Debate: Alcohol and the aspiring fitness buff

I guess most of us regular lads and aspiring fitness buffs from the late teens all the way to the adults face this same common dilemma - alcohol. I mean we all know it kind of screws us over in terms of our fitness progression and gains, but at the same time it is a semi-essential part of socialising and when consumed responsibly can be abit of fun (for some of us at least). 

What prompted me to "pen" (well, not exactly pen per se but yeah) this post was a series of events over the past couple of months. 

My birthday last year was spent with a whole lot of hard liquor. It just so happened that my birthday coincided with the end of the exams. As such, my classmates decided to celebrate both occasions concurrently at a Thai Disco. For those of you not too familiar with Singapore, a Thai Disco is like a night club with sing and dance performances by resident artistes. Being the birthday boy at such venues is never a good thing for your liver, as you might have predicted the sequence of events following. Ended up downing way more alcohol than your average "social drinking" session. Felt like crap over the entire weekend thereafter.

After that session, I decided to go easy on the alcohol. Another event that really got me thinking was another session over at another Thai Disco. This time I tried to avoid the liquor and beer as much as possible without coming off as being rude socially. But as you guys might have guessed, trying to dodge drinks intentionally makes you kind of an "social-outcast" and particularly "unsporting" while also being a wet blanket. The night was plain awkward (for me at least), so I bolted as soon as I got the chance. I mean what was I suppose to do when the boys were playing drinking games with the ladies? 

The point I want to make is that I understand alcohol does has it's upsides and downsides but ultimately it lies within ourselves, how we choose to make use of it. It could be used responsibly to network with others and potentially get you a better job or clinch that multi-million dollar deal with a big client. At the very same time, it could waste the hell out of you, turning you into a puking machine with horrible social etiquette and judgement. That said, it is essential to pick and balance how you consume your alcohol without being the wet blanket of the party. If you're not prepared to drink during a huge party where you know the people around are big time drinkers, it'll probably be a good choice to stay away from that outing. If it's a night out with the homies just chilling and stuff, you could probably go ahead with it and not worry about getting wasted if the boys got your back.

I realised that it's our very own personal responsibility to weigh and prioritise such events in our life. We definitely do not want to neglect our best friends in order to achieve our fitness goals. I personally feel that there's more to life than hitting a 600 pound deadlift PR or running 2.4km under 9 minutes. However, all of us have our own views and perspectives. The point here is to make a informed and deliberate choice and not regretting it in the future.

PS: Drew up this impromptu entry quickly without drafting anything out. Might revisit this issue again in future entries. In the mean time, look out for more product review entries. Cheers!

(Sample) Night Recovery Review: RCSS Resurrect-P.M.

Managed to get my hands on a complementary sachet, so here's a review of the RCSS Resurrect-P.M.!

Decided to use the RCSS Resurrect-P.M. sample after leg day since it's the most taxing workout. I was slightly worried about the magnesium content initially since I have read that it could give weird lucid dreams. After doing abit of research, I finally decided that the magnesium content was low enough for me to give it a go.

Serving Size: 1 Scoop (8g)
Servings per Container: 25
Calories: 4


Effectiveness
Followed the instructions pretty strictly, using the product a good 1 hour after my protein shake and 30 minutes before going off to bed. Managed to squeeze in around 8 hours of sleep as well since the next day was Saturday.

Woke up the next morning feeling totally refreshed and raring to go to the gym again. You know the feeling whereby you have enough good quality sleep for the night and your eyes are wide open about 15 minutes upon waking up? That was the exact feeling I had. Was totally recharged and refreshed mentally from the night's rest. Felt really good to have a good rest after leg day. Not sure if it was a psychological thing but I also felt that I was less sore than usual. A bonus and added relief was that I didn't experience any weird dreams of any sort. In fact, I had such sound sleep that I did not have any dreams at all.

Taste & Mix-ability
Blue Razz Dream. That's the flavour I had for the sample sachet. From the name of it, I was kind of expecting it to taste like blueberry or raspberry. I mean that's a totally valid assumption considering the name right?

Unfortunately, it did not taste anything like either of the two. It had medicinal taste despite being pretty sweet, kind of like a cough syrup. The SensaCool flavour technology used in the product can be tasted both during and after that drink. The novelty of the minty and cooling sensation distracts you abit from the medicinal taste but not by much. I particularly liked the sensation after the drink where it feels as if you have brushed your teeth when you exhale through your mouth. Just found it pretty interesting for a supplement to have this feature. But come to think of it, most of us are going to brush our teeth for real after slugging the drink before retiring to bed anyway.

Mix-abilty was not the best and leaves much to be desired. The white powder did not mix up too good in the 5oz of cold water that I used while shaken in a shaker bottle. Sediments settled at the bottom of the bottle and suspended particles were present in the shake. The problems I encountered with mix-ability might have been fault on my part as I did not shake up the drink properly since I am used to shakes having near perfect solubility. So yeah, maybe if I shake it up good enough, there would be fewer issues with the mix-ability.

Anti-clockwise from top: Sample sachet, unshaken powder with added water, shaken product.

Value
Got the sample for free so I guess it's good value for a awesome night's sleep!

On a more serious note, a tub of RCSS Resurrect-P.M. costs about SGD$45 for 25 servings. That works out to be exactly SGD$1.80 per serving. Can't really comment on the value considering I have only used a single dose of the product. But it seems slightly on the steep side. If I do buy this in the future, I'll probably only use it on workout days or on really heavy days only.

8x Mr Olympia Mr Coleman looking absolutely SWOLE!

Overall
Besides the magnesium content concern, the RCSS Resurrect-P.M. gave me a pretty good vibe from the start as it's endorsed by the 8-time Mr Olympia (Yes, I'm swayed easily by good marketing.) Come on, who doesn't want to believe that using what Mr Coleman himself uses will get you results right?

Opening the sachet, there was a pretty pleasant smell from the white powder. Upon mixing, the bright neon blue solution (picture on top was slightly darker than in real life) got me feeling slightly perplexed. On one hand, it was interesting to have a workout supplement with this sort of colour but then again on the other hand it did not look like something that anyone would drink. The colour was unnatural and looked like in belonged in the  sign boards that lit the streets of Las Vegas. The taste was questionable as well. The results and efficacy of the product however, was a whole different story. I enjoyed a good night's rest and woke up with good energy and a bounce in my step. Felt really good upon waking up.

The results far outweigh the solubility and taste issue since most of us are more concerned with the results of the product. Also, the RCSS Resurrect-P.M.is recommended to be taken "5 days on and 2 days off" at night and mixes in a small amount of water so the taste and solubility is not that big a issue as with whey supplements which many of us consume multiple times daily.

This being said, I am now more open to overnight supplements and I would not rule out purchasing a tub of RCSS Resurrect-P.M. in the near future. Then again, I think I would probably try out some slightly cheaper supplements first before coming back for a full review.