Bodybuilding on a Budget

Wunderpus

Well-known Member
AnabolicLab.com Supporter
Bodybuilding on a Budget


The other day I was working out with a friend. His dilemma was budgetary restrictions and his overall lack of “gains” due to his financial restrictions. I asked him, well, “what’re you eating and what supplements are you taking?” You can imagine the cookie cutter- GNC-bullshit answer I received “Well, I am eating my whey protein 3 times a day, a frozen lean cuisine; I’m taking my branched chains, creatine, multi vitamin, digestive enzymes, intra workout shake blah blah blah.” Oh, is that so?


Let’s break down what you REALLY need to grow:

- Food

- A gym

- Rest

- And, if you’re so inclined, PEDs

All of these GNC/Hi Health BULLSHIT products drive me up the wall. If you were a natural Olympic qualified athlete, sure, maybe these supplements will give you that extra 1% you need to become a champion. However, for me, you and most other people, they’re largely worthless and eclipsed by the basics. For supplements, keep that shit BASIC:

- A good whey isolate (If, you’re more fortunate than myself and tolerate whey, that is)

- Creatine Monohydrate (fuck off with the newest creatine ethylesterpolyunsaturatedgofuckyourself)

- Fiber supplement. I recommend Metamucil sugar free, but there are plenty of other options. This shit is surprisingly expensive, but worth every penny. You will feel like complete dog shit if you’re blocked up, good luck eating and training if you are.

- Multi Vitamin (Optional, but I’ll tell you what, I think it actually goes a long way. Buy gel caps, not the pressed tabs. NOW makes a great one)

Don’t believe food is expensive, and you need to get crazy to grow. All you need is a Sams Club/Costco/some other bulk food warehouse, Trader Joes and a basic grocery for random things like seasonings. You can build a god like chiseled physique off of these very cheap basics:

- 93% lean ground beef

- Whole Eggs

- White Rice

- Sweet potatoes

- Chicken breast

- Veggies of choice, I find green beans and spinach to be the cheapest bang for your buck.

- Egg Whites

- Peanut Butter

- If it’s within your budget, Protein Pasta. It’s an excellent carb source, high-ish in protein and tastes downright delicious.

Put it all together:


Wake up

6 Whole Eggs w/ 1 cup white rice

1 Shake 50 grams of whey isolate & 1 TBSP all natty PB

1/2lb lean ground beef. Spice it up! A few options are the McCormick Low Sodium Taco Seasnoning, a mixture of A1 sauce & Sugar Free Ketchup (tastes like sloppy joe), marinara sauce or just some salt and pepper.

1 Shake 50 grams of whey isolate & 1 TBSP all natty PB

1 Chicken breast, your veggies and 1 sweet potato

1 fiber supplement

1 Shake time, again. Now, this is where I would use the egg whites sometimes if you can afford them. 1 carton is 50g of CLEAN protein and is an excellent change from powdered whey. I mix mine with 1 or 2 frozen bananas (mixed frozen berries are good too, but a lot of $$$), stevia, unsweetened almond milk (use real milk if you tolerate it) and some PB or almond butter. It’s fucking delicious, and it’ll really start packing in that protein. The shit’s pasteurized, so it’s safe. Man up, pussy.

1/2 lb of ground beef again. Let’s eat it rice or the protein pasta if it was in your budget.

4-6 hard boiled eggs. Make them yourself, don’t be a doofus and buy them premade. They taste WAY better homemade. You should know how to fucking cook for yourself anyway.

1 Chicken breast, your veggies and 1 sweet potato

1 Pre bed shake. It should have some fats in it, especially if you’re in an offseason and 50g of protein. Natty PB, banana and egg whites is my go to.




All right you penny pinching cheap fucks, what’re we looking at for a week of this UNBELIEVABLY simple plan (these are estimates based off of my recent shopping trips)?

