Protein shakes are over-rated. You don't need protein shakes unless you are not getting your protein from other sources. If you eat 5 meals a day, you shouldn't need to drink protein shakes because one of the "secrets" of eating so often is to alway have a source of protein in each meal. In other words, is not a complete meal unless you combine one source of protein, with a source of starchy carbohydrates, and/or fibrous carbohydrates.
Another tip, stick with your schedule. DO NOT skip meals, and eat EVERY 3 hours. In other words, be consistent; let your body know that you are going to eat every three hours. Why every 3 hours you might ask? Because it takes around 2 to 3 hours for the food in your stomach to digest, so you would not want to be pilling up more food into your previous undigested meal.
The only reason protein shakes are useful is for when you know that you will not be able to have a complete meal for some reason, but otherwise just get your protein from lean protein sources such as fish, turkey or chicken breast, legumes, nuts, or reduced or fat-free milk, cheese, or yogurts.

I agree with most of what ur saying, it is important to get all the right carbs a calories in u at young ages but the only thing i disagree with is that protein shakes r over-rated, well i mean some r but not all of them such as the stuff i take, plus its formulized to improve mucsle growth and i think its working pretty damn good with me...o yeah and i also take 100% pure creatine too but nothing else for now, you dont need any hardcore shit at my age (18) alls u need is creatine and protein shakes but i make sure that the protein shakes i take arnt over-rated. As for meals i just eat regular Breakfast, lunch, and dinner b/c i figured i dont need 5 meals with my protin shake, o yeah and u can take a look at my myspace page as well to see my results creatine and protein shakes have given me. www.myspace.com/bluej_the_bear

Hi, can you guys help me with something? I am currently having a little trouble with my stamina. I have been playing a game called In the Groove. Or, what you guys might now more about, Dance Dance Revolution. Currently, I have been playing songs on heavy (songs like Sakura and Max 300) and expert (Songs like Charlene and My Favourite Game on Expert) and challenge (Songs like Xepher on Challenge) on both games and I can't help notice, that i don't have a lot of stamina. I have been playing these games for fun and for a decent workout for burning fat (it really works) but mostly for fun. And know that I am 11, so I can't go to the gym or things like that. So I am asking you guys, how can improve my stamina?

I agree with most of what ur saying, it is important to get all the right carbs a calories in u at young ages but the only thing i disagree with is that protein shakes r over-rated, well i mean some r but not all of them such as the stuff i take, plus its formulized to improve mucsle growth and i think its working pretty damn good with me...o yeah and i also take 100% pure creatine too but nothing else for now, you dont need any hardcore shit at my age (18) alls u need is creatine and protein shakes but i make sure that the protein shakes i take arnt over-rated. As for meals i just eat regular Breakfast, lunch, and dinner b/c i figured i dont need 5 meals with my protin shake, o yeah and u can take a look at my myspace page as well to see my results creatine and protein shakes have given me. www.myspace.com/bluej_the_bear

Protein shakes are good when you don't have time to consume your proteins in another form. Don't get me wrong, I take protein shakes/bars whenever I can't get my meal in another form, but I always try to get my protein from "real" food.
Speaking of protein shakes and bars, what are your favorite and best protein shakes and bars in your opinion?

Protein shakes are good when you don't have time to consume your proteins in another form. Don't get me wrong, I take protein shakes/bars whenever I can't get my meal in another form, but I always try to get my protein from "real" food.
Speaking of protein shakes and bars, what are your favorite and best protein shakes and bars in your opinion?

Well i dont eat bars just drink shakes, but anyway the protein shake i take is called "100% Whey protein fuel" it has strong flavor and a muscle growth formula and like i said before i take creatine as well and its called "100% pure creatine monohydrate" u must cosume over 8 glasses of water pur day when taking creatine so yeah i have to piss a lot, lol, but yeah my favorite protein shake is 100% whey protein fuel, its manufactured by Twinlabs. I wouldnt recommend taking it though if ur just getting started out b/c there's 50 grams of protein in it with every 2 scoops which is how much ur supposed to take a day is two scoops i take 2 1/2 though and i think thats too much protein and too advanced for a beginner.

