While fat loss is undeniably the top goal for men and women today, I’m hoping building muscle will make a comeback for men. It’s time to get over the desire to look like Justin Bieber and skinny teenage pop stars. Sure, women think he’s cute. But they want to squeeze and cuddle with him, not have sex. For that, they want a strong man.
Having muscle mass and the brute strength that comes along with it is both practical and masculine, not to mention healthy. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter how skinny you are – if you don’t have a solid base of muscle then you won’t look good naked (do I have to explain the evils of skinny fat?).
Without further ado, here are the top three most common muscle building mistakes guys make.
1. Overloading on protein shakes
Protein has become synonymous with muscle. While it does contain the amino acids that act as the building blocks for muscle, it’s essential that you recognize how much of it you actually need.
Bodybuilding recommendations are bogus. Eating one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight or more each day is excessive. While it’s not going to hurt you physically, it is going to hurt you financially, because protein sources are far more expensive that fat or carbohydrates.
The current scientific recommendation for maximum daily protein intake for strength athletes is about 0.8 grams per pound (1.75 g/kg) of bodyweight (1). I believe this number is even a bit high. But it’s a good number to shoot for to be safe.
The most important thing to realize is that you can achieve this number by incorporating a source of protein (chicken, meat, fish, eggs, etc.) into each of your meals. You don’t need to rely on protein shakes.
2. Lifting weights 5 or 6 days per week
We all know that lifting weights leads to the body’s anabolic response that results in hypertrophy (the synthesis of new muscle tissue). I’m not debating this point. But using backwards logic, people often use this as justification for lifting weights almost every single day. More lifting = more muscle gains, right?
Wrong. The anabolic period takes place over a roughly 36 hour period after you lift (2). By slamming more and more lifting sessions into this window you aren’t doing yourself a favor.
The anabolic processes in your body require proper rest and nutrition to work at maximum capacity, not lifting more weights. The take home lesson here is: go hard in the gym, and then focus on resting and eating to recover and build muscle so you can go just as hard on your next session, if not even harder.
3. Doing too many different exercises (aka confusing your muscles)
Muscle confusion is a concept that’s gained popularity in recent years. It revolves around the concept that by constantly switching the exercises you’re doing, your muscles won’t get used to them, and then they keep growing as a result.
It’s complete and utter bullshit.
Muscles don’t have brains in them. You aren’t confusing anyone, except maybe yourself. What we do know, however, is that by focusing on getting stronger across a small set of exercises, you will build muscle efficiently. To understand this it’s important to note the two main ways you get stronger for any given exercise.
The first way is via neural adaptations. When you do a new exercise for the first 10-20 times, you’ll always see rapid increases in strength. Don’t be fooled, this isn’t because your body synthesizes massive amount of muscle tissue when it encounters a new exercise. This is happening because your brain and nervous system are familiarizing themselves with the movement, and getting more efficient at doing it, with roughly the same amount of muscle (3).
The second way your body adapts to become stronger at a particular exercise is via hypertrophy – by building new muscle tissue (3).
So when you constantly switch between exercises, you’ll acquire the neural efficiency for a wide range of exercises but neglect most of the muscle hypertrophy that you could achieve if you just stuck with a handful of movements that hit every muscle in your body.
This is an excerpt from my new program Body of a Beast. Click here to read reviews and get it now.
Read More: 10 Reasons You Can’t Build Muscle
References:
1. Lemon, P. W. “Protein and amino acid needs of the strength athlete.” Int J Sport Nutr 1.2 (1991): 127-45.
2. MacDougall, J. Duncan, et al. “The time course for elevated muscle protein synthesis following heavy resistance exercise.” Canadian journal of applied physiology 20.4 (1995): 480-486.
3. Sale, Digby G. “Neural adaptation to resistance training.” Med Sci Sports Exerc 20.5 Suppl (1988): S135-45.
Great that you are citing sources! A lot of internet blogs are very speculative and merely based on opinoin nowadays.
I agree with 1 and 3, but Arnold lifted 7 days a week….It depends on your body and if you can handle it.
…and how many drugs you’re on
Yeah don’t forget he was on a ton of roids..no natural trainer can work the same body part more than twice a week tops without losing gains. And you should have at least one day where you don’t do anything
Steroids matey.
