85 thoughts on “The #1 Reason You’re Struggling To Gain Muscle”

1. Pick a routine and diet and follow them consistently for 4 – 6 months

   QFT
   I see too many people give up after 2-3 months because they aren’t at their goal at lightning fast speeds, and honestly I think that’s why you have things like P90X that promise that you will look amazing in a short time span. One of my body builder friends was telling me about how it takes a solid year to put on about 22lbs of pure muscle, and that’s if you bust your ass.
   Find a person with a physique that you’re looking for (*cough* *cough* Frank Medrano *cough*) and adopt what they do to the best of your ability.

   1. ” . . . the most important variable will always be YOU.” – Frank Medrano
      This is the bit that he does that you should pay attention to. Don’t look at Frank, look at yourself.

   2. If you put on 22lbs of muscle in a year, you’re doing something beyond just lifting weights. A HUGE cycle might gain you 10lbs of muscle in 12 weeks after which you’d probably lose about 5lbs of it when you come off. 22lbs of muscle is a whole lot, not saying it’s impossible, but that’s a massive goal. I’d be happy with 5-10lbs of muscle in the first year training naturally (tapering off after that).

      1. I’m happy with burning fat and increasing strength. Larger muscles are just gravy. Beyond a certain point no one is impressed.

      2. Sheeit when I started my goal was to gain ten kilos in ten weeks. Everyone said that was impossible.
         It took me twelve weeks and I took in three holes on the belt as well.
         I was 48 years old, too.
         I’m6 foot4 so it’s not as big of a deal as you think but still it can be done.
         One huge guy back in the day I asked how do you do it said eat big, lift big. I didn’t understand at the time but yeah, that’s it.

   3. The average male can add 12 pounds of muscle in a year under optimal condition.
      22 pounds is steroids, growth hormone or pre-hormones. Nothing else to it.
      That said, when people say “I gained 22 pounds of muscle” what they usually mean is “I gained 6 pounds of muscle and 16 pounds of fat I think is muscle”.

2. “Too much thinking and not enough doing…”
   Oh, dear Lord, yes. That’s me. Fine, time for a resolution: this is the last fitness post I will read for three months. I will do my program, lame and imperfect as is, and stick to it for three months, and see what happens.

3. I recently started playing pickup basketball again, and it’s given me new inspiration to hit the gym. Competition shows you all your shortcomings, and if you work for daily improvement on your strengths and weaknesses you learn quickly what benefits you and what doesn’t.
   Far simpler than we make it. What do you want to do? Go do it, get a little better each time.

4. http://www.stronglifts.com

   1. I’ve trained people using Starting Strength and Stronglifts.
      The programs are great out of the gate but eventually cause a flame-out if used too long. Once you are at a point where you’re 1.5x bodyweight on squat, most people will not be able to recover from one workout to the next.
      At that point it’s better to go to a program with less frequency.

5. Improper diet is a big shortcoming for many. Namely, not enough quality calories. It’s nearly impossible to gain muscle without increasing caloric intake.

   1. See that herd of lard asses out there?

      1. That herd is storing its fat for the Neverending Winter as prophesied by whatever demon of rationalisation they’ve latched onto.

         1. The average American male in his thirties now has a 39″ waist. The Brits aren’t far behind and the Aussies have made claims that they’ve caught up. I bought my last belt at Walmart. I had to go to the boys department. I wasn’t even particularly lean.
            So, not having enough input of energy to sustain a substantial increase in mass is not something the average male has to worry about. And they’re not even trying.

