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Your goals and your current level of progress determine the number of sets and reps.
Possible Goals
Training for strength, power, endurance and hypertrophy all require a different number of sets and reps:
Strength (how much weight your muscle can move) is best developed by lifting as much weight as possible. This is probably best achieved with 5 or less ...
25
So the big hubbub surrounding bodybuilding and one hour is the hormone cortisol. This is going to be a bit long-winded, but bear with me.
What's cortisol and why is it important?
Well, first we need to know a little bit about how muscle tissues work in an anaerobic state. (An anaerobic state is where you're working so hard your body can't supply oxygen ...
23
Peer reviewed literature on testosterone appears to have inconsistent conclusions, however, the well designed studies all agree that abstinence raises T.
Some studies say that masturbation raises T, and some that abstinence does so. But the well-designed studies all conclude that abstinence raises the baseline amount of T in your body. Well designed studies ...
18
The bizarre thing about delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is that we still don't really know what causes it. Though people like to attribute it to lactic acid buildup, that's probably a misconception. As stated in the article:
Researchers who have examined lactate levels right after exercise found little correlation with the level of muscle soreness ...
18
While the penis itself isn't a muscle that can be trained, but simply speaking just a sponge for blood, there are three muscles that are responsible for supporting ejaculation and maintaining an erection via compression of blood vessels.
Musculus retractor penis
It doesn't seem like this muscle is important in humans, the english wikipedia article doesn't ...
16
Not all sugars are the same. Glucose is a monosaccharide, and is easily utilized by nearly all cells of the body for energy. Fructose, also a monosaccharide, is not: it is almost exclusively metabolized by the liver. Excess consumption of fructose causes a variety of problems that would not occur with glucose consumption.
Sucrose ("table sugar" or "cane ...
14
What is minimal? We can minimize equipment, we can minimize time, but to determine the minimal exercises we need to know more about who is asking the question. Someone who is morbidly obese with emphysema would have a minimum workout of "walk to the end of the driveway every day". An Olympic athlete might have ten workouts a week just to keep from ...
12
Don'ts
The biggest mistake people make when learning to flip, is that they try to flip into pools and onto mattresses.
This is a mistake because it doesn't prepare you for the inevitable challenge of having to spot your landing. And it takes away the need to really cushion the landing with your legs. And this needs to be practiced.
Dos
Trampolines is a ...
10
I think that your best bet for this kind of arrangement is going to be a setup similar to many of the "fitness trails" that are available in many public parks.
These are exercise/fitness paths that can be completed at a walking through running pace, with various stations at predetermined intervals to target various muscle groups and agility/power training, ...
10
Divide your dose. Have some before and some after your workout. Unlike fat and carbohydrates your body can't store protein. If it doesn't get absorbed it gets passed through your digestive tract, your liver, your kidneys, etc. This not only wastes protein/ supplements and money it also taxes your machine by forcing it to process something that it can't ...
10
The same principles apply whether you're a 20 year-old, 40 year-old, or a 60 year-old. Exercise is always good. The only difference between the age groups is the amount of intensity you should allow yourself.
In general
I'm 40 now, but ever since 30 I've been concerned about being fit when I get to age 60-80. The thought of shuffling everywhere instead ...
10
First of all, you're not working out the other half of your body...your legs. When you're a natural lifter (no anabolic supplements like 90% of the instagram and gym rat population), the most efficient way to grow is systematically, maybe even the only way. For those not using buckets of steroids, hypertrophy (muscle growth) is not a localized process. For ...
10
If you're goal is strength than in between sets you should rest. Catch your breath. Have some water. Nibble on some sort of calories. Load more weight on the bar. Then go again. Not sure why you're waiting 3 to 5 minutes between sets as a beginner unless its training with partner / partners that are going in that time. In which case help them load their ...
9
No, there is no need to wear it. It doesn't prevent a hernia.
Even one doctor told me once not to wear it, because the testicles are held too close to the body. It is not good because when our body temperature rises, they need to stay away from body. While doing workout our body temperature rises greatly so it's bad to wear it during workout.
9
First, this is not immediate cause for alarm.
It is rather common as far as post-workout complications go, and is not, to my knowledge, an indicator of more serious problems.
Second, the reason for this.
Your skeletal muscles are controlled by motor nerves. Each motor nerve controls a large group of muscle cells. Of importance is that these groups overlap,...
