Best method for building muscles?

[mittacc]

Hello!

Yesterday when i was at the gym i started wondering if it is better to lift kinda light weights but many times instead of heavy and few.

currently i'm lifting light 25x3 but i'm wondering if i should switch to heavy 12x3 instead. Does anyone here know anything about this?

Thanks.

[Deleted]

Building mass muscle = heavy sets of 8-10 reps
Getting lean = lighter sets of 10-12 reps


Pay attention to what you eat.

High carbs + high fat + high protein will get you fat and bulky
High carbs + low fat + high protein will get you bulky
Low carbs + high fat + high protein will get you ripped
Low carbs + low fat + high protein will make you ill and get kidney failure
Low carbs + low fat + low protein will kill you outright

[mittacc]

ok, so heavy and few is better for muscle building. What does ''lean'' mean? (i'm not familiar with english terms) And what about protein?

[Cosima]

It's impossible for us to tell how many reps you should be doing without knowing how long you've worked out, what shape you're in, how many times a week you lift, etc.

Normally you'd want to do 3 sets of 8 reps, but if you just started lifting you're gonna want to start at 3 sets of 15 reps, work your way down to 3 sets of 12 reps, before eventually doing 3 sets of 8.

The most important thing when trying to build muscle is a) you have to do the right exercises, b) you have to be very close to exhaustion after every single set, and c) you need to consume more calories than you burn while eating a decent amount of protein.

[Deleted]

Right now I'm following Layne Norton's power hypertrophy adaptive training.
Works like a charm. But it's definitely not something I would recommend to a beginner.
I gained approximately 10 kg of body mass over the last year. And as already said: eating right is key!

[jadakada]

You want high weight low reps for muscle building, not sure what lean muscle is as well, and I'm from america. I hear the term all the time but muscle is muscle, when I hear people say they want to get lean I think they mean they want to lower there body fat while maintaining or gaining muscles.

The problem is most people can only go one direction at a time, meaning if you want to gain muscle, you are going to gain weight period and some of that will be fat(Called bulking). If you want to lose fat you will be losing weight period and some of that will be muscle(called cutting).

Reason some people will do high reps at lower weights is to build muscle endurance and possibly burn more calories(which have it's advantages), as far as I know though it doesn't build muscle faster or any differently from the other method, just slower.

Unless someone has a study that can prove this wrong, which I have yet to see, I would say for purely building muscle do high weight, low reps. And if you don't really care about which muscles, the best to gain those muscles are total body, meaning squats, presses, deat lifts, power cleans, rows, ects... Things that work multiple muscles at the same time.

Hope I helped!

[Dazzy]

Hello!

Yesterday when i was at the gym i started wondering if it is better to lift kinda light weights but many times instead of heavy and few.

currently i'm lifting light 25x3 but i'm wondering if i should switch to heavy 12x3 instead. Does anyone here know anything about this?

Thanks.

Heavy and few, 8-12 reps max ideally.

Make sure you use a weight so your last rep between 8 and 12 you can barely lift each time.

Getting lean go 12-15 reps

[Cosima]

To elaborate what jadakada said:

The reason a lot of people notice an increase in muscle mass shortly after they started lifting regularly, is because your muscles adapt to the increased stress you put on them. For a while, this increase in stress will make your muscles grow, as long as your calorie deficiency is not too big. However, sooner rather than later, you'll get to a point where your body does not put on mass what so ever, simply due to calorie deficency (or it could be lack of proteins, but in most cases it's just a lack of calories). At this point, you'll have to change your diet in order to increase mass further.

[Deleted]

You want high weight low reps for muscle building, not sure what lean muscle is as well, and I'm from america. I hear the term all the time but muscle is muscle, when I hear people say they want to get lean I think they mean they want to lower there body fat while maintaining or gaining muscles.

The problem is most people can only go one direction at a time, meaning if you want to gain muscle, you are going to gain weight period and some of that will be fat(Called bulking). If you want to lose fat you will be losing weight period and some of that will be muscle(called cutting).

Reason some people will do high reps at lower weights is to build muscle endurance and possibly burn more calories(which have it's advantages), as far as I know though it doesn't build muscle faster or any differently from the other method, just slower.

Unless someone has a study that can prove this wrong, which I have yet to see, I would say for purely building muscle do high weight, low reps. And if you don't really care about which muscles, the best to gain those muscles are total body, meaning squats, presses, deat lifts, power cleans, rows, ects... Things that work multiple muscles at the same time.

Hope I helped!

You can build your body "lean", meaning muscle increase with zero fat gain, even fat decrease.

The way you do this is to perform heavy lifts with low reps and have a severely reduced carb intake, whilst having a high fat + protein intake.

Might not make sense until you actually read why this works and study some dietry information.

[mittacc]

You can build your body "lean", meaning muscle increase with zero fat gain, even fat decrease.

The way you do this is to perform heavy lifts with low reps and have a severely reduced carb intake, whilst having a high fat + protein intake.

Might not make sense until you actually read why this works and study some dietry information.

I actually wrote a paper on that in school last year :P If there are no carbs for the body to burn it will start burning fat instead, and apparently fat burns faster than carbs :P

[jadakada]

You can build your body "lean", meaning muscle increase with zero fat gain, even fat decrease.

The way you do this is to perform heavy lifts with low reps and have a severely reduced carb intake, whilst having a high fat + protein intake.

Might not make sense until you actually read why this works and study some dietry information.

