Some General Tips Needed

Hi, I’m 19, 5’6", 130 lbs, and as of about a month ago, I decided it was time to get into shape. I’ve been skinny my whole life, with a very fast metabolism. I could eat anything all the time and not gain anything. I worked out a couple years ago for a few months, pretty consistently, but it didn’t last.

Right now, I’ve set a generalized goal for myself. I hope to have the same type of body that, for example, Brad Pitt has in Fight Club. I hope I don’t get flamed for that, but I just would prefer that chisled/toned type body over being bulky. For the past month I’ve revamped my diet entirely. Here’s my day now:

Wake up at 8AM, eat breakfast. Breakfast consists of:

  • 1/2 cup of egg whites
  • 1 cup of McCann’s Steel Cut oatmeal, with some applesauce and cinnamon in it.

After I eat, I take a dose of Creatine (3 pills), a dose of Nitric Oxide (3 pills), a dose of L-glutamine (2 capsules), and a dose of CLA (3 capsules). The nitric oxide was a sole recommendation of a GNC employee. Prior, I had no knowledge of such product. After I take my supplements, I let my food digest then I work out.

My workouts are one muscle group a day. So let’s say it’s Monday. I just do chest. If it’s Tuesday, I do back. I read that Pitt actually used that workout and some other celebrities who got into similar shape. I was doing abs every day but I heard it’s good to take a day of rest, so I now do abs every other day.

My ab workouts are rigorous and usually last about an hour. My general workouts last about an hour as well and unfortunately I have to make due with what I have at home, which is some dumbells and exercise ball. But I definitely work out very hard and can barely move when I’m done.

After I workout, I make a protein shake which consists of 26 g of Body Fortress 100% Whey protein (1 scoop). I take another serving of creatine (3 pills) and another serving of l-glutamine (2 capsules). I also eat 2 tablets of Dex 4 glucose tablets which is 2 servings (8 carbs)

. The Body Fortress whey has 2g of fat, 1 saturated, 50mg cholesterol, 2g carbs, 2g sugars, 123mg calcium, 84mg phosphorus, 15mg magnesium, 40mg sodium, and 133mg potassium per scoop (1 serving). At the bottom, it says it also has 9g of Super Recovery Blend which seems to consist of Creatine Monohydrate, Taurine, L-Glutamine, Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. It says 2 scoops are optional (for athletes and bodybuilders), but I’ve always taken one.

I mix it with water and eat half a bannana, along with those 2 tablets of Dex 4 that I saw at Costco and grabbed when I heard dextrose and maltodextrin are good for you post workout, and these have both apparently, along with 4g carbs, 4g sugars, some Vitamin C, and that’s it.

After that, I usually eat my next meal 1-2 hours later which usually ends up being my lunch.

  • 6 oz of skinless, boneless grilled chicken, dry.
  • Some vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, or just some dry lettuce.
  • 1/2 cup of brown rice

I snack a couple hours later, every day for the past 2 weeks it has been a piece of whole wheat Flax bread toasted with a little less than a tablespoon of Jif’s peanut butter.

Next, maybe an apple, or serving of shrimp, or more chicken, to hold me over for dinner.

Dinner is in between 5-6PM.

  • 6 oz of skinless, boneless grilled chicken
  • Veggies again, or a dry salad.

I try to avoid any carbs at dinner since it’s night time.

I try not to eat at all after that, but I never go to bed hungry because I heard that’s bad. If I get hungry I usually eat some more chicken or shrimp to avoid carbs, or sometimes I’ll eat an apple and peanut butter if I give into carbs. I add my protein consumption every day and I go for 130 g. I don’t add up my fat, carbs, or anything else.

Now, I’ll get into more specifically, what I’m after and my questions and concerns.

I’ve always had a little pouch under my belly button, but like I said before, I’m a naturally skinny guy with barely any muscle on my arms. My legs are built pretty well and my upper abs have always stood out, but I always had a pouch below them. Ultimately, I want to rid of the pouch. This is where I need my most help.

  1. Am I eating enough to build muscle? More than 130g of protein? Less carbs? Less fat? I’m just concerned if I eat too much I’ll gain, but not obtain the six pack I want.

  2. Am I taking the proper supplements? Should I switch to creatine powder or will it make me fat and bloated and ultimately take away from my goal of getting lean and toned instead of big and bulky? Do I need nitric oxide? Should I buy dextrose powder to mix with my whey? Is this brand of Whey good?

