Ripped Fuel vs. Xenadrine by Mark-Anthony Bailey

The two kings of thermogenic fat burners, Twinlab's Ripped Fuel and Cytodyne's Xenadrine RFA-1......but which one is better? Thermogenic fat burner work by temporary increasing your metabolism thus burning more calories. Anything that alters your base metabolism is powerful stuff and should be taken with great care and supervision. Each product comes with its own warning label with I recommend everyone reads, no matter how experienced you are. These two supplements are very potent and exceeding the recommended dosage could be dangerous for your health. That being said, let us compare the two products.

The key to these supplements is Ma huang. Ma huang is extracted from a plant source, thus it gives a natural source for the main fat burning component, ephedrine. Ephedrine is so potent that many European countries such as Norway have banned it. Ephedrine will increase your metabolism and your heart rate but this supplements take it a step futher by adding Guarana Extract, which is the herbal equivalent to caffeine. In fact, two capsules of Ripped Fuel or Xenadrine contain the same amount of caffeine as one and a half cups of coffee. Also, Xenadrine adds White Willow Bark which has the similar fat burning effects as aspirin and a additional herbal supplement synephrine (another form of ephedrine). Also, additional Vitamin B5 is included which plays a key role in energy metabolism.

Now lets get down to the real world results. Will these supplements help you lose fat? The answers is yes, both will aid your fat lose goals. The combination of the herbs will temporarily increase your metabolism. For this reason, they both make excellent choices as energy boosters. But, with the added ingredients in Xenadrine I feel that Xenadrine is better for fat loss over a period of time. Also, from my own experience and in asking other, Xenadrine seems to be more tolerant with less side effects. Possible side effects from either of these supplements included nervousness, stomach ache, nausea, difficulty sleeping, dizziness and lightheaded experiences. These side effects are mainly due to individual tolerance levels to ephedrine and caffeine. I suggest cut the recommended dosage in half and test your own tolerance levels for the first week (in fact Xenadrine recommends you do this). Also, do not take it after 4PM so you can still get to sleep that night. With either of these, cycle your use 3 weeks on 1 week off for no more than 2 compete cycles. At that point take a full 2 weeks off. If you experience side effects, shorten the cycle to 2 weeks on 1 week off.
As with the side effects, the positive effects will also vary from person to person. I have seen people drop 20 pounds in 4 weeks on Xenadrine. Ripped Fuel helped another individual I know lose 25 lbs in 6 weeks. With either of these products you can expects to see a fat loss of 2-5 pounds per week(depending on factors previously stated). So if you are trying to lose those last few pounds of fat or need a energy boost in the gym, give these products a try.

There are Ma huang-free versions of each which, considering the bad press each has been getting as of late, may be the safer choice for now. If you want to avoid Mu huang and ephedrine completing, you may wnat to try Biotest's new Hot-Rox product which they claim has made ephedrine obsolete by:

Increasing lipolysis, releasing fat from adipocytes more rapidly than ephedra-based products to the point of no contest.

Minimizes lipogenesis (fat creation) via increased cAMP and T3.

Maximizes and sustains metabolism around the clock, turning fat into heat energy, through two powerful mechanisms:
Fueling the TCA cycle
Stimulating mitochondrial uncoupling

Provides an inexhaustible supply of the weak-link substrate oxaloacetate and thus keeps the TCA cycle primed for sustained, maximum fat burn.

Elevates and maintains not only the increased production of T3, but the peripheral conversion of T4 into T3 as well, without suppressing TSH (natural thyroid production).

Doesn't over stimulate cardiac tissue or raise blood pressure.

Preserves or even promotes muscle-mass gains.

So if you want maximum fat-burning effects to work continually, around the clock (24/7), HOT-ROX is the perfect supplement for you!

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Mark-Anthony Bailey is the Editor-in-Chief of MostMuscle.com. As an Exercise Physiologist and competitive natural bodybuilder, his goals have been to ensure that his clients get the latest information on training techniques, nutritional guidelines and lifestyle modifications needed to obtain optimal health. He can be contacted at: markanthony@mostmuscle.com