WattsND's Universal Nutrition Animal Log

[WattsND]

Hey, everyone - I wanted to run a log of my first sampling of several Universal Nutrition Animal products to get a feel for how they perform and my preferences as I branch out a bit in my supplementation.

About Me: I'm 37, 6'3" and 215 lbs. I started a bit over two years ago at a bad 190lbs on a beginner program after years of laziness caught up with me once I stopped working out after school and athletics ended. I've made some good progress in those two years, am stronger/larger than I've ever been, and have learned a tremendous amount about works for me in programming and diet.

Below is a comparison shot between my starting point and the start of this week.



I am currently eating at a caloric surplus and am continuing to attempt to boost size and strength.

Prior to testing this stack, I have been on the following supplements:

Cellucor C4 Ultimate
EVL Vita Mode
Omega JYM
Primaforce Citrulline Malate
Clear Muscle
Cellucor CorWhey Protein

I'll be dropping the multi, pre-workout, and citrulline in favor of the following Universal Nutrition products:

Animal Pak
Animal Flex
Animal RageXL
Animal Pump

And thanks to a bonus offer, I'll be mixing Animal Fury in instead of RageXL on a few days.

I plan on running this log through my initial supply of these products and will make a decision on where to go next at that point. I've been happy with the performance of the Cellucor products I've used in the past, just wanted to test the waters for some of the other stuff that's out there. The Animal Flex really has me interested, as this whole round of supplements started with me searching out a joint support of some sort... and eventually led me down the Universal Nutrition path.

It all starts tomorrow with my shoulder day. Looking forward to the results.

[WattsND]

1st day in the books. I started with the 1 scoop serving of Animal RageXL to assess tolerance, but as expected I can definitely move on to two scoops tomorrow. Flavor was Grape of Wrath. This was a lot smoother flavor than I'm used to (Pre Kaged and C4U being my primary PWO's before). It was almost more of a juice flavor than the sharp tangy flavor that others have. Easy to drink, mixed fine. Along with Animal Pump, it will take a little getting used to in taking several pills (some of them pretty significant in size) along with what's a significantly smaller scoop size of PWO.

Looking forward to seeing the results of Animal Flex over time as well. I don't deal with a lot of muscle soreness, but I can feel the wear and tear on my joints from time to time. Nothing terrible, and not injury related, but the knees/elbows know I'm 37 and not 27. Hoping this helps.

Felt really strong today, great energy -- could also be impacted by a great night of sleep and a work day that has been going much better than expected. I normally like to work out first thing in the morning, but I was pretty energized to get into the gym this afternoon.

Shoulder day for me, which consists of 2 power press moves, then 2 more strict moves per direction as I work around the entire shoulder, with a little extra focus on the rear delts. Energy was good throughout the workout. Shoulders are probably the easiest area for me to get a great pump going, as well.

3x8 65LB Dumbbell Press
3x8 135LB Barbell Press
3x8 35LB Front Dumbbell Raise
3x8 45LB Front Plate Raise
3x10 25LB Side Lateral Raise
3x10 35LB Low Pulley Lateral Raise
3x10 180LB Reverse Machine Flye
3x8 100LB Upright Barbell Row
3x8 140LB Face Pulls

Back day tomorrow.

[WattsND]

Upped the serving size of RageXL to two scoops. As expected, coming off of C4U, not much of a change in upping the dosage. Still felt good today. Upped the weight on some of my lifts today, but that was scheduled already based on some of the rep ranges I was hitting over the last two back days. Good energy today, so I'll work in at least a 45 minute class on the Peloton tonight.

3x10 Strict Pull Ups
3x8 310 LB Iso Row
3x8 310 LB Iso Pull Down
3x8 290 LB Iso High Row
3x8 210 LB Iso Low Row
3x8 160 LB Seated Cable Row
3x8 160 LB Lat Pull Down
3x8 90 LB One Arm Land Mine Row

Chest day tomorrow.

[WattsND]

My order came with two free 5 serving samples of Animal Fury. Today, I swapped out the RageXL with Fury, and stacked with Animal Pump, minus the stim pill. Had amazing energy this morning, I might have walked a mile, pacing between sets.

