Men’s fitness and muscle building training methods

Maintain progressive load, eat enough protein, and leave enough time for muscle repair. All fancy methods are essentially variations of these three points that adapt to different training bases and time conditions. There is no high or low, only suitability.

Two years ago, I took care of a junior student who had just graduated. He was 178cm tall and only 112 kilograms. He was a "paper figure" who couldn't hold up his shoulders even in a sweatshirt. At first, he practiced blindly by himself. He spent two hours in the gym every day after get off work, working on his chest and biceps. He practiced until he couldn't lift his arms before walking. Two months later, his weight has not moved at all, and his chest circumference has not increased by even 1 centimeter. Later, the plan was adjusted for him. After three months, he gained 12 pounds of pure muscle. The shoulder line of a size M T-shirt can be stretched out. The core is that he hit the three points just mentioned.

The most controversial thing about muscle-building training programs in the fitness circle right now is nothing more than the two schools of high-frequency split training and low-frequency full-body training. There are a lot of natural fitness success stories on both sides. There is really no need to take sides. For example, many people who have trained for more than 1 year and can spend 1 hour in the gym every day prefer to use the five-point training of "chest/shoulders/back/legs/arms". They only do 4-6 movements for one part at a time, ranging from compound movements to isolated movements, which can fully stimulate the stimulation of individual muscle groups. There are several people around me. A friend who competes in amateur bodybuilding competitions practices like this. Every time he does chest training, he has to put on a coat. The congestion can last for two hours. The muscle-building efficiency is indeed not low, but the premise is that your movements are standard and you can accurately find the force of the target muscle group. Otherwise, chest training relies entirely on shoulders and arms, and your shoulders will be injured after half a year of training.

But if you are a newbie and can only squeeze in 3-4 days of training per week, there is really no need to force yourself into a five-point bustle. Many coaches with a background in powerlifting recommend full-body training 2-3 times a week, which is more suitable for you. I just go through several compound movements such as squats, bench presses, deadlifts, bent over rows, and seated presses every time I train. I don’t need to do those fancy flyes and curls. I just focus on increasing the weight of each training. My junior classmate used this plan at the beginning. In less than two months, he can bench press from empty bar to 60 kilograms for sets. His weight increased faster than anyone else, and he didn’t make any detours.

No matter which training mode you choose, there are two pitfalls that most people are prone to stepping on. Last time I met a young man at the gym. When he was bench pressing, his waist was arched so far that he was almost off the bench. His shoulders had started to snap and he was still carrying a 2.5kg weight. His friend next to him was still shouting "Awesome". This was not building muscle. He was rushing to register at the orthopedics department. Some people check "how to train to make chest more sore" every day, and have to feel pain for three or four days after training before they feel it is effective. In fact, it is really unnecessary - the core of muscle growth is that the stimulation you give is stronger than the last time. This week you can do 60 kilogram bench press 8 times, next week you can do 9 times, or you can push 8 times with 2.5 kilograms. Even if you are not sore at all the next day after training, it is still useful. Whether you are sore or not is just a matter of lactic acid accumulation, and it really has nothing to do with the efficiency of muscle building.

Practicing correctly is only the first step. If you can't keep up with your diet, no matter how hard you train, you will be doing charity for the gym. There are many opinions on protein intake. Some academic studies say that 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight is enough. Some bodybuilders say that they should eat 2.5 grams or even 3 grams. Ordinary people really don’t need to calculate the number of grams so accurately. It is too tiring. You just need to eat a palm-sized piece of lean meat (beef, chicken, fish and shrimp) for each meal, or two eggs and a cup of milk, three or four meals a day, which is basically enough. If you really don’t have time to cook, it’s absolutely fine to make a cup of protein powder. Don’t listen to people saying that “protein powder has hormones” or “can damage your kidneys”. That’s all nonsense. Protein powder is just purified whey, which is no different from drinking milk and eating eggs. I once had a friend who ate boiled chicken breasts in order to gain muscle. After two months of eating, he felt nauseated when he saw the chicken, and lost 3 pounds in weight. It was completely unnecessary. Braised chicken legs, soy sauce beef, or even braised pork ribs were all fine. As long as there was enough protein and don't eat junk food heavy in oil and salt every day, you can eat whatever tastes good. A good diet is a diet that you can stick to.

Oh yes, there is also the most easily overlooked rest - muscles are not grown in the gym, they are grown when you sleep. I was working on a project last year, so I didn't go to bed until after 2 o'clock every day and trained as usual. As a result, I lost 5 kilograms on the bench press in one month, and my arms became 1 centimeter thinner. Later, I adjusted my schedule to sleep 8 hours a day, and I recovered within two weeks. And don’t believe the nonsense that “pain means you are growing muscles, so endure the pain and continue training.” If after training a certain part of your body hurts so much that it is difficult to exert force, take an extra day of rest. Hard training will only break down the muscles and reduce their dimensions.

As for the supplements that many people ask about, to be honest, ordinary fitness enthusiasts don’t need to buy them at all if they have enough to eat. If you are busy and can’t eat, just buy a whey protein worth more than 100 yuan. Creatine, nitrogen pumps, and testicle stimulation are really not needed in the novice stage. I have been practicing for almost six years, and now I only occasionally drink a cup of protein powder after training. I don’t take any other supplements. Don’t be fooled by gym sales into buying a “muscle-building package” worth several thousand yuan, which is purely an IQ tax.

To put it bluntly, building muscle is really anti-anxiety. Don’t believe the gimmicks on the Internet about “building eight-pack abs in 7 days” and “gaining 20 pounds of muscle in 30 days.” Those are either medicines or the effects of dehydration. Ordinary people follow their own pace, slowly add weight, eat and sleep well, and they will definitely see changes in half a year. They can hold up when wearing clothes, and they don’t need to ask for help when moving things. It’s more practical than anything else.