I take Designer's Whey Protein Shakes. One scoop with breakfast, and one after the workout. I usually take around 100 grams of protein a day.
Whenever possible I always prefer to take in the protein from lean protein sources, but two scoops a day of extra protein never hurts when you are building muscle mass.

yeah thats good and also somewhere down the road u should start taking pure creatine too for muscle mass as well

At 8/18/07 12:30 AM, GoldOps018 wrote: yeah thats good and also somewhere down the road u should start taking pure creatine too for muscle mass as well

I don't know. Creatine is still kind of a new thing, and not enough research has been done on the long-term effects of using it. I'd rather work a little harder and use other nutrition supplements at least until more research is done.

I've signed up at Balley's for three years for $666 and so far, its pretty good. I mostly run a lot and even though my body is dead tired, I get so in a rhythm that I can keep going. Weight lifting is harder though, but I can see small results already. I was suppose to go out for a walk/jog this morning but, I overslept and don't like to run around when too many people are awake. Bleh... : ( 7

I run every morning as well (6:30), but last week was so active for me (running, working out, going out, daily activities etc.) that today I overslept and ended up waking up at around 8 in the morning. I live in South Florida so the weather is hot right now, so I will have to wait until the evening to go outside and run.

I don't know. Creatine is still kind of a new thing, and not enough research has been done on the long-term effects of using it. I'd rather work a little harder and use other nutrition supplements at least until more research is done

Creatines one of the safest supplements out there, however one long term effect they found is that it can do liver damage if u take it long enough, but u'd have to be taking it for a few years in order for it to do damage to ur liver, as long as u give ur body an long break from it after u finish off ur creatine container then u dont have to worry about liver damage.

Creatines one of the safest supplements out there, however one long term effect they found is that it can do liver damage if u take it long enough, but u'd have to be taking it for a few years in order for it to do damage to ur liver, as long as u give ur body an long break from it after u finish off ur creatine container then u dont have to worry about liver damage.

What creatine are you taking? GNC sells 120 creatine capsules for $20, that's the one I was looking to buy (If I buy it).

That is too late for me. I woke up at 6:07 or 6:04 am, if I recall and was like, "Damn!" in my head. I'm suppose to be up at 5:00 am and be ready by 5:15 to go jogging. Its mostly due to graffiti reasons, but I make it as healthy as possible. :D : ( 7

I just don't like the feeling of missing my daily runs you know?

I didn't like that feeling neither, but I guess tomorrow will sort of be better because everyone for sure is still asleep after those Saturday night parties and work. I'm seeing quick results though, as my stomach doesn't feel as big. I feel more nimble in a way. : ( 7

Make sure you are giving your body the nutrients it needs. I went running today (even though sundays are my "days off"). At 6:20 was raining so I couldn't go running right after I woke up, which is what I like to do. Instead I went jogging at around 11. It was kind of good because it changed my routine in a way.

Finally getting myself that nice, shiny new barbell with 300lbs of weights on it. Even though I hadn't deadlifted heavy in a couple of months, the constant workouts helped me out because I now can deadlift 215 with regularity, up from my old regular in May of 180. I didn't push to do maxes, but I did up-sets, starting at a set of 180, then two sets of 215, and finishing with a set of 225.

Either way, this big new barbell plus a new bench will no doubt help me turn a new corner in my strength. I guess I'll use the old barbell for just arm curls, now that i'm getting closer to being able to do 4x8 of 70lb curls.

Baseball training, here I come. :)

If I decided to do the unhealthy way of dieting (eat very little for a few days) is it true that once I eat normally again I'll gain any weight I lost back, I mean I'm only 15 and I don't want to stunt my growth or anything. Honestly I'm not that overweight but when I see myself I'm not satisfied and want to get skinier.

The only exercise I've been doing is mainly for my abs, like crunches, sit-ups, and this one thing where I put my legs up on my bed which are just harder crunches really. Every morning I do this for about 20 minutes and throw about 90 push-ups, 3 sets of 30, in between the ab workouts. I'm not really seeing the results a crash diet may give me, but I know thats really unhealthy. I used to go running a lot too but haven't been lately. Can you guys suggest anything exercise wise?

What creatine are you taking? GNC sells 120 creatine capsules for $20, that's the one I was looking to buy (If I buy it).

Its just called 100% Pure Creatine Monohydrate, but its not in capsule form its in powdered form and i get my supplements from the Vitamin Shoppe

Its just called 100% Pure Creatine Monohydrate, but its not in capsule form its in powdered form and i get my supplements from the Vitamin Shoppe

Oh ok, i guess in powdered form would be better...I mean I could just mix it in with the whey protein after working out.
Man I have to start eating more, I've been getting around with less than 2000 calories a day, and my activity and fitness is really high. Yesterday I felt drained out after my daily run, and I know is cause I'm not eatin enough. Usually I have around 300-400 calories per meal; I should be eating around 2500 calories a day at the least.

