Any professional fitness experts want to help out a newbie on working out by...

[SDgO1]

...answering a couple of questions? So i started working out for the past month now..i have a few questions?

1. I know you should do more weights with less reps...but how long should you wait in between sets.. I usually do 30-60 seconds of rest..is that enough or too intense?

2. I am taking creatine and whey protein. I know you take protein after the work out but when do you take creatine. Is it before or after the workout; and can you mix the creatine with the protein into one drink?

3. How long is a good intense workout? People tell me no more than an hour lifting weights? True or false?

Thanks...

 

[Derek M]

hi, if your doing high reps with less weight, then you need short rest periods 60-120 seconds is fine.
make sure after about a month or so you change up your workout program to low reps with heavy weight and longer rest periods, after about a month of doing the same workout routine weight,reps,exercise etc your body gets use to them and they no longer work for you. so make sure you mix up your routine.

its beneficially to take creatine before and after the workout. its best to take it before the workout helps give you more energy and pumps into the muscles better. you can mix it with protein powder, its actually better to mix it with a sugary drink like kool aid or gatorade, the sugar turns to insulin and insulin helps trigger growth hormone etc.

how long you stay at the gym depends upon how many muscles you are working. one muscle group should take you about 20minutes. if you hit the whole upper body that should take an hour or so.

 

[johnny j]

1.) It depends on your goals. If you want to build muscle and strength you should do high weight low reps and as soon as you can do 5-6 reps of a weight, add more weight. Keep at aroun 60-90secs in between sets. You want the lactic acid to build up so more growth hormone is released.

2.) For the first five days of creatine do a loading phase. Take 20grams a day (5 in am, 5 pre workout, 5 post workout and 5 before bed...depending on how your body takes it) then do a maintenance period of 5 grams before and after your workout for about 3 weeks. Then take a week or 2 off of creatine so your body doesnt get used to it and make sure you drink a lot of water. A lot of never proteins already have creatine in them, check the label.

3.) True, anything over 60 minutes as far as weightlifting goes is really just hurting yourself.

 

[Muninn]

1. that sounds fine. It should be about 1 minute.

2. creatine helps your muscles remain hydrated, so you should take it right after your workout. Whey protein helps your muscles get larger (your muscles need protein to grow). If you are trying to lose some fat, take the whey protein about 30 minutes after your workout. If you're not trying to lose weight, just take it with your creatine.

3. An intense workout needs to be about 15-20 minutes cardio, and then 20-25 minutes of weight lifting, especially if you are allowing only 30 seconds - 1 minute between sets. Don't get caught up in the "weight-lifter culture" of chatting between sets.