Higher Power Build XS

Nutrional Facts:

Link to product: bodybuilding.com – Build XS

To start this review I will list the ‘scores’ that I have given to the product, then I will go into some details about why I gave the scores I did and will go over some of the ingredients of the powder.

Scores:

Taste: 5/5

Pump: 4/5

Focus: 5/5

Strength: 3/5

Vascularity: 4/5

Cost: 5/5

Recovery: 4/5

Jittery/Shaky Feeling didn’t really exist although there is a tingling sensation which is very minor cause by the Beta Alanine. Alright, lets go over the scores and explain why I rated each the way I did. First up taste, this is hands down the best Pre Workout/Creatine/Any Powder I have ever tasted. Mixed Berry is delicious. There was a bit of a sour (think sour candy) kinda of taste which I love and over all I could probably drink this stuff all day long (not recommended). There is also a grape flavor which I have not tried.

Pump. This one is a little harder to rate because it depends a lot on your actual workout for the day. Bicep/Chest day = huge pump. Back/Tricep = decent pump. Leg/Shoulder = not much pump. I did however, notice a difference between the pump I was getting before using this as a Pre Workout supplement and the pump definitely got better. This may have to do with the increased vascularity as well. Either way when you take this and hit the gym there will be a pump and it will feel awesome.

Focus. Another 5/5 yeah the focus I would have after drinking this stuff was insane. Usually take a scoop about 30mins-1hour before I hit the gym and I am so pumped to hit the gym that when the time finally comes to go to the gym I can’t help but focus on my workout the entire way there, and during the workout. I loved the focus effect. It really made me feel like I was pushing myself harder then normal and helped me get some extra reps out.

Strength. I wouldn’t say the strength gains I have been seeing are only because of Build XS. I would base most of the strength gains off of my new workout AND the amount of focus I could pour into my workouts. So in effect the product did help increase my strength by allowing me to focus, recover, and attempt more.

Vascularity. The veins are coming back quick. My forearms are so pumped during a workout that I have veins popping out all over, ones I have never even seen before. The 2 ‘python’ veins running up my bicep are almost constantly out now. My delts of a branching of veins that are starting to reach my chest. I would definitely say that Build XS + Lowering Body Fat % have led to some nice vascularity.

Cost. This rating really depends on the individual, everyone is going to have their own opinion on whether the cost is high, low, in the middle or whatever they feel it is. Personally I think the price is pretty damn good for the number of different things you are getting. Compared to similar products its dirt cheap. Also according to bodybuilding.com they own the Higher Power brand and do not have to pay any middle man for their product so it can be sold directly for cheaper.

Recovery. Well for a Pre Workout supplement this could mean during the workout and post workout recovery, so lets look at both. During the workout I am able to recover from sets much faster and it seems to take longer to fatigue. This is great during an intense workout. The only thing that truly holding me back is the lower back injury which seems to make my back spasm. Post workout, usually the drive home is bearable depending on the split for the day. The next day there is usually very little soreness, and with my 3 days in a row routine it takes the third day before I really feel any soreness. Overall my recovery speed has increased tremendously.

Alright the ingredients should be familiar to most. Creatine Monohydrate its been around a while and its benefits have been proven and gives you the recommended 5grams per serving. Glutamine is also a staple supplement, it is believed to increase protein metabolism while helping prevent muscular cell breakdown. Beta Alanine is a bit newer and this is the first supplement I have taken with this ingredient in it. Here is the info from bodybuilding.com:

By promoting high levels of intramuscular carnosine, ?-Alanine promotes high energy levels and supports maximum muscular endurance and improved performance.

Taurine is a common amino acid that increases protein synthesis, and is believed to increase muscle fullness. It does this in a similar way to creatine, by expanding the cells to allow more water, and therefore more hydration. Some believe this amino acid also helps intramuscular contraction which would help you lift heavier weights.

Ribose has a lot of interesting information. Instead of rewriting everything, just follow this link: Ribose

Tyrosine, again, has a lot of interesting information and a lot of science so follow this link: Tyrosine

Well that covers all of the main ingredients. It is interesting to note that some people may experience a stronger tingling feeling from the Beta Alanine. I would occasionally get a tingle in my arms or finger tips but it seems some people the tingling can be so intense that it feels like bugs are crawling on them, I did not experience this but if you do you may want to stop taking the supplement. I think about sums it up. Overall the product worked pretty well without making outrageous claims so that is always a plus. If you have any questions or comments feel free to ask! Enjoy!

