Hey Ridley, Got Any Beemans?

I’m not a real test pilot but I play one on TV. Yesterday, in the line of duty as Beachbody’s lab rat, I tried something called Jet Fuel. But instead of me chasin’ that demon that lives out in the thin air I think it was chasing me. Now I feel like Spam in a can.

In our quest to create great supplements I pretty much take everything on the market out for a spin in one form or another. This generally means, well, pretty much nothing as most supplement do just that: nothing. This is not the case with Jet Fuel. It does something, for sure, but I’m not sure it’s what I’d call the right stuff.

why does everything sound so much better in spanish?

I’m mainly over messing with pre-workout caffeinated nonsense. I’ve tested plenty of the jillion or so available and they’re pretty much all variations on a theme that can be cured with a cup of coffee. Jet Fuel caught my eye because of a few ingredients not normally seen in this realm, primarily the neurotransmitter phosphatidylserine which increases brain function and mental focus. I’ve used it before and found it effective and wondered how it might work if it was transported by an explosive cocktail. And, shoot, this stuff was on closeout. Seemed like a good time to take her up and wring her out a little bit.



Granted, it was a little late in the day to be testing a stimulant but I had a two-hour workout planned and, heck, I could even finish her off with a little yoga if this stuff wasn’t burned off by then. So I took a third of a “dose” and hit the gym.

"is that your crash helmet? oh, i hope not."

I did an hour on the trainer and felt good. Then I test drove a prospective workout for a new Beachbody program tentatively called “The Beast”(but that’s another story). After the workout I felt great. I then had something to eat, did some work, some yoga, then got ready for bed and started reading. Hmmm…

“Y’all want a drink of whiskey?”

Sure, Fred, maybe it’ll help me sleep. I’d been off the sauce since the martini challenge but needed rest. A glass of bourbon and reading about the haematocrit levels of Marco Pantani during his career did the trick, but the night was young.

In my dreams I was out of control in a hurdlin’ piece of machinery. It was not restful. I was in and out of consciousness and might have gotten a couple of hours, which I’m only sure of because I was dreaming. In the final segment I found myself in a flat spin, totally out of control, where I kept almost swallowing gum (in reality I never chew gum), which finally woke me it. I’d better go find Ridley and pay him back.

fireflies? that's ridiculous.

A test pilot’s review of Jet Fuel: The stuff is powerful, and probably easily dangerous, but I won’t say that it’s without merit in the right situation. Most of the ingredients are healthy. It’s the megadose of caffeine in combination with other stimulants, and it’s got the kitchen—or lab—sink, that will account for this. But I think it might have a place in a rigorous training program if you take it early on a hard training day and stay hydrated. My mental focus and clarity was great, and I was super amped, which if controlled can be put to good use. I would never use it during a phase where I’m only doing an hour or so of exercise, no matter how intense, and I’d always start with a low dose. It should be saved for those days when you’re pushing the envelope. Otherwise, you might augur in.

Now, who’s the best pilot you ever saw?

Lab Rat Redux

We have a new supplement guy here at Beachbody. His name is Dr. Bill Wheeler and he’s got a lengthy and impressive resume and will take our game to a new level. We’re working on improving most of our current supplements and adding a ton of new ones, as well as obtaining state-of-the-art certifications for everything we make. But we’ve got to keep our work conversations focused because when we get together we seem to drift off into what the latest research is showing and then theorizing about how this could lead to breakthroughs in diet and supplementation. This is often way beyond the scope of what we’re going to provide our customers in the near future but for me, as a human lab rat, it gets my brain spinning over possibilities.

Currently, however, I’m doing sort of the opposite. Along with the WFH I’ve begun a retro supplementation regime. Over time “de rigueur” supps come and go but, occasionally, things that work well fall off the radar for no good reason. Back in 1990 I was experimenting with a line of supps from the company in the pic. These guys had some fringe stuff and ended up getting closed down when some of their biggest sellers went onto the banned list. I’d become a test pilot for them during a period where I made tremendous fitness gains. I didn’t associate much of this to these supps but I’ve decided, given I’m in the business and all, that I should give these another run around the block.

The only supplement I’d used from these guys that got banned with GhB, which became a popular party drug and ended up killing a few celebrities who OD’d on it. I used it for recovery as well as to help me get to sleep. In 1990 I was trying to revamp me body from one of a lower body power athlete to an upper body endurance athlete. I was simultaneously catabolizing leg muscle while building up climbing muscle (back, shoulders, arms) which meant I was doing some wild training and eating a very low calorie diet. When you’re doing this it’s hard to sleep because you’re amped at night like Louden Swain in the 80s film Vision Quest, but that’s another chapter in the Workout From Hell saga.

Today I’m just announcing that I’m experimenting with Arginine/Pyroglutamate/Lysine and what they called Mesobolin. There's probably a reason they've never gotten popular but I’ll let you know how it goes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some studies to read on the difference between "fast" and "slow" proteinsm something on the fringe I just learned about from Dr. Bill.