The Bodybuilders Thread!

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SlowInternet said:
Thanks for the reply/

At the moment he is really eating a lot. He is eating a lot of steak, chicken, mixed veggies and sweet potato. Think he is eating more in 1 day than what me and the wife is eating in 2 days. He needs to get a bit bigger for the rugby. Has a chance to play 1st team for his school.
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A mass gainer supplement will help sure, but in the end solid food will be the best main option.

Unfortunately without a pretty specific breakdown of quantities it is impossible to tell if he is undereating and by how many calories.

As an example, I am 1.79 at 98kg with bodyfat at 14%.

Knowing this I could easily work out that my maintenance calories are in the 2700 calorie range. For me to gain mass I'd have to eat upward of 3200cal a day. Using that I build a diet with my macro nutrient needs.

I know it is a schlep, but to do it efficiently one needs to work out food quantities and calories.

And for reference...google how much some guys have to eat to grow...it is mountains of food in some cases...4500cal+!
 
Orihalcon said:
And creatine works. It is hands down the most researched substance...ever...bar none. Don't bother with HCL variants and all that other marketing mumbo jumbo. Stick to good old monohydrate. Add in 10g-20g a day. Be happy :) It does not damage anything. Tell these so called people to provide studies as proof. I can link to numerous scientific studies clearly demonstrating the advantages with no disadvantages.

Also don't need to cycle it.
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What is the advantage? You get a boost on your lifts and then? One day if you stop taking it you lose the boost so you gotta keep taking it endlessly. If you're not involved in competitive sport or pro bbing what is the boost useful for? gimme an E...

Are there actually any competing bbers here?

Captain P, take the money you would've spent at the pharmacy and go to Woolworth's or a good butcher and buy yourself some quality organic flesh, m'kay?
 
At least creatine is cheap. Protein shakes....now that is a shocker, money better spent if you don't compete. I do prefer eating some good food rather, so just stay in shape for now, and don't gain fat.
 
E.g. on Chest day, i will do chest press, starting at 26kg in each hand by 10 reps. Next is 28Kgs, then 30Kgs, then 32Kgs. (I have not been able to clear 32Kgs). This is followed by 5 other chest exercises in a similar fashion.
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I hit a plateau at 40's in dumbbell bench (on 4 reps), then I changed my routine a slight bit example ending a chest day with 3 sets of max reps on bench with 20's, and also made 5th workout of the week a kinda 'power lifting day', in 2-3 months I am now still at 4 reps, but now on 46's
 
RandomDesign said:
What is the advantage? You get a boost on your lifts and then? One day if you stop taking it you lose the boost so you gotta keep taking it endlessly. If you're not involved in competitive sport or pro bbing what is the boost useful for? gimme an E...

Are there actually any competing bbers here?

Captain P, take the money you would've spent at the pharmacy and go to Woolworth's or a good butcher and buy yourself some quality organic flesh, m'kay?
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When I am at a pc again I will ref some articles for you. But fir now here is the quick and dirty on the advantages of creatine.

Creatine supports and increases the amount of ATP in your muscles. It does not directly impact muscle synthesis. What is ATP? Let us say your muscles are divided into 20 blocks. When you lift you don't use all your muscles at once, you use just enough. Normally you' be able to say tap 15 blocks and that is it. Your ATP is exhausted. With extra ATP you can use more blocks in one session and have more muscle breakdown and repair occur.
Sure if you stop using creatine your ATP will return to normal. BUT. The extra muscle you built while using it is still there, the extra muscular efficiency your body developed is still there. All that extra strength is still there. It is not like a gear cycle where once you hit pct you lose some of your gains. You keep it all.

This is why this sup is used in all sports. It is dirt cheap, works and there is no reason not to be using it.
 
Orihalcon said:
When I am at a pc again I will ref some articles for you. But fir now here is the quick and dirty on the advantages of creatine.

Creatine supports and increases the amount of ATP in your muscles. It does not directly impact muscle synthesis. What is ATP? Let us say your muscles are divided into 20 blocks. When you lift you don't use all your muscles at once, you use just enough. Normally you' be able to say tap 15 blocks and that is it. Your ATP is exhausted. With extra ATP you can use more blocks in one session and have more muscle breakdown and repair occur.
Sure if you stop using creatine your ATP will return to normal. BUT. The extra muscle you built while using it is still there, the extra muscular efficiency your body developed is still there. All that extra strength is still there. It is not like a gear cycle where once you hit pct you lose some of your gains. You keep it all.

This is why this sup is used in all sports. It is dirt cheap, works and there is no reason not to be using it.
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I'm interested in trying it out. It occurs naturally in meat, but not in high enough doses to make a difference apparently. So I guess the synthetic route is the way to go. I've read that it affects one's kidneys after prolonged use, though. Any truth in that?
 
The Voice said:
I'm interested in trying it out. It occurs naturally in meat, but not in high enough doses to make a difference apparently. So I guess the synthetic route is the way to go. I've read that it affects one's kidneys after prolonged use, though. Any truth in that?
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Nope. Those rumours and 'apparent scientific proof' were all the rage in the late 1990's when creatine became more well known. 23 years on and thankfully science has saved us from ignorance and bro-science.

Taking in the recommended dosages hold no danger for you. Unless you gobble 100g a day I don't foresee any ill effect.
 
Picard said:
What are the strongest "unnatural" things you can take that doesn't come in the form of a steroid injection.

Or actually ... with other words ... what is the best thing that you can buy without any hassle from your local pharmacy to aid your bodybuilding ambition.

Creatine obviously comes to mind. But so many people claim it ****s up too many things in your body that it is not worth it.

I haven't read the whole thread ... but I'm sure it has been discussed thoroughly.

