Need help! Gaining Muscle/What Supplements/Etc.

[ahadsz007]

Hello All,

My name is Ahad and I am 17 almost 18 years old. I am of average weight I would say for my height and age. But, I truly want to go through a transformation. I started p90x a little bit (45 days?), but due to religious reason I couldn't continue for a month. So, I finally decide to get off my ass and try and workout again. With p90x I took whey protein and did fairly well with the weight, at the time I believe I was around 138 Lbs and my fat percentage was a tad lower (1-2%). But, I want to gain muscle (to about 150-160 Lbs; eventual goal is 180 Lbs) and burn my total fat to around (~9%). So basically I wanted to learn more about whey protein and creatine. I was told by friends to look into kre-alleyn (sp?), creatine nitrous, and conjugated creatine. Now I would like to know what may work for my body, although you guys won't be able to tell me exactly I'd like to get a good idea of what to take (creatine wise). I assume most of you have used this stuff before so I really would like the advising and knowledge need to gain muscle. As for whey protein, I believe gold standard is the "Best" not completely sure but from my usage and from reviews it seems well. Also, Id like to know dosages, percents, cycling all that mumbo jumbo needed to know for creatine and whey protein use. If possible Id like any advice on working out and the whole supplement idea, as I am a complete novice. Thank you again, and I hope to hear back from you.

[patrick4588]

p90x will not help you gain muscle. it uses way too many calories and is best suited for ppl who are overweight wanting to cut down. you need to eat a lot more than you do and get on a program like "starting strength" or "stronglifts 5x5"

[ahadsz007]

p90x will not help you gain muscle. it uses way too many calories and is best suited for ppl who are overweight wanting to cut down. you need to eat a lot more than you do and get on a program like "starting strength" or "stronglifts 5x5"

hmm. Ok, but would it still be fine to do it? At least get to a nice size and then gain muscle. By muscle gaining I'd like to be more toned if anything but have muscle as well. Although my definitions of toned and muscle gaining are mixed up, so clarification on that note would be great too.

[bodybuilder03]

P90x is good for helping to drop weight and get in shape. Try and stick with your basic compound movements such as presses, squats , dead lifts, rows....etc. but before supplements be sure to pay attention to your diet this is going to be your main source for gaining size and strength. Definitely use whey post workout and Kre-Alkalyn is a great choice for creatine. No loading, no cycling and no water retention.

[ahadsz007]

P90x is good for helping to drop weight and get in shape. Try and stick with your basic compound movements such as presses, squats , dead lifts, rows....etc. but before supplements be sure to pay attention to your diet this is going to be your main source for gaining size and strength. Definitely use whey post workout and Kre-Alkalyn is a great choice for creatine. No loading, no cycling and no water retention.

Alright I think Ill do the p90x (1-round) first then Ill start the lifts or ill alternate between the lifts and p90x. And alright any advice on which Kre-Alkalyn to use and when to use it? And shall I stick with gold standard (whey protein)? Also, what about nitrous creatine is that any good?

[superkhurram]

hey Ahad,
I think what you should be looking for is Mass. With that being said, obviously the only "whey" to get that is through working out and proper diet (pardon the pun lol)

You should do some research on your own and find out as much information as possible about that then. Bodybuilding.com has tons of useful articles which can help you come up with your own plan to get your own results.

From what i read, you want to put on some muscle...now you gta know muscle weighs more than fat, so putting on "20 lb" might seem like a challenge, but it's actually very attainable.

You gta have a goal in mind so you can plan your future workouts around that goal....with the P90X the people trying to lose fat in 90 days...its pretty legit, but since you're trying to put on muscle, you'll have to look at different programs or formulate your own.

Look into supplementing with Creatine, Multivitamins, and Whey Protein. Also you may want to consider a Mass Gainer, which is protein with added carbs and amino acids which will help you with your goal.

Make sure to research about anything you are going to take!

[bodybuilder03]

Alright I think Ill do the p90x (1-round) first then Ill start the lifts or ill alternate between the lifts and p90x. And alright any advice on which Kre-Alkalyn to use and when to use it? And shall I stick with gold standard (whey protein)? Also, what about nitrous creatine is that any good?

Gold standard is good protein to stick too, and as for Kre-Alkalyn I recommend All Amaerican EFX and i personally take 2 caps pre and post workout.

[ahadsz007]

hey Ahad,
I think what you should be looking for is Mass. With that being said, obviously the only "whey" to get that is through working out and proper diet (pardon the pun lol)

You should do some research on your own and find out as much information as possible about that then. Bodybuilding.com has tons of useful articles which can help you come up with your own plan to get your own results.

From what i read, you want to put on some muscle...now you gta know muscle weighs more than fat, so putting on "20 lb" might seem like a challenge, but it's actually very attainable.

You gta have a goal in mind so you can plan your future workouts around that goal....with the P90X the people trying to lose fat in 90 days...its pretty legit, but since you're trying to put on muscle, you'll have to look at different programs or formulate your own.

Look into supplementing with Creatine, Multivitamins, and Whey Protein. Also you may want to consider a Mass Gainer, which is protein with added carbs and amino acids which will help you with your goal.

Make sure to research about anything you are going to take!

Haha, I like the pun. And thanks for all the help, as for supplement research Ive looked into the creatines quiet a bit (pros/cons) and that's how I narrowed down all my choices (with help from some friends). Ill look into the mass gainer supplement, do you have any specific mass gainers that you could suggest? And here is an article I read about that used p90x to gain mass and I was thinking of doing it this way so any advice here would be great. Although I can't link the article due to post restrictions. If you could just search #011-p90x newsletter- gaining mass with p90x.

