|
Diet is SUPER important. I can't stress this enough. That and adequate rest are probably the most important things in gaining real muscle mass.
Figure out how many calories you need to take in just to maintain your current body weight and then up that by 500. If that's not enough, add more calories. BUT when i say calories, i mean QUALITY calories. There's 1600 calories in a western 6 dollar burger from carls jr, but that shit is gonna do nothing for you. Lean meats, brown rice, whole grains, potatoes, etc...you get the idea.
As far as supplements, a good protein supplement is all you really need, but if you wanna go the creatine route as well, go with creatine ethyl ester NOT monohydrate. Monohydrate makes you retain water. Yeah you'll look bigger, but you wont be putting on any real weight and as soon as you stop taking the stuff, you'll lose mass. Ethyl ester on the other hand is beneficial in muscle contraction and energy production and doesn't give you the water retention.
Weight gainers are cool for calories and what not, but they tend to have a lot of cholesterol and if you're not doing ANY cardio this can obviously be detrimental to your cardiovascular health. And you'll put on fat weight and not real lean muscle mass. My advice on these would be to use them in moderation and make sure you get in at least some cardio. If you're eating enough and its the right stuff, you really dont need a weight gainer.
Personally, I use AfterShock as a post work out supplement. Its a weight gainer, BUT i use it primarily for the amount of protein and carbs it gives me after i've pretty much destroyed myself on the track and in the weight room . I'm a college track and field athlete (100 meters and 200 meters) and i do more cardio in a day then most people do in a week so the cholesterol isn't as much an issue for me than it would be for someone else. But i also have to do a lot of heavy weight lifting and power lifting. I have to take in around 3500 - 4000 calories a day just to stay at race weight and keep my muscle mass (165 lbs. - 170 lbs.) Trying to eat that much food is annoying and expensive. And honestly, sometimes i'm just not that hungry. So i just use a shake as a way to get the calories i need for the day.
Oh and LEGS LEGS LEGS. Simply running isn't enough. You've gotta lift with your legs too, just like you would with your upper body. Like you mentioned, you activate testosterone production with heavy lifting with the legs, so do them! It'll help your gains all around. Plus, it looks dumb to be all swole up top and have toothpicks for legs. lol
Sorry that was so long winded, but i hope it helps! I'm around this kinda stuff all the time, plus my brother is a personal trainer and he's big as hell. lol
|