# ECA stack review/ log



## pgray12

Hey all. Firstly I apologise if this is in the wrong section, but I am new to this site.

Thought I would start up a log of detailing my cut while using an Eca stack, for anyone who is interestedJ Looking at various forums, there seems to be a lack of detailed logs/ reviews, most of which cease after a week or two (maybe they died or something). This log will be updated at least once a week. I will also include pre ECA and post Eca pictures at some point for comparison.

*Bit of background info*

I have been cutting (using carb cycling) for a number of months without the ECA stack with great results. From 85kg down to 75kg. However this plateaued, so 4week ago I thought I would give ECA a try.

Used Eph 30 complex for a week and thought this was absolute balls. Didn't lose any weight , gave me slight chest pains and only had a little appetite suppression and stimulant effect. (Ive now heard that EPh 30 wasn't pharma grade ephedrine anyway). Therefore I decided to scrap that idea, take a week off and then try a homemade ECA stack-Chesteze, proplus and asprin to see if this was any better.

*The Homemade stack*

Got a number of chesteze packets from a variety of pharmacies including Boots and Gordons chemist. they cost roughly £1.80-£2 for a pack of 9. Got no hassle from the employees when buying but asked for 2 packets and they told me to do one. Got proplus and aspirin from pounland.

Started off 2 weeks ago with half a chesteze tab (9 mg ephedrine,15 mg caffeine), 1 and half proplus (75mg caffeine) and half an aspirin (37.5mg).this worked out at a ratio of 1:10:4 of ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin respectfullyand have gradually built it up to double that dose over a two week period. Now taking 3x a day

I have heard conflicting reports on how to cycle this, some say 2 weeks on 2 weeks off, other say 6 weeks on, 2 weeks off, but I'm going to cycle it up to 6 weeks, but might be cut shorter if it starts to lose its effect.

*Aims*

Lose a couple of kg, git rid of stubborn fat on lower absand maintain muscle mass strength (I have read that ECA has anti-catabolic properties?)

I hope to lose 0.5-0.75kg per week

*Info on current diet/training*

Diet: Currently carb cycling. 3 days low, 1 high, 2 dayslow, 1 high. I plan to take Eca stack on low carb days only (don't see the point in taking them for high days given they suppress appetite).

Weight training: current only upper body as got a longstanding knee injury in both knees. Currently doing a back/bis and chest/tris/shoulders split, hitting each twice a week. Also cycling the intensity, with one maximal and one submaximal workout for each routine.

Cardio- upon waking, after taking ECA stack. Only can do brisk walking as a result of knee injury.

*baseline measurements(10/04/2013)*

Weight: 74.8kg. Low staring weight I know, would be higher but have had a long standing knee injury and a lot of lower body mass has wasted away. I hope when I bulk again inthe autumn, muscle memory will play its part.

Bodyfat %: 12/13( I think), I will upload photos at somepoint so other people can judge)

Lifts: Bench: 105kg for 6 reps

Wide grip pullup: bodyweight+10kg for 6 reps

Deadlift: unknown (currently have knee injury)- was 170kg 1 rep max before injury

Squat: unkown (currently have knee injury) was 150kg 1 rep max before injury

*After 1 week(17/04/2013)*

Weight: 73.5 kg

Bench: 105kg for 6 reps

Wide grip pull up: bodyweight+ 12kg weight for 5 reps

*After 2 weeks(24/04/2013)*

Weight 72.9kg

Bench: 105kg for 6 reps

Wide grip pull up: bodyweight+ 12kg weight for 6 reps

*General notes on ECAstack so far*

4 pounds lost far, strength maintained

Visually, i have definitely seen an improvement so far, shoulders/ abs looking more cut and arms looking more vascular, (possible due to the diureticeffect of caffeine)

Eca wil give you a mild buzz, and greater focus (which is great for both in the gym and inwork)

Raises heart rate considerably- I have only been doing brisk walking for cardio this raises heat rate to 70-75% of max. Therefore Eca stack maybe useful to the individual who is injured and cannot do vigorous forms of exercise, but still wants to be in the aerobic/ training zone. I would caution however that using Eca on maximal intensity lifting days may be dangerous, when I tried this my heart rate was elevated above 90% of max (but this may be due to poor fitness levels) and felt terrible after. Therefore I would advise Eca use on low intensity lifting sessions andlow intensity steady state cardio.

