weight training, anyone?

[nissanrcer240]

just curious as to how many people here are into weight training/lifting, i just recently got involved and i realy like doing it now, i was hoping someone here who is more experienced could help give me some advice....im looking for some kindof weight gainer i guess you would call it, to give me more to work with....anyone have experience with that kindof thing,like what would you recomend? My goal is to have my bench up to 250 and my squat up to at least 300 by the end of the upcoming school year, b/c i take a weight training class and they keep track of that and we actualy get a grade based on it

im going to the gym tomorw and ill probly stop by the store to pick up something and just wondering what do any of you experienced people thinks would be best?

[AZhitman]

My experience with weight gainer products (and I've bought them all) has been this: Most are LOADED with sugar, carbs, fat and other stuff that you can do without. None provide the kind of "gain" you're looking for, which is muscle mass.

Only over the past few years have I found something that works for me - Lots of lifting, and a good whey protein supplement (like XXX or 100% Whey). They're cheaper, low fat and you won't get a sugar buzz... When you're training, you need 1g of protein for every pound of bodyweight daily... Hard to get that through a regular diet.

By the way, when I graduated HS I was 6'2", 135 lbs. Now i'm 6'1", 185, and in pretty much *perfect* health (for an "old" guy).

[InstantRice]

im absolutely with azhitman. I was on my High School basketball team and wrestling team and alot of guys tried random weightgainers with mostly negative results. As far as protein goes i use 100% whey by eas and ive also used prolabs whey protein(forgot the appropriate name).

Also i suggest creatine monohydrate. Its an awesome supplement that converts atp into adp (or something to that affect). Which basically lets your muscles have less recovery and the ability to do more. however you will end up gaining a few pounds (3-15) due to water retention (the only side effect of the supplement). The water retention wears off in like a week and a half after you stop taking it. The water retention also helps many people out with the mental aspect of working out. The retention makes you look like you have put on a bunch of muscle thus motivating some to work out more. BTW great supplement for gaining vertical leap.

[PalmerWMD]

Arnold Schwarzenegger said:" You work out 3 times a week for 45 minutes and you will get somewhere."

I agree to stay away from some of those weigth gain powders.I do believe however, the proper formula for the protein, is 1 g per 1 <kg> of body weight.

Fred...

[InstantRice]

its not really an exact science most people say 1- 1.3 per pound. kg's silly boy

[DAEDALUS]

I tried them all too when I used to work out. Creatine WORKS. Also, there's a powder product by twinlabs I think, named Ultrafuel (?). All complex carbs. Drink that, and you'll be amazed at how much energy you still have after your 3rd set.

[InstantRice]

creatine is utterly amazing. i have to say it helped w/ at least 10 inches on my vertical

[MaineExport]

hrmmm... yeah I'm a rather avid weight lifter... but I COMPLETELY stay away from weight-gainers. The only things I pay attention to are protein intake and multi-vitamins. Obviously a well balanced diet is important... but I don't get stressed out about how perfect the rest of my eating habits are.

I run 6 days a week (2.5 miles a pop) and lift 4 days a week. I have a method to my madness... but it basically boils down to this:

I try to limit fat intake, but I certainly eat what I want to. Starvation sucks and I'd rather be fat than unhappy and unfed!

I run within a half hour of waking up... then eat a decent breakfast immediately afterward. Then I eat small amounts of food all day... no large meals... no pigging out.

Days that I lift... I eat two 7 ounce chicken breasts or a 16 ounce sirloin in addition to the regular small amounts of food I would normally be taking in. It doesn't matter when you eat it... as long as it's sometime that day.

I have NO problem maintaining weight if I work on it. I'm 5' 8" and I tip the scales a about 185 pounds. I am short and built (a little)... and size just seems to come with hard work. But, I have friends that bust their balls twice as hard as me in the gym... actively participate in weight gaining strategies... some even juice... and they will NEVER develop size. Sure, they'll get strong as hell... but it is entirely your genetics that determine your size and build. Weight gainers are pretty much useless in my mind. Do your own thing... work your tail off... push yourself... get strong and forget about size and weight. Hell... in 10 years you might be wishing you were smaller!!!

[InstantRice]

juice ran rampant through our football team last year. It seems somewhat retarded to me. If you are under 24 you piss out more testosterone then your body needs in the first place.

[nissanrcer240]

so creatine is something to look for then??......see what im looking to do is to gain weight, b/c im only like 160 ish right now,and im prepping for football next year, and right now im not like skrony or anything but just deff not big enough, or at least big enough to where i want to be...

