Anyone Supplement Savy?

[E.J.]

It's been so long since I wanted to bulk up, I'm out of my depth here. Oh...and I still have no desire to gain any bulk, I'm all about the leaner the better.... That said, the Little Man has ask me to buy him some supplements.....he wants to bulk up in the worst way.

He's strong as an ox...but LEAN, can't seem to add any size. You'd think with his frame, he'd bulk up with little difficulty with his daily weight room work..... Then again, his diet sucks. He's on the ice 5-6 days a week, is killing the cardio.

Did a little research and already purchased some stuff, but now am worried that maybe I'm over my head on this and figured, why not ask you knuckleheads.... What is good, what is bad, what do I need to know?

Oh, purchased Con-Cret Creatine and USP Labs Modern BCAA +....WTF do I know..... Read that you want creatine and BCAA's....so that's what I picked up...

[jryoung]

I have no specifics, but because there are limited regulations on supplements, many of them are crap.

There are certainly better companies than others that provide more of a neutraceutical grade product where others provide limited ingredients with a ton of filler (benign).

[timmy]

HGH, Testosterone, Roids

[jt09]

[wakeboarderdave1]

[Chattwake]

I've had success with EAS myoplex 42 gram shakes + any micronized creatine (5-10grams/day) + high protein diet and less cardio.

Most of the other stuff out there is junk.

[pet575]

Agreed. He's gonna need a ton of protein and healthy calories. Also agreed that the fats aren't that big of a deal with all the cardio he's getting.

His struggle is going to be putting on mass during hockey season BECAUSE of the cardio. Pretty difficult to do that much cardio AND add mass to bulk up. Ask a marathon runner how easily they put on muscle while training (spoiler: if they are training hard they can't).

I'd keep it pretty simple with the supplements because the diet will be the most effective and the supplements just cost a lot of extra $. Lean protein X 10000000000 is the best way to go. Most trainers/"experts" will tell you 2g of lean protein per pound of his body weight each day with no more than 30-35g per meal or "dose."

[E.J.]

I understand that diet is crucial, but the fact is, if he was disciplined enough to do this with just his diet, he wouldn't be in need of supplements.... I also believe that most people packing on beach muscle, are doing so with the assistance of supplements.

He's got school(the majority of his workload[75%] is college credit hours) skates pretty much daily, oftentimes twice a day. Works < 10 hrs a week(usually is even on the ice them) & has a girlfriend. This is beach muscle, vanity driven, not a drive to achieve a significant goal.....his diet is what it is and I don't think it will change significantly at this time in his life. His current want is most likely going to have to be done in spite of his diet. That may be unrealistic, but it’s where he’s at. Which is 65/75% muffins/donuts, subway/blimpie, chinese takeout/pizza/sushi.

[dirtysparks]

No amount of any supplement, besides vitamin T, is going to help him out if he doesn't get at least most of his diet in check. I'm not saying no doughnuts ever, but make good whole foods a priority for at least 80% of what he eats. Eggs, fish, lean meat, etc...sounds like he's got the carb and fats figured out already.

I wouldn't waste any money on supplements besides protein powder to help him get his macros leveled out.

[E.J.]

Well, I'll report back.... The first round of supplements are purchased. The wife usually picks up Dymatize Nutrition Elite Whey Protein Powder from Costco, so assuming that doesn't double up on what I have purchased, we'll look at that as well.

At his age I was 6'2" 195. He's 6'2" 175ish.... I have no doubt that he can bulk up with a little more time on the weights and taking in more than he burns, he's built just like me. Our diets were no different at his age(he probably eats better), I was in the weight room more @ his age, he does more cardio.

We're going to Cancun again this year for Spring Break....that gives him 5 months. I always do my lean up for SB and he's going to try to bulk up.... I'm at 207 as of this AM(I usually don't start until the first of the year).....we'll see if he weighs more than dad by April 1.



Before pic....^^^ He's actually a little thicker than this now & has a serious mullet( ), this pic is old....but it's what I can access....

[jason_ssr]

Well, to give another perspective, I was a thin kid who had a hard time putting on weight. I tried living in the weightroom and eating "healthy" (what was thought was healthy at the time) and I tried everything at GNC (this was the early 90's). My cardio just simply wouldnt allow me to put on any weight.

I had a younger buddy that got pretty big in short order (went on to play D1 hoops and smash a few weightlifting records). He told me, milkshakes and pizza right before bed every night. He said it was the only way to put on weight running as much as we do. I thought it was ridiculous. But I went from 6'4" 175 to 6'6" 195 in just a few months. I still looked lean just finally put on some weight. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it for myself. May not be "clean" but it definitely works.

Unfortunately I no longer have this problem....

[nmballa]

[Nor*Cal]

I was a hard gainer and it took me until the summer before my jr year in college to hit 215. With the amount of cardio needed to be competitive in water polo it was just hard to gain any size. What ended up working was as JT and Jason mentioned, you make gains at the dinner table. I ended up adding a 4th/5th meal, always ate immediately after workouts, and for a while didn't drink anything that didn't have calories (national team nutritionist gave me this advice). Chocolate milk was my post-workout recovery drink, lots of 100% fruit juice, and of course beer, basically everything going in has to have calories or it's just taking up space.

And it was that attitude after college athletics that I struggle with a decade later... Now it's eat clean and no sweetened drinks.

[jryoung]

Just let him start drinking high calorie beer.

[Partyb]

If he actually wants to get bigger then he must go buy the latest edition of Starting Strength by Rippetoe and the associate book Practical Programming and do his basic barbell lifts without the cardio. You can have him go do whatever, but this actually works. As for supplements, a multi-vitamin, extra Vit. D if he is not in the sun a lot, fish oil, and protein powder if he is not getting the correct normal food and if he can't pound whole milk. Everything else you hear is BS. Source: anyone that actually knows his shizzle

It's gonna be folly and counter-productive to his season if he tries to add bulk during the hockey season. this is an off-season endeavor.

I recommend crossfitfootball (amateur offseason) for his basic training, but have it.

[Jensen]

I had a hell of a time filling out my lean frame, but with just 6 months of eating 4-6k calories a day with the help of whey protein, a $50 a day food stipend from work, and doing basic compound lifts along with some circuit training I went from 6'6 180 to 210.

The eating is seriously the hardest part, making time to cook quality meals all the time can be time consuming when paired with 2 full time jobs

[Jensen]

A nurse I work with who used to own a gym highly recommends Advocare as a supplement brand. They actually research their ingredients unlike most of the unregulated supplement industry.