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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
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's user avatar
  • 17.9k
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
17 votes
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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 ...
jayhendren's user avatar
15 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 ...
BKE's user avatar
  • 1,967
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's user avatar
  • 17.9k
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 ...
Eric's user avatar
  • 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 ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
12 votes
Accepted

Why does growing more muscle push out veins to surface?

It doesn't, rather it's having low body fat, and hence minimal subcutaneous fat to hide the veins, which makes veins more visible. That's why strongmen, who typically have enormous amounts of muscle, ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
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 ...
Whosyourjay's user avatar
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's user avatar
  • 17.9k
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 ...
Michael's user avatar
  • 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 ...
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
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 ...
JustSnilloc's user avatar
  • 4,412
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 ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
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
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 ...
JohnP's user avatar
  • 22.5k
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 ...
ruslaniv's user avatar
  • 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 ...
gwaigh's user avatar
  • 956
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 ...
rrirower's user avatar
  • 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. ...
guest's user avatar
  • 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....
Dave Liepmann's user avatar
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 ...
POD's user avatar
  • 6,161
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 ...
DeeV's user avatar
  • 7,814
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 ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
7 votes

Benefits/Cons of doing a full body workout vs bro split?

As theonlygusti mentions, the bro split is looked down on. This is largely due to a 2016 meta-analysis of 10 different studies that concluded that major muscle groups should be trained at least twice ...
Eric Warburton'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

Does hypertrophy work for people with bad genetics?

There's no such thing as a non-responder to resistance training,1,* you're just not eating enough to gain muscle. * With the possible exception of people who have some certain types of muscular ...
David Scarlett's user avatar

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