diet supplement/body building shakes

[getonwithit]

after years of trying gym and running finally found the exercise for me so far been swimming an hour a day for a week am at last building up some mussel in back ,shoulders and biceps i am over six feet and long limbed (not quite lanky) am early 40s now and have a bit of a tummy will taking protien shakes help me bulk up or will my tummy just get bigger from excess calories ?

[hailthechimp]

Your building mussels? Why is there a bodybuilding competition for molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms.? Are the clams,oysters,lobsters and crabs,winkles,crayfish and scallops invited too?
Just kidding,If your trying to bulk up make sure your eating 300gms a day protein and 500gms of carbs as well as good fats,protein should come from whey shakes,tuna,beef,fish,eggs,yogurt,chicken,turkey and cottage cheese and the end of the day which will feed your muscles during the night.Protein shakes should be taken on waking as your muscles will be crying out for nutrients, before training which will feed your muscles during your workout and stop your body canabalising your muscles for energy,but the most impotant time would be straight after a workout so your body can start the healing,growing process asap so all that protein shake will be dragged into your muscles and not to your belly, Here check out the bulking/diet section on this website that i use and any questions you have will be answered in full! Good Luck!

http://anabolicminds.com/

[Velvetee]

Firstly you need to establish your Somatotype. which is the body type you naturally lean towards. It sounds to me, as though you are a classic Ectomorph, which means you are naturally lean with long limbs and unlikely to ever bulk up.

Protein shakes can help build muscle, but so many people take too much and the body can only handle a certain amount. You don't mention that you do any weights. Swimming, whilst it has some Resistance training benefits, it is primarily cardiovascular, so you probably need to do weights.

You cannot spot reduce fat from any area, (i.e stomach) but doing weights will mean you have more lean muscle tissue, so will be more likely to use fat for fuel. If you do too much cardio, then you will just break down any muscle tissue you have amassed.

[getonwithit]

sounds like a no win situation might as well give up before i start and resign to being slim with a gut a friend of mine similar build to me spends an hour /two every day in the gym with a personal trainer at massive cost who tells him how much he is improving doing resistance and tons of press ups and after 6 months looks no different (no alcohol too) !
all i want is a flat stomach and would like a swimmers build is this really so unachiveable i walk 3 miles a day and dont eat junk food or sweets find it all very depressing

[Velvetee]

Your friend's PT doesn't sound very good! Don't be disheartened, it really is possible, you just have to know what you are doing and why.

I would say try a split routine with weights about three times per week. For instance, day one Shoulders and legs, day two Back and Biceps, day three Chest and Triceps.

Be sure to do functional and compound exercises, particularly when legs are being worked. Functional mean movements you would do in everyday life, like squating and lunging. (You squat when you sit down and you lunge when just walking, but it's less explosive). Compound, means working more than one muscle group at a time, so you could do a lunge with a shoulder press or squats with a front raise if working legs and shoulders in the same session.

Don't stick to doing the same exercises over and over, as your body will just adapt to that particular thing and you will no longer see results. Diet is also important, watch you aren't consuming too many refined Carohydrates, sugars and saturated fats. Most importantly, ensure you are consuming enough, if you are not, then your body will hang onto it's fat stores and eat into lean muscle.