36
votes
Accepted
Why is 40 pushups a day not doing anything?
Please check if you are missing something from this answer on how to build muscle. The two most common things people mess up when trying to grow larger muscles are they don't eat enough, and they don'...
- 2,432
31
votes
Accepted
How many magic workout secrets are there really?
There are no secret workouts.
The beautiful demigod beefcakes known as Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans (and for that matter, Chris Pratt) have personal trainers who tailor their every workout to their ...
Alec♦
- 17.8k
25
votes
Accepted
Will fat help you gain muscle?
If you are heavier you will be stronger wether this is by fat or by muscle I think we can all agree on that.
On what do you base this? Apart from very few lifts where a bit more body weight helps you,...
- 4,141
23
votes
Is physiology of muscle growth a pseudoscience?
Muscle growth physiology is not a pseudoscience as researchers are using scientific methods to collect and analyze data and make logical deductions.
It is true that our knowledge of muscle growth is ...
- 331
18
votes
Is physiology of muscle growth a pseudoscience?
I do not agree with your insistence on a mechanism.
In 1964 the U.S. Surgeon General published a report where he concluded that smoking causes cancer. At that time the mechanisms behind this was not ...
- 3,540
9
votes
Accepted
What's the best way to begin cutting down to lower (and even single) body fat percentages for an active, healthy father with a standard work schedule?
I had a very similar problem when I was getting ready for my first bodybuilding competition, I know exactly what you mean. So you're around 185lbs with 12-14% body fat (which is very good, nice job). ...
- 1,986
9
votes
Why is 40 pushups a day not doing anything?
It seems that if you insist on doing unweighted push-ups you have to build up to 100s of push-ups every day to see results (1).
Personally I do push-ups with a weight plate on my back instead.
That ...
- 3,540
8
votes
Will Pilates kill my gains?
1) Will pilates kill my gains? Because I have heard that in your rest
days, you have to sit still. Otherwise, you will kill your gains.
Generally on your rest days you want active rest. As such, ...
- 14.8k
8
votes
Is protein the only intake needed for muscle gain?
Yes you need lots of other things, minerals, vitamins, essential fats, carbohydrates.
These are needed to build muscle and also to stay alive, while the muscle building happens.
That's why should ...
- 385
7
votes
Breaking Microtears by flexing?
What you are describing is called Isometric training. It’s a little used, and much misunderstood, form of training in which the muscle tenses without changing its length. Each contraction is ...
- 6,641
7
votes
Why am I not seeing any change in body composition or weight?
"almost a month ago" - Almost? ALMOST A MONTH?!
I'm going to be harshly honest here; come back in a year, and give me the new numbers. If you can't stick with the program for at least a year, this ...
Alec♦
- 17.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Can I gain muscle mass doing push ups?
What you've read is false. You may not end up with a bodybuilder's body, but push ups is a fundamental exercise everybody does, whether going to a gym or not.
It definitely helps you gain muscle mass ...
- 249
7
votes
Accepted
How to build a bigger and stronger upper body?
You should definitely do the big compound movements. Deadlifts, Bench press, Shoulder press (standing). Doing shoulder press while standing will add that you'll be contracting your core to stabalize, ...
- 4,141
7
votes
6 months in calisthenics and still almost no progress
I think your main problem is that you don't really focus on anything with your current program. You do many different things at once and as a beginner that is fine but if you want to take it more ...
- 4,141
7
votes
How to gain muscle whilst losing fat
Contrary to the common myth, a regimen consisting of a mixture of strength and endurance training—as you are doing—will generally lead to a loss of fat mass, and a corresponding gain of fat-free (...
- 6,126
7
votes
Accepted
Homeworkout alternative to deadlifts
There is no single alternative to the deadlift, because the whole point of the deadlift is that it does so many things so dramatically.
It can be loaded more than nearly any other exercise. If this is ...
- 24.8k
7
votes
Why are natural bodybuilders so big?
Different weight goals
Goal of a bodybuilder is to have as much muscle mass as possible while maintaining as little fat mass as possible. This involves getting slowly heavier over time.
Being heavier ...
- 6,799
7
votes
My experiments to my body
Your exercise selection leaves much to be desired.
Your routine consists of only three movements: push-ups, squats, and sit-ups. The primary muscles targeted then are the triceps, anterior delts, pecs,...
- 2,606
7
votes
How many magic workout secrets are there really?
Start, and don't stop.
That is one magic secret that is so blatantly obvious, no-one really notices.
You won't improve if you don't begin something. It doesn't have to be a highly focused program.
...
- 233
6
votes
gym 3 times a week no muscle gain
Gaining muscle as a natural (non-drug using) exerciser is difficult at best. Most of us neglect the role that genetics plays in the potential for growth. Too often, we look for quick gains, when in ...
- 6,641
6
votes
Accepted
Will I lose gains in this situation?
A 2005 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that for highly trained athletes, 2 weeks of detraining seems to be the amount of time that muscle atrophy tends to occur. This seems to be ...
- 6,641
6
votes
Accepted
Preserve muscles while fasting
The idea was to eat enough protein ( 1.5 x body weight in Kg), keep
working out, and have calorie in < calorie out.
With the above understanding, you're on the right track.
Since you're allowed ...
- 381
6
votes
Is protein shake diet good?
No this is not healthy or sufficient. At 100kg/220lbs, 196cm/6ft5in, 26 y/o male, your caloric intake is pretty low. At those numbers, I would expect your maintenance level to be ~2600 calories (...
- 447
6
votes
Accepted
Are weights necessary for building muscle effectively?
I believe the overall consensus is that building straight muscle mass without weights is less effective.
Here's a nice comparison of weight training vs callisthenics.
My summary of it is the ...
- 4,538
6
votes
Will fat help you gain muscle?
It's a somewhat complex question. Let's start with your first sentence:
If you are heavier you will be stronger whether this is by fat or by muscle I think we can all agree on that.
No, I don't ...
6
votes
Accepted
Are squats on the tip of the feet and bending back good for the legs?
I believe you're describing a Sissy Squat *. This is a great body-weight exercise for developing your quadriceps. However, sissy squats don't work the glutes at all; instead recruiting the hip flexors....
- 4,538
6
votes
Accepted
How important is Regular Exercise vs Amount of Exercise?
It's not the total amount of work you do that matters, it's the volume, or the total amount of work per unit of time.
Compare the two people over a year - person A would have done approximately 7,000 ...
- 12.6k
6
votes
Accepted
What is the best position for pull ups to target one's lower pecs?
None of these are particularly good exercises for targeting the lower pecs, as the pecs are only very minor contributors to shoulder extension (as in narrow grip pull-ups) and shoulder adduction (as ...
- 12.6k
6
votes
Understanding effect of repetitions on muscles and appearance
The guardian is wrong.
Research has consistently shown than rep range does not matter for hypertrophy, as long as sets are done sufficiently close to failure and the reps are not so ridiculously high (...
- 12.6k
5
votes
Accepted
Feeling my chest being built during dips?
It's not really a case of dips hitting chest instead of triceps. Dips hits both. But depending on how you do it, it will be working one more than the other.
If you want to engage triceps more, try ...
Alec♦
- 17.8k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible