Protein shake advice - Creatine help too!

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slay0r
slay0r Posts: 669 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey Guys,

Last year I got into the gym and did some weights etc but I fell out of it when I got too addicted to cycling!

I've made a post about bulking up a bit, it was recommended that I took a protein shake due to my daily intake. I currently take True Whey protein shake:

http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/true_whey

Now considering I want to put on some muscle and get a bit ripped, do I need to be taking another one? Such as one with Carbs in it or anything? I also take L-Glutamine and Creatine Monohydrate. Someone at work mentioned something called Creatine Ethyl Ester HCL as an alternative to just creatine monohydrate as it begins to work faster, anyone got any info on this?

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  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    bumpatron
  • dan428
    dan428 Posts: 14
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    I've been using pro complex Gainer, which has 60g of protein per serving, and 650cal (from quality sources). I add a teaspoon of creatine monohydrate to the shaker, as well as 4 tablespoons of peanutbutter and a couple oz of milk. Makes for a great (and tasty) post-workout shake. Totals over 1050cal and nearly 80g protein in one serving!

    I believe it deserves credit for helping me put on 6lb of muscle in December.
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    6lb? Isn't that a bit high for a month? I thought even when you hardcore you can only put on 1-2lb of proper lean muscle?


    The reason I'm asking about creatine is apparently monohydrate takes a couple of weeks before it begins to take 100% effect while the one I was suggested apparently works instantly.
  • scarletfever2005
    scarletfever2005 Posts: 141 Member
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    stick with the mono. It does have to load for a couple of weeks but it's cheaper and gets the job done. If you want to increase the results you can add beta-alanine with it. recent studies have shown that the combination of creatine mono and beta-alanine have shown increased performance gains over just creatine alone.
  • dan428
    dan428 Posts: 14
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    Yeah I don't know about the creatine exactly, but I don't believe it takes "weeks".. maybe one week. You can speed up the process by going through the "loading" phase, which is what I did when I started. When you're loading you, you take 3-4x daily serving for the first 5 days or so in order to bring your creatine levels up to sufficient levels. During this time, you need to drink a lot of water as well.

    As for my weight gain, not sure what to say.. but I'm a bit of a beginner, so gains are expected to come much quicker than they do once you've advanced passed the novice stage. I consider myself a "hard-gainer', but so far I've had good luck I suppose. How much muscle you can gain per week depends you ask, but I can tell you that it really just depends on genetics, diet, and routine. Getting 8lb in a month is definitely possible if you're a beginner.

    So far, I've consistently gained about 1.5lb per week, but I've only been seriously weight training for a month or so (December). I might plateau at any point at which time I'll have to make extra efforts to continue gaining.
  • darrenham
    darrenham Posts: 110 Member
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    Stop concentrating on supplements.

    Creatine is useful for athletes, not so much for bulking as it's nothing but a fuel. Creatine loading theoretically increases the store of phosphocreatine in the muscles allowing slightly faster recoveries after maximal exercise (60s instead of 90s for example), not really useful for resistance work in the gym.

    Protein's a decent idea if your diet is low in it. But don't over complicate things, it's just another food.

    You've only been weight training a month too. Most physiological adaptations to weight training occur after the 1.5 month line, and are very gradual.
  • darrenham
    darrenham Posts: 110 Member
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    Oh, and no-one will have put on 6lbs of muscle in one month. But drinking that shake will make you put on weight.
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    Scarlet - Thanks for that, I'll give that a try. I'm not too clued up on my Creatine ..

    Darren - The reason I've mentioned Creatine is because as of next month when the weather improves I'll be back to doing 90 mins of intense cardio a day (sprinting though between traffic lights on my bike so there's mini rest periods it's a bit like HiiT on a bike) Then add on all the weight sessions on top and the benefits of creatine seem to be quite relevant (especially for the 60-90 second bursts on the bike)

    I use the protein just to up my intake a bit. Sometimes I just don't have the time to get everything in that I need.

    Thought that was the case with the 6lb, from what I've read pretty much everywhere it's about 1-2 lb per month MAX of lean muscle even when you smash the gym to pieces. Much more gradual than weight loss. My protein shake doesn't have many calories and has no carbs in it so I don't think it will make me put on weight will it? :S
  • dan428
    dan428 Posts: 14
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    Current graph of my weight gain:

    ihTOjuvyhpRsz.PNG
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,704 Member
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    Hey Guys,

    Last year I got into the gym and did some weights etc but I fell out of it when I got too addicted to cycling!

