About exercise and supplements

[Antithesis]

Recently I have begun doing some exercises (Using a hard as fuck DVD training regime.) And I had a few questions because I feel completely in the dark here.

A.) If my body feels basically dead half-way through the regime is it ok to stop for the day? I hope to not do this all the time maybe only in the first week or so because I just started and just wanted to know.

B.) How much protein should I be getting daily? I drink a protein shake after every exercise that has about 20g of protein. In addition I'm one of those people with an overactive metabolism that breaks down and eats everything with blazing speed. So it is extremely difficult for me to gain weight. Any tips on building the muscles I need?

Thanks.

[Osede]

First of all, as usual, Bodybuilding.com Forums - Bodybuilding And Fitness Board

second, it is depends on how long you have been doing. But if only the first week, I would suggest just do about half course or so to build up the stamina. It should take about 3-4 weeks before you able to do full course Also, you might want to run for 30mins everyone or playing some stamina intensive sport everydays to build up the stamina too.

about question B, I'm let some other people answer since I eat regular food only >.>

[Nystul]

I'm guessing that since it's a DVD that it's not a heavy weight training thing and it's more cardio? If you really want to put on weight and build muscle you're going to need a serious weight training (high weight, low rep) routine. Something thats more cardio/aerobic will tone but it won't build much muscle.

[0ni0n]

Recently I have begun doing some exercises (Using a hard as fuck DVD training regime.) And I had a few questions because I feel completely in the dark here.

A.) If my body feels basically dead half-way through the regime is it ok to stop for the day? I hope to not do this all the time maybe only in the first week or so because I just started and just wanted to know.

B.) How much protein should I be getting daily? I drink a protein shake after every exercise that has about 20g of protein. In addition I'm one of those people with an overactive metabolism that breaks down and eats everything with blazing speed. So it is extremely difficult for me to gain weight. Any tips on building the muscles I need?

Thanks.

To answer your questions,

A) When you first start working out, it will take some time to get accustomed to the regiment. Simply put, you will feel exhausted and that it will take days for you to recover. It is normal, don't give up on your regiment. However, you do need to give your muscles time to recover, so don't work out the same set of muscles in two consecrative days. For instance, if you worked on your upper body yesterday, work on your legs next time. I used to have a trainer and he recommended to have about 2 days of rest for each set of muscles. This may not come as a surprise, depending on your body condition, when you last worked out, how often you do now and other factors, it would probably take your body 1-3 months to get used to the routine. By that I mean you won't pass out when you get home from the gym and feel completely drained the next morning. I have been running for 6 months, and now I can run 10k (6.25 miles) in an hour after 8 hours at the office and still not feel tired when I get home.


B) 20g protein is largely insufficient. To put that into perspective, a 6 ounce steak will give you 38g of protein. I have the GNC weight gainer version and it's 30g per spoon. The recommended dose is at least 2 spoons per drink and at least 1 drink a day (60g) even I am not working out. On a workout day, I will have 1 drink in the morning, 1 right after workout, and 1 before bed. That's a total of 180g protein. The protein shake includes other forms of amino acids to help you muscle recover faster and become more durable, so look for them when you shop for protein next time.

[Biddinger]

A general rule is to get 1g of protein per 1 pound of body weight per day if you want to put on muscle

[Antithesis]

Well, I weight about 137 pounds. Just started the training (Its P90X btw, kill me.) I dont do sports or am I athletic so it is a first for me.

@ Onion: So should I drink like 2-3 shakes a day if it only gives 20g of protein then or buy something better?

[0ni0n]

Well, I weight about 137 pounds. Just started the training (Its P90X btw, kill me.) I dont do sports or am I athletic so it is a first for me.

@ Onion: So should I drink like 2-3 shakes a day if it only gives 20g of protein then or buy something better?

Yea sure. Get the powder version (most of them are) so you can adjust the amount of protein in the shake.

If you didn't work out as much before then you should probably take it slow at the beginning and gradually ease into it, otherwise you would likely suffer injuries if the regiment is too harsh. The beginning is always tough because you will try to talk yourself out of it. Don't give it because it will only get better in the sense that you will lead a better life style. Keep reminding yourself that for motivation and a lot of rock/alternative rock to maintain your focus.

[Meat]

A general rule is to get 1g of protein per 1 pound of body weight per day if you want to put on muscle

1.5-2gs or protein per lb

[Dimmauk]

If you really want to gain weight, get married.

[MrW]

^ this is the correct answer.

[melbufrauma]

im taking Creakic and Gakic from Muscletech right now and Wheybolic Extreme 60 and Mass XXX from GNC right now, works fine

[Diamicles]

Building stamina is the key, first and foremost. It took me about 2 months to get my muscle stamina back after about a 2 year absence from the gym due to various shoulder injuries. If you haven't done anything that would be considered intense workout material in a while (or ever) it will take a bit to really build up that stamina. With that being said, weight training is the way to go in order to build mass, instead of just tone it.

About the protein shakes....some of the advice here is hardcore bodybuilding advice, which I wouldn't recommend in this case. 2 standard whey protein shakes should definitely aid your muscle recovery/rebuild time if you're just starting out. After a few months (hopefully after putting on some muscle weight) it should be necessary to up your daily amount of protein to supply more muscle mass.

If you want to ask any more questions, feel free to PM me.

[Katlan]

Onion gave some good advice, but if your serious about building muscle then I recommend a gym over a DVD. If your trying to lose weight then cardio and leg exercises are what you mainly want to work on. Yes, upper body exercise's such as Tri/Bi-Cepts (ect..) are great, but they will NOT help you lose weight and slim down overall.