9
While there is no specific exercise that will do this general good aerobic conditioning will help. So, keep going to the gym and stay healthy and you should have long, happy sex for years to come.
From WebMD:
The study showed that men over age 50 who kept physically active had a 30% lower risk of impotence than men who were inactive. As men age, the chance ...
9
Having a protein before your workout will allow you to have more energy, resulting in your workouts feeling stronger, but you will not burn as much fat when you workout.
After your workouts, it is commonly accepted that your body acts like a sponge for about an hour while your muscles attempt to collect nutrients to repair what was torn down during the ...
9
The body uses two different energy systems to fuel the body’s activity or exercise.
Anaerobic - First the body uses the anaerobic system which has energy ready to go as soon as you start to use your muscles. Anaerobic means without oxygen.
Aerobic - The second energy system, the aerobic system, kicks in when your short term, initial energy from the ...
9
Each 5x5 (or 3x5) program has its own protocol for when you start stalling like you are doing. One of the more common ones, StrongLifts 5x5, suggests the following protocol for when you stall:
Attempt the same weight up to 3 times
After the 3rd time, take 10% off the bar and work back up
If you hit the wall 3x like this, switch to 3x5 and work your way up
...
8
There are several things that affect a woman during this time, but as pertains to working out or training you can expect:
Greater fatigue
Greater discomfort even at rest
Fear of bleeding through clothes
These are all very real problems, and it affects women to differing degrees. Some that I've trained with are very affected and others are seemingly ...
8
Some quick research returned the following articles:
Who Knew Preventing Kidney Stones Was this Easy?
"In the 1990s when the Atkins diet reached huge popularity, critics claimed that high
protein intake leads to kidney stones. This turned out to be a complete myth, but the
misinformation is still being circulated.
Although protein restricted diets are ...
8
Soreness does not mean that you had a good workout (or vice versa), it means you had a workout you weren't used to. I've been lifting for a few years and I never feel sore, except for when I've had a long time off.
8
You might want to watch this video from Elliot at Strength Camp, entitled "Motivation is Bullshit".
Honestly, you're not going to be motivated every day that you need to work out (or do anything else). What you really need is the discipline to stick with your program when you feel like crap, have skipped a week, feel fat, feel weak, etc.
If I could ...
8
Until elevators and steel girder construction around the turn of the 19th century, the tallest buildings were usually five stories. People worked in those fifth stories for years.
Also, plenty of jobs have people walking up and down hills all day for decades, starting as small children.
It's actually sort of sad that people consider eight flights of steps ...
8
Just to get this out of the way
Probably one of the most commonly uttered phrases around here, but it can't be said often enough: A flat belly is made in the kitchen, not in the gym. It doesn't matter how strong your core is; if it's covered in a thick layer of fat, no one will see it.
And ab workouts do NOT burn belly-fat specifically. See: Is spot ...
7
Pushing each other is good, within reason. In order to properly answer your question, you have to consider a few factors:
How much time was spent exercising and how much time was spent talking?
When you were done, did you feel like you could hardly move?
Is your belly expanding despite all the work you are doing?
Training with a partner usually generates ...
7
Your question doesn't sound like you are overweight and need to watch your calories.
In my opinion you could replace the brownie with some whole grain energy bar, replace the simple sugars with some more complex carbohydrates and maybe have some additional fibers, too.
But the question is if you should.
I think this is more a mental thing, the boost ...
7
In order to get big, you need to eat a calorie surplus (more than you burn in a day). To get cut, you need to eat a caloric deficit. If you eat 200g+ protein but still eat fewer calories than you're burning, you're going to lose weight and you won't get huge and bulky.
If you're trying to get cut, I'm assuming that you're trying to lose weight and/or lower ...
7
While I don't want to make my answer anything pertaining medical, I just want to mention that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). It is a disorder which makes our hormonal system very sensitive to lifestyle choices like diet, exercises, etc.
Personally, I can workout during periods with no issues at all. I also hear the same from many fellow cysters....
7
To answer your question specifically: it doesn't matter. Studies show that the average amount of protein taken in over a given period of time(days, weeks)is what matters far more than getting your whey in before or after. The body does not really become magically more efficient at using protein after a workout. As long as you're hitting your daily intake ...
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