Fierce Tangy Orange 1.8lb.
Heart of a Lion!!
Fierce was
specifically formulated to increase endurance and pre-workout
strength levels assisting the user to lift more weight and
exercise for prolonged periods without feeling fatigued.
Let’s run through the list of ingredients in Fierce and see how
each and every one contributes to an overall ergogenic and
endurance-enhancing effect. The proprietary formula consists of
5 individual categories each of them designed to work in tandem
with one another.
Cell Hydration Matrix
Of all the
ingredients seen in Fierce, creatine in its various forms is
perhaps the most familiar to supplement users. Numerous studies
have shown the creatine consumption leads to increased strength
and athletic performance. There are several theories about how
creatine works. The original theory, and perhaps still the most
widely accepted, is that oral creatine supplementation increases
total creatine and creatine phosphate (CrP) in human skeletal
muscle. An increased muscle CrP concentration increases its
availability for ATP synthesis. This additional ATP can be used
by the muscle to perform work.
Studies have also shown that
creatine supplementation increases the glycogen content of
skeletal muscle along with an increase in myosin heavy chain
synthesis (Nelson et al. 2001). The increases in lean body mass
associated with creatine use may be a result of creatine’s
ability to elevate insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in
muscle tissue (Deldicque et al 2005).
Why do we see Malate
combined with creatine in the formulation? Malate is an
intermediate in the so-called Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle (TCA).
While being processed in the TCA, each kind of major fuel is
converted to acetyl groups, which are handled by attachment to a
particular coenzyme known as coenzyme A. Ultimately ATP is
produced from another compound, NADH, generated by the TCA.
Malate is dehydrogenated in the TCA cycle to oxaloacetate, the
concentration of which most critically controls the rate of
aerobic ATP production. During prolonged aerobic activity, and
in patients suffering from malate deficiency, malate becomes
depleted and the TCA is unable to produce ATP fast enough to
meet the demands of working muscle. One classic disease
characterized by malate deficiency is fibromyalgia: symptoms
include muscular skeletal pain and fatigue. When patients
suffering with this disease are given malate, their energy
levels improve dramatically (Russell et al 1995).
Not only
will patients suffering from malate deficiency benefit from
malate supplementation but also competitive athletes. Because as
mentioned above, strenuous, prolonged aerobic activity depletes
the body’s malate stores.
Creatine-Ethyl-Ester is a
synthetic analog of the popular supplement creatine. The main
difference between the two compounds is that the carboxylic acid
group of creatine was molecularly modified through the
attachment of an ester linkage. In doing this, we are able to
create an organic compound that possesses both increased water
solubility and enhanced muscle partitioning effects over
ordinary creatine monohydrate. Once in the body, regular
creatine monohydrate rapidly loses its water molecule yielding
the byproduct ‘creatinine’. Although it is a natural by-product
of creatine metabolism, creatinine possesses numerous
undesirable side effects to the athlete. It was therefore
significant to discover that treating the creatine with Ethyl
alcohol and hydrogen chloride not only removed the undesirable
water molecule from creatine, but also yielded a pure
creatine-Ethyl-ester compound that is completely devoid of both
water and creatinine.
Once in the gastrointestinal tract the
Creatine-Ethyl-ester is rapidly hydrolyzed to pure creatine by
the esterase enzyme yielding an immediate ATP substrate without
any stomach discomfort or bloat. ATP (adenosine triphosphate/ or
three phosphates attached to adenosine, which is a nucleoside)
is the necessary energy molecule that fuels muscular
contractions by donating one phosphate group as cellular energy.
Nitro NO
One of the major controlling factors in the expansion
and contraction of blood vessels is nitric oxide (NO). In the
body NO is produced from the amino acid arginine. When exposed
to NO, blood vessels dilate, allowing for increased blood flow
due to the vessel’s increased crossectional area. Working
muscles require a copious blood supply to deliver nutrients and
carry away waste products. Since arginine is the direct
precursor to NO, bodybuilders have supplemented with
arginine-based compounds to increase NO production. This leads
to the sought-after “pump” associated with muscle blood vessels
engorged with blood.
Arginine alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is
reportedly better absorbed than arginine, and has a more
sustained effect on NO production. AKG itself has been used
extensively for nutritional support in various illnesses and in
the post surgery setting.
Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate
(OKG) is added to Fierce as a secondary route to raise plasma
arginine levels and subsequently NO in the body. OKG is
documented to work in parallel with AKG to also raise levels of
glutamine, polyamines, growth hormone and insulin. In turn,
these elevations prevent catabolic muscle wasting that usually
follows post workout. As a note, OKG is often used in clinical
settings as a first aid medicine(to carry away muscle waste
products) in burn victims, and thereby, enhances recovery and
wound healing. It is also documented to help regenerate skin and
muscle tissue.
