17 year old trying to gain weight..NO2?

[riggsjr]

My son is 17 and has been working out for a year .He was 168 when started and now is 155 with 5% fat.He wants to gain weight for football.He eats very well...turkey,fruit,staek,eggs and eats about 5 to 7 times a day.He is in great shape benching 230 to 240.He takes his protein shake after every work out.He wants a supplement to gain weight and someone suggested NO2.Looking for feedback....

[Kilo]

Lots of protein, lots of food. If he doesn't mind adding a bit of fat get a weight gainer n-large is a good one. And creatine will help with strength gains and a add a little bloat. DOn't waste your money on no2, its overpriced.

[Gary]

NO2 is definate garbage.. If your son is really 5% bf he should enter some competitions soon..

[Snachito]

If he's an ectomorph, then he needs to up his calories, alot! Eating whole eggs in the morning with hash browns, pasta with his protein source, potatoes with protein, whole milk and like Kilo mentioned N-Large would work too! He might put on some fat, but that's okay, he'll need it for football.

[PennsValleyLifter42]

Im 16, and i play football as well as your son, I dont know much at all about lifting and supplements, but I have heard that Thermogains, and this new Nitric Oxide, isnt that good for someone under 20 or so, It sounds like your sons pretty awesome though 155 himself and benching 240, thats not bad at all. I dont know if hes on creatine or not, but I heard that someone his age and my age will actually create the things creatine gives you untill you turn about 18 or 19. Im just saying what I heard, and ive heard it from a very reliable person I think, My coach, a bodybuilder as well. But as someone said before, your son should start to eat a little more fat, Im a lineman, I dont know what your son plays but hes probobly extremely explosive and that will help him so much, espesially when he gets a couple more pounds on him, he will be able to just throw other players around like rag dolls......fun!

[Darkhorse]

No2 products blow. Where's the scientific evidence. Your coach doesn't always give good advice 100% of the time, does he?? Look at the bulk nutrition website, it has tons of feedback that it does absolutely nothing besides a little extra pump...

[sdf42450]

tell him to eat a fat PB&J washed down with milk. every night before bed.

[bard11]

I've heard that if you drink 20oz of milk after a workout that has the same effects of creatine without the negative side effects

[Eric3237]

Creatine is a natural substance produced by your body which is very effectively supplemented by a whole lot of people. Only creatine can have the effects of creatine.

What are the negative side effects you are speaking of?

[Eric3237]

Oh, I just read that there are tiny amounts of creatine found in milk. TINY amounts. Maybe that's where that comes from. It's found in meat too.

See the Creatine FAQ

Just thought I'd throw this thing in on the basics of creatine written by Hugo Rivera:

What Is Creatine Monohydrate?
Creatine is a metabolite produced in the body composed of three amino acids: l-methionine, l-arginine and l-glycine. Approximately 95% of the concentration is found in skeletal muscle in two forms: creatine phosphate and free chemically unbound creatine. The remaining 5% of the creatine stored in the body is found in the brain, heart and testes. The body of a sedentary person metabolizes and average of 2 grams of creatine a day. Bodybuilders due to their high intensity training metabolize higher amounts than that.

Creatine is generally found in red meats and to some extent in certain types of fish. However it would be hard to get the amount of creatine necessary for performance enhancement as even though 2.2lbs of red meat or tuna contain approximately between 4 to 5 grams of creatine, the compound is destroyed with cooking. Therefore, the best way to get creatine is by taking it in powder form.

How does it work?
While there is still much debate as to how creatine exerts its performance enhancing benefits and increases lean muscle mass, it is commonly accepted by now that most of its effects are due to two mechanisms:

Intra-cellular water retention.
Creatine's ability to enhance ATP production.

Basically, once the creatine is stored inside the muscle cell, it attracts the water surrounding such cell thereby enlarging it. This super hydrated state of the cell causes nice side effects such as the increase of strength and it also gives the appearance of a fuller muscle. Some studies suggest that a super hydrated cell may also trigger protein synthesis and minimize catabolism.

In addition, creatine provides for faster recovery in between sets and increased tolerance to high volume work. The way it does this is by enhancing the body's ability to produce Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the compound that your muscles use for fuel whenever they contract. ATP provides its energy by releasing one of its phosphate molecules (it has three phosphate molecules). After the release of such molecule, ATP becomes ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate) as it now only has two molecules. The problem is that after 10 seconds of contraction time the ATP fuel extinguishes and in order to support further muscle contraction glycolisis (glycogen burning) has to kick in. That is fine and well except for the fact that as a byproduct of that mechanism lactic acid is produced. Lactic acid is what causes the burning sensation at the end of the set. When too much lactic acid is produced, your muscle contractions stop, thereby forcing you to stop the set. However, by taking creatine, you can extend the 10 second limit of your ATP system as creatine provides ADP the phosphate molecule that it is missing (recall that creatine is stored in the muscle as creatine phosphate). By upgrading your body's ability of regenerating ATP, you can exercise longer and harder as you will minimize your lactic acid production and you will be able to take your sets to the next level and reduce fatigue levels. More volume, strength and recovery equals more muscle (assuming nutrition and rest are dialed in).

Creatine also seems to also allow for better pumps during a workout. This may be due to the fact that it possibly improves glycogen synthesis. In addition, studies have shown that creatine helps lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The mechanisms by which it exerts such benefits remain unknown.

Side Effects
The only adverse side effect that I have experienced in my over two years of continual use is the gastric upset at the beginning of use. After a couple of weeks or so my system adapted to absorbing the powder. Other than that, I have not observed any other side effects. Keep in mind however that the liver and kidneys have to process this compound. Therefore, I would not recommend it for someone with kidney problems or liver problems. Also, even if you are completely healthy ensure more than adequate hydration levels (bodyweight x 0.66 = total ounces of water to drink per day) and if you drink coffee, add an extra 16 ounces of water for every cup that you drink over the day.

A side effect that I have read happened but I am unable to quantify is the fact that your body's production of creatine shuts down. However, after cessation of use, according to all of the literature your body's production kicks in again. No adverse effects have been documented due to the creatine shutdown created by the body.

Conclusions
In my view the greatest advantage that creatine gives you (besides the cosmetic effect of bigger looking and fuller muscles) is that it enables you to handle more volume and recover faster in between sets by upgrading the body's capabilities to produce ATP, thereby decreasing the production of lactic acid. Therefore, in my opinion, people that will get the most benefit from creatine are those that follow a high volume, short rest in between sets type of workout. Remember that the more work that you can cram into an hour the more you'll grow (provided good cycling of volume and intensity as we have discussed in previous articles).

Again, like I have said in previous articles, even though I believe that creatine is a safe supplement, don't take my word for it if you have doubts. Do your own research and objectively review the data. If you feel creatine may be good for you, then just follow the recommendations laid out in this article and provided your overall training and nutrition strategy are good, I guarantee that you will see results from it.