"extreme energy" Pills and Fighting?

**big_jonson** · Posted On: 12/12/2005 5:41am

Sorry if this is a bit of a newb question..

Sometimes when I train I will pop a "Fat Burner" pill for the extra energy when I feel a bit tired.

The ones I have at the moment are called "Stackers 4..Extreme Energy...Blah..blah" I know they sound tacky but they do work well. In basic terms I can do perhaps 1.5 times the amount of training I can normally do after taking one of these pills. And after perhaps exerting myself to a particularly high level I can recover and be ready for more action significantly quicker than without them. I try not to do them too often though, I know large amounts of caffeine arnt particularly good for you.

My Question-

I am going to be competing in a full contact kickboxing competition soon (my first). Would it be a good idea to pop and energy pill before the fight for the benefits outlined above?

Do people do this? I am reluctant to discuss it with my coach as I don't really know the situation surrounding energy pills and kickboxing/boxing fights. But I do know that everyone at the other weight training gym I go to is on them as it was the gym instructor who peddled them to me. They are legal and above board by the way.

**PirateJon** · Posted On: 12/12/2005 9:59am

Yes, with a but - no with a maybe...

Legal depends on your sport, your state and what you're taking. Amature boxing goes by the USOC guidelines. Ephedra is probably in that stacker and is hella-banned. creatine is on the list (list @ www.usantidpoing.org) but I still take it since I'm not competeing yet.

Do people do it? Almost certainly. There's probably people that would snort PCP before a match.

Would it be a good idea? Depending on your morals, it's cheating. If you have no morals, look up Steve Bechler. But really you have to decide if the boost you get taking a stim before a match would be worth the **** you would catch if it came out you were doping.

**big_jonson** · Posted On: 12/13/2005 5:58am

I hear what you are saying. This is why I was reluctant to discuss this with anyone from my club as I know it's a touchy subject and I certainly didnt want to get a name as being someone into "Doping".

However, I'm certain there are no banned substances in these stacks. There is a large banner on the tub saying "ephedrine free" and although they dress these up as "amazing formula" "super strong" etc. I'm pretty sure it's just a strong dose of caffeine.

I hadnt looked at it from the angle that it may be considered cheating though....

**Shard** · Posted On: 12/13/2005 6:58am

If its Just Caffine and nothing else, then it should be fully legal. Up to a certain amount...
Caffine is allowed in the olympics but only to a certain limit. Over that it counts as cheating.
To be on the safe side, i'd rather drink something like Red bull /some energy drink.

Caffine Does give you a boost but about an hour or so after the boost you could burn out. Caffine levels tend to peak about 1 hour after consumption, so try to time your drink/pill about 45 mins before your match starts. Glucose gives you a quicker boost but the effects don't last very long.
Its what i'd call a fair advantage. Its similar to if the person didn't get sufficient rest, you just got abit more energy, not really what one would consider cheating.

Of course, if your pill has a little bit of "this" and a little bit of "that" then you're a @!#$@#! lame ass cheater if you take it just before the match...

**Apostol** · Posted On: 12/13/2005 7:22pm

Creatine? Are you joking? There's no possible way you can detect that unless they disect you, and even if they could, you could just tell them you've been eating a lot of fish lately.