He claims, in his glory days, he went 6 days a week, 2x per day, for a total of 6 hours of total exercise per day. His dedication to the grunt work of lifting heavy weight is astounding, and quite frankly, a little psychotic. But, what a tremendous physical specimen he was.
I do weights 4 or 5x a week, and I run outside for 3 or 4 as well. This time of year I rarely take a day off without any exercise…
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=fat+arnold+swartzenegger&qpvt=fat+arnold+swartzenegger&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=8DBBF9F5E5B2BA1A60C3D24BAFE8738CAB4C4CB2&selectedIndex=18
I use an alternating Push-Pull method. Mon-Push, Tues-Pull, Wed-Push, Thurs-Pull. Friday and Saturday are wild card cross-training days – do whatever (rollerblade, mountain bike, etc). Sunday, I chill and eat what I want.
Push means just that. Pushing-type reps. Bench, incline, over the head press, squats, crunches. Done.
Pull means curls, lat pull down, rows, crunches. Done.
Push and Pull rips the tissues good, and are quick workouts. Add a quick run around the neighborhood afterward, and you’re good to go.
Drinking too many protein shakes and lifting too much is holding back progress? No.
Most guys lifting 6 days a week are doing either a 6 day split or a 3 day split twice, not a goddamn full body workout daily. Your body is fully capable of recovering from that, IF you eat enough, and eating includes… protein shakes!
On the contrary, the biggest muscle building mistake (for skinny guys at least) is not eating enough carbs. Compare the amount of skinny guys you’ve seen stay skinny forever versus how many you’ve seen get fat, who have never been fat before. Every guy that ends up jacked eats a large amount of calories, not just protein, to support the higher metabolism that carrying muscle requires. Guys who don’t eat enough total calories can’t support that much muscle.
I’m in full agreement with number 3. It is easier for the body to adapt neurologically (better technique/acquire skill) than it is for it to build muscle. It is only afterwards that your body puts on muscle. Muscle confusion means constant neurological adaptation and without the chance for subsequent muscular adaptation.
Overtraining is one of the most common problems I have witnessed with inexperienced people trying to bulk up. You know very well that your average Billy Blowjob is a moron in the weight room.
It’s almost completely impossible to design a genuine 6 day split with “normal” exercise equipment. That kind of specificity requires some seriously contorted exercises.
One upper body press day, one upper body pull day, and a leg/core day, is plenty. And even then, you have to watch out for not overdoing it.
People thinking they are doing “splits”, by doing one chest day, another shoulder day, and a third arm day with tricep pressing, are in effect hitting their front delts, as well as rotators, often pecs and lateral delts and more, hard 3 days per week. No way is that optimal for a normal, ungeared guy.
Instead, do benches, presses and a tricep dominant press movement Monday, Chins, rows and curls Thursday. Squats, deads, situps and hypers on Saturday.
With perhaps some lighter isolation movements thrown in at the end of each day (calfs on leg day, forearms and rotator/perhaps rear delt work on pull day.)
The most important thing, is not repeating a movement, until you are sufficiently recovered to be able to add weight (ore reps.) If you keep using the same weight every workout, you’re obviously not making much progress.
we evolved as people meant to hunt and walk 10+ fucking miles everyday, there is no such thing as overtraining. We should all be shredded as fawk
Yes there is such thing as overtraining. Ironman triathaletes get it ALL THE TIME. When you haven’t woken up with an erection in weeks, your nose constantly runs and you can’t sleep more than 4 hours at a time, you’re fucking overtrained. Unless you’re on the juice. Using steroids, it’s nearly impossible to overtrain becuase the juice rebuilds you faster than you can break yourself down. Natty’s need to dial it back. And just because caveman fuckin Carl ran around all day killing mammoths doesn’t mean he wasn’t overtrained either. Never seen anything about jacked up cavemen.
protein shakes!
That stuff will just give you diarrhoea.
When you’re drinking protein shakes
And you notice something break
Diarrhoea, Diarrhorea
When you think your friends are joking
but your pants are brown and soaking:
Diarrhoea, diarrhoea.
When you’ve just got out of bed
And you’re lifting heavy lead
Diarrhoea, diarrhoea.
When you’re doing many squats
And you think it was a fart
Diarrhoea, diarrhoea.
When you’re trying to “game” a 4
And you’re dripping on the floor
Diarrhoea, diarrhoea.
