Help with Protein Powders and/or other supplements

[warriorsoul]

I'm just going to proceed under the assumption that you don't know much about anything.. my new years resolution of 2012 was to get back into shape and I'm currently in the best shape of my life, and I grew up a pretty athletic kid, did a lot of different combat sports all the way into my early 20s so I'll skip all my trial and errors and just get to what has worked the best for me, these are just a few things that I think are probably essential to realizing any goals based around body image

1. counting calories and MACRONUTRIENTS and understanding how these things effect your body composition, this is where protein powder/bars/supplements come into play, in order to recover from your workouts and actually build muscle, you need adequate protein intake, this will depend on your current weight and your goal weight but it'll be roughly 1g of protein per ideal body weight daily or in the ball park of 150g daily on average.. consuming this much protein can be difficult (trust me I try) that's why protein supplements are so popular, they make life much easier

here's a dumbed down list; carbs+fat=bad, protein+fat=good, protein+carbs=good, carbs before bed=bad, carbs in the morning=good, protein before bed=good, etc.

2. skip the machines, dumbbell curls, even cardio I would keep to a minimum unless you need it for something sport/performance specific, a half hour of low intensity cardio 2-3 times a week is plenty (I did 0 cardio and got ripped-paid for it later when I got back into a mma gym but yeah), my main focus would be DIET and finding an effective lifting routine that you enjoy, I can't say much about other routines but I personally love the 5x5, it's simple 3 lifts a day, 3 days a week, and you're forced to incorporate PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD which is the key to physical change, the barbell is always the way to go imo but to each their own, you can get results using all types of equipment, research what is most effective and figure out what you enjoy doing the most as that will certainly help you maintain your schedule

3. be patient and persistent, this is really important, a lot of lifts if they're new to you are going to feel weird, you're going to be weak, it's just not going to seem like a lot of fun at first but I promise if you can get through the initial sore which will last possibly upto 2 weeks, things get much better, focus on form and before you know it the back squat will be your favorite thing to do, the more you do it, the better you'll get, the better your gains will get, the more motivated you'll get, it builds upon itself but you have to give it the time to gain momentum, I think it's something like 36 days to form a new habit and that's what getting strong will become, an addiction, trying to be stronger than you were last week, every week of your life, eventually you'll run into some problems and need to change some things up but that's months and months away

supplements, none of these things are guaranteed safe for you but I would say the most common and trusted supplements are ; multivitamins, fish oil, protein, amino acids, creatine, and in that order, you're going to have to research and decide for yourself what you think is necessary but just about everyone alive will tell you a good multi, fish oil, and protein (which again could be done through your diet but it takes a lot more effort than most people are willing to put forth)

cardio, if you like it or want to do it for whatever reason, it can help burn fat but keep in mind it can also burn muscle and increase your appetite, always lift first, if you can lift and do cardio on separate days, even better

[warriorsoul]

and if that wasn't long enough, I wouldn't worry about preworkout supplemenets, if you really need a boost, consume some caffeine and watch some motivational youtube vids or find some music that gets you going

and here's a good breakdown of the 5x5 routine with much more general information;
http://stronglifts.com/madcow/5x5_Pr...Linear_5x5.htm

[BJPENNSTATE]

I'm just going to proceed under the assumption that you don't know much about anything.. my new years resolution of 2012 was to get back into shape and I'm currently in the best shape of my life, and I grew up a pretty athletic kid, did a lot of different combat sports all the way into my early 20s so I'll skip all my trial and errors and just get to what has worked the best for me, these are just a few things that I think are probably essential to realizing any goals based around body image

1. counting calories and MACRONUTRIENTS and understanding how these things effect your body composition, this is where protein powder/bars/supplements come into play, in order to recover from your workouts and actually build muscle, you need adequate protein intake, this will depend on your current weight and your goal weight but it'll be roughly 1g of protein per ideal body weight daily or in the ball park of 150g daily on average.. consuming this much protein can be difficult (trust me I try) that's why protein supplements are so popular, they make life much easier

here's a dumbed down list; carbs+fat=bad, protein+fat=good, protein+carbs=good, carbs before bed=bad, carbs in the morning=good, protein before bed=good, etc.