AZhitman , i think i get what your saying...so what would be a good whey protein supplement ? what exactly is whey?lol forgive me im realy new to this and i havent realy done any research on any thing yet, just thought here would be a good place to ask around to start out with

[InstantRice]

http://www.Netrition.comhttp://www.Freetrainers.com go to the discussion board.

[nissanrcer240]

InstantRice, thanks for the links, they look like theyll come in useful

[Meantime]

I've been on roughly the same schedule as Maineimport, 4 days of running a week, between 2-3 miles each time, then 2-3 days at the gym of weight training. My diet only consists of multivitamins and a strictly controlled regimen of fruits/veggies every day, and I keep track of sodium levels (I have weird issues with getting dehydrated). Everything else is pretty fair game.

It may just be me and my latent hip injuries, but I found squats to be a heckuva lot harder to build up in. They are one of the most intensive physical exercises you can do. I've been able to bench press 225 + without a problem but can barely go over 170 in squats without having some serious soreness. I'm 5'6" and 140 lbs, for some reason my upper body never gets as stressed as my lower body. Shouldn't happen given that the muscle mass of the lower body is significantly higher, but I guess years and years of hard running have taken their toll.

[Get240DiZzY]

I usually take a bike ride every day (around 5 miles, sometimes more), and make sure I don't eat too much fatty stuff. I don't have bulging, tear-your-shirt-as-you-flex muscles(sp?), but I also don't have any body fat!

[MainEvent212]

im a skinny fat guy :-[

meaning, i'm 6' and 160 lbs...yet i still have little to no muscle definition...and i got a lil squishyness around the tummy...

well since i dont work out really at all, i'm not too worried that i'm not getting results lol

i'm in good enough shape to grab the rim...not to bench my bodyweight (try like half lol)...i'm workin on it tho, i've started running to lose the fat and get my legs stronger...(treadmill, usually 1.5 miles on a 10% incline) it kicks my *** haha, stupid tv, i should sue sony for lettin me get out of shape!!!

[InstantRice]

meantime its because your regimine and diet dont coinside. You probably have a pretty vicious protein deficiency. Without protein you will never get stronger and you will be feeling alot worse after weight lifting. The fact that your run (high intensity) doesnt help your squats either. your bodys muscles can only do 4 things: recover, grow, deminish and stay the same. Your regimine doesnt allow your muscles to do one of the first 2, grow or recover, either way it really impeeds the progress of your legs.

[Tino]

I work out randomly nothing consistent i try though. But I can eat anything and a ****load of it and not gain a pound.

[Kaioshin1982]

Im the excatly the same with tino, i eat so much food but not gain any weight, i work out really randomly too... just when i feel like it or got nothing to do. but o well

[Mayhem_J30]

nissanracer,liftin 250 when you weigh 160 is a heck of a goal, but it can be done. hopefully your arms are shorter than mine..lol...torque is a ******.I maxed out lifting 245 last year and my weight got up to 193..the most I've ever weighed. I'm also 6'3" so I'm still a skinny ******. I started out going to the gym 5 days a week for an hour with nothing but lifting. I was also taking a weight gainer, mostly high carbs. Took it for about 6 months with no results. As soon as I stopped taking it I went from 170 to 190 within a month and a half. I have no idea what happened there. Got worried that I wouldn't stop putting on weight. Had to start running then. My age probably caught up with me.anyway, after getting to 245 I think my frame/joints/bones whatever started to give. I'm small framed and was doing too much for my size. I had to cut back on lifting and move to a more cardio style, more reps than weight. Just be careful not to hurt yourself in the process. You don't want a messed up back, wrist and shoulder like me.

[Meantime]

meantime its because your regimine and diet dont coinside. You probably have a pretty vicious protein deficiency. Without protein you will never get stronger and you will be feeling alot worse after weight lifting. The fact that your run (high intensity) doesnt help your squats either. your bodys muscles can only do 4 things: recover, grow, deminish and stay the same. Your regimine doesnt allow your muscles to do one of the first 2, grow or recover, either way it really impeeds the progress of your legs.

You're right, and I've been giving up the squats lately as a result. It's just too much to run 10 miles a week and still expect to weight-train my lower body on top of it. And I don't consume a lot of protein, either.

I have this rather stupid mentality to just keep pushing myself harder physically, I guess I need to back off for a while, eh?