         2. “Quality calories” (as I specified) and the calories “the herd” are consuming are dramatically different. Different types of calories even in the same amounts produce different compositional results in the consumers.*
            Source: Harvard Medical, 2011
            http://abcnews.go.com/Health/calorie-calorie-harvard-study-compares-popular-weight-loss/story?id=16654506#.UXmdHTfNl8F

         3. Which just goes to show you, if you want to know something about calories, you shouldn’t ask a medical doctor or ABC news. I suggest a physicist, chemist, or one of the better engineers. *
            I assure you that a calorie has only one quality, hence, all calories are of exactly the same quality.
            Do you know what this is?:
            https://buddhistcatnaps.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/cabot-vermont-cheddar-cheese_3e385c1b.jpg
            It’s not a thousand Calories. It’s a half pound of cheddar cheese. A collection of chemical compounds. Lipids and proteins mostly. Lipids and a proteins are stuff. The stuff you are made of. Calories are not stuff. You can’t see them, taste them, build anything with them. The only way you can even tell they exist is by the effect they have.
            There are 1000 potential Calories in that stuff.
            1000 C of gasoline are exactly the same as 1000 C of cheddar, but gasoline isn’t the stuff you are made of, so you aren’t going to be building a whole lot of you out of the stuff. The same goes for 1000 C of sawdust. You likely eat a fair amount of sawdust. You might even do it on purpose. It will be called ‘fiber’ on the label, but you can’t access those Calories in your system. Not because the Calories have some different quality, but because wood has different qualities than cheddar cheese does.
            A Mickey Dee’s hamburger has a lot of stuff you can build you in it, as well as a lot of potential energy (calories) that you can use to do the building and, since you are warm blooded, make heat to keep alive, and even to do work, such as eating it.
            In fact, there is everything in the hamburger that you will find in a protein shake and little that isn’t. The quality of all these things is the same. A calorie is a calorie and an amino acid is an amino acid.
            And you can get just as fat on protein shakes as you can on a Mickey Dee’s hamburger. Many, in fact, do.
            So why are these people getting fat on foods that you think don’t have “quality” Calories, and not building muscle instead?
            That’s easy. They’re not lifting fucking weights.

         4. Different calories produce different effects. There is overwhelming evidence that not all calories are the same.* If that were the case, why would anyone care what kind of calories they consumed as long as they got enough? I’m, not arguing that westerners aren’t consuming too many calories, I am arguing that they don’t get enough quality calroies to build muscle.
            Sources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22735432
            http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/weight-control-39/obesity-health-news-505/what-s-wrong-with-the-american-diet-644659.html
            http://authoritynutrition.com/6-reasons-why-a-calorie-is-not-a-calorie/

   2. Especially beef

6. Diet in particular can become far too complicated if you constantly research on the internet the latest studies showing what foods are good or bad for you. I firmly believe the most basic thing you need to understand is what macronutrient profile (fat vs. protein vs. carbs) works best for you. Through trial and error I know that I need to eat a high fat, moderate protein and low carb diet to gain muscle, lose fat and feel much better. If I eat the reverse of this (high carb low fat) I rapidly gain weight and feel like crap. I also think counting calories is a bad idea and over complicates things. The diet that works best for you should allow your natural appetite control mechanisms to manage how much you eat and when.
   On the weight training side the good news is that you don’t have to spend hours in the gym to gain muscle. 2-3 workouts a week involving intense, simple exercises taking no more than 30-45 min per workout will get you in shape. But as the article states you need to keep at it consistently for 4-6 months and the results will slowly but surely reveal themselves. I also find the hardest part of starting any exercise routine is the first couple weeks where you don’t exactly look forward to your workouts but after that it starts to become more of a habit and you can begin to look forward to your workout !

   1. Exactly! i was at the point where I had hundreds of sites bookmarked with info on what to eat, what not to eat. It became so frustrating researching all of it, especially since a lot of it is contradictory. I decided to delete them all and just keep it simple.

   2. Somehow my cat builds muscle but he sleeps 20 hours a day! How does he do it? High protein high fat diet with bursts of intense exercise lasting seconds at a time. We can learn a lot from animals.

7. I see so many people in the gym that jump on the machines and do a few reps. They don’t even break a sweat and are often talking with their buddy as they’re exercising. Building muscle is simple: Lift heavy ass weight (free weights are the best), eat a lot, and sleep. When lifting, you need to be straining. If you aren’t grunting, making ugly ass faces, and sweating, then you aren’t training. You’re just fucking around. Progressive overload over time builds muscle. No muscle confusion bullshit or gimmicky tools necessary.

