Force = Mass x Velocity

While I obviously enjoy working out and sculpting my body, training at the gym and doing cardio there as well can get slightly monotonous over time. To break through this monotony I like, at least every once in a while, to either change up my workout routine, to switch up exercises, or to try out new things.
This past week, a very new and also very unique "thing" came up that would definitely break trough my monotony. One of my best friends Mike asked me a couple of weeks ago at the gym if I was interested in "pulling a plane" and being the "meathead" I am, I immediately had to sign up for the event.
So last Sunday, Mike, myself and 18 other members of our gym literally pulled a plane. Well I stand corrected, we actually pulled two. 

The Delaware Air National Guard organizes an annual fundraiser, that benefits the Special Olympics of Delaware,  in which several teams, consisting of 20 "pullers" each, compete against each other to pull a C-130 aircraft for a distance of 12 feet in the fastest time. This year's event had the teams pull two planes, one without fuel and one with an additional 900 lbs. of fuel, and as you can see, these planes were massive.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft and weighs 100,000 pounds. They are 97-feet long, have a wing span of 137 feet and stand 38 feet high. As I said, MASSIVE.

Our team was last year's defending champion and consisted of 19 guys and one girl. A mix of powerlifters, strongmen and bodybuilders, we were favored to win it again this year, bur for whatever reason completely blew the first pull and ended up with a horrible time, putting us in an unsatisfying 4th place. Even though we did not do nowhere near as well as expected, it was still a great experience and the overall cause of the event made it still well worth it. Besides raising money for a good cause, our team also dedicated this year's plane pull to a recently deceased fellow member of our gym, so even if we didn't place first, we still won.

In other exciting news, after using USP Labs OxyElite Pro weight loss capsules for the past nine weeks and initially seeing great results, I felt its effects starting to wear off and thought it was time for a little switch. Remember monotony?
After consulting with my trainer Jack, we decided to give Species Nutrition Somalyze Gen2 a try.

While USP Labs OxyElite Pro is a supplement that boosts thyroid function, contains caffeine to increase energy and weight loss and is taken in the morning and around noon, Species Nutrition Somalyze Gen2 is a stimulant-free nighttime fat burner and sleep aid, taken one hour before bedtime.
According to the manufacturer, Somalyze works by utilizing a high-dose of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, that plays a role in regulating neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system and is also directly responsible for the regulation of muscle tone.
Somalyze is supposed to increase endogenous growth hormone levels and encourage increases in fatty acid metabolism on a cellular level.
Long story short, it will slightly increase your body temperature, causing the body to burn more calories while sleeping, and induce a deep and restful sleep.  

And this is exactly the problem I am having with it. While a week of usage is still too early to determine how effective it is as a weight loss supplement, I have been definitely experiencing a very deep sleep, that actually translates into me being very sleepy after I wake up in the morning to work out. 

Without the extra energy boost from OxyElite and with the sleep inducing effect of Somalyze I felt a drastic drop in my energy levels during the first two hours of my day, all week long.
Since I am usually using the first hour of my day to prepare food and to get ready for the gym, I couldn't really care less about my energy during that time, but it continues for another hour at the gym and is now seriously affecting the intensity level of my workout.
I tried to offset the effects with extra caffeine pills before my workouts but still can't sufficiently elevate my energy levels during the first 60 minutes. 

I will continue taking it for at least another week, to see if my body will adjust to this sudden drop of caffeine and use of sleep aid, as wellas closely monitor my weight loss and body composition.
If I don't see the advertised results and/or if my energy level odes not start to go up, I will have to make some adjustments. I have the persistence and the will, now I need to get my energy back. I will keep you posted. Obviously!!!

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."

                                                                                              Benjamin Franklin