Do I need more?

[hilty003]

Hello, new to the site but not new to forums in general.

So 2 questions, and I have searched and read alot but its hard to narrow everything down.

First question, im taking whey protein, gnc brand creatine pills, l-glutamine powder, and gnc brand NO powder, along with fish oil and a daily multivitamin... so am I missing anything that could be beneficial for muscle growth? (I go to the gym about 4 days a week and lift for about 2 hours each day)

Second question, my gf is looking to burn a lil thigh fat and tummy fat that her birth control has put on her. Shes gonna start going to the gym with me and doing mostly leg lifting and cardio. Shes looking for a fat burner and appetite suppressant that will help her burn fat faster. Im no expert in this area so suggestions would be much appreciated. Would this nitor I keep seeing be good for that? Is it safe for girls?

Thanks for your help guys.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Hello, new to the site but not new to forums in general.

So 2 questions, and I have searched and read alot but its hard to narrow everything down.

First question, im taking whey protein, gnc brand creatine pills, l-glutamine powder, and gnc brand NO powder, along with fish oil and a daily multivitamin... so am I missing anything that could be beneficial for muscle growth? (I go to the gym about 4 days a week and lift for about 2 hours each day)

Second question, my gf is looking to burn a lil thigh fat and tummy fat that her birth control has put on her. Shes gonna start going to the gym with me and doing mostly leg lifting and cardio. Shes looking for a fat burner and appetite suppressant that will help her burn fat faster. Im no expert in this area so suggestions would be much appreciated. Would this nitor I keep seeing be good for that? Is it safe for girls?

Thanks for your help guys.

Welcome to the board.

With regard to your current supplement stack I would drop the NO-powder and glutamine; they will not do anything for muscle building or strength. Creatine capsules can also sometimes be less effective than powder, so you may want to look into a high quality creatine monohydrate powder and simply take 5 grams daily (with carbohydrates to increase uptake).

In general the GNC products are considered mid-range quality and their pricing is alright but there are definitely some other good options out there.

For your Girlfriend I would recommend Thermocin; it is made by the same company but is not as strong of a stimulant. Works well for appetite control and energy support. AtLarge also offers a great creatine product that utilizes "creapure" creatine (high potentcy) and you can pick up a three month supply for less than $15. If you like strawberry protien their protein was picked by Men's Health as the #1 protein in 2008 and 2009; there are some great sales on the strawberry flavor right now.

Looking at your gym training it is also aparent that you may be overtraining. You should keep your workouts at (4) days per week but never weight train for more than one hour. If you would like we can take a more detailed look at your training program to see if there are any areas for improvement.

Hope this helps!

[hilty003]

Welcome to the board.

With regard to your current supplement stack I would drop the NO-powder and glutamine; they will not do anything for muscle building or strength. Creatine capsules can also sometimes be less effective than powder, so you may want to look into a high quality creatine monohydrate powder and simply take 5 grams daily (with carbohydrates to increase uptake).

In general the GNC products are considered mid-range quality and their pricing is alright but there are definitely some other good options out there.

For your Girlfriend I would recommend Thermocin; it is made by the same company but is not as strong of a stimulant. Works well for appetite control and energy support. AtLarge also offers a great creatine product that utilizes "creapure" creatine (high potentcy) and you can pick up a three month supply for less than $15. If you like strawberry protien their protein was picked by Men's Health as the #1 protein in 2008 and 2009; there are some great sales on the strawberry flavor right now.

Looking at your gym training it is also aparent that you may be overtraining. You should keep your workouts at (4) days per week but never weight train for more than one hour. If you would like we can take a more detailed look at your training program to see if there are any areas for improvement.

Hope this helps!

wow thanks for all the info. the reason im taking the glutamine is cause the guy i talked with at gnc told me that it will help with amino acid production since im taking a 100% whey prtoein and my protien might not have enough in it? im taking EAS 100% whey. as far as the NO, wont that be as a preworkout energy boost? that the only time i take that. I was told the creatine pills were great quality by the gnc guy and a friend and that they absorb really well so we'll see. maybe i can find the exact name and a picture here in a lil.

but right now, im 6' 1" and weigh 168 lbs. i was 164 but gained 4 lbs in the past 2 weeks. im eating as much as I possibly can and lifting cause i'd like to be in the 180 range asap.

i feel like my bench is horrible. i lift 135 at 8 reps and 3 sets.

so thats lil glimse into me. i wanna put on muscle mass but dont wanna sacrifice tone and definition either. the great trade off, i know.

o and thanks for the info for my gf. i'll check into that too and let you know if i come across any questions, which im sure i will.

[vdizenzo]

Tom, you always beat me to these posts. Good thing, I could not have said it nearly as well. Great advice. Listen up Hilty, Tom knows his stuff.

[Tom Mutaffis]

There is no amino acid profile listed on the EAS 100% whey product, so how does the GNC employee know that it does not have enough glutamine? I checked EAS's website and it was not available there but am sure that you could contact them if you are interested. Glutamine is an expensive supplement that has recently been shown to not be as effective as it was once believed to be with regard to recovery. A high protein diet and proper post-workout nutrition is all that you need. Spend the money from the Glutamin on purchasing a higher quality protein shake (mostly isolates, protein blend if possible) and then you can cover all of your bases.