Oh ok, i guess in powdered form would be better...I mean I could just mix it in with the whey protein after working out.
Man I have to start eating more, I've been getting around with less than 2000 calories a day, and my activity and fitness is really high. Yesterday I felt drained out after my daily run, and I know is cause I'm not eatin enough. Usually I have around 300-400 calories per meal; I should be eating around 2500 calories a day at the least.

no dont mix it with protein, when u take the powdered form of creatine i recommend taking it before u workout and also u must cosume 6 to 8 glasses of water a day when taking creatine actually even a little more than 8 glasses. Just take one leveled teaspoon (5 grams) of creatine before u workout and then take ur protein shake after u workout. Yeah make sure u have enough calories in u before u run, i know what u mean about being worn out i'm actually taking nitric oxide for energy with lifting now b/c i'm really starting to move up in weight but on chest and tricep days i'm getting burnt out through my chest excercises so i decided to start taking nitric oxide again but its not b/c i dont get enough calories in me its b/c of how heavy my weight range is getting on me with body building and all of them calories can get burnt real fast with strength training workouts.

Fuck sake, i've got a beer belly during the summer. I need to loose a few kilos.
I've got a bit of muscle now, on the arms and around the abdomen, just got a bit of a sheet of fat infront of it now.
Need to get back into the jogging. How much do you think I should do?

no dont mix it with protein, when u take the powdered form of creatine i recommend taking it before u workout and also u must cosume 6 to 8 glasses of water a day when taking creatine actually even a little more than 8 glasses. Just take one leveled teaspoon (5 grams) of creatine before u workout and then take ur protein shake after u workout. Yeah make sure u have enough calories in u before u run, i know what u mean about being worn out i'm actually taking nitric oxide for energy with lifting now b/c i'm really starting to move up in weight but on chest and tricep days i'm getting burnt out through my chest excercises so i decided to start taking nitric oxide again but its not b/c i dont get enough calories in me its b/c of how heavy my weight range is getting on me with body building and all of them calories can get burnt real fast with strength training workouts.

Ok, I drink plenty of water throughout the day so there is no problem with the creatine there.
When I'm lifting I feel fine, is after I have done my daily run that I feel drained out and is because I'm burning so much and not putting enough back into my body. I'm going to start taking creatine and see how that goes.

At 8/26/07 11:51 AM, DanAbnormal wrote: Fuck sake, i've got a beer belly during the summer. I need to loose a few kilos.
I've got a bit of muscle now, on the arms and around the abdomen, just got a bit of a sheet of fat infront of it now.
Need to get back into the jogging. How much do you think I should do?

Thats how i started out, its hard to get abs when u have a history of being chubby b/c the excess fat is hard to get rid of, but if u want that sheet of fat to go away its not only jogging u should do but u need to eat healthy foods, stay away from white bread btw stick with whole wheat or rye. I say u should jog 4 to 5 times a week if u say its just a bit of fat u need to get rid of and u should jog at least 3 miles.

At 8/26/07 11:59 AM, GoldOps018 wrote: Thats how i started out, its hard to get abs when u have a history of being chubby b/c the excess fat is hard to get rid of, but if u want that sheet of fat to go away its not only jogging u should do but u need to eat healthy foods, stay away from white bread btw stick with whole wheat or rye. I say u should jog 4 to 5 times a week if u say its just a bit of fat u need to get rid of and u should jog at least 3 miles.

It's pretty annoying really because I don't eat crap food. If I do have a big meal I only have one a day, but usually I eat smaller portions more frequently with plenty of fruit in between. However the past few weeks i've had a lot of beer, some junky food and no exercise. Pretty bad of me >:(
It probably wont take long to get rid of the excess that I got, but I need a way of getting my metabolism to do whatever shit it does to prevent weight gain so quickly.

So what do I do?

It's pretty annoying really because I don't eat crap food. If I do have a big meal I only have one a day, but usually I eat smaller portions more frequently with plenty of fruit in between. However the past few weeks i've had a lot of beer, some junky food and no exercise. Pretty bad of me >:(
It probably wont take long to get rid of the excess that I got, but I need a way of getting my metabolism to do whatever shit it does to prevent weight gain so quickly.

So what do I do?

