fukhed14 said:
I started taking iron and zinc every day
Why iron? If you're not a vegetarian, and not a female (well, a menstrating female to be precise), there's no need for supplemental iron.
As far as zinc goes, yes if you're deficient, you've got a problem. However, that's the catch 22 of the zinc supplements. They design and sell them on the idea that, if low on zinc, you can have lower test output (and other issues as well). The idea is that correcting the zinc deficiency fixes the test issue and addresses the problem - but it really doesn't. The problem is that, if you're deficient in zinc, your diet is almost guaranteed to be subpar and, w/o bringing that into place first, the correction of a zinc deficiency will be meaningless. Hell, maybe it'd help you for a week or two, I dunno, but the diet that caused the deficiency WILL NOT let you gain muscle over a longer period of time. Once you address that (ie eat a shit ton more
), just the raw amount of food consumed all but guarantees you'll be fully supplied with almost every macro and micro nutrient your body needs, and just to be safe I always recommend tossing in a generic multivitamin (flinstones, centrum, 1 a days, whatever, just find one withOUT iron in it).
fukhed14 said:
Same thing I said about the zinc applies to the amino acids - they're of no use for gaining muscle (bcaa pills, specifically, obviously aminos/bcaa's are required for anabolism, but your food provides plenty). If you're hitting your protein goals for the day, which you need to if you want to continue to gain muscle, you will have taken in enough bcaa's, it's just that simple. You could probably pop onto google and find out what the bcaa breakdown is in, say, just a regular glass of milk, you'd be surprised the bcaa levels you consume daily - IF you're taking in enough protein, but that's a necessity, so if you're doing so, there's no need for the bcaa's, and if you're not doing so, the bcaa's cannot fix that.
fukhed14 said:
with every other meal in my 6 meal scheme,
Do you have a rough idea of calories per meal, and what's your current weight?
fukhed14 said:
and after a week I noticed i am maintaining my gains much more.
Well, I hate to say this but you need to just use the scale, weigh in in the mornings before breakfast and after the bathroom, same scale, same clothes, etc. After a week there aren't really much/any gains, so for you to have noticed a higher level of maintenance of gains, there's something wrong there.. also, gains should be maintained w/o question through the bulk, you shouldn't be regressing at all, not only are your gains maintained, they're steadily increased through the duration of your bulking phase.
fukhed14 said:
I think they helped round out some of the poorer-nutrients in my diet, as I may have a deficiency.
Again, if your diet even allows a deficiency in stuff like zinc, you're almost certainly not eating enough. Also, if you truly were deficient in 1 or 2 of the aforementioned micronutrients, it's highly unlikely there aren't more. But don't think you need to buy more vitamins, you need to eat more food, correct these deficiencies through eating and just take a centrum or generic multivitamin as a safety pill.
fukhed14 said:
Of course I just am taking cheap shit,
That's fine most of the time, it's always walking the line of quality. I always go with the cheapest brand possible that I trust isn't fucking contaminated/impure, and has what it's label says in terms of potency. Almost always a store brand product.
fukhed14 said:
but I swear it is the only thing I am doing differently
a week is no time to recognize gains, visible gains w/o gear or anything in a week long period will only be from your diet manipulation and not muscle growth, the mirror can deceive
fukhed14 said:
and I notice a fuller size... maybe its in my head..
Unsure what 'fuller' means, usually thrown around with 'toned' and other vague, generally meaningless terms. Keep an eye on the 2 important #'s, your bodyweight and a rough idea of your bodyfat%, so you know if you need to in/decrease those calories.