Glutamine is an amino acid, but in terms of production of amino acids I am not sure what the GNC employee was referring to. I am sure that the creatine that he sold to you is the GNC Amplified 189 creatine; that is the type that they push in the stores. The pricing and effectivenes of powder is much better; and the advantage of pills is convenience. Think about if you took all of your daily food in capsules... that would be quite a task for your body to break down the capsules and absorb all of the nutrients.

If you are using the NO-product for pre-workout energy that is fine. The "NO" or AAKG portion is not what is giving you energy, it is the caffeine in the products. If you like the taste and the pricing is competitive then you can continue to use these drinks, or if you are looking for an alternative then something like Nitor does work well here. Some people experience upset stomach with certain NO-products as well.

The 100% Whey and other products that you have are fine to start out with and should give you some support for your training program, so don't feel bad about making those selections. Once you have run through that stack I would look at upgrading to some of the products that I mentioned in my post above. I think that you will be pleased with the results once you give Nitrean and Creatine500 a try (there is also a slightly more expensive product called Results that is excellent for boosting strength/size - most people can gain about 5 lbs and put 10-15+ lbs on their lifts in a 4-5 week period).

Good luck with your training - check out the 'Bodybuilding & Weight Lifting' section if you are interested in reading about some good workouts and workout programs.

[hilty003]

There is no amino acid profile listed on the EAS 100% whey product, so how does the GNC employee know that it does not have enough glutamine? I checked EAS's website and it was not available there but am sure that you could contact them if you are interested. Glutamine is an expensive supplement that has recently been shown to not be as effective as it was once believed to be with regard to recovery. A high protein diet and proper post-workout nutrition is all that you need. Spend the money from the Glutamin on purchasing a higher quality protein shake (mostly isolates, protein blend if possible) and then you can cover all of your bases.

Glutamine is an amino acid, but in terms of production of amino acids I am not sure what the GNC employee was referring to. I am sure that the creatine that he sold to you is the GNC Amplified 189 creatine; that is the type that they push in the stores. The pricing and effectivenes of powder is much better; and the advantage of pills is convenience. Think about if you took all of your daily food in capsules... that would be quite a task for your body to break down the capsules and absorb all of the nutrients.

If you are using the NO-product for pre-workout energy that is fine. The "NO" or AAKG portion is not what is giving you energy, it is the caffeine in the products. If you like the taste and the pricing is competitive then you can continue to use these drinks, or if you are looking for an alternative then something like Nitor does work well here. Some people experience upset stomach with certain NO-products as well.

The 100% Whey and other products that you have are fine to start out with and should give you some support for your training program, so don't feel bad about making those selections. Once you have run through that stack I would look at upgrading to some of the products that I mentioned in my post above. I think that you will be pleased with the results once you give Nitrean and Creatine500 a try (there is also a slightly more expensive product called Results that is excellent for boosting strength/size - most people can gain about 5 lbs and put 10-15+ lbs on their lifts in a 4-5 week period).

Good luck with your training - check out the 'Bodybuilding & Weight Lifting' section if you are interested in reading about some good workouts and workout programs.

thanks so much. your saving me so much time and headache. i'll definitely be checking out that section as well to see if theres any exercises i can add or change.

[hilty003]

i got another question for you. ive been reading that alot of people take that nitor powder before workout as an energy booster and to also burn fat. would that be something i should look more into if i was to drop the NO-supplement? the problem i see with that is that it says it curbs your appetite, which with me trying to gain weight wouldnt be good, right? but i do like that fact that it would probably help me stay lean...as of now im not big but have a decent amount of definition i would hate to lose. your thoughts?

[hilty003]

hey Tom, i started an online journal i wanna see if you can check out. maybe it can give you a lil more insight into my plans. http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2213101#post2213101

[Tom Mutaffis]

i got another question for you. ive been reading that alot of people take that nitor powder before workout as an energy booster and to also burn fat. would that be something i should look more into if i was to drop the NO-supplement? the problem i see with that is that it says it curbs your appetite, which with me trying to gain weight wouldnt be good, right? but i do like that fact that it would probably help me stay lean...as of now im not big but have a decent amount of definition i would hate to lose. your thoughts?

Nitor is an energy supplement that comes in capsule form. It can also be used to enhance your metabolism which is why some people with weight loss goals will use the product. There are basically two ways that stimulants are used:

Option 1: Strength Athletes / These individuals use stimulants to increase energy levels and focus for training. Products such as Nitor can be very effective for this.

Option 2: Weight Loss / Stimulants can be used for energy support and appetite surpression when dieting. For these individuals they will use constant and steady dosing of the products which will also increase the metabolic effects.

Dropping your NO-supplement in place of a stimulant for pre-workout would be a good choice. In many cases the active energy ingredient in the NO-product is simply caffeine. Taking a stimulant only on workout days would not cause you to lose any weight, but could help to improve the quality of your workouts. Just make sure to cycle these products as your body does build a tolerance with stimulants. You and your Girlfriend can share the Nitor if you wanted since you would not be using very much of the product.

I will take a look at your training log to see if I can offer any advice on there; let me know if you have any other supplement questions.