What is the relationship between male fitness and muscle gain?

Male fitness and muscle gain are never equated. Muscle gain is the positive result of fitness behaviors that comply with specific logic plus diet and rest. In turn, the progress of muscle gain will directly adjust the direction of male fitness planning. The two influence each other, but the prerequisites are clear and causal.

A while ago, I saw several bloggers arguing about whether a naturally fit man can achieve a fat-free back arm circumference of 40. One group is a veteran who has been training for seven or eight years. He said that as long as you are over 175cm tall and have a not too small frame, you can reach the threshold of 40 if you train systematically for three to five years and have a strict diet and rest schedule. , the other group says that most of the arm circumferences posted on the Internet are "water-filled arms" filled with body fat, and that ordinary natural trainers will be stuck in the bottleneck for several years at most when they reach 38. In fact, both sides are not wrong. It is just that the definition of body fat standards and training years in statistics are different, and there is no need to argue over the number. Speaking of which, the relationship between fitness and muscle building is a bit like planting winter wheat. It’s useless to go to the ground every day (go to the gym). You must first sow according to the solar terms (do enough resistance training to stimulate the muscles), and fertilize and water on time in the middle (replenish enough protein and carbohydrates, and sleep enough 7-9 Leave time for over-exertion recovery every hour), and guard against diseases and pests (don’t rush the weight and injure your joints, don’t stay up late and drink too much to build up your body after training). Only when the time comes can you harvest. If you go to the field every day and just pull weeds (only do aerobics), let alone harvest wheat, it’s good if you don’t lose weight.

I used to know a young man who just graduated from the gym. He started running 5 kilometers every day and then did abdominal exercises for half an hour. After three months of training, he lost 4 pounds, and his arm dimensions did not increase at all. He thought he was "naturally thin and can't get fat." Later I found out that his fitness plan was all about consumption, and he didn't even meet the standard for resistance training capacity. To put it bluntly, it was the total load multiplied by the weight, number of sets, and reps of each exercise. He didn't even touch the threshold of muscle stimulation, so why not increase it? I was doing a leg press a while ago. I increased the weight to 180kg for the first time. The next day after training, I had to hold on to the wall while squatting on the toilet. I ate two more eggs and one chicken breast for each meal during those two days. I went to bed early and rested for five days before training again. The original set was 140. It was obviously a lot easier to press 1.5kg. When I measured the circumference, my lower legs were almost 1cm thicker. To put it bluntly, the training volume at that time was just enough to reach the threshold. The muscle fibers recovered after micro-damage and exceeded the limit. I just hit the transition point from fitness to muscle gain.

I have also seen many brothers stare at other people's heavy weights when they first entered the gym. When bench pressing, the waist is arched and almost leaves the bench, and the shoulders are pushed forward too much. It seems that the 100kg weight is pushed smoothly. As a result, I feel nothing about my chest after practicing, my shoulders hurt for half a month, and it is difficult to even lift my arms. This completely wrong way of fitness, let alone building muscle, is a good thing if it does not leave old injuries. When you reach a certain stage of training, the progress of muscle growth will also push you to adjust your fitness schedule. For example, you can increase your dimension by bench pressing 60kg in sets. After practicing for half a year, you can press 80kg. Training with 60kg again is just maintenance at most. If you want to continue to increase, you have to increase the weight, adjust the number of sets, and even split the training into more detailed parts. In the past, you had to train the whole body five times a week, but later you had to split it into three parts of pushing and pulling legs, all of which follow the rhythm of muscle growth.

In fact, for ordinary male enthusiasts, there is no need to draw too much attention to the relationship between the two. If you want to increase your dimensions, just follow the logic of resistance, diet, and rest. You will always see results if you take your time. If you just want to move around and sweat, then there is nothing wrong with not building muscle even if you run and play every day. Fitness is all about making yourself comfortable.