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Why the conventional wisdom on how to grow muscles is wrong

mennohenselmans.com

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

#201

Post by 9dev »

12345hn6789 wrote: post #161
epistemer wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have lifted for 30 years. The standard bullshit line in the fitness industry has always been "everyone else is wrong". Practically what every single trainer ever in the world has said. The reason is because of all the things I have done in my life, lifting is the most trivially simple activity there is. It is as complex as shoveling dirt. The only way to differentiate if trying to make money is to bullshit. Pick th…

I mean sure you can say this about the majority of things. Programming is just typing away and compiling your program. It's not that complicated. If you want to be proficient at BB / power lifting / , doing more research and optimizing is important

But most people don’t want to be proficient. They want to stay mostly healthy and get laid

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

#202

Post by XFrequentist »

matwood wrote: post #155
XFrequentist wrote: post #132

YMMV, but I recommend more people try High Intensity Training (HIT). HIT explicitly contradicts several of the (well-supported) claims in the article, but I've personally found it effective, and I think there's a good case that it's a better fit for most adult lifestyles. [ETA: Just to clarify, HIT is different from the more widely-known HIIT. This wikipedia article[1] is a good introduction, and the book "Body By Sc…

I would add that while I agree HIIT is great, you're not just doing HIIT once/week, but also playing competitive basketball. The other thing is it's been posited for awhile now, that gained muscle/strength requires less work to keep. You have a long history of resistance training, and presumably gained strength and muscle. Now you just need to be do maintenance to keep what you have while supporting your sport. I say…

HIT is not HIIT, it's a completely different thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_training

I'm specifically advocating for HIT resistance training, 1x/wk, as a highly efficient method to gain strength.

The book "body by science" is a great deep dive, it's simple enough but the underlying physiology is pretty interesting.

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

#203

Post by beaned »

_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…

I don't understand your comment. First you said that cutting carbs to get shredded is bollocks, but then in your very next sentence you said you reduce carb intake during a cut.

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

#204

Post by rcarr »

ltadeut wrote: post #122
hackernewds wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If I look at it through the lens of the last 10-years of "science-based" strength/bodybuilding training, there's nothing surprising there. # On rest intervals His description is pretty spot on. The rest times mostly affect the amount of volume you can do (volume is generally defined as #reps x #sets, though I prefer #reps x #sets x weight). That's actually something really useful to know because it allows you to get…

Nervous system stress/spinal load also plays a big part in maximising the amount of stress you an out a muscle group under. Louie Simmons famously has all his lifters do a fuck ton of belt squats because you can do way more of them than regular back squats because there’s no stress on the lower back and less stress on the nervous system as a result. I guess this is pretty similar to what you’re saying with the fatigue-signal stuff though.

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

#205

Post by _trackno5 »

beaned wrote: post #203
_trackno5 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I don't understand your comment. First you said that cutting carbs to get shredded is bollocks, but then in your very next sentence you said you reduce carb intake during a cut.

People associate carbs as a prerequisite for getting shredded (like grandparent). It’s not. It’s just a way that works well and at some point you will have to cut the carbs because there’s nothing else to cut.

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

#206

Post by _trackno5 »

tsimionescu wrote: post #148
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to stop eating carbs, but not eating carbs has the possibility[1] to save off some gluconeogenesis by subbing fat for muscle while in ketosis, retaining more gains from the bulk. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1373635/

What kind of fat reserves do you think competition bodybuilders normally have? Also note that dipping below some level of body fat is actively harmful to your body.

Like voytec said, 4-8%. Though i’s argue it’a likely in the higher end for naturals. It’s not sustainable and it’s definitely not healthy for long periods. That’s why we do it only in contest season. You do your shows and get back to something reasonable in terms of body fat.

Most people only compete every few years

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

#207

Post by rcarr »

voytec wrote: post #170
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to stop eating carbs, but not eating carbs has the possibility[1] to save off some gluconeogenesis by subbing fat for muscle while in ketosis, retaining more gains from the bulk. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1373635/

Keto is terrible for gains. I call it a "no gainz diet". Source: I'm on long-term keto for reasons unrelated to weight.

It’s absolutely wonderful for long distance endurance athletes because you no longer have to either suffer through that period where your body switches to burning fat or otherwise keep taking in carbohydrates at steady intervals. It does however, as you say, absolutely suck for weight training. I did it for about two months whilst I was doing both weight training and triathlon training and my weight training sessions were awful. I reckon I was at least 10%-20% weaker on it than previous, maybe more. Cardio was a blast though.

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

#208

Post by uberduper »

voytec wrote: post #170
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to stop eating carbs, but not eating carbs has the possibility[1] to save off some gluconeogenesis by subbing fat for muscle while in ketosis, retaining more gains from the bulk. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1373635/

Keto is terrible for gains. I call it a "no gainz diet". Source: I'm on long-term keto for reasons unrelated to weight.

You need a better source, my dude. And probably more protein.

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

#209

Post by beezle »

dhr wrote: post #154
beezle wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 wit…

I've been considering the Rogue SML-1 , which I think is not considered a full rack. What's wrong with with a half rack with spotter arms for squats? Is it a matter of not being able to handle very heavy weights? Thanks for the input, btw - super helpful! https://www.roguefitness.com/sml-1-rogue-70-monster-lite-squ...

My half rack spotting arms are really only meant for benching, quite short. The advantage of a full cage is safety in multiple directions.

This guy has a good write up of the plus/minus of the different types. https://www.setforset.com/blogs/news/squat-stand-vs-half-rac...

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

#210

Post by uberduper »

Semaphor wrote: post #192
voytec wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keto is terrible for gains. I call it a "no gainz diet". Source: I'm on long-term keto for reasons unrelated to weight.

Not an endorsement, but there is a sub: /r/ketogains I think they do controlled carb eating while on keto. I'm only doing normal keto so I only have cursory knowledge about this sub and know nothing about the science.

ketogains is a good protocol. That sub makes me /groan tho.

TKD/CKD are variations which incorporate controlled carb intake to promote rapid glycogen recovery. Most people aren't training hard enough to need this.

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