Yeah take it easy on the beer, i like to go out and party as much as the next guy but beer has a lot of sugar in it so yeah take it easy. If you want to speed ur metabolism there's certain meds out there u can take but instead of spending ur money on those u should weight lift, i mean it doesnt have to be body building strength training shit where u get bigger and stronger like what i do but it can just be weight training where u just do higher reps and only get a little stronger and stay cut. Lifting weights can speed up ur metabolism no matter if its strength or weight training.

Yeah take it easy on the beer, i like to go out and party as much as the next guy but beer has a lot of sugar in it so yeah take it easy. If you want to speed ur metabolism there's certain meds out there u can take but instead of spending ur money on those u should weight lift, i mean it doesnt have to be body building strength training shit where u get bigger and stronger like what i do but it can just be weight training where u just do higher reps and only get a little stronger and stay cut. Lifting weights can speed up ur metabolism no matter if its strength or weight training.

Eating healthier and more frequent meals (3 hours in between) will also help greatly in speeding up your metabolism. Beer is definitely a metabolism buster as it is filled with carbohydrates (simple sugars), it will take you on the "sugar" roller coaster, and this will lead to fat to be deposited.
Jog around 3 miles a day, 5 times a week, and do weight training. Remember that a combination of good nutrition, exercise, and dedication will yield the most amazing results.

exactly do what calipe just said and u'll be fine

At 8/26/07 11:54 AM, Calipe wrote: I'm going to start taking creatine and see how that goes.

Note that if you're taking creatine, you need to mix it in a drink that contains one or more insulinogenic ingredients, such as essential amino acids, branched-chain amino acids, whey isolate, or grape juice.

Speaking of creatine, I just ordered myself some from Biotest, as well as a 250-tablet box of BCAAs. They should arrive right around the time my new barbell, bench, and grips come in, probably about mid-week. Never used creatine or BCAAs before, but mixed together it should make for big gains in strength over the next two months. One can hope ;]

I'm aiming to gain about 10-20 lbs of lean muscle by the time spring rolls around, so the combo of peri-workout nutrition mixed with the pre, peri, and post-workout BCAAs and the post-workout creatine, as mixed with my strictly superclean eating and heavy lifting, I should be well on my way. I'm also preparing to go back to a moderate-fat, moderate-carb intake rather than a high-fat, low-carb intake, which I've been doing since early or mid-June. Also, I'll probably bump up my caloric intake to somewhere around 2500-2700, rather than the 1900-2200 I'm at these days.

Even though I'm only 160 these days, I'm aiming for 170 or 180 to really help me drive the ball when I hit. Since I've lost 38lbs of fat (from 183 to 145) and put on 15lbs of muscle (145 back up to 160) in the past 8 months, 15-20 more pounds of muscle shouldn't be too unrealistic considering the goal is to be reached within 7 months, and the aid of creatine, BCAA and Surge should do the trick.

Now all I need to do is add a couple inches to my already well-above-average vertical leap, and perhaps work on speed training (though that doesn't matter much for baserunning as I never was super fast, but it would help in the field), and I should be set.

At 8/27/07 12:26 AM, Buddhist wrote:

I'm going to start taking creatine and see how that goes.

:Note that if you're taking creatine, you need to mix it in a drink that contains one or more insulinogenic ingredients, such as essential amino acids, branched-chain amino acids, whey isolate, or grape juice.

:Speaking of creatine, I just ordered myself some from Biotest, as well as a 250-tablet box of BCAAs. They should arrive right around the time my new barbell, bench, and grips come in, probably about mid-week. Never used creatine or BCAAs before, but mixed together it should make for big gains in strength over the next two months. One can hope ;]

:I'm aiming to gain about 10-20 lbs of lean muscle by the time spring rolls around, so the combo of peri-workout nutrition mixed with the pre, peri, and post-workout BCAAs and the post-workout creatine, as mixed with my strictly superclean eating and heavy lifting, I should be well on my way. I'm also preparing to go back to a moderate-fat, moderate-carb intake rather than a high-fat, low-carb intake, which I've been doing since early or mid-June. Also, I'll probably bump up my caloric intake to somewhere around 2500-2700, rather than the 1900-2200 I'm at these days.

:Even though I'm only 160 these days, I'm aiming for 170 or 180 to really help me drive the ball when I hit. Since I've lost 38lbs of fat (from 183 to 145) and put on 15lbs of muscle (145 back up to 160) in the past 8 months, 15-20 more pounds of muscle shouldn't be too unrealistic considering the goal is to be reached within 7 months, and the aid of creatine, BCAA and Surge should do the trick.

