Bodybuilders, weight lifters, or nutritionists, HELP!?

Question

I'm 17 years old and want to bulk up for next years wrestling season. (I want to go from 145 to at least 171 lb. weight class). I've been lifting for about 3 years and have only used whey protein and muscle milk. What supplement can I use that will help me gain at least 20 lbs of muscle mass? I was thinking creatine or glutamine or something of that nature. Please advise. Thank you

Answer 1

The top muscle-building supplement is food.

Yes, I'm being completely serious here. Food is the most anabolic substance you can ingest. You can swollow NO2 boosters, creatine and L-glutamine until the cows come home, but if you are not getting enough calories, you will not build muscle. It's as simple as that. Even bodybuilders on anabolic steroids have to consume massive amounts of food to pack on muscle. There is not a more magical substance than clean food.

So, my advice would be to start tracking your calories. Yes, it's a pain in the ***, but until you understand your energy requirements and how many calories you are actually consuming, it will be difficult to add lean muscle mass without putting on a bunch of fat along with it.

The first thing you need to do is to determine how many calories a day you need to add muscle. Though I'm not believer in Hydroxycut, they do have a nice, easy-to-use calorie requirement calculator. Go here and plug your info in and select "Add Muscle" as your goal:

http://www.hydroxycut.com/MEN/CALCULATORS/CALORIE/index.shtml

This will tell you how many calories you need to consume each day to add mass. If you play around with the numbers, you'll see that you are typically adding an additional 500 calories (depending on your existing weight) per day for a gain plan.

Easy enough so far. Here's the trick though, if you want to add the mass without getting fat, you need to be very disciplined with tracking how many calories are are actually consuming. This will allow you to fine tune your gains and tweak your diet if it looks like your are starting to add more fat than you'd like along with the muscle.

There are really two ways to do this. You can buy a notebook and manually write down everything you are eating along with the calorie counts. Or you can use a tool like

http://www.calorieking.com

or

http://www.my-calorie-counter.com

my-calorie-counter.com is free and lets you track your food consumption via the web, which is pretty cool and extremely convenient. If you want something on your computer or PDA, then calorieking is the better choice -- however, it will cost you $49.99.

While you're on this bulking diet, keep a close eye on whether you are adding excessive fat with your muscle. If this is the case, pull your daily calories back slightly (by maybe 100 to 150) for a week and see if that helps. I would also recommend getting a pair of Accu-Measure Fitness Fat Calipers, which will let you more accurately measure whether you are gaining fat or gaining muscle (weight is not a good way of determining body composition.)

http://www.quickmedical.com/calipers/accu_measure.html

Also, you didn't really say much about your gym routine. Whether you do a full-body workout three days a week, or do a split routine (for example, back and chest on Monday, shoulders, triceps and biceps on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, etc.) make sure that you are including leg training in your regimen. Your legs are the biggest muscle group on your body, so when you train them they release extra growth hormone which can boost all-around muscle growth. The best lower-body exercises are big, multi-joint, compound movements like squats, deadlifts, lunges and presses. For examples of these exerices, go here:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Hamstrings/BBStraightLegDeadlift.html

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBFullSquat.html

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBWalkingLunge.html

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/SL45LegPress.html

Finally, if you're doing cardio right now, limit it to 20 minutes or less while you are trying to gain muscle.

In terms of nutrition, make sure you are getting plenty of lean protein (at least 1.5 grams per pound of body weight) and take advantage of that critical post-workout window to maximize nutrient uptake. Drink a whey protein shake 1 hour prior to working out, and then consume 20-40 grams of quick digesting protein like whey along with a 30-40 grams of simple carbohydrates like maltodextrin or dextrose immediately following your weight training. Follow that up within 60 minutes with a whole meal.

I realize you were looking for some kind of pill here, but the bottom line is that pill doesn't exist. Eat plenty and clean, workout hard, give yourself 8 hours of sleep a night and take your vitamins and you'll start packing the muscle on quickly.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

i relied on a Test and Anadrol stack when i wanted to gain weight in high school.

If you dont want to do that i would suggest increasing your daily calorie and protein intake to around 4000 calories and 350 grams of protein a day. And keep your workout intensity high

Answer 4

If you're able to stay away from 500 unhealthy calories per day you possibly can eliminate some sort of lb a week.

Answer 5

Aim for a 300- to help 400-calorie meal.

Answer 6

he metabolic powers specific foods have to make your physique burn far more body fat.” It is a way of rating foods, based on “how numerous calories your body is going to burn just breaking down the nutrients each and every time you consume a certain meals.”
Therefore, you are not alone in this battle.

Answer 7

Baggy clothes hide the body and encourage lounging around. So regardless if you're relaxing at home, wear fitted clothes to help keep you on track.

Answer 8

17hd and viraloid by vy tech. High protein and no cardio. You can find these supplements at vitamaker.com, cheap. Good luck.

Answer 9

Keep cut-up fruits and vegetables in the fridge to seize for snacks or easy foods.

Answer 10

Don't keep junk food as part of your kitchen. If it's not presently there, you can't be tempted by it.