Amp Human? --put the lotion on--Thoughts?

I purchased some and meh. It was a quick team ride and familiar route and still felt the normal burn at the usual hammer segs but maybe a tad less. Placebo effect or expecting some crazy no pain legs? I will definitely give it a another go Sunday at the CX race and report back.

(controversial ending to post BUT Lance endorses it)

A few comments in another thread.

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Letā€™s see if this thread takes off, from the link it looks like there are more + reviews. BTW, I have nothing to do with the company that sells it.

As 47 year race guy I am looking for any easy advantages :rofl:

Been using it since it was called Topical Edge. Use it all the time for races - before and after and some hard group rides. Placebo or not, Iā€™m about it.

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It puts the lotion on the skin if ya want to win a race again. I rate this stuff, will be buying another tube.

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Does the Auto Trader come with the lotion?108978326_medium_1494301942

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Put me in the IT WORKS column.

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I used a similar product, although slightly different mechanism. Instead of bicarb it is topical carnosine (think beta alanine) in a lab setting with lactate testing. For the two different tests, when using a buffering product, basically the first anaerobic effort was the highest during the series of tests (did it on different days) and had measurably less lactate response for the first anaerobic bout. However, total lactate concentration at the end of 6x30s full gas efforts was the same, and total work (or average power over them) was the same. Youā€™re probably more limited by Wā€™ or anaerobic work capacity than these type of products can really overcome. RPE was significantly lower, but it looks like mostly marginal gain in performance if you can really gut out the hard efforts. If racing by RPE though, thereā€™s definitely a mental edge in that it doesnā€™t hurt as much to go deep in the well.

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I tried it. Itā€™s messy. You are supposed to put it on long before the workout starts and I canā€™t figure out how to do that without getting it on everything my legs touch thereafter. Also, I canā€™t come up with any way to measure if it works. Less cramping? How do I know I would have had more cramping on that ride?

It may very well work, but if I canā€™t measure that it worked, itā€™s not worth the mess to me.

Having said that, customer service was fantastic. Not only did they refund my purchase quickly and in a positive way, they also made recommendations on how to best use the product until it runs out. I would buy and try with confidence in the company.

wait. Iā€™m confused again. Are you supposed to eat the stuff? Or are the magic ingredients supposed to migrate through your skin into your muscles and blood stream?

The latter (through the skin).

Do NOT eat it.

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I use it for racing onlyā€¦I mix it with a tiny bit of water which makes it easier to rub in, I also wear nitrile gloves because it leaves a slippery residue on your hands which is hard to wash offā€¦I notice less leg burnā€¦only downside is that it attracts dirt like crazyā€¦I finish a mtb race looking like I rolled in dirt.

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Sounds like another round of overpriced voodoo to me :man_shrugging:

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I bought some earlier, but then I decided to start SSB1LV plan and saw no point in using it. Iā€™m waiting until more intense workouts to test it.

Stolen from my prior comment:

I started experimenting with AMP HP recently as well. I even went as far as doing a untreated left, and treated right leg recently to see if I could tell a difference. There was a subtle, but real difference in the feel of my legs. One way to describe it is almost like a numbing effect.

I just donā€™t get the typical burn or pain in the treated muscles. It may well be at least partly placebo effect, but I do think there is something to the lotion. Iā€™m honestly surprised there isnā€™t more discussion about it when you see all the other marginal gains discussions.


Adding to my older thoughts, each time I use it, I notice way less burn in the legs in peak and sustained efforts over Threshold. I can focus more on the engine via my breathing, heart rate and RPE. The AMP seems to keep the legs to a point where I notice some fatigue, but it is not distracting or leading me to reduce my effort.

Placebo or not, I like the results and the cost is fair enough for me to consider use. They have a new formula set for release, that seems to address the application and surface condition issues. If it is still effective, I see minimal reasons for people not to try it at the very least. Itā€™s sure a lot cheaper than the Keytone movement that is equally wishy-washy for ā€œrealā€ data and resultsā€¦

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I use it when I race and I definitely notice a difference. Itā€™s as if I can better ignore the burning sensations at or above threshold (which is where I spend most of my time during the park races I do), which allows me to go harder for longer.
I donā€™t use it during training though.

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It love it that you thought to a do a left / right leg comparison. --fist bumpā€“

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Thanks. It is very subject to placebo even in my case, since I applied to one leg and not the other. I knew which to expect a different and not the other. But even with that, I think it points to a more in depth approach by someone.

If I can find a suitable ā€œfakeā€ cream that has a similar ā€œfeelā€ when on the leg, my wife offered to apply for me so I donā€™t know which leg has the good stuff. That would be a single-blind option.

The better path would be for a 3rd party install and label two generic tubes with an ā€˜Aā€™ or ā€˜Bā€™. Then my wife applies them and labels the leg and sample number. I do the test and report results. Cross reference that with the actual info and you have something closer to a double-blind (which aims to eliminate potential influence from all directions).

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Iā€™ve noticed that if someone tends to be a more anaerobic inclined athlete, they are more likely to notice a difference. Most of the TT guys I talk to canā€™t tell a difference but a lot of the crit and Mtb folks like it.

For me, I use it on race days and notice a small but nice difference. Itā€™s part of my race prep routine that makes my brain know that itā€™s ā€œgo timeā€

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Anybody know if the formulation for the original ā€œTopical Edgeā€ is the same as the current Amp Human? I have a few packets left that I got a couple of years ago that Iā€™m thinking of using again after reading all this discussion.