2. skip the machines, dumbbell curls, even cardio I would keep to a minimum unless you need it for something sport/performance specific, a half hour of low intensity cardio 2-3 times a week is plenty (I did 0 cardio and got ripped-paid for it later when I got back into a mma gym but yeah), my main focus would be DIET and finding an effective lifting routine that you enjoy, I can't say much about other routines but I personally love the 5x5, it's simple 3 lifts a day, 3 days a week, and you're forced to incorporate PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD which is the key to physical change, the barbell is always the way to go imo but to each their own, you can get results using all types of equipment, research what is most effective and figure out what you enjoy doing the most as that will certainly help you maintain your schedule

3. be patient and persistent, this is really important, a lot of lifts if they're new to you are going to feel weird, you're going to be weak, it's just not going to seem like a lot of fun at first but I promise if you can get through the initial sore which will last possibly upto 2 weeks, things get much better, focus on form and before you know it the back squat will be your favorite thing to do, the more you do it, the better you'll get, the better your gains will get, the more motivated you'll get, it builds upon itself but you have to give it the time to gain momentum, I think it's something like 36 days to form a new habit and that's what getting strong will become, an addiction, trying to be stronger than you were last week, every week of your life, eventually you'll run into some problems and need to change some things up but that's months and months away

supplements, none of these things are guaranteed safe for you but I would say the most common and trusted supplements are ; multivitamins, fish oil, protein, amino acids, creatine, and in that order, you're going to have to research and decide for yourself what you think is necessary but just about everyone alive will tell you a good multi, fish oil, and protein (which again could be done through your diet but it takes a lot more effort than most people are willing to put forth)

cardio, if you like it or want to do it for whatever reason, it can help burn fat but keep in mind it can also burn muscle and increase your appetite, always lift first, if you can lift and do cardio on separate days, even better

Awesome post,

But the ideal protein intake to gain muscles is 1-1.5 gram per KG of weight, not lbs.

I'm 80kg, which is 180 lbs, so I only need 80-120 grams of protein a day.

[Floyd1982]

Awesome post,

But the ideal protein intake to gain muscles is 1-1.5 gram per KG of weight, not lbs.

I'm 80kg, which is 180 lbs, so I only need 80-120 grams of protein a day.

Exactly.... Trying to get enough protein per pound is difficult even with powders.

[Dr. Doom]

Awesome!! Thanks for all the advice guys, really appreciate all of it.

As things currently stand I'm a little over 6' and 185lb, although I've always been pretty lean so this is high for me. Basically just getting off my ass on a regular basis is obviously the most important thing, tend to procrastinate this kinda stuff... "why work out today when I can watch hockey?" kinda attitude and so far this year all is good.

I'm just going to proceed under the assumption that you don't know much about anything.. my new years resolution of 2012 was to get back into shape and I'm currently in the best shape of my life, and I grew up a pretty athletic kid, did a lot of different combat sports all the way into my early 20s so I'll skip all my trial and errors and just get to what has worked the best for me, these are just a few things that I think are probably essential to realizing any goals based around body image

1. counting calories and MACRONUTRIENTS and understanding how these things effect your body composition, this is where protein powder/bars/supplements come into play, in order to recover from your workouts and actually build muscle, you need adequate protein intake, this will depend on your current weight and your goal weight but it'll be roughly 1g of protein per ideal body weight daily or in the ball park of 150g daily on average.. consuming this much protein can be difficult (trust me I try) that's why protein supplements are so popular, they make life much easier

here's a dumbed down list; carbs+fat=bad, protein+fat=good, protein+carbs=good, carbs before bed=bad, carbs in the morning=good, protein before bed=good, etc.