72 whole eggs: $9.50

7lbs ground beef: $28

14 cartons of egg whites: $22.5

White Rice: So cheap in bulk, call it $5 a week

Sweet Potatoes: $15

Chicken Breast: $40

Veggies: $10

I’m at $130 bucks a week. If you can’t do that, quite frankly, you should consider a new hobby. My gut instinct tells me you're paying more for all your fancy supplements and shitty anabolics than you are for your food, and you've got it all wrong, trust me.

Protein will vary a ton. Seems like $35 bucks or so a tub right now, so we’ll exclude that from the total.


For a gym, you don't need this fancy ass country club bullshit, unless you want to get a reach around by some 60 year old dude in the sauna. If you do, go for it. If not, you shouldn't be spending more than $35 a month, give or take. I've found most of the time the more you spend, the lamer the gym in terms of motivation and knowledge within the gym. You're there to work and to become a savage, not to meet your future ex wife or have some 14 y/o kid ask you about how you got so huge.

Drugs are simple. Don't get lured in by all the fancy shit like primo, anavar and GH. Those things have their places, and truly are great. However, bang for your buck stick to test, deca, tren, dbol, winstrol and drol. That's all you need, really, to become a freak. Don't use them all together you assholes, be smart with your drug stacks and have a goal in mind. Learn about drug synergies, SHBG, become a fucking expert not an experiment. NEVER, I repeat god dammit, NEVER go cheap on your PCT or ancillaries, this is PHARMA only, no UGL or research chems EVER. Don't waste your money on Chinese GH or peptides, it's just NOT going to give you the most bang for your hard earned dollar, I promise.

Wanna get stupid huge? Take test, deca and dbol. Eat the diet above. Sleep 8 hours a night and train like a fucking savage 5-6 days a week. I promise it will work.

There you go. Laid it out for you. No longer can you use the excuse of “I can’t afford it!” or “I don’t know what to eat?!” Now, stop looking for your gains like Helen Keller at a fucking Easter egg hunt and put on some mass.




Let's hear your thoughts, as I'm sick of reading/hearing about people who are "hard gainers" or just "can't do it bro." Yes, yes you fucking can.
 
Ive always thought of it as a food thing , getting huge . Heavy weightlifting and AAS too , but massive amounts of protein foods everyday is how its done . I go thru different bodyweights thru-out the year , usually as the season changes my mood changes too .

I go as low as 175 up to 205 on average . Im eating heavy now (202lbs) and its showing on the paper tape and the weight rack...
 
Ive always thought it was a food thing , getting huge . Heavy weightlifting and AAS too , but massive amounts of protein foods everyday is how its done . I go thru different bodyweights thru-out the year , usually as the season changes my mood changes too .

I go as low as 175 up to 205 on average . Im eating heavy now (202lbs) and its showing on the paper tape and the weight rack...
OGH, you and I both know it's SO much simpler than people make it out to be. In large, bodybuilders are mostly societal rejects and retards.... They're not fucking Ph.D. rocket scientists... We go in, lift heavy shit with some degree of intent, eat till it hurts and sleep like babies... It's simple, it really is. People over complicate the fuck out of it, largely due to - in my opinion - all these "gurus" telling people how they offer the "tools you need to become successful." Well, fuck that. Eat and lift heavy.

This is not intended for the soon-to-be pro or mad scientist, this is for the everyday bro who wants to get big as fuck and impress his loser buddies at their high school reunion.
 
I hardly ever bother with any other supps besides whey protien, creature creatine, an lil dash of aas lol. Your so right @Wunderpus an @oregon .....Everyone seems to get caught up in the hype that they jus have to have all these supps in order to grow lean mass. Its such bullshit lol. All you need is whole food, the gym, an to rest properly. Some make it way more difficult than it should be lol.
 
Bodybuilding on a Budget


The other day I was working out with a friend. His dilemma was budgetary restrictions and his overall lack of “gains” due to his financial restrictions. I asked him, well, “what’re you eating and what supplements are you taking?” You can imagine the cookie cutter- GNC-bullshit answer I received “Well, I am eating my whey protein 3 times a day, a frozen lean cuisine; I’m taking my branched chains, creatine, multi vitamin, digestive enzymes, intra workout shake blah blah blah.” Oh, is that so?


