In the SnP forum I recieved a somewhat snide comment about the post I made in this thread saying that I am using Novadex XT, and then in the pub the same poster made the comment that no one in here that has tried this product has a 1200lb total. Though I am sure Donut did when he tried it.
Anyway, I ain't mad about it. He is a strong and respected poster and very much entitled to his opinion. I just want to say a few things about it here, and explain where I'm coming from and why I'm trying this out.
First of all, if you shouldn't use this product until you have a 1200lb total, what should your total be before using other performance enhancing OTC supplements like creatine, beta-alanine, or hell even caffeine? I don't think there is a real answer to that question, and I think it points out that what your powerlifting total is has nothing to do with using this product if you've put some time and effort into diet and training already.
For my part powerlifting and increasing my big 3 has never been one of my goals. I haven't even benched in a year and a half, and don't have access to a rack, so I can't even back squat. My main goals are strength and speed. Instead of benching and back squatting I deadlift, clean(and it's variations), snatch(and it's variations), OHP, etc. etc. Basically I do the basic lifts, a few olympic lifts and speed work and jogging. I have no idea what my total is, and the olympic lifts are completely new to me so I'm learning as I go.
Like I said I started using Navadex XT December 26th, which is exactly (possibly 2 days off) 2 years since I began seriously paying attention to my diet and excercising. At the time I had been smoking since I was 15, and I have a history of food addiction and drug and alcohol abuse. That day 2 years ago I crushed up my two remaining packs of cigarettes and changed my life completely. I weighed 217lbs, was over 20% bodyfat. I don't know what my total was then either, only that I was very weak, had horrible squat and deadlift form, and couldn't even run half a mile without stopping. I hadn't been involved in any sports since jr high when I was 212lbs at 5'5".
In that 2 years I've had multiple injuries and setbacks such as breaks sprains, staph, etc., but I've still made a lot of progress. My weight went from 217 down to as low as 193 and I am now back at 220. I trained MMA for a year and competed in a couple of submission wrestling tournaments, ran a couple of 5k races, and made strength gains even when that wasn't my main goal. My best numbers are a 315lb back squat, 365lb deadlift, and 225lb bench(year and a half ago). I know just how uninspiring those lifts are to powerlifters, but like I said, in the past I did not train in a way that was meant to bring up my 1rm.
So why am I trying this supplement now? It's a legal performance enhancing supplement endorsed by some of the educated posters in the D&S, what more reason do I really need? I don't see any harm in trying it or how it is looked down upon moreso than the aforementioned accepted performance enhancing supplements like creatine and caffeine. At worst it can cause a few side effects that can not be nearly as bad as those from the drugs and alcohol I've used in excess in the past.
So like I said, I have alot of respect for the poster I mentioned earlier, but I wanted to offer some insight into who I am and why I'm using a product he seems to look down on.