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'...
Eric Warburton's user avatar
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's user avatar
  • 17.9k
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,...
MJB's user avatar
  • 4,151
19 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 ...
Andy's user avatar
  • 3,717
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). ...
0xMert's user avatar
  • 1,996
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 ...
Andy's user avatar
  • 3,717
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 ...
Christian's user avatar
  • 395
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 ...
rrirower's user avatar
  • 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's user avatar
  • 17.9k
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 ...
Angel Politis's user avatar
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, ...
MJB's user avatar
  • 4,151
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 ...
MJB's user avatar
  • 4,151
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 (...
POD's user avatar
  • 6,161
7 votes
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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 ...
Dave Liepmann's user avatar
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 ...
DeeV's user avatar
  • 7,814
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,...
Thomas Markov's user avatar
  • 3,786
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. ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 233
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 ...
rrirower's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Achilles's user avatar
  • 391
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 (...
Jun Kang's user avatar
  • 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 ...
C. Lange's user avatar
  • 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 ...
Peter - Reinstate Monica's user avatar
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....
C. Lange's user avatar
  • 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 ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
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 ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
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 (...
David Scarlett's user avatar
6 votes

Fitness trainer put me on a muscle building program even though I have a 38 inch waist line

muscle building program Training programs for building muscle are the same regardless of whether or not you are cutting. Cutting training may need to deal with recovery a bit more, but overall the ...
DeeV's user avatar
  • 7,814
5 votes
Accepted

Relation between upper body workout and wrist size

In short, Yes! There are two aspects to this: Bone Muscle Bone: Any exercise that places regular stress on a given bone will increase bone density overtime. For the wrist specifically, ...
JaredW82's user avatar
  • 463
5 votes

Are protein powders unhealthy for a teen athlete?

No, protein supplements are made of whey protein, which is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It's not a synthetic product of any kind. I haven't tried the Gold brand in ...
Alec's user avatar
  • 17.9k

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