Want to work out only 2-3x a week

[mazeroth]

Back in the day (7-8 years ago in high school) I was taking 5g of creatine per day along with weight gainer and whey protein. I went from (5'10") 145 lb. to 165 lb. in 2 years and was pretty ripped, working out 3-4x per week. However, college and getting lazy changed that so I'm looking to go back. I'm now just starting to work out again and my goals have changed, as I don't want to be super muscular but I want a nice physique with a decent amount of muscle. I also want to get my flexibility back as I'm now noticing during recreational activities (sports; get your head out of the gutter!) that I'm not nearly as flexible as I used to be. Alright, I think I went a little off-topic

I work a pretty stressful job so I'm thinking I'll average 2x per week to the gym and 3x if my job doesn't kill me that week. Each visit I'll probably do a routine like Back/Legs/Bis or Chest/Tris/Abs, so only once a week per muscle group. I purchased some ON Whey and ON Serious Mass 1250 2 years ago when I was wanting to lift again but I never made that happen. The containers say they're good until 1/08 (hello!) so I'm going to still use them. What I'm looking for is when I should take these supplements if I'm only going to the gym 2x per week? I'll probably drop the weight gainer after it's gone and just stick to whey protein; creatine worked well for me in high school but I don't want to mess with my body if I don't have to and it caused me muscle cramps every now and again. Do I only take the protein on days I work out or maybe even the day after?

Also, let's say I work out my chest 1x per week. Say that gives me a 10 on muscle gain. Does working out your chest 2x per week give much better results so your chest isn't resting too long? If so, could it potentially gain more than twice the amount, or a 20+ on my fictional rating scale?

Thanks for any input you guys can give me!

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I'm not totally clear on what your goals are. Do you want to build muscle or lose fat? You can really only do one or the other at a time.

I take ON Pro Complex Gainer, and I do 2 per day, regardless if I'm training or not. I drink one first thing in the morning, and one in the afternoon/evening. If I'm training in the afternoon, I drink it immediately after my workout. I would think that the ON Serious Mass would be good in the morning because of all the carbs it has to get your day started, and then use the 100% Whey for right after your workouts.

Also, I do a 3x per week program, and I only work each muscle group once per week.

 

[KoolDrew]

If you're going to workout only 2-3x a week, do full body routines, not the typical 1x per week body part BS. As for the supplements, why wouldn't you want to supply your body with energy while it's recovering?

 

[mazeroth]

I'm just not sure if it's necessary to take as much protein on rest day 2 or 3 if your body needs protein a lot more on rest day 1. Say your body uses 100% of the protein you ingest on rest day 1 but only 30% on rest day 2 (I know, crazy example) then I would probably hold off on taking protein shakes on later rest dates and save my money (I'm not made of it, so I need to save as much as I can).

 

[marvdmartian]

Don't take my word as written in stone, but a lot of what I read suggests that on workout days, protein in the morning, protein pre-workout, protein post-workout.

Every other day, just do the morning protein intake. Add creatine if necessary/wanted.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: mazeroth
I'm just not sure if it's necessary to take as much protein on rest day 2 or 3 if your body needs protein a lot more on rest day 1. Say your body uses 100% of the protein you ingest on rest day 1 but only 30% on rest day 2 (I know, crazy example) then I would probably hold off on taking protein shakes on later rest dates and save my money (I'm not made of it, so I need to save as much as I can).

What's your goals? I'm assuming it's gaining muscle mass? Now let me ask you a question... if you were trying to lose weight would you only cut calories on lifting days and the day after? No. What makes you think gaining would be any different?

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Originally posted by: mazeroth
I'm just not sure if it's necessary to take as much protein on rest day 2 or 3 if your body needs protein a lot more on rest day 1. Say your body uses 100% of the protein you ingest on rest day 1 but only 30% on rest day 2 (I know, crazy example) then I would probably hold off on taking protein shakes on later rest dates and save my money (I'm not made of it, so I need to save as much as I can).

What's your goals? I'm assuming it's gaining muscle mass? Now let me ask you a question... if you were trying to lose weight would you only cut calories on lifting days and the day after? No. What makes you think gaining would be any different?

Because your body doesn't burn fat 3x faster the night of your workout like it does use the protein shake you just had.

I think it's fine to only take the shakes after/the night of your workout; that's all I do. They're not tasty enough to have them every day.

 

[KoolDrew]

Because your body doesn't burn fat 3x faster the night of your workout like it does use the protein shake you just had.

Wtf?

You gain weight by eating enough calories to bring you above maintenance. For best results, you want your body in an anabolic state as much as possible. This is done by frequent lifting sessions (3x a week is fine if they are full body routines) and constantly being in a calorie surplus. So eat above maintenance everyday. If the protein shake brings you above maintenance, then drink it everyday.

I don't see why it's such a hard concept to comprehend. You want your muscles to repair themselves and (hopefully) gain mass on rest days. How do you expect this to happen without giving your body adequate amounts of energy to do so?

Also, to expand on the 1x per week crap... (from HST)

The downside of taking a week of rest every time you load a muscle is that many of the acute responses to training like increased protein synthesis, prostaglandins, IGF-1 levels, and mRNA levels all return to normal in about 36 hours. So, you spend 2 days growing and half a week in a semi-anticatabolic state returning to normal (some people call this recovery), when research shows us that recovery can take place unabated even if a the muscle is loaded again in 48 hours. So true anabolism from loading only lasts 2 days at best once the load is removed. The rest of the time you are simply balancing nitrogen retention without adding to it.

So train 3x a week with full body workouts. This could simply be three movements each time if time is an issue. For example, Squat/Bench/Deadlift or Squat/OH Press/Row. This is essentially the Starting Strength outline by Mark Rippetoe. Also, like I said above, constantly be in a calorie surplus. It doesn't have to be from protein shakes though.