I found that the homemade Eca has great appetite suppressing abilities. I find that I have to force myself to eat sometimes.

I hope you have found this useful, I hope to update this at least once a week


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## pgray12

baseline photos from 2 weeks ago


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## pgray12

*week 3*

weight: 71.7kg

another 1.2kg/ 2.6lbs lost this week, 3.1kg/6.8lbs since started using ECA stack 3 weeks ago. pleased with results so far, definatey looking more cut, il get some photos up soon.

slightly concerned i may be cutting too fast and losing muscle. I read that ECA has anti-catabolic properties, therefore does anyone know if cutting at a rate of 2lbs is ok for muscle retention on ECA? did 6 reps of 105kg on the bench press again, as at baseine, therefore prob ok but just want to check.

forgot to mention got some slight jitters ( felt like the anxiety you get from an E comedown for the first week of taking the stack, but that subsided soon enough.

still getting a buzz and concentration from taking it and losing weight, therefore i will continue until the effects lessen


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## L11

I hope you don't mind me adding my first impressions into your post.

Basically @simonthepieman said if I took ECA I'd still be natty, so I thought f*ck it.

Ordered some T5's from zion labs, but whilst I was waiting, I bought some chest-eze, bought some aspirin, and had loads of caffeine stocked up already

I planned on doing this alongside keto but had to change that

Day 1 (keto) - Took a dose of 1 chest eze, 3 pro plus and 1 baby aspirin at 6am - Ran to the gym at 6.30am - now I NEVER make it all the way to the gym, it's only about a mile but I get bored about 3/4 of the way - Not this time, I had an IMMENSE focus and I felt like I could run for hours - Had an amazing workout, was buzzing ridicuously. Had my post work out breakfast. Took another dose at 1pm, nothing happened really

Day 2 (keto) - Took a dose at 6am, had breakfast at 7am, went about my day, went to work, took another dose at 1pm, did nothing really. Trained in the PM, average session

Day 3 - Decided to up the dosage so took a dose at 6am, 11am, and 4pm, trained in the evening, OK session, no effects felt/

Day 4 - Same dosage timings as before but early morning session - Felt a little bit of a buzz, but just felt like a normal caffeine buzz tbh - Had some "digestive" issues with keto so I RAMMED the carbs down when I got home from work - Decided I didn't wanna do Keto anymore because taking an hour to do a sh*t wasn't that fun.

But anyway since I had to stop Keto, I started reading up on intermittent fasting. Now I'll be honest, it sounds like bullsh*t, but I'm always open to trying new things, and I've got ages to cut so it doesnt matter if it doesnt work. At this point so far I had NO appetite suppression whatsoever, I could've easily ate 4000 calories on ECA, so I was worried about getting through the first morning.

I decided I'd do the normal 1pm-9pm eating window with IF and here's where it gets interesting.

Day 5 - Dose at 6am.. At 10am I'm not hungry at all. Dose at 11am. 12pm not hungry at all, 2pm STILL NOT HUNGRY - Had to force down some Tuna pasta - Trained at 4pm - sweating RIDICULOUSLY in the gym, heart beating so fast, I was taking 5 minute breaks between sets, not because I had no energy, but I was scared I was gonna have a heart attack - Finished the gym -Still not hungry... Now like I said before I'm a good cook so i managed to make 1500 calories of turkey mince, pasta, wholemeal wraps, protein pancakes and devour it all. It was BEAUTIFUL. I haven't enjoyed eating like that for a while.

Day 6 (today) - Dose at 6am - Trained at 9am - Dose at 11am - It's half 12 now and I'm not hungry in the slightest (but I WILL eat lol)

SO basically I've worked out if I don't eat breakfast - This is the best appetite suppressant in the world. I thoroughly enjoyed IF yesterday and it seems perfectly suited to me, it's like a cheat day every day but I'm skipping breakfast, and ECA makes it so easy to do! Probably not best having 2 doses on an empty stomach and then training though, the heart rate thing was scary as f*ck.

Oh and I haven't weighed myself, but I'm eating at ~700 calorie a day deficit and I'm not getting weaker so I know I'll be losing fat.


