[s7eve]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

Steve, I know alot about weight training, health, and nutrition.

But you flat out own in this thread. Rep, and nice work. I agree with pretty much everything you've said, and you've even got a broader, deeper knowledge on this subject than me. (Arnold is one of my heroes. Go figure.)

Thank you Sir.

Originally Posted by Gilbucci

You lost weight by sitting on your ass and eating junk food? How is that even possible?

It's possible because weight loss is nothing more than "Energy in vs Energy out" and overcoming the defences your body uses to protect itself from starvation.

You should have a look at the thread I started re weight loss and low carb diets. I posted the link in my last post.

6 packs are made in the kitchen not in the gym.

[The Dark Wolf]

Truer words never spoken.

Hence my disgust with those "ab-buster" thingies, rip-off shit.

I mean, yeah, that can get your abs in shape. But give a 6-pack, all by its lonesome? I think not.

[FortePenance]

Originally Posted by Jason

Why not? Does she thinks it is unsafe? or that is like steroids or something? I find it funny considering China is using up tons of whey

Something like that, she's old fashioned. She doesn't approve of me buying anything off the internet either - she believes everyone's a scammer.

Originally Posted by Labrie

If you're training until failure but not gaining then I would suspect your diet is in question. If you aren't giving your body enough nutrients to repair your muscle fibers, then there's no way for your muscles to grow, right.

This is where supplements like protein/weight gainers/creatine come into play. Like I said before, I don't see how a person of your stature can hope to make gains without supplements unless you can eat thousands of calories every day with adequate protein consumption.

My 2cents anyway

I am gaining weight- what I meant was that I wasn't lifting any heavier. As for supplements, like I said I can't take any of them because of my mum/lack of cash to buy myself.

[s7eve]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

Truer words never spoken.

Hence my disgust with those "ab-buster" thingies, rip-off shit.

I mean, yeah, that can get your abs in shape. But give a 6-pack, all by its lonesome? I think not.

Those ads piss me off, ab exercises potentially will make your abs bigger, if you make your abs bigger but do not address you diet at the same time chances are you will not burn any fat so the muscle growth pushing against the abdominal wall does nothing except make you look fatter in the gut.

Your not going to get a flatter tummy or a 6pack with those if you don't eat correctly and personally I don't find a girl with a thick trunk very attractive and those things seem to be marketed at women.

However I do think some of those ab devices are better for developing your abdominal muscles than crunches and if you are aiming at getting a set of abs like Ryan Reynolds you are going to have to work out your abs at some point.

[TheMissing]

Well, I'm a bit late into the game, but I'm going to join in on this a bit late starting today. I'll post up measurments and stuff later tonite.

[7 Dying Trees]

Saw this thread, forgot about it, says a lot that i hardly ever (well, never actually) post in here, but just seen it after coming back from a run with the dog after deciding that was good excercise for dog + me (although he still isn't tired, and is STILL trying to have sexy time with the other dog) and after having lightly set foot in the gym again, i may as well join in.

So, I have years of alcohol and other shit, 12/13 years of smoking, a fair few years of sitting on my arse, not excercising much (except in little bursts now and again where i join a gym, get going for 5-6 weeks, then stop becuase of something retarded) and just being sick of not being in shape like i used to be.

One thing though, is that I have to overcome a knee problem, which severely limits any weights i can do with my legs (tried last week, and the muscles on the front of the thigh (yes, i am that scientific) can do 10kg combined maximum, not through lack of strength, but just through that once a tendon in my knee gets too much strain put on it, it inflamates, and stops me walking properly for 2-3 weeks if bad, and if overstretched it will render me unable to walk entirely (have had this happen before, hence me being wary, it's also been operated on, but i don't think it worked)).

Anyway, enough whinging, time to start "power" walking the dog. I also have no idea about my weight, or height, or measurements and am in no rush to find out, so in that respect, i may have to wait a bit before posting them as i have no clue.

[s7eve]

James talk to your instructor at the Gym and have a program made that takes your knee injuries into account. I have shoulder and back issues but a program that took those into account and strengthened the muscles around them really helped.

