Starting up again

[leawriter]

Hello all, I'm a 27y/o F and I weigh 63kg.
I would like to build muscle, I've been working out for over a year now but I've had a few month's off. I went from 73kg to 57kg but now I'm back up again. When I was in peak workout mode, I didn't have much muscle definition. I've just bought some creatine and glutamine which I didn't use last time, will they help with defining?

Also, should I do weight training everyday or every other day? And if I'm only doing every other day, should I still be eating large amounts of protein, the creatine and the glutamine?

Any advice would be great!

Thank you

 

[sparkykarl]

@leawriter Most supplements aren’t going to make or break your fitness progress. There is evidence that they can help with regard to building muscle, increasing muscle time to fatigue, etc., but it’s most likely not going to be a MAJOR change.

For your training regimen, if it’s been a while, ease your way back into the routine. There’s definitely no need to lift every single day. Based on your post, it sounds like your goal is to decrease body fat and increase definition (correct me if I’m wrong!). Whatever muscle group you workout one day, try to give those muscles 48-72 hours of rest before working them out again. For example, if I do an upper body workout on a Monday, I might wait until Wednesday or Thursday to work that muscle group again. In the meantime, I might work my lower body muscles on a day.

Protein intake is still going to be important along with a well-balanced diet!

Just a side note, your muscles typically “build back up” while resting! Rest days are important when you give your muscles a good workout. Also good quality SLEEP is going to be your best friend!

Hope that helps!

 

[mommajulesberry]

@leawriter /r/fitness wiki, boostcamp.app/programs (good regimens that you can just figure out what sounds fun, follow the shit and progressively overload)

supplements are usually pretty meh

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/master-list/nutrition-supplementation/ this is a good read

3-5g creatine/day is a safe bet if you want to optimize muscle growth but not necessary mostly depending on your tax bracket tbh.

1.4g/kg/day protein to cover your ass pretty damn well. 1.8ish if you are very concerned with being optimal (which might necessitate some powders depending on how much meat you eat)

glutamine is probably the "probably nothing you'll notice" one but if you have it on hand might as well use it til you are done with it

if you really want to gain muscle you will probably be at least maintaining your body weight if not attempting to slowly gain up to around a kilo per month. on the other hand chasing "definition" is pretty much a bodyfat thing aka its not likely to get significantly bigger and more defined at the same time. that being said you will probably regain most of your former muscle strength and size even on a cut. but ultimately pick a goal for a few months at a time and stick to it, a common one is to just cut for aesthetic reasons from early spring until pretty much beach season and slowly build up over the course of the rest of the year.

 

[pure_fun_101]

@leawriter Great comeback! Creatine will help with energy for lifts, and glutamine aids recovery. Aim for 3-4 days of resistance training per week for muscle growth. Even on off days, keep up your protein intake to support recovery. You've got this!