Let’s break down what you REALLY need to grow:

- Food

- A gym

- Rest

- And, if you’re so inclined, PEDs

All of these GNC/Hi Health BULLSHIT products drive me up the wall. If you were a natural Olympic qualified athlete, sure, maybe these supplements will give you that extra 1% you need to become a champion. However, for me, you and most other people, they’re largely worthless and eclipsed by the basics. For supplements, keep that shit BASIC:

- A good whey isolate (If, you’re more fortunate than myself and tolerate whey, that is)

- Creatine Monohydrate (fuck off with the newest creatine ethylesterpolyunsaturatedgofuckyourself)

- Fiber supplement. I recommend Metamucil sugar free, but there are plenty of other options. This shit is surprisingly expensive, but worth every penny. You will feel like complete dog shit if you’re blocked up, good luck eating and training if you are.

- Multi Vitamin (Optional, but I’ll tell you what, I think it actually goes a long way. Buy gel caps, not the pressed tabs. NOW makes a great one)

Don’t believe food is expensive, and you need to get crazy to grow. All you need is a Sams Club/Costco/some other bulk food warehouse, Trader Joes and a basic grocery for random things like seasonings. You can build a god like chiseled physique off of these very cheap basics:

- 93% lean ground beef

- Whole Eggs

- White Rice

- Sweet potatoes

- Chicken breast

- Veggies of choice, I find green beans and spinach to be the cheapest bang for your buck.

- Egg Whites

- Peanut Butter

- If it’s within your budget, Protein Pasta. It’s an excellent carb source, high-ish in protein and tastes downright delicious.

Put it all together:


Wake up

6 Whole Eggs w/ 1 cup white rice

1 Shake 50 grams of whey isolate & 1 TBSP all natty PB

1/2lb lean ground beef. Spice it up! A few options are the McCormick Low Sodium Taco Seasnoning, a mixture of A1 sauce & Sugar Free Ketchup (tastes like sloppy joe), marinara sauce or just some salt and pepper.

1 Shake 50 grams of whey isolate & 1 TBSP all natty PB

1 Chicken breast, your veggies and 1 sweet potato

1 fiber supplement

1 Shake time, again. Now, this is where I would use the egg whites sometimes if you can afford them. 1 carton is 50g of CLEAN protein and is an excellent change from powdered whey. I mix mine with 1 or 2 frozen bananas (mixed frozen berries are good too, but a lot of $$$), stevia, unsweetened almond milk (use real milk if you tolerate it) and some PB or almond butter. It’s fucking delicious, and it’ll really start packing in that protein. The shit’s pasteurized, so it’s safe. Man up, pussy.

1/2 lb of ground beef again. Let’s eat it rice or the protein pasta if it was in your budget.

4-6 hard boiled eggs. Make them yourself, don’t be a doofus and buy them premade. They taste WAY better homemade. You should know how to fucking cook for yourself anyway.

1 Chicken breast, your veggies and 1 sweet potato

1 Pre bed shake. It should have some fats in it, especially if you’re in an offseason and 50g of protein. Natty PB, banana and egg whites is my go to.




All right you penny pinching cheap fucks, what’re we looking at for a week of this UNBELIEVABLY simple plan (these are estimates based off of my recent shopping trips)?

72 whole eggs: $9.50

7lbs ground beef: $28

14 cartons of egg whites: $22.5

White Rice: So cheap in bulk, call it $5 a week

Sweet Potatoes: $15

Chicken Breast: $40

Veggies: $10

I’m at $130 bucks a week. If you can’t do that, quite frankly, you should consider a new hobby. My gut instinct tells me you're paying more for all your fancy supplements and shitty anabolics than you are for your food, and you've got it all wrong, trust me.

Protein will vary a ton. Seems like $35 bucks or so a tub right now, so we’ll exclude that from the total.


For a gym, you don't need this fancy ass country club bullshit, unless you want to get a reach around by some 60 year old dude in the sauna. If you do, go for it. If not, you shouldn't be spending more than $35 a month, give or take. I've found most of the time the more you spend, the lamer the gym in terms of motivation and knowledge within the gym. You're there to work and to become a savage, not to meet your future ex wife or have some 14 y/o kid ask you about how you got so huge.

