Even if I'm only 21? My joints all feel fine.

If you lift heavy you will be abusing them hard. You may not need it yet but if you do a power routine you will soon. Things like rotator cuff injuries come to mind.

Oh ok, I shall add it to the list. Whats a good creatine supplement?

you know, that's a good way to start out, but every body is different and react to the stress of working out differently. i always did slow, low weight and high reps a coupla weeks out from a show. i found that it didn't cut me as much as completely fill my muscles with blood. more blood == more oxygen == more energy. and trust me, i was never lacking in the bulk department, but i never did buy into that "higher weights, fewer reps". i found that my muscles didn't respond as well to that stimulus - sometimes after a full workout i barely got a pump at all and never felt tired on the low rep workouts. all i did to balance it out was find 85% of my max for a given exercise and workout with that. i could usually do 12-15 to start, and i would slowly work myself to failure - however many sets it took. supersets and jumbo-sets were a real awakening after working single exercises for a while.

so, remember, listen to your body. vary your routine. eat right. get enough sleep. get big.

Now that I think about it it may be non-essential for you NOW, but if your weights start going up and you start feeling your joints then get going on it.

I use Met-Rx's "Extreme Creatine"- high quality creatine mixed with carbohydrates.

I work, lift, school, and sleep. LOL

Where do you get it? and how pricey is it?

Off of their website. $29.99 for 5 lbs.

or you can get it here for 18 + s/h

do you take whey protein after lifting? also, i believe you are dieting correctly with a protein enriched diet? those guys are definitely smart when it comes to lifting. i might have to get back into it.

I was taking a lot of protein but I try to eat more meat now instead of loading up on protein shakes.

Even better. Thanks Knipps. None of my usual places stock it.

yeah that is the best bet. i used to have a shake after working out though with some carb additive then a protein filled dinner.

A 3:1/4:1 carb to protien shake is supposed to be the best for recovery, sounds like that's what you were doing...

couldn't tell you the ratio, but it sounds close to that. a couple body builders took me and my buddy under their wing, then i got suspended and realized sitting in traffic wasn't worth it for me. but i am starting to yearn for that satisfactory feeling of deadness after a good workout. plus a free gym membership is going to waste

Lifting an awesome to work off stress too.

Google product search is a hell of a tool ;)

Yeah, as long as the places are:

A) Still in business
B) Good at updating their website
C) Not crooked

This place looks good though.

yeah definitely! and heavy bags. good times

You couldn't of said it better Jim. Start off at a weight that isn't over bearing to get the form right and then start adding.

What I do is I bring the weights up slow, hold and then realse slow. Once I started doing that I noticed that I was getting more defined.

I really need to get back into lifting/running again.

ask 10 bodybuilders what their routine is and you will get 10 different answers. that said, most, if not all, of them will tell you to listen to your body to avoid injury. it's the knuckleheads that lift more than they should, then wonder where these chronic pains come from and why they seem more susceptible to injury than the next guy.

don't get crazy with supplements, either. you don't need them. you will only need them if you stop eating right, but it sounds like you are eating well. i wouldn't recommend creatine at your age. i wouldn't recommend any of the "complex" ingredients you will find in some of the products out there - because they are "PROCESSED" ingredients. it's much better for you to get the natural ingredient in a naturally-containing food. like you said, you're eating more beef to keep your protein up. that's a solid idea (and was the "in" thing to do back when we didn't have all of these PROCESSED foods). remember to keep it simple. if you want a protein shake, no one is going to tell you not to have it. use everything you think will help you. and by trial and error you will find the things that work FOR YOU. (not everyone is the same...)

good luck.

I know, thats why I am trying to get off of using the Xplod stuff, but it really helps me lift so its tough. And I try to maintain a good solid diet of non processed, non fried foods, mainly meat.

NO Xplod is being taken off the market due to false advertising.
Its apparently just tons of caffeine and a little creatine.

Yup, fantastic stuff.

I'm 21 also but i take glucosamine for my joints. I changed my workout alot since summer, I was around a light 185 now im about 205 in about 2.5months.I eat alot of brown rice, baked potatos, steak and chicken. Im trying to be 220 and maintain my low bf%.

loose the NO-explode, go with superpump 250 you will love it.

And go with a fast digesting protein
creatine monohydrate (not cell-tech it makes you bloat)
Amino Acids
L-Glutamine