Creatine Assimilator
Glycocyamine (GAA) and
Guanidinopropionic Acid (GPA) have been added to Fierce to mimic
the actions of insulin in that they lower blood glucose in
animal studies (Meglasson et al 1993). This appears to be the
result of increased expression of GLUT-4, a major glucose
transporter (Ren 1993). GAA is also converted in the liver into
creatine, adding to plasma creatine levels outside that of
Dicreatine-Malate and Creatine-Ethyl- Ester (see above). Because
of the insulin mimetic, the creatine transport effects of
glycocyamine and GPA, taken along with Dicreatine-Malate and
Creatine-Ethyl-Ester is superior, to simply taking more
creatine, by virtue of secondary and third biochemical pathways.
Betaine Anhydrous has been well characterized as an agent
capable of lowering levels of homocysteine in the body. High
plasma concentrations of homocysteine may increase risk of
cardiovascular disease. Betaine lowers plasma homocysteine up to
20% in normal healthy humans (Olthof et al 2005). One
interesting study looked at the effects of betaine on both
trained and untrained animals. In the untrained group betaine
lowered plasma lactate levels post-exercise significantly,
implying that betaine allows for a faster recovery from
exercise. For your information, muscle fatigue is believed to be
due, at least in part, to lactic acid buildup. In other studies,
betaine increased muscle area and decreased fat thickness.
Duralast Matrix
Glucuronolactone is a naturally occurring
chemical compound produced by the metabolization of glucose in
the human liver. It has received some public notoriety due to
its inclusion in energy type drinks like Red Bull. Some of its
positive attributes have been linked to acting as an
antidepressant and stimulant, and in helping memory retention
and concentration. Glucuronolactone is also a direct precursor
to Taurine therefore aiding in improved mental performance and
reaction time. In clinical settings, Glucuronolactone was found
to reduce fatigue with sleep related driving incidents.(Reyner
et al 2002)
L-Aspartic acid is a non-essential amino acid,
synthesized from glutamate or otherwise derived from protein.
Its chief mechanism is believed to be involved in the repair of
DNA and in assisting carbohydrate metabolism. It is a carrier
molecule for transporting magnesium & potassium in and out of
living cells. L-Aspartic acid is also a major excitatory
transmitter in your brain making it useful especially to those
involved in sports such as basketball, football, etc. which
require a quick reaction. Just like Malic acid, aspartic acid is
an intermediate in the TCA cycle (see above) and thus, extremely
useful in removing ammonia from the body. Last, but not least,
human studies, have shown that L-Aspartic acid decreases fatigue
after strenuous exercise thus increasing endurance levels.
b-Alanine is a direct precursor to Carnosine. Carnosine is
extremely effective in buffering hydrogen ions, which are
generally elevated in exercising athletes. Under normal
exercising conditions, hydrogen ions rise in response to energy
production resulting in a subsequent fall of muscle PH. With low
intra-muscular PH levels athletes often times get fatigued,
resulting in sub-par performance. The extent to which Carnosine
can delay fatigue (acidosis) is correlated to its content in
muscle tissue. (Tallon et al 2004-2005)
In essence, the
addition of b-Alanine (and subsequently Carnosine) in Fierce is
related to its effects on preventing your muscles from becoming
too acidic during times of stress. Since Carnosine works
alongside creatine (which is considered a phosphate donor) in
buffering the intra-muscular system from becoming too acidic, it
makes perfect sense to stack the two together. Simply stated,
b-Alanine makes creatine work better through a second and
independent pathway.
Neuro Cognitizing Substrates
Taurine
was included for its antioxidant properties and may be
responsible for the cytoprotective effect that is reported
throughout the literature. Dawson et.al 2002 subjected animals
to 90 minutes of strenuous downhill running after which muscle
tissue damage was assessed. The taurine supplemented group not
only showed less extensive tissue damage, but also showed that
running performance improved. Exercise has been shown to deplete
the muscle content of taurine. In light of its ergogenic
actions, this warrants the need for taurine supplementation
during exercise.
A similar experiment involving young men
showed equal results: After exhaustive exercise, the taurine
group exhibited less cellular damage and enhanced performance
(Zhang et al 2004). Quoting from the study,
"Significant
increases were also found in VO(2)max, exercise time to
exhaustion and maximal workload in test with taurine
supplementation ( p<0.05). After supplementation, the change in
taurine concentration showed positive correlations with the
changes in exercise time to exhaustion and maximal workload. The
results suggest that taurine may attenuate exercise-induced DNA
damage and enhance the capacity of exercise due to its cellular
protective properties."
What is even more exciting is that
Taurine works extremely well with glucuronolactone (see above)
in aiding mental performance, clarity and reaction time.
