[TimperleySaint]

Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:15 pm  

Do they really work? Seems to be a lot of different products out there, and always advertised in the gym, to assist weight loss and help build muscle but I'm still a bit skeptical of them.

Anyone ever used any and got the results you wanted from them?

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:33 pm  

Protein is necessary when trying to build muscle and it's always best to have it relatively soon after a work out to help repair muscles.

With regard to fat loss I'm not sure there is a magic supplement, some may help in a minimal way but the most effective way is to eat the right diet.

I went through a phase of eating 6/7 meals a day that contained mainly protein and dropped a good few % body fat and also toned up really well...... Was also following a pretty extreme training programme too.

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:05 am  

There seems to be no doubt that the new generation of supplements that reduce absorption of fat into the system work very well, but that there seem to considerable side effects including shhitting through the eye of a needle. No doubt though something that prevents your body from absorbing fat in the first place must help control weight.

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Tue Nov 06, 2012 10:02 am  

There are supplements that help, although you're probably thinking about them the wrong way, as they aren't muscle building or fat losing. Getting your diet and training right is more important, and supplements come on the end of that - hence being called "supplements" !

When thinking "muscle building" you should really be thinking "recovery supporting" So meaning things that help you recover from training, meaning you can train harder and more frequently. Adequate protein is obviously particularly vital (especially after training) but along with that there are supplements like creatine, glutamine, and HMB. You can get those in all-in-one drinks like Cyclone. Worth taking a multi-vit supplement too.

The "fat loss" stuff can supposedly help speed your metabolism. Even just caffeine does that though, along with the right training programme.

Unless you are very new to training, it's difficult to both gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. If you're new (<1 year typically) then it's hard not to do both and to some extent almost any programme and diet will see improvements. Beyond that, then you need to get more specific in your training and diet plans.

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:58 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

There seems to be no doubt that the new generation of supplements that reduce absorption of fat into the system work very well, but that there seem to considerable side effects including shhitting through the eye of a needle. No doubt though something that prevents your body from absorbing fat in the first place must help control weight.

I've been trying for years to put weight on, and I can concur, all any of the supplements have done is had me on the loo within 20 minutes of drinking them, at first I thought I was lactose intolerant, bt having just wasted £50 on a "lactose free" supplement I have to say that they don't work, at least not for me.

A balanced diet and a good programme will always be the best place to start, supplements may help with marginal gains.

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:05 pm  

Standee wrote:

I've been trying for years to put weight on, and I can concur, all any of the supplements have done is had me on the loo within 20 minutes of drinking them, at first I thought I was lactose intolerant, bt having just wasted £50 on a "lactose free" supplement I have to say that they don't work, at least not for me.

A balanced diet and a good programme will always be the best place to start, supplements may help with marginal gains.

How old are you, what's your training programme, and how many calories a day are you taking now?

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:06 pm  

A lot of the fat burners are chock full of caffeine (more so than the likes of Red Bull) and something that heats up your body so it helps you lose weight by those methods.

Then there's the type that make you crap out the fat as mentioned above.

Muscle building - creatine and then protein after. A common thing people are told in regards to the protein is 1g per lbs of body weight...but don't do that entirely from the shakes, meat and the like need to be eaten more often too.

Although you will need to hit the weights a fair bit too, you can't just eat/drink and expect results, of course.

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:17 pm  

Richie wrote:

How old are you, what's your training programme, and how many calories a day are you taking now?

I've given up, I don't have time to follow the programme given to me by the idiot at DWSports, he didn't even know how to use the equipment properly, exercise for me now is walking/skiing etc. Not setting foot inside a gym again. I figure at 37 I am now whatever weight I am always going to be, unless I start having a poor diet.

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:37 pm  

Standee wrote:

I've given up, I don't have time to follow the programme given to me by the idiot at DWSports, he didn't even know how to use the equipment properly, exercise for me now is walking/skiing etc. Not setting foot inside a gym again. I figure at 37 I am now whatever weight I am always going to be, unless I start having a poor diet.

Pity. Especially if you ski, for which a bit of leg and core strength is always handy.

FYI, I fancied a change in appearance so over the last few months went from my "big and strong" 16.5 second row (god knows why, I stopped playing yonks ago) build to a "lean and athletic" 14.12 stone in the space a few months without too much drastic lifestyle change.

Re: Muscle building/fat burning supplements : Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:59 pm  

Richie wrote:

Pity. Especially if you ski, for which a bit of leg and core strength is always handy.

FYI, I fancied a change in appearance so over the last few months went from my "big and strong" 16.5 second row (god knows why, I stopped playing yonks ago) build to a "lean and athletic" 14.12 stone in the space a few months without too much drastic lifestyle change.

I've no problem with core strength, 14 years teaching combat, body attack etc. and having free weights at home saw to that, I just wanted to weigh more so I could ski faster, although I am not sure I could handle te crashes anymore, maybe 77mph is my upper limit without breaking a leg!!