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'...
- 2,431
27
votes
Accepted
How long would it take for a skinny man to get fit and 6 pack?
What does it mean to be fit?
From the starting point of a 50kg man, I consider fit to include
gaining quite a lot of weight, mostly muscle
correcting most, if not all, posture imperfections and ...
Alec♦
- 17.8k
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
19
votes
Accepted
What happens to your muscles when you stop working out for several years?
There was a 2010 study that touched on this a bit, and suggests there's more going on than muscle memory.
Effects of previous strength training can be long-lived, even after
prolonged subsequent ...
- 14.8k
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
17
votes
Accepted
Why don't we train hip flexors?
I am active in aerial arts and gymnastics communities. In these disciplines, we train hipflexors all the time (although most exercises that use hipflexors hit abs and/or quads as well), since ...
- 286
15
votes
Do high reps build strength?
I think you've heard the right idea, but you're misinterpreting it.
Of course high reps builds some strength, but certainly not a whole lot. It's going to take a lot more effort (in terms of joules ...
Alec♦
- 17.8k
14
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to move each toe individually?
Yes, with practice, you could learn to control every toe individually.
The reason it is difficult, is that the part of your brain which is responsible for voluntary movements, the motor cortex, has ...
- 1,957
12
votes
My trainer insists on stretching before any exercise, even warming up. Should I be worried?
First off, ask your trainer how many athletes he or she has trained that have won national, regional, or international titles. Personally, my belief is that unless you have trained someone that's made ...
- 14.8k
12
votes
Why don't we train hip flexors?
It's not actually that uncommon to train them. Most ab exercises work the hip flexors as much as they do the abs. There probably isn't a huge benefit to having them be extremely strong, but powerful ...
- 12.2k
11
votes
Accepted
List of muscles by volume in average man
Here, I made a list :)
# cm^3 muscle
1 879.65 Gluteus maximus
674.00 Vastus lateralis
599.20 Adductor magnus
580.00 Vastus intermedius
5 531.90 Soleus
461.00 ...
- 225
10
votes
Accepted
What's up with my body?
Your question is very general, and will therefore only attract general answers, so this will be that.
Fixing posture
While you don't mention this yourself, C.Lange makes a good point about posture ...
Alec♦
- 17.8k
10
votes
Accepted
What actually makes fingers thicker?
Your finger is made up of ligaments. tendons, 3 bones, fat, skin, veins and capillaries.
As you get older your knuckles or bones will get bigger just through use and damage.
Tendons and ligaments get ...
- 176
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
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
8
votes
Accepted
How to gain muscles and be fit with low testosterone?
You do not have "low testosterone" and even if you did, you would build muscle and overall fitness the same way that everyone else does - through training. 350 ng/dL is within a normal range ...
- 4,422
8
votes
Accepted
Which is the role of glutes when extending your legs?
We need to clarify some terms. "Extension" means movement of a joint which increases the angle between two body parts. So elbow extension is the movement that increases the angle between the ...
- 12.2k
7
votes
Accepted
How does strength training affect one's health and life expectancy in the long run?
I know that bodybuilding makes you heavier, stronger and more attractive, but is it really beneficial for one's health in the long run?
Bodybuilding is not strength training.
Bodybuilding is a very ...
- 24.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Don't feel muscle soreness until after a day
The soreness that you experience is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
What causes it?
When you exercise, the muscles get damaged. That damage is a signal for the muscle to grow and get ...
- 1,839
7
votes
Accepted
What are the target muscles of kettlebell swings
Performing a proper two-hand kettlebell swing is a whole-body workout as opposed to isolating single muscles. However, the main muscles that go into swinging a bell are glutes, hamstrings, lower back +...
- 186
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
Accepted
How to listen to the body during a run?
This is very much an individual question, as everyone has different requirements and reacts in different ways to fluid and food intake when running. It's just very much trial and error to find what ...
- 22k
7
votes
Why use weights, if body weight execises can make you get in shape and gain muscle?
Two words - progressive overload.
With bodyweight exercises, no matter how hard you try and how fancy you go with exercise, eventually you will hit the limit in muscle and strength growth because you ...
- 280
7
votes
Do handstand push-ups hit all the three shoulder heads?
No, it doesn't hit all three shoulder heads (assuming you mean the anterior, lateral and posterior deltoids.) Breakdown of handstand push-ups.
Mechanically I don't see how you can work all of the ...
- 950
7
votes
Starting musculation at 30 years old, is it good?
It's never too late to start a fitness program that adds muscular size to your physique. However, as you age, your levels of testosterone, the muscle promoting hormone, decline. That's not to say ...
- 6,641
7
votes
How long would it take for a skinny man to get fit and 6 pack?
Probably about 2 years. That said, enjoy the journey.
You get benefits along the way.
Training can be fun.
Some of the biggest gains come at the beginning.
A few extra thoughts:
Train safe. ...
- 71
7
votes
Increase bench press 1RM
I bench press once a week
I personally would not expect my bench press 1RM to increase past the absolute novice level if I only bench pressed once a week.
Consider bench pressing three times a week....
- 24.6k
7
votes
More protein = more potential for muscle growth?
Yes, the academic literature supports the notion that greater protein intake facilitates more rapid recovery, and can therefore sustain a greater training workload. And guidelines from all of the ...
- 6,136
7
votes
Why and how does fat also make you stronger?
Fat does not naturally make you stronger by just existing. It's inactive. It just sits there. You can't control it.
I think the misconception that fat inherently makes you stronger is brought on by ...
- 6,725
7
votes
Is there a way for a 300lb man to be stronger than a 500lb man?
Yes. Strength is specific to the measurement being performed, so it's possible that the lighter athlete could just be more trained in the specific movement being performed. For example, a 300lb ...
- 12.2k
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