
How to Build Muscle - julianshapiro
https://www.julian.com/learn/muscle/intro
======
jakejnichols
This isn't a bad guide, but for those new and interested in the topic, the
Reddit r/fitness subreddit (
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness) ) has a
wiki which is probably the best all around guide out there to getting fit,
muscular, and strong:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/index](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/index)

It is both entirely free and substantially better than this guide. It is based
on the combined experience of people who are much further along in their
fitness journey than Julian. There are good answers to all common questions
and there are solid programs that match various personal preferences.

~~~
projektir
The main issue with /r/fitness is that it's not a focused guide so you run
into decision paralysis almost immediately. It's great if you already know
what you want, and it's very open ended. And, generally, I think people who
are really far along in their business journey are not who beginners should be
listening to.

~~~
tome
The wiki _does_ seem to be a focused guide, unless I'm missing something.

~~~
projektir
Am I missing something? The Getting Started area splits into 4 exercise
sections immediately and you're left to your own devices. My first attempt at
serious exercise was from this very page and I ended up doing stronglights for
a while, which was OK...

~~~
tome
That's a fair complaint I guess. It seems to narrow things down a bit but
maybe not enough.

------
dragandj
The only thing worse than no knowledge is just a little knowledge.

Although I've always been a "geek" I am into sports since high school - so it
is now more than 20 years. Maybe I was just lucky, but I always had good
results, even in the era when internet was not there for the information.
Never had to take any supplements, and the results were just right. I won't
bother you giving advice, because:

1\. Everyone's body is different 2\. It's simple once you get it, but it might
be difficult to explain.

I'll just say that skimming through this guide I've seen a lot of fluff, some
good info and also lots of crap.

I think that, for the people here who would like to start working out, the
most important things are:

1\. You have to build the habit of working out from now on for the rest of
your life if you want the results to stay. 2\. Find a professional guidance at
first. An enterpreneur whose experience sums to (citing from the OP): "I wrote
the first draft of this guide months ago. I meant to publish this then. But I
unexpectedly lost half the muscle I had gained." is not the best source of
knowledge in this area.

~~~
julianshapiro
Author here. Happy to provide some thoughts on whatever you find to be crap.

~~~
usaphp
> "the myth that women have a harder time gaining beginner muscle"

Do you have a study to prove that women can grow "beginner" muscles at the
same speed as men? I mean common, testosterone levels are drastically
different, it will surely affect the muscle growth.

~~~
julianshapiro
Studies:

1:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11890579?dopt=Abstract](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11890579?dopt=Abstract)

2:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7558529](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7558529)

3:
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991130/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991130/)

Article: [http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/natural-muscular-
potential-w...](http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/natural-muscular-potential-
women/)

Yes, men have more testosterone, but testosterone is less important to the
female muscle development process. In fact, women benefit from higher levels
of IGF1 growth hormone, which is critical to muscle growth, as compared to men
[1, 2].

[1]
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49661582_Circulatin...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49661582_Circulating_levels_of_IGF1_are_associated_with_muscle_strength_in_middle-
aged-_and_oldest-old_women)

[2]
[http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jcem.81.7.8675561](http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jcem.81.7.8675561)

~~~
dragandj
Don't get me started on p values now, but just think about this:

"Eight young men (age 20-30 years), six young women (age 20-30 years), nine
older men (age 65-75 years), and ten older women (age 65-75 years).

The results indicate that neither age nor gender affects muscle volume
response to whole-body ST."

"Six women and 6 men trained the elbow flexors 3 days per week for 20 wks, one
arm performing in each session 3-5 sets of 10 maximal concentric actions on an
accommodating resistance device, the other arm 3-5 sets of 8-12 coupled
eccentric/concentric actions on a weight training device."

"One hundred eighty-one previously inactive healthy Caucasian (N = 117) and
African American (N = 54) men (N = 82) and women (N = 99), aged 50–85 yr,<...>

Training-induced increases in absolute MV were significantly greater (P <
0.001) in men than in women, though both sex groups increased MV significantly
with ST (P < 0.001), and the relative (%) increases were similar. "

So, if we are to believe the first two, that were, BTW conducted on miniscule
samples, and concentrated on only one exercise of a small muscle, we should
expect the same muscle gain in 20 year old men as in 70 year old ladies!

