War Against The Machines: Nimbus Swell vs. EMISGOD

[rubberchicken73]

I am going to address some of your questions that you have posed in your log. As far as the taste is concerned Swell used to be unflavored and I know Colden debated keeping it that way as he intended Swell to be added to other products/substances without interfering with their flavor. Kind of an all purpose Additional product. I believe when he did decide to flavor it, he kept it a light citrus type of flavor so as to not interfere is people wished to add it to other supplements/drinks juices.

Dosing - I always use 3 scoops and use it once a day pre/intraworkout.

Misc Problems - I think Swell was intended to be a supplemental product and not as much as a complete stand alone product. I usually mix my Swell with Gatorade powder and creatine and drink pre/peri workout and I think this is when Swell performs the best. I think the usage instructions should possibly be included or at least expanded on.

Note - I have found Swell/Size On to be one of the best damn combos I have ever used.

Interesting. I used it as directed as almost exclusively stand alone ( no whey/creatine/NO/additional BA etc, only some stims and Gatorade every now and then ) and I found it great as an all rounder. This was from the standpoint of 'if you can't afford too many supps' / on a budget and wanted something to improve performance etc.

Sorry for the hijack, but with the supps at EMISGOD's disposal already, I wouldn't expect to see any significant improvements in performance ( possibly pumps though ). I think he would be better off maybe adding Poseidon to whatever his usual protocol is. Obviously I am no supp Guru but my 2c anyway

[leonidas300]

Interesting. I used it as directed as almost exclusively stand alone ( no whey/creatine/NO/additional BA etc, only some stims and Gatorade every now and then ) and I found it great as an all rounder. This was from the standpoint of 'if you can't afford too many supps' / on a budget and wanted something to improve performance etc.

Sorry for the hijack, but with the supps at EMISGOD's disposal already, I wouldn't expect to see any significant improvements in performance ( possibly pumps though ). I think he would be better off maybe adding Poseidon to whatever his usual protocol is. Obviously I am no supp Guru but my 2c anyway

You make good points and while it can be used as a stand-alone and works well in that regard, Colden wanted it to also be compatible with other existing products. I agree with you that with the supps that Emis has, just adding Poseidon may yield greater/more cost efficient benefits than Swell.

[EMISGOD]

I'm talking about forearm training, not full body training; there I'm in the gym seven days a week.

It was a CoC gripper or some ****ty **** you buy at wally world or target or something? As for wrist curls, I love doing the conc. wrist curls like doing conc. bi curl but at the wrist instead.

Those gripper things always made me feel dopey, so I never used them...I like BB Forearm Rolls a lot and Cross Hammers, but the other ones have some use as well...

How the hell did I miss this, someone shoot a brother a PM.

Guess I can check you off the list of people stalking me... I posted the link in your thread, homeskillet. I can't remember ever PMing anyone that I was doing a Log and kind of think that practice is slightly strange...

gotta open your EYES first

Em darling how are we doing... How's that out of commision wheel of yours??

Hey baby...we're extremely tired...just barely got home, going to shower, then going to bed...wheel should be ok for bike tomorrow...I think.

I am going to address some of your questions that you have posed in your log. As far as the taste is concerned Swell used to be unflavored and I know Colden debated keeping it that way as he intended Swell to be added to other products/substances without interfering with their flavor. Kind of an all purpose Additional product. I believe when he did decide to flavor it, he kept it a light citrus type of flavor so as to not interfere is people wished to add it to other supplements/drinks juices.

I see. I think it would work nicely with Steel Edge, but have not gone that route yet. Steel Edge works nicely by itself...I WILL, however, try stacking it with the Twinlab Energy Fuel I use for band rehearsal tomorrow and see if I like that at all...

Dosing - I always use 3 scoops and use it once a day pre/intraworkout.

Misc Problems - I think Swell was intended to be a supplemental product and not as much as a complete stand alone product. I usually mix my Swell with Gatorade powder and creatine and drink pre/peri workout and I think this is when Swell performs the best. I think the usage instructions should possibly be included or at least expanded on.

Note - I have found Swell/Size On to be one of the best damn combos I have ever used.