   1. agreed. you don’t even have to change your routine very often if at all. i’ve been on the same thing for 20+ years and still make gains. it’s all about pushing yourself and always trying to add weight.

      1. I totalled 1475 at 183 pounds – I used 2 routines in 4 years.

   2. I don’t think guys should start off lifting “heavy ass weight”. Quite frankly, that’s a horrible idea. After a certain point, I think most people should stop. I’m sorry, but deadlifting 400 pounds is basically asking to throw out your own back.
      You also shouldn’t be lifting to “build a physique” or any other retarded shit like that. Lifting is A PART of what you do and it’s primary use is in building strength.

      1. if you’re just starting off, your “heavy ass weight” will be a warmup weight for a intermediate lifter

      2. “Heavy ass weight” is subjective. For a beginner, 95 lbs on the bench may be heavy ass weight. You need a weight that challenges you. I believe a combination of different rep ranges should be used, but I like the 5-8 rep range for heavy compound movements. I am also a firm believer in calisthenics. They are a great indicator of fitness. Who cares if you can bench 400 lbs but can’t do a single pull-up? Pull-ups, dips, push-ups, lunges, and jump squats are a must for everyone, including hardcore lifters.

      3. I had a personal trainer for awhile who was previously a professional body builder. He had me lower all of the weights and focus carefully on form. However, it wasn’t REALLY lifting less weight — because he had me isolate smaller muscles. So I’d do one chest press in a certain way and I’d make sure I was isolating ONLY a certain portion of my pecs. And then I’d do another chest press which was a different part of my pecs. Same with shoulders and other muscle groups.
         It definitely helped me make a lot of progress. However, I will say, now I am alternating between doing heavy weights some — and then sometimes doing lighter weights with isolating muscles. I have to say one thing. It’s good to be mindful and think about it — figure out what works for you. After all, everyone is different. You sort of have to learn your own body and maybe also learn your own mind. In my case, certain exercises that are acrobatic and require good balance are fun to do, therefore when I do them I will push myself harder. So motivation counts too.

         1. Good points and agree. It goes the same with a meal plan (or diet). Find out what works best for you (your body) but starting with an outline and adjust as needed.
            I don’t know how many times I’ve told people to stop depending on just the “cookie cutter” diet. Start with it and then expand…same with any workout routine.
            Over the years, you’ll gradually start to pick up on different techniques and you’ll add them into your own routine.
            Good results as long as you put the time and effort into it.

         2. You may be a bit of a natural, particularly motivationally. Very few people seem able to endure the pain of going all the way to incipient failure with the very slow and controlled isolation movements pro bodybuilders often advocate. Those guys are pros at least partially because they are freaky masochists.
            For the average Joe Gymrat, asking him to lift the weight at a pace, and with a technique, that comes naturally, is just much simpler. And less likely to complicate measuring progress due to technique getting sloppier as weights increase.
            In general, pretty much everyone can gain at a steady pace by just adding a bit of weight every 1-3 workouts. It may not be the fastest progress known to man, but as long as people keep at it, instead of getting discouraged and flipflopping to a completely different program every few weeks, they’ll steadily get stronger. Hence bigger.

         3. The trouble I have with isolation exercises is that your muscles don’t work in isolation, they work in combination. There is a risk of imbalances creeping in here. For this reason, I prefer exercise that require coordination rather than isolation. In the end, I think it is more fun and more rewarding.

         4. Well, to be honest, it worked for awhile but now I sometimes do it that way, and sometimes do more whole muscles/high weights, all depending on how I feel. As I get older I realize my body kind of knows afterwards whether I put a good workout in, or whether the kind of workout I put in had an impact, so I should just listen to my body and not be too wedded to any particular rules.
            Though, I have to say, one advantage of isolating muscles with lower weights at first is, you get your muscles tight, you get your form perfect, and then you are less likely to injure yourself when you do heavier weights. I’ve had a couple of injuries that forced me to take a long time off from working out, and don’t want to risk that again.