Drugs are simple. Don't get lured in by all the fancy shit like primo, anavar and GH. Those things have their places, and truly are great. However, bang for your buck stick to test, deca, tren, dbol, winstrol and drol. That's all you need, really, to become a freak. Don't use them all together you assholes, be smart with your drug stacks and have a goal in mind. Learn about drug synergies, SHBG, become a fucking expert not an experiment. NEVER, I repeat god dammit, NEVER go cheap on your PCT or ancillaries, this is PHARMA only, no UGL or research chems EVER. Don't waste your money on Chinese GH or peptides, it's just NOT going to give you the most bang for your hard earned dollar, I promise.

Wanna get stupid huge? Take test, deca and dbol. Eat the diet above. Sleep 8 hours a night and train like a fucking savage 5-6 days a week. I promise it will work.

There you go. Laid it out for you. No longer can you use the excuse of “I can’t afford it!” or “I don’t know what to eat?!” Now, stop looking for your gains like Helen Keller at a fucking Easter egg hunt and put on some mass.




Let's hear your thoughts, as I'm sick of reading/hearing about people who are "hard gainers" or just "can't do it bro." Yes, yes you fucking can.
Excellent write up WP. I hope a bunch of noods will come along an read this so they dont get it in their head that all they need to do is take supps an the latest GNC bullshit out on the market to grow smfdh. All you really need is FOOD GYM REST in that order lol
 
Everyone asks how I went from 130 to 230. Simple answer...food. I went from 2.5k cals a day to 6k a day. And that eas before AAS (well I got up to 215 - 220). Then people complain that they "can't" eat that much.
"It's impossible bro"

As WE all know, not only is it possible, it's not that hard. But everyone wants to use excuses why they cant get what they want rather than working to get it.
 
Everyone asks how I went from 130 to 230. Simple answer...food. I went from 2.5k cals a day to 6k a day. And that eas before AAS (well I got up to 215 - 220). Then people complain that they "can't" eat that much.
"It's impossible bro"

As WE all know, not only is it possible, it's not that hard. But everyone wants to use excuses why they cant get what they want rather than working to get it.
Preach that shit Jay. After I get to talking with sone guys at the gym they are like....how do you eat 6square meals a day. Well its easy once you get use to it. Nothin is impossible if u set your mind to it. Alot of gym goers want to get an be big but when it comes down to it they are all abou making excuses like.....oh I jus cant eat that much or I dont have enough time to train.....If you want something you have to go an get it an stop blaming other shit on it cuz your to weak minded to bring your dreams to reality. ....Rant over bahahaha
 
Awsome thread @Wunderpus. Its funny you talk about wasting money on GNC supps, because of some legal issues i had alot less funds to buy protein powder and creatinine all that stuff. I just bought more FOOD instead i didnt shrink i actually put on 6 pounds. So i totally agree with you fellas food is defenitly 1
 
Bodybuilding on a Budget


The other day I was working out with a friend. His dilemma was budgetary restrictions and his overall lack of “gains” due to his financial restrictions. I asked him, well, “what’re you eating and what supplements are you taking?” You can imagine the cookie cutter- GNC-bullshit answer I received “Well, I am eating my whey protein 3 times a day, a frozen lean cuisine; I’m taking my branched chains, creatine, multi vitamin, digestive enzymes, intra workout shake blah blah blah.” Oh, is that so?


Let’s break down what you REALLY need to grow:

- Food

- A gym

- Rest

- And, if you’re so inclined, PEDs

All of these GNC/Hi Health BULLSHIT products drive me up the wall. If you were a natural Olympic qualified athlete, sure, maybe these supplements will give you that extra 1% you need to become a champion. However, for me, you and most other people, they’re largely worthless and eclipsed by the basics. For supplements, keep that shit BASIC:

- A good whey isolate (If, you’re more fortunate than myself and tolerate whey, that is)

- Creatine Monohydrate (fuck off with the newest creatine ethylesterpolyunsaturatedgofuckyourself)

- Fiber supplement. I recommend Metamucil sugar free, but there are plenty of other options. This shit is surprisingly expensive, but worth every penny. You will feel like complete dog shit if you’re blocked up, good luck eating and training if you are.