When you’ve finally got a 1
And you think you’ll have some fun
Diarrhoea, diarrhoea.
When you’re trying to get some head
But you’ve shit-ted up the bed
Diarrhoea, diarrhoea.
When you finally got some hot mama
But you shit in your pyjama
Diarrhoea, diarrhoea.
I like this article. I also suggest reading up at Paul Carter’s Lift, Run, Bang blog, as well as Jamie Lewis’ Chaos n Pain blog. Jamie is a little more in your face, but he does actually cite scientific studies in many of his articles.
If you drink too much protein you’ll simply piss it out, it won’t decrease your gains. So how is it a bodybuilding mistake?
I agree with 2 and 3 for the most part though. I’d like to see a source or something though that shows that the response to a new exercise is merely neural and not anabolic..
If you eat more protein than needed you’ll piss your money away, that’s the mistake.
Excess protein is indeed pissed out. What the author fails to mention is that this exerts undue strain on your kidneys and can lead to kidney failure. The consequences of excess protein are far more serious than wasting money; you can seriously fuck yourself up.
Anybody here read chaosandpain.blogspot.com? He disagrees with just about everything on this list, is a pro weight lifter and also cites his sources. Just more data for the mill.
“More lifting = more muscle gains, right?”
If you don’t lift or are new to lifting, you’re muscles will be small and recover very quickly because they don’t need that many resources, you’re protein synthesis abilities will be able to keep up for the first few months, it’s when the muscles get larger/stronger that there are more cells that get broken down by larger trauma and it goes from taking as little as 24 hours to heal to 3-4 days. Diminishing returns come quick after the first 6 months-1 year of proper lifting, than you have to work your ass off just to maintain a high level of strength making little to no gains for your efforts. If done right, you max out your natural potential after 2-3 years, the first year you may gain 15 lbs, the 2nd year half, and the third year half. The same goes for cardio, once you can do a 6 minute mile pace, you will struggle to get faster, and gains in speed will come slow with great cost, its all due to the “bell curve” effect.
The only thing protein shakes will do is make you fat, thus you thinking you are gaining muscle weight, Instead carb-up before a workout it releases insulin, an anabolic hormone, fat vs muscle ratios are all about insulin manipulation,and carb timing, etc. Muscle for it’s own sake gets boring it’s good to have a sport you train for, once muscle glycogen is full, the rest of the unused energy is stored as fat by the liver, you can tell when your glycogen is full because your body will feel inflated, get your carbohydrate intake around the time you need the energy, and you will not get fat. The only way to get massive is to revolve your entire lifestyle around weight lifting and take artificial hormones
Like all of us have the money to eat for 3 people, want to drink unhealthy protein shakes, or even take steroids (99% of the results you see on the internet is due to that in my opinion), pay for expensive gym memberships, waste their time there while they could be more productive.
I’m a tall guy so I would have to eat even more. I see bodybuilding as useless, just an overcompensation for guys that think it will make up for their flaws. It’s pure narcissism, nothing else. I’m a 24 years old guy, I’m quite skinny, in shape (that means not fat), nothing more is required to feel good in his own skin.
Not all of us want to become stereotypical orange meat-heads. If you want results in bodybuilding, you have to dedicate your life to it, and you have to do unhealthy things to get there. There’s no way around those facts. But I guess people just want to believe, especially in America, here in Europe, there isn’t this obsession about “lifting weights bro!”. I prefer to spend my time cultivating my personality, being social, working on my projects, seducing women than “lifting hard bro!”. But this is just me.
Of course there is an element of narcissism. No one that routinely lifts would deny that but there are many benefits to lifting. There are many psychological benefits to lifting, aside from sex nothing is better for relieving stress, it teaches discipline and focus, and believe me you will understand the physical benefits when you are older (I am closing 40).
bro do you even lift?
I knew this comment was coming and i still laughed
“Like all of us have the money to eat for 3 people, want to drink unhealthy protein shakes, or even take steroids (99% of the results you see on the internet is due to that in my opinion), pay for expensive gym memberships and waste their time there while they could be more productive. I’m a tall guy so I would have to eat even more.”
Seems like you don’t like working out and try to find reasons afterward to justify it, those reasons are bogus so just say you don’t want to work out.
Eating a lot is not that expensive, you just have to learn to cook. You can do without gym memberships, work out at home (used weights are cheap and last a lifetime, or you can follow a bodyweight program, some work impressively well).
