Few questions about hitting the gym


LOL. I knew I should have addressed this objection up front. Someone was bound to reference it.

The thing is, not everyone can get the same results as Mark Hall. It all depends on your level of insulin resistance. Clearly, his was low enough to allow weight loss.

Listen, it's not a simple as calories in/calories it. What your body does with the calories plays a huge role in whether you'll lose the weight or not. Otherwise, people could just cut calories and lose weight in a predictable fashion without any plateaus whatsoever.

A 500 cal. deficit would result in 1 lb. of weight loss/week. Never more, never less. Of course, that never happens. Your body adapts. When it feels you're not feeding it enough it will decrease movement (i.e. you'll feel tired) to balance the calorie deficit.

That's why highly insulin resistant people could never lose weight on a Twinkie diet. All of those calories (i.e. energy) would be shuttled to the fat cells. Furthermore, the resulting high insulin levels wouldn't allow the release of fatty acids into the blood stream for energy. The person would feel tired (despite adequate calorie intake) and move less to compensate.
 


LOL. I knew I should have addressed this objection up front. Someone was bound to reference it.

The thing is, not everyone can get the same results as Mark Hall. It all depends on your level of insulin resistance. Clearly, his was low enough to allow weight loss.

Listen, it's not a simple as calories in/calories it. What your body does with the calories plays a huge role in whether you'll lose the weight or not. Otherwise, people could just cut calories and lose weight in a predictable fashion without any plateaus whatsoever.

A 500 cal. deficit would result in 1 lb. of weight loss/week. Never more, never less. Of course, that never happens. Your body adapts. When it feels you're not feeding it enough it will decrease movement (i.e. you'll feel tired) to balance the calorie deficit.

That's why highly insulin resistant people could never lose weight on a Twinkie diet. All of those calories (i.e. energy) would be shuttled to the fat cells. Furthermore, the resulting high insulin levels wouldn't allow the release of fatty acids into the blood stream for energy. The person would feel tired (despite adequate calorie intake) and move less to compensate.
Perfectly stated. 2 people can eat the same diet, burn the same amount of calories and still lose(or not lose) the same amount of weight. The condition in one person's body may cause them to burn muscle, while another burns more fat, etc. But anyway, my explanation sucks, stick to what Megatabbers said.
 
1. Training heavy in the 3-5 rep range is what one typically does when going for strength gains, where as the 8-12 rep range is where hypertrophy occurs and is how the most mass gains are made.

2. Contrary to popular belief, whey protein isn't some magic potion or even worse, a steroid.. Rest is very important.

Thanks for the reply, but can you tell me what is the difference between muscles/strength (5-6 reps) and mass gains(10-12 reps). Isn't muscle building the way to getting bigger mass and size?

I know that rest is important, but how much rest is needed before I do the same body part again? I love working out my pecs and biceps but not so much my legs. So I try to fit in pec workouts twice a week as against once for my legs. Is this wrong?
 
Thanks for the reply, but can you tell me what is the difference between muscles/strength (5-6 reps) and mass gains(10-12 reps). Isn't muscle building the way to getting bigger mass and size?

I know that rest is important, but how much rest is needed before I do the same body part again? I love working out my pecs and biceps but not so much my legs. So I try to fit in pec workouts twice a week as against once for my legs. Is this wrong?

If you want mass and train with intensity, you could train a body part twice a week. HOWEVER, since bodybuilding is not your full time job, you will realize that training it once a week is enough. Of course, you can do less exercises and train two muscles a day, it is really up to you and how much will you have to train this way.

You increase your muscle size doing sets that range between 8-12.
You gain muscle strenght doing low rep sets, around 5.

Been hitting the gym for more than a decade, on and off...Definitely, the most difficult part is to keep a frequency and maintain it for a year or more.
 
Read...


Diet Related...

A Primer on Nutrition Part 1 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

A Primer on Nutrition Part 2 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

The Fundamentals of Fat Loss Part 1 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

The Fundamentals of Fat Loss Diets Part 2 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

All Diets Work: The Importance of Calories | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald


Training Related...

Weight Training for Fat Loss Part 1 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

Weight Training for Fat Loss Part 2 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

And then realize that it would probably be best for you to get on some predesigned training program to maximise your gains. The foods you eat are key, but consistency is more important than anything combined.

To people talking about insulin and such...

At this point, it appears as though he is still a beginner (2 Months in the gym) Unless he is single digit body fat already or some extreme exception, none of these really technical things will make a hint of difference at this point.

>>>Rules For The Win<<<
1. Read as much info from reputable sources as you can
2. Pick something that you can actually adhere to for the long term - training and diet
3. Read as much info from reputable sources as you can
4. Don't overcomplicate things at this stage
5. Pick something that you can actually adhere to for the long term - training and diet
6. Read as much info from reputable sources as you can
7. Getting info from places like Mens Health, Esquire, generally anything designed for the general population is a losing proposition...
8. Don't overcomplicate things at this stage
9.???
10. Profit

Also, the Starting Strength book and Leangains site offer good information. Check out some of Alan Aragons stuff too - despite the fact that he sometimes writes for Mens Health, he knows his stuff...
 
If you want mass and train with intensity, you could train a body part twice a week. HOWEVER, since bodybuilding is not your full time job, you will realize that training it once a week is enough. Of course, you can do less exercises and train two muscles a day, it is really up to you and how much will you have to train this way.

You increase your muscle size doing sets that range between 8-12.
You gain muscle strenght doing low rep sets, around 5.

Been hitting the gym for more than a decade, on and off...Definitely, the most difficult part is to keep a frequency and maintain it for a year or more.

Yea, finding time is a pain. What I do nowadays is to minimize rest in between sets by doing two alternate body parts. So I do 1 set of bicep curls and then follow it up by dips for triceps, then the 2nd set of biceps etc. Now I'm concentrating on getting my BMI lower. It hovers around 24.7

Read...


Diet Related...

A Primer on Nutrition Part 1 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

A Primer on Nutrition Part 2 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

The Fundamentals of Fat Loss Part 1 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

The Fundamentals of Fat Loss Diets Part 2 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

All Diets Work: The Importance of Calories | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald


Training Related...

Weight Training for Fat Loss Part 1 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

Weight Training for Fat Loss Part 2 | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

And then realize that it would probably be best for you to get on some predesigned training program to maximise your gains. The foods you eat are key, but consistency is more important than anything combined.

To people talking about insulin and such...

At this point, it appears as though he is still a beginner (2 Months in the gym) Unless he is single digit body fat already or some extreme exception, none of these really technical things will make a hint of difference at this point.

>>>Rules For The Win<<<
1. Read as much info from reputable sources as you can
2. Pick something that you can actually adhere to for the long term - training and diet
3. Read as much info from reputable sources as you can
4. Don't overcomplicate things at this stage
5. Pick something that you can actually adhere to for the long term - training and diet
6. Read as much info from reputable sources as you can
7. Getting info from places like Mens Health, Esquire, generally anything designed for the general population is a losing proposition...
8. Don't overcomplicate things at this stage
9.???
10. Profit

Also, the Starting Strength book and Leangains site offer good information. Check out some of Alan Aragons stuff too - despite the fact that he sometimes writes for Mens Health, he knows his stuff...


nice links mate, especially the training related ones
 
if you gained weight it because muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less space, pay more attention to how your clothes fit. also try to get your locker close to the center isle that way you don't have to wade through all the naked old guys who decided to locker up next to you. unless you're a gay webmaster.
 
Thanks for the reply, but can you tell me what is the difference between muscles/strength (5-6 reps) and mass gains(10-12 reps). Isn't muscle building the way to getting bigger mass and size?

There are lots of opinions out there. Your body builds muscle as a result of stress (lifting weights.) Rep #s aren't as important as intensity. Powerlifters get huge from doing many sets of single-rep max sets.

You have to train to failure to get muscle mass increases, and a lot of high-rep fanboys don't understand how to differentiate between working hard, and working to failure.

Like I mentioned above, look up Dorian Yates blood & guts trainer on youtube (He was a Mr. Olympia several times.) This style of training takes less time than doing 5 sets of pyramid-style training for every exercise you do, while also producing faster (and consistent) results.

IN B4: "he used steroids" and "your begging for injuries."
 
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snip...

You have to train to failure to get muscle mass increases, and a lot of high-rep fanboys don't understand how to differentiate between working hard, and working to failure.

snip...

No... hypertrophy does not require training to failure. This is a sure fire way to overtraining.

If you are just getting started pretty much any routine will shock your muscle fibers and wake them up. Read up on Hypertrophy Specific Training and follow that program if you are completely overwhelmed. After 6-8 weeks look into Dog Crap or Time Under Tension (TUT). Around a year you can look into German Volume Training for Westside barbell for a nice shock and boost in strength.

Good luck bros.
 
This is a good way to spin your wheels and burn yourself out...
1

I find warming up properly and doing a single working set per exercise helps avoid overtraining.

No... hypertrophy does not require training to failure. This is a sure fire way to overtraining.

If you are just getting started pretty much any routine will shock your muscle fibers and wake them up. Read up on Hypertrophy Specific Training and follow that program if you are completely overwhelmed. After 6-8 weeks look into Dog Crap or Time Under Tension (TUT). Around a year you can look into German Volume Training for Westside barbell for a nice shock and boost in strength.

Good luck bros.

Overtraining is different for everyone, but as I mentioned; doing a single working set for each exercise doesn't promote overtraining.

HST is the same practice as I'm preaching, but encourages staggering your training with low set/high rep training so that your body can manage the high intensity (heavy weight, lower rep) training that I'm referring to.

German Volume Training is great for advanced lifters, but you can only keep up with it for so long before burnout.

-- Not trying to disrespect; but saying low-volume, high-intensity training leads to overtraining, then telling people to look up the West Side boys and GVT methods is an an oxymoron. Your point about HST is respectable though, particularly for people who aren't yet at an advanced level.
 
I said around a year into working out. No oxymoron with a solid years worth of lifting under his belt and a shock for 6-8 weeks.

My point was that going to failure on EVERY SET is not necessary and leads to over training.

We are probably close to being on same page :: respect :: Booyakasha!

OP... Get your ass to the gym and don't over train

/ thread
 
Now that I have had 2 bottles of Dog Fish Head Barley Wine I am primed to answer your questions....

Hi guys,
I have been working out for the last 2 months and I have some questions that hopefully can be answered by a few here:

1. Is there any truth to the myth of heavy training with few reps vs light training but more reps (I found one report online that suggests heavy training is better as it helps increase the metabolic rate thereby helping you burn fat even while asleep)

IMHopeful and I already discussed this for you. Post more precise questions if you are confused after reading up on HST>

2. I take whey supplements. Now from what I gathered on Yahoo answers, all they do is ‘fill in’ the muscle tear which happens during workouts, thereby negating the need for a complete 24-36 hr rest period before training the same body part. Now the thing is I work out each particular body part only once a week, so how does whey help?

Any food does this. Whey is a fast absorbing protein (amino acid). Broteligence tells us to drink our shake in the "opportunity window" which is believed to be 0-60 minutes post work out. You can drink your shake or have a whole meal. 12 years of training tells me it doesn't really matter. This includes a few beers after in place of a shake as well.... The bottom line is that food (clean food i.e: lean protein and low glycemic carbs (if you must have them) are a better choice to stoke your metabolism and keep anabolism trending upward.

3. I have noticed that I have gained 2.5 kg since I joined, despite the fact that I do 20-30 minutes cardio each day (5 days a week). Now when I come back home I eat a little junk food, like a small pastry, chicken lollipop etc. Do you mean to say that the cardio I do ‘helps’ keep the weight increase to ONLY 2.5 kg (meaning to say that without the cardio, I would have ballooned up by 5-6 kg? I find this highly unlikely because before I joined the gym, I used to eat this same junk food without any exercise and I would gain 2-3 kgs.)

This doesn't make a lot of sense and I have no idea (insert bunny with a pancake) what you are trying to say here. If you are eating pastries and other shit it spikes your insulin causing fat storage. If the cardio you are doing is promoting fat loss you are probably taking in fewer calories then your metabolic rate is burning. Determine your goals, determine your diet (how clean) and lift with the principals outlined above.
 
I said around a year into working out. No oxymoron with a solid years worth of lifting under his belt and a shock for 6-8 weeks.

My point was that going to failure on EVERY SET is not necessary and leads to over training.

We are probably close to being on same page :: respect :: Booyakasha!

/ thread

Yeah, I think we are on the same page, lol. I wasn't implying to go to failure on EVERY set. Just a slight miscommunication.

Right back at ya! :: respect ::