what do i need?

[matt21]

hi im new here, im 21, 5 ft 10, and i dont have a good body shape right now, i want to build myself up fast, what supplements do i need? thanks

Matt

[wibble]

Lots of food and hard lifting. You might want to try some creatine and protein but thats about it. Get your diet and training on track and you'll see results. Theres no such thing as building yourself up fast unless you take the steroids path which you don't want to do if you're new to this.

Read everything on the forums and you'll get your head on straight. Welcome to the board! :)

[kaiz7]

If just staring lifting I would just go for a good quality protein supplement. (Like optimum nutritions 100% whey) It's cheap and by far the best bang for the buck! First of all look into getting on a good diet! you will find that diet with hard training will get you the best results in notime! And... study up! The more you learn and put to use, the faster you will see improvements.
I wish you the best of luck...

[kaiz7]

creatine is not necessary at first (if at all). save your money and geat healthy food and protein.

[wibble]

Not necessary, but if hes looking to spend money on supplements that would be the one to get. Its one of the only supplements thats been proven to give results. (Even though the results are probably not that huge) ;)

[matt21]

wow fast responses, thanks guys! i want a bigger upper body, arms, chest, and good stomach muscels, ive heard 5 meals of "solid" food a day? but how much traning a day? and how much are those supplements? thanks again, much appreciated!

Matt

[wibble]

If you want to get bigger you have to eat and keep the training to a sensible amount. Start out with the WBB1 routine found on this site. Take your bodyweight and multiply it by 15 and that will be a guideline for the amount of calories for you to gain weight. Eat that amount of cals everyday for a couple weeks and weigh yourself. If your weight hasn't gone up, eat 300cals more per week and weigh again the following week. If you gain 2 or more pounds, cut the cals by 300. Weigh yourself at approximately the same time every week after using the bathroom.

Creatine and protein aren't expensive. You could do well just by eating whole food but if you have trouble getting enough protein, a powder could help you out. Shoot for roughly 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. You might want to read the article about gaining mass on this site. Also check out the grocery list sticky in the diet section. :)

[Shao-LiN]

Not necessary, but if hes looking to spend money on supplements that would be the one to get. Its one of the only supplements thats been proven to give results. (Even though the results are probably not that huge) ;)

It is a proven supplement, but for such a newbie to training, it isn't really needed to begin. He can make great gains with the proper diet and training and then incorporate creatine later on as the gains tend to slow down after awhile.

[matt21]

so if i started a full training program with proper traning, diet, and supplements tmrw, how long would it take to build myself up? thanks

[wibble]

It depends on your goals. You're not going to get big overnight. Shoot to gain a pound per week and figure from that. You might expect to see some results in a few months with proper training/diet.

[v8firebird]

I would recommend taking things slow. Start lifting for an hour or so a day every other day or until your muscles are not sore. Of course eat healthy with proteins (fish, chicken etc). At first they will be sore for two or three days at a time, but that will go away. Continue doing this until they stop getting real sore. Then start training harder with more weights and more reps. When you get to the point that you are not gaining any more then consider using supplements. Its easy to put on muscle right when you start (granted your muscles are probably small as it is so they are not going to get huge over night). Do not go real hard right from the start because you will do like many others, you'll lift two weeks, be pissed you didn't get any muscle and quit. It takes a lot of work to start looking good, but remember the harder the work the harder the body. Good luck

[matt21]

im not the kinda guy to give up like that, i know it will take ages, was hoping by 6 months ide have arms bigger than i do now. 1 hour per day sounds fine to me, yeah they will be sore, but that comes with it lol. but what i find is when lifting, it gets real hard to lift the paper after a work out!!! and after like 30 mins i feel half dead! whats the best way of getting rid of body fat on stomach? before it gets too bad lol

[wibble]

After 6 months if you eat and train right you will definitely add some size to your arms. If you're just starting out it will probably be easy to add up to an inch to your arms in that time. If I were you I'd worry about putting on some muscle first and then lose the fat later by doing cardio and cutting your cals below maintenance. Its easier to do one or the other instead of both at the same time.

