The relationship between male fitness and muscle gain

The core conclusion is this: male fitness and muscle gain are never an equal sign of cause and effect. The essence is that "fitness behaviors that adapt to the logic of muscle hypertrophy + matching diet and rest + individual physical conditions" work together to achieve muscle gain results. The rest of the fitness behaviors are either to improve the cardiopulmonary, or to lose fat, or to just move the body, and have nothing to do with growing muscles.

Don't tell me, I have seen a lot of this kind of injustice in the past two years. Two boys from the same company applied for a gym membership and made an appointment to go together after work. After practicing for three months, one arm circumference increased by 3cm, and his shoulders could be stretched even when wearing a T-shirt. The latter came to me specifically to complain about whether he was born with a lack of muscle. I looked through his training records and almost laughed out loud. Every time he went, he would run for 40 minutes and then wander around for the remaining 20 minutes. He would do bicep curls and swing a 10kg dumbbell like a pendulum, all relying on the waist swing. After training, he would have to go downstairs to eat a bowl of cold noodles and grilled sausages. The total protein did not reach 20g. It is strange that this can build muscles.

When it comes to this, some people are definitely going to argue. My friend has gained muscle by practicing blindly every day, right? Hey, then you have to see how old he is. The testosterone level of young men aged 18 to 25 is at the peak of their lives. Some of them love running and jumping. Even if they do a few push-ups and eat two more bowls of rice, their arms and legs will become tighter. This is a buff given by their physical condition. Try it with a man over 35 years old? I stayed up two nights at work and had to have a drink with my client after training. Even if I practiced according to the standard plan, my muscle gain would be half as fast.

There are currently two completely different ideas in the industry about "fitness that can build muscle". After years of quarreling, there is no absolute right or wrong. Fans of bodybuilding training believe in isolated stimulation + volume stacking. What they want is that every muscle fiber of the muscle can be accurately hit. The chest clamp should be clamped until the chest muscles explode, and the curls should make the biceps shake. What they pursue is sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, rapid increase in dimension, and good-looking muscle shape. Trainers with a background in powerlifting feel that all the bells and whistles are useless. The three major events are enough to push the weight. Progressive overload is the core of muscle building. I have seen an uncle who has been training for five years and has never done an isolated chest press. The bench press increased from 60kg to 140kg. The circumference of the chest muscles still increased by 8cm, and the buttons of his shirt almost burst open. There is no difference between these two ideas. It just depends on what you want. If you want to get out of shape quickly, go for the former, and if you want to gain strength along the way, go for the latter. As long as it conforms to the underlying logic of muscle hypertrophy, you can get results.

Another controversial point is whether there is a ceiling for muscle gain in natural fitness. There are very different opinions in different circles. Academic people will give you data. A novice can gain up to 4-8kg of pure muscle through natural muscle gain in the first year. This will be halved in the second year, and then reduced again in the third year. By the fifth year of training, the limit will be basically reached. The limit of arm circumference for ordinary people is about 40cm in their natural state. But there are often bloggers on the Internet who claim that the arm circumference of natural fitness is 45cm, and the two sides are arguing. In fact, to put it bluntly, there is a difference between being technologically advanced and not. Ordinary people don’t need to worry about this. You can first train your arm circumference from 35cm to 38, and then think about the ceiling.

What many people tend to overlook is that when it comes to building muscle, fitness training only accounts for one-third, and the remaining two-thirds are all outside training. I used to help a 178cm, 60kg ectomorph friend do a muscle-building plan. He executed the training very well, but he didn't gain any weight in the first month. When I asked, I found out that he only ate three home-cooked meals a day. He felt that he was overstretched after eating too much. Later, I forced him to add two extra meals a day, eating four egg whites and a banana at 10 a.m., a spoonful of muscle-building powder at 3 p.m., and another spoonful of casein before going to bed at night. The protein was 2g per kilogram of body weight. In the second month, he gained 4 kilograms, and his arms became visibly thicker. If you are an endomorph, the opposite is true. If your caloric surplus is too high during the muscle-building period, your muscles will not increase much and your belly will rise first. When the time comes to apply fat, you will have to peel off another layer of skin.

I really want to say that ordinary men do not need to regard muscle gain as the only goal of fitness. Some people just like the refreshing feeling of running and sweating, and some people just want to exercise their core and reduce back pain. As long as they move, they are better than sitting. If you really want to gain muscle, don’t believe the lies on the Internet about gaining five pounds of muscle in seven days. Find a training plan that suits you, eat enough protein, sleep for 7 hours, and slowly increase the weight. You will definitely see changes in three months. There is no shortcut to this. If you fool the muscles, the muscles will fool you.