  3. Am I getting enough healthy fats? I eat no more than 2 tablespoons of peanut butter a day and usually have some cooking oil in my food from when it’s cooked. Other than that, I don’t think I get any other fat besides in my meat and protein drink.

  4. Is this one muscle a day workout adequate? Should I do cardio on Fridays or Saturdays when I’m on rest from my workout till Monday? Will cardio make me too skinny and diminish muscle growth? If I start eating more, will starting cardio be the perfect way to get rid of the extra body fat?

In conclusion, I just want to gain some NOTICEABLE muscle for once, and have a ripped stomach. The best way I can put it is Brad Pitt’s physique in Fight Club, or Snatch even. I haven’t really noticed any changes except my abs are getting more ripped and I can start to see my 3rd set of abs below my belly button. I forgot to mention I smoke cigarettes, on average 5 a day. I know I asked a lot of shit, but I’m pretty confused right now. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

Eating 130 grams of protein might make you big and bulky, and I know you said you didn’t want that.

[quote]endgame1 wrote:
Hi, I’m 19, 5’6", 130 lbs, and as of about a month ago, I decided it was time to get into shape. I’ve been skinny my whole life, with a very fast metabolism. I could eat anything all the time and not gain anything. I worked out a couple years ago for a few months, pretty consistently, but it didn’t last.

Right now, I’ve set a generalized goal for myself. I hope to have the same type of body that, for example, Brad Pitt has in Fight Club. I hope I don’t get flamed for that, but I just would prefer that chisled/toned type body over being bulky. For the past month I’ve revamped my diet entirely. Here’s my day now:

Wake up at 8AM, eat breakfast. Breakfast consists of:

  • 1/2 cup of egg whites
  • 1 cup of McCann’s Steel Cut oatmeal, with some applesauce and cinnamon in it.

After I eat, I take a dose of Creatine (3 pills), a dose of Nitric Oxide (3 pills), a dose of L-glutamine (2 capsules), and a dose of CLA (3 capsules). The nitric oxide was a sole recommendation of a GNC employee. Prior, I had no knowledge of such product. After I take my supplements, I let my food digest then I work out.

My workouts are one muscle group a day. So let’s say it’s Monday. I just do chest. If it’s Tuesday, I do back. I read that Pitt actually used that workout and some other celebrities who got into similar shape. I was doing abs every day but I heard it’s good to take a day of rest, so I now do abs every other day.

My ab workouts are rigorous and usually last about an hour. My general workouts last about an hour as well and unfortunately I have to make due with what I have at home, which is some dumbells and exercise ball. But I definitely work out very hard and can barely move when I’m done.

After I workout, I make a protein shake which consists of 26 g of Body Fortress 100% Whey protein (1 scoop). I take another serving of creatine (3 pills) and another serving of l-glutamine (2 capsules). I also eat 2 tablets of Dex 4 glucose tablets which is 2 servings (8 carbs)

. The Body Fortress whey has 2g of fat, 1 saturated, 50mg cholesterol, 2g carbs, 2g sugars, 123mg calcium, 84mg phosphorus, 15mg magnesium, 40mg sodium, and 133mg potassium per scoop (1 serving). At the bottom, it says it also has 9g of Super Recovery Blend which seems to consist of Creatine Monohydrate, Taurine, L-Glutamine, Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. It says 2 scoops are optional (for athletes and bodybuilders), but I’ve always taken one.

I mix it with water and eat half a bannana, along with those 2 tablets of Dex 4 that I saw at Costco and grabbed when I heard dextrose and maltodextrin are good for you post workout, and these have both apparently, along with 4g carbs, 4g sugars, some Vitamin C, and that’s it.

After that, I usually eat my next meal 1-2 hours later which usually ends up being my lunch.

  • 6 oz of skinless, boneless grilled chicken, dry.
  • Some vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, or just some dry lettuce.
  • 1/2 cup of brown rice

I snack a couple hours later, every day for the past 2 weeks it has been a piece of whole wheat Flax bread toasted with a little less than a tablespoon of Jif’s peanut butter.

Next, maybe an apple, or serving of shrimp, or more chicken, to hold me over for dinner.

Dinner is in between 5-6PM.

  • 6 oz of skinless, boneless grilled chicken
  • Veggies again, or a dry salad.

