Wow this thread exploded yesterday while I was gone, awesome! Just chiming in that free weights are the way to go. Start with the lowest weight you have (or just the bar) at first so you can make sure your form is right and then slowly increase by 5 pounds or so every workout (1 day on 2 off or one on one off rotations). If it's too easy then bump it up more but concentrate on form and not on what you're actually lifting.
Before I was doing all free weights and using the machines I could Leg Press 400x5x5 but that didn't translate to Squat power at all and I haven't even hit back up to 200 yet. Same for the Overhead Press/Press machines compared to Bench Press. I could do 150x5x5 on the Press machine but free weight with a spotter I am just now up to 90x5x5.
@Sayjo and others concerning Protein Powder. You need to make sure it's Whey or Casein sourced protein or it's true that it's a waste of money. Most protein powder that doesn't list the source is just dehydrated milk. There is no difference between drinking a Whey protein shake and eating 4 ounces of chicken other than convenience.
I can bake my protein into a muffin and eat it on the way to work, mix it in a shake and drink it in 2 minutes when I am in a rush or I can eat 4 ounces of chicken breast or a few eggs.
$25-$35 for two pound containers isn't really that horrible of a price to me when it makes convenient meals for two people for two weeks, that's under $2 a day.
Plus it's nice to have an "Orange Juice" flavored protein powder to drink a glass of Orange Juice that doesn't contain an entire jar of sugar. Spinach and Broccoli disappear into shakes and it's great to get the veggies in without tasting them. It's a lot easier and faster to drink a shake with a cup of broccoli than it is to eat! :D
They have delicious flavors: http://www.netrition.com/syntrax_nectar_page.html
And I crap great, thanks! I get 45-60 grams of fiber a day just from black beans and assorted vegetables and drink probably 128+ ounces of water a day.
@BigZombieDude: I do HIIT/Tabata sprints on my workout days first thing in the morning (sprint full speed for 30s, jog for 30s - until failure). My workouts are in the late afternoon/evenings.
To anyone this interests I suggest this thread: Alfalfa's Nutrition/Rest/Supplement Beginner Guide ver. 2.0, http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?
threadID=3188387This guy knows his shit.