SizeOn thing noted. The test here was that Swell was intended to be a standalone product, competing in the same usage as IntrAbolic, ABC, Purple Wraath, ICE, et. al. I got that impression pretty immediately that Swell cannot favorably compare with the others, though that will not prevent me from testing it that way. The question I now have is why propose a test outside of the design of the supplement?

Interesting. I used it as directed as almost exclusively stand alone ( no whey/creatine/NO/additional BA etc, only some stims and Gatorade every now and then ) and I found it great as an all rounder. This was from the standpoint of 'if you can't afford too many supps' / on a budget and wanted something to improve performance etc.

Sorry for the hijack, but with the supps at EMISGOD's disposal already, I wouldn't expect to see any significant improvements in performance ( possibly pumps though ). I think he would be better off maybe adding Poseidon to whatever his usual protocol is. Obviously I am no supp Guru but my 2c anyway

Vascularity is noticeably higher, yes. It takes very little to pop veins now, which is entirely irrelevant to me. Swell is also better at providing focus than any of the AA drinks, depending on if you're counting Steel Edge or not.

You make good points and while it can be used as a stand-alone and works well in that regard, Colden wanted it to also be compatible with other existing products. I agree with you that with the supps that Emis has, just adding Poseidon may yield greater/more cost efficient benefits than Swell.

Well, the test, as I understood it, was head to head directly against what I consider the elite in their respective categories as well as some of the other competitors on the market. I think Swell does have some things to offer, but in my view, the distinct lack of caloric value to Swell really does not put it in a position to make a strong showing intra-workout....

[leonidas300]

complaints, complaints, that is all this guy ever does.
I actually appreciate your criticisms and I think they are important for us so we address them in our recommendations and our marketing. This is exactly the type of comparison we were looking for.

[WannaGetLean]

complaints, complaints, that is all this guy ever does.
I actually appreciate your criticisms and I think they are important for us so we address them in our recommendations and our marketing. This is exactly the type of comparison we were looking for.

Turst me.. you haven't heard all of his BS yet.. this is early in the log

[EMISGOD]

complaints, complaints, that is all this guy ever does.
I actually appreciate your criticisms and I think they are important for us so we address them in our recommendations and our marketing. This is exactly the type of comparison we were looking for.

I'd never heard of Nimbus until you started repping for them, actually...your affiliation with them is largely the main reason for my interest...

After the two workouts tomorrow and Thursday, any recommendations you'd like to put forth I'd be happy to try out, unless it involves mixing the Swell with one of my "usual" products, as I think that is unfair to them, as this was requested by Nimbus to be a comparison, stand-alone, against those others...

Turst me.. you haven't heard all of his BS yet.. this is early in the log

[WannaGetLean]

what I meant to say was.. I love you? lol

[ATHLETIC EDGE NUTRITION]

Good work EMI,always appreciate the details and insight you put into your logs

[EMISGOD]

what I meant to say was.. I love you? lol

Good girl.

Good work EMI,always appreciate the details and insight you put into your logs

I do it all for the people.

[SHOWTIME]

I do it all for the people.



Good girl.

haha

You get reps if you edit the post above me, and just switch the locations of your replies..

[EMISGOD]

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Workout: N/A
Test Supplement Used, Pre-Load: Nimbus Swell + Twinlab Energy Fuel
Test Supplement Used, IWO: None
Exercises Used: N/A
Quality Level: N/A

Observations From The Deck: Well, that was really fun. As good as Swell mixes in a shaker bottle, it mixes that poorly in a glass of water with a spoon or fork. I meant to mention that I tested it over the weekend and it failed the fork test, though not as badly as ICE, which is still the worst dissolving supplement I think I've ever used...

Anyway, Energy Fuel + Swell was a very nice combination. Swell seemed to enhance the effects of Energy Fuel in terms of energy, but I also had a nice amount of focus. Unfortunately, this was not useful in terms of music, as it made things hard to flow naturally and I played extremely poorly (for me) tonight, though I had a decent amount of energy. Focus and concentration are nearly useless in terms of what we do musically, as it's much better to just have a bunch of energy...energy lasted longer tonight than it did last week, which is somewhat notable.

