I have been taking this and BSN NO-Xplode for about 1 month so far and they do work. Personally, I do not like them because my veins were big to begin with and these just make them huge and I do not like them being that big, but they do work. As for increasing how much you lift or how much muscle you gain, that depends on you. Of course, you need to still eat a lot of calories to gain any muscle no matter what you are on. The recommended dosage on the bottle is 3 capsules, 3 times daily on an empty stomach (which poses a problem because I eat all day long) of 2 hours and then you are suppossed to wait 45 minutes before eating again, so basically you fast for 3 hours each time you take this. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I hope this helps.