New guy at the Gym...

[MuscleManMatt]

whats up everyone? this board looks like its packed with information however i have a few general question im sure you all can help me out with. i just started working out again with a friend who regularly goes to the gym. we go about 4-5 times a week. each day we concentrate on a different workout such as chest, arm, back, legs etc. i havent lifted in a while and ive been extremely sore. so sore that it really hurts to move my arms or whatever part i worked out for a few days. my questions are the following:

Is this normal?

I take whey protein and L-glutamine prior to working out only.
These are the only supplements i take. I also take a daily vitamin (centrium). I only take my suppliments on the days i go to the gym.

I weigh 193 pounds and im 6ft my stomach has a little flab on it but im working that off quick. Is there a good workout plan someone can recommend for me? There are so many out there that i wouldnt know where to begin.

Thanks for your help,

Matt

[Shibby]

Welcome to the board. Yes the soreness is normal. As far as workout routines go, everyone is different. You sound like you already have one that is giving you some gains. The best thing to do is post your workout in the training section and go from there. Post if you have any likes or dislikes about an exercise. If you feel something is working or not. Next you can post your diet in the nutrition section. That's where most your results are going to come from. Post hight, weight, BF% if you know it, and what time you eat something.

[MuscleManMatt]

thanks for the reply...ill be sure to post some more with my food intake and body statistics. What are your opinions on how I take my supplements? I get a lot of different reponses when i ask people about taking these two. A lot of people take it everyday even when they dont work out. I have only been taken the recommended amount prior to workout. Should I take more? The glutamine also suggests taking it 2 hours after workout. Is it really necessary? Thanks again.

Matt

[Shibby]

You definatly want to take protien in post work out. Glutamine is said to be mostly useless, Yellowjacket has posted alot on it.

[hlcn8]

glutamine is something yellowjacket has a lot of links for that indicate its almost entirely useless. as for the multi-vitamins and protein, take those every day. just because you aren't working out one day or another, doesn't mean your body isn't healing and recuperating and growing from it on the day off. in fact, the days off are when the growth happens (lots of new people forget that and spend everyday in the gym and then can't understand why they've stopped making gains) so definitely take the additional whey protein and multis daily.
I wouldn't worry so much about workout routines yet! if you're feeling sore, they're obviously working! it gets better, and you won't be as sore as you progress, but once your body adapts to the physiological stress you apply it, that's the time to switch things up and keep your body guessing. in the meantime scroll around and readup and you'll get a good idea of what people are doing and how often. by then you'll know more about your body as well and how it responds, and be able to tailor particular workouts to what it is you want achieve. best of luck, and enjoy the quick and easy gains of the newbie!

[MuscleManMatt]

Thanks again for the reponses! That helped out a lot!

[Puddles]

Soreness is normal, especially if you're relatively new to training or if you've taken some time off. Don't take anti-inflamatories for the pain, it hinders muscle development. You can try stretching prior to and after your workout, that may help slightly.

I agree with what's been said already...that the whey protein should be post workout and it's good to take your supplments and protein daily.

Nice to have you on the board! :)

[zaguilar]

I have tendenitis in my shoulder and i play baseball. I take ibuprofen before every game does this hinder my muscle developement at all?

[Puddles]

Zag, here's some info about anti-inflammatories:

Inflammation and Healing

A major rationale for using NSAIDs in the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries has been their anti-inflammatory quality. The prevailing argument is that healthy tissue is not inflamed; therefore, if we stop the inflammation in an injured tissue, the tissue will be healthy. The problem with this viewpoint is that, in addition to being a sign of injury, inflammation is a necessary component of the healing process. As noted by Leadbetter,4 "inflammation can occur without healing, but healing cannot occur without inflammation."

Whether the injured tissue is a ligament, tendon, or muscle, the body responds to injury with a sequence of events that begins with an influx of inflammatory cells and blood. The inflammatory cells remove debris and recruit cytokines and other growth factors toward the injury site. This inflammatory phase is partly mediated by the same prostaglandins that are blocked by NSAIDs. In a healthy healing process, a proliferative phase consisting of a mixture of inflammatory cells and fibroblasts naturally follows the inflammatory phase. The fibroblasts build a new extracellular matrix and persist into the final phase of repair, the maturation phase, where, if all goes well, functional tissue is laid down. The key point is that each phase of repair is necessary for the subsequent phase. By blocking the inflammatory phase, NSAIDs can, at least theoretically, delay the healing of musculoskeletal injuries.

I also saw this and it would pertain to you since you have tendinitis:

In Brief: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed for musculoskeletal injuries because the conditions are believed to be inflammatory in nature. However, because inflammation is a necessary component in the healing process, decreasing inflammation may prove counterproductive. Also, many tendon injuries called 'tendinitis' are, in fact, degenerative and not inflammatory conditions. An analysis of the pathophysiology and healing of musculoskeletal injuries questions the use of NSAIDs in many treatment protocols. Because NSAIDs have profound side effects, they should not automatically be the first choice for treating musculoskeletal injuries.


The above 2 pieces came from a much longer article you can read at The physician and sports medicine