Ok, maybe not "QUICK" but here goes . .

A little info first. .

130 lbs, 5' 9", work 7am-4pm, and have a drive to get bigger!! I don't have a lot of body fat, I've always had a fast metabolism, my gut mainly comes from the beer . . . ya . . . haha

I used to weigh 110-115 up until I was 23. I decided enough was enough and started a weigh gaining program. I drank 2 carb shakes a day, 1 half protein and half card shake an hour before workout, then 1 protein shake right after. I took in normally between 3 - 5K calories a day with the shakes. I went from 115 to 155 or 160 within about 8 months.

Now, I got lazy about 14 months ago and haven't been to the gym since. I'm back down to 130 and have a bit of a gut I just purchased the P90X program along with the chin-up bar and the bands. My goal is to get back to 160 and maybe even hit 170 if possible.

My questions are. .
1.) Should I be doing any kind of supplemental workouts or should I not do any part of the P90X and switch it for something else? (ie dumb bells insted of bands?)
2.) Should I be taking the same amount of shakes? I can't afford the P90X results and recovery stuff . . anyone know of anything I can pickup on the cheap that will aid in the building of muscle?
3.) Does anyone have any kind of advice for me regarding the kind of stuff I should be focusing on for greater muscle growth?

Thank you WAY ahead of time. I know that was a lot of info, but I'm stoked to start working out again, and ready for some help!

Welcome! Ill give ya what i think for your questions..

1) Follow the P90X Regiment but since you are trying to bulk up, make sure you are using a heavier weight. A good way to judge that is when u are doing your reps, when u hit about 5 you should be struggling to get to 8-9. I would go get dumb bells cause bands can only have so much resistance and eveutally u will grow out of it.

2) Not to knock the P90X recovery formula but your paying for a name, not ingrediants. You can buy regular GNC whey protein and mix in with certain other foods such as bananas to reach the 4 to 1 carb/protein ratio that the P90X recovery forumla is based around.

3) Loads n loads of protein and bring it every time u hit play. If you have it in you, you can do strip sets on almost all the dumbbell moves in the workouts throughout P90X. Will get lots of tiny rips in your muscle there which is how muscle gets bigger and stronger.

"3) Loads n loads of protein and bring it every time u hit play. If you have it in you, you can do strip sets on almost all the dumbbell moves in the workouts throughout P90X."

What exactly do you mean by Strip sets?

I get the heavier weights part . . . I was thinking of taking it easy the first week. Once I get my muscles back into the feeling of being worked out, then start upping the weight each time.

"2) Not to knock the P90X recovery formula but your paying for a name, not ingrediants. You can buy regular GNC whey protein and mix in with certain other foods such as bananas to reach the 4 to 1 carb/protein ratio that the P90X recovery forumla is based around."

Now here is where I get to wondering . . . I have read that there is cheap whey protein and then there is good whey protein. I should be drinking the cheap stuff throughout the day, and then then good stuff right after my workout. My question is, where can i get this cheap stuff and where can I get the good stuff?

Also, should I be drinking my carb shakes too? I would think to much of everything is bad on the kidneys, so what is an acceptable amount of each? 1 carb shake in the morning, followed by a whey protein shake after lunch, and then a carb/protein shake an hour before workout, and then a GOOD quality protein shake immideitaly after, followed by a protein shake 3 hours before bed?

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to be sure this all goes right and I get the results I want.

Global,

In a strip set, you lower the weight just a little with each set of reps. Say you're doing arm curls. You do a set of 8-10 reps with 40 pounds. Then you lower the weight to 30 pounds and do a set of 8-10 reps with that. Then you lower the weight to 20 pounds and repeat the set. Eventually, you get to a light weight that burns big. The goal is to maximally fatigue the muscle. In the end, you may not even be able to lift your arm against gravity without any additional weight. It'll get better after an hour or two, but it's a big burner for the muscle.

Word of advice...you do NOT want to do strip sets at the start of ANY workout and you don't want to do ANY strip sets at all until you're a little more accustomed to P90X! Trust me on this!

Your thought about starting a little lighter is a wise one. You really don't need a lot of weight in P90X. I've been amazed at how light I'm lifting and still getting burns and building muscle mass.

I'm not too picky about cheap vs expensive protein shakes. They all do the same basic thing, so select the brand that gives you the best value. At GNC, there's usually a discount of 10-25% the first 10 days of the month so you can load up for a little less cash that way.

Hope this helps...

Kevin