Appetite suppressants are not the answer.

The answer here is for you to use self discipline and eat a healthy diet and get on a proper workout routine.

I would be more than willing to help you, but the real solution here is not in the form of any type of pill or supplement.

Don't get me wrong, I highly recommend numerous supplements to ASSIST people in achieving their goals....but never as the sole means of doing so.

If stuck at a plateau, use this:

http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=345300636
5x5 plan



Secondly, just make sure you diet is in order and that you are getting sufficient sleep each night (8+ hours minimum). Drink at least 1+ gals of water per day as well.

With regards to those supps, they are fine. A de-load before jumping into the 5x5 would be highly recommended (1 solid week off).

HELLO BIG RAY

So far the 5x5 is going really great, I hope it keeps going well.

1. I was wondering why you advised me to stick to barbell inclined bench press instead of dumbbell after doing the flat bench press.

2. If I come to a day where I can't complete my five sets of an exercise (squat/deadlift/bench/OHP), what should I do then? For the moment, I'm adding weight every training like you said and it's going fine.

that's a pretty nice split
I'm going to modify it a little bit but definitely the base I needed , much appreciated thank you

I think The M Stak cycle will be done on christmas day , so I'll take the holiday week off from the gym and get fat up until New Years and kick off the 1st with the 5x5. and start my sups again

Dumbbell exercises are primarily for aesthetics and isolation, whereas barbell exercises are more geared towards strength. The 5x5 routine lends itself to barbell related exercises for that reason.

If you can't for any reason, injury, illness, or fatigue. Just proceed as usual. If you notice that you've hit a solid wall, take a 1 week de-load and re-attempt with your previous best 5x5 weight and begin again.

Hi Raynor, I'm contemplating what supplements could benefit me further. These are my current supplements: Mutant mass gainer (whey), Creatine, Multivitamin, Omega 3.

I take 2 creatine tablets around 30 mins before every workout, and swap the days I take a multivitamin and omega 3 because they'd give me like 300% RDA of vitamin C and D together.

I don't know if cycling creatine gives better results, or if an overload of vitamin C and D is worth taking them both every day. I see in your own supplementation guide you recommend 2x multivitamins and omega 3 a day. Also I'm unsure on BCAA's because of getting them through normal protein sources and also becuase they are supposedly better for cutting (whereas im on the forever bulk).

First of all, forget about RDA. The FDA established RDA% which is actually extremely low compared to what actual scientific studies have shown. They use the lowest common denominator as a baseline, which does not generally benefit the average population. That being said, 2-5K mgs of vitamin C a day is not a problem. With D3, you want at least 2,500 iu per day, but closer to 4K.

Secondly, with creatine, you need to be taking 5g per day, period (after loading phase).

BCAA caps should be taken immediate pre/post/intra workout and/or upon waking if you aren't going to eat right away. That's the only function they really serve, outside of natural food sources.

Hey Raynor,

Problem! Whenever I run for more than 5 min I get terrible shin splints where it just lock up on me and im forced to just walk til it subside but comes back again once i start to run

Its this part that just tighten up to a point where it feels like its gona just pop out of my skins

Are you sure it's splints? "locking up" is not usually a symptom of splints. Splints are usually just pain and tenderness from running, which can be caused by either microscopic stress fractures, such as the shin bones to micro-fragmenting under the constant force of striking the ground, OR simply excessive trauma to the muscular connective tissue around the Tibia.

Assuming it's muscular pain, or stress-fracture induced pain, you are in luck...because the solution is very easy.

First of all, wrap the shins in a good quality compression sleeve. Amazon has a bunch of great shin-split compression sleeves. You can also try Sports Authority, Dicks Sporting Goods, or other retailers.

For now, take a few days off, rest the area, and ice as necessary. When you go back, use the sleeves. After using the sleeves for a few weeks of running, you can gradually leave yourself off of them, allowing the shins to accommodate to the trauma/stress from running. Eventually you will gain the necessary strength to avoid splits ever again.