The only thing more consistent than the simplicity of basic weight training is the consistency that people are duped into thinking there are tricks.
A key observation that applies to most things in life.
How to Build Muscle
151–160 of 202 posts
Re: How to Build Muscle
#152I'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?
lol, if only it was that simple. Both ends of the spectrum are easy to achieve. Putting body in catabolic state (reduce calories, increase activity, go Keto etc.) will get rid of fat and it will also reduce the "bulkiness" of the muscles (water, glycogen etc.). Put body in anabolic state (strength training, more calories/macros) and it will grow (and subsequently more fat, glycogen and water). Of course, your body and genetics will try to fight hard to maintain equilibrium. But with enough persistence, it can be broken through (up to an extent). Lyle McDonald has some good writings on this.
There are some middle ways, that people have come up with. But all these require extreme dedication, planning and sacrifices.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ketogains https://www.reddit.com/r/leangains
Re: How to Build Muscle
#153LOL. Just LOL. I hate to be negative. But look at author. Look at his pictures. He's got no clue what it really takes or what he is taking about. Not bad advice, but not great. I've spent 20 years building my physique ( http://YouTube.com/simpleprogrammer ) and I can tell you that no one has it "figured out." I have learned one thing for sure though. Never trust someone who doesn't look much better than you do.
The biggest problem is when people using anabolic steroids give advise without disclaiming that they're not natural. The two simply do not go together. Naturals do not train the same as steroid users. They cannot recover as fast. They cannot do such high volume work. They need to get stronger to get bigger. Most of the bro science revolves around some brosplit that hits 1 body part once a week and at some ridiculous…
Completely agree. My volume is high but I do upper body x 2 per week and lower x 1. And that works just fine. I run 40 miles a week though as well.
Re: How to Build Muscle
#154This is good advice but I would caution engineers who sit at their desk all day. Don't just lift heavy weight without spending almost an equal amount of time on core strength and flexibility.
Agreed - core strength is critical especially for exercises like deadlifts & squats. A strong core will help with stabilization when lifting heavier weights and will reduce your odds of injury.
Re: How to Build Muscle
#155on your first day at the gym, do the exersises without any weigt on, then on second day do them with half the weigt, or you will be so sore you dont want to go back. Your body will adapt quickly thoug, after ten sessions it will start to feel nice.
I think this is really important. Nothing can destroy the excitement of starting a new life regime than feeling broken and sore after your first day.
Re: How to Build Muscle
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
The wiki does seem to be a focused guide, unless I'm missing something.
Am I missing something? The Getting Started area splits into 4 exercise sections immediately and you're left to your own devices. My first attempt at serious exercise was from this very page and I ended up doing stronglights for a while, which was OK...
That's a fair complaint I guess. It seems to narrow things down a bit but maybe not enough.
Re: How to Build Muscle
#157The impression I got is that men like the thin type more than the fit type. And, even then, they care about the face more than they care about the body. The motivation to exercise for that kind of reason is just not there for women, in my opinion. Agreed with his thoughts on male physique attractiveness, though, as well as the section about steroids. Overall, seems like a nice guide, and I appreciate someone, for one…
> "The impression I got is that men like the thin type more than the fit type."
I know it's a cliché, but it's also true... men have different preferences, just like women have different preferences. However, if we're looking at average preferences across the world, I'd say men overall do prefer fitness over thinness (assuming it's toned fitness instead of a bodybuilder physique).
I suspect the idea that men value thinness above fitness may in part come from the fashion industry, where height and thinness are definitely prized highly, but in my opinion that's mostly because they make it easier on fashion designers (long flowing lines, less need to tailor the clothes to the body shape of the model).
> "And, even then, they care about the face more than they care about the body."
I would say this is true, but again I can only speak for myself. In my personal opinion a woman with an attractive face is attractive almost regardless of their body shape.
> "The motivation to exercise for that kind of reason is just not there for women, in my opinion."
Sure, the motives are different. From what you've said, it sounds like you're already committed to working out, so this isn't something that applies to you, but what I want to make it clear to anyone reading this is... do it for yourself. None of what I've just said about body preferences matters, feeling healthy is better than just looking good. If it gives you a confidence boost too, great. I guess what I'm saying is don't let a feeling of 'not being good enough' drive you, instead enjoy the results you get out of what you put in.
Re: How to Build Muscle
#158Author 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?
When you look at one of the figures in the linked paper, a 1RM test is performed every 3 weeks. So some heavy lifting with a reduced rep range is done. Also the study uses young men who have been strength training at least 2 years, averaging around 4 years. Exercises were mostly machine guided except the bench press:
"inclined leg press with seated row (superset 1), barbell bench press with cable hamstring curl (superset 2) and front planks (set 3) and Tuesday/Friday: machine- guided shoulder press with bicep curls (superset 1), triceps extension with wide grip pull downs (superset 2) and machine-guided knee extension (set 3). "
Both the low rep and high rep group did these supersets. It would seem like making the low rep group do supersets(extra exercises between the sets) would defeat the purpose of calling it low rep. It may have hampered the low rep groups gains.
From the link you supplied:
"Though there is no apparent advantage of lifting with different loads on changes in muscle mass, there is undoubtedly a neuromuscular advantage to lifting heavier loads if the primary outcome is performing a 1RM test (28). Conversely, it appears that periodic practice of the chosen strength outcome (e.g. 1RM) is effective at eliminating the majority of any post-training difference. "
and:
"In conjunction with previous data (28), it appears that if 1RM strength is the primary goal, performing the to-be-tested exercise with heavier loads, either consistently and/or periodically, may be required for optimal improvement."
So if you want to develop maximum strength(at the reduced rep range), you have to periodically practice in that rep range if only for the neuromuscular advantage. In this case, at least a 1RM every three weeks for the men in this study.
Re: How to Build Muscle
#159Re: How to Build Muscle
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you please release "fat loss" program for free and inversely, charge for info on getting bigger? I mean, how would one notice an actual growth behind his varying fat levels?
isn't "fat loss" just: eat less, do more cardio?
Like everything you can do it in good way, bad way or very bad way.