airdelta2 said:
Supplements can help...if you can't find time to cook enough/carry food with you: a weight gainer supplement (with low sugar/fat) can definitely help you get your calories in while bulking.
A preworkout helps me get psyched for the gym but you have to stop taking it every 5 weeks for a week or two.
If you are brand new you can gain upwards of 13-15lbs of lean muscle in 8 months of bulking. That's solid muscle, not taking into consideration glycogen/water/fat.
Weight gainers are expensive. If you have the money, giv'er. I personally prefer a shake of homogenized milk, almond butter, whey protein, with blueberries (or any other fruit) thrown in for flavor. The shake I usually have for breakfast is 930cal and 80g of protein. That's a good chunk of my daily goals right there. As someone mentioned earlier, your blender is your friend.
I personally don't usually recommend pre-workout energy/NO-booster supplements for a couple of reasons. First, NO-boosters have been shown to be good for basically nothing except quickly transferring money from your pocket to the bank accounts of supplement companies. There are some studies showing minor advantages, but they are within the range of being statistically insignificant and not worth the money. In addition to expense (usually $1-4/dose), my primary reason to not recommend these products is because they are just not that good for you. While they are not directly physically addicting, the vast majority of them include either a large dose of caffeine or 1,3-Dimethylamylamine, which can eventually, with frequent usage, create dependencies. Both of these are CNS stimulants, and when you get used to relying on them, you have to eventually keep upping the dose, and will eventually get to the point where you will get withdrawal symptoms if you stop. Trust me, this is not fun. Also, if you come to rely on these supplements, you will begin to feel sluggish any time you are not on them and may begin taking them on a regular basis. Sure some people are addicted to coffee, but there's a Tim's on every corner and it's a socially acceptable addiction. People will start to look at you funny if you're jonesing to find a Popeye's or a GNC every couple of weeks. Be aware that 1,3-dimethylamylamine is illegal in some countries, and is essentially an amphetamine analogue. Every person reacts differently to it, so if you purchase anything containing it, I recommend starting with half of the suggested minimum dose. If you take too much, you will most likely be extremely jittery and unable to focus for hours. It feels like you are unable to focus on anything because you are too busy focusing on everything. As one person I know put it, that stuff will rip the top your head off, so be careful with it. Some people also find that it will mess with their internal clock, and are unable to sleep within 6 to 12 or even 16 hours of taking a dose. Use at your own risk, and your mileage may vary of course. I do keep a small tub of one of the major brands at home, but I use it rarely, at most a couple of times per year when I know am going to have a very long day ie: triple back to back shifts or something similar. If you are going to take one of these supplements, make sure you take at a minimum one week off per every 4, with no more than 8 weeks before a break. Two week breaks every four are ideal. This minimizes your dependency risk by slowing your body's adaptation to the drug, and also slows the hit to your wallet.
If you are going to get supplements, I personally recommend bodybuilding.com. They are way cheaper than local brick and mortar stores (over 50% savings on a lot of things), and have reasonable shipping costs. One bonus for us Canadians is that the shipping cost includes all taxes and duty required by the government, so you don't get a customs bill when your package arrives, which takes about 2 weeks to the west coast - every package I have ordered has arrived in 9 business days to BC. I am in no way affiliated with bodybuilding.com or any other supplement supplier/company, I am just giving my personal recommendation. I haven't used any other company out there, but I did a bunch of my own research before placing my first order. I recommend you do the same.
0.5lb/week of pure muscular growth is realistic and sustainable for pretty much anyone up to their genetic potential. More is possible, but is outside the scope of this post.