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I'm 5'10" and 150 lbs and have been working out for over a year now. My workout routine involves 3 days a week of heavy weight training with cardio warm ups. I recently bought a tub of GNC nitro-tech supplement which is supposed to help you gain lean muscle through whey proteins and such. Just wondering if anyone here knows anything about supplements or takes any since I am interested in their results.
The first thing you need to take care of before the use of supplements is your DIET. Make sure you are eating more calories then you are burning and make sure you are eating enough PROTEIN! It should be about 1-1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight. So make sure your diet is solid first.
Now, on to supplements:
The most important, and most overlooked supplement is the multivitamin! A very cheap, and effective supplement that EVERYONE needs to take.
It is going to be hard to eat that much protein by natural, whole foods. So a good, solid Protein powder mix will be good. 100 % ON Whey is the best (that is the brand name.)
Another supplement that you might want to look into is Creatine. Creatine is basically supplies energy to your muscles. Its a high-powered metabolite and it's used to regenerate the muscles' ultimate energy source, ATP.... ATP=ENERGY=GROWTH.
This is just a very, VERY broad overview of the topic. I'm not claiming to be an expert and I am probably mistaken on a few of these things. But go to bodybuilding.com, its where I learned most of my stuff from.
Thanks for the info. My diet and multivitamins are good but I am a complete rookie when it comes to supplements. I went into the store hoping that someone there could help me out but with not much luck. After I fininsh my tub of nitro tech i'm thinking of switching to pure whey protein ( sounds healthier) and maybe take a bit of monocreatine (not the insane amounts mixed in my current protein which seem unhealthy).Quote:
Originally Posted by Repo!
I'll head over to the site you suggested. thanks again for the help
I started taking creatine monohydrate when I was a sophomore in high school. By the end of the semester I had gained 15 pounds and my bench,squat, and power clean all shot way up. I became pound for pound the strongest kid on the football team because of creatine. The only thing with creatine is that it only works for so long, after you take it so many times it loses its affect. I started taking no-xplode recently and I really like it. I haven't gained a lot of weight since I started taking it but it's really great for energy and focus. I used to have one eye on the clock whenever I would workout, but now I just want to keep going. I do extra sets just because it feels so good. I have noticed that I look a little thicker and I have veins sticking out where they didn't use to stick out, but I still weigh basically the same.Quote:
Originally Posted by mcbambam
Yeah, nitro tech is full of a bunch of crap. You want to stick to the basics. If i were you I would take:
1) A solid protein mix (I recommend 100% ON Whey... It's the most trusted brand and like number one seller and all the jazz.
2) A SOLID multivitamin. Not just the little one-a-day for men multivitamin If you're serious about gaining muscle, you're going to need a better multivitamin. Those little ones are for men who sit around a cubicle all day doing paperwork. You're gonna need one that really feeds your muscles.
3) A good creatine mix. I'd recommend Creatine monohydrate. Its a simple, basic, and PURE creatine. Unlike the nitrotech you're taking which has a bunch of unhealthy crap in it.
Those are the most basic things you need. Once you get a good DIET down and good routine down, you can start adding more things but as a beginner anymore then this will just do more harm then good! Best of luck man!
What about the whey protein they sell in wal-mart?Quote:
Originally Posted by Repo!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Nb8DOoLyFw...s400/whey2.JPG
There is nothing wrong with that! It's just 100% ON is like it says, basically 100% whey protein. That stuff from Walmart IS whey protein, but not as PURE as something like the ON (they add a bunch of bunny-fluff extras.) But like I said, there is nothing wrong with that stuff, it will work perfectly fine..ON is just a higher quality!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff777
These guys are right, just stick with standard protein shakes and, if you want to, creatine.
Be careful with Creatine. I took it when I was weightlifting, and yeah... it made me a lot stronger. Amazing stuff really!! But it also caused problems with my heart. I've since heard that other people have had heart problems from it too. What it did to me is this... sometimes my heart would just stop beating for a while. For the space of three or four normal heartbeats, sometimes longer. It usually happened when I was in bed, just when I got all relaxed and was about to fall asleep. I'd usually hit my chest once or twice and it would start again... no idea if it started because I hit my chest or if it was going to start again anyway, but when it dod restart it was with a huge adrenaline rush, and it freaked me out really bad. I stopped taking it needless to say, and very soon lost the strength and muscle size it had given me.
Research before starting to use it. Word to the wise.
Oh, I should add... when I stopped using Creatine the heart problems cleared up. I don't remember if it happened right away or gradually (this was about 10 years ago).