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How to Build Muscle

julian.com

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Re: How to Build Muscle

#61

Post by wruza »

julianshapiro wrote: post #29
pdog wrote: post #20

No offense, but Julian after three months isn't even as big as most guys you'd find at a local gym. Why would you take this guy's advice, "science-based" or not? Addendum: I understand if you're still making progress, but maybe give it more than a few months before you start publishing advice on how to gain 20 pounds of muscle?

This guide is about where you're starting from and how efficiently you can get bigger. Not about becoming massive (which is in large part a function of your genetics).

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?

Re: How to Build Muscle

#62

Post by rawnlq »

You should include your actual lifting experience rather than irrelevant stuff like startup founder and engineer.

By the end of the first page my impression is that you started lifting for 90 days and decided to nerd out and write a guide (which is probably not true, but I'm also not motivated to continue reading to find out).

Tell me your stats and the timeframe you achieved them in. Can't really approach this topic abstractly and theoretically like engineering.

Re: How to Build Muscle

#63

Post by [deleted] »

amelius wrote: post #31

I'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?

[deleted]

Re: How to Build Muscle

#64

Post by yladiz »

yoplait_ wrote: post #56
fixxer wrote: post #51

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.

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)

Anecdotally true or verifiably true?

Re: How to Build Muscle

#65

Post by CalChris »

interrrested wrote: post #40
CalChris wrote: post #36

Start with BodyPump. You won't learn much if anything about proper form etc but you'll get a lot of low intensity reps in. After about 6 months +- you'll plateau. This is good. Switch over to a 5x5 program like StrongLifts. Read about proper form. Watch YouTube videos about proper form. Ask about proper form. Avoid personal trainers and do this yourself. I like the SL app since I can mentally check out and just think…

Why avoid personal trainers ? While I do agree but how to get proper form ?

IMHO, a lot of time spent studying proper form by watching YouTube videos (Scott Hermann, BuffDudes, Layne Norton, ...) will help you a lot more. A lot of this is mental; it's you figuring things out. I don't think PTs are good teachers. But I've learned a lot from watching these guys over and over again.

All that and learn to love the squat. Paused ATG. Squats make everything better.

Re: How to Build Muscle

#66

Post by dragandj »

julianshapiro wrote: post #50
usaphp wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "the myth that women have a harder time gaining beginner muscle" Do you have a study to prove that women can grow "beginner" muscles at the same speed as men? I mean common, testosterone levels are drastically different, it will surely affect the muscle growth.

Studies: 1: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11890579?dopt=Abstract 2: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7558529 3: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991130/ Article: http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/natural-muscular-potential-w... Yes, men have more testosterone, but testosterone is less important to the female muscle development process. In fact, women benefit from higher levels of IGF1 growth hormone,…

Don't get me started on p values now, but just think about this:

"Eight young men (age 20-30 years), six young women (age 20-30 years), nine older men (age 65-75 years), and ten older women (age 65-75 years).

The results indicate that neither age nor gender affects muscle volume response to whole-body ST."

"Six women and 6 men trained the elbow flexors 3 days per week for 20 wks, one arm performing in each session 3-5 sets of 10 maximal concentric actions on an accommodating resistance device, the other arm 3-5 sets of 8-12 coupled eccentric/concentric actions on a weight training device."

"One hundred eighty-one previously inactive healthy Caucasian (N = 117) and African American (N = 54) men (N = 82) and women (N = 99), aged 50–85 yr,

Training-induced increases in absolute MV were significantly greater (P So, if we are to believe the first two, that were, BTW conducted on miniscule samples, and concentrated on only one exercise of a small muscle, we should expect the same muscle gain in 20 year old men as in 70 year old ladies!

I wonder why those old ladies do not feature that much at bodybuilding competitions or Olympic games...

The third, which has larger sample, actually says that there is the difference between males and females, which is in accordance with what we can see at every sports event.

Re: How to Build Muscle

#67

Post by TurboHaskal »

I used to be a gym nerd too. My current approach: Screw common advice. Find what works for __you__. Take hints from algorithm design. Start small. Limit yourself to use variables you can influence, observe and measure. Come up with a system that embraces failure, try to make it anti-fragile. Experiment and enjoy the ride.

I'm personally quite chaotic and hate planning. Some weeks I hit the gym five days, some seven, some none. As such my training routine involves an auto regulating method which adjusts volume as needed. Periodisation (or lack thereof) is done with a simple recursive algorithm.

3/4 goes for nutrition as well. Screw counting macros, calories and weighing myself. If I like what I see on the mirror, great. If I feel that I'm getting flabby, I drop a PSMF day here and there until I look better.

Re: How to Build Muscle

#68

Post by fixxer »

yoplait_ wrote: post #56
fixxer wrote: post #51

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.

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)

Yeah, I don't disagree, but that isn't my point.

Re: How to Build Muscle

#69

Post by gaius »

rawnlq wrote: post #62

You should include your actual lifting experience rather than irrelevant stuff like startup founder and engineer. By the end of the first page my impression is that you started lifting for 90 days and decided to nerd out and write a guide (which is probably not true, but I'm also not motivated to continue reading to find out). Tell me your stats and the timeframe you achieved them in. Can't really approach this topic…

If you read to the end, you need to spam 15 friends on FB to see the last page, or pay $8. I'm not in the market for such a guide right now, just curious to see what the deal was - and it's not reasonable IMHO for a guy who has been doing this for 3 months and is reproducing advice found for free elsewhere, to charge anything...

I mean check this out: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-lean-infog...

Or read t-nation.com

Re: How to Build Muscle

#70

Post by jacques_chester »

mamp wrote: post #49
dragandj wrote: post #23

The only thing worse than no knowledge is just a little knowledge. Although I've always been a "geek" I am into sports since high school - so it is now more than 20 years. Maybe I was just lucky, but I always had good results, even in the era when internet was not there for the information. Never had to take any supplements, and the results were just right. I won't bother you giving advice, because: 1. Everyone's bod…

I didn't pick up much crap at all. I thought it was well done, and the author clearly mentioned what he preferred vs the science. I've been weightlifting for about 3 years, no hormones, I'm old (about 50), I'm a doctor and a statistician (ahem, I mean data scientist) and my view is that the vast majority of advice on the net is really bad, so I found this article a refreshing change. Bloggers select small sized, unde…

> Bloggers select small sized, underpowered studies to support their 'bro science' theories

There's simply no money for large, high-powered studies. We have to rely on what observations are actually possible.

However the quality of studies, especially in terms of study design, is steadily improving.

> it's hard to differentiate what information applies to natural bodybuilding

Actually, a lot of the worst studies are done with novice trainees. All we've learnt from those is that pretty much any stimulus works on someone who hasn't trained before.

Studies involving subjects using anabolic and androgenic steroids typically control for that.

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