As for wasting time, if you work out at home, it only takes 20min a day, 5-6 days a week, which is 2hours a week, don’t tell me you don’t waste 2h on TV or internet, well some people use those 2 hourse to improve their body and health instead.
“I see bodybuilding as useless, just an overcompensation for guys that think it will make up for their flaws. “
It is useless and overcompensation? You know what other situation sounds exactly like that? Poor people dissing rich one for buying nice properties. It’s the common defense mechanism “if I don’t have it, it’s stupid”.
“It’s pure narcissism, that and wanting to please the ladies of course, while people here will say that you shouldn’t live your life according to what you think women want.”
Some people do it for themselves, what’s wrong with loving your body? Is being proud of your hard work when looking in the mirror such a problem?
As for women, if it can help you with them, it’s a great side-benefit.
“I’m a 24 year old guy, I’m quite skinny, in shape (that means not fat), nothing more is required to feel good in his own skin in my opinion.”
I don’t want to feel good, I want to feel awesome.
“If you want results in bodybuilding, you have to dedicate your life to it, and you have to do unhealthy things to get there.”
You don’t have to go as far as bodybuilding contests, for great results within reason, you don’t need to dedicate your life or do unhealthy things, actually a bunch of good health habits is enough to reach it. You’re still rationalizing your decision, as I said, just say you don’t want to work out.
“There’s no way around those facts. But I guess people just want to believe, especially in America, here in Europe, there isn’t this obsession about “lifting weights bro!””
I’m european, and muscles still provide the same benefits as in america, even if you don’t need to go as far in europe. I wrote about it earlier : http://pantheondweller.blogspot.com/2014/04/importance-of-muscles-us-vs-rest-of.html
“I prefer to spend my time cultivating my personality, being social, working on my projects, seducing women than “lifting hard bro!”. But this is just me.”
I prefer to work on myself in every area of life, it’s your choice to forgo one of them, but dissing on those who don’t is puerile.
Excellent response.
$1,000 says that if Fred worked out properly for 6 weeks and then looked in the mirror at himself, he would feel much more masculine and content. Another $1,000 says that if he then went to a beach or took his shirt off poolside around some women, the looks he would get would absolutely convince him of how utterly ridiculous his above comment is. No question about it.
Knowing skinny and knowing built I completely agree.
So this is about women right? I live in Belgium, there are no sunny beaches and it rains 80% of the year here. Having big muscles won’t do you any good if you can’t even show them off indeed. Thanks for proving my point.
is as much about feeling good as it is about looking good… having said that, nobody is forcing you to work out so there is no reason to hate on those who do.
Do Belgians have sex with clothes on?
Having muscle: It changes your gait, your posture, the way you move. You don’t need to be bare skinned to know and see that someone has muscle under that shirt.
I think builders are cool guys on grounds that they’re proficient in an area of life. Having said that, the mentality that any man who isn’t jacked is fuck is some kind of penultimate beta male is fucking stupid. Yes, workout and lifting is important but this idea that it’s the end all definition of masculinity is taking it a bit too far I think. It makes you more physically dominant but never forget the dangers of things like martial arts; no matter how much you lift, I can think of no lift that protects your eyes/jaw/groin.
Testosterone plays a large role in masculinity. Best way to get it flowing naturally is lifting.
I think every man should lift, no doubt
“If you want results in bodybuilding, you have to dedicate your life to it, and you have to do unhealthy things to get there. ”
“and you have to do unhealthy things to get there.”
Are you trolling? You are so fucking retarded beyond belief.
Let this guy’s comment be an example of an egotistical dummy.
dude if you are tall then no need to work out. I’m tall and I just do light cardio and free weight exercise and still get laid.
Even the blind pig finds the occaisional truffle. Why are you even on this site if you’re basing your physical health off how many women put your dick in their mouth? Your pathetic.
cause getting laid and money and being in good health is all that matters. I mean some dude killed 6 people cuase he could not get a girl to put his dick in his mouth…so it is pretty important.
I was CERTAIN this was from a French guy, until I saw that he was actually Belge.
I’ve always struggled to put on weight, but that hasn’t stopped me from trying to stay in shape by lifting and eating well. When I lived in France, I was built like a high school second string wide receiver, but the girls called me muscular. I felt so guilty.
