I’ve been trying to bulk up for this upcoming lacrosse season, so I decided to start taking muscle milk to help a bit, which I have been taking for about a month and a half now. just this weekend I bought a 2 pound tub of it and discovered this website, which opened my eyes up and made me realize that this stuff i’snt so great and is actually harmful.
anyway, I look to you guys on T-Nation to recommend me a new supplement. I don’t want to use creatine, I just want to use something that will help me gain muscle without having some negative long term effect. I skimmed through a couple threads that were on the first page and I read something about… green powder? can someone fill me in on that?
Muscle milk is just a replacement for food. If all you’re trying to do is bulk up then you need to lift and eat. Don’t go crazy on the eating, just up your calories enough so that you start putting on weight. Once you stall, bump up the calories again.
Creatine would be the first supplement I’d recommend. Since you’re vetoing that one already (not sure why) I’d recommend ZMA.
Seriously though, supplements only supplement your diet, they’re not the answer to putting on muscle, just an aid. Food and sleep are your greatest friends for putting on muscle.
[quote]Schmazz wrote:
Muscle milk is just a replacement for food. If all you’re trying to do is bulk up then you need to lift and eat. Don’t go crazy on the eating, just up your calories enough so that you start putting on weight. Once you stall, bump up the calories again.
Creatine would be the first supplement I’d recommend. Since you’re vetoing that one already (not sure why) I’d recommend ZMA.
Seriously though, supplements only supplement your diet, they’re not the answer to putting on muscle, just an aid. Food and sleep are your greatest friends for putting on muscle.[/quote]
I don’t want to use creatine because I heard that once you stop taking it, you rapidly lose muscle. I have no concrete evidence of this, so maybe creatine is the way to go?
I’m sorry I wasn’t clear in my original post, but if a supplement is in fact an aid for gaining muscle, becoming more lean, gaining healthy muscle, and becoming more cut? then thats what I want. if it isn’t, then what will?
sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have used the term “bulk Up”. I seriously am the muscle noob. I’m trying to learn though.
I don’t want to use creatine because I heard that once you stop taking it, you rapidly lose muscle. I have no concrete evidence of this, so maybe creatine is the way to go?
[/quote]
This isn’t true. This misconception comes from those who interpret the weight loss upon cessation of creatine supplementation as muscle loss, which it is not. By helping you lift harder/longer/do more work, creatine can enhance the rate and ability to put on muscle mass. The bonafide muscle tissue you gain while using creatine will not be “dependent” on creatine supplementation. The water weight will, however. But you’ll keep your muscle tissue (provided you continue to train and eat enough to support your new muscle mass, of course.)
So yes, supplement with creatine monohydrate.
Don’t get caught in the trap of trying to gain large amounts (I use the term “large” relatively…) of muscle and drop large amounts of fat at the same time. These require two different dietary and sometimes training approaches.
Being cut = having low bodyfat with appreciable muscle mass.
Pick the goal you think you need to accomplish first, focus on hitting that goal, and then move on to the opposing goal.
For fat loss/muscle maintenance with hopefully some gain, I’d recommend :
ZMA
Creatine
Surge (post workout)
Lots o fish oil
HOT-ROX Extreme
For Muscle gain/minimization of fat gain, I’d recommend:
Carbolin 19
ZMA
Creatine
Surge
If you need convenient sources of protein, Metabolic Drive and Metabolic Drive bars are great, though be sure to realizes these are simply convenient nutrition. Diet, and more specifically, appropriate calorie levels for your goals are of paramount importance, and food supplements such as the aforementioned simply provide a convenient way of hitting your nutritional numbers.