Gaining
Weight and Build Muscle Mass
Protein Supplements and Weight Gainers
(Part 4)
Protein powders are one of the most essential
supplements you should always have on hand for obvious reasons
- protein is the building block of muscles. Without enough
protein, you're just not gonna grow. You should be aiming
to get 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
So for a 200lb person, he/she should aim to get 200 to 300grams
of protein each day.
You should not make protein supplements
your main source of protein. Try to figure out how much
protein you get from solid foods, and make up the rest of
what you need from protein shakes, and of course, always
take a serving or two right after workout. As far as I know,
you body can absorb up to about 50 grams of protein per
sitting, so try not to take in more than 50 grams of protein
each time.
Whey Protein Supplements & Weight
Gainers: 100 Whey, EAS Simply Whey, N Large 2.
If you've read some of my other articles
on protein, you'll probably know Optimum Nutrition's 100%
Whey is my favorite protein supplement. So, it's no surprise
that it was among the supplements I took for this cycle.
I don't think I need to bore you with more rambling on 100
whey. You can read more about it in the following articles:
Beginner
supplement guide part 3: Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey
Whey Protein
Comparison Guide part 2: Whey protein concentrate compared
EAS Simply Whey is another good whey supplement
I like to throw in the mix once awhile. It tastes good and
mixes easily, but I think its still a little shy of 100%
Whey's taste. It's NOT necessary that you have both whey
supplements. Getting just one of them should be sufficient.
If you're trying to pack on a few pounds,
or if you are a hardgainer, then you should consider using
a weight gainer like ProLab's N Large 2. It tastes great,
and mixes easily - better than any other weight gainer I'
tried. Again, I'm not gonna ramble on about it here since
you can read more about it in these articles and reviews:
ProLab
N Large 2 review
Beginner
Supplement Guide Part 4: Weight Gainers
The Regulars: Multi Vitamin and Flax
Seed Oil
Everyone, regardless whether you workout
or not, should consider taking a MultiVitamin and a essential
fatty acid. I take 1 multi vitamin every morning before
breakfast, and 1 flax seed oil cap in the morning, and 1
at night before bed time.
These supplements, unlike protein, creatine,
or other bodybuilding supplements, don't lead to direct,
noticeable results and benefits like more size and strength
gains, but they play an important supporting role in your
body's health and functions. I have an article on flax
seed oil here, so you can read up on that.
Side Note: Your Workout - Squats and
Dead lifts
This is just a short ramble on what on
my mind about workouts, and what I see in the gym... Maybe
it'll change your mind to doing more squats and deadlifts.
Ever hear the term "sissy workouts"?
That's a term we use to refer to people in the gym that
don't do squats or deadlifts. I've worked out in quite a
few gym (from good to bad), as a result of living in a few
different cities, and one thing I see in common, is that
NOBODY, i mean, NOBODY does deadlifts! Why is that?? I see
a few minority doing squats, and seeing people do deadlifts
or straight leg deadlifts (SLDL) is even more rare.
The 3 best lifts you can do for growth
overall is (in no particular order): 1) bench press, 2)
squats, and 3) deadlifts. Everybody does bench, who doesn't
want a big chest? But you know what? For optimal growth,
you have to do squats and deadlifts on a regular basis.
These are the lifts that stimulate increased natural testosterone
release in your body, and can be consider whole body lifts
instead of just "back" or "leg" exercises.
Walk into any gym, how often do you see
anyone do squats? And even more rare, how often do you see
people do deadlifts? Never! Period. I can't remember seeing
one person in the gyms I goto doing deadlifts. Even my old
training buddy who did a few cycles don't do deadlifts.
Why? I can't figure it out. Maybe people are afraid of injuries?
But when done properly, with proper warm up, the chance
of injury is very slight.
I'm a 5'7", 150lber. Pretty small
guy by most standards, but people stare when they see this
little guy deadlifting 365lbs for 5 reps.
The point I wanna get across is: DO DEADLIFTS
and SQUATS. There's no reason not to. They will make you
grow. They will help you strengthen and toughen up your
whole body.
If you're just starting out with doing
deads or squats, you might consider using a belt for some
support, but later on, a belt isn't necessary, and you'll
probably need some wrist straps for help with griping when
doing deadlifts, unless you have superbly built and strong
forearms, and always warm up sufficiently before attempting
heavy sets. Good luck to you!
Continue to the last part of this guide
on a sample supplementation plan.
Weight Gain Articles Index:
Weight
Gain Guide Part 1 - Intro
Weight Gain
Guide Part 2 - Creatine & Ribose
Weight Gain
Guide Part 3 - Tribulus Terrestris, ZMA, and Dealing with
Acne
Weight Gain
Guide Part 4 - Protein Supplements, Weight Gainers, and
Multi Vitamins
Weight Gain
Guide Part 5 - Supplement Planning
Protein and Weight Gainers:
Creatine and Ribose
Testosterone Support Supplements:
Regulars:
