Build Bigger and Lean Muscle

dazze dee

My name is Darren

I've been going to the gym for 18 months.

I want to start eating properly and really get into training but not sure where to start. I am lifting good weight for my size and height.

Is there anybody that can tell me what and when I should be eating?

I really want to bulk up.

Is it true that for every pound you weigh you need a gram of protein on your daily intake?

Thanks

Darren [/i]

Squatty

Hi mate.

Can you post a couple of things that might help in giving you some advice:

1) give a typical daily example of your current diet/supplementation

2) Can you be a bit more specific about your stats (i.e. height, weight, age)

3) What is your current weekly training programme

There are some sound guys on this forum. You should get some good advice coming your way

dazze dee

Hi,

Thanks for your rely.

1. At the moment I have no diet plan and this is something I really need help with, I don't know where to start or what I should be eating.

2. I weigh 180lb, 6ft tall and 24.

3. Monday - Back and tricepes, 4 workouts for each containg 3 sets of 10 for each workout.

Tuesday - Shoulders and traps, as above.

Wednesday - Off

Thursday - Legs and calfs, as above.

Friday - Chest and bicepes, as above.

Saturday and Sunday - Off

This workout contains both isolation and compound movements, is this something I need to separate as I want to get bigger ?

Once again thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

Squatty

Hi mate.

The training programme looks ok. Just one suggestion - can you fit in a fifth day? The reason being is I think you could split legs over two days (hams and calves on one day; quads on the other day). Someone suggested this to me after I'd been training a year and it was good advice then. I'm suggesting this for a number of reasons. At the stage you're at you need to blast the legs and its hard if done in one session. This way, you've got two compound exercises (squats and stiff legged deadlifts) but in different sessions.

Then, on the two leg days, I would do triceps and biceps (one either day). That way, on a tricep day, they will be your only upper body group being worked and once again, you can give the session more intensity.

The final reason, is that the other days are free to train chest and back alone without holding back for the arm workout to follow.

So, a weekly programme could be:

Day One: Back & Abs
Day Two: Hams & Triceps
Day Three: Chest & Abs
Day Four: Quads & Biceps
Day Five: Shoulders & Traps

Of course, pick a schedule that suits you as you know best by now, what works for you.

On the subject of your training. Is there someone in your gym who you could ask to check out your form. You could train like an animal but if your form is shit, you'd be wasting your time and be more prone to injury.

Re; your diet. There are guys on the forum with better knowledge than me, so I'll leave them to have their input. But if its bulk you're after, then you need to eat lots, but good quality stuff. Earlier this year, during a bulking programme, I upped my daily calorie intake from 2500 to 4500/5000.

For example:
Breakfast: Oats, Protein drink
Mid morning: Tuna,jacket, salad
Lunch: Chicken, sweet potato, veggies
Early afternoon: Protein drink
Late afternoon: Tuna, rice, salad
Evening meal: Chicken/Steak, jacket,veggies

You didn't say what supplements you're taking but I would suggest creatine, perhaps a mass builder, protein shakes and multi vitamins.

Finally, I've found posting my journal on the forum has been a fantastic help. Not only do you get great input from the members but it's useful to read back and see what has worked and what hasn't worked.

Good luck mate - its a great sport

dazze dee

Thanks Squatty for the information sounds a better workout.

I'm taking creatine, whey protein shakes and extreme carbs.

Hopefully somebody will help me with my diet plan.

Would you suggest that I mainly stick to dumb bells or machinery on upper body workouts for a better build up, i've heard people mention this a few times?

Once again thanks

Squatty

There's a lot of debate threads on the forum discussing the free weights vs machines arguments.

My personal preference is always for free weights, as I feel I get a greater range of movement with them and you're not restricted by where the machine wants to go.

In your bulking programme, I would use mainly free weights. For example, when you train chest I would do a flat barbell press, incline & decline dumbbell press and flat or inclince dumbbell flyes.

With back, concentrate on deadlifts, chins and barbell and dumbbell rows.If you feel its needed move over to machines for lat pulldowns and cable rows.

Anyway, you've been training for 18 months now, what has worked best for you so far.

By the way, I meant to mention earlier, I would give yourself a target date and weight to increase the focus of the bulk programme.For example, I'm starting my next major bulk on 5th September and the goal is to add bewtwen 8 to 10 kg by Christmas Eve. With a clear goal in mind, you can chart your progress easier and pinpoint where adjustments are necessary

dazze dee

Thanks you've been a big help.

Just a few more questions if you dont mind?

When is the best time a take creatine, I usually mix 4g of creatine with a litre of water and drink it throughout the day.

Hope i'm not a pain in the ass lol.

