Palo Alto Labs Leviathan Review/Log

[ava]

Well, this is my first attempt at documenting and reviewing a product so I'll do my best. This may not be the best of documentations because I'm also changing a few other aspects of my routine at the same time so it wont be entirely objective. Hopefully my subjective review and opinions will be good enough.

First a bit of background:
Age 37
Height: 6'0"
Weight at start of Leviathan: 189
Body Fat at start: Need to obtain. I mainly go by looks in the mirror though and dont care about the actual %.
Started Leviathan: 4/27/07
Current Sups: Whey Protein, Multivitamin, 4 Fish Oil caplets daily.

On 2/20/06 I started working out and watching what I ate for the first time in my life. I wasnt terribly overweight at 205 but I did have a bit of a gut that I really wanted to get rid of by the end of April '06 when we went on a cruise. By cruise time I had dropped down to 189lbs which eliminated quite a bit of my gut. I worked out consistently over the summer but didnt make much gains as far as muscle because I was concentrating on being able to run a 10k in September which I accomplished.
After the 10k I weighed 185lbs and I decided I needed to add some mass so I went on a small bulk over the winter (I was paranoid about adding too much weight back on....first bulk and all...) and worked exclusively on weight training and I went up to 195lbs with minimal fat gain. I had definitely put on lean body mass which was cool because for the first time in my life I looked pretty good without a shirt.
Now its Spring I want to lose the fat added over the winter and try to cut to below 10% fat and at least be able to see my abs for the first time in my life. I dont have a lot of weight to lose as my ab outline is visible but there isnt much definition there yet. If I can lose some weight BUT MAINTAIN MY MUSCLE AND LIFT WEIGHTS then I will consider Leviathan a success. I know I can lose the weight but I want Leviathan to help me keep the small amount of muscle I have.

Cutting began Mid March:
3/15/07 - 195
3/26/07 - 193
3/26/07 193
4/2/07 192.6
4/9/07 192
4/16/07 190
4/27/07 189 Began Leviathan
4/30/07 188.2


I'll update the weight chart here and post some thoughts as the month progresses.

 

[ava]

Days 1-4
I'm following the dosage guideline:
Day 1: 1 capsule in the am, and 1 capsule in the mid afternoon
Day 2: repeat day 1
Day 3: 1 capsule in the am, 1 capsule around noon or 1, and one capsule around 5pm
Day 4: repeat day 3
Day 5: 2 capsules in the am, 1 capsule around noon or 1 ,and one capsule around 5pm
Day 6: repeat day 5
Day 7: 2 capsules in the am, and 2 capsules in the late afternoon -- this would be your standard consumption

On day 1 I could definitely tell a kick after I took my first pill. Nothing too great or anything that gave me the jitters but I could definitely tell something was going on. I typically drink a Monster Lo-Carb before my workout but while I'm on Leviathan I wont be drinking it but it felt almost as though I had drank a Monster.

Right now I'm on Day 4 which is 3 pills a day. So far so good. The kick isnt as great as the first pill I took but that may change tomorrow when I take my first 2 pill dose.

I started an entirely new workout yesterday called the Waterbury Method. Before I was doing my own routine that was just too much while cutting. Too many exercises and I was burning myself out physically and mentally. I'm not sure if it was the fact that it was a brand new routine or the Leviathan, but after the workout was done I thought to myself "Is that it????". I could have kept going because I still had lots of energy left.
I know it was a good/different workout today though because I have a bit of DOMS so its good to know I had pushed my body but my mind didnt feel like it was trashed.

Today's workout:
BB Back Squats 10 x 3
A1 - Dips 4 x 6
A2 - Bent over BB Rows 4 x 6
B1 - Skull Crushers 4 x 6
B2 - Standing BB Curls 4 x 6
Hanging Leg Raises 4 x 6

 

[ava]

If you have any questions or want me to add other information please feel free to ask.

 

[ava]

Yesterday was my first cardio day with the Leviathan so I was interested to see how it would affect my heart rate. I did 5 minutes of walking followed by 20 minutes of HIIT, finished with 5 minutes of walking to cool down. I didnt notice a difference which is perfect because I didnt want to feel like my heart was going to pound out of my chest or feel light headed. I had taken one pill about 2 hours prior to the cardio.

This morning was my first two pill dose. I took them about 45 minutes prior to breakfast which included my daily 16oz of coffee. While I feel quite awake right now its not to the point of being annoying or distracting.

 

[BigDyl]

You're not supposed to have additional caffiene with Levi.




On a side note, I seem to drop off a bit from my levi high about 5-7 hours after I take a full dose.

 

[ava]

I realize that but it's my one and only one vice I have and cannot give up. And dont really want to either I'll see if I crash later this morning when they both wear off and if I crash hard then maybe I'll have to switch the timing of the two or give up on my morning coffee for a month.

 

[Palo Alto Labs]

Looking GREAT!!! Let me know if you have any questions.

Your not 'supposed' to have any other stims with Leviathan, but as long as you dose them a few hours apart, you should be fine.

 

[ava]

Days 5-10
I continued ramping the dosage as per the schedule until I was at full dose. Full dose doesnt affect me to the point that I have the jitters or annoys me but I can feel the effects after about 1/2 hour after taking it. I really like the feeling! I was a bit worried about taking these at full dose because about a year ago when I was originally trying to lose weight I tried Hydroxycut and it did something to me to where I almost passed out at the gym twice because I felt really dizzy, light headed, etc. After that I stopped taking them but was still apprehensive about the Leviathan. Those worries are now put to bed because my work outs are perfectly fine and I feel energized throughout the entire hour.