I wonder why those old ladies do not feature that much at bodybuilding
competitions or Olympic games...

The third, which has larger sample, actually says that there is the difference
between males and females, which is in accordance with what we can see at
every sports event.

~~~
rjeli
Note also that the elbow flexion muscles (biceps, brachialis) have relatively
low androgen sensitivity

------
anjc
First sentence: "Most bodybuilding advice is wrong", proceeds to list the most
common bodybuilding advice.

The best thing you could do to learn how to build muscle is to go to a big
bodybuilding forum and just do whatever bro-science they spout. I've been
following bodybuilding forums and casually looking at research for many years,
and invariably the bro-scientists are way ahead of scientific proof, in terms
of methods and techniques, all the way down to finicky details. You'll also
get the truth about what you can and can't do with/without anabolics.

Edit: I see that the author is here. It's not a bad guide, good design etc,
but frankly it rubbed me the wrong way to basically read "I'm right and
everyone else is wrong, because I researched", without having a highly
impressive build to back it up. Even professional body builders don't
prescribe certain techniques/methods as gospel.

~~~
joeyspn
I've been on bodybuilding.com for many years... yes, there are thousands of
bro-science meatheads there, but also valid people, with valid advice. For
instance Jim Stopanni is a research fellow at Yale University School of
Medicine... (although lately he's been overusing his credentials for selling
his line of supplements)

[http://www.bodybuilding.com/author/jim-stoppani-
phd](http://www.bodybuilding.com/author/jim-stoppani-phd)

------
fixxer
So far, after 20 years of competitive rowing and an office job, I've found the
best advice for me is simply don't get injured, remain active (get out!), and
cook more. All these fads might work (IF, keto, crossfit), but I think they
mostly answer other questions than fitness or health. People want to feel like
they are getting results fast... That is rarely sustainable in my experience
and observation.

~~~
yoplait_
keto is the best way to lose weight, period. You lose weight while not even
trying ... it really is the miracle diet, for most people anyway. Gives great
mental energy as well. (yeah, sounds like bullshit, but turns out to be true
for lots of people)

~~~
ssijak
I have much experience with keto. For loosing fat it can be a tool in the
arsenal but it is not everytime goto tool that it better than anything in
every situation that some people try to make it is. As for the mental
clariness, my experience is that I constantly have some kind of mental fatigue
on keto, sometimes so much (after training) that I am funny to speak with
(bugging out to much). That persists even after 1-2months on ketosis, cyclic
or not, does not matter.

~~~
fixxer
Hard to be a great athlete without protein AND carbs.

~~~
daenney
You don't need to be a great athlete in order to be fit, which is what this is
about.

~~~
fixxer
Let me rephrase: hard to have optimal (or even suboptimal) athletic
performance without carbs.

------
TurboHaskal
I used to be a gym nerd too. My current approach: Screw common advice. Find
what works for __you__. Take hints from algorithm design. Start small. Limit
yourself to use variables you can influence, observe and measure. Come up with
a system that embraces failure, try to make it anti-fragile. Experiment and
enjoy the ride.

I'm personally quite chaotic and hate planning. Some weeks I hit the gym five
days, some seven, some none. As such my training routine involves an auto
regulating method which adjusts volume as needed. Periodisation (or lack
thereof) is done with a simple recursive algorithm.

3/4 goes for nutrition as well. Screw counting macros, calories and weighing
myself. If I like what I see on the mirror, great. If I feel that I'm getting
flabby, I drop a PSMF day here and there until I look better.

~~~
zubat
I made one crucial change to my schedule which goes against a lot of the
training advice I see online: only train once per week per muscle group. This
usually means a split over two days and the rest is recovery.

What I lose by doing this is some of the neurological component, so I don't
have those zippy gains that you get from beginner training. But I'm always
completely recovered or nearly so every time I go in, and that seems make the
bigger difference long term as I'm never left feeling overtrained, I can go in
every week and give it 100% pretty consistently and the progress is trickling
in month by month.

