Ronin's Novedex XT Log

[Matt Thornton]

After reading the latest study on the AI Novedex XT and its effects on test levels, I decided that for the $20/bottle I can get Novedex for at work, it was worth a shot.

Bear in mind, I'm 20 years old (will be 21 in August), and have never used any type of testosterone product.

Starting tonight, I'm going to be running Novedex at 4 pills/day (max recommended dosage) before bed. I'll be running it for an 8 week cycle.

Unfortunately, I don't have anyone here to do a fat caliper test or measurements on me, so I'm sorry to say the results I'll be posting will be largely anecdotal.

I WILL try to include anything I "feel," but keep in mind that the placebo effect definitely comes into play here. So if anything, if you're considering buying this product after I run the log, please take the physical results into consideration more than the perceived effects.

Just to be sure, I'm going off of any supplements like creatine or beta-Alanine. Here's a list of the only other supplements I'll be using:

-Protein powder (fast absorbing whey in the morning and post workout, moderate/slow proteins like Gaspari's MyoFusion or CytoSport's EvoPro at other times)

-Greens+ (1 serving a day)

-NaNO Vapor (I don't believe in nitric oxide products, but for the low price I got this stuff for at work, I'm getting some decent nootropics like Vinpocetine, Huperzine, and Sulbutiamine while getting my fix of Tyrosine, Caffeine, and Yohimbine. There's also some BCAA's and simple carbs, which can help with energy and recovery), 2-3 servings before workout.


If Mr. Sinister or anyone in the know is reading this, would it be safe/beneficial to stack any other aromatase inhibitors with Novedex?

Thanks for reading and hope this can be of some help.

 

[Steakeater**]

i used to take a lot of those mixes but i want to get an am fighter license and now they test you

and the wada and usada are so vague in what is banned that im too scared to take the risks

good luck though

 

[ronin0352]

That was weird. I thought I'd started a thread about a product I haven't used. I wouldn't think you'd need it @ 20 y/o, but best wishes anyway.

 

[romistrub]

Just to be sure, I'm going off of any supplements like creatine or beta-Alanine.

Err, dude, your results (even quantitative) will be completely meaningless if you don't have some sort of control. You need to either maintain your current nutrition, and change *only* the Novedex, or switch to what you want without the Novedex for some extended period of time before starting this adventure!

 

[Henry Swanson]

Didn't Donut use this stuff and he hated it?

 

[Matt Thornton]

Err, dude, your results (even quantitative) will be completely meaningless if you don't have some sort of control. You need to either maintain your current nutrition, and change *only* the Novedex, or switch to what you want without the Novedex for some extended period of time before starting this adventure!

Yeah, I understand that.

I just came off of an AC joint injury that had me out of training for 3 weeks, plus holiday eating. So honestly my main focus right now is just getting back my good habits and getting back in the gym. I get that the fact that I'm not recording bodyfat levels, starting and ending strength (in comparison to gains I'd make without the Novedex), etc., I'm not getting very clear results or anything. In all honesty, between school, work, training, college wrestling, a relationship, eating right, there's only so much effort you have.

Maybe if I was getting paid to do this, or if I was in a controlled university study, then okay, I could see where I'd be getting criticized for the way I'm running the log.

Obviously I'm testing my results mostly based on personal experience. Like I said, I got the stuff for 20 bucks, so I figured why the hell not.

Also, I'm aware that as a young and healthy 20 year old, my test levels are pretty much in check. But I've seen/read enough to suggest that an anti-aromatase may still have some beneficial effect for young people.

If you read the study that KK posted, it was done with young, eugonadal men; not older people who have declining test levels. They were still able to raise free test, DHT, lower estrogen levels, and reduce their bodyfat by 3.5%.

I'm avoiding creatine and beta-Alanine because I haven't been consistently taking either in my off-time from training. I don't want to hit my saturation point with creatine and carnosine a month into my Novedex cycle and attribute any gains that creatine and BA are giving me to Novedex.

I've come off injury time before. I've been away from training for 2 months once. So I'm pretty familiar with the way my body re-adapts to training after an injury. I'm interested in seeing if I have any improved recovery, or lean out faster than normal with an AI. I'm not touting this log as a legitimate, well-run study.

Like I said, it's pretty much anecdotal, but I figured I'd try to contribute in some way to the D&S forums.

 

[Matt Thornton]

That was weird. I thought I'd started a thread about a product I haven't used. I wouldn't think you'd need it @ 20 y/o, but best wishes anyway.

Haha, yeah sorry about that bro. If you watch any of my fights, I've been announced as Matt "Ronin" Thornton; sometimes I just get in the habit of writing that nickname.

