Protien? Creatine? Glutamine? Oh my!
 

My neighbor and I have started working out in my garage twice a week. Nothing too intensive, basically some bench press, dumbbell work, and abs. I would like to enhance my workout with a supplement, but I also don't want to spend $100 bucks at GNC on something that might not do what I want it to. I am not looking to build huge muscle mass, so most of the online guides don't do me any good. I usually get about 30-45 minutes to work out in the mornings, so I can't spend all day in a gym.

Will protien help? Will creatine help? Do I have to "pre-load" for days? I am not looking to set any world records here, just trying to keep my body from falling apart. Any suggestions from fellow "casual" weightlifters?

Protein will certainly help. Creatine doesn't work for everyone. Glutamine and multivitamins help too.

I'd say if you're just going to work out twice a week like that, a protein shake and maybe an ironless multivitamin will be fine. Follow the directions for multivitamin, drink the shake right after you work out.

You should go 100% though really. It's worth the hassle.

Not sure I follow what you mean by "Go 100% through". Are you saying I should work out more, or all the way through the workout?

From the sounds of it you just want to be a little more fit and to generally keep your muscles tone. For that I would say dont bother spending the money on the suppliments. Just watch your diet and eat healthy and you should be fine.

Having said that, if you ever think about getting more serious about it and really trying to either bulk up or get really cut, then suppliments would be a good idea.

As for now, I think you are ok though. But having a healthy diet would also greatly improve any gains you might have.

Hope that helps.

Well, not exactly. I do want to increase my physical appearance, but I don't aim to be a hulking mass of muscle. It seems that the only advice you can find online is how to become Lou Ferrigno. I am more looking for Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man. :D

Following the "Max-OT" program religously with a good diet would be 100%. You do a lot of weight but less reps in max-ot. It takes less time than other workout plans and you get better results.

It's pretty good for just getting a lean bulk. Chicks dig it if you have a low bf% before you start that too.

just work out as you normally do, but eat regular meals (5-7) every day, and eat lots and lots of protein.

take a visit to www.bodybuilding.com - thats where i learned all the stuff i do for my workouts, lots of good articles, but the forums can be a little bugged out by n00bs every now and again.

when stevie says "eat regular meals (5-7) every day," he doesn't mean regular size... they should be smaller than if you ate 3/day. just eat them at regular times/intervals. essentially, they should be a more than snacks, but less than a meal. make sense?

speaking as a fairly casual lifter:

unless you're really going for it I doubt that supplements are worth it. Protein shakes maybe, but I'd rather get it in food if possible.

I've been doing weight regularly for about a year, and I'm just switching to a 5-7 meal regime, and trying to eat more protein and use heavier weights.

you could always go for a fairly hardcore exercise programme and then just switch to maintenance levels of exercise when you've reached your target. Or adapt one of the programmes you've seen on the web, just do less weight and more reps I suppose.

also I think different things work for different people, so just try and see how progress goes. Happy lifting!

Yeah, I was figuring that working in the protien shake was a good idea, but I didn't think I needed to pound them. Something like one a day right after I work out?

uh, something like that... like I say I'm not using shakes (yet). It sounds a bit like you're working out every day - it's better to do it every other day, and rotate through different muscle groups too

Nope...I can see how you read that, but I am only working out twice a week. Should I still take protien on the off days?

cool, just checkin ;)

I think so ... your muscles are getting repaired on the off days so I guess need protein

this article looks fairly sensible, as does the rest of the site... you might not need as much protein as he suggests though

there's been plenty of weightlifting threads on this board... I was gonna summarize them but I don't feel expert enough :) worth a read yourself for sure