This is all to second: Definitely do your own experiments and focus on an all-
factors outcome of building a lifestyle you are OK with. It took me something
like 15 years of training to get to a point where I felt in full control of
how I was going about it.

------
usaphp
> Have a hard time scheduling workouts? Wake up an hour earlier than normal
> and work out in the mornings before your day kicks off.

Oh it's such a bad advise for beginners, lifting weights when you body wants
to sleep is an easy way for beginners to lose interest in weightlifting and
injure yourself. Also sleep is incredibly important for muscle growth.

~~~
fredgrott
Yes, but are referring to just beginners which would be 5bls of weights as arm
curls, leg lifts, etc..or are we imagining bigger weights?

~~~
usaphp
I doubt you can see a 20lbs of muscle growth in 3 months using just 5lbs
weights in excersizes.

~~~
atdrummond
You're not seeing 20 lbs of muscle growth in 3 months regardless of exercise
choice. Even with AAS.

------
pdog
No offense, but Julian after three months isn't even as big as most guys you'd
find at a local gym. Why would you take this guy's advice, "science-based" or
not?

 _Addendum:_ I understand if you're still making progress, but maybe give it
more than a few months before you start publishing advice on how to gain 20
pounds of muscle?

~~~
julianshapiro
This guide is about where you're starting from and how efficiently you can get
bigger. Not about becoming massive (which is in large part a function of your
genetics).

~~~
wruza
Can you please release "fat loss" program for free and inversely, charge for
info on getting bigger? I mean, how would one notice an actual growth behind
his varying fat levels?

~~~
ljk
isn't "fat loss" just: eat less, do more cardio?

~~~
prostoalex
For the most part no, as that would propel postal workers and warehouse
employees to the fitness levels comparable only to Olympic athletes. Fat
acquisition, absorption, retention and burn is a functional of the endocrine
system (hormones) rather than cardiological system (heart and blood vessels).
Gary Taubes' "Good Calories, Bad Calories" as well as his numerous articles is
probably a good start.

~~~
ljk
didn't know that; always thought it's just calorie in < calorie out. will
check out that book, thanks!

------
jacques_chester
Unsurprisingly, there is what looks like a paywall / call-to-spam at the end
of the 2nd page.

For those who want a non-engineer's guide, I cannot recommend strengtheory.com
enough. Greg Nuckols is legitimately strong and legitimately up to date with
the research.

I'm also struck the idiosyncratic exercise selection. For most beginners a
boring group of barbell exercises and a flourish of bicep curls and pullups
will get them started. Typically in less time, with less equipment.

Take the dumbbell RDL, for example. Most people can't get the barbell variant
even vaguely right and it has an entire bar to cue you about what path to
follow.

Hand grippers? Right out of the gate? The good ones aren't cheap. Or you could
just wait until grip strength is a limiting factor.

~~~
douche
I haven't found anything easier to get started with and stick with than the
5x5 program. Squats, deadlifts, bench, overhead press and rows to work the
major muscle groups. Start light and build up slowly and steadily.

Although my strength-building workout of choice has always been sawing,
splitting and stacking firewood. Talk about building functional strength...

~~~
jodrellblank
That's the basis of the
[http://www.shovelglove.com/](http://www.shovelglove.com/) workout - take a
sledgehammer as a weight, and do labor-equivalent motions with it.

Shovelling, splitting wood, rowing, churning butter, harvesting food, etc.

------
yladiz
It's a bit disingenuous that the guide states that it's free, but then the
second half of it is paid only, and that while there are a lot of citations,
especially in the second part of the guide, the author isn't really in a place
to explain to someone how to gain muscle except for some personal experience
(1 year of research, and some time weight lifting) and instead must make an
appeal on the basis of accomplishments, which basically just makes this like
"another blogger's personal journey to weightlifting and so can you", albeit
with some scientific research to back it up.

The thing I would worry about the most is that the guide is made to seem
better than others because it has some cited studies, but who's to say that
those studies are statistically valid (which is somewhat hard to come by in
the field of nutrition and fitness) or that the author didn't pick certain
articles to back certain points and pick others to back others?