I try to avoid any carbs at dinner since it’s night time.

I try not to eat at all after that, but I never go to bed hungry because I heard that’s bad. If I get hungry I usually eat some more chicken or shrimp to avoid carbs, or sometimes I’ll eat an apple and peanut butter if I give into carbs. I add my protein consumption every day and I go for 130 g. I don’t add up my fat, carbs, or anything else.

Now, I’ll get into more specifically, what I’m after and my questions and concerns.

I’ve always had a little pouch under my belly button, but like I said before, I’m a naturally skinny guy with barely any muscle on my arms. My legs are built pretty well and my upper abs have always stood out, but I always had a pouch below them. Ultimately, I want to rid of the pouch. This is where I need my most help.

  1. Am I eating enough to build muscle? More than 130g of protein? Less carbs? Less fat? I’m just concerned if I eat too much I’ll gain, but not obtain the six pack I want.

No, you need to have atleast 3 eggs for b-fast plus a protein shake in the morning. And a shake at night. If you have a fast metabolism you needn’t worry about packing on fat from eating extra calories. Since your already pretty carb concious your excess calories will only help pack on some muscle. You need to calculate your daily calories and increase them by 250 calories at a time. If you are noticing that you are gaining muscle and not increasing bf% then increase cals by another 250 until you bf% goes up. Then you can cut the cals by 175 and that would be a good place to gain muscle with no fat gain. It’s always a better option to just eat the excess calories for 3-4 months, gain the 5-10 lbs of muscle and cut off (in no time) the couple of lbs. of fat that came with it. This would be the quicker route but the slower more efficient route would be the 250 cal increase way. You can’t hit two birds with one stone in this case really. Judging by your stats you should be concerned with getting a lil more muscle on your frame and worrying about any fat issues later which I think your just being paranoid about. As some of the coaches say here on T-Nation, “You can’t chase two rabbits without one getting away” so pick a goal to bulk or cut and chase it.

  1. Am I taking the proper supplements? Should I switch to creatine powder or will it make me fat and bloated and ultimately take away from my goal of getting lean and toned instead of big and bulky? Do I need nitric oxide? Should I buy dextrose powder to mix with my whey? Is this brand of Whey good?

I wouldn’t be as worried about supplements as I would about your diet. As long as your getting an ample amount of calories, 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, 30-40 grams of carbs post-workout, you should easily pack on some poundage. The supplements you need as staples should be : Protein, Surge (or any other formidable PWO drink) fish oil, and creatine is good for promoting muscle growth BUT not essentially needed. It will give you water retention so if you want more of a cut look I wouldn’t recommend it. N02 is a waste of your cash dollars in my holy opinion. And for protein you are better of getting some Metabolic Drive(low carb) or a protein that has both slow acting long lasting protein like casein, and whey for fast absorption, giving you a steady flow.

  1. Am I getting enough healthy fats? I eat no more than 2 tablespoons of peanut butter a day and usually have some cooking oil in my food from when it’s cooked. Other than that, I don’t think I get any other fat besides in my meat and protein drink.

The peanut butter is a good idea to have every day along with coconut oil or olive oil or cooking. The fish oils capsules are great for having a balanced blood lipid profile, Flameout, being very strong fish oils, would be a good choice.

  1. Is this one muscle a day workout adequate? Should I do cardio on Fridays or Saturdays when I’m on rest from my workout till Monday? Will cardio make me too skinny and diminish muscle growth? If I start eating more, will starting cardio be the perfect way to get rid of the extra body fat?

I would suggest doing a Total Body workout out as this will give you the most bang for your buck. The only time its productive doing one body part or muscle group a day is for pro body-builders/ people who have reached a plateau in training and have been training for several several years. If you don’t like doing total body workouts than atleast do two muscles groups a day 4 times a week. The majority of your exercises should consist of compound movements as they promote the best growth by hitting several muscle groups at one time, so in this case your hitting a couple birds with one lead stone. Focusing on doing a bunch of isolation movements for one muscle is overkill and counterproductive for a begginer and even an intermediate. As far as cardio. Do some HIIT for about 15-20 on your off days for 3 days a week max, and that will make fat melt right off of you.