- Multi Vitamin (Optional, but I’ll tell you what, I think it actually goes a long way. Buy gel caps, not the pressed tabs. NOW makes a great one)

Don’t believe food is expensive, and you need to get crazy to grow. All you need is a Sams Club/Costco/some other bulk food warehouse, Trader Joes and a basic grocery for random things like seasonings. You can build a god like chiseled physique off of these very cheap basics:

- 93% lean ground beef

- Whole Eggs

- White Rice

- Sweet potatoes

- Chicken breast

- Veggies of choice, I find green beans and spinach to be the cheapest bang for your buck.

- Egg Whites

- Peanut Butter

- If it’s within your budget, Protein Pasta. It’s an excellent carb source, high-ish in protein and tastes downright delicious.

Put it all together:


Wake up

6 Whole Eggs w/ 1 cup white rice

1 Shake 50 grams of whey isolate & 1 TBSP all natty PB

1/2lb lean ground beef. Spice it up! A few options are the McCormick Low Sodium Taco Seasnoning, a mixture of A1 sauce & Sugar Free Ketchup (tastes like sloppy joe), marinara sauce or just some salt and pepper.

1 Shake 50 grams of whey isolate & 1 TBSP all natty PB

1 Chicken breast, your veggies and 1 sweet potato

1 fiber supplement

1 Shake time, again. Now, this is where I would use the egg whites sometimes if you can afford them. 1 carton is 50g of CLEAN protein and is an excellent change from powdered whey. I mix mine with 1 or 2 frozen bananas (mixed frozen berries are good too, but a lot of $$$), stevia, unsweetened almond milk (use real milk if you tolerate it) and some PB or almond butter. It’s fucking delicious, and it’ll really start packing in that protein. The shit’s pasteurized, so it’s safe. Man up, pussy.

1/2 lb of ground beef again. Let’s eat it rice or the protein pasta if it was in your budget.

4-6 hard boiled eggs. Make them yourself, don’t be a doofus and buy them premade. They taste WAY better homemade. You should know how to fucking cook for yourself anyway.

1 Chicken breast, your veggies and 1 sweet potato

1 Pre bed shake. It should have some fats in it, especially if you’re in an offseason and 50g of protein. Natty PB, banana and egg whites is my go to.




All right you penny pinching cheap fucks, what’re we looking at for a week of this UNBELIEVABLY simple plan (these are estimates based off of my recent shopping trips)?

72 whole eggs: $9.50

7lbs ground beef: $28

14 cartons of egg whites: $22.5

White Rice: So cheap in bulk, call it $5 a week

Sweet Potatoes: $15

Chicken Breast: $40

Veggies: $10

I’m at $130 bucks a week. If you can’t do that, quite frankly, you should consider a new hobby. My gut instinct tells me you're paying more for all your fancy supplements and shitty anabolics than you are for your food, and you've got it all wrong, trust me.

Protein will vary a ton. Seems like $35 bucks or so a tub right now, so we’ll exclude that from the total.


For a gym, you don't need this fancy ass country club bullshit, unless you want to get a reach around by some 60 year old dude in the sauna. If you do, go for it. If not, you shouldn't be spending more than $35 a month, give or take. I've found most of the time the more you spend, the lamer the gym in terms of motivation and knowledge within the gym. You're there to work and to become a savage, not to meet your future ex wife or have some 14 y/o kid ask you about how you got so huge.

Drugs are simple. Don't get lured in by all the fancy shit like primo, anavar and GH. Those things have their places, and truly are great. However, bang for your buck stick to test, deca, tren, dbol, winstrol and drol. That's all you need, really, to become a freak. Don't use them all together you assholes, be smart with your drug stacks and have a goal in mind. Learn about drug synergies, SHBG, become a fucking expert not an experiment. NEVER, I repeat god dammit, NEVER go cheap on your PCT or ancillaries, this is PHARMA only, no UGL or research chems EVER. Don't waste your money on Chinese GH or peptides, it's just NOT going to give you the most bang for your hard earned dollar, I promise.

