Dietery supplements for muscle mass

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sargentlard

Save the whales motherfucker
Valued Senior Member
I've been working out for 1+ year now but have seen very little progress, so I've decided to incorporate supplements into my diet for faster results.

What kind are good? Whey protein or Creatin? I don't want anything which I have to get dependant on. I'm weary of what I put into my body therefore i've been avoiding putting that stuff into my body in the first place but as it stands, im not seeing results. I burn out while lifting weights very quick and can't benchpress much.

Anybody take supplements here?
 
I was on all kinds of shit. Pro-hormones, creatine everything. I spent probably thousands on supplements over my early twenties and my advice would be to not bother. I put on about a few pounds but if you think you are going to end up like arnie you are very much mistaken. Take it from me!its a ripoff man. People you aspire to are on steriods no what or where for. Anything lagal is bollocks! Your aspirations
mean steroids pure and simple Im afraid.
 
sargentlard said:
I've been working out for 1+ year now but have seen very little progress, so I've decided to incorporate supplements into my diet for faster results.

What kind are good? Whey protein or Creatin? I don't want anything which I have to get dependant on. I'm weary of what I put into my body therefore i've been avoiding putting that stuff into my body in the first place but as it stands, im not seeing results. I burn out while lifting weights very quick and can't benchpress much.

Anybody take supplements here?
Click to expand...
Alright I've been working out on and off for more then 10 years now, I've tried creatin and all that protein shit and saw no results thats because it wasn't assisting me to build mass and stamina at my pace and frequency.

The effects of supplements can vary on a persons biological makeup, I tried creatin for a couple weeks and threw it away...All I can say is stick to a healthy balanced carbohydrate and protein diet supplimented my good rest and you should develop your own frequency where you who know exactly what part of your body responds to a workout cycle.

Mostly importantly focus on intensity rather than buring out on a series of sets. Always set your workouts to a specific time period say 45 min or 1hr max. Then develop a frequency for a particular muscle workout say biceps or triceps under a time scale where you focus on intensity instead of how many reps you need to do.

Always remember to eat at least an hour or two before a workout session in oder for your stomach to enable blood digest your food. you need the blood flowing when pumping iron,..not while digestion!

you don't want to be looking like dracula on a blood diet sitting on a bench. :D

And most importantly make sure you got the right technique and method in lifting weights. This is to effectively build more mass within less time and not to injure youself while doing it.
 
1) if you look like your avatar... you dont need to lift weights.. you need to jog.... alot.. or get a skiing machine or something... you need to burn alot of calories.

2) otherwise.. if it is your desire to exercise.. but you arent seeing results...
its because... you arent doing enough exercise..



first... do you want to build up massive stupid bulky muscles..??
or do you want real strenght that lasts more than 5 reps?

I, have rheumatism... and it utterly prevented me from lifting weights.

untill.. i began taking DHEA.. availible in any health/ vitamin shoppe.

it literally turns into testostorone in the body... it is a steriod.
its been used for about 70 years... and is so safe.. its over the counter.

I use.. 2, 10 pound weights... one in each arm.. and i do various lifts.

somedays.. i will do 50 to 75 reps per arm.. others i will do 200.

normally... i do a work out.. and i get burnt out.. like you do.
but with DHEA... i just dont.

all i need is alittle rest between sets... ill do 50 lifts over my head each arm.
wait a few minutes... then do another 50..

i try to do that as many times a day as i can.. which is usually about 2 or 3.

i figure when i get to 500 a day, i will raise the weights to 20 lbs each.

right now... i max out at 80 reps... and i have to stop and start again.

i have noticed serious massive gains...

when i began, almost a year ago... i could barely lift a 10 lb weight more than 5 or so times.

-MT
 
Mosheh Thezion said:
1) if you look like your avatar... you dont need to lift weights.. you need to jog.... alot.. or get a skiing machine or something... you need to burn alot of calories.

2) otherwise.. if it is your desire to exercise.. but you arent seeing results...
its because... you arent doing enough exercise..



first... do you want to build up massive stupid bulky muscles..??
or do you want real strenght that lasts more than 5 reps?

I, have rheumatism... and it utterly prevented me from lifting weights.

untill.. i began taking DHEA.. availible in any health/ vitamin shoppe.

it literally turns into testostorone in the body... it is a steriod.
its been used for about 70 years... and is so safe.. its over the counter.

I use.. 2, 10 pound weights... one in each arm.. and i do various lifts.

somedays.. i will do 50 to 75 reps per arm.. others i will do 200.

normally... i do a work out.. and i get burnt out.. like you do.
but with DHEA... i just dont.

all i need is alittle rest between sets... ill do 50 lifts over my head each arm.
wait a few minutes... then do another 50..

i try to do that as many times a day as i can.. which is usually about 2 or 3.

i figure when i get to 500 a day, i will raise the weights to 20 lbs each.

right now... i max out at 80 reps... and i have to stop and start again.

i have noticed serious massive gains...

when i began, almost a year ago... i could barely lift a 10 lb weight more than 5 or so times.

