Starting Out In The Gym - No supplement just exercise
Back in 2004, I just started to work full-time having received my first ever pay cheque I promptly signed up at my local gym. I really had no idea what I was doing, I had never been in a gym before so the free personal training sessions they offered really did help to get me going. The first few weeks were pretty tough going, constant aches and fatigue, not surprising I now realise I had been doing too much too soon. When lifting weights, especially in bodybuilding, the fibres in the muscle stretch and can tear (especially if you go too heavy too quick).
First Few Months - No supplement just exercise
During the first months I had no real structure to my workout I was basically doing what I felt like, I didn't really work opposing muscle groups; it was just a bit chaotic to say the least.
I enjoyed my workouts but I wanted to make sure I was getting the most out of it, I started to look up exercise routines & the different exercises for each muscle group.
What's Missing? - Supplementing whey protein
With my schedule now in place I began hearing from various people about 'supplements', I had absolutely no idea what they where talking about.
I mean I have my exercise schedule, that's all I need to build muscle right?
Well apparently not, I needed protein shakes, protein bars, creatine & apparently I should start 'bulking'. Having not understood why, or even how these things could help to build muscle I instantly purchased the first protein powder I could find, 'Promax'.
Not the wisest of choices, first I blindly bought something that I didn't have any understanding of, and secondly I had no idea what effect this would have on my body.
**MUST** always do the research before you decide to take anything, especially in sports nutrition there are lots of powders out there that have some 'scary' side effects (more about my own experience in part 2) As it stands 'Promax' had no adverse effects, as it only contains BCAA & whey protein which are fairly harmless. I religiously took 'Promax' two to three times a day, I didn't supplement anything else... not even a multi-vitamin. Bad times.
Solid As A Rock - 'dirty' bulking
Hmmmm... not quite, with my schedule & supplements I continued my workouts noticing some muscle gain but still retaining that fatty layer. Confused as I was I decided to start 'bulking', as I was recommended to do so, and again blindly walking down the path to no idea.
For me 'bulking' came across as 'eat as many calories as you can', but how wrong can you be. 'Bulking', in the bodybuilding sense is indeed ingesting lots of calories in an effort to gain more muscle mass, whilst not gaining excess fat. However, where the calories came from and the quality and nutritional value of the food mattered!!!
You cannot boost your calorie intake by eating a cheese sandwich, followed by a pie, followed by crisps; that is the wrong way to do it! These foods would be considered bad calories, all three contain proportional amounts of saturated fat, only the cheese would have any marginal nutritional value. So whatever you do, do not 'bulk' by shoveling fat laden foods into your body. I learnt the hard way
Creatine A Way Forward? - Supplementing whey protein & Creatine
After 3 years I was feeling fairly strong, I would mostly workout alone (accompanied by angry music) and would began to really push myself. I remember quite vividly, I was sitting on a bench with 2x 50Kg dumbbells, this was my first ever bench press at this weight. I'm getting myself psyched up and I see one of the old timers walking over (quite skinny short balding kinda guy) he looks at the dumbbells and asks if I'd like a spotter, I say no, he sits on the bench next to me just eyeballing these dumbbells. So I get in the zone again and blitz the first set, the guy gets up and walks away... no faith I assumed.
During the third year I discovered the secret powder known as 'creatine', most commonly 'creatine monohydrate', apparently it was great for muscle definition and firmness. So off I skipped blind as a bat to collect a tub of 'Creatamax', bit of a pattern here isn't there?
Now creatine can pose more danger to your body than whey protein, whilst creatine is naturally occurring by increasing the amount of creatine in the body it could potentially cause liver dysfunction, kidney damage, high blood pressure to name but a few possible side effects.
**MUST** check out the research before you take any supplement, consult your doctor if in any doubt.
My workout results, whilst using creatine, weren't really all that much better my muscles felt a bit firmer but that was about it. When taking creatine it is extremely important to keep fluid levels up, so drink water regularly.
Time Out - No supplements, no exercise
After 3 years training I took a year out, I went travelling and then settled back into a job before I began training again.
Let's take some time out to ingest my story so far, please remember to always do the research before you try or do anything that you aren't familiar with!
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