What is is commonly called, I am having a hard time finding information =(

[frozenkex]

I actually wrote a paper on that in school last year :P If there are no carbs for the body to burn it will start burning fat instead, and apparently fat burns faster than carbs :P

Doesnt sound like a very good paper. Not really scientific to say "there are no carbs to burn". You spend energy not fat, yes they all turn into energy but through a process. Since carbs more directly provide energy than fat, since fat needs to be broken down into glucose for energy the statement doesnt make much sense. Also carbs are needed because it prevents body from breaking down protein to make energy, because that means losing muscle.

You can build your body "lean", meaning muscle increase with zero fat gain, even fat decrease.

You are talking about Atkins diet, its a bad idea for muscle building, and not a great idea over all other than for losing weight.

[mittacc]

Doesnt sound like a very good paper. Not really scientific to say "there are no carbs to burn". You spend energy not fat, yes they all turn into energy but through a process. Since carbs more directly provide energy than fat, since fat needs to be broken down into glucose for energy the statement doesnt make much sense. Also carbs are needed because it prevents body from breaking down protein to make energy, because that means losing muscle.

well, that was atleast what i was taught at school :/

edit: And may i add that the teacher was a Biology teacher aswell as health and fitness teacher and was very experienced.

[Deleted]

Doesnt sound like a very good paper. Not really scientific to say "there are no carbs to burn". You spend energy not fat, yes they all turn into energy but through a process. Since carbs more directly provide energy than fat, since fat needs to be broken down into glucose for energy the statement doesnt make much sense. Also carbs are needed because it prevents body from breaking down protein to make energy, because that means losing muscle.


You are talking about Atkins diet, its a bad idea for muscle building, and not a great idea over all other than for losing weight.

Well, im not talking about Atkins diet. Atkins diet starves the body of proteins which are essential for muscle growth.


If you have a severely low carb intake, but a high fat + protein intake, your body is forced to use fat as energy.

The end result after months of doing this and weight training is an extremely lean body that has had good muscle growth and good fat loss.


With a bit more research, you will find out the name of this, and it is not Atkins

[Stormwarrior]

Well, im not talking about Atkins diet. Atkins diet starves the body of proteins which are essential for muscle growth.


If you have a severely low carb intake, but a high fat + protein intake, your body is forced to use fat as energy.

The end result after months of doing this and weight training is an extremely lean body that has had good muscle growth and good fat loss.


With a bit more research, you will find out the name of this, and it is not Atkins

Do you mind sharing what kind of Fats to take and carbs to avoid that the body starts working as you described after some months of workout and diet change.

Thank you

[Deleted]

I do 3 sets of 10 reps, I adjust the weights so that by the end of the last set I can't go any further. I've put on 6 kilos in 3 months, but I've also got a VERY fast metabolism, so it's huge for me =].

Hardest part for me is eating, I hate eating generaly, never hungry and can't afford much. Eating the right stuff and more importantly sticking to a set routine is the most important part. Don't forget to drink A LOT of water (I drink 2 litres a day).

[Deleted]

Do big compound lifts: Deadlifts, Squats, Cleans, Snatch, Presses, Pullups.
Do not ignore leg days. "But squatting won't make my biceps huge derp"
Eat well and eat enough.
Be consistent, log everything and track gains.

If you're struggling for a decent program you can't really go wrong with a Wendler 5/3/1 or a Joe Defranco's "Westside for skinny bastards" method.

---------- Post added 2012-07-22 at 06:36 PM ----------

Do you mind sharing what kind of Fats to take and carbs to avoid that the body starts working as you described after some months of workout and diet change.

Thank you

It's basically a modification of "Paleo diet". High Protein for muscle growth, high fat for energy levels, ultra-low carb. I've tried it, it's the fucking total suck and few people stick it out. Another diet to have a look at is "Carb Back Loading (CBL)" - a lot of washed-up and disaffected Paleo eaters have made a switch to this and noticed incredible results.

[Deleted]

It's basically a modification of "Paleo diet". High Protein for muscle growth, high fat for energy levels, ultra-low carb. I've tried it, it's the fucking total suck and few people stick it out. Another diet to have a look at is "Carb Back Loading (CBL)" - a lot of washed-up and disaffected Paleo eaters have made a switch to this and noticed incredible results.

If you are trying to gain weight, high fat + high protein+low carbs isnt for you.

If you are fat and overweight and wanting a rapid fat loss + fast muscle growth programme, its the fucking bomb, because within 8 weeks, if you do it 100% correctly, you can lose up to 2 stone in pure fat whilst shaping up at the same time.

I have done it, i know others who also have, and the results speak for themselves. It's an incredible way for rapid fat loss without muscle mass degenerating.

[Deleted]

If you are trying to gain weight, high fat + high protein+low carbs isnt for you.

If you are fat and overweight and wanting a rapid fat loss + fast muscle growth programme, its the fucking bomb, because within 8 weeks, if you do it 100% correctly, you can lose up to 2 stone in pure fat whilst shaping up at the same time.

I have done it, i know others who also have, and the results speak for themselves. It's an incredible way for rapid fat loss without muscle mass degenerating.

Yeah I know, was just clueing him up on what this magical diet actually is.

There's only really 2 options when it comes to building muscle, you either do a traditional Bulk + cut cycle, or you use CBL. Both work.

Edit: I've done Paleo myself, the results are fantastic but it's a horrendous way to live. Honestly I found it ghastly, expensive and massively shit.

[Ravock]

So much bro-science in here it's amazing.