Do you take supplements for gym? (Like creatine, proteins, etc.)

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Perhaps you mean 500 metres. That's not crazy.

I swam 7,000 per day in high school. I assume the poster was talking about in an entire 2-3 hour workout, not in one race.

EDIT: I just realized you were talking about metres. I was speaking in terms of yards.

Anyway, the problem with swimming is that it's very hard to motivate yourself if there's no one pushing you (either a competitive friend or a coach). It's absolutely fantastic to get in shape, but I find it takes some crazy motivation.

 

[leishan]

I swam 7,000 per day in high school. I assume the poster was talking about in an entire 2-3 hour workout, not in one race.

Are you Aquaman? That makes me tired just thinking about it!

 

[Abstract]

I swam 7,000 per day in high school. I assume the poster was talking about in an entire 2-3 hour workout, not in one race.

EDIT: I just realized you were talking about metres. I was speaking in terms of yards.

Anyway, the problem with swimming is that it's very hard to motivate yourself if there's no one pushing you (either a competitive friend or a coach). It's absolutely fantastic to get in shape, but I find it takes some crazy motivation.

Yards....metres....whatever. That's a FAR distance. Would take an Olympian around Grant Hackett 75 minutes. Would take me a few days.

 

[Mike Teezie]

I'm using protein shakes and glutaime in addition to a very strict diet that's been planned out for my personal goals.

I might take a little creatine when the second phase of my workout program begins next month, we'll see.

 

[leishan]

I'm using protein shakes and glutaime in addition to a very strict diet that's been planned out for my personal goals.

I might take a little creatine when the second phase of my workout program begins next month, we'll see.

It's good to see the emphasis on diet. Far too many people take the supplements thinking that it will make up for poor diet.

 

[0098386]

Hah, and we're back on the air

I didn't get any creatine in the end, just worked out, drank water (1 50cl Volvic for every hour of exercise which is usually a hike for me) and occasionally had a basic energy drink to keep my energy topped up.

 

[Mike225]

As someone who represents a supplement company in their spare time, Ill say that just about all supplements are not worth their price.

I personally enjoy using:

Myofusion or Xtreme Formulations Whey protein (Both much better than ON 100%)
Agmatine (I use SNS at 750mg on off days, 1.25g on gym days) It is a true NO product and provides a great pump/fullness in and out of the gym
Caffeine

And then other than that I just use mental supplements.

 

[bearbear]

In short: a protein supplement, creatine, and a multi vitamin are all a great idea if you are weight training/doing cardio.

Protein is important if you're trying to gain muscle or retain muscle while losing weight. Most people don't have the time or the money to get the necessary amount of protein in a day from whole foods and this is where protein supplements come in. It's generally accepted that weight lifters get 1g of protein per 1kg of lean body mass a day. Like someone else recommended, Optimum Nutrition's 100% whey is the most popular protein supplement and is very good bang for your buck.

Creatine is one of the very, very few supplements in the weight lifting world that is backed by science and real results. Supplement companies want you to believe that you need a fancy pre/post creatine "matrix" mixed with some other arbitrary ingredients (with no scientific proof behind them) to get good results. Pure creatine monohydrate powder is just as effective as anything they're trying to sell you and is extremely cheap. Do not get sucked in to the marketing out there.

When you first start lifting weights, it's very common to make gains very quickly in your lifts (called "noob" gains) but these will level off soon enough if your diet/workout regime is not in check.

99% of fat burners are more or less bunk products. A combination of ephedrine and caffeine is the most effective, legal way to boost (2-5% tops) your metabolism and only will be effective if your in a caloric deficit (burning more than you take in) in the first place. Most people don't need this though and I would only recommend it once you know your body and know what you're doing.

 

[surfkw]

cardio

I don't want to have very big muscles. Just get a little of strength and lose weight. I am currently on a diet to achieve loose weight.

To 'achieve loose weight' listen to what everyone here is saying.

1. Watch your diet

2. Do tons of cardio. Running/swimming/hiking/climbing, whatever you enjoy. And working up to 5000 meters shouldn't take too long if you push yourself, maybe a couple of months. I used to do 500 just for warmup while playing water polo competitively. You won't build huge muscles but you will get toned and lose weight. (although I never could figure out the 'big' guys who could still swim relatively fast, I know fat floats and all but still...)

Spend the $$ you were going to spend on protein shakes and magic pills and put it towards higher quality meats (more lean) and good veggies!

 

[louis2]

what went wrong?

i started going to the gym 7 months ago, 3-4x a week, not regular though sometimes 2x a week due to my work loads. My weight was 143 lbs, 1.72 m in height. my goal in going to the gym at this time was to tone my abs since my waistline was 34 & build some muscles. I started taking Impact whey protein 3 months ago, i'm quite satisfied w/ my abs (31 inches waistline). In 7 months, i lessened my carbo intake.

My concerns now are:
1. i lost weight because now, i weigh 134 lbs. what went wrong? is it my decreased carbo intake, the culprit?
2. i just bought ncaa compliant mega gainer w/ my thought of gaining back my weight. am i right w/ the supplement?
3. is it right to increase my carbo intake? wil it cause bulging of my abs?
4. my goals now is for strength and build/tone muscles...

I appreciate it very much for any help and answers to my concerns.

 

[Mord]

Um......that's 100 laps in an Olympic sized pool. That's further than the 1500 m freestyle that Grant Hackett is famous for destroying, and it still takes HIM around 15 minutes. If the OP were to try 5000 m, he'd be there all day, maybe longer.

Perhaps you mean 500 metres. That's not crazy.

Hardly, I swim casually and I typically do 50-60 lengths in a 50 yard pool at a time and that's me off my game as I had major surgery not that long ago. If I can do that in a couple of hours just paddling along someone who's actually going for it should be able to do twice that in a comparable time.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

Whole lotta bad info here, try heading over to http://bodybuilding.com forums if you want things from people who really know what they're talking about. (edit: there's also some very good responses, I was mostly basing what I read on the first page)

If you're starting out and want to build muscle and size, eat heavy and supplement whatever protein you're not getting from diet with a powder. I use Optimum 100% Whey and BSN Syntha-6 as a meal replacement.

If you're cutting (trying to lose fat without losing muscle), make sure you're getting enough protein (generally accepted .75-1.0 g protein/Lb of bodyfat) and eat at a caloric deficit. Lift to preserve mass.

Once you're past the basic stages and have a good workout routine/good body image, creatine (I use Optimum micronized creatine) is a great basic supplement. I also take USP Labs Jack3d, which is a pre-workout booster (basically, tons of caffeine, 1,3 dimethylamylamine, some creatine and a bunch of other crap that makes you want to punch walls and blast music)

Please, for the love of all things good, don't try prohormones. You're not at a plateau, you're not a competitive lifter and its just not worth it.

I started lifting seriously about 2 years ago and went from 6'1/230lbs/20% bf with a good muscle base from years of sports lifting but too much bodyfat to 6'2/180lbs/11% bf with higher lifts and way better definition. It changes your life, but I did the first year and a half without anything but protein so don't go overboard with the supps.