[MaineExport]

I really don't spend much time on legs/lowerbody. In addition to my afore mentioned routine... I am also an avid mountain biker. I have no idea how many miles I throw down on my bike every week... but from the time the snow melts until it starts flying again in the late fall I'm out in the woods riding trails in my free time. Also, in the winter I ski and snowboard all the time. So, that combined with a very small amount of lower body weight training keeps my bottom half on the same level as the rest of me.

[Doogz]

Ok, if i were you i'd definately stay away from supplements. You waste soo much money on those things it is rediculous and with most of them, when you stop taking them, you will lose what you gained. If you have a good program and you are dedicated you will gain. I've only been lifting since August and when i started i could only bench like 145 and my squats were pathetic. Now, in only 10 months i can bench around 250 and squat over 300. Just train hard and progress naturally and you will be happier. If you must take something though. Nitro-tech for your protein needs, Cell-tech for creatine, and if you want something new that works. Pick up a bottle of NO2 (a nitric oxide supplement that increases your body's ability to uptake nutrients and also gives you an extra pump after workouts) and combine it with cell-tech and you will gain like a friggin mad man. Also, i have heard that you don't lose what you've gained when you take NO2.

[InstantRice]

Ok, if i were you i'd definately stay away from supplements. You waste soo much money on those things it is rediculous.

I pay 21 dollars for 5 pounds of protein aka 80 servings. 15 dollars for 4 or so weeks worth of creatine. considering protein shakes can serve as a meal, i dont feel thats bad at all.

Quote »when you stop taking them, you will lose what you gained[/quote] Supplemets such as protein and creatine are naturally occuring in your body. They do not tamper with your testosterone level therefor when you stop taking them you do not lose your gains. What makes you lose isA. your diet sucks and doesnt have enought glutamineB. When people stop taking supplements they stop working out..

[pgt892]

I am going to agree with the majority of the posters here and say that Whey Protein and maybe even Creatine are the only supplements you need when working out. There are three types of protein in the world, soy, egg, and whey. Studies have found that whey protein is the most absorbed by your body than the other two, hence the reason body builders use it. Protein is the number one supplement you will need when working out. You will need roughly 1 gram of protein / 1 lb of body weight. This is almost impossible to do with a normal diet so a supplement is needed. Be sure to buy from a reputable company and look to see what the protein serving size is. I prefer the chocolate shake as it can be tasty depending on your company of choice. Second is creatine monohydrate. The way Creatine works is like this. When you expend energy you are using ATP which is adenosine-tri-phospate. When energy is expended a phosphate molecule is used turning your ATP into ADP (adenosine-di-phosphate). What Creatine does is provide the extra phosphate molecule to your body allowing you to work longer than before creating gains and benefits. A lot of beginning lifters will want to lft as much weight as possible and injure themselves. Work with as much weight as you can WHILE performing the proper movements. You will find that as soon as you concentrate on performing the proper movements that your weight may go down but your gains will increase. Concentrate on proper from and the gains will follow. After you have mastered beginning lifting techniques you can advance with some things such as forced reps (using a spotter), the smith machine, etc.. Now get out there and don't injure yourself!

[MaineExport]

Amen to the proper technique comments... good stuff pgt892!!

[JDM]

I strongly suggest you use Prolab's NLarge 2 for a weight gainer. It works wonders. I'm 5'11'' and 190lbs. On June 8th I did a meet were I benched 290lbs and deadlifed 505lbs. The key of a good workout program are consitincy, a good routine, and your diet. Don't slack off in any and you will make gains.

[InstantRice]

right track but a few things are wrong.

All protein taken in will be absorbed as your body needs it, Whey is absorbed faster so it makes a great post/pre workout meal. Also there are more than 3 types of protein in the WORLD. Whey is based off of milk i believe, egg & soy are self explanitory but you are missing the classification of meats, nuts, ect.

[pgt892]

right track but a few things are wrong.

All protein taken in will be absorbed as your body needs it, Whey is absorbed faster so it makes a great post/pre workout meal. Also there are more than 3 types of protein in the WORLD. Whey is based off of milk i believe, egg & soy are self explanitory but you are missing the classification of meats, nuts, ect.

OK you are right, I was thinking about the weight training world not the world in general.

[InstantRice]

just keeping everything honest

[chrispy]

i have been lifting 6 days a week for 4 years, except for maybe 3-4 weeks (needed muscles to be good for racing). But anyways i take a protein drink as soon as i am done lifting. It is a whey protein made by GNC, and so far after 4 years i have no complaints. The only things is that the taste isn't that great but it is bearable.