I have been lifting for several months on nothing but eating a lot and lifting as heavy as I can. My goal is size gains for the next several more months, just get stronger & bigger, then going to cut for around 2-3 months after that. I have seen nice strength gains, and even nicer size gains, tomorrow I'm going to go out and buy some candy (supplements) I have two questions really:

1. Protein powders, which is best? The one with or without carbs? the one with fat or no fat? should I just search for the one with the highest protein and nothing else? maybe some other good stuff mixed in like bcaa's?

2. What else are important supplements to get? Here is my shopping list:
- 100% Whey Powder, gold standard
- Powder form creatine
- mega men multivitamin
- BCAA's supplement
- Fish Oil supplement

i know for sure I will be purchasing creatine and when powder, what are some good choices for supplements? thanks.

ps. It would be nice to keep as much fat as possible off though. I like doing full body, circuit training 3x week.

List the exercises in your circuit training

Do you have any starting and current pics?

1. What was your starting weight when you first started?
2. What is your current weight now?

During your bulk cycle what has your surplus in calories been like? What is your plan on diet while cutting?

Go to this link to learn how to figure your calories for weight gain (bulking) or fat tissue loss (cutting):

http://training.fitness.com/nutritio...tml#post237103

We are still working on this link, so it may be moved in the future and become a sticky, and therefore the link may become dead.

Any questions post them here and we will try to answer them. ROCK ON!

Dont be overly concerned about the carbs (just be sure to get them in your diet is what I mean).

I am currently using Six Star Whey Powder (without Creatine), and it claims about 25G of protein per serving. Shoot for a ballpark figure of 20 to 30g in the whey powder (somewhere along these lines), and you will be okay.

Yes, get the whey powder.

No, do not get any creatine you dont need it. Save your money.

Yes, get a multivitamin

No, do not get any BCAA supplements. Save you money.

Yes, get some Fish Oil And Flax Oil Supplements.

The good choices for supplements are in bold. I am not a big fan of supplements--dependent on medical and physical factors. But, the ones in bold will serve your purposes quite well.


Best wishes to you my friend..........

and one more thing


ROCK ON!

KEEP UP THE GREAT PROGRESS!


Chillen

I disagree with this. If you are planning on bulking for another three months there is no reason to miss out on the gains that creatine can bring.

You are welcome to disagree of course. But, the fact remains, the young man doesnt need it.

He would be better served with applying a diet regime (and meat that already supplies it), then taking the over hyped and over rated creatine.

True, he doesn't NEED creatine. But he doesn't need the fish oils, multivitamins, or even protein powder either. But do they help? Of course.

I think the same is true for creatine.

Im not going to debate this issue with ya

Advice I gave is spot on.

Nothing else needs to be added.

You can do the creatine if you want, but its not some miracle powder. Creatine indirectly helps you add muscle, but if your diet sucks, it won't do diddly.

I think Chillen's point is you need to get on a good routine, good diet, and a consistent rate of progress on your own. its more of a 'performance enhancing' supplement, while the others (fish oil, vitamins, good diet) are just gonna help the body work better, no matter what.

phase 1 - get consistent
phase 2 - add creatine if you feel the need...honestly at age 19, I'd save all the money you can for college, a safe vehicle, and house planning.

Yep, Malkore.........that hit it square on the point......

I'd just chime in on the issue of the EFA supplements...


whether you choose flax oil or fish oil (or both), go for the liquid versions rather than capsules. In order to get the dose that does any good, you need many, many capsules per day, as opposed to a tablespoon of the direct form.

Might also want to look into ground flaxseed as well. 3 tbsp. of ground seed is roughly equivalent to 1 tbsp. oil, and you get a great shot of lignens and fiber at the same time.

If you are squeamish about the fish oil, I can tell you I use an orange flavored cod liver oil, and mix it with orange (sugar free) metamucil, and it has absolutely no fishy taste whatsoever.

Also, I don't do a multivitamin, but rather put together my own ****tail of "separates". I've never really felt that 1 pill can give the dosage of many important vits/mins that do much good. Just like anything can be toxic if the dosage is high enough, it goes the other way as well. Some components are better taken with food, especially some fat, while other things I take are better at bedtime, for me that's high dose niacin for example.