Gym Supplements

[greenvs]

Just after some advice on protein powders/ creatine etc. Just about to start at the gym and wondering what the best supplements are to take and what sort will be most beneficial. Cheers

[Joe Peeps]

if your just starting out all you need is to make sure your eating enough - whey protein can help to ensure you get your required protein and overall calories

actually more info required - not lactose intolerant or anything? how much can you spend on food per day? what is your goal in the gym?

whats your diet like - please list a typical days food.

[padrickz88]

I never used protein powder and still gained a fair amount, what i used to do is have an average sized breaky and 5-6 smaller meals a day that are high in protein and/or carbs, worked well

(but to be honest, train hard and rest alot, just remember rest is VERY important)
Also not to mention protein is expensive.

[Jebadayah]

Also depends on what your goals are. Different supplements for muscle mass gain as opposed to straight out weight loss / tone. Best bet is to talk to someone that works at the gym, a personal trainer etc.

[Red Ranger]

as said it depends on your goal and your current physical form. i just use to do dead weights for 3 hours (pyramids), the some quick bag work and a half hour walk, 6 days per week, 3 weeks per month, ate shit loads of pasta (carbonara mostly), brocoli , musashi 4 times a day, creatine, amino acid,
And lots of sleep at least 8 hours a day...

in 3 months I went from 60kg bench, 10 kg butterfly each arm, 30kg preacher, 15kg bicep curl and 40kg skull crushers..
to 135kg bench, 40kg butterfly each arm, 70kg preacher, 40kg bicep each arm and 90kg scull crushers..

not big gains really hahaha i only put on about 20kg

[shadetreemechanic]

I've taken Horley's Awesome Mass, its a mass gainer/protein combo
Very happy with it but it suits my high metabolism. I gained 10 Kg in no time.

[kuzman89]

Bulk Nutrients

I order all my stuff of them, they are very well priced and very good quality, compared to GNC crap anyway. I take WPC (81% protein) pre workout and WPI (91%) post. I just started on creatine monohydrate and starting to notice a pretty big difference, just remember to drink lots of water if your on it. I do it 4-5 nights a week depending on work, but start uni again so aiming for a solid 6 days a week. I do it all from my home gym.

[Full Spectrum]

I can understand people needing supplements when they are naturally thin. but for the rest of us. we can naturally and cheaply eat the required protein over the day with a good based 5-6 meals. it's always better to have protein in 5-6 serves rather than big large hits. like some eat a chicken. or 300g steak lol.
If you spread and plan your meals over the day and include 25-30g protein in them all. you simply don't need supplements your already there.

There are more ways to supplements than just building muscle. some can use them as a meal replacement. people who worry about that extra meal doing damage when your trying to keep your weight in check.

[Red Ranger]

after a good weight session you need protein intake within 40 minutes. unless you want your body to eat your muscle tissue..

anyway op.. what is your physical form at the moment? are you over weight? what is your goal? are you serious about it? long term? or is this a fad?

p.s. be careful with this, weight's\working out is seriously addictive stuff

[Full Spectrum]

Protein bar. 150 calories low carbs low sugar 20g protein. horleys make some beautiful low calorie/carb bars.

[greenvs]

Atm im 87 kg and 185cmm tall. I would like to trim down some of the fat from around my abdomen firstly before trying to start on the weights. my fitness atm is good because of football training. Doing 1km sprints in a tad under 3.30. Would it be better to remove the body fat from around my stomach before starting on the weights or start weights straight away.

[Jesterarts]

I started going to gym at the start of last year. I went twice a week and did a 1 hour gym session. In terms of nutrition, I just started eating larger portions.
So fairly light commitment.
I started at about 89kg and now I'm 95kg.
Still got a snack pack though so this year I've dropped the gym and taken up martial arts again as it's great cardio.
My goal was to tone up a bit and get fit as I work in IT.
So i've hit the toning goal, just working on the fitness now.
Every trainer I know says the same thing. You can bulk up to a point just eating right. 95% of people who take supps are missing most of it away at the end of the day.
Only really need to hit supps when you're at the gym a couple hours each day.
And if you are on supps when you don't need them, you're stressing your body more because it needs to work to remove the excess from your body.
Best thing to do is see someone at the gym who is qualified to give you the correct information. Work out your goals, work out a weekly routine, trial if you can stick to it as supps are no good if your system when you're at home on the couch because you cbf going to gym, and go from there.
Good luck with it mate.

Sent from my HTC Magic

[minux]

lol..supplements, making people rich since people started truly believing they did anything.

[HamaTime™]

As said before, you don't need protein supplements.

Just get your diet into shape. I do 3 1hr weight sessions a week (at 6am before work) Chest, Back/Bi's, Legs & Shoulders - all followed by a short cardio sesh and abs workout. And I'm easily chucking on extra bulk, my weight isn't really going anywhere, sticking at around 85kg as I lose the excess body fat and turn that into muscle bulk.