I don't know the technical way to say this: But if your overweight or just trying to be more fit w/o putting on a lot of muscle mass, your body will pull extra body fat from other area's of your body in order to compensate any sort of a direct workout. That's why you can see people who go to the gym for over 2months and barely show any difference... for example: you see people at the gym doing massive abs & very little cardio. They can do Abs for an hr+ a day and still show no diff if they are overweight because they body will compensate and will be burning off fat from other area's of their body instead of their chest muscles.

Overall, I believe cardio and leg exercises/workout will help you lose weight more efficiently then doing a full body circuit. But if your trying to put on muscle mass then I'd recommend starting on "X" amount of weights/machines and gradually adding in more machines/weights/ ect as things start to get easy. You are gonna get burnt out and tired when you start to work out, but if you try to do a full body circuit too soon it's gonna leave you more sore then you "should" be to start out... & in the short run it's gonna be harder to push yourself when your body is so sore.

But the goal of any workout is to exhaust yourself... it's the only way your gonna add muscle mass & definition. While building definition relies on more rep's, muscle mass depends more on higher weights... you can still find a good medium where you can do a nice amount of rep's to build up definition while still exhausting yourself and building more mass

[Antithesis]

Im not trying to loose weight im trying to gain it ;;. But thanks for the advice everyone.

[HadesChubbs]

1.5-2gs or protein per lb

Yeah, No.

1g per lb of body weight if you're looking to put on a healthy amount of muscle, to look better.

If you're wanting to do this seriously, and go beyond the normal in-shape fit look, maybe the 1.5-2g per lb is better down the line.

[Jefe]

Honestly, it depends on your metabolism, foods you eat, and how often you exercise. I've been on the same boat as you, and can't gain weight for shit. 5'6 @ 124 ;/ There's no fucking way I can consume 2k calories or 1 gram of protein a day. I'd suggest visiting your doctor so they can give you a proper evaluation and get a more personalized program.

[Zalius]

google mypyramid and put that you're exercising 60 minutes daily and you should get a good idea of what you need to eat. Go for lean meats, boneless skinless chicken breast will quickly become a staple food for you. Go without supplements for a good few weeks and see how your progress is coming. Do NOT stop before 4 weeks. You REALLY need to go at least 4 full weeks on any program to gauge just how well it's working. Most people give up after 2 hard weeks before they ever had any time to really see any major differences, but they almost always start to show between week 3-5 and that's probably the biggest motivation that you'll get to keep going. If you're only 137 (dunno how tall) you should be able to get muscle on pretty easy if you just increase what you eat, as long as you stay within the amount of calories you're burning. You need to know your BMR (google bmr calculator).


In terms of being tired, overworking is awful. It ruins your motivation and it really is hard to start working out again after a hiatus. But yea, just make sure you get comfortable with your own strength and make sure you do everything with the best form integrity as possible or you'll fuck up your joints and pop ibuprofen for the rest of your life. I've seen infomercials for the program but I think the response that it's getting is pretty funny. Who would've guessed that if you do high intensity workouts with a lot of variety and eat right you'd get fit? WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED????

edit: yea and for supps, if you are taking a protein supp, be it scoops of wheypro or shakes, before and after workouts are the best times. When you wake up and before you sleep are options too, but you should be getting breakfast (Dooooooooo noooooooooooot skiiiiiiiiiiip meaaaaaaaaaaals) 1-2 hrs after you wake up so it should be unnecessary unless you work out after you wake up. Never work out before breakfast unless you've gotten 200-350 calories in (which would be where the shake kicks in). It's pointless.

[thestalkmore]

Recently I have begun doing some exercises (Using a hard as fuck DVD training regime.) And I had a few questions because I feel completely in the dark here

Thanks.

http://rolcats.files.wordpress.com/2...pg?w=450&h=337
Lie back and think of summers in Kiev, o cloudless sky.

Our edifices are firm but gentle lovers!

You shall not want for steel…

[Tormentormike]

For those of you that take your protein shakes, what do you recommend?

[Ensam]

I just take whey protein, I don't think the brand really matters. Sams Club has this Chocolate version that's really good, I don't remember the brand, and it's cheap. I used to use GNC's brand but more expensive.

I actually do have a question though, and it fits the mold of this thread.

I've been lifiting for a couple years...nothing huge, there will be months where I go to the gym 5 days a week, there will be months where I only go scattered days, but I've gone from a (very plump) 220 to a muscular-but-not-lean 170. I want to get lean.

The problem of me getting lean in the past was two fold. One was just not doing cardio (I was more worried about gaining muscle lolz) for pretty good portion, the other is my eating habits. I've definitely fixed a ton of them, as I think is obvious by my weight loss, but I still have trouble at times.

I'm going to be buying an elliptical soon (starting a home gym), and I plan to build up to where I'm doing 15 minute HIIT runs on it three times a day (once after breakfast, once a few hours later with my actual work out, and once at night), five days a week. Part of it fixing the cardio, but the other part is that it SHOULD fix my eating habits. I mean, before working out I always eat well because if you don't, you feel sick during. And afterwards I'm so hungry I don't care what I'm eating, I just want substance.

ANYWAY, now that the background story is done, I know that if I just start doing that, I'm mostly likely going to injure myself. I did something similiar on a treadmill bout half a year ago and fucked up my left calf muscle, couldn't do anything for a month while I let it heal.

So my question is, what do you think is the best way to work into it? Since it's a HIIT, plus an elliptical, it's definitely grueling on my leg muscles. As of now I do it just once a day, 4 days a week when I go tot he gym (although lately I've been bad about going to the gym lol).

Something like:

first week: just once a day to get my muscles back in the groove of things

2nd and third week: just morning and workout, so only twice a day

and then go three times strating fourth week? does that sound good?