         5. You make a good point about the advantage of isolation. Another idea is press ups and pull ups. These are compound exercises that require good coordination that can help when you get back to compound lifts.

      4. Disagree
         1) Lift heavy – you MUST cause stress for adaptation. That is more important than anything else.
         2) Any motivation is valid. ANYTHING.
         The goal is to get a better life; not to act like a pious monk.
         PS – 400 pounds for an average male is peanuts and attainable in 1-2 years. With proper form a man who can lift 400 will have a healthier back than one who never goes near that weight.
         This may not be the case for 500 or 600, but for an average 180-200 pound man, a 2x bodyweight deadlift is absolutely pedestrian.

         1. I will add something here. Being able to “lift heavy” is just as good as “lifting heavy”. What do I mean? I mean that you can make yourself extremely strong through body weight training only and be able to lift heavy weights should you so desire.
            So for example, I have not lifted weights for four years (due to injury) so I focused on body weight training. A work colleague asked me if I could curl a 50 lb dumbell. I told him “no idea” but I would try. I went the gym, picked up the dumbbell and up it went.
            I am sure a practiced weight lifter could curl much more but your average man would struggle just to lift it.
            Be able to lift heavy and lift heavy when you need to.

      5. You sound like you are making excuses. If you are failing to build that physique you want, it is because you are too busy being a critic.

         1. I have the physique I want (I’m not weak BTW). I’m 5’11” with long arms and walk around at a lean 170-175. However, maintenance and looks is about 70-80% what you eat anyways. I don’t lift anymore because I’m happy with my level of strength. Everything has diminishing marginal returns. It only makes sense to catch the convex part.

         2. How are you maintaining your level of strength?

         3. Eat properly. Maintenance is 80% what you eat.

   3. Important reason why people don’t gain muscle? They don’t even try. I see men go to the gym and get on the treadmill (i.e. using machines for year after year with no effect). I tell them what to do to build muscle and they don’t do it. I don’t know what the cause is for this inertia but so many guys just “don’t have it”.
      You have specified it well. Lift and eat. Keep it simple. Avoid the narcotic triangle (alcohol, sugar and grains). Fill up on meat and be efficient with your lifts (compound lifts). Wash, rinse, repeat. Put weight on the bar. Job done.

      1. At gyms, the fat people are usually at the treadmill. Texting.

      2. You probably know that “filling up on meat” has certain consequences behind the supermarket shelf. So why is it so important nutritionally speaking to “fill up on meat”?

         1. What consequences?

         2. I’m referring to the containing, infliction of stress, torture and slaughter of animals, obviously.

         3. There is no burden of proof on anyone suggesting that we eat the diet we have evolved to eat. How animals feel about it generally, is irrelevant. I do however suggest that you eat healthy animals raised in an environment conducive to their well-being. Ultimately though they must die and for you to live, something else must die. This is all part of the natural cycle of life.
            There are no nutritional problems from eating meat, per se.

8. steroids…that builds muscles quickly, but be prepared to pay a price. the rest is up to your genetics.

   1. Where does one get steroid. I’m struggling to find it ? IS there a way you can order it online fro ma safe website ?

      1. Go to a hormone replacement clinic. That’s the best way to get them and they will put you on a program that’s sensible.

9. It takes around a year to do anything useful or permanent.

   1. It takes me 30 minutes.

10. Great points here. Especially “Too much thinking and not enough doing”
    “Does my chicken breast have to be boiled or grilled to absorb the nutrients best? …Fuck it. I’ll order a pizza and start tomorrow, because now I’ve waited too long to start cooking dinner.”

    1. Best quote I saw for people overthinking was on bodybuilding.com. Some new guy was stressing about putting together a weight plan, perfect diet, and supplement plan. Trying to get input and tweak it and all that.
       Some big dude (at least if his avatar was accurate) posts:
       stfu, eat more and lift heavy objects
       Made me laugh anyways.