What a bullshit of a false dicotomy at the end.
The biggest mistake most men make, myself included when I was younger, is not deadlifting. I rarely see guys deadlifting and my gym is no Planet Fitness. I
Could you elaborate on that? It could be eye-opener to read your motives.
My motives? I was simply relaying a fact, deadlifting is one of if not the best lift you can perform.
Looks like the 98lb weakling pyjama boys want to be big men to get pussy. Some muscle bound bully kick sand in your face? lol
Enlarge and read the ad. Nothing has changed haha
I shouldn’t bother replying. Your post is telling. You are transparent.
Is that really the biggest mistake? That sounds a little bit narrow minded to me.
Outside of nutrition yes. Deadlifting is the best overall exercise you can do, hitting all the muscle groups and like squatting it increases testosterone production.
It has no effect on Testosterone due to your body’s homoeostasis and the same is true with thyroxine and every other hormone in the body.
Testosterone naturally fluctuates a bit during the day with the higher levels in the morning which is why reading are taken while fasting.
Lab tests are only used to confirm signs that a doctor has already observed in a patient or symptoms the patient complains of. if he sees that a patient is getting manboobs, his beard is not growing and he’s developing a feminised look;and the patient is complaining that he can’t get it up or is losing muscle mass then the doctor will take some tests. T is measured on range, it doesn’t matter what the number is as long as it’s within the range. A higher level does not mean you’re more masculine because each body functions normally based on its own characteristics. A very low level outside the range may indicate something is wrong but even this may mean nothing if the patient is normal and is just an anomaly.
You’re just repeating crap you heard and have no competent knowledge of anything, like the other 99% of morons now on the Net.
The dead lift is a good workout, but it is possible to really screw up your back if done incorrectly so gym owners will never allow people to do it for litigation reasons.
You use a good belt and most importantly correct form and your chances of hurting yourself are minimal.
That’s why you don’t go to those gyms. Find a man’s gym or build your own in a spare room.
THANK YOU! Deadlifting is the man maker! I’m glad someone mentioned this.
An overlooked factor is your intake of carbohydrates. You need them after your workout. Also, indulging yourself in excess protein may cause you to metabolize the excess protein as fat, augmenting your muscle mass and your belly.
To create muscle mass, you must do compound exercises like squats, dead lifts, pullups and rows. Most routines given by gym trainers are shit, designed to make you sweat while minimizing risk of injury and thereby liability to the gym. 50 biceps curls will do shit except for fat amateurs. Still, it makes some sense, since putting a fat slob to make squats right from the beginning is a recipe for disaster.
Switching from isolated to compound exercises gained me 14 pounds of muscle in six months, with an average diet, and I am only an amateur.
the number one mistake guys do when going to the gym imo is going there to socialize first and to workout second. Seriously. Whenever I workout with my buddies It takes me 30-40 minutes lifting and it takes them an hour – an hour thirty because they wasted all that time checking out girls and desperately hitting on them. Its fucking pathetic. They should make unisex gyms (no homo)
They have single sex gyms… for women. Men wanting an all male gym would be PATRIARCHY.
They have single sex gyms for men too. Its called the weight-room.
I sometimes see a few girls go into the weight room with a few light dumbbells to seek attention
True, it does happen on occasion but they usually stay out of my way. As I understand it, women feel very conspicuous about entering the weight room. They can sense the unrelenting maleness of the room and the wrongness of their presence.
It’s called the gay gym
I wish they did. There is no bigger boner killer that having to look at the deformed and misshapen asses on late 20’s and 30’s year old females in the gym.
The least they could do is not wear spandex or yoga pants.
lol… you go to the gym to get a boner?
There are gyms where there are no women simply because the women don’t want to be around the type of music, the grunting, clanking of plates,ect.
I work out and guys always ask what supplements I take. I tell them I don’t take any and they look at me stupid. Unless you’re in that top tier and maxed out, most guys don’t need supplements and wasting money. You’ll be ok if you have a semi-decent diet
Cut down on your alcohol intake. Excessive drinking interferes with your sleep patterns, and sleep is when growth hormones are in high gear.
The biggest mistake is determined whether you workout for your own health or to become a more attractive working horse for women to choose (as illustrated in the main picture above).
Happy babi mama day!
