I recently joined a gym and go there quite a lot, 4/5 times a week. Im pretty atheltic and am training with weights and cardio machines, mainly to get fit for a basketball tournament in september.
Im not sure what type of food I should be eating. Some of my friends insist that it is good to get fat first then get muscels! which i think is just bollucks. Someone i know takes protien powder and things like that.
I have heard lots of furits/veg and donno what else.
If you wanna get big (in terms of putting on muscle), you need to eat a lot of protein after doing workouts with heavy weights (6-8 rep sets). Eat some complex carbs a couple of hours before you work out, pasta/brown rice etc. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Take it easy on the sugar/fat if you want to keep fat levels down.
I think I used to do 3 sets generally speaking, but this was a couple of years ago, when I got as big as I wanted to be I stopped and haven't done much resistance since, probably best to ask around, it's vital to vary your workouts slightly every fortnight though, so your body doesn't get used to the same weights/reps etc. and results start to plateau.
I use the smith machine...it's like having someone spot for you...So ya can lift the heavy stuff n still work to failure on your own.. Anyway.. I eat tons of carb's, and ton's of protien, with fruit n veg :P Try Cashu nut's, good amount of protien n carb's..jus make sure ya get the unsalted ones... Only bad thing I consume, is Coca Cola...
For me... Scrambled egg's for breakfast... Cashu nuts as morning snack.... Pasta Tuna/Chicken or Ravioli for lunch Some fruit Grapes/Apples ect... Then main meal...which is ussually some meat(beef/chicken/lamb ect) Mash n Veg... If I'm going to gym I'll have a protein shake...
Just be careful that you get enough calories in. I had really bad 'crashes' a couple of times because I wasn't eating enough while I was going to the gym. You need to get a balance, and make sure that your body is getting all of the vitamins and minerals it needs.
Its particularly hard trying to keep up the eating when you're at college where its mainly junk food on sale. Sucks coz i hate the puny salads they do as well, i always end up buying two and even then i'm hungry as hell when I get home. Always take a massive load of food with you (including protein shakes etc.) and just munch whenever you can. consistent and small meals dude!