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## L11

Day 6 was "harder" in the end, it was my day off and I was at home all day so once I started eating I started enjoying it so ate regardless of appetite.. Still very easy to stay ~2200 calories (bare in mind my maintenance is 3000)

Day 7 - Got some Zion labs t5's now - Dose at 7am - Dose at 12pm - Lunch at 1pm (chicken and pasta, about 500 cals) - Another t5 at 4pm - SMASHED the f*ck out of a back session, like literally raped the weights, personal bests all over the shop - Had some porridge and whey when I got back - NOT hungry - Need to bang in 1000 calories in an hour - Bring on the beef, peanut butter, whole eggs and ground almonds! TASTY


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## Stillers

Is there something other than Chesteze I can use to replace the E in the stack? Chemists are starting to get suspicious!


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## Ginger Ben

Stillers said:


> Is there something other than Chesteze I can use to replace the E in the stack? Chemists are starting to get suspicious!


Buy it off ebay


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## DiggyV

Ginger Ben said:


> Buy it off ebay


or amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Do-Do-Chesteze-Tablets-9/dp/B003VV2AOO

same page has Chesteze, caffeine and aspirin to buy as an offer. :lol:


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## DiggyV

L11 said:


> Ordered some T5's from zion labs, but whilst I was waiting, I bought some chest-eze, bought some aspirin, and had loads of caffeine stocked up already


Buddy, hate to say it, but the Zion T5 wont have Ephedrine in it. They are sneaky gits, and anything OTC will state on it 'Eph', this includes pretty much all of the ECA 30+ products out there. They contain Ephedra - the plant that Ephedrine comes from. The only one that I know is pukk, and well dosed is eth DHacks ECA stack.

Other than that you are better off dosing it yourself.

http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/losing-weight/140702-eca-comprehensive-guide.html


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## L11

DiggyV said:


> Buddy, hate to say it, but the Zion T5 wont have Ephedrine in it. They are sneaky gits, and anything OTC will state on it 'Eph', this includes pretty much all of the ECA 30+ products out there. They contain Ephedra - the plant that Ephedrine comes from. The only one that I know is pukk, and well dosed is eth DHacks ECA stack.
> 
> Other than that you are better off dosing it yourself.
> 
> http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/losing-weight/140702-eca-comprehensive-guide.html


I thought this, but it does say ephedrine specifically on the packaging, and I took 3 yesterday and couldn't sleep until 2am (normally in bed at 10pm), mightve been the caffeine but I really do have a high caffeine tolerance.


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## DiggyV

L11 said:


> I thought this, but it does say ephedrine specifically on the packaging, and I took 3 yesterday and couldn't sleep until 2am (normally in bed at 10pm), mightve been the caffeine but I really do have a high caffeine tolerance.


Hmm....

Ephedra will do this. You just wont get the jolt that you get from Ephedrine. Same rules apply, just not so aggressive on the ramp up if you see what I mean. Also I know of some T5s that were using Synephrine, some using DMAA and some that were actually Warrior Blaze. :lol:

If its working for you then carry on. This would be a first though. I tried several when researching my ECA article, and most were clear caps that had a brown / gray coloured powder in them. This was the Ephedra.

Are the Zion ones caps or pills and what colour.

(not interrogation BTW, just research for the article, and future assistance to folks.)


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## L11

DiggyV said:


> Hmm....
> 
> Ephedra will do this. You just wont get the jolt that you get from Ephedrine. Same rules apply, just not so aggressive on the ramp up if you see what I mean. Also I know of some T5s that were using Synephrine, some using DMAA and some that were actually Warrior Blaze. :lol:
> 
> If its working for you then carry on. This would be a first though. I tried several when researching my ECA article, and most were clear caps that had a brown / gray coloured powder in them. This was the Ephedra.
> 
> Are the Zion ones caps or pills and what colour.
> 
> (not interrogation BTW, just research for the article, and future assistance to folks.)


Well i was doing a homemade chest eze caffeine stack before and I can definetly say these t5s were stronger. The appetite suppression is immense. The insomnia is not so fun. Only 2 day and I'm feeling great even though I've only had 4 hours sleep. The Zion ones are caps, I'll open one up later and let you know what's in it. I'm all good for community research mate if we can gather as much as info as possible it will only help others so ask away.


