Now i'm new to the gym and have seen people drink certain supplements, i was wondering which ones are good, i've started having protein shakes but i'm not sure whether the one i'm using is any good, could someone just clear this problem for me please. Thanks

watch from 1:40 on


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfTnVCh0dKE

answer your Question?

you dont need supplements!!!


let me also add

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7qGvm05 ... re=related

listen especially when he talks about supplements at around 9:38

Supplements are bunk! He was fired for telling the truth.

There are supplements that can give you an edge when working out. But there are two things you have to have dialed in first.
1. Your diet
2. Your workout program

The supplements only help you when these two things are in place. It depends on what your goals are. Its good that you currently are drinking protein shakes. The reason people drink them is to help you get to the necessary protein intake for the day. On days I workout I take in my body-weight in grams of protein. So I weigh 165lbs I consumer 165g of protein that day. I eat lean meats, fish, and protein shakes.

Make sure you are on a workout program. Everyone says there's is the best one but find one that works for you and get on it. Don't sulk around the gym without a plan!

SUPPLEMENTS

Make sure to be taking a Multivitamin and something for your joints like a fish oil. Look into creatine and nitric oxide. Both are good for boosting energy and helping in muscle growth.

I assume your diet and workout routine's are in tact (if not, that would be your greater concern). You really don't need supplements. The only one's I use are whey protein to get that extra protein and fish oil for those EFA's (omega-3's). Any other "supplement" I would say is hogwash. The supplement industry is a multi-billion dollar industry only because of suckers (I've been one).

I've also used creatine for a couple years. You will hear a lot about it. Does it work (in terms of strength/energy/weight gain?) Yes, it is currently the number 1 researched supplement and has numerous accounts of efficacy. Let's just say I won't use it unless I'm competing in a sport (used to sprint) because there is really no need. It causes water retention (about 3-5 lbs or so, *this isn't muscle) and is great for short burst activity, but ultimately it doesn't cause muscle growth so why take it unless competing?

Anyway, best of luck to ya.

Absolutely agreed with the last two posters, just posting to answer this:
Creatine provides a strength gain that lasts as long as you keep taking creatine. For instance, someone who normally bench presses 70kg (and has plateaued on 70kg) might be able to bench 75kg if they've been taking creatine for the past few days. While their lift will drop down again when they stop taking it, their muscles have been stimulated more than were possible before thanks to the increased weight, so their new max might be about 72.5kg, and their muscle growth will have benefitted as a result. I see that as it's main use (breaking plateaus) - I haven't really been able to judge whether creatine speeds progress or not, other posters might be able to contribute to that.

And of course, there's always the nice placebo effect that comes when you take any supplement that you think will work (but that applies to anything and probably helps no more than 5-10kg, and that's on squats and deads).

wheres your sources???????

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/creat ... use-1.html

Additionally, a lot of anecdotal evidence from myself and other people who I know lift. I know it certainly had those effects for me.

No science backing up your argument!!!!

Just someone elses opinon!

whey protein
glutamine/bcaa
and maybe creatine or a pre workout stimulant is all you need

the rest comes to diet

^Casein Protein is much better than Whey Protein at bedtime.


-Anyone know if Natural Testosterone Boosters are any good? Are they dangerous?

Like I said, yes it does increase strength. I've definitely noticed the difference. However, I have gained just as much MUSCLE with it as I have w/out it. I originally took it to use for sprinting in which I competed. Once that was over, I continued its use for weight lifting on those regards you mentioned, makes somewhat sense, right? But later I realized that's just nonsense. I can train just as hard and stimulate muscle growth without it (and I have).

If you like to spend an extra $20 every few months or so (which really isn't anything to most people), are egotistical by needing to lift more in the gym, and like to weigh a few more pounds of water weight on a scale, by all means go for it! Just saying it's not an anabolic supplement, that's all.

A tall glass of chocolate milk along side a piece of toasted bread with peanut butter is just as good as those protein shakes.

_________________
I'd rather go out swinging than strike out looking.
A lifestyle is a terrible thing to waste.
What I say when I see her is what I'll say.

Are you seriously questioning the effects of creatine in increasing ATP? Plain and simple, creatine increases the energy available to your muscles which is then transferred into strength (through converting that energy to the potential energy of the weight as it is lifted). Do we agree on that?

Do we also agree, then, that the more weight you lift (assuming no additional equipment, suits, bands, etc) the more your muscles are being stimulated? Fairly basic tenet of all weightlifting.

If you accept all those arguments, the logical process is as follows:
Creatine = More Energy = More Strength = More Stimulation

That doesn't mean to say, as jetplane rightly noted, that it will increase your gains in muscle. If you are lifting 65kg without creatine, and lift 70kg the next time you gym, you'll probably experience as much growth as if you had lifted 70kg with creatine, then 75kg the next time. Muscular growth is not determined by how much you lift, but by how much you progress, in the same way that how fast a balloon is expanding isn't determined by how much air is in it, but by how much air is being PUT into it. If you are making good gains without creatine, it is arguably useless to take it; while you might be able to lift more, you also had a higher starting point, and thus the same rate of growth.

The benefit of creatine, then, is to help break you through plateaus; it can kickstart progress again when it seems to have halted. I believe this was my original argument, no?

I'm sure you'll forgive me for not having adequate science to back up my argument; I wasn't aware you would question either of the tenets I listed above (creatine boosts ATP and heavier weight equals more stimulation). They're fairly basic, and I'll leave you to find the evidence for them yourself. If you're questioning something else, I'll be glad to answer it, but those seem to me the major propositions behind my view.

I question all of the classic tenets of bodybuilding. Esspecially when someones trying to peddle me magic powders. Creatine is important but is best gotten from eating red meat.

source

http://books.google.com/books?id=BNA3sY ... &q&f=false

I agree with that - however, you can reap good benefits from having more creatine in your system than is feasible through even a high protein diet. The creatine in meat is higher quality, but if you want more to help break a plateau, a supplement might be necessary to reach those levels.