:Now all I need to do is add a couple inches to my already well-above-average vertical leap, and perhaps work on speed training (though that doesn't matter much for baserunning as I never was super fast, but it would help in the field), and I should be set.

Well yeah u could mix it with juice that contains those acids but u dont have to, water works too thats what its says to mix it with on the creatine container but yeah it also says u can mix it with juice like u said.

Could anyone give me a good routine to get into so i can get stronger and faster basically for general because i don't like my frame and want to get fit, fast and strong

Srry for double post, but i just want to add that my frame is a bit like a twig and I want to gain muscle, speed and a good standard of fitness

At 8/31/07 06:54 AM, Element-Knight-Alex wrote: Could anyone give me a good routine to get into so i can get stronger and faster basically for general because i don't like my frame and want to get fit, fast and strong

i can give u my routine if u want here it is:

Week 1:

Mondays (Chest and Triceps):
Barbell Flatbench- 4 sets of 8, 6, 4, and 2-3
Incline Bench- 4 sets 10, 8, 6, and 4
Decline Dumbell Bench- 3 sets 10, 8, 6
Pec Fly: 3 sets 10, 8, 6
Skull Crushers 4 sets 10, 8, 6, 4
Tricep pushdown 10, 8, 6
Tricep dips 8, 6, 4
Sit-ups & 6inch holds

Tuesdays (Back & Biceps):
Plate Row 10, 8, 6
Plate Row in grip 10, 8, 6
Lat pull 10, 8, 6
Back Flies 10, 8, 6
Bar Curls 10, 8, 6
Close Grip Preacher Bar Curls 10, 8, 6
Bicep Pull-ins 10, 8, 6
Standing Close grip Bar curls w/ E-Bar 10, 8, 6

Wednesdays (shoulders):
Barbell Mil Press on smith machine 10, 8, 6, 4
Dumbell Trap Raises 10, 8, 6
Barbell back trap shrugs 10, 8, 6
Forward Grip shoulder press 10, 8, 6, 4
Shoulder Press outer grip 10, 8, 6

Thursdays (Legs.....Ugh!)
Barbell Squat 10, 8, 6, 4
Calve raises 10, 8, 6
Leg Curls 10, 8, 6
Leg Press 10, 8, 6, 4

Friday (Chest & Triceps)
Dumbell Flat Bench 10, 8, 6
Dumbell Incline 10, 8, 6
Barbell Decline 10, 8, 6, 4
Pec Flies on Pully machine 10, 8, 6
Dumbell French Press 10, 8, 6
One armed tricep pushdowns 10, 8, 6
Sitting dips 10, 8, 6
Tricep Diagnles 10, 8, 6

Saterday & Sunday take off and do cardio

Theres a bunch of other excercise i switch off to in the next week but basically its w/e was a barbell type excercise is a dumbell excercise.

Sry for the double post but heres my week two workout exercises:

Monday (chest & triceps):
*Chest excises same as Monday on week one, but instead of pec flies do pec flies on pully machine.
Tricep push down with tricep rope 10, 8, 6
Skull crushers 10, 8, 6, 4
Tricep extension 10, 8, 6

Tuesday (back and biceps):
Dumbell row 10, 8, 6
Seated cable rows 10, 8, 6, 4
Close grip lat pull 10, 8, 6
Back flies 10, 8, 6
Lat pull-ups 10, 8, 6, 4
Dumbell curl 10, 8, 6
Seated dumbell inner curl 10, 8, 6
Dumbell preacher curl 10, 8, 6
Close grip preacher curl 10, 8, 6

Wednesday (Shoulders)
Dumbell over head press standard style or Arnold style whichever u prefer 10, 8, 6
Dumbell shrugs (hold 5 seconds) 10, 8, 6
Shoulder press outer grip 10, 8, 6, 4
Incline shrugs 10, 8, 6
Diagnal cable pulls 10, 8, 6

Thursday (legs)
One legged dumbell squat 10, 8, 6, 4 (find something stirdy to hold on to with ur free hand)
Close stance barbell squat 10, 8, 6, 4
Dumbell lunges 10, 8, 6
Barbell calf raises 10, 8, 6

Friday (Chest and triceps)
*Same as friday week one

Remember u dont have to do the exercises i listed in order, this is my pyramid building 1 month rep routine.