11. Jefe that writes for here has a good program called shredded beast that I follow and am enjoying. It nice and simple.

12. 1 word: GOMAD

    1. Yuk. At a minimum, eat yogurt (homemade, so cheap) instead of milk.
       OR
       Eat cheese. 1 to 1.5 lbs of cheese is the same as a gallon of milk, and easier to digest (and also carry around).

       1. Cheese isn’t the same as milk. It has a lot less sugar. The harder and older the cheese, the less sugar. A 5 year old cheddar effectively has none.

          1. Well, sugar isn’t good by any means. Only directly after a workout (like, within 10 minutes), otherwise not.
             Relatively cheap American or mild cheddar cheese costs only $4/pound, and is much better for digestion (and easier to consume) than GOMAD.

          2. One of the selling points of GOMAD is calories. The Lactose is a part of it.

    2. Gomad is the nuclear option for guys who need to get bulked / strong fast.
       You never start out with it. If someone is getting results without it, absolutely avoid it.
       The only time I’ve told people to use it is when they come to me insanely skinny or with waif-like appetites so they can’t consume 200-300g of protein a day.

13. Can muscle gain start if someone starts at a late age, like 35?
    It is obviously best to start in one’s teens for maximum, permanent gain. But what if your youth was pre-Internet, and only at 35+ do you even realize that what you thought was totally out of your reach, muscle-wise, only appeared such because you didn’t really know what was essential and what was not?
    Can you still gain 25 pounds of muscle after age 35?
    More specifically, I was a super-thin 150 lbs at 6’3″, and worked out to get up to 200 lbs. So I gained 50 lbs, great, but still would like to gain the extra 25 lbs to get myself up to a superb 225 lbs at 6’3″.
    I stopped weight training years ago when the gains plateaued. Now I think more gains may be easy if I figure out what component I was missing…

    1. “Can muscle gain start if someone starts at a late age, like 35?”
       Or 75.
       “It is obviously best to start in one’s teens for maximum, permanent gain.”
       Nonsense. First you can gain at nearly any age. Second, there is no such thing as permanent gain. Use it or lose it, which is the real reason most people lose muscle mass with age. Start using it, it will start coming back.
       “Now I think more gains may be easy if I figure out what component I was missing…”
       If you are lean and natural, the component you are missing is that you are already in fine shape. You are asking for all time world class development. Depending on your genetics it might be possible, but it will not be easy.
       If you have 6″ wrists, learn to like yourself as you are. You “plateaued” because you are essentially done. In fact, already world class for your frame.
       If you can’t learn to like yourself as you are, your choices are drugs or fat. The muscle industry has grossly exaggerated the lean mass a drug free man can attain. A 5′ 10″ man of average frame in peak “look at me” leaness (5%) is a monster at a ‘mere’ 175.

       1. “The muscle industry has grossly exaggerated the lean mass a drug free man can attain.”
          Absolutely, without a doubt the best advice I see in here. If you’re looking through a workout magazine I can guarantee you that 95% (100% if you’re looking at MD) of the guys in there are on drugs. Most Hollywood actors are on steroids. Most people who make any kind of a living with their bodies (trainers) are on steroids.
          A natural body is not muscle bound. Look at bodybuilders from the pre-steroids age (1930s-1950s) and you’ll see what a top 1% genetic male can achieve. You’re probably not a top 1%, so, adjust your expectations accordingly.
          If you’re not going to take drugs, then shoot more for a “tennis body” or a cycling body. Lean, veins and definition. Women love that look (probably more than the muscle bound look) and it’s achievable without drugs. If you want to look “jacked”, for most men on here, that’s going to mean steroids. Yes, there are some who can do it without (primarily black men), but, by and large, the guys you see in the gym who are “wow” big are all on steroids.

