I'm curious if we have any fitness professionals (or amateurs who've figured out how to get great results) on the board who can lend their expertise on adding bulk. I've tried lot's of different kinds of protein powders, done an Animal Stack (that thing didn't do jack), ramped up my protein intake to absurd levels, tried some pill supplements, etc. Still trying to find a good sustainable mix that helps me build muscle.

Currently I'm using a protein powder, drinking water with BCAA's mixed in during my workout and on off days, and taking Kre-Alkalyn EFX supplement (the purple pill). I also take a daily multi-vitamin and fish oil pills. The purple pills help a lot with recovery and limiting soreness and I've definitely seen an increase in strength, but I just don't feel like I'm seeing the growth in my muscles that I was hoping for.

I'd love any advice anyone can give. I try to research on my own but there are so many conflicting ideas out there and everyone is just hawking their own products.

TIA! Happy lifting!

tommie said:

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I'm not fitness expert and I'm not giving advice. I'm making a statement. Diet is very important. You can't work two hours and drink 5 beers and get the results you want.

You can't outrain a bad diet.

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Totally agree. I have the diet aspect taken care of with the exception of knowing how many grams of protein I should actually be ingesting every day. I work really hard to nearly eliminate sugar while keeping carbs and dairy very low.

tommie said:

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FormerFlash said:

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tommie said:

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I'm not fitness expert and I'm not giving advice. I'm making a statement. Diet is very important. You can't work two hours and drink 5 beers and get the results you want.

You can't outrain a bad diet.

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Totally agree. I have the diet aspect taken care of with the exception of knowing how many grams of protein I should actually be ingesting every day. I work really hard to nearly eliminate sugar while keeping carbs and dairy very low.

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I can't get my diet right because I don't cook and travel. (And I drink). Glad you have that under control.

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It's really hard when I travel, which is fairly frequently for work. I make up for it by supplementing entire meals with protein shakes. Then just try to stick to meat and vegetables for dinners. Steak, Chicken, Fish, brussel sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, sweet potatoes. That kind of thing. I cook a lot at home. My wife and I did Blue Apron for a long time and I learned a lot about cooking from doing that.

I try to limit my IPA and red wine intake.

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19534499/10-muscle-building-tips/

add that what works for one person may not work for another. Its a bit of trial and error - and lots of notes and measurements.

You can also shoot Larry North a message. That guy knows everything. I hired him as a bouncer back when he was a teenager https://www.larrynorthfitness.com/

tommie said:

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I'm not fitness expert and I'm not giving advice. I'm making a statement. Diet is very important. You can't work two hours and drink 5 beers and get the results you want.

You can't outrain a bad diet.

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What about 1 light beer, 2 real beers, and 2 whiskeys?

1) eat enough... about 20 calories a pound focusing on protien first, the clean carbs, and then fats. Fuel your work outs with creatine and clean carbs

I am no exercise guru, but the ELEM diet has always worked well for me. The ELEM diet is free and you can start right away. I just lost 35 pounds in 90 days on the ELEM diet. ELEM stands for Eat Less Exercise More.

Thanks for the replies. This is not a weight loss thread. I'm inquiring about people's experience with building muscle through lifting routines and supplementation.

Roids?

ScottS said:

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Roids?

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Was just going to say that. Tons of fear mongering when it comes to steroid use and Im doubting you want to look like Rich Piana but it is the most sure fire way to get results.

FormerFlash said:

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tommie said:

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I'm not fitness expert and I'm not giving advice. I'm making a statement. Diet is very important. You can't work two hours and drink 5 beers and get the results you want.

You can't outrain a bad diet.

---

Totally agree. I have the diet aspect taken care of with the exception of knowing how many grams of protein I should actually be ingesting every day. I work really hard to nearly eliminate sugar while keeping carbs and dairy very low.

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Gaining muscle is not generally achieved on a low carb diet. Bodybuilding requires diet phases. A low carb diet is for the cutting phase. The bulking phase will precede that and will include quite a few carbs (not necessarily sugars though). Unfortunately, when most guys are asked what their goals are they respond with something like "I just want to be big AND ripped". Well, it doesn't work that way.

I'd recommend you picking a 4-5 month period for a bulking phase (think fall-winter). If you have a slow metabolism, start adding a bunch of cleaner carbs from rice, pasta, beans, etc. The faster your metabolism, the looser you can get with what you eat (pizza anyone?). You'll gain fat during this time, but you'll also gain more muscle. Your later cuttingphase will take care of that...so basically you'd just go back on your current diet and step up your cardio.

I'm not a bodybuilder, but I've been at this for 25+ years with a bench press that hit 485 lbs at my best. (425 a couple years back before shoulder surgery). My experience is gaining strength, not muscle, but the two go hand in hand. Good luck.

Edit: Creatine is also a legitimate help in muscle/strength gain. There are very few supplements that can say that. It probably has the best bang for your buck.

A note on weight lifting: If you are doing a major muscle group more than about once every five days, you are doing it too often. You can do smaller auxiliary groups (abs, calves, etc) about twice as often, but muscle growth requires rest as well. Try killing each group ONLY once a week. If you can get spots to go heavy for one of your exercises, do that as well.

GolemIII said:

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FormerFlash said:

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tommie said:

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I'm not fitness expert and I'm not giving advice. I'm making a statement. Diet is very important. You can't work two hours and drink 5 beers and get the results you want.

You can't outrain a bad diet.

---

Totally agree. I have the diet aspect taken care of with the exception of knowing how many grams of protein I should actually be ingesting every day. I work really hard to nearly eliminate sugar while keeping carbs and dairy very low.