In conclusion, I just want to gain some NOTICEABLE muscle for once, and have a ripped stomach. The best way I can put it is Brad Pitt’s physique in Fight Club, or Snatch even. I haven’t really noticed any changes except my abs are getting more ripped and I can start to see my 3rd set of abs below my belly button. I forgot to mention I smoke cigarettes, on average 5 a day. I know I asked a lot of shit, but I’m pretty confused right now. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.[/quote]

[quote]endgame1 wrote:
Hi, I’m 19, 5’6", 130 lbs, and as of about a month ago, I decided it was time to get into shape. I’ve been skinny my whole life, with a very fast metabolism. I could eat anything all the time and not gain anything. I worked out a couple years ago for a few months, pretty consistently, but it didn’t last.

Right now, I’ve set a generalized goal for myself. I hope to have the same type of body that, for example, Brad Pitt has in Fight Club. I hope I don’t get flamed for that, but I just would prefer that chisled/toned type body over being bulky. For the past month I’ve revamped my diet entirely. Here’s my day now:

Wake up at 8AM, eat breakfast. Breakfast consists of:

  • 1/2 cup of egg whites
  • 1 cup of McCann’s Steel Cut oatmeal, with some applesauce and cinnamon in it.

After I eat, I take a dose of Creatine (3 pills), a dose of Nitric Oxide (3 pills), a dose of L-glutamine (2 capsules), and a dose of CLA (3 capsules). The nitric oxide was a sole recommendation of a GNC employee. Prior, I had no knowledge of such product. After I take my supplements, I let my food digest then I work out.

My workouts are one muscle group a day. So let’s say it’s Monday. I just do chest. If it’s Tuesday, I do back. I read that Pitt actually used that workout and some other celebrities who got into similar shape. I was doing abs every day but I heard it’s good to take a day of rest, so I now do abs every other day.

My ab workouts are rigorous and usually last about an hour. My general workouts last about an hour as well and unfortunately I have to make due with what I have at home, which is some dumbells and exercise ball. But I definitely work out very hard and can barely move when I’m done.

After I workout, I make a protein shake which consists of 26 g of Body Fortress 100% Whey protein (1 scoop). I take another serving of creatine (3 pills) and another serving of l-glutamine (2 capsules). I also eat 2 tablets of Dex 4 glucose tablets which is 2 servings (8 carbs)

. The Body Fortress whey has 2g of fat, 1 saturated, 50mg cholesterol, 2g carbs, 2g sugars, 123mg calcium, 84mg phosphorus, 15mg magnesium, 40mg sodium, and 133mg potassium per scoop (1 serving). At the bottom, it says it also has 9g of Super Recovery Blend which seems to consist of Creatine Monohydrate, Taurine, L-Glutamine, Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. It says 2 scoops are optional (for athletes and bodybuilders), but I’ve always taken one.

I mix it with water and eat half a bannana, along with those 2 tablets of Dex 4 that I saw at Costco and grabbed when I heard dextrose and maltodextrin are good for you post workout, and these have both apparently, along with 4g carbs, 4g sugars, some Vitamin C, and that’s it.

After that, I usually eat my next meal 1-2 hours later which usually ends up being my lunch.

  • 6 oz of skinless, boneless grilled chicken, dry.
  • Some vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, or just some dry lettuce.
  • 1/2 cup of brown rice

I snack a couple hours later, every day for the past 2 weeks it has been a piece of whole wheat Flax bread toasted with a little less than a tablespoon of Jif’s peanut butter.

Next, maybe an apple, or serving of shrimp, or more chicken, to hold me over for dinner.

Dinner is in between 5-6PM.

  • 6 oz of skinless, boneless grilled chicken
  • Veggies again, or a dry salad.

I try to avoid any carbs at dinner since it’s night time.

I try not to eat at all after that, but I never go to bed hungry because I heard that’s bad. If I get hungry I usually eat some more chicken or shrimp to avoid carbs, or sometimes I’ll eat an apple and peanut butter if I give into carbs. I add my protein consumption every day and I go for 130 g. I don’t add up my fat, carbs, or anything else.

Now, I’ll get into more specifically, what I’m after and my questions and concerns.

I’ve always had a little pouch under my belly button, but like I said before, I’m a naturally skinny guy with barely any muscle on my arms. My legs are built pretty well and my upper abs have always stood out, but I always had a pouch below them. Ultimately, I want to rid of the pouch. This is where I need my most help.

  1. Am I eating enough to build muscle? More than 130g of protein? Less carbs? Less fat? I’m just concerned if I eat too much I’ll gain, but not obtain the six pack I want.

