Training, Nutrition, Rest and Recovery
These are the four factors that must be taken into consideration to increase your muscle mass.
We train, we eat, we sleep, we recover and we grow. The speech is simple.
But then how is it possible that every week a new article comes out in which more or less qualified characters illustrate their secret techniques to increase muscle and definition?
Perhaps because increasing your muscle mass isn't that easy? Definitely.
Perhaps because a very profitable business revolves around this difficulty? Definitely.
Training intensity, number of sets and repetitions
Let's take heavy duty as an example and report a feature of this technique:
Let us now consider the Weider method with a thought by Arnold Shwarzeneggher:
What is the common physiological principle that makes both theories valid?
To increase muscle mass, training becomes effective only if the number of exhausted motor units is consistent. No matter the number of repetitions or series performed, the important thing is to achieve muscle exhaustion. At this point the only important parameter becomes the athlete's experience and determination.
To confirm this we report a thought of the eight times Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman on the number of repetitions optimal to stimulate maximum muscle growth
"You can count what you want, but don't count on the accounts to develop your muscles to the maximum. There are those who continue to churn out data to show that a certain range of repetitions or serial number or training cycle or other represents the ideal solution Actually, the parameter to evaluate the effectiveness of training is the pumping that is created in the stimulated muscles, I always hear comments about the loads, the high number of repetitions and the exercises I use, but nobody seems to understand that every one of my choice is dictated by the need to produce a certain sensation in the muscles.I don't face training with the obsession of lifting a certain load or completing a given number of repetitions.My goal is to use loads, the number of repetitions and series necessary to thoroughly pump the trained muscle group.
The discovery of the ideal load ratio and repetitions to elicit this result is not at all easy and requires a lot of experimentation "Taken from online flex
Power and Integration
Another fundamental point.
To ensure maximum muscle development, the muscles must be supplied with all the nutrients they need to grow.
That there are no magic or complete foods is well known. No food in itself can provide all the nutrients in the right proportions, so one of the first tips given is to follow a varied diet. The second point concerns the concept of "balance", the ability, that is, to take all the nutrients in the right proportions. And it is precisely on this point that the debates are ignited.
How many grams of protein per kg do they serve per day? 1g, 1.5g, 2g, 2.5g ?! The answer? It can't be that ... it depends! And what does it depend on? From the type of training, the percentage of fat mass, the body's ability to absorb them, the recovery, the hormonal balance, the type of protein taken, the lifestyle, the form of intake, the presence of other foods in the meal that favor its absorption and those who have more.
But then?!
Then forget about all those food fads, avoid calibrating your diet with a sling, taking 10 different types of supplements a day and creating a healthy food culture:
read the bar labels, are you really convinced that glucose syrup and hydrogenated vegetable fats are really ideal for increasing your muscle mass?
Eat bresaola, as it contains a lot of protein and low fat, right, perfect, excellent choice! And the nitrites where we put them?
And the natural tuna, what to say, 26 grams of protein out of 100 are not few! And the mercury where we put it ??!
Similar argument for the hormonal residues that can be found in meat
And go with whole foods, they have a low glycemic index, ideal for growing without getting fat! And the residues that accumulate in the external part of the grain that is normally eliminated but that in wholemeal flour is ground where we put them?
Have you ever thought that an excess of nutrients could hinder growth as much as a defect?
It will not be that supplement from the much publicized properties that will make you grow so much as it will not be that slice of cake that turns you into a pile of lard! It is the whole that counts, the subtle balance between nutrition, integration, rest and recovery training.
Related joint: supplements to increase muscle mass.
Rest and Recovery
And where do you stand?
Do you really think you can recover from the heavy Friday night workout by spending the night in a nightclub with alcohol and cigarette smoke?
So before asking yourself how much you need to recover, ask yourself first how to recover. All other factors being equal (food, training, genetics, etc.), do you first recover a construction worker or an employee?
So how do you say that 24, 46, 72 or 96 hours are needed to recover from an intense workout? It depends.. .
To conclude
The secret to maximizing muscle mass gains lies in the experience accumulated over the years. This experience derives in turn from the determination of the subject, from the constancy with which he faces the training but also from his ability to examine the various techniques with a critical eye, to experiment them and to draw the appropriate conclusions.