Wanna get stupid huge? Take test, deca and dbol. Eat the diet above. Sleep 8 hours a night and train like a fucking savage 5-6 days a week. I promise it will work.

There you go. Laid it out for you. No longer can you use the excuse of “I can’t afford it!” or “I don’t know what to eat?!” Now, stop looking for your gains like Helen Keller at a fucking Easter egg hunt and put on some mass.




Let's hear your thoughts, as I'm sick of reading/hearing about people who are "hard gainers" or just "can't do it bro." Yes, yes you fucking can.
Nice timing on this post, man. Things are a bit tight for my family this year... I've just been googling for cheap protein sources... As I'm trying to get 200-250g per day in.
Doesn't look the easiest... But between what you've already said and the other suggestions which I am sure will be forthcoming in here... I think I'll be on to a winner.
 
Nice timing on this post, man. Things are a bit tight for my family this year... I've just been googling for cheap protein sources... As I'm trying to get 200-250g per day in.
Doesn't look the easiest... But between what you've already said and the other suggestions which I am sure will be forthcoming in here... I think I'll be on to a winner.

Find a butcher or grocery store where you can by several pounds of cow heart. Trust me on this one. Best bang for the buck red meat when money is tight.
 
Cheers @weighted chinup I've got a great family butcher just 2 minutes walk away... And I'm bang up for eating offal. Any other suggestions along those lines? Recipes, cooking tips?
 
I have a friend back in florida that always tells me a out all the money he spends at gnc. Different supps, weight gain stuff, test boosters, blah blah blah. He always bitches that he isnt putting on weight and now wants to try aas, asked me if i knew anything about it i told him no, i keep telling him he just needs to eat more. He is tall and fairly skinny it should be easy for him to put on weight but he wont listen, just like you said he always takes about being a hard gainer.
 
@weighted chinup I have zero experience with beef heart, so I can't really comment. However, I don't doubt it's a great source.

For me, the tried and true has always been 93% ground beef. It's easy to find, cheap and bulk and versatile as shit!

@insaiyan93 yep! These dummies spend their pay checks on the new "Jay Cutler Ronnie Coleman Bukkake Pre-Intra-Insulin-Oxidize 250" and not on food.
 
Nice timing on this post, man. Things are a bit tight for my family this year... I've just been googling for cheap protein sources... As I'm trying to get 200-250g per day in.
Doesn't look the easiest... But between what you've already said and the other suggestions which I am sure will be forthcoming in here... I think I'll be on to a winner.
I hope it helps! This is a guideline, if you will. However, if you follow it exactly, it will work, I promise. The only variables I cannot help you with are the effort levels you choose to put out in the gym, and your rest. Beyond that, I can literally lead a horse to water here.... But I can't force you to drink it.
 
Oh, I'm trying pretty fucking hard in the gym... I've hit 3 PBs across 2 lifts in the last fortnight, too.
I need to keep the calories down and the protein up, though... Got an awful lot of fat to lose. Awful lot.
 
If anyone is interested , and I'm sure a lot of us have seen them, check out animal's video series "big on a budget" . They give pros 50-100 dollars and they go in the store and buy a weeks worth of food. It's a good watch when u have a few mins
.

The other ones I believe are huge on a hundred. I'm a big Frank McGrath fan so I'll post his.
 
In case you were wondering, yes I follow this more or less daily. Right now is 1 cup of rice, 1/2lb of ground beef w/ taco seasoning and sriracha

View attachment 48582


Get that pic over to the foodie thread Wunderpus !!o_O lol

Just like WC said , get cheap ground beef on sale and boil it for 10 minutes or so , drain well . Season or hit it with some soy sauce and just eat it ! Now you got about the same fat content as steak , at 1/3 the price .....
 
Back
Top