  2. Am I taking the proper supplements? Should I switch to creatine powder or will it make me fat and bloated and ultimately take away from my goal of getting lean and toned instead of big and bulky? Do I need nitric oxide? Should I buy dextrose powder to mix with my whey? Is this brand of Whey good?

  3. Am I getting enough healthy fats? I eat no more than 2 tablespoons of peanut butter a day and usually have some cooking oil in my food from when it’s cooked. Other than that, I don’t think I get any other fat besides in my meat and protein drink.

  4. Is this one muscle a day workout adequate? Should I do cardio on Fridays or Saturdays when I’m on rest from my workout till Monday? Will cardio make me too skinny and diminish muscle growth? If I start eating more, will starting cardio be the perfect way to get rid of the extra body fat?

In conclusion, I just want to gain some NOTICEABLE muscle for once, and have a ripped stomach. The best way I can put it is Brad Pitt’s physique in Fight Club, or Snatch even. I haven’t really noticed any changes except my abs are getting more ripped and I can start to see my 3rd set of abs below my belly button. I forgot to mention I smoke cigarettes, on average 5 a day. I know I asked a lot of shit, but I’m pretty confused right now. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.[/quote]

First of all never listen to GNC employees, some of them (if not most) have no idea what they’re talking about, they try to sell you stuff because the more they sell the more they get paid. Just do a search here for some articles on this site. If I remember correctly one of them is “Mass Eating for Noobs” or something like that. For a split I recommend “Starting Strength” by Rippetoe, you can find it here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

I noticed you have a good amount of cash to spend, so instead of buying more supplements, buy a book called “Scrawny To Brawny” by Michael Mejia and John Rerardi.

I think it’d be better if you took a front picture, back picture and side picture…

Oh Squats & Milk.

I’ll wait for the pictures before I say anything.

Although I have a fair amount of knowledge in training and nutrition, I DO work at GNC and I do get paid commission per product. Each product has a certain price already set on it called a PM. The PM for some NO2 boosters are like five bucks a pop. So if you come in and ask me if the NO2 is good, I won’t deter you from the product, I’ll say its great. Now if from the get-go, you ask my advice on what’s good to pack on muscle I won’t even bother mentioning any waste of money NO2(might as well take L-arginine capsules all day). I will point you in the direction of some quality protein and creatine at most. Then I will ask you what your diet looks like…

Thanks for the replies everyone.

  1. Will ethyl ester creatine powder make me bulky like monohydrate would or no?

  2. How many grams of protein/carbs should I REALLY get pre and post workout? I’ve heard conflicting things from people. 25/25g pre and post? 30/30g pre and post? etc. etc.

  3. Do I need dextrose and maltodextrine powder?

  4. Whats the definitive amount of protein I should get? 1 g per pound? 1.5? 1.8? I have also heard conflicting things here.

  5. Last, how much fat, carbs, protein, and calories should i shoot for overall in one of my days? I really have no clue at all.

Thanks again for all the help!

Guy - just keep training hard, eating clean and keep notice of what happens, if you want to try supps that’s fine but you’ve got to see what works for you. It seems like you’re looking for some magical potion of this and that at just the right amounts that will make your physique trasform sooner. It takes time, just keep it up and don’t stop, it’s not going to happen overnight.

yeh, i think your overcomplicating things, your post was hooooooge, most guys do at the beggining (i still have to keep myself in check) my recomendation is to gain a load of muscle- perhaps go up 30lbs cleanly, then youl deff be able to see your abs. use compound exercises, eat food and rest. do some reading on ths site and rosstraining.com

1)ive no idea what that is
2)as much as you decide to. i get 40 grams right POST workout. maybe even 55 come to think of it. preworkout i may not even get anything. im not great with a full stomach during workouts. post workout and 1-2 hours post workout are some of the most important meals. dont miss them.
3) uhm… no. such supplements unless you have some deficiency or something are for when you’ve at least been into this for 5 years or something
4)it varies from each person really. but 99% agree on at LEAST 1 gram per body weight in lbs. personally i try to reach at LEAST 1.5 times. cant hurt.
5) start with 3500 calories… around 200 grams of protein, 300 carbs and 150 fats. if you want you can increase them a bit more. 250/350/200 would be good too

Welcome man. You’ve come to one of the best places to learn, so please (Please) take your time and read the archives here. 10 years of weekly or daily articles, and lots of really good nutrition advice. Make an effort to educate yourself, because it’s the only way you can tell what’s crap and what’s good advice. We can give you lots of info, but we expect you to be diligent and read and educate yourself too. We don’t want to hand out stuff you can find on your own (not saying you are, just in general).