Cheers

Squatty

I've always had creatine capsules (2800mg an hour before my workout and 2800mg straight after the workout)

I've never heard of keeping it going throughout the day. It must be like being on a creatine drip. Is that how its recommended on the bottle? What have your gains been like since taking it?

Can your normal day accomodate the different meals and drinks or will it be difficult ot fit in

chalk

Best to take it after your workout mixed with some carbs or just pop it into your post workout drink (as long as it contains carbs). The carbs will give you an insulin spike which give a better uptake of the creatine into the muscles
On non-workout days I'd say take it first thing in the morning, again with carbs.


If you're interested in reading a bit more, then here you are.......

When is the right time
to take creatine?
By Alfredo Franco-Obregón, PhD


Background

This issue concerns most creatine users. However, in order to logically answer this question, several issues need to be considered. The first involves the movement of water from the surrounding tissues into skeletal muscle. This process has been called muscle volumizing because of the increase in muscle volume that ensues. The second issue is how the metabolic state of muscle influences creatine uptake. Lastly, it now appears that creatine levels in our blood actually regulate the rate at which creatine is transported into our muscles. These physiological processes are outlined in greater detail below.

Muscle Volumizing:

Creatine causes fluid to flow from the surrounding tissues into skeletal muscle. This cellular water essentially follows creatine into skeletal muscle causing them to swell. During the first days of loading the amount of water retained by our muscles can be considerable, accounting for as much as 1-3 kilograms (~2-7 pounds) of added weight. Furthermore, since this process might deprive our remaining body tissues of necessary fluids, dehydration is a valid concern of creatine use.

Insulin:

In a sense, insulin controls cellular energy management and creatine is a form of cellular energy.

Creatine is transported into skeletal muscle by specific "transported molecules" on the muscle surface. The ability of these transporters to load the muscle with creatine is enhanced by insulin. Therefore, in theory, any maneuver that increases the release of insulin should likewise increase the absorption of creatine by muscle. For this reason creatine is often taken with carbohydrates that greatly enhance insulin release, such as glucose and dextrose. Such carbohydrates are described as being highly glycemic. The more glycemic the sugar the more creatine is absorbed by our muscles.

Paradoxically, although highly glycemic sugars initially cause a rapid rise in energy (sugar rush), our energy levels dramatically drop (crash) soon afterwards. Obviously, such sudden drops in energy are not desirable during exercise.

Insulin-sensitivity is also influenced by muscular activity. Skeletal muscle is most receptive to the actions of insulin immediately after exercise. It is during this time that insulin causes the greatest absorption of glucose and amino acids. Since creatine is also an amino acid, it makes sense that creatine absorption is also enhanced by insulin. Because of this favorable metabolic environment, many fitness experts advise post exercise feedings to promote muscle development.

Creatine Transporters:

Although stimulated by insulin, the activity of the creatine transporters is inhibited by creatine itself. Therefore, too much creatine blocks its own absorption into skeletal muscle. However, these studies were conducted on the transporters of laboratory animals. Therefore, the significance of these studies to humans remains to be seen?

However, if the creatine transporters of humans do behave in the same way as those of laboratory animals, then supplementing too frequently may prove counter productive. For example, a typical supplementing dose of of 5 grams can raise blood creatine levels as much as 15-20 fold. Furthermore, blood creatine levels remain elevated for a few hours before returning to normal. Therefore, multiple creatine feedings, within a short period of time, would be a waste of money, since creatine absorption would be greatly reduced after the first feeding. It takes about five hours for transporter function to return to normal after being exposed to elevated plasma creatine.

So...., when is the best time to take creatine?

It is much easier to answer, "when is the wrong time to take creatine".

Immediately before your workout?

Immediately before your workout is not the best time to take creatine.

First, large shifts in body fluid during exercise should be avoided at all cost. They could severely compromise exercise performance and even prove hazardous.

Secondly, less glycemic foods are a preferable food source prior to exercise because they provide cellular energy more steadily. On the other hand, highly glycemic sugars (like those taken with creatine) should be avoided prior to exercise because of the sudden crash in energy levels they cause.

Lastly, creatine needn't be "fresh" to work. Once the muscle stores are full, creatine is stable until degraded. Therefore, the stores don't need to be replenished immediately before exercising.


During your workout?

One study showed that taking creatine during your workout hampers exercise performance. This is probably due to the effect of dehydration on exercise performance.


Before and after your workout?

Don't supplement to frequently. Supplementing both before and after exercise may be counterproductive because of the inhibition of creatine transporter activity that may still persist from the previous feeding.
The short answer:

The best time to take creatine is immediately after your workout when the metabolic state of skeletal muscle is most receptive to insulin-mediated uptake of creatine. Further capitalize on this situation by taking creatine with fruit juices (at least 16 ounces) that contain simple sugars such as glucose or dextrose.