    I've made a post about bulking up a bit, it was recommended that I took a protein shake due to my daily intake. I currently take True Whey protein shake:

    http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/true_whey

    Now considering I want to put on some muscle and get a bit ripped, do I need to be taking another one? Such as one with Carbs in it or anything? I also take L-Glutamine and Creatine Monohydrate. Someone at work mentioned something called Creatine Ethyl Ester HCL as an alternative to just creatine monohydrate as it begins to work faster, anyone got any info on this?
    To put on muscle you need to be in calorie surplus. You can't get "ripped" and do calorie surplus at the same time....it's one or the other.
    Best way to put on the weight is with FOOD and not supplements.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
    Options
    Hey Guys,

    Last year I got into the gym and did some weights etc but I fell out of it when I got too addicted to cycling!

    I've made a post about bulking up a bit, it was recommended that I took a protein shake due to my daily intake. I currently take True Whey protein shake:

    http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/true_whey

    Now considering I want to put on some muscle and get a bit ripped, do I need to be taking another one? Such as one with Carbs in it or anything? I also take L-Glutamine and Creatine Monohydrate. Someone at work mentioned something called Creatine Ethyl Ester HCL as an alternative to just creatine monohydrate as it begins to work faster, anyone got any info on this?
    To put on muscle you need to be in calorie surplus. You can't get "ripped" and do calorie surplus at the same time....it's one or the other.
    Best way to put on the weight is with FOOD and not supplements.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Ah so what you're saying is I need to choose wether I bulk or get ripped?

    Could I bulk up a bit with the calorie surplus, THEN rip it, would that be the best approach? I think I've spoken to yourself before, I've got a bit of excess skin I want to get rid of and lots of people have told me to hit the weights, Plus I wanted to get a little bit bigger since everyone's been whining how small I've gone since losing weight. Think I need a bit more advice before I do it all wrong! Your help is much appreciated everyone!
  • Generalle
    Generalle Posts: 201 Member
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    Current graph of my weight gain:

    ihTOjuvyhpRsz.PNG


    I only ever use (including the calculators on this website) the tools on the internet and apps on phones etc as GUIDELINES, and think it's better to get actual readings from things like skinfold tests that I get my trainer to do every month, which give a much more accurate reading.
    As an example, android has a health-status-calculator which on one hand said I was obese according to my weight & height, but according to my measurements, put my body fat at 19% - athletic. Last skinfold 'fat test' I had at the gym (early Dec) I was 28%. There's no way I've lost 9% body fat in 4 weeks, so laughed that app right off my phone!!!
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    I don't doubt the weight gain, I was more saying 75% of that will be fat. From the people I've seen bulking they only put on 1-2 of muscle, the rest is fat (bodyfat % gain)
  • dan428
    dan428 Posts: 14
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    Current graph of my weight gain:

    ihTOjuvyhpRsz.PNG


    I only ever use (including the calculators on this website) the tools on the internet and apps on phones etc as GUIDELINES, and think it's better to get actual readings from things like skinfold tests that I get my trainer to do every month, which give a much more accurate reading.
    As an example, android has a health-status-calculator which on one hand said I was obese according to my weight & height, but according to my measurements, put my body fat at 19% - athletic. Last skinfold 'fat test' I had at the gym (early Dec) I was 28%. There's no way I've lost 9% body fat in 4 weeks, so laughed that app right off my phone!!!

    Well I'm not referring to any calculator or anything here.. just my weight, which I check every morning before eating/drinking anything and after using the bathroom..

    Anyway, I did just purchase a skinfold (caliper) tool. I used http://www.freedieting.com/tools/body_fat_calculator.htm with the caliper which gave me a result of about 9% bodyfat. Unfortunately, I didn't check my bodyfat before I started training, so I can't say for certain that i have not gained some fat.
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    Ah I never do before either need to get that sorted to measure progress. 9%? You must not have an inch of fat on you! :o
  • dan428
    dan428 Posts: 14
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    No not much.. which is why I'm not so concerned about putting on some fat along with the muscle. Though I do have enough fat on my belly to hide any real definition in the abs.. so eventually I might need to go through a cutting phase down to maybe 7% fat in order to get the 6-pack. Not anytime soon though.

    On second thought, I don't think I'd ever really want to go that low..
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Now considering I want to put on some muscle and get a bit ripped, do I need to be taking another one? Such as one with Carbs in it or anything? I also take L-Glutamine and Creatine Monohydrate. Someone at work mentioned something called Creatine Ethyl Ester HCL as an alternative to just creatine monohydrate as it begins to work faster, anyone got any info on this?

    You don't need any protein shakes if you can meet your protein needs through whole needs. Glutamine is mostly useless and whoever told you that CEE is better then mono is an idiot. If you were going to supplement with creatine, get creapure mono, dose it at 5g a day, everyday. No need to load or anything like that
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    I think you can see my food diary now, say I worked out yesterday for 45 mins an hour as WELL as the football (that's what I'll be doing cardio and weights on the same day I think..) Would I need more protein or is what I'm getting enough? If you do a gram per pound of lean weight I think It's 132g protein.

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