Chest day is always an excercise in knowing my limits. I work out at a gym that is more fitness club than power lifting gym. Spotters are rare at 7am, and there are no face savers on our benches. I tend to go heavier on non barbell lifts as a result.

4x5 235 LBS Bench Press
3x8 100 LBS Dumbbell Bench Press
3x8 165 LBS Incline Bench Press
3x8 205 LBS Decline Bench Press
3x8 290 LBS Hammer ISO Chest Press
3x8 180 LBS Hammer ISO Incline Chest Press
3x8 50 LBS Dumbbell Flyes

Finished up with my ab and calf routine for the weekends:

3x10 Ab Roller
3x10 Incline Crunch
3x30 Air Bike
3x20 Leg Pull Ins
3x12 120 LBS Cable Crunch
3x10 Hanging Leg Raises

4xF 160 LBS Calf Press
4xF 95 LBS Standing Calf Raises
4xF 90 LBS Seated Calf Raises

[WattsND]

Here's a shot of the stack all together. Packaging was good, instructions are clear, nothing else I could really ask for here.



Went with the green apple Fury flavor today. Don't like it as much, but still easy to drink. I don't base a PWO on flavor, anyway. Fury is definitely giving me good consistent energy that is lasting well beyond my workout. Normally I'm home for a Sunday afternoon nap at this point, but it's definitely not happening today.

Arm day went well. Definitely feeling a good pump as I wrap this one up.




3x25 Dips to warm up
6x8 120-180 LBS Tricep Press Down w/ varying attachments
3x8 55 LBS Single Arm Reverse Tricep Press Downs
3x8 95 LBS Skull Crushers
3x8 35 LBS Single Arm Overhead Tricep Dumbbell Extension
3x8 40 LBS Dumbbell Curls
3x8 90 LBS Barbell Curls
3x8 140 LBS Machine Preacher Curls
3x8 30 LBS Incline Hammer Curls
3x8 70 LBS Overhead Cable Curls

[WattsND]

Was excited to finally get to leg day with this new stack. No other day requires as much volume, pushing so much weight. Still feeling good energy from the PWO. By the time I got to the gym today, I was a little mentally off my game due to some headaches created at the office today -- I was more distracted than usual. Squats felt great, but I didn't have the stamina that I normally do by the time I got to the end of my exercises and sets... not an issue with the stack so much as probably just an off day for me. Didn't have a good meal to start the day and didn't pick up much for lunch because of the issues at work. Got a little frustrated by some crowded gym conditions and people wandering around, occupying some machines without actually putting in work.

3x8 275 LB, 1x6 295 LB Squats
5x8-12 220 LB Leg Extensions
3x8-12 630 LB Narrow Stance Leg Press
5x8-12 180 LB Seated Leg Curl
3x8-12 630 LB Wide Stance Leg Press
3x10 100 LB Stiff Legged Dead Lift

Got a 45 minute low impact Peloton ride scheduled for tonight, and a 45 minute tabata ride in the morning to cap off legs for a few days.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

Great looking stack you got there.
Do you have a Peloton bike or do you just use the program, with your own bike?

[WattsND]

Thanks. I've got the bike. Bought it about a year go based on the recommendation of some other owners I knew online and have really enjoyed it. It has been tough for me historically to stay motivated to do cardio, but the competitive aspect of the classes has been a huge plus for me. And I love some of the instructors... makes it easy to put in work.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

Haven't done Cardio in a while.
I prefer outdoors biking.
Have 3-4 awesome forest preserve bike trails near my house, and come summer, I'll be doing lots of pedaling!

Living in the MidWest doesn't allow for year-round outdoors Cardio.
We just got 5" of fresh snow this morning
It looks great but it is a pain to drive in.

Now, come see my NutraBio log!

[WattsND]

Got away to the gym at lunch before the snow set in. It was great, because almost no one else was there. Very fortunate that my gym never shuts down... I feel bad for the desk workers, because I think the manager makes them sleep there if things get bad... but I'll take advantage of the open doors.

Back to shoulder day now. Everything felt pretty good -- especially since I got terrible sleep last night. Woke up at 2:00 AM and stared at the ceiling for about 2 hours, thinking about work projects, before I was finally able to fall asleep again.

