*** After all my writing, I noticed I'd end up writing a book telling you why 99% of the posts here were COMPLETELY wrong. Save yourself some time, read some of this, then go to
http://www.bodybuilding.com and get the correct information.
Minus MadTrix4185, everything you guys've said is complete bull. I'm not going to claim I'm anywhere near an expert on this stuff, but I'm really into lifting, dieting, etc. to the point where I gave up 98% of my drinking (for anyone who knows me, that's a lot...and if you don't know me, go to the bonus section of the h30 films hibachi king and look for the drunk kid taking hot sauce shots).
Putting on mass is all about eating, your lifting regiment, and sleep. MadTrix is completey correct in saying that to put on mass you should be consuming 1.5 to 2 g of protein per pound. This conists of eating lots of lean meats and also constitutes spending more money on whole foods. Buying wheat bread does not count...if you're going to eat bread and it doesn't say whole grain on it you're wasting your time. Wheat and whole grain are two completely different things.
Creatine does NOT make you fat and does NOT give you bitch tits. First off, creatine works by increasing the amount of ATP (i.e. energy) in your muscles. You will be able to go for longer and go harder if you take it correctly. This means drinking a lot of water. I consume well over 128 oz of water/day (about 64 oz of that is consumed while at the gym). On a side note, you want creatine monohydrate. The new stuff they're marketing as the next big thing isn't true.
You will see ZERO benefit if you replace your daily liquid consumption of water with something else (that includes gatorade) while taking creatine. Don't take that wrong b/c you can drink really anything that's low in sugars (that's where most of those juices and sodas lead you wrong). The reason you need so much water during creatine consumption is that creatine actually absorbs the water from your body and stores it in your muscles. You need to replace that water. Do yourself a healthy favor if you decide to take creatine...DON'T take too much and follow the prescribed amount.
The reason people are saying guys get wrinkly after taking creatine is not from the creatine and has nothing to do with it. When you stop lifting you lose a lot of the pump and your muscles will start to flatten out. Your skin needs to contract. Chances are that those guys with wrinkly skin use to be exceptionally lean and jacked (not to mention probably pretty tan). The tight skin to shrinkage causes the wrinkles. For example, why do you think pregnant women get stretch marks? It's not from creatine.
Redbass is slightly correct. I lift 4 times/week during dieting and 6 during bulking. The number of times you lift per week depends on your cycle. If you're doing a 2 day cycle (i.e. the next time you lift the same muscle group is every 2 worksouts. In other words, my 2 cycle is arms/back/shoulders the next day is legs/chest and repeat). When I'm bulking I'll do chest/tris, back/bis, legs, shoulders/traps/forearms and I'll lift 6 days/week. I don't do cardio during this time, but the reason it's ok for me to do 6 days of lifting is because by the next time I do for instance chest/tris it has been 4 or 5 days since the last time I did them. This gives that muscle group enough time to recover.
As a quick example during bulking, I'll eat the following:
6:30 am
5 g glutamine
1 whole egg
5 egg whites
2 oz non-fat mozzerella cheese
1/2 pepper
or
2 scoops whey
pancakes
10:30 Meal replacement shake
1:30 1/2 oatmeal, 12 oz chicken, 1 sweet potato
5:30 12 oz chicken on 2 pieces of whole grain bread
6:30 lift
8:30 (right after lifting) 1 scoop whey, 16 oz chicken or 16 oz lean beef (london broil, etc.), 5 g creatine
11:00 pm 1 scoop whey, can of tuna fish
That constitutes about 3000-4000 calories and splitting it up like that my fat gain is minimal. That contains about 250-300 g protein. I take creatine, glutamine, and whey...that's it. NO is worth it depending on your budget, but it's not always worth it. Make sure you get 7-8 hours of sleep or you won't recover properly.
You have to find what works for you, but consumption of about 3000-4000 calories for a normal say 5'8" person is about right to gain mass.
The best suggestion I can offer you is to NOT ask the people here. Go to
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun and read their articles. The site is exceptional, has UNBELIEVABLY good prices on products, the people that run the site are ridiculously nice and helpful, and the people who write the articles know what they're talking about, not only based on their degrees, but by their appearance.
To give you an idea, I'm 5'6", at dieting weight I'm 150-155 lbs, and am 6.1% body fat (I'm into it...I measured yesterday). Most of the people I know who're 5'6"ish are a higher body fat % and weight around 135-140.
On a side note, almost all whey is the same. It's a cheese extract among other things. The delivery system and the extra shit in it are what differentiate them. Whoever said try to get whey with as little fat in it as possible is buying the wrong shit and isn't buying pure whey. Every bag of whey I've ever seen has no more than 3g of fat in it per serving and no more than 1.5 g saturated fat. You must be looking at smoothie mix or some sort of protein mix crap.
d-loc, saying the more fat you put on the more muscle will come isn't true at all.
Seriously, stop reading this thread and go to
www.bodybuilding.com. -------------------
2 billion dollars...sir, I'd handle my grandpa's balls for 2 billion dollars.
www.neverlooknetworks.com
www.e
rictheninja.org