Auxiliary Intel: When I woke up this morning to get ready to take the bike in, it was 30 degrees, so I went back to bed. Anything under 40 degrees is right out of the question. Hopefully tomorrow morning is better...

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[leonidas300]

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Workout: N/A
Test Supplement Used, Pre-Load: Nimbus Swell + Twinlab Energy Fuel
Test Supplement Used, IWO: None
Exercises Used: N/A
Quality Level: N/A

Observations From The Deck: Well, that was really fun. As good as Swell mixes in a shaker bottle, it mixes that poorly in a glass of water with a spoon or fork. I meant to mention that I tested it over the weekend and it failed the fork test, though not as badly as ICE, which is still the worst dissolving supplement I think I've ever used...

Anyway, Energy Fuel + Swell was a very nice combination. Swell seemed to enhance the effects of Energy Fuel in terms of energy, but I also had a nice amount of focus. Unfortunately, this was not useful in terms of music, as it made things hard to flow naturally and I played extremely poorly (for me) tonight, though I had a decent amount of energy. Focus and concentration are nearly useless in terms of what we do musically, as it's much better to just have a bunch of energy...energy lasted longer tonight than it did last week, which is somewhat notable.

Auxiliary Intel: When I woke up this morning to get ready to take the bike in, it was 30 degrees, so I went back to bed. Anything under 40 degrees is right out of the question. Hopefully tomorrow morning is better...

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Where in the world do you live? North Pole?

[EMISGOD]

Where in the world do you live? North Pole?

No. I change location nightly to elude the crack(head) S103/Syntrax detective team...

[Beejis60]

Observations From The Deck: Well, that was really fun. As good as Swell mixes in a shaker bottle, it mixes that poorly in a glass of water with a spoon or fork. I meant to mention that I tested it over the weekend and it failed the fork test, though not as badly as ICE, which is still the worst dissolving supplement I think I've ever used...

What about Micronized Sand?

[EMISGOD]

What about Micronized Sand?

Are you kidding? That mixes great!

[WannaGetLean]

Are you kidding? That mixes great!

you + me = mixes great


lol haha..

[ATHLETIC EDGE NUTRITION]

haha

You get reps if you edit the post above me, and just switch the locations of your replies..

haha..PUNK!

[ATHLETIC EDGE NUTRITION]

you + me = mixes great


lol haha..

Has EMI been dazzling you with his charm and camand of the English language!

[EMISGOD]

you + me = mixes great

lol haha..

Indeed, love.

Has EMI been dazzling you with his charm and camand of the English language!

c-o-m-m-a-n-d

[EMISGOD]

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Workout: Shoulders/Back/Forearms
Test Supplement Used, Pre-Load: Athletic Edge Steel Edge
Test Supplement Used, IWO: Athletic Edge IntrAbolic
Exercises Used:

Lat Tower = 3 Warm-up sets
Rotary Shoulder Press = 2 Warm-up sets, 3 Work sets (145X8, 175X3, 160X4)
Lat Tower* = 4 Work sets (160X5/5, 190X6, 175X4/4, 160X4)
Lateral Raise Machine = 4 Work sets (130X6, 120X7, 110X8, 100X10)
1-Armed High Rear Delt Cable Row, per Arm = 4 Work sets (110X8, 150,140X6, 130X7)
1-Armed Cable Yates Row, per Arm = 4 Work sets (130,145X6, 160X4, 150X6) supersetted with
DB Standing Wrist Curls = 2 Work sets (50sX8, 70sX5)
BB Forearm Rolls = 2 Work sets (145X5, 125X9)

Quality Level: Excellent. I must have been really pumped up for this one, as people were constantly staring at me (was rocking a DS shirt ). Very enhanced vascularity in both Arms tonight. It annoyed me to have to skip last night's projected workout, but I'm glad I took the gamble and did it because tonight's was very solid.

Observations From The Deck: Because I meant to have as much intensity as I could muster tonight (I hate skipping workouts), I decided to stick with the tried and true again tonight. I just felt more comfortable going with something that is consistent and allows me to know what to expect. I will resume with Swell this weekend.