3x8 65LB Dumbbell Press
3x8 135LB Barbell Press
3x8 35LB Front Dumbbell Raise
3x10 45LB Front Plate Raise
3x10 30LB Side Lateral Raise
3x10 35LB Low Pulley Lateral Raise
3x10 180LB Reverse Machine Flye
3x8 100LB Upright Barbell Row
3x8 140LB Face Pulls

Upped the weight on Side Lateral Raises today. Feeling pretty challenged on most everything at these weights/ranges right now. Almost ready to add some twists/holds in on the plate raises. I don't want to add any more reps there.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

3x10 30LB Side Lateral Raise

my arms would fall off ... maybe that's because I usually do the lateral raises in combination with my front raises, and usually use 15lbs and 20lbs DBs

[WattsND]

I spent most of my early life as a baseball player, so that and some good genetics have made my shoulders probably the strongest part of my frame. I love shoulder day!

Need to update two days worth of progress today.

Wednesday I went with the RageXL and Pump combo for back day:

3x10 Strict Pull Ups
3x8 310 LB Iso Row
3x8 310 LB Iso Pull Down
3x8 290 LB Iso High Row
3x8 220 LB Iso Low Row
3x8 160 LB Seated Cable Row
3x8 160 LB Lat Pull Down
3x10 70 LB Dumbbell Row


Then used Fury/Pump for chest day today. School is still out here, even though there is no snow on the ground. As a result, gym was packed with kids today. Had to keep things moving quickly to get my sets in.

3x5 235, 1x4 245 LBS Bench Press
3x8 100 LBS Dumbbell Bench Press
3x8 175 LBS Incline Bench Press
3x8 205 LBS Decline Bench Press
3x8 290 LBS Hammer ISO Chest Press
3x8 200 LBS Hammer ISO Incline Chest Press
3x8 50 LBS Dumbbell Flyes


Feeling a little flare up in my right elbow today. I had an old ulnar collateral ligament injury that I rehabbed without surgery, so have to be careful with it. Doesn't impact me very much on pressing days, but hoping it calms down a bit.


Still VERY happy with the PWO and pump characteristics from this Animal stack. Diet has been on point -- as in I've been able to eat a lot of good food to keep me happy and gaining. I checked my weight today and I was up to 220lbs. That's also a new record for me. Feel like I'm going to be in good position for a cut when spring starts.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

I love shoulder day!

Me too, especially BEFORE arriving at the gym

Actually doing Shoulders today.

[WattsND]

Arms again today. Went back to the Green Apple flavored Fury today. Not as big of a fan of the flavor here. It's not bad (and really, you're never drinking a PWO long enough for it to matter), but it's a little more minty than apple, to me. I prefer the grape and watermelon flavors of the other two Animal products so far.

Still not used to taking so many pills instead of powders. Makes no real difference, and the packets are easy to carry around... but when you put this whole stack together it is a lot.

Great arm day today... ready for a nice weekend with the family. No clue what our plans are right now... but I'm going to make sure part of it involves getting some great food tonight.

3x25 Dips to warm up
6x8 120-180 LBS Tricep Press Down w/ varying attachments
3x8 70 LBS Single Arm Reverse Tricep Press Downs
3x8 95 LBS Skull Crushers
3x8 35 LBS Single Arm Overhead Tricep Dumbbell Extension
3x8 40 LBS Dumbbell Curls
3x8 90 LBS Barbell Curls
3x8 35 LBS Incline Hammer Curls
3x8 70 LBS Overhead Cable Curls
3x21 45 LBS Barbell 21's Curls

[WattsND]

Unfortunately had to take a couple of days off here -- that initial soreness in the elbow turned out to be injury related, so I have to back it down a bit before doing anything worse. 3 days off, and it's feeling better - so I'm hoping this is a week long recovery and back at it.

[WattsND]

Gave it another go today after giving the elbow a solid week of rest. Unfortunately, still feel definite pressure in the joint and area where the ulnar collateral ligament is. No pain normally, but can definitely feel it catching or something when I make certain movements... opening a heavy door, holding something heavy, etc. Loving the Animal line so far, but looks like I'm going to have to put the log on hold for a moment while I get to the doc to check this out. Definitely don't want my arm blowing up with 200 pounds overhead.