Working out and supplements

Definitely do cardio before weights if you're a gainer. If you do cardio after weights you'll atrophy muscle tissue really fast. You see how cardio works is it's meant to get you from point A to B faster. The logical way to do this effieciently is to dump weight. Muscle goes out faster than fat at any given time so that will be the first to be dumped.

Don't go for cheap protein shakes. You get what you pay for. There are so few that are cost efficient AND quality products. I stick to Optimum nutrition Whey & Casein and I take the original Jack3d for pre-work out. I'm going to give Muscle Pharm a try ewith their casein becuase it's actually gotten a lot of great reviews. I had written them off after their pre-workout supplement made me GAG! If you are having a hard time getting good shakes then eat well. It's so much better than a bad shake.

 

Warming up with a short bout of cardio and easy stretching is a good idea before lifting, but too much still depletes your body of the building blocks it needs to build muscle, if more muscle is your goal. If you are lifting heavy enough to grow you won't be able to do cardio after, and that's when you might be too tired to have an actual meal, then you'll want to sit down, drink your protein shake, and take a nap. Cardio later, maybe tomorrow. Cardio the next day is also better at getting rid of soreness, in my experience.

When I am trying to lose weight I do lower intensity, higher volume lifting and cardio same day. Usually same session.

Lately I'm missing out on my cardio, until I can get my knee fixed. I still lift though, it seems to help my various pains. Since dropping cardio, my arms and legs are measurable bigger ( chest too ). My belly has only gone up a little. If my goal was to get more muscular, and stronger, then I'd be on top of the world. Less is more is a good way to look at that. Unfortunately my goal includes reducing blood pressure, and that's not happening now that I've dropped the cardio... I may pick up some barbell complexes until I have to stop for the surgery.

The only protein supplement I take is Any Whey. I use that because my wife bought it to supplement her protein while she was on chemo, etc. It's flavorless and mixes easy with milk ( and hershey's chocolate syrup too ). Does it work? Dunno, I just use it when I'm to tired to eat real food. I don't used any supplement to jack up my energy levels. That's what the first heavy set is for

 

Yes, Muscle Pharm Assualt can make you gag, but if you can somehow get Jack3d down your gullet, you can drink anything. That shit is just horrid.

Optimum Hydro Builder is the absolute shiznit for post-workout. Bit pricey but it is great. I don't mix protein with milk or anything with flavor so I can't help anyone there. I just take the BCAA caps, drink a shake then eat 30 mins later. Casein on empty stomach right before bed and I'm golden.

 

Optimum Nutririon Platinum standard gives me visible gains within weeks of using it! And by god that shit's expensive! I am currently taking Gold standard but whenever I'm feeloing like treating myself I get the platinum.

About the BCAA caps, BCAA tastes like shit. Take the caps if you are patient, save your tastebuds. You want immediate gains? Chug the powder with water and hold your breath.

 

Have you ever taken any exercise physiology courses or done any real research in the area? "First to get dumped" is B.S. and bro science at its best. Cardio uses primarily fat metabolism (as does everyday activity!) until you get to an intensity level that requires faster energy transfer - then your body prefers to use glycogen. If glycogen is depleted (such as after weightlifting), it will possibly shift to muscle catabolism - the key is keeping consistent cardio under a given intensity level, so you maintain the bloodflow to clear out waste but do not shift toward muscle catabolism. HIIT "on" periods tend to use more anaerobic sources of energy, so that's usually ok.

 

I was about to say "bro science" but was beat to it. HIIT seems to be a good method for cardio. It's what I was doing on the bike, before my knee started kvetching... My heart rate and blood pressure both responded well to HIIT sessions, ymmv

 

PonyPotato I will do an hour of cardio every other day on an elliptical. My heart rate seldom exceeds 110 bpm. On the 'off days' I will do machines, nothing heavy. Not looking to add mass. In fact, I would like to lose 5-10 lbs. Should I add 15 minutes of cardio after do the machines? (Yeah, I know I should also not drink beer and not eat so much, but blah....) BTW my resting heart rate is 59 bpm.

 

No, never taken physiology courses but research yes. Bro science? Maybe. BS? No. It's indeed correct. Be it boxing, marathon running, rock climbing you need to move and you need to move faster than you're already moving. It's just physics. Dump weight and you'll get there faster. Even airplanes & ships do that. And before I get the standard TFP "not a professional" response, no, I am not a pro sailor or pilot but I did watch that movie star wars once ...

The only reason you don't like the explanation is because of how I phrased it. Yes, I have grossly oversimplified it. You have to understand, my lifting scientific vocabulary does not exceed, "I pick things up and put them down". But I did not inherently give wrong advice, do cardio and your body begins purging weight with muscle first then fat second.

Just today I googled what glycogen was because PonyPotato here keeps on repeating it and I keep on disregarding it. It's pretty much just muscle. Fancy, yes, incredibly detailed (cause honestly I couldn't be arsed to click on the link that explains what a polysaccharide is) but esentially it's a sugar protein INSIDE YOUR FUCKING MUSCLES. So I really don't know why the folk disagreeing with me are disagreeing with me.

Now, I should have clarified that if you keep up consistent cardio after weightlifting you will lose more than you will gain. Over time, you will earn less than what you are expending in energy at the gym.

 

Xerxes, glycogen is not "basically just muscle." I suggest you take some basic physiology courses rather than continuing to spout your bullshit as real advice when it comes to biological processes you clearly don't understand.

 

I'd try switching your schedule around for a couple weeks and see what results you get. Warm up with 10-15 mins of cardio (60-70% HRM, which is generally 220-age), then do your machines, THEN the long duration, low intensity cardio you've been doing. Maybe up your HR periodically for intervals/hill climbing during that time, but not for >30 sec per "on" interval.

 

You CAN build muscle while doing cardio, it's just more efficient to do them separately. You can even mix them by doing barbell complexes or circuits with weights, also not the most efficient way to gain muscle, but you can.

I've been reading about working out for years and trends come and go, but most of what sticks is not to tax your systems too much by "mixing it up". If your goal is more muscle mass then work out like a bodybuilder ( natural hopefully ). If you want to be stronger, try powerlifting. If you want to be fit and have more endurance crossfit and cardio is good for that.

It has always been amazing to me the number of people who don't do weight training or never had any success at it feel perfectly free to tell the world how strong they are and that they never touch weights. I can squat 365 lbs for 20 reps. I have no idea what my max is though... kettlebells har har har Yes, I'm drinking, why did you ask?
--- merged: Apr 18, 2013 at 8:37 PM ---
Still drinking

 

I've been told by my lawyers ( in my head ) to say "Kettlebells are fine implements of fitness and strength training. Several million Russians can't be wrong. Get yours today!"

 

Chill out people.

There is no set right or wrong when it comes to working out. Everyone has to find the right balance and mix to obtain the goals that are specific to them. Most people fall for the large market supplements that are in every box store and every distributorship known to man. Most people just swing iron around and expect to gain. At least this guy is trying to get some insight on *supplements and not just "bro-ing" it up.

Maybe we should get back to supplements and not routines, eh? Cardio after doesn't work for me but does for others. Experiment, learn and put to use.

Jesus. You guys are worse than Biggest Loser trainers.

 

Glory's Sun, how dare you interfere in a bro-off like that? Uncool dude.

But you are correct. Try it out for a while, if it works for your goals, keep it. Otherwise move on. I know jack squat about supps. I think a protein supplement is better than those other weight gain supps that are full of sugar, but otherwise... meh, I like chicken and steak