That being said, I don’t really even know where to begin…there’s a lot of stuff.
General thoughts on your original post:

*****In order to look chiseled/toned/Brad Pitt, you’re still going to need to gain at least 40 pounds and then cut the leftover fat. So I don’t want to hear about not getting “bulky”–forty pounds is a crapload to gain and you’ll have to work at it–hard-- for at least a couple years. More on this later w/diet stuff…

  1. NO boosters are crap. Don’t waste your money on them. There are a lot of reasons, but I don’t want to clutter the space with them. Use the search function and look at the articles that talk about them here.

  2. Creatine powder vs. Creatine caps–they’re the EXACT same thing if you just got plain creatine monohydrate caps. Powder is usually cheaper for more, so I would go with that.

  3. The reason you always have a pouch below your upper abs is that you don’t have any muscle to show. You look like you are carrying extra fat when you’re really not because there’s no muscle underneath that fat.

  4. You WILL NOT get a six pack at the same time you gain muscle. I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen. You have to eat more calories than you burn to add muscle, and as a result you will almost never find a drop in body fat %. If you want the muscle bad enough, eat to gain muscle. Cutting fat off to reveal muscle is the easy part–gaining muscle is a lot harder. If you don’t want the muscle bad enough to fore go the 6 pack, then you have to realize you’re not going to ever make any progress. This doesn’t mean you should get fat while you bulk, but it does mean your bodyfat will not drop, and may increase slightly. On the plus side, you’ll look better with more muscle, even if you’re not cut. A muscular guy without a 6 pack is still impressive.

  5. I don’t care if you want to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club–if you want to make progress you HAVE to train as hard as you would if you wanted to be a pro bodybuilder. You will make faster progress that way, with intensity.

Look at it this way: wouldn’t you rather get to your goal faster and then just maintain it? Well, if you place mental handicaps on yourself (like “I don’t want to be bulky”) you end up sabotaging your goals by not working hard. It’s a trick of psychology that happens to almost everyone subconsciously.

  1. 130g of protein per day is probably fine since that’s 1g/lb bodyweight. Get it consistently every day.

****On carbs–Don’t worry about them so much. You’re trying to GAIN weight right? Well your diet looks like somebody eating to lose weight. You can’t do this—make the decision to eat like you want to achieve your goal. Don’t sweat the carbs so much at night or whenever. Right now you just need to get enough food in you to grow. So as long as it’s healthy, eat it.

You need 6 meals a day, evenly spaced, not counting your shake. Snacks are meals. But the snacks need to have more calories and protein at each meal. Fat is good, fat is your friend. There is no such thing as an “essential” carb, but there ARE “essential” fats and proteins. Eat healthy fats, but don’t skimp on them, they’re healthy ways to add lots of calories.

  1. Eating to gain weight is a JOB. I mean this literally, and I can’t stress this enough. It’s a 24/7/365 job that requires planning to succeed at. You’ve got to cook ahead of time so you don’t have to cook every day all day. You’ve got to find ways to bring your meals with you when you go places so you don’t go without food. You’ve ESPECIALLY got to eat on a schedule–NOT by whether your hungry or not. I ate 5500 calories a day at one point to force myself gain weight, ate 10 times a day. I HATED it because I was so full all the time, but I still had to eat my next meal. It worked. Now I’m not saying you have to do that, but you DO have to realize that food is not just sustenance anymore–you’re eating for a goal now, not to maintain. So I don’t care if you’re full if your next meal time comes, you need to eat what’s on your schedule. Also, if you’re hungry all the time on your schedule, it means your not eating anywhere close to enough.

  2. How many grams of protein post workout? Depends. For your bodyweight 25g or so is fine. You want carbs though, and more than just 8g. I’d shoot for 40g of carbs as a minimum in your post workout shake.

Your brand of whey is fine. Everyone’s got their preference, so it doesn’t matter. A lot prefer Biotest, others Optimum, whatever. For muscle gain, it’s all about the food more than the supplements. Protein powder and creatine are staples for the majority of serious lifters, but other than that it varies a lot from person to person supplement wise. You really don’t need that many.