Check out that study KK posted, like I said, it was done with young, eugonadal men, and it still did something. Don't quote me on it, but I can almost promise I've read that aromatase inhibitors can have some benefit to younger people.

I wouldn't wanna mess with my endocrine system at this age by doing anything like PH's or AAS, but AFAIK lowering estrogen levels and improving my T:E ratio with natural compounds wouldn't hurt.

 

[okiru]

sounds interesting

 

[ronin0352]

Haha, yeah sorry about that bro. If you watch any of my fights, I've been announced as Matt "Ronin" Thornton; sometimes I just get in the habit of writing that nickname.

Check out that study KK posted, like I said, it was done with young, eugonadal men, and it still did something. Don't quote me on it, but I can almost promise I've read that aromatase inhibitors can have some benefit to younger people.

I wouldn't wanna mess with my endocrine system at this age by doing anything like PH's or AAS, but AFAIK lowering estrogen levels and improving my T:E ratio with natural compounds wouldn't hurt.

No worries man, just kind of threw me for a loop when I opened up the D&S for the first time and saw it there.

I read the original Novadex thread, and even helped a computer illiterate friend get some Novadex from BB.com instead of paying a buttload at GNC. I just don't feel that I need it, or that I'm anywhere near maxing out my gains through proper diet & training. I will probably follow this just to see your progress/experience with it out of sheer curiosity. Like I said before, best of luck to ya.

 

[Matt Thornton]

Totally unable to sleep last night, but that probably has to do with the fact that I didn't go to sleep til 5:30 am the day before and woke up at 2 in the afternoon yesterday. (Gotta love winter break, days off from work, and a history of insomnia)

Took 4 caps of Novedex XT before "bed" last night. I was not expecting to feel anything, as I've never read anything about an AI helping with sleep. However, I was a little surprised to feel a relaxed, drowsy feeling. Had I not totally messed with my sleep cycle the day before, I probably would've fallen right asleep.

On a side note, I think I'm returning the NaNO Vapor. I just didn't like it; no more energy than a regular thermogenic product, but with the added downside of arginine-induced stomach discomfort. Besides, from everything I've seen in nootropic-type products, daily, consistent supplementation seems to be the key; not using them preworkout. Plus, with the proprietary blend, who knows how much I'm really getting.

CONSIDERING ADDING SOMETHING TO THE STACK
I'm considering adding MT's CryoTest to the stack. BEFORE YOU FLAME, hear me out.

In this study, it was shown that

The carotenoid astaxanthin (AX) from Haematococcus pluvialis [and] Saw Palmetto berry lipid extract (SPLE) from Serenoa repens /QUOTE] in combination, lowered DHT and estradiol very effectively. The guys who made this combination, dubbed "Mytosterone," are the same people who invented Aminogen, which is now included in pretty much every other protein powder.

If you recall, in that study on NovedexXT that inspired me to run this log, DHT was shown to have been significantly increased. I've also read from a certain Gaspari rep that for an <200 pound male, doing more than 2 pills a day runs the risk of very elevated DHT levels (bad for prostate, can lead to hair loss and accumulation of belly fat)

Anyways, CryoTest contains Mytosterone, as well as a couple forms of carnitine which (poorly) emulate the studies done showing carnitine supplementation increases androgen receptor count. Why MuscleTech opted out of using Carnitine-L-Tartrate, which is the only proven form, is beyond me. (Probably because they can get away with using cheaper form without people understanding the difference)

So, considering I get the almighty GNC employee discount, I'm thinking about running Novedex XT with Cryotest. I'm seriously doubting it'll have any noticeable effect, but I'd rest easier knowing I wasn't on the road to early hair loss.

+

=

minus

Phew! Congrats if you made it through all of that useless rambling. I'll STFU for the next week or two as far as updates go. I'll update to let you all know whether or not I added CryoTest, but other than that, I'll post results after weeks 2, 4, 6, a summary review at week 8, and a final review after being off Novedex at week 11.

 

[Matt Thornton]

Oh, and one last thing -

Here's some products I'm also planning on writing (better) reviews on in the future.

-MAN Body Octane (Beta-Alanine, Citrulline, Carnitine-L-Tartrate, Glucuronolactone, all in the correct doses)

-Creatinol-o-Phosphate (creatine kinase inhibitor, NOT another form of creatine; improves endurance and time under tension)

-GAKIC (Buffers ammonia out of muscles, delays fatigue)

-USP Labs PowerFULL supposed to act as a GH increaser, which I obviously don't need at 20 years old. But it does have a highly standardized L-Dopa extract, which is supposedly amazing for sleep: an area I've always had trouble in. I'm going to try comparing it to a traditional sleep aid like Iovate's SleepMD, and then trying it as a stack in the end.