As for the dietary part I have started with omelets/eggs with bread in the morning, which alternates with cereal and jam with toast. Lunch which I want to start up on will mostly consist of cottage cheese/chicken/beef strips with salads. And for dinner, I usually eat rice with chicken or something around that line.

Are there any other tips you have for me regarding supplements and workout program? Thanks.

[ahadsz007]

Gold standard is good protein to stick too, and as for Kre-Alkalyn I recommend All Amaerican EFX and i personally take 2 caps pre and post workout.

Alright ill stick to gold standard. And ill look into American EFX. Thanks bodybuilder.

[imagedynamix]

If you're looking for a mass gainer, buy some whey protein and add stuff to it, like oats, nuts, chocolate, milk, fruits, anything else that is calorie dense. That will be cheaper than buying a mass gainer and probably taste a lot better.

[superkhurram]

If you're looking for a mass gainer, buy some whey protein and add stuff to it, like oats, nuts, chocolate, milk, fruits, anything else that is calorie dense. That will be cheaper than buying a mass gainer and probably taste a lot better.

good point....a worthy investment is a good blender...will help you make shakes, which should supplement your diet...you should be trying to feed yourself up to 6 times a day! seems like a lotta work i know!

with your workout, it depends on how often can you get to the gym...im in school so i try and fit in my workouts between classes, or after school or weekends...it will change depending on your school schedule....but the overall workout should be quite similar...basically you're trying to do body part splits...ie chest/tricep, back/bicep, quad/ham/calf (lower body), and shoulders...i have arnolds book in which he stated to do abs everyday...so basic week would look like this...

monday - chest/tri
tuesday - back/bi
wednesday - legs
thursday - shoulders
friday - cardio/arms/etc
saturday - cardio/arms/etc
sunday - cardio/arms/etc

you can repeat the same workout after one run, so where it says "cardio/arms/etc" you can restart with chest/tris or just have a rest day or do cardio/conditioning work...its completely normal to be working the same muslce group more than once a week....

the one thing you have to enforce is a decent amount of volume you do per body part....so with chest for example, lets say you want total 20 sets...you can do 5 incline bench sets, 5 flat bench sets, 5 decline bench press, 5 parallel bar dips(just an example, you can change exercise to your liking)...followed by 15 sets of tris so pick 3 exercises with 5 sets...

with reps on every set, some workouts require lots of reps, ie leg workouts, but some not so much...depends on the exercise itself....

basically more volume will help you build mass on the muscle. make sure to keep a count of reps/sets that you do...this will help you to decide where to go...

[BlueRev]

Food/Sleep/Time = building muscle

End of discussion.

[Dead Cell]

Food is the most important part in gaining muscles. Don't depend on supplements so much.

[ahadsz007]

good point....a worthy investment is a good blender...will help you make shakes, which should supplement your diet...you should be trying to feed yourself up to 6 times a day! seems like a lotta work i know!

with your workout, it depends on how often can you get to the gym...im in school so i try and fit in my workouts between classes, or after school or weekends...it will change depending on your school schedule....but the overall workout should be quite similar...basically you're trying to do body part splits...ie chest/tricep, back/bicep, quad/ham/calf (lower body), and shoulders...i have arnolds book in which he stated to do abs everyday...so basic week would look like this...

monday - chest/tri
tuesday - back/bi
wednesday - legs
thursday - shoulders
friday - cardio/arms/etc
saturday - cardio/arms/etc
sunday - cardio/arms/etc

you can repeat the same workout after one run, so where it says "cardio/arms/etc" you can restart with chest/tris or just have a rest day or do cardio/conditioning work...its completely normal to be working the same muslce group more than once a week....

the one thing you have to enforce is a decent amount of volume you do per body part....so with chest for example, lets say you want total 20 sets...you can do 5 incline bench sets, 5 flat bench sets, 5 decline bench press, 5 parallel bar dips(just an example, you can change exercise to your liking)...followed by 15 sets of tris so pick 3 exercises with 5 sets...

with reps on every set, some workouts require lots of reps, ie leg workouts, but some not so much...depends on the exercise itself....

basically more volume will help you build mass on the muscle. make sure to keep a count of reps/sets that you do...this will help you to decide where to go...

Wow, thanks for all the advice it will definitely take a while to soak in but will try and build that into a habit. As for the mass gainer strategy ill mixing whey protein with calorie dense substances. But what about the creatine? Anything on that? Should I do kre-alkalyn, nitrous, or just do whey protein mix? Thanks.

[ahadsz007]

Food is the most important part in gaining muscles. Don't depend on supplements so much.

Any suggestions for foods? Like meal-plan wise?

[BlueRev]

Any suggestions for foods? Like meal-plan wise?

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbmainnut.htm

Also yes take 3-5g of cre per day
fish oil

[ahadsz007]

Also yes take 3-5g of cre per day
fish oil[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the link will check it out. And alright will do Ill add it into my diet.

[GreyArea]

Lots of protein + calorie surplus + beginner lifting routine

[ahadsz007]

Thanks for all the advice guys! Ill continue the gold standard and try the nitrous creatine/kre-alkalyn and see what happens. Ill let you know what occurs. As for cycling I don't need to do that for the 2 creatines correct?

[Mighty Kev]

Hey Bro,

I think if you keep consistently lifting weights, and drinking a whey protein shake, over time you'll add muscle and won't have to worry about anything else. 2 scoops, or 50g of protein after each weight lifting session, and you should be golden. Find a workout split, I like a push day/ pull day/ and a leg day split. And then just consistently lift and down that whey shake. After a couple months, you'll be shocked at your progress and success

-K