  1. A small amount of cardio will not seriously hurt your gains. So if you want to do a day or two of cardio go for it. It’ll help keep you leaner while you bulk up. Just don’t go overboard, ok? Remember your goal is to gain muscle, so you need at least 2 days totally off of any exercise. I’d prefer 3 (4 training days and 3 off days). Remember the CARDINAL RULE of muscle gain–you grow when resting, not when you’re in the gym. Gym time is stimulating and breaking down muscles, rest time is building them up bigger than they were before.

  2. 1 muscle a day (otherwise known as a “bodypart split” in gym lingo) can help you gain weight. So can upper/lower splits and whole body workouts. It’s all about how hard you work. You work like you want to be Ronnie Coleman, and get enough rest days, you’re going to gain on any muscle split. My preference is Upper/Lower. But the big thing is you don’t have to stay with 1 plan for the years. Experiment, you might find a different plan works better, or at least gives you a much needed change-of-pace from your normal work.

*****What are the heaviest weights you have access to at home? I would really recommend paying out for a gym membership since you’re going to be at this for a couple years. You could use the extra equipment.

I can’t believe how much time I just spent on this post…

[quote]endgame1 wrote:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

  1. Will ethyl ester creatine powder make me bulky like monohydrate would or no?

  2. How many grams of protein/carbs should I REALLY get pre and post workout? I’ve heard conflicting things from people. 25/25g pre and post? 30/30g pre and post? etc. etc.

  3. Do I need dextrose and maltodextrine powder?

  4. Whats the definitive amount of protein I should get? 1 g per pound? 1.5? 1.8? I have also heard conflicting things here.

  5. Last, how much fat, carbs, protein, and calories should i shoot for overall in one of my days? I really have no clue at all.

Thanks again for all the help![/quote]

Lordstorm had a good post on this as well.

  1. Don’t worry about it. Once your blood level is saturated, it doesn’t matter what kind of creatine you use. Monohydrate is cheaper and I’ve never noticed any difference between the types of creatine personally.

2)As I said in my previous post, it varies from person to person and that’s why you hear different things. At your bodyweight 25-30g protein post workout is fine. I would sip a protein/carb mix during workouts as well. If your workouts last an hour, then… probably 15g protein and 30g carbs during. And 25-30g protein with 40g carbs in your post training shake.

3)No, but if you can find them cheap, they’re ok.

  1. Once again this varies from person to person and depends on a variety of factors. There is no one quick answer. On a related note, it’s worth noting that building muscle and burning fat is as much an art as it is a science. Some things that “shouldn’t” work do, and other things that look good on paper don’t work at all. 1-1.5 g/lb bodyweight is a good, solid, starting guideline. I really wouldn’t bother going over 1.5g/lb for most situations. But if you read articles long enough and think about stuff, you’ll probably see certain circumstances where it can help to go higher.

  2. Check out John Berardi’s “Massive Eating” articles for a calorie needs calculator that should help you out. I’d say 3000-3500 is a good ballpark, like Lordstorm says. Bottom line, eat enough to gain about 1 lb a week as a ballpark…it really doesn’t matter what the specific number is as long as your weight is going up and your strength is increasing. Bottom line, the stronger you get, the bigger you’ll get.

So, endgame1, you need to read the stickies at the top of the Beginner’s Forum. They will point you to some articles to read to start educating yourself.

If you stick to reading about 1 article a day, you’ll start to really get a little better idea of what this all is about. And you’ll probably have a lot of questions, but that’s part of learning, isn’t it?

I really appreciate all the help and thank you Aragorn for taking the time to write all that. You make some good points about gaining that I understand now.

Right now I make do with a few sets of dumbells, 20 lb is the heaviest. For the workouts I do it’s enough though. I don’t have a bench so that’s out. I can do all my stuff with the dumbells, exercise ball, pullup bar and a stretchy cord. Obviously, it’s not the gym but I still get really good workouts in every time. I’m working on getting a gym membership.

Is PRE workout protein important as well? Do I need 25g or more?

I was going to go out tomorrow and get some creatine ethynl ester because I heard its the same as monohydrate without the bloating. What do you think?

I also workout that I should get 1950 calories per day; 195g carbs, 195g protein, and 43g fat, according to a calculation thing on some site. That was according to my weight… sound good or no?