[matt21]

hi, yes it would be nice to add muscle 1st, i just need some guidence on doing it :)

[wibble]

If you want to get bigger you have to eat and keep the training to a sensible amount. Start out with the WBB1 routine found on this site. Take your bodyweight and multiply it by 15 and that will be a guideline for the amount of calories for you to gain weight. Eat that amount of cals everyday for a couple weeks and weigh yourself. If your weight hasn't gone up, eat 300cals more per week and weigh again the following week. If you gain 2 or more pounds, cut the cals by 300. Weigh yourself at approximately the same time every week after using the bathroom.

Creatine and protein aren't expensive. You could do well just by eating whole food but if you have trouble getting enough protein, a powder could help you out. Shoot for roughly 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. You might want to read the article about gaining mass on this site. Also check out the grocery list sticky in the diet section. :)

Start with the above, the article on adding mass, what to eat, and WBB1 and you'll do ok. :) Also try to drink about 1 gallon of water per day. Keep researching the boards and you'll get the hang of things. If theres any other questions you have just post them and someone will help you out. :)

[SquareHead]

Matt, if I was you I'd look at doing a cut for a month or so do wbb1 or similar routinethen while looking into HST. After the cut keep cals clean and go to bulking cals while doing a WELL PLANNEDHST cycle. But learn to lean on diet as your crutch not supplements. Diet is such a HUGE part of BBING.

[matt21]

lol sqaurehead, i didnt understand any of that mate! HST? wbb1? a cut? lol BBING? what do you guys think about this well advertised "creatine" product? and i agree wibble, people here help alot, its such a busy board!! its great!

[wibble]

lol sqaurehead, i didnt understand any of that mate! HST? wbb1? a cut? lol BBING? what do you guys think about this well advertised "creatine" product? and i agree wibble, people here help alot, its such a busy board!! its great!

HST = Hypertrophy Specific Training (http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html) This type of training is used to promote muscle growth, not necessarily strength.

WBB1 = Wannabebig Routine 1 (http://www.wannabebig.com/article.php?articleid=25) This is a good beginners routine and will get you some good results in both strength and size.

Cut = Losing bodyfat while trying to retain as much muscle as possible. Its the opposite of bulking.

BBing = Bodybuilding

[matt21]

thankyou wibble :o)

[v8firebird]

If you work hard and eat right for 6 months you and others will definately notice a change. About losing fat on the stomach, thats the million dollar question. I do a lot of running and cardio and still have a problem seeing my abs. Getting a 6 pack is by far the hardest thing to do for me. Adding inches to my arms was nothing compared to that.

You asked about creatine. Creatine goes into your muscles and allows them to saturate with water. Because of this you are given more strength for a short period of time. It also makes your muscles look slightly larger. Its natural in the body so it isn't really bad for ya. If you do decide to take it make sure you drink a lot of water. You should be drinking at least a gallon a day anyway but for sure if you are on creatine.

[matt21]

good post bud, can someone tell me what cardio means? im english and it may mean something different. thankyou.

yeah im not too worried about strength, i just want to look big on arms, and not fat arms, but mucsle on arms. and a good chest and shoulders. getting my abs back like you say is going to be tough! i always hate sit ups!!! any ideas?

Matt

[wibble]

cardio = aerobic exercise (cardiovascular exercise). ie running, biking, aerobics, etc.

[matt21]

thanks wibble, appreciated bud

[wibble]

Anytime. :)

[Saint Patrick]

i want a bigger upper body, arms, chest, and good stomach muscels,

LOL Don't we all.

Do yourself a favor and train legs once a week too.

[matt21]

good idea, my legs do need work on too, i guess its better to have like me and have a little tiny bit of wobble on my body so i can turn it into muscle, rather than be really skinny and trying to make muscle from nothing. (this is how i make myself feel better LOL) at the moment im trying to but a workout station, i already have lots of weights. is it best to work out everyday? for about 2 hours would you say?

[Big John]

Mat21,You can't put on weight in one area ONLY, you gain all over ( including the Belly) after a while on the weight gain trip, you can start to cut the cals and keep your new found "Muscle". Big John

[matt21]

dont tell me about the belly lol its already starting there mate! lol