The workout I did was considered my heavy day. There were 4 exercises in the plan I dropped 1 and added 3 more. Within the short 40 or so minutes I had I was able to finish these exercises:

• Cable Standing Mid Pulley Row – Max weight total of 25 reps over 2 sets (needed more weight!)
• Dips – Body Weight total of 25 reps over 2 sets 15/10
• Decline Bench Press – Varying weight total of 25 reps over 5 sets (this is how the other exercises should be)
• Barbell Shrugs – Varying weight 3 or 4 sets of 8-12
• Weighted Side-bends – 45lb plate 3 sets of 10 per side
• Bench Press – Varying weight 25 reps over 3 sets as fast as possible

The workout ended up including a lot of unplanned exercises and I did drop my leg workout (for a good reason) so despite the short time I worked through 6 exercises with 45seconds of rest between sets and was able to get a full, intense workout in.

Right after the workout I had an incredible pump and it lasted for a good hour after the gym. I think the Build XS is also starting to kick in, my lifts felt much more explosive. When I was getting to my last few reps instead of sticking I was able to focus and throw the bar back up and I went beyond my previous ‘limits’. I was able to do more dips than just a week ago and dips don’t seem to hurt my chest anymore. The decline bench was fairly impressive since I was doing more weight then before but also not hitting failure to soon. All in all this is exactly how all workouts from Huge in a Hurry are meant to be done. I now know why. My body isn’t sore but it definitely took a beating yesterday.

I figured I write this as a quick update to my workout/Build XS review. I still love Build XS. It tastes delicious and feels like your drinking pure energy. The focus and explosiveness of my workouts is quite intense and I always leave my workout with a wicked pump. That is all for now I guess. Enjoy!

p.s. what is your favorite music genre/artist/song to listen to during a good lift? let me know in the comments! I

I love Hatebreed for my heavy lifts, 3 Doors Down – Kryptonite seems to work too.

Build XS is a creatine powder. But not just any creatine powder it is filled to the brim with tons of other nutrients and Amino Acids. Here are the full ingredients:

The only ingredient I was not familiar with is Beta Alanine which has become fairly popular from what I have read. All of the ingredients are intended to lower muscle fatigue, build strength and size, as well as increase protein synthesis. The L-Taurine gives a huge energy burst and intense focus. I can’t remember a time I was more focused in the gym except maybe back in the day taking NO2 and CE2.

The flavor I went with is mixed berry and it is DELICIOUS. It has almost a sour kind of taste which I love and it mixes with water very very well. Plain Creatine Monohydrate usually doesn’t mix all that well but there was no chunks or powder left after I finished the bottle of water.

The directions say to take 1 17g scoop prior to your workout. I had 1 issue with this and that is that the scooper is bigger than your average bottle of waters opening and therefore hard to pour a whole scoop in. I ended up using three scoops to get what I thought was 17g. Right away I could feel the pump building I was dying to hit the weights. My energy and focus were through the roof. Nothing was even distracting me at the gym. I had a goal in mind and that is all that I could focus on. It was quite intense. My workout went much better than I expected. I was doing more weight than I thought I would be able to and I had so much energy that after I finished my 2 Pullings, 1 Pushing, and 1 Leg workout I even added some Oblique work, ab work, and shrugs.

So how do I feel today? Awesome. Simply awesome. I am not sore which is good. A lot of people tend to use soreness to measure their workouts effectiveness, this is not necessary. If your muscles are moving weight that makes you struggle there are getting torn down and rebuilt during rest, even if your not sore. My hamstring is the only thing that is bothering me but I attribute that to not stretching enough before the Dumbbell Split Squats. My chest, back, arms, shoulders, abs, and even my obliques feel great and ready for more. My gym schedule has been pretty odd the last few weeks because I tend to go Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday then have 4 days of rest. Not the best, but it is what I have to work with for now.

My opinion on Build XS? Although I have only taken it once so far, it feels very promising. In a few weeks I will be able to add a new review with some decent gains/results for now I am just excited to write about this crazy stuff. The company that makes Build XS is called Higher Power and is actually owned by BodyBuilding.com and therefore cuts out multiple middle men and makes most of their products fairly cheap compared to the competition. I also have been taking Higher Powers ZMA which has been feeling great as well.

So far I would definitely recommend Build XS even if it is just for the focus and intensity. I have a good feeling that the results will be good and I will be able to recommend it because of that as well but we shall see.

Alright enough for this short review I am getting pumped to take it and hit them gym again but I have to wait another 11 hours. So enjoy!

