supplements

[The Sherman]

I seem to be a stubborn gainer and am currenlty (including 2-3 protein shakes with some creatine in) eating 3000 calries a day but am not putting the weight on.
go to gym every second day as well.
was going to add a protein bar into my daily diet and can anyone recommend anything else?

Holland and Barret sell about a millin diff drugs and if any of them work in gaining msucle then would like to know

cheers!

[gucciman]

theres no secret supplement to building muscle, you need to train hard, eat loads and get plenty of rest.

if your not gaining then 3000 calories a day is obviously not enough, try upping it to 3500 calories or 4,000 calories if that doesn't work.

you should be eating between 6 and 8 meals a day, 3 of which can be protein shakes, meal replacement shakes or weight gaining shakes, the other meals should be high quality, high protein low fat solid meals, chicken, turkey lean red meat, fish, rice, pasta etc. you need to be consuming 1 and 1/2 gms of protein per pound of bodyweight a day.
(i have a protein shake when i get up, one straight after my workout and one before bed)
and its no good just going to the gym, you have to train intensely and get the most out of your workouts, yur workouts need to be well structured to build your whole body without over-training.

[The Sherman]

just now im vegeterain so not eating meat but do eat plenty of eggs and nuts and quorn and other protein foods.
my diet is quite similar to what you said but have added like 6-850 calories for the past 3 weeks and yes have been going to gym which burns energy but dont think ive gained any weight at all!
am goona switch t those weight gaining shakes but just thought that maybe there was some good pills to pop as well?
also what do you think of the protein bars for a post workout meal?

[Velvetee]

Perhaps you just don't have the correct bodytype for gaining substantial muscle mass.

[The Sherman]

awh dont say that!

please dont shatter my illusion that I can make myself look pretty decent!
that cant be true???
.....
Can it?

[Velvetee]

What is your natural shape like? There are three Somatotypes (bodytypes) Ectomorph, Endomorph and Mesomorph. Most people are a combination of two, but those who build the biggest, leanest muscle the quickest and easiest, tend to be natural Meso's.

Also, what exactly do you do in the gym? Do you do a split routine?

[sherminator]

im 6 3 and 13 and half stone
quite skinny

and i do a sort of all body routine 3-4 times a week

[Velvetee]

You are probably a classic Ectomorph then, long and lean, doesn't gain weight easily regardless of food intake.

The truth of it is, you may never gain the size you desire, without "chemical" assistance and even then, your diet has to be perfect as well as your training routine.

If you are exercising 4 plus times per week, then 3000 calories is not enough. The average man, who is just looking to maintain their current weight, requires 2500 cals. You probably need to increase by another 1000 or possibly more.

[Velvetee]

P.S try overloading muscle groups. You could try a split routine, working 2 muscle groups per session, selecting a three different exercises for each group. Maybe try Pyramiding as well, increasing the weights, but reducing the reps.

[sherminator]

cheers velvetee and think i will switch to weight gain shakes and chuck in a protein bar in my diest as well thats should be an extra 1000 calories

what i dont understand though is if i was eating 2000 and now im eating 3000 calories and where is all that extra energy going? i have gained i think 1 pound in 3 weeks???

[Velvetee]

I guess it would suggest you are not consuming enough under ordinary circumstances, so you are burning all the calories you are taking in, coupled with all the exercise that would burn even more calories, sounds like you need to up it to sustain general life and give you fuel for exercise plus more for weight gain. Perhaps you have a fast metabolism.

[The Sherman]

cheers for all help velevetee. Am gonna buy maximuscle progain and also some protein bars today.....will report back in a month and see where i am.