------
yakster
There is a lot of useful advice in that article. However, I am always made
weary by people's use of term "muscle growth." What is typically perceived and
dubbed as muscle growth is actually simply muscle cells retaining water and
sugar as fuels to help accommodate the ongoing increase in physical activity.
That is what anyone who begins training observes in the first few months.
Think of this as a simple increase in the size of each muscle cell due to
storage of extra fuel. This is completely analogous to our accumulation of
fat. We barely ever grow the number of fat cells. Instead, we shrink or expand
them like sacks.

However, when it comes to the actual increase in the number of muscle cells,
this process is much more difficult to launch. From my experience, this cannot
be done without proper hormonal background. By this, I do not mean exogenous
(injected) hormones. I mean that one has to have proper levels of testosterone
and growth hormone. The former is regulated by the psyche and can be described
as the hormone of successfully overcoming difficulties and becoming a winner.
An interesting thing is that your brain does no care whether you successfully
beat someone in a computer game or just finished a marathon. It will still
reward you with testosterone. On the contrary, if you beat yourself over small
things, you will fill yourself with cortisol, which is inversely related to
testosterone.

Needless to say, to me the muscle growth constitutes invoking the second
scenario. That is a formidable but not at all impossible task. It requires
knowing how to work with yourself and your mind.

~~~
gaius
Right, this is the ol' sarcoplasma volume vs myofibril density debate. It's
also that the modern perception of the appearance of fitness is not well
correlated with functionality - hence the prizing of the former over the
latter.

~~~
yakster
Absolutely. To continue this line of thought I would even say that most
"muscles" of the so-called body builders are to a large extent swellings of
lymphatic system and interstitial space. When one eats so much protein, the
body does not know what to do with it and simply stores it as junk everywhere
it deems safe (least dangerous). Where is the least dangerous? Well, it is not
the brain, not the heart, not the organs. So, it deposits them in the muscles
and other tissues.

~~~
usaphp
But if their body only stores protein as a junk and muscles don't have a real
use in "so-called bodybuilders" as you say, why are bodybuilders able to lift
insanely heavy weights and most of them successfully compete in powerlifting
events setting records?

~~~
yakster
Have you ever heard of Golgi apparatus? Well, it is the thing in your cells
that is responsible for estimating how much stress it can take (roughly
speaking).

Human strength is limited not by the muscles but by the tendons and nerve
signals. Here is an explanation.

When you try to lift something your body knows instantly whether it is able to
do it or not. If you do not believe me, go try and deadlift an impossible
weight. As soon as you start lifting it after setting up, your body will relax
and will not let you. It is a protective mechanism. Now, it the weight is
close to what you can handle it will let you fight the weight and attempt the
lift.

Similarly, there are many occurrences where a mother will lift (with ease)
concrete blocks of several hundred kilograms to save herself and her child.
Perhaps the more famous one was of a man who was stuck under a huge boulder
after an accident in the mountains. As far as I recall, the boulder was about
600kg. He threw it off with ease. You know what happened with him? He tore
every single muscle off his bones while doing that. I am giving these examples
to illustrate why such protective mechanisms exist. If they did not, we would
be tearing muscles off bones daily.

Now, when it comes to powerlifters, they use low repetition and high weight
precisely to increase the limits of their tendons and the power of their nerve
pulses. In addition they are working the creatine-phosphate (ATF) energy
capacity of their body that is responsible for very short-term work. This has
nothing to do with protein. I assure you that any person is physically capable
(speaking of muscles) to lift huge weights. It is just that your body will not
let you.