-MT
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Its not how much exercise you do its how you do it!

2-10 pound weights at 50-75 reps!!!...who is your trainer jane fonda???
you not gonna get anywhere with that..you will simply burn off any fat left over to convert to real mass. Excess repetitions and lower weights will reduce your mass considerbly ..it's purely an aerobic technique which girls in bikini workout video's do all the time.

Unless you are trying to look like pamela anderson of course!!
Increase weights matched with less repetetions within minimum time thats the key!

Think of a lemon, squeeze it till to last drop,..that last drop is the spark that jump starts your muscle to expand!

Keep that in mind and when you lifting weights!
 
maybe you are not lifting heavy enough weights. seriously, you may need to increase the weight so that you can't even get 10 reps out of it. that will build you up. otherwise you are just building endurance, and from you post, it sounds like you want bulk.
 
How much do you weigh, sarge, if you don't mind us asking. Judging by your pic, I'm guessing somewhere in the 140-160 range.

That means you're not going to be moving much weight, anyway, due to the whole size thing. The best way to get bigger, then, is to just use bigger weights.

Of course, you'll get big bulky stupid useless muscles, good for nothing but moving things. I'm always a proponent of pull-ups, dips and push-ups.
 
First of all thank you guys. Second of all ;I don't wanan bulk, don't want my neck to get larger than my head, I just want to get toned. See muscle definition without looking like human triangle.

Sorta like Brad Pitt in Fight club or an average soccer player's body.

Cato

I've slowly started to up my weights but with liften weights I burn out fast.

Vega

This is what my lifting looks like

I do the first set with 12 reps easy

Second set with 10 reps with mild trouble

Third set with barely 8 reps

If I get to 4th set I can do about 4-5 reps at best.



My problem is nutrition and intake times. I eat like 4-5 hours before lifting weights and I don't eat lot. Plus I do 20mins of HIIT cardio before lifting weights. Also I eat wrong, I try to eat right but so many conflicting opinions on the right nutrition I get lost.

I have started to incorporate lot more fruits and veggies into my diet, cut back on all soda and drinks (I only drank diet stuff but even thats out now), only water goes in my body now.

My main focus is my abdominals right now as I am tired of sucking in my gut for years and want to be able to go to beach and now hide in a shirt. But abs are like a nightmare right now.



also...is masturbation or lack of it better for toning up?
 
COUNT CALORIES... and exercise.. areobicly.. and it will all go away.

but you must hold your hands firm.... at about 1500 calories a day. max.

if you want to eat more volume, eat cantalope and carrots.
they have almost no calories to speak of... and you cant eat 10 carrot.
since they are at 10 calories a piece on average.. per 100 gram serving.

you will need a good kitchen scale.

and you will need commitment.

-MT
 
I have noticed clearly as i have been regaining my strength, that there seems to be a direct corrilation with the reps and the weight.

i.e.. if i lift a 10 lb weight 10 times.. and max out.
i am always be able to lift the 20 lb weight about 5 times.

and when i could lift the 10 lb weight 20 times.
ii could then lift the 20 lb weight 10 times.

now.. as i can lift the 10 lb weight up to 50 times in one arm.
i can now also lift the 20 lb weight about 25 times in one arm.

thus far... it growth has parralled... and i grow stronger each day.

-MT
 
Ahhh, if your die'en in workouts, I would sugest that you drink maby a cup of coffie(it dosent have to be hot just down it maby 20 min before working out) I know caffine helps me personaly, and I recently read a study that said it helps your body metalblise (sp?) fatty tissue, and it dose have anti-oxdents in it (its not as bad as its sterotype!) but yeah, I also but Whey protines and will take maby half a scupe before i workout (its nice to have with food but you can always mix it with any liquid, altho it dosent taist the best) and to trim up rember CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO,eheh. also i go to the gym and i will see people doing cardio for maby an hour and they only burn maby 180-220 calories, i usualy limit my self to 30minuets. I will burn form 500-600 on a average day and if I want to Look even more toned I will do 750+ a day (and thats Just in the gym).

My personal take on creatine is that it dosent help that much and it is hard on you organs, but i know people that swear by that with other stacks but they are moer the type that wants to get as BIG as possable, on the other hand Im more about the definition like yourself :)


My 02 cents
 
The thing with cardio is that the more I do the punier I start to look. My muscle definition (whatever little I have) starts to wear away and I just look scrawny.
 
ehe, thats cus you need to build up. mussels have fat within them witch makes them look larger if you lose that fat storage you mussels can become "smaller" and they are not as hard. This is where creatine can help some people because it retains water in you mussles so they stay bigger and have a more "pumped" look to them, also nitrus come in handy.