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## pgray12

L11 said:


> I hope you don't mind me adding my first impressions into your post.


no worries lad, more subjective expereinces and information for those contemplating ECA the better


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## pgray12

*week 4*

wee bit late on the update, but here it is:

body weight: 71.1kgs

Bench:105kg 6reps

wide grip pull up: body weight + 12kg for 7 reps

0.6kg/ 1.32lbs lost this week, strength maintained. Only used the stack for 2 days this week and still lost decent amount. The stack really is the dogs balls.


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## davesays

You can buy pure Ephedrine HCL from centurysupplements or gorillajack, the latter being cheaper. This is where I get mine from.


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## Guest

Thinking about giving this a whirl.

Take it that doing HIIT on ECA would not be a wise move?


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## pgray12

Jd123 said:


> Thinking about giving this a whirl.
> 
> Take it that doing HIIT on ECA would not be a wise move?


Nah i wouldnt IMO. i feel dizzy/ have chest pains when training at high intensity on eca . elevates the heart rate rapidly


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## pgray12

great to use before morning steady state cardio tho IMO


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## L11

Btw I stopped after about 2 weeks, it was still working great, and I wanna keep it that way, so I've switched to yohimbine for a week or so..


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## Guest

So it just speeds up metabolism?

Say if I used it 3 days and did HIIT on the other 3 days then had a day off all together would this be effective?

Or does it have to be used continually


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## Justin Cider

f*ck paying £4.04 for chest eze!!

Just rather pass thru the supermarket pharmacies and in town...


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## Matt2

Stillers said:


> Is there something other than Chesteze I can use to replace the E in the stack? Chemists are starting to get suspicious!


Check out Kaizen ephedrine from astronutrition.


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## Stillers

Matt2 said:


> Check out Kaizen ephedrine from astronutrition.


Thanks Matt, I'll check them out. I've also seen Century Supplements do it.


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## pgray12

quick update

took 2 weeks off and been back on again for the last week

weight: 70.4kg

Bench press: 105kg- 5 reps

wide grip pull ups- body weight +14kg for 6 reps

lost 0.7kg since last pdate, strength maintained

Side effects of aspirin kicking in- get bruised from the slightest knock, but feck it, getting cut so dont give toss


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## johnnya

Nice thread bud...good to hear eca is working for you


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## pgray12

update- weighed myself a week after last update

weight- 69.8kg, a loss of 0.6kg/1.32lbs this week

bench press- 105kg for 5 reps

wide grip pulls- body weight + 14 kg for 7 reps

currently taking two weeks of as not to build tolerance.

progress pics below


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## pgray12

johnnya said:


> Nice thread bud...good to hear eca is working for you


cheers pal, working a treat


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## HokiePride

NIce log! Just started this stack myself. Very interested in your end results!


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## pgray12

HokiePride said:


> NIce log! Just started this stack myself. Very interested in your end results!


cheers bud. hows the first few days work for you?


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## pgray12

wee update

took about two weeks off and started again on sunday (been on for 3 days). Apetite supression the last few days was fantastic, barely eat anything. Didnt get as much as a buzz as before probably due to me not stopping the caffeine ingestion during the two weeks off therefre didnt have a washout period.

weight:68.5kg

Bench press: 105kg for 6 reps (a rep increase since last update)

Wide grip pull up: Body weight + 16kg- 5 reps

since I have started taking the stack I have lost over 13lbs and maintained strength, pleased with results, however may stop soon and do a slow bulk as feeling im getting too light


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## Sully6000

Great progress mate. Looking forward to trying the homemade ECA myself


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## faultline

Subbed as I'm also trying eca for the 1st time, how tall are you mate?


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## dannw

Just keep an eye on your BP mine went from 116/78 to 140/90 and I also got some numbness in my fingers so stopped taking it, but god I do miss the buzz...


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## Lee3105

Subbed


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## beastmode84

dannw said:


> Just keep an eye on your BP mine went from 116/78 to 140/90 and I also got some numbness in my fingers so stopped taking it, but god I do miss the buzz...


 140/90 is perfectly normal lol


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