If you’re working out with 20 lbs dumbbells I doubt you need creatine. I believe creatine is used for people who stop making progress and they use creatine to help push past boundaries. Trust me, you haven’t plateaued with 20 lbs dumbbells. You should just focus on the basic supplements like a protein powder.

Some good points made. I’ll go find another thread now.

Get creatine monohydrate. Your body doesn’t use Ethyl ester as well and you end up pissing it out.

“The bloat” is extra water inside your muscles, which is a good thing for growth as well as looking better.

1950 calories are what you need for sustaining your body if you did nothing but sleep 24 hours.

just by being awake even if on the computer this can go up to 2300-2500. include gym and other stuff and it goes up to 3500 easily.

eat lots, it only makes sense to gain muscle mass by eating more than your body needs.

just to make you understand a bit better. your body will do its best to survive. now what is most needed in order to survive? muscle or energy? without energy you simply die. without muscle well you cant do anything but you dont die (unless your heart is gone too haha).

so naturally your body will prioritize energy and try to spend as few calories on building muscle as possible. hence why you’ll progress any way, but you’ll hit a plateau in a caloric deficit much earlier than you will in a surplus.

[quote]endgame1 wrote:
I really appreciate all the help and thank you Aragorn for taking the time to write all that. You make some good points about gaining that I understand now.

Right now I make do with a few sets of dumbells, 20 lb is the heaviest. For the workouts I do it’s enough though. I don’t have a bench so that’s out. I can do all my stuff with the dumbells, exercise ball, pullup bar and a stretchy cord. Obviously, it’s not the gym but I still get really good workouts in every time. I’m working on getting a gym membership.

Is PRE workout protein important as well? Do I need 25g or more?

I was going to go out tomorrow and get some creatine ethynl ester because I heard its the same as monohydrate without the bloating. What do you think?

I also workout that I should get 1950 calories per day; 195g carbs, 195g protein, and 43g fat, according to a calculation thing on some site. That was according to my weight… sound good or no?[/quote]

Lordstorm had a great post for you.

Pre-workout is important, but if you had to ditch one of the pre/during/post times it would be pre-training in my humble opinion. maybe 20 minutes prior to training take 20g of protein. No sugar/dextrose/maltodextrin though–you don’t want insulin spike, you just want aminos floating around ready to be used. Definitely get a membership–20 lb dumbbells are not enough to keep you growing.

I would stay with the creatine monohydrate. It works, it’s dirt cheap, it works, you get a lot of it, and it works. Don’t listen to the hype surrounding most supplements sold at GNC. As a side note, that’s a very big plus to educating yourself–you don’t fall for crap. Read a lot of things from a variety of sources, so you get a good all around view.

No, when lordstorm and we tell you that you need 3000-3500 calories a day, there’s good reason for it. Lordstorm breaks it down quick and easy for you–the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is what most of those so-called calorie calculators actually come up with. This BMR is equal to what you would burn in a day if you were comatose and didn’t move. It is NOT your “total daily calorie needs”. That is why I told you to use John Berardi’s “Massive Eating” calculator. You can use the search function to find the articles. Worth a read for anyone getting serious. Break down what your components of daily calories are. Look it up.

Digity–With all due respect I disagree entirely. Creatine is useful for everyone, regardless of status, and the monohydrate is so cheap as to be negligible. Creatine is a staple for the vast majority of serious lifters, and I know Thibs advocates its use plateau or no. I would keep using it if it were me.

[quote]endgame1 wrote:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

  1. Will ethyl ester creatine powder make me bulky like monohydrate would or no?

  2. How many grams of protein/carbs should I REALLY get pre and post workout? I’ve heard conflicting things from people. 25/25g pre and post? 30/30g pre and post? etc. etc.

  3. Do I need dextrose and maltodextrine powder?

  4. Whats the definitive amount of protein I should get? 1 g per pound? 1.5? 1.8? I have also heard conflicting things here.

  5. Last, how much fat, carbs, protein, and calories should i shoot for overall in one of my days? I really have no clue at all.

Thanks again for all the help![/quote]

jesus fucking christ, eat and lift. In like 2 months you’ll regret having made this thread, some of the things you’ve posted are horribly idiotic.

edit:sorry if I came off as an asshole, you should really do at least some reading before postng however.

edit no2: If you have hundreds to spend on supps, why don’t you have a gym membership?