    2. I know of a case of a chubby dude who started at 38 years of age. After 2 years of putting in the work, eating sensibly & developing healthy habits, he looked impressive.
       I know of someone else who was a college athlete but let himself go until late thirties & slowly hit the weights again at 40 years of age. Same thing. Couple of years later, vast transformation. In both cases, they didn’t look steroided up to me either.
       Funny how after 2 years of effort though, they now look about 3 to 4 years younger than when they started.
       In short, you’re at a darned good age. The rest of your gains will be based on your genetic potential, discipline & the program itself, nutrition & effective rest & recovery.

    3. It takes a man about 7-10 years of intense, consistent work to hit is natural lifetime ceiling. You have time.

14. This is exactly why you often see guys who know none of the theory or science behind lifting who end up making big gains. They’re on a suboptimal program with and often lift with shitty form, but that consistency adds up. They just show up day after day and put in work. After a few years, they’re fucking jacked and stronger than most men walking around on the planet.

15. When it comes to this type of subject I feel the discussion always becomes over complicated. Building muscle is SIMPLE, prioritize the heavy compounds lifts 3 times a week, at least at the novice stage. If you are anything but overweight to obese, you should be eating til you hate yourself(so what if you get a little chunky, Rome was not built in a day). Finally focusing on progressive overload, EVERY novice trainee should be setting personal bests every session for the first few months.
    Some resources for those of you just starting.
    http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/ (I recommend this program)
    http://startingstrength.com/
    These are powerlifting websites, but building muscle and getting stronger walk hand in hand. Bodybuilding specific programs work okay as well, but these are a lot more efficient in my opinion. Focusing on strength goals is a greater way to motivate yourself and keep you mentally strong, then simply having some unrealistic physique in mind. Since you can set REAL tangible goals its somewhat easier to achieve, a good goal for any novice(most of you will be) is a 225lb bench press, a 315lb squat and a 405lb deadlift(achievable within months of beginning to train). You are also more likely to fuck around on a bodybuilding program, often times there are no set protocols for progression on those programs and that lack of direction will demotivate you, especially since you will not be seeing the results you expect. Lower your expectations now, you will probably never look like any of the fitness models or bodybuilders you see online and on tv, 99% of them ARE using steroids, but you can still get strong as fuck and have an above average physique.

    1. for most beginners, there is literally no difference between powerlifting and bodybuilding. any program that makes them bigger will make them stronger and vice versa.

16. try this as it worked for me:
    Less reps, less sets- go from 10-12 sets per body part to 8-9; reps down from 8-12 to 5-8
    protein intake formula to maintain muscle n lose fat: (bodywieght X percentage body fat) divided by 0.8. This is what you need to maintain muscle while losing fat.
    To gain muscle, change the 0.8 to 1 or 1.1 (The article explaining this states a beginner in late teens/early twenties can go as high as 1.2).

17. Would anyone care to weigh in on bodyweight workouts? I’ve been following a program for eight months and in the first six monts put on 21 pounds. However I was fairly frail to begin with. Realistically how much muscle in terms of weight could I gain without using weights?

    1. Nearly as much as you are capable of as makes no never mind. More than a good gymnast, as they deliberately keep their lower body mass on the low side. Follow the traditional gymnast’s progressions, but add sprints for leg mass.
       You will need a bit of patience and discipline beyond what is necessary for weight work, as it takes a bit more time and the bodyweight exercises are highly technical. The principle advantage of weights is that they are highly efficient at building strength and muscle.
       An advantage of body weight training is that you necessarily become adept at manipulating your body through space. A skill set that is often grossly overlooked. The obverse of that is that although you may be as strong as someone who has only lifted weights, you won’t develop the skill set to handle external weights as safely as your strength will allow you to.
       If you aren’t set on being a purist, you can add a weight vest, some resistance bands, a cheap standard bar weight set with dumbbell handles and a sandbag. The external weights are primarily for learning the skills of handling the external loads that your strength will allow, so you don’t end up using your own strength to injure yourself when moving furniture or some such activity.

