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0311's Gakic Review

I had received my bottle of Gakic a week or so ago. I will be taking 8 pills 20 minutes prior to working out.

Here's some background info on the product taken from their website...

Quote:

The GAKIC Research Studies
Stevens, B., et al. (2000). Med Sci Sports Exerc. 32(12):2102.

In a double-blind, randomized, crossover-designed study conducted at the University of Florida by Stevens et al. (2000), participants ingested either GAKIC (glycine-l-arginine-alpha-ketoisocaproic acid calcium) or a placebo (9.46 g sucrose) prior to exercise. After supplementation, subjects performed consecutive right knee concentric and eccentric contractions. Measurements were taken during the last 5 reps of each set. Sets were performed at 0 minutes, 5 minutes, and at 15 minutes. Significant changes in time taken to fatigue of up to an average of 28 percent were recorded when compared to the placebo (see table 1). Treatment with GAKIC also increased the mean total work per set by an overall 10.5 percent over the 15-minute period (see fig. 1 and table 1). Based on this study, the researchers concluded that GAKIC treatment increases the ability to sustain muscle force, delays fatigue, and increases total muscle work.

Conclusion: GAKIC increases the ability to sustain muscle force by delaying fatigue. GAKIC also increases total muscle work.

Buford, B., and Koch, A. (2004). Med Sci Sports Exerc. 36(4):583.

In another double-blind, randomized, crossover-designed study conducted by Buford et al. (2004), subjects were given GAKIC or a placebo before exercise and measured during repeated bouts of anaerobic cycling performance. Subjects performed a series of five 10-second sprints against resistance. Results indicated GAKIC treatment significantly decreased the drop in mean power between the first and second sprints, resulting in a longer time taken to fatigue. The researchers concluded the findings obtained from this study supported the work of Stevens et al. (2000) at the University of Florida.

Conclusion: GAKIC™ supplementation can help improve muscle performance in repeated, high-intensity exercise.
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GAKIC is chemically known as glycine-l-arginine-alpha-ketoisocaproic acid.

Glycine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning your body's cells can synthesize sufficient amounts of it to meet physiological requirements. Studies show that production of growth hormone (one of the most important musclebuilding hormones) increases in a dose-dependent manner with glycine supplementation. Another thing about glycine is that when it's combined with arginine (as it is in GAKIC), it has the potential to increase endogenous creatine levels.

Arginine plays an important role in many bodily functions including the removal of ammonia from the body, immune function, and the release of hormones. The body also uses it to produce nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels.

Lastly, alpha-ketoisocaproate represents the “KIC” in GAKIC. KIC is a branched-chain keto acid (BCKA) that has anti-catabolic effects meaning it can help prevent muscle loss. BCKAs also aid in a muscle's energy production while helping to remove ammonia. Buildups of ammonia are common during intense training sessions, and have been known to play a part in fatigue.

There are two types of failure: that which occurs due to neurological issues and that which occurs due to metabolic issues. The former occurs with lower rep training, whereas the latter occurs with moderate to high-rep training. In the example above, metabolic fatigue sets in due to the build-up of various metabolic by-products which negatively affects exercise performance and inhibits some aspects of the muscle's contractile machinery. GAKIC helps your body deal with this metabolic fatigue and thus delays this moment of failure - helping you get 1, 2, or even 3 more reps in. That's what GAKIC can do for you. And that's why it's so revolutionary. Once you train with GAKIC, you'll never want to train without it.

That's where GAKIC is different from anything else you've ever tried before. Studies show that subjects using GAKIC experienced an immediate 10.5 percent increase in strength after taking it. Not days or weeks later, but right after the very first dose! Just imagine if GAKIC could do the same for you. Imagine stepping in the gym with more strength than you've ever had before. Imagine heading into your set ready to make your previous best look like a warm-up. The science shows GAKIC can do this. And it shows that instead of “hitting the wall” when you normally would, GAKIC can help you lift longer than before. In the same above-mentioned study, GAKIC supplementation was shown to significantly increase fatigue resistance by up to an average of 28 percent when compared with the placebo. You do the math. More strength plus less fatigue equals better gains.

View the GAKIC Powder supplement facts and directions for use.

For GAKIC Caplets
As a dietary supplement, take 1 serving (8 caplets) up to 45 minutes before a high-intensity workout. Do not exceed 1 serving (8 caplets) in a 24-hour period. One bottle contains 128 capsules.

My current program is DFHT, which is short for Dual Factor Hypertrophy Training. It incorperates an upper/lower split, each muscle getting worked twice in a week. This actually fits into the "Gakic" scheme of things because the bottle will last a month if taken only 4 times a week.

10/5- Upper 1
First Serving of Gakic

Initial Impression: Eight pills is a tall order for anyone to swallow. It isn't difficult, but I'd rather have the powder to try. It's just my personal belief that powder works faster than pills do.

I took the full dosage of 8 pills exactly 25 minutes before I began training. I noticed my breathing being very slow compared to before. Not shallow, but very deep. This isn't a bad thing, just an observation.

