protein drinks and weight gain drinks

[oneeyejak]

As an ex personal trainer and bodybuilder, I would say this: I see no reason to use creatine. It does have benefits but I believe they are so minimal as to be not worth the cost/gain. I have three supplements in my house. One, protein powder, is the one I would not go without. The others are a good testosterone booster and a good postwork out drink.

That said, there a lots of good preworkout energy drinks out there. Some with creatine, some without. I prefer to just down a Monster pre workout these days but your best bet might be to experiment untill you find one that works the best for you. Its like anything else. You need to learn what works for you.

Post workout, you do need protein. I recommend at least 40 grams within 1/2 hour of weight training. You also need to hit the carbs post workout as well. Get about 50 to 60 grams of high GI (sugary) carbs with your protein. Again, there are good post workout drinks with the right ratio of protein to carbs. Otherwise, add some honey to your protein drink. The two most improtant times for carbs are upon waking and especially post workout. You need to restore those depleted glycogen stores.

Your post is a little vag about your goals which makes it hard to answer some of your questions. Feel free to post back with some specifics as to your goals and I will gladly advise you on how to get there.

I have a link to the wholesale supplement store that I order my supplements from online. But, I'm not sure what the rules of the forum are pertaining to posting external links. Let me know and I'd be glad to post it.

[Thremp]

Weight gainer shakes are v v large and v v thick.


If you have a smoothie place around, just buy one of their ex large protein shakes and it'll be about what you can expect. ~32 ounces of thick thick shake.

[Jihad]

If you just want to gain and you're a "hard gainer", thirddan is correct. Buy the cheap stuff, after loading for a week go down to just 5g a day, but it won't hurt you to take 10g (try in the morning and then right after your workout). Also if gaining is your only desire, drop the cardio, eat a ton of clean calories (limit carbs), when you see yourself getting fat put the cardio back in.

[Northern]

Oneeyedjak brought up some good points.

Slim being from Ontario I assume you went to GNC as that explains the prices. Next time go to SND or Popeyes its a lot cheaper and the employees are more helpful. Buying online is an option and the shipping is cheap, but personally I just go to the store.

I would hold off on the creatine as you don't really need it now. Concentrate on eating more, it may seem difficult but work at it. Then I would look in creatine down the road. Hell won't freeze over if you take it at different times but if its mixed in with NoXplode or whatever he sold you then take it before as they claim more energy for your workout otherwise if its just good 'ol monohydrate post-workout in your shake is what most prefer.

You should take your shake after your workout (PWO) and as oneyedjack said with a fast digesting carb. A great option for a shake is some dextrose and you can get it at bulk barn for next to nothing.

As far as weightgainers you seem light and could use the excess calories but I would concentrate more on your diet. Weightgainers are to 'supplement your diet' but taking them will help you increase your caloric intake.

[slim]

[ QUOTE ]
As an ex personal trainer and bodybuilder, I would say this: I see no reason to use creatine. It does have benefits but I believe they are so minimal as to be not worth the cost/gain. I have three supplements in my house. One, protein powder, is the one I would not go without. The others are a good testosterone booster and a good postwork out drink.

That said, there a lots of good preworkout energy drinks out there. Some with creatine, some without. I prefer to just down a Monster pre workout these days but your best bet might be to experiment untill you find one that works the best for you. Its like anything else. You need to learn what works for you.

Post workout, you do need protein. I recommend at least 40 grams within 1/2 hour of weight training. You also need to hit the carbs post workout as well. Get about 50 to 60 grams of high GI (sugary) carbs with your protein. Again, there are good post workout drinks with the right ratio of protein to carbs. Otherwise, add some honey to your protein drink. The two most improtant times for carbs are upon waking and especially post workout. You need to restore those depleted glycogen stores.

Your post is a little vag about your goals which makes it hard to answer some of your questions. Feel free to post back with some specifics as to your goals and I will gladly advise you on how to get there.

I have a link to the wholesale supplement store that I order my supplements from online. But, I'm not sure what the rules of the forum are pertaining to posting external links. Let me know and I'd be glad to post it.

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks for ue help OEJ,

My goal is to gain about 10-15 lbs of muscle. Right now I only weigh 165 and I'm 6ft tall. Funny thing is I just went to the dr today and she looked at a chart that says my weight is perfect for my height. I'm so skinny....I don't know is that chart is accurate. Anyways, I want to have an athletic, but not muscle bound look.....kinda like those guys on the cover of Men's Health but even less muscle bound. At the same time, I want to do cardio bc I feel its important at my age and also so i don't get a gut.

Is the carb drink a seperate drink I should buy....i.e. Do I need a carb drink and a protein drink after workouts?

Please post the link as to where I can get this stuff online . If u can't send me a pm. Thanks

[thirddan]

slim, you can just add a scoop of dextrose or maltodextrin to your whey...they are just powdered sugar forms and you can buy them in bulk...

[Thremp]

If you wanna get something better try Surge or use dpsnutrition.com or something of the sort to make a PWO. They'll likely taste pretty bad initially. Some people like them but they're weird.

Creatine is a must have IMO. It's ~20c a day to take. I'm sure you can derive a decent amount of benefit from it.

[Blarg]

Nitro boosters are overpriced at any price, and useless. Stay away.

Creatine you need little of, and the body discards the extra anyway.

From LEF.org:

[ QUOTE ]
In normal healthy individuals, muscle creatine is replenished at a rate of approximately 2 grams a day.


[/ QUOTE ]

A good diet takes care of all or virtually all of that. So don't worry about powering down creatine, just topping it off. 5 grams is overkill. Anecdotally, I've shared the same many experience others have -- it seems to make getting out that last rep or two a lot easier. I can get that on one or two grams a day, and even less than daily.

Don't buy stuff on the recommendations of clerks, even buff or authoritative-sounding ones. They are salespeople, pure and simple. Even well-trained ones often have some nutty notions. Remember, they cater to nuts who like spooky home remedies and such every day, and they learn to indulge, encourage, or just shut up as people make worthless decisions. Don't open your checkbook without doing some reading on your own, not while under a salesman's expectant gaze.

[Thremp]

Blarg,

I'm not sure I totally agree with that assessment from purely anecdotal evidence I've heard. I eat a fairly meat/seafood heavy diet and have a significant retention of water when I start taking creatine, which leads me that the 2+ grams I take in from diet aren't enough. In addition, from my limited experience with vegans/vegetarians they really rave about creatine cycling.

But if you feel you can take 2.5g a day or take 5g EOD or whatever fits you. You can drop the cost from 20c a day down from there.

Its just so cheap.

[Blarg]

Yeah, the worst that happens is you waste a dime here or there, as the body just gets rid of excess. And the body goes back to its normal level of creatine creation after you stop taking it, so it's no big deal either way. It's a supplement well worth trying.