       1. Thanks it’s good to get a straightforward answer on the matter.

    2. They can be used to develop strength and display strength, balance and coordination. If your primary goal is to be big/strong they are not optimal beyond the beginner phase. Simply because
       1 – it’s difficult to progressively load a “push up” vs. barbells or dumb bells
       2 – the point of failure is not the muscle you’re trying to work. For example if you are doing an exercise with stabilizer muscles they might let go before your main muscle has been adequately trained; and thus it will never be pushed as hard as it can be.
       Some acrobats and “playground” / “ghetto” / “Street” workouts are impressive. The thing is, between 30 minutes of monkey bars and 30 minutes of basic lifting, the average male will get more out of 30 minutes of lifting. So do what is the path of least resistance – unless calisthenics and body weight is your passion.

18. Get testosterone levels checked, if low get injections. No amount off the above will do any good if your body isn’t producing T.

19. Dear ROK and veteran readers & advanced men,
    From a point a humbleness I ask you, can you possibly write some articles for the more advanced community, some articles that quench our intellectual thirst? I believe you all know what I’m referring towards. Subjects that stimulate the intellect.
    You can see this as a plain comment, or you can take up the challenge and rise up to it.
    Regards,
    J.

20. There is only one reason to lift:
    It’s currently the best anti-aging remedy there is, if you gain muscle or not, who cares, it builds the brain through building the nervous system, and bone density, just do it properly, strength will increase and cease your vanity, looking in the mirror 5 times a day, unless just to correct form
    Studies show that a 60 year old who trains has the same testosterone levels as a 30 year old who doesn’t, and this was a pretty basic study, if you are a more focused lifter, then the benefit is obviously greater, testosterone levels in a healthy male do not actually decline until after 45, and very slowly especially for a lifter
    eating a lot will do nothing except make you insulin resistant, protein synthesis is actually very limited and 100 grams a day is more than enough, so you can eat allll the protein powder you want, but your protein synthesis will not speed up
    Studies indicate that fasted training increases muscular adaptations by up to 33%, why? Better insulin action, and insulin is the hormone that sends nutrients to the muscle. Insulin sensitivity is key. Do a couple fasted cardio sessions a week, and don’t carb up until an hour after you train, that is when your insulin sensitivity will peak and better odds most of the calories will go to glycogen in muscle for recovery
    For all you big eating lifters, do the following experiment. Train your left bicep, over-train it if you must, than, eat a lot, and record how long recovery took. Now, simply eat 13 calories per lb of lean body weight, and repeat the experiment,
    What you will realize is that your over-eating only made you fat! and you’ve been sold a crock about protein intake.

    1. What do you mean by “eat a lot”?

    2. I originally started lifting for the purposes of anti-aging. All of this is true and it is quite profound.
       I would also say that some aerobic activity is also essential. Say, swimming for 40 minutes 3 times per week.

       1. Swimming is a great excercise, especially to loosen up and relieve back tightness. Great option with weight lifting.

21. Having lifted religiously since I left college, I can attest to the need for at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Works wonders for muscle recovery, and happiness in general.

22. Don’t forget the importance of cardiovascular work though. Your heart and lung function, your V02Max…
    They are crucial and important for overall health.
    But I guess if this article is all about the “optics” of a weightlifter… to each their own.
    All that added muscle is kinda pathetic if you’re winded going up a flight of stairs.

    1. Sex is cardio.

23. What’s the best way increasing testosterone naturally? I consider whey protein powder natural, 1 gram per pound of body weight, which I’m doing. But what kind of work out? Cardio, lifting, combination, other?

    1. Lift.
       Sleep.
       Spend some time in the Sun.
       Be around hot women and fuck them.
       Eat sufficient protein and fats.

24. You need this mindset to drive you. “Analysis Paralysis” This applicable to any part of life including game. This was especially true when I started, I hesitated too much when I first started trying to play situations in my head. You can’t, because you never will have complete control over any interaction. You just gotta do it, if slip up, its not the end of the world. You find what works.

25. Thanks for sharing.What you do in the kitchen is even more important than what you do at the gym. want some special methods? visit bestfitnessandmusclebuilding(dot)com , you will know what I mean.Hope this help.

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