this shit any good/worth getting?

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sv/xtend.html

better imo: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/core/abc.html

Is there any real way to gauge how much muscle you are gaining? I am up in weight from 166lbs on 4 / 11 to right around ~173 lbs as of yesterday.
My stats since then have increased from
Squat - 195x8 to 250x4
DB overhead press 35lbs for 3 reps to 50x4
Bench - BB 145x8 to DB's 70x4
Deadlift 265x4 to 315x3

I have noticed that my arms are not getting much stronger if that makes sense, my BB curls have gone up from 50x8 to 60x8, also my skullcrushers have only gone up 10lbs the entire time as well, yet my arms are over an inch bigger.

I dont think im gaining much fat, my abs are still visible and i hardly do cardio anymore since i just dont have time really (working 50+ hours a week, and live at my friends house 3 days a week) so im really at a loss as to why I havent noticed many changes. At what point will i notice a significant change in my appearance? 15lbs? 20lbs? Gets somewhat frustrating when i get told im "built liek a house" by one person but i see no change in 3 months of working out.

This post was edited by Websters on Jun 25 2011 11:35pm

You should definitely be able to see mirror results within 6 weeks...however some people have a hard time seeing it because they see themselves every day...best bet is to take before/after pictures and/or tape measure yourself.

Both of you, please do NOT reply to questions in this sticky. I know this is a very trivial question, but still we must maintain the rules at all times.

This is to ensure that good manners are kept by all who visit here by supporting an environment free of confusion, potentially wrong/harmful answers, and so forth.

Thank you for understanding.

Avoid thyroid energy....green tea pills are okay, although I'd recommend actually drinking green tea (2 cups daily)

secondly, seasamin is good...as is flax oil.

However, I would recommend NOW! Super Omega 3-6-9 as your flax/fish oil supplement (it has both)

take 2 pills 3x per day with meals.

Hey there.

Get the 5,000 iu.

The human body can handle upwards of 15,000 iu of vitamin d per day without ANY potential negative effects.

However, you want to shoot for around 5-6K per day for maintaining overall health and so forth.

I usually take 5,000 iu + OT + food + sunlight per day.

First of all, Darkblue, please do NOT reply to other people's questions in here...thanks for understanding.

Secondly...Rickor,

Both products are crap. Total wastes of money. The reason for this is because first of all, both of them are amino acid supps (which I have no problem with) however, the amount of aminos per serving is VASTLY overpriced compared to basic/unflavored powders/pills/etc.

My advise would be to stick to a good shake...such as Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex Natural - drink 2-3 per day (including 1 post workout). Those shakes will give you all the BCAA's you need....with the exception of pre/intra bcaa's which I would recommend getting Optimum Nutrition BCAA caps and take 2-4 caps every 45 mins before/during exercise for maximum efficiency.

Those two products above are bad mostly because they are loaded up with artifical colors/flavors/sweeteners and also cost an arm and a leg compared with what you are getting. Most of your money goes into their nice packaging and advertisement campaign. The actual product is not remotely worth it.

You made those gains in 2 months and 2 weeks? Are you kidding me? If not...those are EPIC gains. That is a HUGE improvement for such a short period of time on so many lifts. There is a very easy way to detect muscle increases. Take your bodyfat % before and after. In other words, take your body fat % today along with your body weight. Then in say...4 weeks, take the body fat % and weight again. Each time you will subtract the % of bf from your total weight...to get your lean mass...example....170 lbs at 10% bf = 17 lbs of fat total. Lean mass would be 170-17 = 153 lbs. Then assume 4 weeks later you were 12% bf at 200 lbs. That would mean...12% of 200 = 24 lbs....200 - 24 = 176 lbs lean mass. So technically the total weight of lean mass increased by 23 lbs. Unfortunately, lean mass INCLUDES water in this test. There is really no way to avoid that...but still, that is as good as you'll need.

reAR delt flies on shoulder or back day?