So far, after 20 years of competitive rowing and an office job, I've found the best advice for me is simply don't get injured, remain active (get out!), and cook more. All these fads might work (IF, keto, crossfit), but I think they mostly answer other questions than fitness or health. People want to feel like they are getting results fast... That is rarely sustainable in my experience and observation.
How to Build Muscle
51–60 of 202 posts
Re: How to Build Muscle
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
> However, when it comes to the actual increase in the number of muscle cells, this process is much more difficult to launch. It's still controversial whether creating new muscle cells (hyperplasia) is possible at all , as distinct from expanding the existing cells (hypertrophy). > The former is regulated by the psyche and can be described as the hormone of successfully overcoming difficulties and becoming a winner A…
Here is a fact: If you do not have a proper hormonal background, you will not grow. I do not care what you eat, what you do to train, etc. Take a 6 year old girl, give her best workout routine, best nutrition, etc. And take a 16 year old man-youth. I guarantee you that he will grow muscle even if he eats mulch all day. Why? Hormonal background. > Actually, testosterone in males is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituit…
I can repurpose your argument to point out that it is unnecessarily reductive.
Two subjects, one eats grass, one eats meat. Who grows more?
Two subjects, one trains, one doesn't train. Who grows more?
Two subjects, one is hormonally-responsive, one isn't. Who grows more?
Two subjects, one is 8, one is 88. Who grows more?
Two subjects, one starts with very many myofibrils, one doesn't. Who grows more?
Two subjects, one is tall, the other is short. Who grows more?
etc etc
Re: How to Build Muscle
#53Though I'm not taking it as ultimate truth, I'm glad this article exists. Most foobar-advice sites just copy-paste some material without bothering to note readers that it is not backed by anything except similar googled bs. Btw, is anyone aware of "engineer's guide to xyz" aggregator?
After reading it, all came down to "if you want to lose some fat, pay some bucks or share the link with 15 people" formula.
Subtleties are always there at the end.
Re: How to Build Muscle
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right, this is the ol' sarcoplasma volume vs myofibril density debate. It's also that the modern perception of the appearance of fitness is not well correlated with functionality - hence the prizing of the former over the latter.
Absolutely. To continue this line of thought I would even say that most "muscles" of the so-called body builders are to a large extent swellings of lymphatic system and interstitial space. When one eats so much protein, the body does not know what to do with it and simply stores it as junk everywhere it deems safe (least dangerous). Where is the least dangerous? Well, it is not the brain, not the heart, not the organ…
But if their body only stores protein as a junk and muscles don't have a real use in "so-called bodybuilders" as you say, why are bodybuilders able to lift insanely heavy weights and most of them successfully compete in powerlifting events setting records?
Re: How to Build Muscle
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
definitely focus on stretching before work out. I have seen so many of my friends screw up their shoulder because they didn't focus on stretching.
Stretching cold muscles will do nothing at best or injure you at worst - stretch after your workout. Warmup with light exercises first. E.g. if you are planning barbell squats, start with air squats.
"Another warmup type that provides no performance benefit is doing a light starting set before lifting your normal weights (study). "
This advice worries me. You do not warm up to increase performance in each session, you warm up so that you can keep doing sessions (hint: you can't work out when you're injured).
Re: How to Build Muscle
#56So far, after 20 years of competitive rowing and an office job, I've found the best advice for me is simply don't get injured, remain active (get out!), and cook more. All these fads might work (IF, keto, crossfit), but I think they mostly answer other questions than fitness or health. People want to feel like they are getting results fast... That is rarely sustainable in my experience and observation.
keto is the best way to lose weight, period. You lose weight while not even trying ... it really is the miracle diet, for most people anyway. Gives great mental energy as well. (yeah, sounds like bullshit, but turns out to be true for lots of people)
Re: How to Build Muscle
#57Quite timely :-) .. Any training videos / program that anyone would recommend? There are ton out there and would like to get a few recommendations (paid ones too)
Re: How to Build Muscle
#58I'd like to hear some good advice on how to get rid of belly fat. Of course, I could eat less, but then I'd be in constant need of energy (as I do work out a lot, so I think I'd lose muscles if I ate less, which would be bad of course). So, how do I lose that belly fat while maintaining muscles?
Belly vs. non-belly fat is something to do with hormones and cytokines that isn't really understood yet (probably also related to why some people develop metabolic syndrome at relatively normal weight/fat levels), so until that mystery is resolved "get rid of belly fat" is synonymous with "get rid of fat". Steroids notwithstanding, the only specific thing I've heard of to fight muscle catabolism under a calorie deficit is to maintain a strength training regimen while having a significant intake of branched chain amino acids [1], and I don't know how reliable that approach actually is.
[1] https://examine.com/supplements/Branched+Chain+Amino+Acids/
Re: How to Build Muscle
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right, this is the ol' sarcoplasma volume vs myofibril density debate. It's also that the modern perception of the appearance of fitness is not well correlated with functionality - hence the prizing of the former over the latter.
Absolutely. To continue this line of thought I would even say that most "muscles" of the so-called body builders are to a large extent swellings of lymphatic system and interstitial space. When one eats so much protein, the body does not know what to do with it and simply stores it as junk everywhere it deems safe (least dangerous). Where is the least dangerous? Well, it is not the brain, not the heart, not the organ…
This is not correct at all.
Some surplus protein is converted to sugars (glyconeogenesis), from there it has a good shot at being converted into triglycerides and stored as fat.
If it was as simple as raw physical storage, bodybuilding would be dominated by eating-contest winners.
Re: How to Build Muscle
#60Author here. More than happy to spend the next few hours answering any questions if the admins find that appropriate. I will do my best to cite evidence/research for my responses.
I've seen some studies that say the number of reps you do doesn't matter. Can you comment on this? Here's a link to a study: http://jap.physiology.org/content/early/2016/05/09/japplphys... Also, I've never heard of muscles shrinking due to being overworked. Can you elaborate on how this happens?
> I've seen some studies that say the number of reps you do doesn't matter.
For hypertrophy, past a minimal amount of stress, it increasingly seems that it doesn't matter[0].
For strength it matters.