Hey guys! Whats up? I am sorry If this has been posted a lot before, but I attempted to search and could not find exactly what I was looking for. I have decided ot being to workout, to lose this extra fat I have, and to start bulking up, and to just look hot . Anyway, I have heard a lot about supplements. I was wondering if any of you could tell me what supplements would be good to take. Should I be taking protein shakes and creatine? Other stuff? What do you think?
P.S. - My mom (Im only 17) is really worried about me taking supplements. She keeps asking if its going to affect my growth or anything since im still growing. Does anyone know of any bad side effects to anything like this? Thanks again.
P.P.S. - I am 17 years old, about 5’10-5’11 and weigh about 170. Im not FAT, but I do have a gut and extra fat on my body I REALLY want to get rid of. I am now trying to figure out what type of diet to be on. Please help me out! What do I need to do to lose weight and start building muscle. I am completely clueless so please help me out!!!
No need for supplements until you learn how to eat and train. Start with this article: “The Bodybuilder’s Hierarchy of Needs” by Chris Shugart. That will put things in perspective.
Next read the “Dawg School” articles, especially the one that talks about common newbie mistakes. Then read “Youth Gone Wild” and the “Beginner’s Blast Off Program”. Then read “The Missing Ingredient” and “Thing’s We’ve Learned”.
Whew! That should get you started! You can find all these in the previous issues section of T-mag or the search engine. See links over to the left of this page.
Start out by reading all of t-mag’s articles on nutrition especially the articles written by Chris Shugart, John Berardi, and Lonnie Lowerly. Where you are right now, the only supplements that I would recommend to you are protein powder, surge(post workout drink, multivitamin, and some EFA’s(flax,olive, and fish oils). Good luck.
Harrison,
Alright bro, before you even think about getting any supplements, you need to first and foremost focus on your diet!!! Supplements are NOT going to compensate for a poor diet. You stated you are at 170 lbs, and that you want to gain some muscle. Well, you need to eat in order to do so. At 170 lbs, I dont think you need to concentrate on losing any fat to be honest with you. You need to eat and then eat some more. Check out massive eating and lean eatin by John Berardi. And also check out “Foods That Make You Look Good Nekid.” As for training, well…there are a plethora of program in the FAQ section…so pick one and stick to it. But you must remember that you need to “dial in” on your diet. DO NOT rely on supplements to act as some kind of magic pill. Why spend all the extra money when you can get the results you want from your own kitchen???
However, you did not provide any information as to WHAT you eat NOW. As for the “extra” fat that you have? Again, you’re 17. You may be holding some babyfat - which is to be expected for quite a few 17-year olds.
Once you begin training, some of the excess fat may go away. This phenomena usually occurs when one gains LBM, it’s called changing body composition. You build muscle, muscle speeds metabolism, excess bodyfat is lost.
Now, I’m going to help you use the “search” feature on the T-Mag Home Page. Search for “Dawg School: Bodybuilder’s Hierarchy of Needs” by Chris Shugart. This will tell you exactly WHY it’s important to get your diet and training down first BEFORE you resort to supplements. THEN search using “John Berrardi” as your search word. READ all of his articles. Also search for “Protein Roundtable”. This may be a good article for you to read as well.
As for program, there’s quite a few on T-Mag for you to look through. I’m thinkin’ you’re a “newbie” to training, right? Well then, check out Beginner’s Blast Off Program. I know you want to “bulk” but if you’ve never trained before, and you gotta crawl before you can walk, right? THEN you can also read all the fun stuff by Ian King, Dave Tate, Christian Thibaudeau, Coach Davies. LOOK at all them search topics!