Okay, so I tried my sample last night and here is a quick write up about it. I've been training about 1 year now but only about 6 months seriously so I dont have a lot of experience in the lifting arena or the supplement field. The only supplements I take on a regular basis are whey protein and a multi-vitamin. I work out after work in the early evening so I usually drink a can of Monster before I go to help pick me up after work and give me the energy to make it through the workout.
I followed the directions on the packet and consumed it about 1/2 hour before my workout. The taste isnt anything to write home about but wasnt bad either. I've never tried creatine but heard it tastes pretty bad and that may have contributed to the slight bitter taste to it. Anyway, you dont drink these things for the taste so it didnt matter much to me.
Got to the gym and warmed up slightly and started my normal routine. I started with 4 sets of 10 wide grip pull ups. On my last set I immediately felt a muscle spasm in my back between my shoulder blade and spine. I've had these before and this one was a bad one...bad enough I couldnt turn my neck from side to side without pain. DAMN. I have no idea if the SMASH contributed to this or not but it was bad enough that it affected the rest of my workout to the point I couldnt go all out, however, I did continue with my workout. I did notice a couple small muscle cramps in my legs throughout the workout even though it wasnt my leg day (I had done legs and cardio the day before). Were all of these muscle spasms and small cramps from the SMASH or something completely unrelated? I'm not sure. I drank about the same amount of water as normal and ate about the same so its hard to say.
The pump seemed to be more than normal and the workout was actually slightly better than normal for my Wednesday workout so it may have actually helped in that regard. The kick it provided was about comparable to my Monster so that was nice too.
Does it work? It's really hard for me to say since I was fighting that damn muscle spasm all workout but I do think it helped in some regards. I do wish there was more than one sample included so I could get a better feel for how well it worked before I go out and spend $30 on a full size tub but I'm not kicking a gift horse in the mouth for the free sample.
Will I buy it? At the current time I'm undecided. I dont think I'll use it this summer when I'm cutting but I do think I might give a tub a shot this fall when I bulk up again.
Anybody that might know or have an opinion as to the cramps I was experiencing: Do you think this may have been caused by the creatine or other ingredients in the SMASH or are they probably completely unrelated and were just bad timing for my review?
