Ephedrine & ECA stack: The OG fat-burner

Ephedrine is a sympathomimetic amine structurally related to amphetamines. Ephedrine is found in Ephedra, a plant found throughout Asia, Europe and America.

Ephedrine is often prescribed for the treatment of Asthma and other respiratory diseases, and it’s also used to keep blood pressure from dropping during anesthesia.

Ephedrine is also a stimulant that can increase heart rate and metabolism, so it has been used for fat loss by bodybuilders for decades, and it’s still considered one of the most effective and powerful fat burners one can use.

Benefits of ephedrine

Ephedrine works in a similar fashion to Clenbuterol. It increases noradrenaline secretion by modulating adrenergic receptors, causing bronchodilation, an increase in heart rate and an acceleration in metabolism.

Here’s what you can expect from Ephedrine:

• Ephedrine will allow you to lose fat fater.
• Ephedrine will allow you to get leaner than your body would naturally want to be.
• Ephedrine will increase energy and focus.
• Ephedrine will decrease appetite.
• Ephedrine will improve breathing.

Side-effects of ephedrine

As you can imagine, these benefits come with a hefty price:

• Ephedrine will increase heart rate and blood pressure.
• Ephedrine will increase body temperature and sweating.
• Ephedrine may cause anxiety and tremors.
• Ephedrine may cause insomnia.
• Ephedrine can cause heart enlargement and myocarditis if used continuously.

Even though it shares most of the side-effects of Clenbuterol, Ephedrine causes them to a lesser degree, so it’s regarded as a safer drug with a more favorable risk:benefit ratio.

Ephedrine protocol for bodybuilders

I personally recommend taking Ephedrine in the morning before fasted cardio or a workout. In my opinion, you should start at 12.5mg for the first 2 weeks, then 20 to 25mg for the next 2 weeks, and 30 to 37.5mg for the last 2 weeks. If you don’t tolerate higher doses well, just stay on a lower dose instead.

If you take short breaks in between, you can remain on lower doses for long periods of time, but you will miss out on fat-burning potential.

Due to the short half-life of Ephedrine, the side-effects don’t last for too long, and they can usually be mitigated by doing cardio and staying well-hydrated. Many users find that taking it with 5mg of Nebivolol per day mitigates most cardiovascular side-effects.

Ephedrine can also be used as part of the popular ECA stack, which includes Caffeine and Aspirin.

The ECA stack

ECA stack was extremely popular and widely used between the 70s and early 2000s. It was seriously powerful and effective, but it was also extremely attractive because it could be acquired over the counter. Unfortunately, Ephedrine was banned in the mid-2000s, and it became much harder to source.

Believe it or not, you can find scientific papers from the early 90s in which they studied the effectiveness of E+C or E+C+A vs the effectiveness of just taking E or C, and they found that the stacks could provide more weight loss with less side-effects.

The reasoning behind adding Caffeine and Aspirin to the stack, is that they can enhance the results of Ephedrine use by extending its effectiveness through the modulation of norepinephrine levels (which Ephedrine increases).

Therefore, you can expect ECA to have the same benefits and side-effects as taking Ephedrine alone, but they are amplified and extended.

Dosing ECA stack

Traditional broscience says that you should be dosing the 3 ingredients up to 3 times a day, but that’s a recipe for disaster and insomnia. In my opinion, you should only take them in the morning in a fasted state, and then do exercise for best results:

• Ephedrine should be dosed as indicated in the Ephedrine post (12.5mg for 2 weeks, 20 to 25mg next two weeks, 30 to 37.5mg next two weeks). Take it in the morning.
• Caffeine at 200mg, in the morning as well.
• Baby Aspirin at 81mg, in the morning together with E & C.

In conclusion, Ephedrine is a powerful fat-burner that can provide incredible results on its own, but take fat-loss to the next level when combined with Caffeine and Aspirin as part of the ECA stack. The side-effects are serious, but can be managed by following the right dosing and harm-mitigation protocols.