---

Gaining muscle is not generally achieved on a low carb diet. Bodybuilding requires diet phases. A low carb diet is for the cutting phase. The bulking phase will precede that and will include quite a few carbs (not necessarily sugars though). Unfortunately, when most guys are asked what their goals are they respond with something like "I just want to be big AND ripped". Well, it doesn't work that way.

I'd recommend you picking a 4-5 month period for a bulking phase (think fall-winter). If you have a slow metabolism, start adding a bunch of cleaner carbs from rice, pasta, beans, etc. The faster your metabolism, the looser you can get with what you eat (pizza anyone?). You'll gain fat during this time, but you'll also gain more muscle. Your later cuttingphase will take care of that...so basically you'd just go back on your current diet and step up your cardio.

I'm not a bodybuilder, but I've been at this for 25+ years with a bench press that hit 485 lbs at my best. (425 a couple years back before shoulder surgery). My experience is gaining strength, not muscle, but the two go hand in hand. Good luck.

Edit: Creatine is also a legitimate help in muscle/strength gain. There are very few supplements that can say that. It probably has the best bang for your buck.

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Really appreciate this feedback. 485 is a pretty impressive bench! I'm still learning how to phase my diet in order to achieve the results I'm looking for. I'm using a creatine that is definitely helping with strength and recovery.

GolemIII said:

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FormerFlash said:

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tommie said:

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I'm not fitness expert and I'm not giving advice. I'm making a statement. Diet is very important. You can't work two hours and drink 5 beers and get the results you want.

You can't outrain a bad diet.

---

Totally agree. I have the diet aspect taken care of with the exception of knowing how many grams of protein I should actually be ingesting every day. I work really hard to nearly eliminate sugar while keeping carbs and dairy very low.

---

I'm not a bodybuilder, but I've been at this for 25+ years with a bench press that hit 485 lbs at my best. (425 a couple years back before shoulder surgery). My experience is gaining strength, not muscle, but the two go hand in hand. Good luck.

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Dang dude! That's awesome. One heck of a lot of weight

I cheated up over 400 a couple of times back in the 70s, 355 was my best in competition when I dropped down to the 180 (for a minute and a half) class. Thats the old, bring it to the chest, wait until the light is green (3 counts I think) and then it goes up.

Assassin said:

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GolemIII said:

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FormerFlash said:

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tommie said:

---

I'm not fitness expert and I'm not giving advice. I'm making a statement. Diet is very important. You can't work two hours and drink 5 beers and get the results you want.

You can't outrain a bad diet.

---

Totally agree. I have the diet aspect taken care of with the exception of knowing how many grams of protein I should actually be ingesting every day. I work really hard to nearly eliminate sugar while keeping carbs and dairy very low.

---

I'm not a bodybuilder, but I've been at this for 25+ years with a bench press that hit 485 lbs at my best. (425 a couple years back before shoulder surgery). My experience is gaining strength, not muscle, but the two go hand in hand. Good luck.

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Dang dude! That's awesome. One heck of a lot of weight

I cheated up over 400 a couple of times back in the 70s, 355 was my best in competition when I dropped down to the 180 (for a minute and a half) class. Thats the old, bring it to the chest, wait until the light is green (3 counts I think) and then it goes up.

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The older I get, the better I was. The body doesn't respond quite as well in the 40s as it did in the 20s and 25 years of damage from heavy lifting is rather unpleasant. But I'll always have what used to be.

hustlenflow said:

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tommie said:

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I'm not fitness expert and I'm not giving advice. I'm making a statement. Diet is very important. You can't work two hours and drink 5 beers and get the results you want.

You can't outrain a bad diet.

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What about 1 light beer, 2 real beers, and 2 whiskeys?

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That's cool as long as they are all-natural and gluten free.

On the diet side it sounds like you need to eat more, including carbs.

What kind of lifting program are you following?

Mojo Risin' said:

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On the diet side it sounds like you need to eat more, including carbs.

What kind of lifting program are you following?

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JEFIT app for about three months now. It's $6.99 per month and I have noticed a difference in strength and tone. I live too far from a commercial gym.

I started lifting on Jan 1, 2000, and only miss when I'm traveling for business or on vacation. Diet and consistency are so key though!

To get fit, try the PT requirements based on age for our armed forces. All branches have it online. You can even find the PT requirements for special forces online. I did just the basic PT requirements for the US Army and adjusted my diet a few years ago and got back to the weight I was when I graduated high school.

To gain muscle, eat:
- No later than 45 minutes after lifting.
- Limit carbs to vegetables; no breads.
- About 5k calories per day of clean foods.
For workout:
- Alternate upper body and lower body days.
- Do at least 20 minutes of cardio per day.
- Take 1 day off per week of nothing but rest and 1 day as an active, sports, work day.
For upper body:
- 6 sets (12, 10, 8, 6, 12, and 12 reps) for each muscle group starting with smallest muscle group first (tris, bis, shoulders, chest).
- For weight, start light but increase weight with each set except the last set go back down to starting weight. The idea being that your muscle should be so burned that the initial weight on the final 12 should hurt.
For lower body:
- Same as upper body except for calves....Arnold Schwarzenegger noted in an article I'd read several years ago to do extra for calves. For calves I do 4 sets of increasing weight but I do 100 reps.

Get a good massage monthly...not the $25 Thai massage down on Harwin Drive....a real massage from a reputable day spa.

No beer.
No cokes.

Chris Hemsworth has a really good app if you want to get cut like Thor...I'd try it, but >5k calories a day of clean foods isn't cheap! The workouts look really good tho.

BTW....if protein powders aren't working for you, you could have a whey protein allergy. We found that with my wife....she'd use the whey protein shakes but see no difference even with workout adjustments...we changed to a non-whey protein shake and saw results. The body won't lose weight or gain muscle if it's fighting a food allergy even if you can hardly tell you have a food allergy.