-Rhodiola Rosea In the right conditions, it's a friggin' panacea. Everything from preventing overtraining and improving work output to improved cognitive function and less need for sleep.

-LG Sciences Methyl Masterdrol V2 In recent years, LG has developed a pretty bad rep, especially when they tried passing off DHEA as a PH. Recently, they just came out with MMV2, a totally different compound from the "Masterdrol" that stacks with M1-D. Methyl Masterdrol Version 2 is a mild PROHORMONE (yes, an actual PH; not DHEA) that converts to Stanolone in the gut. It's basically a less direct, much, much less potent form of Winstrol V. Planning on giving this a run once I turn 21 this August.

and finally...

-Cytogenix Taraxatone An OTC Diuretic. Potentially less time in the sauna = worth a shot in my book. Will probably stack it with Senna Tea, a mild laxative.



I'm more or less planning on becoming a guinea pig for all of you crazy pill-popping, powder-mixing wackjobs. God knows it's way too easy to waste your money in this field, so the more thorough reviews, the better.


P.S.: Before you go telling me I have too much time on my hands, I have one word for you - Methylphenidate. Writing excessively happens to be a side effect of whenever I take the stuff.

 

[FrozenMonkey]

Antonio Silva, Boldenone, and ADT - Fightlinker - MMA, UFC, and other funny fight crap

 

[andrewbc]

Didn't Donut use this stuff and he hated it?

i think i remember him saying it gave him an absence of boners.

 

[Matt Thornton]

i think i remember him saying it gave him an absence of boners.

Hahah, if anything this could help me. I recently went cold turkey off of fluoxetine, an SSRI, (which I later found out I should've tapered down), and because of the sudden lack of prolactin in my body it pretty much leaves me in a constant state of wanting to get it on. Sounds great in theory but in practice it kind of sucks.

 

[TheAth-ah-lete]

Accidentally called a fat chick/crazy ex gf?lol

Been there buddy, been there.

p.s. My sex drive has increased since I've been on it.

 

[brad_mn]

I am very interested to see how this turns out for you. Thanks for the thread, Matt.

 

[Matt Thornton]

Little update for any of you guys who are interested:

I'm nearing the end of my first week back to wrestling while on Novedex XT. If you've read before, I was out of training for 3 weeks due to a shoulder injury, and did absolutely no exercise. Packed on a little weight, lost some strength, etc.

Having only been on Novedex XT for a week, I can't say I notice a total difference yet. Obviously it hasn't "shredded me up" or anything like that; it's not a miracle pill. Also, I can't say much for improved recovery since no matter what I take, I'm gonna be sore as hell and feel like crap. We started double sessions for wrestling, and our coach just started us on a weight training program. So either way, I'm very sore.

One thing I CAN say though, is my strength levels have been surprising. Nothing totally out of the ordinary, but I was banging out way more pullups the other day than I expected to be able to; I haven't done pullups in months (elbow + shoulder injuries), and the last time I tried, I could not get that many. Also, even through being sore and tired, I found myself able to dig down and "muscle through" a lot of mat wrestling the other day.

So far, I can honestly say that I believe Novedex has helped me preserve, even regain a little strength, just from the first week of me taking it.

 

[Jaxx]

Cool, im starting a Novedex XT cycle next month.

You think your pull up numbers could just be down to rest???

 

[Matt Thornton]

Hey guys, quick little update on the Novedex XT.

I wasn't noticing the decreased sex drive yet, but I think it has finally hit. Now, for those of you who are above age 30 and in a marriage, this is a downside. For guys like me, this is actually a plus.

Being a healthy 20 year old male athlete means there is just no way you're going to have the amount of sex that your body is ready for (unless your girlfriend is just that crazy). So with the girlfriend being on the pill (killlllls libido), this is actually kind of a good thing. I can keep my mind more on training and stuff without the insane sex drive.

Woke up today and I'm starting to notice a difference in body composition. Nothing huge yet, but I am starting to look more defined, a little dryer and leaner. I was banging out more pullups on Saturday and noticed (I can't believe I'm saying this...) omgwtf PUMPS. Yes, sounds stupid, I know it has nothing to do with functional training, but my arms and lats absolutely bllewwww up from doing pull-ups, in a way that I have not felt before. I really can hardly attest this to the placebo effect since I had no idea pro-testosterones did this.

Quality of sleep has been great, no acne or anything. I'm about to hit the 2 week mark, and all in all the effects seem pretty subtle, but they're definitely there.

 

[Henry Swanson]

i think i remember him saying it gave him an absence of boners.

Yeah, it wrecked his pecker.