2. skip the machines, dumbbell curls, even cardio I would keep to a minimum unless you need it for something sport/performance specific, a half hour of low intensity cardio 2-3 times a week is plenty (I did 0 cardio and got ripped-paid for it later when I got back into a mma gym but yeah), my main focus would be DIET and finding an effective lifting routine that you enjoy, I can't say much about other routines but I personally love the 5x5, it's simple 3 lifts a day, 3 days a week, and you're forced to incorporate PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD which is the key to physical change, the barbell is always the way to go imo but to each their own, you can get results using all types of equipment, research what is most effective and figure out what you enjoy doing the most as that will certainly help you maintain your schedule

3. be patient and persistent, this is really important, a lot of lifts if they're new to you are going to feel weird, you're going to be weak, it's just not going to seem like a lot of fun at first but I promise if you can get through the initial sore which will last possibly upto 2 weeks, things get much better, focus on form and before you know it the back squat will be your favorite thing to do, the more you do it, the better you'll get, the better your gains will get, the more motivated you'll get, it builds upon itself but you have to give it the time to gain momentum, I think it's something like 36 days to form a new habit and that's what getting strong will become, an addiction, trying to be stronger than you were last week, every week of your life, eventually you'll run into some problems and need to change some things up but that's months and months away

supplements, none of these things are guaranteed safe for you but I would say the most common and trusted supplements are ; multivitamins, fish oil, protein, amino acids, creatine, and in that order, you're going to have to research and decide for yourself what you think is necessary but just about everyone alive will tell you a good multi, fish oil, and protein (which again could be done through your diet but it takes a lot more effort than most people are willing to put forth)

cardio, if you like it or want to do it for whatever reason, it can help burn fat but keep in mind it can also burn muscle and increase your appetite, always lift first, if you can lift and do cardio on separate days, even better

This was really helpful, thanks man!

I THINK my diet is pretty good for the most part. Usually something along the lines of oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, fruit and yogurt for lunch, dinner of some kind of fish/chicken with rice and veg or a pasta with veg. Can't remember the last time I had fast food or a soft drink (not in booze) and have never smoked or even had coffee lol... but do love the booze, all the beer and rum at/watching sports multiple times a week probably isn't doing me any favours.

Got a laugh out of the "going to be weak" comment. When I first did some extremely basic stuff for the first week I was weak as balls lol...like embarrassingly weak and waking up the next morning sucked worse. Not that I'm exactly heman now or anything but in the 2-3 weeks I have noticed a marked improvement even though I've been alternating weights and cardio.

Gonna do my shopping over the weekend so I'll take a look at what they've got.

[Dr. Doom]

Another stupid question (and I'm sure this will be answered by just looking at any product on a shelf) but do you dissolve these powders in water or something, take them with food or just eat a spoonful of the stuff?

[boonebaker]

Another stupid question (and I'm sure this will be answered by just looking at any product on a shelf) but do you dissolve these powders in water or something, take them with food or just eat a spoonful of the stuff?

Generally they are mixed with water, some people like milk or juice. It can be incorporated into food, especially baked things. Occasionally I make pancakes with a scoop of whey mixed into the batter. Jamie Eason loves to put out recipes with whey powder incorporated in, especially for snacks/treats. My favorite of her's is Protein Cinnamon Swirl Bread - its fukin delicious. I've personally never tried to eat a spoonful of whey, but I imagine it would be difficult for a couple reasons. 1) it's going to be very difficult to swallow without liquid. 2) there's a good chance you'll gag/choke and cough up the powder

[ajl416az]

has anyone here tried hemp protein?
im thinking about trying that stuff Joe Rogan sells. primarily just because i hear you don't fart like you do with whey, which is an attractive selling point for me

[Supreme Commander]

Another stupid question (and I'm sure this will be answered by just looking at any product on a shelf) but do you dissolve these powders in water or something, take them with food or just eat a spoonful of the stuff?

vanilla protein + plain greek yogurt + cinnamon (+ peanut butter?)

pretty good shot of protein. especially if you can't handle chugging that shjt, like me

[OliG83v.2]

I eat my unborn animals before I work out. Then I have my protein shake after the workout on my way to work. I eat lots of dead animals for lunch/dinner.

Er, are you trying to tell us you drink your own cum?!!!