Men’s fitness and muscle building training methods

In terms of training, you must achieve progressive overload, eat a caloric surplus + 1.6-2.4g protein intake per kilogram of body weight, ensure 7-9 hours of sleep during rest, and the target muscle group training interval does not exceed 72 hours. All the remaining techniques, plans, and supplements are to assist these four cores. It took me 16 months to go from a 178cm 58kg thin bamboo pole to 75kg with 15% body fat. I have gone through many pitfalls that could fill a gym. Today I will break down the real experience and methods of different schools.

The most controversial thing on the Internet right now is which training plan to choose. The differentiated training party says that 5 trainings a week is the best. Target one part every day, chest, shoulders, back, legs and arms one by one. The stimulation of a single part is deep enough, and long latitude is the fastest.； The push-pull leg party says that it is more efficient to divide it by action mode. It can be adapted to 3-6 exercises a week. The compound action is isolated and takes into account the growth of strength and latitude. ； There is also a niche high-intensity, low-volume style of training, that is, Mike Menzel’s training method. You only practice twice a week, and only do one set of each movement to complete failure. On the contrary, you will gain faster than going to the gym every day. In fact, I have tried all of these. In the first 3 months of training, I followed a fitness blogger to practice 5 points. I spent 2 hours in the gym every day. My chest became a little thicker, but my back and legs were almost motionless. Later, I switched to pushing and pulling legs 3 times a week, about 1 hour each time. In 3 months, my leg circumference increased by 4cm, and the outline of my latissimus dorsi appeared. ； Last year, due to the epidemic lockdown, I had no equipment at home, so I tried low-volume bodyweight training for a month. I practiced every movement to failure twice a week, and my latitude was not lost, and my arm circumference increased by 2cm. To put it bluntly, as long as novices can ensure progressive overload, any plan will be useful. If you row every time you go to the gym and lift the same weight for half a year and your movements are still wobbly, you won’t gain weight after ten years of practice.

Speaking of which, I have to mention one of the pitfalls I have seen the most: Many people focus on their chest and arms when they first enter the gym. Every time they go to the gym, they first do 10 sets of chest presses, and then 10 sets of curls. After half a year of training, they become a "bean sprouts" that are wide at the top and thin at the bottom. Their legs are still wobbly when wearing pants. Don't be too lazy not to train your legs. Legs are the basis of strength. Practicing more legs can not only increase the size of your lower limbs, but also promote testosterone secretion. The muscles in your whole body will increase accordingly. It's a matter of blood.

Progressive overload is not about blindly pushing the weight. In order to show off in front of friends, there are brothers around me who dare to press 100kg as soon as they can press 60kg. They lie down for 3 months due to waist protrusion, which is not worth the gain. Just remember, last week you could bench press 60kg and do 3 sets of 8 with standard movements without swinging your waist or pushing your shoulders. This week you can either try doing 3 sets of 8 with 62.5kg, or 3 sets of 9 with 60kg. Even if you only do half a rep more, it is an effective improvement, and it is 10 times more effective than swinging your waist and pushing a heavy weight. Don’t worry if you’re a student who doesn’t have the means to go to the gym. I have a junior student who hasn’t been to the gym for four years in college. He relies on pull-ups, parallel bar dips, and squats with weights on his back. His latissimus dorsi is now wider than that of many gym goers who have practiced for a year or two. Don’t use the lack of equipment as an excuse.

There is no need to make diet too complicated. How can ordinary people have time to weigh each meal and calculate calories? Just remember to eat one fistful of staple food at each meal, two palm-sized portions of protein (chicken breasts, fish, eggs, beef, and soy products are all acceptable), one fistful of vegetables, and eat one more meal every day, such as bread and an egg at 3 pm, and a cup of warm milk before going to bed. If your weight does not increase after a week, add half a fistful of staple food, which will be more accurate than half a day's calories. Oh, by the way, the academic community has been arguing about protein intake for many years. It used to be said that 1.6g per kilogram of body weight is enough. Now the latest research says that it is no problem to eat up to 2.4g per kilogram to lose weight and build muscle. When I was 70kg, I ate about 150g of protein every day, which is about 6 eggs, two palm-sized chicken breasts, and a spoonful of protein powder. It is just enough. You don’t need to pursue it too high. If you eat too much, it will not be absorbed, but it will cost money and increase the burden on the kidneys.

Don't believe the advertisements for testicle-boosting and muscle-building powders. When I first started practicing, I was stupid and saved more than 2,000 to buy a bunch of supplements. As a result, I stayed up late every day playing games and didn't eat enough for dinner. I didn't gain a pound after practicing for two months. Later I realized that supplements are just to make up for the gaps in your diet. You usually don't. When you have enough protein, you don’t even need to buy protein powder. The only thing worth buying is creatine. A bucket of tens of dollars can last for three months. 5g a day can help you improve your strength performance. It is the only sports supplement that has been proven effective by the global sports nutrition community. There is really no need to spend money on others.

When it comes to rest, it is an easy pitfall for many people. I always feel that the more you practice, the better. I have made this mistake before. I practiced 6 days a week and practiced until my whole body hurt every day. As a result, I suffered from insomnia for a week, lost strength, and caught a cold twice. Later, I changed to practicing 4 days a week and slept 8 hours a day, but my weight increased faster. There is another controversial point that has been quarreling for a long time: how long do muscles need to rest? The old saying is that the target muscle group needs to rest for 72 hours. Now new research says that 48 hours is actually enough for novices, because the degree of muscle damage for novices is not that high and recovery is faster. If you are not sore at all the next day after practicing chest training, you can practice again. You don’t have to wait for 72 hours. It depends on how your body feels.

Oh, and there is also the issue of failure. The two groups have been arguing for almost ten years. One group says that each group must be practiced to failure to maximize the stimulation of muscle fiber growth. The other group says that leaving 1-2 reps in each group can avoid injuries and ensure the quality of the next group's movements. My own experience is that for compound movements such as bench presses, deadlifts, and squats, just leave one rep to spare, and don’t go to exhaustion, otherwise your core will be loose and easily injured. ； Isolated movements such as curls, flyes, and chest presses. The last set can be practiced to failure. The pump is sufficient and there is no risk. It is very enjoyable.

In fact, the matter of muscle gain is really not that complicated, and there is no universal standard answer. No matter how good other people's plans are, if you don't gain weight after practicing for two months and you are not happy with it, then change it. There is no need to fight to the death. After all, we ordinary people's fitness is not a professional competition. If you practice happily, you can slowly increase your latitude and your body will become stronger and stronger, which is better than anything else.