Thread: 6 month on & looking for some advice...

Hi guys.

I have just signed up on here as I feel the need to get some advice and help off of people who know what they are talking about as I am still learning about all this stuff!

I have been lifting since January 4th (so 6 months) and train 3 times a week at my girlfriends dads home gym setup. I am 6ft 4" and originally weighed 11st 11lb and am up to 13st 5lb now. I still see myself as "skinny" though due to my size! I am currently only using Critical Mass 2700 which I split into 2.5 scoops, 4 times a day. I have a relatively good diet which I will describe below:

(usual day)
8:00 - 2 bags (50-55g in total) of porridge with black coffee
10:30 - critical mass shake
12:30 - approx. 100g wholewheat pasta with tin of tuna (and maybe add sauce and sweetcorn for flavour)
3:00 - critical mass shake
5:30 - girlled chicken breast, 2 jacket potatoes with butter (sometimes cheese too) and steamed veg
6:30/7 - train
8/8:30 - critical mass shake (after training)
11 - critical mass shake (before bed)

I have been looking at different supplements on here for a while now, but just get lost in everything as I dont know whats best or whats good to combine with eachother, etc. I can feel myself getting more and more dedicated into weight lifting after 6 months, so its not going to be a hit and miss thing, and I have always been interested in it after watching WWF at such a young age

I can write up my schedule which I do in the gym also if this is of helps out?

Thanks for your time guys and any help/advice is much appreciated

Hi. welcome to the forum. your diet looks ok for bulking but you need more solid food. you NEED a meal after your post workout shake. have your critical mass but then have a high protein meal, then your other shake before bed.

these are my mass gain plans:

http://fitforum.co.uk/entry.php?876-Mass-gain-plans
http://fitforum.co.uk/entry.php?879-...s-gain-workout

so i would recommend doing something similar. you are the same height as me and i was very skinny to start off with. keep doing what you're doing and look at getting a slightly better quality gainer like pharma gain or reflex instant mass but upping your calories from food. also join a gym. this will allow you to perform a better weights routine.

My routine is roughly as follows:

Mon - Flat bench press, Incline bench press, Flat flyes, Tricep pulldowns, EZ bar curling
Weds - Neck press, Upright rows, Shoulder raises, French press, EZ bar curling
Fri - (mix of) Dumb bell press, Flat overhead dumbell raises, Shoulder shrugs, Deadlift, Close arm bench press, EZ bar curling

Although its a "home gym" type set up, its quite professional in what i use - lots of free weights, benches with racks and pulley systems, etc.

Would something like a protein bar be enough after my post workout shake or does it need to be a proper meal?

I have 2-3 tubs left of the critical mass. Are there any other supplements that you would recommend to stack with this? Or does it depend on what I am trying to achieve?

your routine is crazy. monday and wednesday make sense (monday is chest and tris, wednesday is shoulders and biceps) but then friday is ridiculous. its like you do one exercise per bodypart. you need to train back and legs properly.

no a protein bar is not enough. have a proper meal. whats your reason for not having a proper meal?

critical mass is fine and will serve the purpose you want it for. additional supplements arent needed for now jsut sort out your diet and trianing.

Its all from memory though so I may have got it a bit muddled up lol. I keep a log of everything i do in a book so i can look tonight when i train to confirm? Only because its quite late to eat a meal after ive finished training and only just having my post workout shake too, probably wouldnt be very hungry! Ok thats fine, if i wanted to swap though from weight gaining to increasing my strength (ie. lifting heavier weights), would you say this is a good idea or not at my current weight, etc? Thanks for your help.

strength training will benefit you as its good basic exercises. follow the routine i am going to do for mass gaining in my blog and you will see good results.

Ok i will check out your blogs cheers.should i change supplements to coincide with this or just stick with weight gaining critical mass (or one of the ones you recommended once ive had all my tubs)? I spoke to a few mates of mine who recommended some other products like Gaspari size-on, CEL H-Drol, etc but as im new to this, its all gibberish to me really still!

if your friends recommended H-drol to you they are idiots. its a prohormone and shouldnt be considered by anyone who has less than 3 years of trianing under their belt. size on is a good supplement and will aid in strength gain so is worth looking at. when you have improved your diet and training then i would recommend investing in something like that. -AC-

I think i may tend to steer down the strength gains now after my tubs of critical mass have finished as i feel like i should be and want to be lifting heavier weights, would it be ok to swap over supps just like that? Im not much of a waiter u see and i no thats a big part of weight lifting, so if i swapped my weight gain setup to a strength set up to lift heavier, what would you recommend me getting? Id rather have all of the stuff you recommend and what i ideally need, so money isnt too big an issue, anything up to £100-200 bracket a month is fine if its going to work! Thanks man

critical mass is fine nomatter what training you do. your nutrition should stay the same whether you are trianing for strength or size. the diet i am doing will be fine for strenght AND size. i am training for strength. use critical mass, gaspari size on max performance, maybe a pre-workout like phd V-max pump and a slow release protein for bedtime (id recommend phd pharma blend).

this is all you need.