N-Acetyl-L-Glutamine (NAG) is known in foreign countries as an
anti-ulcer support agent that works by forming a protective
layer over the lining of the stomach. It accomplishes this
phenomenon by activating a chemical reaction that serves as an
antiacid buffer while suppressing the secretion of pepsin, a
protein-digesting enzyme produced in the stomach.
More
recent clinical research indicates that NAG has psycho-stimulant
properties while improving memory and concentration in persons
showing signs of senile dementia. Chemically speaking,
N-Acetyl-L-Glutamine is the acetylated version of the most
abundant amino acid found in skeletal muscle tissue: glutamine.
NAG is more stable in water and metabolically efficient at
delivering glutamine’s biological effects over conventional
Glutamine or Glutamine Peptides. As a glutamine donor, NAG has
shown great promise in the treatment of the critically ill,
since it supports the immune system. (Haussinger et al 2001)
Overtraining may lead to immune depression and it has been
proposed, but never conclusively demonstrated in controlled
trials, that glutamine could speed recovery in overworked
athletes.
Tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid synthesized
in the body from phenylalanine. It is an important nutritional
ingredient and chief factor in the biosynthesis of the brain
neurotransmitters: epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. As
such, Tyrosine has shown great promise to treat depression
because it is a precursor for the neurotransmitters that are
responsible for transmitting nerve impulses. In fact, in one
study involving healthy men, after being fed a deficient
phenylalanine/tyrosine diet, the participants experienced
depressed mood and alertness. (Grevet et al.2002). Indicating,
that tyrosine is essential to combat depression.
Tyrosine
has been tested on humans for increasing endurance regardless of
anxiety and stress, as well as extreme fatigue. It was further
documented in research studies that tyrosine supplementation
resulted in increased performance over a control group (Avraham
et al. 2001).
Tyrosine is also considered an antioxidant,
reacting with free radicals that can cause damage to cells.
Caffeine is our last and final ingredient which is known as a
competitive inhibitor of the enzyme cAMP-PDE, thus converting
cyclic AMP in cells to its noncyclic form, allowing cAMP to
build up. Cyclic AMP participates in the messaging cascade
produced by cells in response to stimulation by epinephrine, so
by blocking its removal, caffeine intensifies and prolongs the
effects of the neurotransmitters: epinephrine and
norepinephrine.
The metabolites of caffeine contribute to
caffeine's overall powerful effects. Theobromine which is
considered a vasodilator increases the amount of oxygen and
nutrient flow to the brain and muscles. Theophylline, the second
of the three main metabolites, acts as a smooth muscle relaxant
that chiefly affects the bronchioles and acts as a chronotrope
and inotrope. Thus increasing heart rate and efficiency. The
third metabolic derivative, paraxanthine, is responsible for an
increase in the fat burning process, which releases glycerol and
fatty acids into the blood to be used as a source of fuel by the
muscles (Dews et al. 1984).
Supplement Facts
Serving
Size: 17g
Servings Per Container: 50
Amount Per Serving
% Daily Value*
Calories 0 0%
Calories from Fat 0 0%
Sugars 0 g 0%
Cell Hydration Matrix 4.0 g †
(Dicreatine-Malate, Creatine-Malate, Creatine-Ethyl-Ester
HCI)
Neuro Substrates 3.8 g †
(L-Taurine, N-Acetyl-L-Glutamine,
L-Tyrosine & Caffeine
Anhydrous)
Creatine AssimilatorTM
2.5 g †
(Betaine Anhydrous & Glycocyamine, Guanidinopropionic
Acid (3-GPA™)
DuralastTM Matrix 2.4 g †
(Glucuronolactone
& L-Aspartic Acid, b-Alanine)
Nitro NO 2.25 g †
(L-Arginine-Alpha-Ketoglutarate & L-Ornithine
Alpha-Ketoglutarate)
*Percent Daily Values are based on
a 2,000 calorie diet.
†Daily Value Not Established
Other
Ingredients:
Citric Acid, Calcium Silicate, Natural and
Artificial Flavors (Spray Dried Orange Oil, Spray Dried Orange
Juice), Aspartame1, Acesulfame-K, F.D. & C. Colors (Red No. 40,
Yellow No. 6)
NO Yeast, Corn, Wheat, Sugar, Salt, Soy,
Dairy, or Fish added.
1PHENYLKETONURICS: Contains
Phenylalanine
Recommended Use: Take 1 scoop and mix into
12oz. of cold water 30 minutes before your workout and/or
immediately upon awakening.
Warning! Do not exceed one scoop
per serving or two scoops per 24 hour period. Space servings at
least 6 hours apart. Do not consume past 6pm.
Before
beginning any program of weight loss, consult your health care
practitioner.
***These statements have not been evaluated by
the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure
or prevent any disease.
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