Experts & Nutrition Supplimentation

I hate experts.

If I had listened to experts on how I should work out then I don't think I ever would have started. I know that if I had read some of the comments on the Body Building forums before buying my Bowflex that I would have never bought anything. I also know that a lot of times (unless you know them personally) experts are selling something.

I've been trying really hard to figure this slim down/build muscle thing on my own and I think (considering I know next to nothing on the subject) my results are looking quite good. Don't get me wrong, I try to read about fitness trends to see if there's anything useful but for the most part it's all bull.

Here's what I've learned that worked for me when it comes to strength training and muscle building. I'm not recommending this I'm just throwing it out there because everyone is different:

1. Eating right and building muscle is way more effective for me than eating right and doing cardio
2. Giving time for your muscles to heal is SO important. Sometimes I can get away with only having one day off in between Bowflex days. Most of the time it's two days. I say, if I only needed 1 day off I didn't work hard enough.
3. Get 'yer' protein. I tried eating 2 low-fat hamburgers for dinner or adding cheese. I found that it helped grow my muscles but I started to gain weight in my stomach area so I cut back on that and went to;
4. Chocolate Protein Shakes: They taste good and give a very low fat/high protein source. Don't use to replace a meal (this isn't Slim Fast). At this time in my life, I'd avoid those big "muscle man" shakes with magical mixtures to complicated for me to understand. Just a straight & simple whey protein drink.
5. Creatine is a great product if you can stomach it. Drinking a lot of water is more than likely just as good and generally cheaper but you'll have to piss more often. I don't take creatine.
6. I do 2 sets of unlimited reps. I aim for 12-15 reps in my first set and 8-12 reps for my 2nd set.
   
   HOWEVER if for some reason I'm able to do more than 15 I keep going until muscle failure. Next time, I'll increase the weight.
7. Always work your muscles to failure.
8. After my 2nd set I'll lower the weight to something less intense (usually take off 30% of the weight) and just go until failure for a third time. I don't bother counting this. I just go until I can't do it any more

Anyway, for what it's worth that's what I've learned. Not a whole lot more than common sense stuff but it's more than I had going in.

I'm sure my ideas will evolve and change again but I like the simplicity of what I'm doing now. It keeps it easy to remember what to do and fun.