Losing all that sleep last week did not do me any favors. This morning was the first night in the last 4 days that I did not wake up with my head in a fog. On Wednesday, it seriously felt like I didn't wake up until 3:00 PM and then only barely. All I kept thinking about all day was how much I wanted to take a nap...well, that and Tiff, of course. I have not gotten to ride the bike at all this week, partly because of weather during the early part of this week and then the last couple days because I have been far too tired and will not jeopardize my Lifting workouts if I can at all help it. I believe I am finally caught up now, as I feel mostly normal today.

Auxiliary Intel: On the downside, my Right Knee is back to shenanigans again tonight, after behaving the last 4 days. I should have kept on the Elasti-Joint, I guess, but it is a very noxious-tasting supplement, so I try not to use it unless I have to. I will keep using it because it works very, very well -- better than anything else I've ever tried -- but damn that taste...I wish Labrada would get Dave to flavor it...hopefully it will be back in shape by Saturday so I can work Legs properly...

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[Beejis60]

1-Armed Cable Yates Row, per Arm = 4 Work sets (130,145X6, 160X4, 150X6)

WTF are these? Do you do them on the cable xover with the one hand grip thing?

[WannaGetLean]

All I kept thinking about all day was how much I wanted to take a nap...well, that and Tiff, of course.

Auxiliary Intel: , my Right Knee is back to shenanigans again tonight, after behaving the last 4 days.
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lol Emi aww..you think about me.. that's cute



your knee still!!! My left one started to act up last night on the treadmill and it was just at a walk..stupid knees trying to sabatoge our fatloss battle..ughh..

Well keep up the great work..worse comes to worse we can get knee replacements??

[leonidas300]

WTF are these? Do you do them on the cable xover with the one hand grip thing?

In for answer.

[Beejis60]

In for answer.

Who isn't? Maybe wannagetnaked?

Wait, wut?

[EMISGOD]

WTF are these? Do you do them on the cable xover with the one hand grip thing?

In for answer.

Well, if you assume a Yates Row with an EZ-bar, which is how I formerly did them at the old gym, then replace the EZ-bar with one of those EZ-attachments for the adjustable cable machines, you have the idea. However, I far too easily overpower the entire cable stack at the new gym, which means the exercise is not as productive as I want it to be and the EZ-bars at the new gym are 100% useless. There are EZ-bars with weights already attached, but 90 lbs. is far too light for this exercise, so that's also out. A straight BB hurts my wrists, so that is also out.

What I do now is replace the EZ-Bar attachment with a D-ring, pick it up and get the basic position for the Yates Row. I brace whatever side is not being worked with my hand on my Quad over that side, then twist the D-ring to a semi-supinated hand position resembling Hammer Curls as opposed to the supinated grip that the EZ-Bar or EZ-attachment requires. I then go forward with the exercise, one side at a time. I also have to do something similar with the High Rear Delt Cable Shoulder Rows...

lol Emi aww..you think about me.. that's cute

your knee still!!! My left one started to act up last night on the treadmill and it was just at a walk..stupid knees trying to sabatoge our fatloss battle..ughh..

Well keep up the great work..worse comes to worse we can get knee replacements??

Knee just resumed misbehaving last night. IDK WTF, damn bastard thing. It is slightly better today. I wanted to take a run at breaking 900 on the Leg Press tomorrow, so this is not very good timing...hopefully it will be go tomorrow...

[leonidas300]

I am still confused. Post a video like everyone else dammit!!

[EMISGOD]

I am still confused. Post a video like everyone else dammit!!

No way to do this, sorry.

[EMISGOD]

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Workout: Legs
Test Supplement Used, Pre-Load: ErgoPharm ClearShot
Test Supplement Used, IWO: Athletic Edge IntrAbolic
Exercises Used:

BB Squats = 3 Warm-up sets
Inverted Leg Press = 5 Work sets (485X10, 665X8, 755X7, 845X6, 890X3)
Hack Squats, Ham-focus = 4 Work sets (230,270X6, 200,210X8)
Seated Calf Raises = 4 Work sets (240X10)
Standing Calf Raises = 4 Work sets (285X10)

Quality Level: Outstanding. Despite my Right Knee misbehaving, I moved up well and definitely hit Legs thoroughly today. I did not break 900, but given the workout, did not think I would be able to make it. The numbers bear this out. After the Leg Presses, I felt like puking through most of the Hack Squat workout, which changed to feeling like I was going to pass out through most of the Calf superset...

