Hi! I've been reading the posts on here for quite some time...and figured I'd finally introduce myself! I've been "fit" my whole life, but I've just recently started to get pretty serious about lifting. I'm 5'8", around 120 pounds, and I'm not sure what my body fat is. My overall goals are to get stronger, gain some muscle, and lose a little body fat. I lift 4x a week and do cardio 2-3x a week. Any suggestions anyone has about supplements or anything like that would be welcome, I'm definitely not knowledgeable in that area. Anyway, ya'll have already been helpful (just from my reading old posts), so thanks!

Originally Posted by enichole

Hi! I've been reading the posts on here for quite some time...and figured I'd finally introduce myself! I've been "fit" my whole life, but I've just recently started to get pretty serious about lifting. I'm 5'8", around 120 pounds, and I'm not sure what my body fat is. My overall goals are to get stronger, gain some muscle, and lose a little body fat. I lift 4x a week and do cardio 2-3x a week. Any suggestions anyone has about supplements or anything like that would be welcome, I'm definitely not knowledgeable in that area. Anyway, ya'll have already been helpful (just from my reading old posts), so thanks!

Welcome.

Looking at those stats, I would say that you're reasonably lean already, since that's not heavy at all for someone that height.

As for supplements, you only need the staples:
* Creatine
* Multivitamin
* Good Fats
* Protein Powder
* BCAAs (some protein powders have these in)

Post #4 at New to forum, need advice....trying to lose weight... is something you should read.

Since your goal is to recomp, be aware that while this is very possible, it is also very slow, and will take some time. DIET is the key here, since gaining muscle/strength and losing fat are at OPPOSITE ends of the diet spectrum. I would suggest calorie cycling: 3-4 days just below or at maintenance, and 1-2 days at bulking calories. It is the most effective way to gain muscle and strength, whilst staying relatively lean (or even losing some fat).

Also, before asking questions, please make sure that you've read through older threads; chances are that it has been answered already (and in a thread on the same page).

Thanks for the advice! I currently take creatine, a multi-vitamin, and protein powder. When you say good fats, are you talking about taking a fish oil supplement? I've been meaning to do this for some time...but everyone always tells me to "get a good one" and I'm still trying to figure out what "a good one" is.

I'll definitely check out Post 4 now! Thanks again!

good fats are EFA's essential fatty acids fish oil is one and a "good one" is available from nutra planet one of the board sponsors here http://www.nutraplanet.com/product/n...-capsules.html there is a link 1000 caps for 27 bucks anyways welcome to the board

Great! I've always looked/shopped on NutraPlanet...I just didn't even think to look for fish oil there. I went to Whole Foods and there were a hundred different kinds so I figured I'd ask. So thanks for the link - I'll definitely get that!

Originally Posted by enichole

Thanks for the advice! I currently take creatine, a multi-vitamin, and protein powder. When you say good fats, are you talking about taking a fish oil supplement? I've been meaning to do this for some time...but everyone always tells me to "get a good one" and I'm still trying to figure out what "a good one" is.

I'll definitely check out Post 4 now! Thanks again!

No worries

"Good fats" are EFAs, yes. They can be fish oils or flaxseed oil or hempseed oil, etc. (they're also found in things likes nuts and seeds, etc). Whether you use pills (i.e. fish oil) or liquids (i.e. flaxseed/hempseed oil) is up to you.

You need at LEAST 30-50g of good fats daily (definitely no LESS than 30g).

Originally Posted by enichole

Hi! I've been reading the posts on here for quite some time...and figured I'd finally introduce myself! I've been "fit" my whole life, but I've just recently started to get pretty serious about lifting. I'm 5'8", around 120 pounds, and I'm not sure what my body fat is. My overall goals are to get stronger, gain some muscle, and lose a little body fat. I lift 4x a week and do cardio 2-3x a week. Any suggestions anyone has about supplements or anything like that would be welcome, I'm definitely not knowledgeable in that area. Anyway, ya'll have already been helpful (just from my reading old posts), so thanks!

So basically you want to TONE UP LOL
YOu need to focus on more caloires and more cardio to act as a nutritional partitionnig agent. Cardio can be a great way to gain muscle provided that the calories are there to compensate it. Back in the day john parillo had people coming into contest at 4-5,000 caloires. More caloires the bigger your engine the more it needs to be feed. Normal womens diets are about 1300-1500 for weight loss. Funny when a good trainer starts with a women the caloires usually end up at 17-1900 just to maintain their leanness. Do not be afraid to eat provided that your activity level is appropiate to compensate for it. Remember keep caloires staggered and body guessing so their for you never stalled. I maintained 6% bf year round and still was able to gain lean muscle mass,but one has to be meticulous in their diet and know their body.

Originally Posted by The Matrix

So basically you want to TONE UP LOL
YOu need to focus on more caloires and more cardio to act as a nutritional partitionnig agent. Cardio can be a great way to gain muscle provided that the calories are there to compensate it. Back in the day john parillo had people coming into contest at 4-5,000 caloires. More caloires the bigger your engine the more it needs to be feed. Normal womens diets are about 1300-1500 for weight loss. Funny when a good trainer starts with a women the caloires usually end up at 17-1900 just to maintain their leanness. Do not be afraid to eat provided that your activity level is appropiate to compensate for it. Remember keep caloires staggered and body guessing so their for you never stalled. I maintained 6% bf year round and still was able to gain lean muscle mass,but one has to be meticulous in their diet and know their body.

Thanks for the advice. That's one of my biggest struggles...learning to consume more calories since my activity level has gone WAY up. I definitely need to start staggering my calories so, like you said, my body will keep guessing. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by enichole

Thanks for the advice. That's one of my biggest struggles...learning to consume more calories since my activity level has gone WAY up. I definitely need to start staggering my calories so, like you said, my body will keep guessing. Thanks again!

Make slow and steady changes then monitor the results. You are your own biological experiment. You learn what works best for your body. People have a tendency to drop caloires and increase cardio then they results in losing muscle and getting fatter slower their metabolism down even more. Change cardio then your diet. If you feel like after changing cardio for a week or so you do not make any progress then adjust the diet. I start clients out on cardio at 30 minutes 4-5 times a week with BCAA and glutamine before and after weights and cardio. Eating gets cleaned up slowly as you will not jump into 6 meals a day from 3 meals..It take 21 days to create a new habit, plus those changes will cause a person to crash and burn and get frustrated. Majority of people need slow and gradual changes to be successful in the long run.