My example will be incline barbell press since it's the first exercise I do. I added 10 pounds to the bar to see what happens and I did 4 sets of 8 fairly easy. Last week I just did three sets and went on to something else. So I feel that it possibly had something to do with the extra reps. For my 4x8, I stopped my first 3 sets short of failure.

It's not the placebo effect since I don't expect anything, but doing this program for a while now I can tell if it's doing something. I have 8 years experience to know the effects something has on my body when lifting. I felt light headed the whole time in the gym too for some reason, probably because I just woke up. Even still, I still nailed all reps and sets even though I felt like shit.

I have to make a distinction. I want to note that the Gakic certainly doesn't make the weights feel any "lighter". (It doesn't claim to either) The weights still felt heavy as usual, but I did not experience that usual wall I'd normally hit as far as I can remember.

The reps came easy to me, but when I lift, I must admit that my brain completely shuts off. The only thing I concentrate on is keeping the tempo even and what rep I'm on. :D

For the past few weeks before this workout, I think that wall (failure) happened on the third set around that eighth or ninth rep. The reps before that third set were not taken to failure. So when I added 10 more pounds on the incline barbell and did 4 sets of 8 with that same weight (I never pyramid!), it leads me to believe that maybe this supplement works.

Here was what I did for this day supplementing Gakic:

Wednesday: DFHT LOADING
Incline Barbell Press: 240 x (4x8)
Decline Dumbbell: 90 x 12,11,10
JS Rows: 265 x (5x5)
Barbell Shrugs: 345 x 12,12,12
Side Laterals: 40 x 12,10,10
Skullcrushers: 80 x 12,12,12
Incline Curls: 50 x 12, 12, 10

Consequently, I got more reps than usual on some exercises. My biceps were usually toast at the tail end of the workout, but I blasted through.

10/6- Lower 1
Second Serving of Gakic

I took the same 8 pills 30 minutes before my lower body day. I can say that again the reps were very difficult, but I blasted through. The only way to accurately say what I felt is this:

Picture doing squats. I put on 295 to go A2G for my final set of 5 reps. My first 2 reps were strong, easy. Had a good half second pause to sit on my calves between reps. Rep 3 was slower, and I felt like I was going to need a spotter on my last 2 reps. Since I was in the squat rack, I had the catch poles on the lowest rung so if I fail, I could drop the weight off my back. I kept going and even though my final two reps were sluggish, I still kept perfect form, still sat on my calves, and still drove up the final reps. Now, could I have done the last 2 reps without this supplement? Who the F*ck knows! :D

Here was what I did for this day supplementing Gakic:

Thursday: DFHT LOADING
Olympic Squats: 235x5, 245x5, 255x5, 275x5, 295x5
Goodmornings: (3x5) 185
Pullthroughs: (4x10) 150
Glute Ham Machine: (3x10) 120
Leg Extentions: (3x12) 160
DC Calves: (5 sec. negative, 10 sec. stretch, dynamic press) 6.40 plates
Abs: (5x10)

Don't misunderstand me neither. Gakic did not help me increase what I usually workout with on the bar in regards to weight. I've been doing this weight before this supplement, but it does help me with an extra rep or two for sure.

10/8- Upper 2
Third Serving of Gakic

I felt like shit, having just woke up and drove to the gym with my eyes half closed. Today, I decided to decrease the rest periods for the hell of it. SO..
-flat bench: 310 (5x5) I took 100 seconds rest between sets vs. 2-2.5 minutes as before. Made all reps.
-standing military: 165 (5x5) Took only 90 seconds between sets vs. 120 seconds as previous. Still hit every rep strict...Strict as in absolutely no push presses. I could've went heavier, but I got scared after all the flat presses. :(

I never used that short of rest before. I usually was cognizant of the time, but I didn't care before if it was 1 minute, 2, or even 3 minutes...So long as I killed the log book weight. Was it the Gakic? Who knows!

Saturday: DFHT LOADING
Flat Bench: (5x5) 310
Board Press: n/a
Standing Military: (5x5) 165
Weighted Dips: (2x12) 40
Pulldowns: (4x10-12) 240 (2x12)[wide grip], 250 (2x10)[med. grip]
(1 hand)Rev. Press: (3x12) 80
Barbell Curls: (3x12) 125

There's absolutely no way to tell whether I just merely gained a higher fitness level from this killer routine, or if it was the Gakic helping....I'll know when I'm through with the bottle. I've been using Dual Factor Training for over 10 total weeks now. I blasted through Bill Starr's 5x5 training (volume, deload, intensity phases) and now am on DFHT. The goal of dual factor, of course is to increase your fitness level through loading and unloading phases. I'm not going in depth with this since there is a sticky made in the training forum.

I bring this up because it's of course relevant. My fitness level has increased, however, this week marks my third week of DFHT loading. Next week is my deload week. Basically, this means that I've been training for the past couple of weeks with a back-breaking amount of volume. My goal is to accumulate fatigue to the point of me slightly "over-reaching". SO, this week is supposed to be my hardest week of lifting. I really feel like shit! By me getting more reps than usual tells me that the Gakic does in fact help....To a slight degree.

Interesting results. thanks