Would someone please give me a re-cap ...
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Well if you have low test levels you can actually get test prescribed by a doctor, but unless you have severe symptoms most docs won't even budge on that subject. And you have the hassle of injecting yourself once a week (sometimes twice depending on your situation/compound).

As for natural enhancers, sadly they are significantly less effective.

Whey Protein is the best, but if you're getting adequate protein in your diet already, then it matters little.

Creatine works, because if supplements the body with additional ATP, but essentially all you'll get is 1-2 reps (maybe slight strength gain) on an exercise, nothing really major and it's assumed that 30% of the population is non responsive to creatine supplementation.

Natural testosterone boosters will contain D-Aspartic Acid, which actually does increase male testosterone production, but not by enough to have any effect on muscle mass increase, at the best, you're looking at slightly increased sex drive and possibly increased sexual performance.
 
Orihalcon said:
Plain straight up whey protein.

Everything else is fluff imho.

If you going to cycle, you buy reputable brands and have the right pct in place along with training and diet and you do it right.


And creatine works. It is hands down the most researched substance...ever...bar none. Don't bother with HCL variants and all that other marketing mumbo jumbo. Stick to good old monohydrate. Add in 10g-20g a day. Be happy :) It does not damage anything. Tell these so called people to provide studies as proof. I can link to numerous scientific studies clearly demonstrating the advantages with no disadvantages.

Also don't need to cycle it.
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I agree, Creatine Monohydrate is the best and the cheapest.
 
I get serious joint pain issues with creatine at large doses (15g+) - although its not official, various other people have reported the same on the interwebz. If I drop down to 5g, I'm fine - and still get the same benefits.
 
Damn ... I already eat meat and eggs likes it's going out of fashion and I also drink the odd protein shake 2-3 times a week.

So basically I just have to bust my ass by raising weights (more than anyone else) because I'm a skinny ectomorph who doesn't gain anything easily.

Not that it is a problem ... I'm willing and ready and have been doing the extra mile ... (except for the past month of January :o ) ... to achieve my objective.
 
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Indeed Picard. Eat. Eat. And then eat some more and move some weight.

People think losing weight is difficult...HA! Try gaining lean muscle. It takes effort.
 
Starting off with the SL 5x5 today, but didn't have time this morning to go through the videos again for form (and the tube is blocked at work). Can someone give me a quick run down please?
As far as I know:
Squats - feet slightly outward or straight forward, leaning slightly forward, then squat down until hips are in line or below knees, and up again, keeping back straight all the time
Bench press - only thing I know is to let the bar touch your chest at the bottom
Barbell row - bent over with straight back parallel to the ground, lift with your elbows getting the bar as close to the chest as possible

I'm going to feel silly lifting just the bar though :p but I know its the right place to start since I'm probably not all that strong in my core
 
Archer said:
Starting off with the SL 5x5 today, but didn't have time this morning to go through the videos again for form (and the tube is blocked at work). Can someone give me a quick run down please?
As far as I know:
Squats - feet slightly outward or straight forward, leaning slightly forward, then squat down until hips are in line or below knees, and up again, keeping back straight all the time
Bench press - only thing I know is to let the bar touch your chest at the bottom
Barbell row - bent over with straight back parallel to the ground, lift with your elbows getting the bar as close to the chest as possible

I'm going to feel silly lifting just the bar though :p but I know its the right place to start since I'm probably not all that strong in my core
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Good start.

Squats - your shoulders should be in a vertical line with your feet during the movement. Thus at the start for me personally, it is easier to move my ass back slightly, so that I can squat down naturally and keep that vertical line. Back should stay straight, but it doesn't need to be vertical. With my ass going out, back is straight but tilted, about 5-10degrees. Keeping it straight when you do heavier weights is where you core strength builds up. Move slow'ish down, faster up.

Bench press - Since you new to it, you will need to find the position for your hands, where your fore-arms will be vertical when your upper arms are horizontal. This is #1 priority for a beginner. Touch chest ever so slightly for full range of motion. This movement will never be vertical, when you go down, down closer to your nipples than your shoulders, not on the nipples, just closer. This is to protect your shoulders, and prevent them from moving the bar back up, but let the chest muscle do it instead. Again, move slow'ish down, faster up.

Barball row - this is fine, try the pendlay row instead, which is like deadlift, do a deadstop at the bottom. As a beginner, you may need to plastic blocks to lift the bar about 10cm from the ground for the starting position, once you do 15-20kg plates you won't need them blocks anymore. You should hit your chest at the start, but try not to hurt yourself too much, ie. fast but controlled movement while going up to chest, slow down to ground, not only to prevent noise, but it builds reverse strength.

Don't feel silly, this starting few weeks is the building blocks/foundation of learning to do these exercises correct. Focus on form and technique, and get your muscles used to doing the exercises.

Most importantly, enjoy it!
 
What's opinions in the SL5x5 versus starting strength?
 
K.J said:
What's opinions in the SL5x5 versus starting strength?
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I personally did SL5x5, however when I was done with it I only then found out about Starting Strength.

SL5x5
- Simples, easier and less to learn
- Maybe more boring because of that
- Make money by trying you to join the "Inner Circle" which imho is like this thread but a whole forum dedicated to it, and you pay for it monthly. With it however, you get access to videos and audio recordings of skype calls, and maybe if you want to personally ask the owner questions, you can if you lucky to get through to him on skype.

SS:
- More exercises to learn, a few more complex ones
- Maybe more interesting because of that
- Make money by selling you a book


I personally like SL5x5 because I did it, and it worked very well, but also I believe it focuses on good habits at the start instead of too many exercises, which really is not important. What is important, is that you do the core exercise that give you the best bang for your time spent in the gym, and to learn the good habits that keep you going back, do the exercises with great technique ect.
 
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