My Wednesday workout consisted of:
Day 3 Sets/Reps Rest
BB or DB Bench Press 10 x 3 60 sec
A1 - Partial DB Deadlift (Rom. DL) 4 x 6 60 sec
A2 - Standing BB Military Press 4 x 6 60 sec
B1 - Standing Calf Raise 4 x 6 60 sec
B2 - Upright Rows 4 x 6 60 sec
Tricep Pressdowns (or Fr. Press) 4 x 6 60 sec

Friday's workout consisted of:
Day 5 Sets/Reps Rest
Chin-Ups 10 x 3 70 sec
A1 - Decline BB or DB Bench Pr. 4 x 6 60 sec
A2 - Standing Hammer Curls 4 x 6 60 sec
B1 - Seated Calf Raises 4 x 6 60 sec
B2 - Glute/Ham Raise or Leg Curl 4 x 6 60 sec
Lunges or Step-Ups 4 x 6 60 sec

Cardio is done on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I dont do resistance training.

Workouts went extremely well last week and today I'll repeat day #1 workout (listed in the #2 post above) but with added weight. The schedule calls for a 2.5% increase on all weights but I'm going to try for a 5% increase each week. If I can increase 5% each week over the 4 week program and still continue to lose weight then I'll be pleased because I know I'm not sacrificing LBM.

So, on to the weight:
Last week on 4/30 I weighed 188.2 and as of today 5/7 I weigh 187.4. At one point during the week I dropped to 186.0 but I'm not sure if I was dehydrated or not and it came up over this past weekend. Also the reason it came up over the weekend could be contributed to the hamburger and 5 beers I had Friday night and another grilled burger yesterday along with potato salad. Yes, it wasnt the best of weekends for the cutting diet but I'm back on track today and will continue forth with the strict diet this week.

3/15/07 - 195
3/26/07 - 193
4/2/07 192.6
4/9/07 192
4/16/07 190
4/27/07 189 Began Leviathan
4/30/07 188.2
5/7/07 187.4

 

[Palo Alto Labs]

Relly great progress and well written log... this is very easy to follow!!!!

The dizziness you had last year from hydroxycut probably came from to strong of a dose of caffeine... i have experienced this myself with certain preworkout, RTD energy drinks..
Leviathan is very conservative on caffeine to prevent this.

 

[egodog48]

any updates on this?

 

[ava]

Update time!
I have come to the conclusion that camping and cutting dont mix very well with me. It's the combination of too much junk food that is too easily accessible and the fact that beer tastes better in the mountains that leads to trouble.
Before I left I had dropped down to 186.2 and when I returned two days later I was up to 187.8. Now, whether that was water/beer retention or the fact that I ate like shit is anybody's guess. Also combine the fact the it was a busy week and I only got 2 of 3 lifting sessions in and no cardio at all. So, back to the healthy diet this week and I'm back down to 187.0 which isnt terrible because it is still 1/2 lb less than on the 7th when I last reported but not as much as I would like.

3/15/07 - 195
3/26/07 - 193
4/2/07 192.6
4/9/07 192
4/16/07 190
4/27/07 189 Began Leviathan
4/30/07 188.2
5/7/07 187.4
5/16/07 187.0

The cool thing is that my body fat is .3% less today than measured on the 7th so pretty much all of that 1/2 lb lost is pure fat and no LBM!

As I mentioned in my original post, I also began a new workout routine at the same time I began taking Leviathan. I was doing pretty much all of the same lifts before but in a different order, different rep/set ratio, and paired with different body parts but I was familiar with all of the lifts and knew what amounts I could lift before. Well, I'm happy to report that while cutting over the past couple of weeks all of my lift weights are actually going UP! This is what is making me happier than the fact that I'm also losing some weight. Yes, the main goal is to lose weight but as I mentioned earlier I wouldnt really consider Leviathan a success unless I could maintain or even increase strength while cutting. The reason I'm a bit hard on my "success" goals is because I know that I can lose weight with or without a supplement if I keep to my diet but that is usually at the expense of some strength. Well, so far so good!

Also, last weekend wasnt a complete loss because I also did a little experiment. Last Friday I took 1/2 a dose (1 pill morning, 1 pill afternoon) and didnt take any at all Saturday or Sunday. Monday I took the regular full dose (2 pills morning, 2 pills afternoon) and I did not feel any ill effects from starting back up at full dose. So those that may accidentally miss one or two days can just start back up at full dose and more than likely not suffer any negative effects.

 

[Palo Alto Labs]

Well, I'm happy to report that while cutting over the past couple of weeks all of my lift weights are actually going UP! This is what is making me happier than the fact that I'm also losing some weight. Yes, the main goal is to lose weight but as I mentioned earlier I wouldnt really consider Leviathan a success unless I could maintain or even increase strength while cutting.

Camping is bad for cutting noooo!!! i leave for my camping trip todaaay!!! and im on a cut!! LOL all i packed is lean chicken, protein, amino's, and some good ol military MRE's.. they are delicious... oh yea..and some beer shhhh! dont tell

Great to see strenght is up!!! this is the point!! cutting is a waste if you lose muscle at the same time... get nothing accomplished!!!

Dont worry about skipping weekends, i seem to always forget all my supps on sat's and sundays and it never hurts

 

[ava]

Well, if I was going by myself then I could just pack the healthy food but when my wife and 2 kids come along they want all of the snack food that's so bad for a cut. The three of them are very skinny so they can eat whatever they want and dont put any weight on. Me on the other hand......

(Oh, I guess I cant blame them for the beer can I?)