My diet is:

Breakfast On gym days, a protein shake/protein revival (like the little up and go things) usually a bowl of lower fat cereal like weetbix or oatmeal, or baked beans on toast

Morning Tea small serving of mixed nuts (cashews, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachio's) with a piece of fruit. usually an apple.

Lunch Medium serve of rice with meat, either red, or chicken or tuna

Afternoon Tea piece of fruit (different to morning tea) or whatever is around

Dinner Protein - Fish or red/white meat with veggies/salad and small amount of carbs i.e. potato/rice/bread/pasta (cut the carbs later in the day - stack the protein and veggies on)

[minux]

Hama, that is it, it is all about diet. I went from 90 to 108 in the army after 6 months gym work. No supplements just diet and hard work. the guys on supplements got no where. Sadly though, when you get injured and it all turns to shit, that bulk goes to a lot of fat

[CSP]

But you're still sexy mate! LOL!!!

[HamaTime™]

Hama, that is it, it is all about diet. I went from 90 to 108 in the army after 6 months gym work. No supplements just diet and hard work. the guys on supplements got no where. Sadly though, when you get injured and it all turns to shit, that bulk goes to a lot of fat

Yeah that's the curse with weight training. When I have kids and no longer have time to keep up with my gym routine, I'm going to turn to flab.
But diet is the thing, what you put in determines what you get out. It's not all about how much protein you can stack in through shakes (which have alot of sugar and calories) it's about maintaining a balanced diet where you focus on protein for muscle growth with carbs to support you for the workout and for daily living, with vegies/fruit and good fats for health...

Real fresh food in the right portions at the right time is the key to health. You can eat maccas 3 times a day, have protein shakes and hit the gym 5 days a week and your body will go nowhere...are you healthy because your eating alot of protein and doing alot of exercise? No...your not giving your body the right nutrition to support itself.

Diet is the key.

[Deutscher]

If your set on gaining muscle... expect food costs to rise.

When I was a gym junkie for a while I swear I was constantly hungry. Spent a heap on food.
I have my protein shake after a workout and water/creatine before workout.
I stopped the gym and took up martial arts instead. Looking for more of a tone than bulk muscle.
Now I've moved out of my oldies house and paying a mortgage at 22... working full time and hardly get time to do anything. before I got the mortgage I was at martial arts 4 times a week for 1-3hrs.

I'm 172cm and weight ~65kgs.
My daily intake consists of:
glass Chocolate milk at work for breaky. 1x sausage & cheese roll & 2x thin cheese pizza slices for lunch. 1-2cans Coke/Mother throughout the day. Dinner.... last night I had 2 slices of white bread with 4 slices salami. +1L of Berri Orange Juice & my protein shake after my 30min workout.

I just don't get time anymore.

[T-rex]

One thing as well is if you want to get stronger you'll have to put on weight, if you want to get toned you'll have to lose it, generally speaking. But to be honest I haven't seen much of a gain on it yet, but I've been in and out with my back pain so I haven't been at the gym as often.

[fat damo]

Drink lots of water.. Muscles are made up of 70% water

[Maxxiz]

Just dont be a tosser, have a balanced diet, correct portions, water and you'll be fine, you can find plenty of protein in a balanced diet.
Supplements are a crock of shite.

[padrickz88]

Also forgot to mention, train your legs like a crazy mofo....

Also look on youtube under the channel ice1cube, the guy has done some gym workout video's and he is pretty massive, apparently no supplements etc, all the stuff he says is pretty motivational aswell.... Some of the workouts are pretty brutal, he has a leg workout on there that one of my mates done(he was at the gym for a while) and had trouble walking the next day

Personally im a big fan of compound exercises, i dont do many isolations... Just need to find out what is the best for what you want to achieve

[psycho_smurf]

I used to take creatine all the time. It took my recovery time from two days of pain down to one day of pain, so I could train every monday wednesday friday. Now that I'm older it takes me 3 days to recover from anything serious. Getting old rules!

[Joe Peeps]

As said before, you don't need protein supplements.

Just get your diet into shape. I do 3 1hr weight sessions a week (at 6am before work) Chest, Back/Bi's, Legs & Shoulders - all followed by a short cardio sesh and abs workout. And I'm easily chucking on extra bulk, my weight isn't really going anywhere, sticking at around 85kg as I lose the excess body fat and turn that into muscle bulk.
...

might want to add tris to your chest day (assuming you dont already) :P

[SuperSixty6]

Interesting to see all the people bagging Protein supplements, Second word supplement. They aren't designed to be your diet, Yes i agree some people take them too much and expect way too much, Especially the weight loss ones. Never ceases to amaze me the people that get caught up in it all and forget to actually conduct the exercise.
At the moment i am taking BSN true mass, Ill start cutting again towards the end of summer and go back to ON as they make some good lean mass proteins. I take one shake a day, On training days directly after a workout just to fill any gaps in my diet. BSN i have found to have a very good taste, Along with ON though, They both mix well.

If you aren't taking Protein, I would still recommend creatine. I'll smash myself at the gym, And creatine does help with the pain the next day. Probably recommend a Pre mixed solution there too, Monohydrate is very hard for the body to absorb.