From what i have read (www.wannabebigforum.com is great) and tryed myself, it is very hard to get lean and get bigger at the same time. so what works is to get at a good body fat percentage then try to gain mussel and you might grain a little fat with it also, but you alerdy achieved slightly under you desired bf% / build. What body fat % are you at now?(if you know)

-n8
 
sargentlard said:
I've been working out for 1+ year now but have seen very little progress, so I've decided to incorporate supplements into my diet for faster results.

What kind are good? Whey protein or Creatin? I don't want anything which I have to get dependant on. I'm weary of what I put into my body therefore i've been avoiding putting that stuff into my body in the first place but as it stands, im not seeing results. I burn out while lifting weights very quick and can't benchpress much.

Anybody take supplements here?
Click to expand...

Whey is best for only two times (if you want the best bang for your buck): Pre-breakfast and post-workout.

Any other protein should be casein (milk's protein is 80% casein and 20% whey) and from other food.

Take 1 g of protein for every pound you weigh. I am 193 lbs so I should take in 193 g of protein a day.

Remember that protein supplements are around to ASSIST you in taking in the protein you need. If you get all the protein you need from food, you don't need to buy protein.

Figure out your maintanence calories. You can easily figure this out (well statistically) on the internet. Use lots of researches to obtain a good average. Once you know your maintanence calories, add 500 calories for weight gain.

You need to realize that it's hard to not put on fat while packing on muscle (this is because when you build muscle, you're body needs nutrients and fat helps you out with this.. exactly how I do not know).

You need a balance of carbs/protein/fat. The ratios I shoot for are 40%/40%/20% of my calories come from carbs/protein/fats. 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories. 1 gram of protein = 4 calories. 1 gram of fat = 9 calories.

Creatine is something your body produces and you get from food. Your body's source of energy is ATP. When it is used up, it turns in to ADP and your body cannot do much to gain energy from this. Creatine turns it BACK intp ATP. The results: more endurance, stronger lifts. More endurance means you can work out longer and stronger lifts mean you tear up your muscles. And you gain more muscle. Creatine also shortens your recovery time.

If you want to take creatine, take 2-5 grams a day. After your workout, take 2-5 grams with some dextrose.

I hope I helped. I am fairly new at this lifting stuff, but I am learning a lot as I go.
 
sargentlard said:
The thing with cardio is that the more I do the punier I start to look. My muscle definition (whatever little I have) starts to wear away and I just look scrawny.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't suggest doing much cardio while you lift weights. If your goals are to get big (muscles, not fat!), then limit your cardio to 20 minutes on your off days.. and make it light.

Here is what I learned about this. Your body burns carbs for energy. When you start to run out of carbs, the next easiest thing to burn for a source of energy is protein. If you are wanting to put on muscle, this is a bad thing for you.

When you pack on the muscle... then you can do exercise that is really just maintenance. And check out this proven diet to cut fat: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=36497

It sounds like Atkins.. but it is NOT! Atkins burns a lot of muscle (along with fat). This diet only burns the fat (if done right).
 
it is easier.... to do 200 reps at 10 lbs.. than 20 reps at 100 lbs.
either way... your doing the same amount of work.

doing alot of reps... lets you do an areobic exercise, at the same time that you increase strenght.

you may loose weight... thats good.. and at the same time.. you muscles get stronger...

being lean... is good... being lean with muscles like cords of hardened steel is better.

only a workout with alot of reps can make you hard.
doing few reps, and alot of weight.. will give you size.. but it will be soft muscle.

-MT
 
Absane, that is a asome like to that diet, very intersting. I think that I might give it a try!! thanks!
 
Mosheh Thezion said:
it is easier.... to do 200 reps at 10 lbs.. than 20 reps at 100 lbs.
either way... your doing the same amount of work.

doing alot of reps... lets you do an areobic exercise, at the same time that you increase strenght.
Click to expand...

I got to disagree on the whole strength bit.

200 reps of 10 lbs. Yes, the same amount of work as lifting 100 lbs for 20 reps. However, you gain muscle mass by doing reps in the 8-12 range. This is because when you put more weight on the bar and you try to lift it, you recruit more muscle fibers. More muscle fiber recruitment means you make more micro tears in the tissue. Hence, more repair is needed and more muscle is added to resist future tearing.

Doing a lot of reps does very little except for endurance training. Yes, you will see people that do 200+ pushups a day and have a huge chest from doing so. However, this isn't muscle mass that was added. This is actually nutrient loading. This has nothing to do with strength.

You will actuall see this happen if you hang out in a gym long enough: some big guy (muscle wise, not fat) comes in and starts a strength training program. Over the next few weeks, you will see the size of his muscles actually DECREASE. He hasn't lost any muscle fibers or fat. It's nutrient deloading.
 
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