Serious Weight Lifters for Gaining Mass: What supplements are you using?

[NewSetOfCurves 1,553]

What are your preworkout, during, and postworkout supplements?

Preworkout: I've tried NO-XPLODE (however, I do not like the new formula), C-4 (made me constipated, TMI, but good info for those who have problems with the bowels), and I am currently taking MHP's Fit Trainer. I wake up 5 am, but I do not get to the gym until around 6 pm. I need a really good pre-workout to get my workout started at the end of a really long day. Any suggestions?

During: Aminocore by AllMax Nutrition . I have also tried a few others, but right now--in my bag--I have another supplement that increases blood flow. it gives me a really good pump. I'll add the name when I get home because I cannot remember it at this time.

After: Myozene by BioQuest. I have actually added on 15 pounds of solid mass with this supplement. I started taking it in October and I have increased my weight from 140 to 155. I am still the same waist size, but it has definitely helped me add on the mass.

[OneDollarBill 371]

Following this as I want to start hitting the Iron again. Nice work on the muscle mass gain! Very impressive.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

During my brief stint with a personal trainer (who triggered overuse injuries and a bunch of rehab!) I tried the supplements they recommended and really didn't notice a difference. I want to increase muscle, decrease bodyfat percent in 2016, but not clear on why just increasing Protein, and strength training won't acheive that? I would like

[NewSetOfCurves 1,553]

@@CowgirlJane, for almost a year the only supplement I consumed was Protein. I consumed 150 grams a day, and about 60 of those came from whey or casein. I would consume a Protein shake an hour before my workout, another one within the hour after my workout (when your body is most likely to absorb it for recovery), and casein (a slow release protein) before bedtime. My physique defiantly got leaner and toner. I was beginning to love my new shape. However, I hit a sort of plateau. I wasn’t really getting stronger and I wasn’t adding enough mass to fill in that flabby skin that flapped in the wind, caused by massive size and rapid weight loss. So, my husband (an avid weight lifter with massive 19 inch arms ), suggested I started to take a pre-workout to help fuel my workouts. I started off with NO-Xplode. I loved it. It definitely energized me and changed the intensity and quality of my workout. After about a month I started to see a difference in my strength and physique.

At about that one month check point, I started taking a “during” (your workout) supplement: BCAAs. The benefit of BCAAs is that they bypass the liver and go directly to the muscles. Once there, they fuel, build and aid in repairing the muscles. Thus, their popularity as a “during” supplement for endurance and muscle building/recovery. Again, I believe it was a new dynamic to my body building experience. The intensity of the soreness—that usually lasted for days—seemed to decrease. While I was lifting weights, I was starting to see more defined definition in my arms, legs and calves reflecting back at me.

Finally, here recently (back in October) I started to take Myozene as a post-workout. It took the place of my post-workout Protein Shake because it had 25 grams of Protein, but its selling point for me was that it was mass gainer (which I REALLY wanted to achieve, especially in my arms and upper legs). I did my homework. Read the reviews, read up on the science and studies behind the product. It was pricy, but I decided to try it. Let me just say wow. WOW. Within in 6 weeks I was 10 pounds heavier. I could flex and show off some guns of my own. Yet, I was still the same size. So, I know that it was all gains in mass, while still leaning out.

You know, men—our testosterone fueled counterparts—are able to acquire mass a lot faster and easier than women. Estrogen promotes the retention of fat. We are naturally fattier, while they are naturally more muscular because of their testosterone fueled bodies. That being said, I feel like I have to work out that much harder and utilize some of these supplements to optimize the potential muscle growth that I am seeking. Hence, the post. I want to see what others are taking and how their bodies are reacting to those supplements.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Awesome information. I have a surgery soon and so will be back at strength training March 1. I will start with your Protein regimen and then consider adding the others is I don't make progress.

I would like to add bulk to my skinny butt and even calves, but have been told that is really hard if you are naturally skinny butted!

[mark1733 224]

@@NewSetOfCurves Wow, great information. I am just now starting my workouts that go beyond cardio. Seems like it took forever for me to get comfortable with having enough energy to do anything else. I am hoping that over the winter I can get this going. Thanks for the post

[NewSetOfCurves 1,553]

@CowgirlJane: squats, lunges, plie squats, courtesy lunges, jumping in-and-out squats, hip thrusts...I know a plethora of butt building exercises. Hit me up when you are ready!

@@mark1733, glad to hear it. You know, I was really cardio intensive my first year out. However, I hardly do a lick of it now, but I must say that my weightlifting sessions are pretty intense, lasting anywhere from one to two hours (leg days are 2 hours..Ugh!). That being said, the great thing about muscle, the more you have, the more calories your body burns. Literally. Your metabolic rate increases because it takes your body that much more work to maintain all that muscle mass. Good luck to you.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I have been rehabbing my right hip...lots of stretching and strength. I can tell I am getting stronger but actually slimmer there. Seems we always lose from the spot we don't want to lose from!

Thanks for generous offer. I will take you up on it!