Round about 2008, news about Jack3d hit my gym in south London. Suddenly everyone was talking about it: how this stuff was better than anything else anyone had tried; that it gave you this incredible focus, determination and limitless energy.
It wasn’t just that people were talking about it like it was this god-given miracle; you could see the effects. People who had come to the gym to stand around chatting were suddenly on fire. They became fiends. They’d be lifting weights 30% heavier than they ever had before, for rep after rep. They’d work out for hours then run around the gym looking for more things to lift. They wouldn’t want to go home.
Obviously I was curious: I was 19; I was stupid. I bought a pot of the stuff from someone at the gym. I’d never taken a pre-workout supplement before but had only just got into intense cardio so was a sponge for anyone who wanted to give me advice. If the pros said this would transform my training, that was good enough for me.
I remember the first time I tried it. I took a single scoop on an empty stomach about 40 minutes before my workout, and about 30 minutes later felt totally pumped. My hands were tingling, then my head and then my whole body.
The focus was amazing. I literally had tunnel vision. The motivation was mad. I’d never pushed myself that hard in the gym. I could do anything and my muscles never felt like they would tear. I didn’t feel any burning; just that I could lift whatever I wanted.
I was sold on it. I began using it almost every time I worked out – giving myself a day or two off every so often. Some people said the effects got less for them over time but that never happened with me.
Other people complained of itching – sometimes so badly that it felt like ants were crawling over their body – migraines and weird burnouts, where they’d suddenly crash in the middle of training and be almost unable to move, they’d be so lethargic.
I didn’t have any of that. It was amazing. I felt so pure and positive. I’d stay in the gym for hours with this laser-like focus. The only downpoint was that when I got home after exercising, I couldn’t eat. It was actually hard work to get a protein shake down me. Sleeping was also a problem: I learnt not to take Jack3d less than 10 hours before I wanted to sleep. There was no point: sleep would be impossible.
I gradually upped my dose. After a few months, I was taking three and sometimes four scoops. I was beginning to get worried about the way my heart started racing when I was exercising hard. Then one day, my muscles suddenly failed in the middle of an exercise and I crashed. I felt totally out of it, like I was drugged.
I thought I had pushed myself too hard and gave myself a day off. But the next day I nearly passed out just walking the stairs to the gym. Still, I just assumed I’d been driving myself too hard. I took a few days off but continued with the Jack3d when I went back to the gym again. Over the next few months, the comedowns got worse. One time I actually had lockjaw. The way the drug made my whole body tingle and my stomach burn began to worry me. I began feeling nervy when the drug wore off.
I’d been taking Jack3d for around five months by this time and the chat around the gym was becoming more critical. The most intelligent people were doing their own research into the ingredients and deciding it wasn’t as safe as they’d all thought.
I stopped using the stuff after waking up a few nights in a row with my heart racing in a really scary way. It only lasted for less than a minute but it freaked me out.
It was the beginning of the end of my fascination with the gym. Once I stopped taking Jack3d, working out wasn’t as exciting as it had been and I began feeling it wasn’t such a cool place to be anyway: I realised I’d been idolising men who were prepared to take stupid risks with their health for the sake of a few muscles.
I wasn’t at all surprised that Jack3d was banned last year. I’m no longer part of that world but I’d be surprised if there wasn’t another supplement being taken now, that will be discovered to be just as dangerous a few months down the line.
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