Weight loss pills?

[GAME05]

unless i'm hiking for a weekend, i don't do any cardio. just won't grow the muscles unless you're adding calories beyond what you need per day to maintain. i wouldn't contend that cardio in itself makes you stronger or weaker, just that if i burn 400 calories on the rowing machine, i'll need 400 additional calories per day to make up for that--at this point i already want 3,000 calories per day, so i don't want to make it harder on myself.

 

i'm pretty happy with the 6-day split i'm on (including two rest days). it's been plenty of recovery time and i haven't plateaued yet. could i gain more weight by working out less? yeah, but working out has been so much fun, plus i don't want to risk losing my motivation/routine or have a bodyfat % that rises too fast. hasn't been too bad, though, about +0.75 lbs. per week but have only gained 1.5% bodyfat in six weeks. so i guess this bulking phase will take a lot longer than i hoped for, but so be it (was hoping to discover some abs for pool season, but maybe next year).

 

to answer your question, i go with a generic GNC weightgainer/protein powder. i can't afford the pre-mixed stuff. my next strategy is getting up earlier this week to have a protein shake for breakfast instead of oatmeal, and i'm confident that should do the trick as far as the calories and protein that i've been short on, plus i should then be fine appetite-wise, i'm sure. also taking creatine, which i know is mostly useless, but i'm totally fine with a water-inflated false bulk for the summer season, and i'll go off it next winter.

[Gopher74]

unless i'm hiking for a weekend, i don't do any cardio. just won't grow the muscles unless you're adding calories beyond what you need per day to maintain. i wouldn't contend that cardio in itself makes you stronger or weaker, just that if i burn 400 calories on the rowing machine, i'll need 400 additional calories per day to make up for that--at this point i already want 3,000 calories per day, so i don't want to make it harder on myself.

 

i'm pretty happy with the 6-day split i'm on (including two rest days). it's been plenty of recovery time and i haven't plateaued yet. could i gain more weight by working out less? yeah, but working out has been so much fun, plus i don't want to risk losing my motivation/routine or have a bodyfat % that rises too fast. hasn't been too bad, though, about +0.75 lbs. per week but have only gained 1.5% bodyfat in six weeks. so i guess this bulking phase will take a lot longer than i hoped for, but so be it (was hoping to discover some abs for pool season, but maybe next year).

i'm sure. also taking creatine, which i know is mostly useless, but i'm totally fine with a water-inflated false bulk for the summer season, and i'll go off it next winter.

 

That's absolutely not true at all. I'm not sure why you have this perception of creative, but it can be a very effective tool for building muscle strength.

 

I also don't understand why your goal would be to gain body fat. Especially if you're goal is to develop abs.

Honestly, and I mean this respectfully, but I think you may have the wrong idea when it comes to getting bigger. I mean, just saying that you can't do cardio or else you have to eat more in order to get stronger is just not true.

 

I don't know, maybe it's just a different way of going about things, but after spending so much time trying to get my body fat down and build as much muscle as possible, but I've just never heard of anyone trying to get his body fat up.

[Gone]

I respectfully don't agree with this. The suggestion that you can work out TOO long to get stronger and bigger to me is a complete inaccuracy. Hell, look at body builders? They work out for about 6 hours a day. And yes, you're literally correct in saying that muscle doesn't build while you're working out, but it doesn't build at all if you don't tear the fibers, and force it to repair itself.

You've never heard of people overtraining and the serious damage that can do? Google overtraining and you'll find a bunch of articles about the negative effects it has and how it's actually counter productive. Here you'll find a few - http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=Overtraining Also, there is a difference between working your muscle to failure (which you should do) and working it to fatigue (which isn't what you should do).

 

 

And again, respectfully, but I've never heard anyone say that it's bad to do cardio in order to get stronger. Cardio is absolutely always a great part of a workout.

 

 

 

I'm never going to say Cardio is bad for you. However, it is can slow down your goal if you're looking to add mass. As another poster indicated, you need to take in more calories than what you burn to gain weight. If you're trying to add weight and at the same time burning 500 calories on the treadmill that just means you need to eat 500 more calories to make up for that.

 

Everyone is different as some people can work out all day and not lose weight. At the same time there are others that are the exact opposite and can sit on their butt, eat bad food all day and not gain a pound. Then there are the people that are right in the middle. I'm one of the slow burners, so I am extremely careful with the calories I burn as if I'm not I'll be forcing 7-8 meals a day down.

[aracko]

The problem I have found with Creatine, is once you stop taking it or stop working out you really pack on the fat. Thats at least my experience.

 

It does work though.

[Gopher74]

You've never heard of people overtraining and the serious damage that can do? Google overtraining and you'll find a bunch of articles about the negative effects it has and how it's actually counter productive.

 

Of course I have, but saying that working out for more than 1 hour a day is going to hurt you or is too much in order to build mass is just simply not even a little bit true. You can work out far more than an hour a day and not run the risk of over training.

 

I think you have some misconceptions about training.

I'm never going to say Cardio is bad for you. However, it is can slow down your goal if you're looking to add mass.

I guess...if the mass if fat, which I don't understand why anyone would want to add. Cardio can actually help you build muscle, so advising against it would be a very bad idea. There really is no downside to working cardio into your workout.

[Gopher74]

The problem I have found with Creatine, is once you stop taking it or stop working out you really pack on the fat. Thats at least my experience.

 

It does work though.

That doesn't make much sense. It may make you retain water, but it's not going to make you add fat unless you change your diet or workout regimen.

There is absolutely no correlation to taking creatine and storing fat. All creatine does is help your muscles during a workout. There are no side effects if you're properly hydrated.

 

[aracko]

Possible - maybe I just got fatter cause i stopped working out. I suppose things are really that simple at times.

[southpaw121505]

 

Then when you're in your diet, the absolute biggest thing you can possibly do is before every mean, every time you eat, drink water. Not just a little bit, but literally try to slam water almost to the point of being uncomfortable. First of all you get hydrated, and that's not only better than diet pills as far as how much energy you're going to get, but it does a great deal to increase your metabolism,

Absolutely. Also I'd add that drinking water as soon as you wake up followed by breakfast is a good way to boost your metabolism. I forgot where I read it but they recommend drinking at least 16 ounces of water first thing out of bed.

[southpaw121505]

i can't afford the pre-mixed stuff. my next strategy is getting up earlier this week to have a protein shake for breakfast instead of oatmeal, and i'm confident that should do the trick as far as the calories and protein that i've been short on, plus i should then be fine appetite-wise, i'm sure.

I like to add a scoop of protein powder to my oatmeal. I make the oatmeal, then add a scoop and top it off with a little more milk, stir it up good, you barely taste the difference.

[GAME05]

I like to add a scoop of protein powder to my oatmeal. I make the oatmeal, then add a scoop and top it off with a little more milk, stir it up good, you barely taste the difference.

i found that the chocolate syrup i'd been adding was helping to thicken the shake up. now it's just water and sugar and it's been fine. those little debbie snack things are great, too, so cheap and nothing but calories. so i'm probably only getting 400-600 calories extra per day, which isn't too much, but fine. the benefit to that is although i won't gain as fast as i'd like, the bodyfat% doesn't really go up, that the gain is mostly muscle.