99% of the time when some ignorant fuck yells “steroids” they themselves DO NOT lift and are bitter. I get it, lifting weights isn’t for everyone, none implied it was, but as an athlete and a guy who enjoys the attention of having visible abs, a large chest and arms, and yeah it makes up for not wanting to put in effort when it comes to getting laid, because frankly I don’t have a need or desire to bring out my best personality when it comes to some slag-a sourous whore. Most women are worth a fuck or two and that’s it. I work my ass of in the gym and I’ve spent hours learning about nutrition and proper rest. That “he’s on roids” faggotry is for hatin ass betas who worship a pussy. Focus on your own body and mind and quit with he obvious penis envy.
Anyone willing to abuse drugs to achieve an image regardless of the side effects deserves to be shamed. I know lots of guys that do 2-3 cycles a year and they are all incredibly fucked up. They all do it for women and to intimidate other men then years into the lifestyle they all claim its all about being clean and hard work. They all wear those f’n alpha shirts, instagram selfies all day, and freak out if you call them out for roids. The guys I know on roids have no discipline, their decisions are based on 100% emotion…no logic, they are bat shit crazy, and they develop a ridiculous level of narcissism. Dark triad in every way. They even develop that rationalization hamster women have. They practically developed the mind of an unstable woman.
Id shame a fat chick for abusing cocaine to lose weight…id shame a man for abusing drugs to get big too.
You are correct though…the guys always throwing out the roid accusations at the gym are always the losers in the worst shape that lack discipline. They are betas that whine about betas…instead of focusing on themselves.
i definitly like to see a definitive number for protein consumed. even other blogs such as nlu recommend 1-2grams per lb or or say 2 per kg.
definitly need something offical cause its confusin for newbies.
Russians in the picture)) Юрий Спасокукоцкий
The most pathetic sight is a gym rat meat head who has zero game. The thin/toned guy with game and good conversational skills gets the ladies every time.
I think American men grossly over estimate how much muscle women find attractive. I would say the most attractive body type for men is a tennis player/ soccer player type body. Don’t try to look like a nFL line backer.
Try both, you will see the difference between a tennis body and a NFL one.
But I won’t argue on physical attractiveness eventhough I disagree. Here’s 3 other factors at work :
– It raises testosterone, liquid dominance.
– There’s a primal factor, we’re still just smart monkeys, the big one gets all the benefits. The effect isn’t as great as it is for monkeys but it’s there.
– It works somewhat like marketing, a smaller market is better if you can close more. Doesn’t matter if some girls don’t like muscular men, if you’re the biggest guy of your social circle, those who do will be all over you, you’ll be getting far more bangs than the man targetting the whole market.
Women do not find a certain amount of muscle attractive, a priori. They are not men, who have predefined visual traits they find attractive. Instead, visual cues are simply stand ins for what they really seek to discover, a man’s social status and power.
Because of this, women in social circles where the guys worship buff guys, find muscles attractive. While in intellectual circles, looking like a creepy college prof or emaciated, drug addicted “artist” is the ticket to poon. Amongst such women, the more bulk you add, the more low brow, try hard and pathetically compensating you seem.
The guy who mentioned the “tennis player” physique being pretty much ideal, is not far off, in general. Largely because tennis players are tall and slender, with long limbs, and necks skinny enough to accentuate the size of their heads. Which do tend to lend them a fairly universal aura of powerful, wealthy, well nourished and wise men.
This is likely why a skinny runt like Rusty Moore can get away with being a fitness guru for an improbable number of people who make a living dealing in looks. HIs clients and followers travel in circles where looking like a “meathead” may even end up preventing you from being considered for a job, much less a high status woman.
/ basketball player / swimmer
Two things.
1. Someone already touched upon this in another comment, but…too much socializing. It takes a lot of up-and-go and willpower for people to get to the gym. Time is precious. I switched gyms because it got too social at one point. Give them a pat on the back and keep walking. Trust me: they will appreciate it.
2. Get off your fucking phone! I see too many people texting between sets or riding the bike while texting. If you’re going to go to the gym, for 45 minutes, unplug from your iCrap and do some work!
I love these “lifting” articles.
A man has to work his fucking nuts off (likely for years) and watch what he eats like a NAZI to look “fit” with visible abs.
All a woman has to do is not be fat and then she demands a man with abs.
Smells like a female devised shit test.
Lifting is great as long as someone is not doing it for a bitch.