A few things I didn’t like about this book include:

• The author is continuously making comments about advanced things you could do, but it is not covered in the scope of the book.
• I think the book requires to much prior knowledge in C development especially for a dummies book.
• The entire book is based around the authors programs that he has written, and not doesn’t give examples of the small “learning” programs.

Things I liked about the book:

• The author explains what every part of the code does for his programs.
• The book is well written with few typos.
• The programs all seem to work just as they are written.
• The book provides great examples of how to use the authors code in your own programs, but also mentions advanced features that “you have to work out on your own.”
• The book explains the entire process of developing apps, from signing up with apple, to writing code, to signing your programs, to distributing them, a very nice guide for the confusing process.

I would recommend this book to people with a decent background in C or Objective-C, but I would recommend Programming in Objective-C 2.0 as a good beginner for those of not familiar with C or Objective-C. I am currently reading this book ~100 pages in, and I have learned a great deal already. It also helps that I have a decent background in Java which is semi similar to Objective-C.

You can pick up both of these books at the links provided for a decent price from Amazon.

The use of fat burners have provided many people with that extra boost of energy, or even that faster metabolism to help shed pounds of extra fat. There are many different kinds of fat burners which will be covered in more depth in my future fat burning article. The three products I will focus this review on are the SAN Tight! products.

Three Products in One Review?

I have taken all three versions of SAN’s Tight! products. Overall they have worked very well to different degrees. I have noticed a significant difference between the different products and would like to help everyone grasp the purpose of the three different products. The main reason behind SAN’s three different Tight! products is the effect, power, and types of fat burning they provide. SAN Tight! Is the original product that I actually tried first with great results. Here are the three products: 

 

Taking SAN Tight!

When I began taking Tight! I was trying to burn off some fat and lower my BF%. This product was the first to actually give me the results I desired. The results got even better as I mastered my diet and began incorporating cardio. For the first time in a long time I could see my abs, as well as all of the hard work I had put into them. The original formula is by far the easiest to get used to taking, and also the weakest fat burner. Although it is the weakest formula in comparison to the other versions, it provides a great synergy affect with its ingredients allowing you to uptake more nutrients and keep that fat off. An increase in focus was also noticeable, a great effect in the gym to help keep yourself on target. One bottle will get you a two month supply at 1 capsule a day.

Taking SAN Tight! Hardcore

I decided to try a stronger fat burner because I really wanted to decrease body fat to a new degree, and I hadn’t taken any weight loss supplments during my bulking phase. To speed up my results, I decided to try the stronger formula for Tight! The Hardcore formula is meant to burn through fat and help break fat down into usable energy, safely. Hardcore has a very intense thermogenic effect which may be overwhelming for people sensitive to caffeine. Overall I was able to keep much of my muscle while shedding some BF in the process. One bottle will yield between 18-36 days depending on how many times you take the 2 softgels a day.

Taking SAN Tight! Xtreme

When I finally decided to try the third version of Tight! it wa because of the super amped adrenaline jolt you are supposed to feel. I had just finished taking Dren which had a great physiological effect on my body. The effect of the Dren was the heightened mood and the feel good feeling. So I began taking the new Xtreme formula that increases mood, focus, fat burning, and can be taken in different doses. For people under 200lbs you only have to take 1 hot cap, which means one bottle will last you 80 days! If you are over 200lbs you should take 2 hot caps, but still get 40 days out of a bottle.

Overall Results

I would list the overall effectiveness of these supplements in th following order:

1. Xtreme – I love the effect I get, and a supplement that lasts 80 days is geat in my book. I was also able to burn fat and keep my strength levels up, another great plus in my book. The adrenaline factor also helped to boost my workouts. I have taken this product for about 30 days now and have shed 6-7lbs while mainting muscle strength and size, my BF has also dropped by 1-2%, I still have 50 days left!
2. Hardcore – I would have loved this product more if I didn’t have to take so many pills, I stuck to two a day and saw decent results but only got 36 days out of a bottle. The bottle doesn’t last as long and also didn’t have as strong of an effect. I was able to lose 5-6lbs in the 36 days suffering very little decrease in strength. BF again dropped a few percent.
3. Original – The first I tried which helped me to learn about fat burning supplements, especially thermogenics. I thought the results were great at the time, and looking at the results I got from the new formulas proves that the original can still compete with the newer formulas, just with a different approach.

Here are the product labels/ingredients:

             SAN Tight!                             SAN Tight! Hardcore                    SAN Tight! Xtreme

Check out all of the other SAN Products!