Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

mennohenselmans.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 248 posts

Re: Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

#91

Post by hackernewds »

_trackno5 wrote: post #83
LanceH wrote: post #28

They seem to be talking about bodybuilding a lot, but then (at least some) of the discussions move to muscle growth among random groups of people. The two are not the same. Bodybuilders are trying to put on muscle, sometimes in specific places, long after they have stalled in workouts most people would do. >Going on a higher carb diet increases intramuscular glycogen stores, which attracts a lot of water into the mus…

Your comment makes no sense in the context of Menno’s work. He’s a bodybuilder, coaches bodybuilders, and his content targets bodybuilders. You’ve just built a straw man argument. When you say “then you stop eating carbs to get shredded” is just bollocks. No real bodybuilder stops eating carbs to get shredded. We (I say we because I am a contest bodybuilder) tend to reduce carb intake during a cut or show prep becaus…

You seem to know about this subject. What is your take on this article then?

Re: Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

#92

Post by matwood »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #51

As a comment addressing several comment threads here, and what I believe is a fallacy in the article. The main issue I believe at play is that non-competitive types (eg non bodybuilders) frequently are not very good at assessing how hard they're pushing themselves. Because of that working with 1lb (or very low % of 1RM) is often ineffective because they have a hard time telling if the 99th, 100th, or 120th rep is tru…

> frequently are not very good at assessing how hard they're pushing themselves

You see this also with HIIT.

Re: Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

#93

Post by Attummm »

texasbigdata wrote: post #88
Attummm wrote: post #62

Please be aware that scientist brad schoenfeld that is being cited throughout the article. Has changed his opinion on some topics and other topics he even did a 180. The human body is very complex system with balances and counter balances. So almost any statement can be true and false, depending on the context. Interview with Brad schoenfeld where he explains his latests thoughts on training. https://youtu.be/SUy6HwO…

That’s literally how science works? Hypertrophy has largely been settled and the main mechanisms and science underneath are well known by now. Call is post-2017. Source: up 40lb of Dexa scan muscle from 2014-2023, at 15lb greater body weight. Not rocket science. Strongly recommend Renaissance Periodization (the hundred of hours of lectures on YouTube if that’s your thing, the two main textbooks, the training template…

> Hypertrophy has largely been settled and the main mechanisms and science underneath are well known by now.

If only you would be aware of the different camps of thinking within the (natural) bodybuilding community. Volume vs intensity is the vim vs emacs of their community. Brad Schoenfeld is leading scientist for muscle hypertrophy and if he is changing his mind based on new evidence then would be prudent not to be confident in our thinking.

Re: Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

#95

Post by LocalPCGuy »

Attummm wrote: post #87
LocalPCGuy wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you making a claim that him changing his opinion is a negative (real question, I could not tell if you were making a value judgement from your post). I don't know enough about that specific scientist, but in general, I tend to respect scientists more when they are willing to change their opinion (assuming it's in light of new evidence and not just on a whim) and admit they were wrong previously. That isn't a bad…

> Are you making a claim that him changing his opinion is a negative Actually the opposite. The interview with Brad Schoenfeld is great and he'll explain his thinking based on the latest research.

Ah cool, thanks, that's why I was clarifying. I'll check it out.

Re: Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

#97

Post by beezle »

dhr wrote: post #36
jasondigitized wrote: post #7

"Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights." - Ronnie Coleman I have gained quite a bit of muscle mass after building out a home gym during covid. I'm no scientist but following the Reddit PPL[1] workout and eating lots of protein did the trick for me. [1] - https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/37ylk5/a_linear_pr...

I'm planning out a home/garage gym now. Is there any equipment you recommend? Or ones that people should stay away from?

As mentioned by others, a full rack is the best get to start with. I long ago got a half rack which is fine for benching alone (has spotting arms) but not for serious squats.

Advise making sure whatever bench you buy to make sure the height off the floor is comfortable for you. I had one that was a little too tall and believe that contributed to some lower back stress.

I'm in a rural area now and once again stuck with no spotter, also older with assorted old lifting and snowboarding injuries. I picked up a hack squat machine to enable me to safely work on squats again while also not having the load sitting on top of my spine.

Re: Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

#98

Post by ashconnor »

goalieca wrote: post #26

21 comments and not one person mentioned steroids. These are extremely common and are an open secret. All of these bodybuilders who share their routines and meal plans rarely mention what cycles they are on and the long term health consequences of such after their career has finished.

More people using steroids than not if YouTube or Instagram is any barometer.

This obviously leads to very unrealistic expectations for those that are natural.

The nattyorjuice subreddit is sobering material.

Re: Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

#99

Post by concerned_4u »

_trackno5 wrote: post #83
LanceH wrote: post #28

They seem to be talking about bodybuilding a lot, but then (at least some) of the discussions move to muscle growth among random groups of people. The two are not the same. Bodybuilders are trying to put on muscle, sometimes in specific places, long after they have stalled in workouts most people would do. >Going on a higher carb diet increases intramuscular glycogen stores, which attracts a lot of water into the mus…

Your comment makes no sense in the context of Menno’s work. He’s a bodybuilder, coaches bodybuilders, and his content targets bodybuilders. You’ve just built a straw man argument. When you say “then you stop eating carbs to get shredded” is just bollocks. No real bodybuilder stops eating carbs to get shredded. We (I say we because I am a contest bodybuilder) tend to reduce carb intake during a cut or show prep becaus…

[dead]

Re: Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

#100

Post by projektfu »

dhr wrote: post #36
jasondigitized wrote: post #7

"Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights." - Ronnie Coleman I have gained quite a bit of muscle mass after building out a home gym during covid. I'm no scientist but following the Reddit PPL[1] workout and eating lots of protein did the trick for me. [1] - https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/37ylk5/a_linear_pr...

I'm planning out a home/garage gym now. Is there any equipment you recommend? Or ones that people should stay away from?

There's a pretty good design for barbell training in Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Basically, you need a bench and a squat rack, and a platform between the equipment and the concrete floor. He makes it easily out of plywood sheets and horse mats, and off-the-shelf rack, bench and weights. You can also form the rack out of steel channel, wood and bolts, with off-the-shelf pins.

If you buy bumper plates, an olympic barbell, and a decent bench, you won't regret it (if you keep lifting). For about 90% of people, the program in the book is pretty good, too. For guys like me, we probably should use something more like a 50-60% 1RM with more reps, because I plateau really quickly on his program. The descriptions of the exercises are really good, and there are also lots of coaches who will teach it.

Post reply on HN