There is a HUGE difference between a girl that isn’t fat versus one that actively works out. The lazy one is easy to spot and avoid once they reach 18-20. I’m not sure exactly if this fits with your comment, now that I read it over again… but I wanted to say it anyway.
Well uh ok…..
I know the difference between unfat chicks and fit chicks. Unfat girls routinely expect men with abs. That is a shit test of the highest order and I think a man that works out to attract women is a beta.
Very average women that are un-fat consider themselves worthy of a man that has invested 1000’s of hours to have “abs”.
This is spot on. Period. Not to side with olympic lift movements but there’s only a few that they do to prove who is strongest. This is by design. They don’t need to run a marathon, be able to do cycling on end, and 7700 pushups to be strong. muscle does not build through “confusion” but by progression. And some bodies respond quicker than others. I’m 25 been using olympic lifts as well as a switch (yoga, pick up basketball, normal stuff around dumbbells or bench) and there’s not much to add. Know how you get strong and carve out your workout. I suggest writing it down to make it real. Great article.
Agreed on the protein shakes. Don’t know what it is, but whenever I take them I get gassy, constipated and I just look bloated.
Quit them about 6 months ago, and the results have been great. I look leaner and more ripped. No decrease in muscle mass, only fat. As long as you have a healthy diet, with plenty of lean, quality protein, you don’t need the damn things.
1. Protein shakes immediately after a workout generously aid in your muscle recovery if taken up to 30 minutes post-workout. The reason you eat more protein than your body actually needs is because it’s the most difficult macro nutrient to digest and when you couple a high protein diet with low carbs (the easiest macro to digest) and moderate fat, you force your body to metabolize your bodyfat for energy rather than the fast digesting carbs. Burning fat + retaining or building muscle= the desired chiseled look.
2.Lifting weights five days a week will bring you way better results (and is completely worth it) than lifting two days a week as long you are cycling your muscle groups. Muscles only need 24-48 hours max to recover…
3. Any real body builder will tell you they cycle their workouts to improve results. You should probably get new sources rather than pulling shit from books from 1988 when everyone still thought a low fat diet was a good idea.
Just because you made gains while ignoring these things doesn’t mean they don’t work. If you want to build muscle you’re way better off getting info from actual body building websites (which are literally specifically written with building muscle in mind) than listening to this guys fitness routine that he hasn’t modified in 20 years. The fitness articles on this website are atrocious and really brings the rest of the site down….
I would say a huge mistake is building muscle for muscles sake. Why? It is important to have an overriding goal. Your progress will be a lot faster if you know exactly why you are doing what you are doing. Is it to benefit your sport? General health? To look better?
Another mistake is focusing on muscle strength and not tendon and ligament strength. This is important.
Frankly, I think protein shakes are crap. The vast majority of them are chemical laden junk that will do you more harm than good. Avoid processed foods like these and especially protein bars. You really don’t need them.
Nothing wrong with lifting weights. There’s certainly nothing wrong with doing it 6 days a week. If you can’t get in and out of the gym in 45 minutes, then you deserve to have your shitty testosterone levels. ANYONE can find time for increasing their hormone production naturally in the gym. Remarks about obsession are actually YOUR compensation for lack of discipline. I used to be like you and hate on guys like me…Then i manned the fuck up and got jacked naturally. Now I make panties wet. And oh yeah, cultivated jealous haters that make stupid comments, probably because a guy like me is the one banging your girl since you enjoy looking fat and fluffy.
Great tips! It’s good to see solid, reasonable recommendations, especially with the insane rise of Crossfit.
The protein comment is right… super high protein only works if you are juiced up to the gills… and I mean stacking multiple substances. When I quit the protein shakes I got a LOT LEANER… now I just take amino acid powder during my workout… no more protein farts lol.
Great post. Working out IS NOT that difficult. I cringe when I see “trainers” make their trainee’s do ridiculous crap, particularly, when it takes up space in the gym (I’m one of this anti-social types that gets it done and out) such as balancing on a half ball or doing lunges across the gym. Not that those things don’t work, its that its a scam, since, the same thing can be achieved sticking to the basics. Honestly, trainers are useful for injuries, beginners and other very specialized things, anything else, and its really a matter of the person not having the discipline and will power to do what reduces down to pushs-ups, sit-ups and cardio without outside motivation. Note: the number of women that have to have trainers…structured classes included.
