A question for BSN NO-Xplode users:

[Harag]

I'm used to drinking a protein shake before and after my workouts, but the usage instructions recommend that I take NO-Xplode on an empty stomach half an hour before working out, and not drink a protein shake within an hour.

My question is, am I really supposed to work out on an empty stomach (which means no food at all for several hours beforehand) with no protein or carbs to help my exercises? If not, how do you guys take your NO-Xplode?

[toejam]

well, i stopped using it..but the way i used it was...

i'd eat my lunch at 12:30, then have my workout at 4. i wasnt starved, and i still got all the effects from the NO Xplode. i then just drank my protein shake immmediately afterwards and before going to sleep. worked fine for me for 5 weeks.

[Jen_Ess]

I did the following: eat(4pm), one hour later take no-xplode(5pm), half hour later work out(5:30pm). work out for just over an hour, protein shake afterwards(~7pm). worked fine for me. empty stomach does not mean no food for several hours. I think an hour is sufficient digestion time to be considered empty stomach, esp. for a liquid meal like the shake that you speak of.

[Jen_Ess]

well, i stopped using it..but the way i used it was...

i'd eat my lunch at 12:30, then have my workout at 4. i wasnt starved, and i still got all the effects from the NO Xplode. i then just drank my protein shake immmediately afterwards and before going to sleep. worked fine for me for 5 weeks.

yikes you didn't eat between 12:30 and 4pm? Thats really pushing the envelope as far as empty stomach is concerned. a little excessive. and catabolic.

[carmen77]

Yu Yevon said:
The study focuses on nitric oxcide synthesis and its effect on vasodilatation. At first it seems that science backs no2, but upon further inspection you will see that no2 is actually quite dangerous.
The study:
Endothelin-A receptor antagonist-mediated vasodilatation is attenuated by inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis and by endothelin-B receptor blockade.
Verhaar MC, Strachan FE, Newby DE, Cruden NL, Koomans HA, Rabelink TJ, Webb DJ.
Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: The role of endothelin (ET)-1 in maintenance of basal vascular tone has been demonstrated by local and systemic vasodilatation to endothelin receptor antagonists in humans. Although the constrictor effects mediated by the vascular smooth muscle ET(A) receptors are clear, the contribution from endothelial and vascular smooth muscle ET(B) receptors remains to be defined. The present study, in human forearm resistance vessels in vivo, was designed to further investigate the physiological function of ET(A) and ET(B) receptor subtypes in human blood vessels and determine the mechanism underlying the vasodilatation to the ET(A)-selective receptor antagonist BQ-123. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two studies were performed, each in groups of eight healthy subjects. Brachial artery infusion of BQ-123 caused significant forearm vasodilatation in both studies. This vasodilatation was reduced by 95% (P=.006) with inhibition of the endogenous generation of nitric oxide and by 38% (P<.001) with coinfusion of the ET(B) receptor antagonist BQ-788. In contrast, inhibition of prostanoid generation did not affect the response to BQ-123. Infusion of BQ-788 alone produced a 20% reduction in forearm blood flow (P<.001). ConCLUSIonS: Selective ET(A) receptor antagonism causes vasodilatation of human forearm resistance vessels in vivo. This response appears to result in major part from an increase in nitric oxide generation. ET(B) receptor antagonism either alone or on a background of ET(A) antagonism causes local vasoconstriction, indicating that ET(B) receptors in blood vessels respond to ET-1 predominantly by causing vasodilatation.
PubMed

Here lies the problem; vasodilatation causes a drop in blood pressure (because as the veins widen, the pressure drops). Baroreceptors in the aortic arch and in the carotid sinus will detect this fast, sudden drop. In order to protect the body from going into shock, vasomotor centers in the medulla will cause the blood vessels to the brain to constrict in order to increase blood pressure going into the brain (too much blood can severely damage the brain, just like too little). This is a dangerous sequence that can potentially lead to catastrophe!

Keep this in mind the next time you consider using any supplement that claims prolonged pump due to nitric oxide synthesis.
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Yu Yevon said:
Here are some links to the effects of nitric oxide synthesis:
http://www.imakerala.org/nitricoxide1.htm
http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/ib...2002/cardio.htm
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S68.html
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S63.html
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S71.html
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S72.html
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S73.html
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S74.html
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S75.html
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S76.html
http://physiology.cup.cam.ac.uk/Pro.../Files/S78.html
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/328/23/1659
http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1...h/abstract.html
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My advice would be to stop taking it at once. I can find the medical studies to back my claim from the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the Journal of Applied Physiology and the National Strength and Conditioning Journal.

But I will simplify it for you:

ont color="red"> Nitric oxcide (no2) causes vasodilation in your blood vessels. As a result, blood pressure drops quickly and drastically. This alerts chemoreceptors and as a last ditch effort to keep the brain from going into shock, the blood vessels leading to the brain vasoconstrict (tighten/get smaller). Sometimes the blood vessels contract completely, not allowing any blood to get through to the brain.
It is no wonder why the most common side effect of no2 is dizzyness. Some have fainted and some have died. I suspect more deaths will come from no2 in the near future. Make sure you aren't one of them...

Courtesy of abcbodybuilding.com

[rmat16]

Before I got NO Xplode, I would take a protein shake before the workout, and one before i go to bed. Now, I just take the protein shake with milk, to kind of delay the digestion, at around 12 pm. I take the NO Xplode at about 3 pm, and workout at around 4. The results have been magnificent. I've seen even better results mixing half a serving of cee with the NO Xplode. It kindda makes the cee's taste tolerable, and I get massive amounts of energy during the workout (I'm literally hopping around my garage).