with your physique, but don’t know where to start, I offer customized coaching that can get you on the right path.
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Nick Trigili is a respected IFBB Pro bodybuilder and trainer. Check him out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more informative content. Also make sure to visit his official personal training website – World Class Trainers.