I’ve done weight lifting in the past, had several different personal trainers with different approaches. Then I hurt my back, got out of shape, but am getting back in shape and doing it on my own, incorporating everything I learned before.
All I will say is, the one PT I had who was a former professional body builder REALLY helped me learn how to build muscle and bulk up by concentrating on form. Except I think you need to think of your muscles as having brains in them — because they do. They have neural systems in them. You want to learn a movement and feel which part of the muscle REALLY tightens up when you do it — because, if you are isolating it right, you know you are REALLY building it. Some muscles can be isolated because they bear the brunt of whatever movement — some muscles are secondary — only if you lift a weight that is too heavy for the primary muscles to lift do the secondary muscles start kicking in.
Anyway, learning how to isolate the muscles with proper form is important — that’s why you don’t want “muscle confusion.” However, after your muscles have learned something well, they will get in perfect shape for that particular movement, and then stagnate. That is when you have to switch it up and “confuse” your body a bit — but it isn’t really confusion. You are learning how your body works and how to make it work. Your brain is in charge.
And that’s another thing I have to say. Listen to your body first and foremost. Everyone is different — your body is the one that makes the rules that work for you. Thus, for me, I find working out every day is THE THING to do — because the endorphin rush gets addictive and I become addicted to it and I get “in the zone.” If I try doing it every other day — it is nowhere near as satisfying. Also, very intense stuff is really enjoyable to me — like power cleans — as it really gets one’s endorphins going real high. And, of course, listening to the right music on my iPod is important — but I need variety. A song that will totally inspire me at first will, after a week or so, stop inspiring me as much, and then I need to move onto new music.
Also, switching it up such as mountain climbing and dancing at clubs is also helpful. You need to figure out how to make your body want to do what will get it in shape – and,remember, your body is never wrong. Listen to all advice, but take it with a grain of salt, try it out, trust yourself. What works for some might not work for you. But it’s still good advice to listen to.
The biggest mistake you can make in physical development is to read anything at ROK on the subject. Go to T NATION and read everything there. It will take you months, maybe years but it is free and the highest quality you will get for no cash investment. You still need to put in the time though.
Friends don’t let friends skip leg day.
Well done Jefe and thank you. Muscle confusion has been confusing me for a few years now. Now i understand why it doesn’t work
What you are promoting is more masculinity in women.
The simple fact is that: masculinity (which is according to you translates in building muscles) has the effect of making women more masculine. It is easy to understand that by watching movies or TV from the 50s 60s 70s, were men built like orangutans? no. Were women feminine? yes.
Today, the man identity’s crisis promotes men to build muscles in order to be masculine. The effect is that we have men that are built-pussies.
Big news: opposite don’t attract.
Look at the men from Russia, do they hit the gyms and masturbate on their egos. The response is no, look at their women, feminine.
Cf.
Pics.
7 workouts per week over 6 days, works for me. less aint more, stop reading others advice, and experiment for yourself, figure out what works.
I actually respectfully disagree with almost everything in this article. I’m not trying to be a dick, I just find that all those things are not what works. I follow the iifym’s diet and it’s the only nutritional system I’ve been on that’s worked in years. And yes, it says to have a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight and to track your calories. Tracking your calories is the only way you will ever be ripped. And it’s almost impossible to hit your protein macros level with food alone. Most people simply must use protein shakes to get there.
Honestly, I also think doing the exact same exercises each time you go to the gym is a HUGE mistake. Your body adapts quickly and gets used to those exercises. You need to change it up constantly.
And the most ripped people on my facebook workout twice a day. I’m not saying anybody should or could do that, but it’s just true. If you are in the gym burning calories and building muscle, you are simply going to look better. The myth that you can work out 1-2 times a week is derived by magazine editors to capture the casual exercise enthusiast to buy their magazines. It’s a total lie. You will NEVER look as good as somebody working out 5-6 times a week. The most amazing post 40 year old body on the planet is Kane Sumabat and he would disagree with every single thing you posted there. Why use him as an example? Because, it’s easy to be ripped in your 20’s, much harder to look like him in your 40’s (he’s 47).
Even though you want to gain muscle quickly, you still need to be patient. Doing too much too quick will have a negative effect on your body and could result in injury.I was a weak guy before I got this plan,see my review of it:>bestfitnessandmusclebuilding(dot)com/ms2<