[ElDuderino]

Originally Posted by s7eve

As far as gaining size goes more reps, more sets with less weight (still the max weight you can lift to finish 80% of your last set, if you can finish your last set before you fatigue add more weight next session) and a good rest between sets is the way to go. You build size when you are resting, when you train you are tearing you fibres, when you rest your body repairs these stronger. Less reps with more weight typically increases density and strength not size however it will still increase size when combined with a good diet and rest periods.

Originally Posted by s7eve

Science is divided on creatine, there have been studies that have concluded that creatine offers no advantage and it does have side affects. However I have used instant dissolvable creatine with glucose and it may just be a placebo effect but I believe that it gave me a boost during training, that could possibly be explained by the glucose and I find a black coffee with sugar has a similar effect. Creatine will not help with muscle growth, all it claims to do is help you to train harder.

I agree with most everything you have discussed already, except for a few points. The vast majority of research done on creatine has shown how beneficial it is for most athletes, leaving little room for controversy as to it's effectiveness. It increases workout energy because creatine is actually your body's first choice for energy during anaerobic activity. It also increases the size of your muscle cells, muscle mass, maximal power and strength. The few who have experienced side effects usually had pre-existing conditions. Also, creatine supplementation will create muscle growth for most people. Creatine allows muscle cells to gain volume increasing the amount of water they can hold. Proper muscle cell hydration leads to greater protein synthesis, which will lead to muscle growth.

Somewhere along the line creatine received a bad rap, and I'm not sure why. As long as you make sure you get research grade creatine and take correct dosages, it works wonders. I saw great results while using it, and so have most people I know.


Sorry for my rant, but I just wanted to clear those few things up. Other than that, good job

[s7eve]

Thanks Ross, rereading what I wrote I'm glad you posted, it gives balance to what I said and the reader should investigate for themselves.

As I currently have no desire to use creatine I could not be arsed to research it. The conclusion of my previous study was, the reports that claimed creatine's advantages were industry prepared and did not document the testing procedure and did not submit their finding for peer review as such I am inclined to take what is said with a pinch of salt. However I did find one study that used a control group, documented their tests and submitted their results for peer review. It was a double blind study and the group that used Creatine showed no advantage over the control group.

On a personal level I feel that creatine helped me but I have no scientific basis for that claim and as I mentioned may be a placebo effect. Personally I'm inclined to believe that Creatine is beneficial as it is used in practically every sport at elite level however I'm not inclined to accept the claims such as the ones in your post (no offence) unless they are backed up with credible scientific evidence. If you can post a link to an independent double blind study that would sure help this lazy arse

Everything I said should be judged by the same standard, I have not provided any evidence in support and I could not be bothered, Creatine might be everything Ross has said it is but I encourage people to research that for yourself. Hopefully Ross can provide a link for everyone that is a lazy as me and that would settle it.

Just be careful when reading the claims about how wonderful a certain product is, the market is flooded with advertising cleverly disguised as credible articles, magazines have gone from printing articles that promote their sponsors to being owned by the supplement companies and have become one big cleverly disguised advertising campaign for their products.

[Labrie]

Originally Posted by s7eve

Science is divided on creatine, there have been studies that have concluded that creatine offers no advantage and it does have side affects. However I have used instant dissolvable creatine with glucose and it may just be a placebo effect but I believe that it gave me a boost during training, that could possibly be explained by the glucose and I find a black coffee with sugar has a similar effect. Creatine will not help with muscle growth, all it claims to do is help you to train harder.

Any serious body builder I know uses creatine. As far as I'm concerned its a staple for gaining strength. While it won't directly promote muscle growth, it gives your muscles more energy, which in my experience, helps you get those extra few reps in when you would usually end a set. This is the time during your set that is most important, as you tear the most muscle.

So while creatine is a simple energy producing molecule, it does help you build strength and size.

The glucose you took with your creatine is just used as a transporting system. This is why almost all creatine products (except the kre-alkalines) always have high doses of sugar in them, whether it be glucose, dextrose etc.

I don't mean to sound like an ass but you can't just read the internet about these things and think you know everything (at least thats how it's coming across to me). I've trained with and without supplements and I know for a fact they worked wonders for me and basically everyone I've ever trained with. If there's anything I've learned working in science labs, it's that no study is 100% right or wrong. You'll always find another study that disagrees with yours.