Amino acids or Whey for building muscle.

Robbie444

Hey, sorry if this is a really stupid question but I dont know anything supplements. Anyway I'm doing some free weight training at home to build up some upper body muscle and am wondering which type of supplement would be best for helping with this? I used to take a complete Amino acid supplement in the past and I found if helped me firm up a bit as I was training but would whey protein be better, or some other form of supplement?
Thanks

Chriscl1

Isnt protein made up of amino acids? Maybe a protein shake and some bcaa's and maybe some l'glutamine.

brianthebard

food.

kumate_champ07

amino acid tablets contain unflavoured whey protein powder compressed together with a holding agent to form tablets. its a very expensive form of protein ingestion!

Robbie444

brianthebard wrote: »

food.

I don't eat much, really. Don't eat red meat and usually have like 1 meal per day after some cereal for breakfast and maybe something very small at night. Don't have too much of an appetite I guess lol. Not looking to become huge or anything and I am actually quite slim but just want to build up some more upper body muscle and arms.

Robbie444

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

amino acid tablets contain unflavoured whey protein powder compressed together with a holding agent to form tablets. its a very expensive form of protein ingestion!

Why, how expensive are they? The ones I used to take were like €40 for 60 capsules I think, can't really remember. They were one of the more expensive brands though from Tony Quinn's. I've seen really cheap ones in shops too but never bought them. So would amino acids tablets be better than just taking some sort of whey protein shakes or something?
ty

brianthebard

Robbie444 wrote: »

I don't eat much, really. Don't eat red meat and usually have like 1 meal per day after some cereal for breakfast and maybe something very small at night. Don't have too much of an appetite I guess lol. Not looking to become huge or anything and I am actually quite slim but just want to build up some more upper body muscle and arms.

well you've just answered your own question then, stop looking for magic pills and sort out your eating habits.

kumate_champ07

Robbie444 wrote: »

Why, how expensive are they? The ones I used to take were like €40 for 60 capsules I think, can't really remember. They were one of the more expensive brands though from Tony Quinn's. I've seen really cheap ones in shops too but never bought them. So would amino acids tablets be better than just taking some sort of whey protein shakes or something?
ty

those tony quinn amino tabs are made from casein, a milk protein. you'd be better off just drinking milk. are they 1000mg per tab?

theres 15g of protein in a glass of milk, thats 15 1000mg amino acid tablets in liquid form.

and why just upper body and arms? do you want a nice developed torso with underdeveloped legs? (legs are the strongest and biggest muscle(s) in the body)

I think the tony quinn tablets may be manufactured from diff amino acids which have been filtered/isolated and then put back in specific ratios but I wouldnt trust tony quinn, and milk protein is awesome as it is anyway.

kumate_champ07

you would have more of a chance of growing a giant beanstalk then getting any results with them pills on 1 meal a day!

I bet the tony quinn sales rep spent 10mins telling u how great they are and how tony is awesome and looks so great for his age and he takes those pills everyday.

I bought them when I was young and naive, maybe 7 years ago. big waste of money

Robbie444

brianthebard wrote: »

well you've just answered your own question then, stop looking for magic pills and sort out your eating habits.

Wow, for a mod you are very friendly and helpful indeed. Its nice to know that you can come on forums on boards that you are not "in with" and be made feel welcomed regardless of your lack of knowledge regarding the forum topic. You might as well have just typed "well go sort out your eating habits and **** off!". Please don't reply if you are just going to offer 1 line smart answers, of all people you should know this.
Thanks.

brianthebard

no one is going to tell you any different or agree that you should take supps, so theres no need for the attitude.

kumate_champ07

Robbie444 wrote: »

Wow, for a mod you are very friendly and helpful indeed. Its nice to know that you can come on forums on boards that you are not "in with" and be made feel welcomed regardless of your lack of knowledge regarding the forum topic. You might as well have just typed "well go sort out your eating habits and **** off!". Please don't reply if you are just going to offer 1 line smart answers, of all people you should know this.
Thanks.

being grumpy is a side effect of under-eatting.
Brian was speaking the truth, youre not gonna get any good results from 1 meal a day and pills, thats a supermodel size 0 diet

Khannie

Robbie444 wrote: »

Wow, for a mod you are very friendly and helpful indeed. Its nice to know that you can come on forums on boards that you are not "in with" and be made feel welcomed regardless of your lack of knowledge regarding the forum topic. You might as well have just typed "well go sort out your eating habits and **** off!". Please don't reply if you are just going to offer 1 line smart answers, of all people you should know this.
Thanks.

Mods are just users outside the forums they moderate. Take it a bit easier please. That post was OTT.

cmyk

Robbie444 wrote: »

Wow, for a mod you are very friendly and helpful indeed. Its nice to know that you can come on forums on boards that you are not "in with" and be made feel welcomed regardless of your lack of knowledge regarding the forum topic. You might as well have just typed "well go sort out your eating habits and **** off!". Please don't reply if you are just going to offer 1 line smart answers, of all people you should know this.
Thanks.

It's pretty much solid advice to be honest, I didn't read it as rude. The only thing I would've added would be to have a read of the nutrition stickies to give you a better understanding of what he meant by that, and then come back with any other questions.

the_syco

Robbie444 wrote: »

I don't eat much, really. Don't eat red meat and usually have like 1 meal per day after some cereal for breakfast and maybe something very small at night. Don't have too much of an appetite I guess lol. Not looking to become huge or anything and I am actually quite slim but just want to build up some more upper body muscle and arms.

To put it simply, when doing any sort of exercise, your body needs food to burn. If it can't find food to burn, it'll canablise your own body. Expecting muscle to form from nothing is foolish. You'll need to start eating more. Starting with cereal is good. Try adding in some white meat at lunch, and some fruit before the workout.

With this added food, your body can burn it, and you can develop some sort of muscle.

Robbie444

Ok thank you for the replies. I was not trying to substitute food with a supplement and I just assumed that a supplement would be the way to go but obviously my diet is what needs to be focussed on here. I have a very hectic lifestyle and as a result I don't eat as much as I should. My body has sort of gotten used to this over the last few months and as a result my appetite has gotten smaller and I have lost weight. I am not overly skinny or anything as I had a bit of meat on the bones already but yes I should really start trying to incorporate more eating in to my daily routine and the right foods. This happened me before when I was working full time for 1 year and I lost a lot of weight as I was not eating enough. I purchased some weight gain type shake mix online to try and help me gain back some weight but it was pretty useless as I was not eating enough also for it to have effect (which is obvious now). Have been doing a good few searches online about various types of foods that I should be eating so this is a good start.
Anyway thanks again.

brianthebard

Your appetite will adjust as you start to eat more again, it might seem like you are forcing extra food to be eaten for a week or two, but after that you will be hungry for regular meals. The stickies at the top of the forum will tell you more about eating and what foods are good choices.

Nonoperational

As you start to work out you will get much much hungrier! Supplements are only an extra add on to a good diet. Sort out the diet, eat at least 3-4 good meals with a good mix of protein and carbs, and if you think your not getting enough protein then start by taking some whey protein. Forget the pills etc and just buy whey powder. There is loads and loads online about diet etc.