I lost attention at the end of the 845 set and that lapse sent the entire deck all the way down to the stops. Once I lost it, all I could do was try to slow it and then had the fun of de-loading 10 of the plates and climbing back in to get it back up. I'm glad that happened, though, as I was wondering what would happen if I couldn't control the weights. Having been through it, now I know.

My Right Knee again started giving me issues during the Squats. An interesting thing I noted in my beginning stretches was that I had a pretty severe click there and that the Knee felt very weak. It didn't hurt, so I noted it and continued. Toward the end of the Warm-Up Squats, it started to get uncomfortable, but the feeling I had was that I was dealing with a partially torn meniscus, this being the verdict from a few doctors and sports physicians I had seen years ago when I started having the problem more frequently. They could not isolate a cause and their remarks were that it "just happens" sometimes and one of the things I could do was to try to "tamp" it back down between the patella and either the femur or tibia, depending on where the tear was. So, this workout took quite a bit longer than normal as I had to literally do those exercises after every set, except for the Calves superset, but taking this week off of Legs was out of the question. Had the Knee not been in such bad shape, I believe I would have broken 900 today.

Observations From The Deck: I don't know if I will be able to bike to the gym tomorrow, but that is the tentative plan and will be when I start incorporating Swell more. I have 1 more session with IntrAbolic before I run out and 1 or 2 with Steel Edge. Once both run out, I'm going to attempt to not re-introduce them until the Log is over, which is looking a lot like either Memorial Day or the weekend after, depending on if I'm finished with the next level of Swell testing or not by then.

Auxiliary Intel: Weigh-in was 210 today.

I have decided to make some changes to training. After tomorrow, Arms will move to the Back workout, leaving Chest by itself. Leg training will follow in this fashion, starting today. Compound heavy training (today) then lighter isolation training (next weekend) and back and forth so on...

I'm happy overall with how well I'm holding weight (visible bodyfat continues to sink), but once again, I feel Chest and Shoulders are lagging too severely...

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[WannaGetLean]

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My Right Knee again started giving me issues during the Squats. An interesting thing I noted in my beginning stretches was that I had a pretty severe click there and that the Knee felt very weak. It didn't hurt, so I noted it and continued.

-Lets just get some duct tape an tape that damn knee up

Auxiliary Intel: Weigh-in was 210 today.

II'm happy overall with how well I'm holding weight (visible bodyfat continues to sink), but once again, I feel Chest and Shoulders are lagging too severely...

Agreed- i'm noticing visible body fat loss but the scale seems to be STUCK! and yes.. my Chest and shoulders are lagging as well.. uggh..

Great updates Emi!

[EMISGOD]

-Lets just get some duct tape an tape that damn knee up

Bring it over and let's get busy!

...wait...did you say something about knee?

I've been debating wrapping it, but I think I'm going to let it hang for a bit and see what happens. It is more an annoyance than hindrance at this point.

Agreed- i'm noticing visible body fat loss but the scale seems to be STUCK! and yes.. my Chest and shoulders are lagging as well.. uggh..

Great updates Emi!

Well, I'm not on any thermos at the moment...I have some of Sport Pharma's Thermadrene that I played with one day last week as an energizer, but I only took 2 caps just to see what was what...I'm going to have it on hand as I'm not accepting any more days with my head in a fog, but won't be using it regularly at all.

Back is still my favorite workout by a long way and I wish I could summon that kind of enthusiasm for the Chest workout. Shoulders is a problem because I'm facing down the same genetic issue that Schwarzenegger had, which was sort of "droopy" shoulders. They're not as bad as some I've seen, but they are not capping at all to the level I want them to, so I need to really refocus on them. I definitely can't afford to have any training sessions that are even slightly "OFF", though...