Maximuscle combination

AstonMartin

Looking for recommendations on which maximuscle protein powder and bar combination to use for my personal aims.

24, 6'1, skinny hard gainer. Fairly decent diet. Play football. Recently started regular gym use.

I am looking to gain weight and muscle. It does not need to all be lean muscle gain initally. I would like to gain size without excess fat at first, possibly a stone in the first month.

Thanks.

Should I take a higher serving at the beginning to do a loading phase?

marathonic

AstonMartin wrote: »

Looking for recommendations on which maximuscle protein powder and bar combination to use for my personal aims.

Why Maximuscle? They are good quality products but extremely overpriced - most of what you are paying is for a brand name and a marketing budget. The bulk suppliers products are usually just as good. Look at www.myprotein.com, www.ironscience.co.uk, www.bodybuildingwarehouse.co.uk and www.bulkpowders.co.uk.

AstonMartin wrote: »

It does not need to all be lean muscle gain initally. I would like to gain size without excess fat at first, possibly a stone in the first month.

The maximum lean muscle that a newbie to weight training can gain is suggested to be around an ounce per day which is 1lb every 16 days. That means, in a month, a newbie could realistically aim for 2lb of muscle gain. For someone that's not new to lifting, it's going to be more difficult.

With this in mind, if you gain a stone in a month, it's probably going to be something in the region of 2lb of muscle and 12lb of fat. To add to this, you'd probably then go an a calorie deficit to try to lose the fat and would lose some of the muscle too.

Instead, aim for a max of 500 calories per day above maintenance. This should allow the fat and muscle gained to be closer to a 50/50 ratio - possibly gaining more muscle than fat if your protein intake is high enough and you train hard.

AstonMartin wrote: »

Should I take a higher serving at the beginning to do a loading phase?

Definately not. Protein shakes and bars are just food, like a chicken fillet or a tin of tuna. The most popular supplement for which loading phases are common is Creatine - and even then, a lot of people say they are unnecessary.



If using myProtein, they currently have a discount code that will give you 10% off your order. It's BIG. Also, if you haven't ordered from them before, feel free to use my referrer code when registering (MP289427) which should give you an additional 5% off.

I bought this bundle last week and, if it's your first order, you could get it for under 100 euro delivered. There's enough in it to last a few months as you wouldn't be using everything at the same time, i.e. you might start with the Total Gainer and move onto the Hurricane XS when that's finished: http://www.myprotein.com/ie/products/bulk-up-bundle. The individual prices for whats included in this bundle are:

Hurricane XS €41.99
MP MAX Total Gainer €32.69
MyBar Oats & Whey €27.99
BCAA €23.99
Instant Oats €8.69
Tribulus Pro €8.79

Alternatively, you could just go for the MyBar Oats & Whey and a bag of Whey Protein: http://www.myprotein.com/IE/products/impact-whey-protein

Finally, there's a 20% off Mass Gainers offer at the moment so you could get MP MAX Total Gainer instead. I ordered two tubs of the Chocolate Orange flavour of this for a friend (it arrived yesterday). With their multi-buy offer, you save €3.26 when ordering two.

The 20% off code is GAIN. If you use GAIN first, then BIG, you'll get 30% off. If you try it the other way about, it says you can only use one code at a time. I think it's a glitch in the system but they are honoring any orders made.

If it's your first order, by using the GAIN and BIG codes and my referel code above, you should be able to get two tubs of this product for €46.23 delivered. I don't think you'll be able to do better than that anywhere else.

marathonic

By the way, just to add, the page on myProteins site for Total Gainer recommends 2-3 shakes per day. Ignore his advice - and the advice on the side of most supplements.

Whilst the advice may hold true for some, in most cases it overstates the requirements. For example, if over the past few months, you haven't gained or lost any weight, then you are eating enough calories for maintenance at the moment.

If this is the case, then one serving per day of the Total Gainer will add 411 calories to your daily intake - and you'll be getting an additional 34g of protein. This should be sufficient for adding the desired amount of lean mass. If you take one daily for a fortnight and haven't gained weight, you could consider adding a second shake on workout days and re-evaluate after another fortnight.

AstonMartin

Thanks a lot. Thats great advice. I will use the products you recommend. Im surprised at the difference in price versus maximuscle.