Maximizing Muscle Growth

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EpheMeroN

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Currently I take a Centrum Performance multi-vitamin once a day, as well as three Omega-3 pills daily. I also drink a 2-scoop whey protein mix shake (60g) with a banana every day.

What other vitamins / supplements would you all recommend for maximizing my muscle growth? I considered Creatine until my workout buddy told me that Creatine retains water and can make you actually gain weight in your mid-section, and that's specifically where I still need to lose fat!
 
I think you should focus on your diet first, a good diet is more than half the battle.
 
mreik said:
I think you should focus on your diet first, a good diet is more than half the battle.
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So true. If you're new to weight lifting and/or body building, than don't worry about any other supplements for now, they aren't as important as other things.....

Don't shock your body by instantly throwing all these supplements into it.

When you think you're ready than try creatine. If you gain fat, that means you're not using all the calories you're eating, that can be due to two things. 1) You're eating too much, 2) you aren't working out hard enough.

Throw some cardio into your routine if you're worried about gaining fat.

You could try these:



Be careful though, most of those are serious supplements. Research stuff before you even think about buying it.
 
I do have a good diet.

I believe it IS time for supplements because I've been lifting weights on/off for over 3 years now, but more importantly I've been going strong since last November and I really want to gain some upper body mass.

Everyone recommends creatine but I've heard creatine can make you gain fat right to your stomach, and it's really bad at water retention so you can gain weight easily. Is there any truth to this? I ask because my stomach is the sole place right now where I am trying to lose weight from. It's THE final spot on my body that just won't let go of the handles!!!!

I do cardio. I used to do it 6-7 days a week before I started weight training, and now I do it 3 times a week for 525 calories (around 55 minutes on the treadmill).

I also heard if you run as your cardio, while you are trying to gain muscle mass, it's considered a bad thing because running eats away at your muscles?? So I've been power-walking all this time.
 
EpheMeroN said:
I do have a good diet.
Everyone recommends creatine but I've heard creatine can make you gain fat right to your stomach, and it's really bad at water retention so you can gain weight easily. Is there any truth to this? I ask because my stomach is the sole place right now where I am trying to lose weight from. It's THE final spot on my body that just won't let go of the handles!!!!

I also heard if you run as your cardio, while you are trying to gain muscle mass, it's considered a bad thing because running eats away at your muscles?? So I've been power-walking all this time.
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Bullocks! Creatine contains zero calories, so it can't make you fat! Water retention does occur, but its in every cell of your body, not the stomach.

too much cardio can stunt lean muscle development, cuz it burns too many calories and can put you in a catabolic state.


it sounds liek your diet still isn't good enough to shed that last bit of fat.
to add upper body mass, you'll need to bulk up, not cut.
 
So do you think I should redo my diet plan to lose the last of the belly fat, and then once that's all gone get on creatine?

If I bulk up now I fear that the remaining belly fat will never leave me.

I'm probably not eating enough to gain mass... today for example this is what I ate:

Breakfast = 1 serving Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal
Lunch = 2 scoop whey protein mix shake w/ Silk (soy milk) and a banana
handful of almonds, and some whole grain wheat thins
Dinner = Zataran's (rice mix you add ground meat to - i used turkey)
Greek Salad from Trader Joe's
Nightly Snack (because I stay up late working from home) = Fuji apple w/ peanut butter

I drank 1 diet soda (Diet Rite so ZERO everything), and then nothing but water all day
 
EpheMeroN said:
So do you think I should redo my diet plan to lose the last of the belly fat, and then once that's all gone get on creatine?

If I bulk up now I fear that the remaining belly fat will never leave me.

I'm probably not eating enough to gain mass... today for example this is what I ate:

Breakfast = 1 serving Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal
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Replace with Old-fashioned or steele cut oats.

Lunch = 2 scoop whey protein mix shake w/ Silk (soy milk) and a banana
handful of almonds, and some whole grain wheat thins
Click to expand...

Don't rely on shakes so much. Drop the wheat thins, replace with whole grain bread or tortillas. You can replace the whey with tuna, salmon, cottage cheese, low sodium beef jerky, etc.

Save your whey for PWO.

Dinner = Zataran's (rice mix you add ground meat to - i used turkey)
Greek Salad from Trader Joe's
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What kind of rice? I would replace that with a 1/2 and 1/2 blend of white and brown.

Nightly Snack (because I stay up late working from home) = Fuji apple w/ peanut butter
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Probably eliminate the apple as a night time snack and replace with cottage cheese.


That's four feedings. You should be eating every 2-3 hours, making a minimum of six feedings a day.

In addition, here's some reading material:


http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/leaneating_1.htm
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/leaneating_2.htm
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/nutr_timing_1.htm
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/nutr_timing_2.htm

Then read the rest at your leisure:

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/index.htm
 
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I currently eat dinner around 5pm every single evening of the week, but I stay awake until 1am usually.

I really don't know what to eat at night and I know if I don't eat every 2-3 hours my body will break down muscle tissue and basically cancel out my workouts from which I am doing to bulk up.

Eating at 5pm means I need to eat again at 7:30-8pm and also at 10:30-11pm. Things that I've been eating lately are cottage cheese (regular not the low-fat), handfuls of raw almonds, apples with peanut butter, and that's about it. I don't know what else to eat. Should I be making shakes at these late hours? Do I still need to be pumping protein in so my body doesn't break down muscle tissue during the late hours?
 
Thanks.

Does it matter what time of the day we consume those foods though?

I want to ensure I eat the proper type of food at the proper time of day to maximize weight loss and such.
 
I am trying to do 2 things:

1) Lose the last stubborn fat around my stomach and lower back (love handles)

2) Build muscle mass, i.e. bulk up

I know this all has to deal with my diet because I've been working out hard for 9 months already with results yes but not nearly how I'd like it to be. I realize diet is really 50% of the entire battle to looking and feeling good.
 
You're saying it's not possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?

If that is true can you please explain why. Thanks!
 
I'll stick to building muscle for now then. I just can't give another year or two and not bulk up at all.

Have any of you guys gained stomach fat from bulking up? I'm curious to know how I can counter-act this if something happens and I gain fatty weight instead of muscle.
 
I'm 99% certain that everyone gains some fat on their midriff during a bulk.

Why not bulk for the next 8 weeks, then cut for 12 or something like that?

For most people, its a constant rotation until you reach a result your happy with at which point you switch to maintenance.
 
While in a caloric deficit, you are going to lose muscle. While you are in a caloric surplus, you are going to gain fat. It is the nature of the beast. This is why our routines and schedules are constantly being tweaked and modified towards certain goals. Anyone interested in physique improvement is usually going through cycles of bulking and cutting. The idea, if you are at the stage where you are ready to bulk, is to find a caloric intake that is suitable for adding weight, but not so large that you are adding too much fat. Building muscle is a slow process for most. Once you reach a weight you are happy with, or you have packed on a little too much fat to be comfortable with, you start cutting. You also align your resistance training program at the time with the mindset of maintaining as much of your hard earned new muscle mass as possible. The idea is to keep improving. Hope that makes sense. I feel like I was rambling.
 
You need some creatine!!!!
 
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