When it comes to bodybuilders, they train their strength (tendons and bones)
as well, but as a side-effect to trying to bloat their muscles.

~~~
gaius
_Have you ever heard of Golgi apparatus? Well, it is the thing in your cells
that is responsible for estimating how much stress it can take_

OK but there is also neuroactivation - at any time your nervous system can
"drive" about 30% of the fibres in a muscle. If you could achieve 100%
neuroactivation you would be 3x stronger instantaneously - at the risk of as
you say destroying connective tissue. But it is not "with ease", it is at
great cost, so the body will only unlock this feature as a last resort.

------
kazinator
> _I’m a startup founder and engineer. My work has been profiled in Forbes,
> I’ve written a book, I’ve built a popular open source library, and I’ve
> started and sold a company._

[http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-
definiti...](http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-
definitions/Irrelevant-Authority.html)

~~~
vemv
Might be technically a fallacy, but:

\- General problem-solving is a skill, guy seems to have it and it does apply
to fitness research

\- His success in various fields undoubtedly require perseverance, which also
is a relevant trait.

------
monort
I don't like going to gym and the solution to this problem was bodyweight
fitness. Growth is a little slower, than with lifting, but you are learning
cool tricks like handstand. The program from reddit's /r/bodyweightfitness is
a good start:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend...](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine)

~~~
sridca
I never liked going to gym and doing the scripted set of weight lifting. For
me, compound exercises are the best.

Lately I have been "greasing the groove" by doing low-rep pull-ups (and push-
ups). You do it every day and there is no "training to failure." See
[https://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/greasing-
th...](https://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/greasing-the-groove-
how-to-make-it-work-for-you)

The cute thing about bodyweight fitness is that you can do it anywhere without
any special equipment.

~~~
monort
I've got a tendonitis in my right elbow, when I tried greasing the groove for
pull ups, and spent several months recovering. Be careful :) Any sign of pain
in an elbow means your tendons need a rest.

~~~
sridca
Thanks. Do you know what caused your tendonitis when greasing the groove for
pull ups? Improper form? Over-training?

~~~
monort
I think over training, though the main problem was my ignorance - I ignored a
mild pain in the elbow during last sets. One day I've got the pain that wasn't
subsiding and that day I learned about tendonitis.

------
ChemicalWarfare
My 2c on this is while the "looking good for da ladies" part is definitely
valid motivation, working out just for the looks gets old fast for a variety
of reasons.

Having an athletic performance goal (squat/bench/pull/clean more, sprint
faster, close a harder gripper, do more pullups etc) is not only more
"motivational", it also sets a measurable and objective goal to work towards.

------
capkutay
This is good advice but I would caution engineers who sit at their desk all
day. Don't just lift heavy weight without spending almost an equal amount of
time on core strength and flexibility.

~~~
parthdesai
definitely focus on stretching before work out. I have seen so many of my
friends screw up their shoulder because they didn't focus on stretching.

~~~
gaius
Stretching cold muscles will do nothing at best or injure you at worst -
stretch after your workout. Warmup with light exercises first. E.g. if you are
planning barbell squats, start with air squats.

~~~
jmartinpetersen
"Another warmup type that provides no performance benefit is doing a light
starting set before lifting your normal weights (study). "

This advice worries me. You do not warm up to increase performance in each
session, you warm up so that you can keep doing sessions (hint: you can't work
out when you're injured).

~~~
gaius
Absolutely. Air squats before real squats get blood flowing into the muscle,
you "rehearse" the move a few times to remind yourself of the form, etc.
That's what reduces the possibility of injury.

If you think about it from an evolutionary perspective, a warmup to increase
performance makes no sense - you wouldn't have time to stretch first if you
were about to be eaten by a hungry mammoth - the body would want to jump
straight to peak power and if you get injured it's better than being dead...

------
rawnlq
You should include your actual lifting experience rather than irrelevant stuff
like startup founder and engineer.

By the end of the first page my impression is that you started lifting for 90
days and decided to nerd out and write a guide (which is probably not true,
but I'm also not motivated to continue reading to find out).

Tell me your stats and the timeframe you achieved them in. Can't really
approach this topic abstractly and theoretically like engineering.

~~~
gaius
If you read to the end, you need to spam 15 friends on FB to see the last
page, or pay $8. I'm not in the market for such a guide right now, just
curious to see what the deal was - and it's not reasonable IMHO for a guy who
has been doing this for 3 months and is reproducing advice found for free
elsewhere, to charge anything...

I mean check this out: [http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-
lean-infog...](http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cost-of-getting-lean-
infographic)

Or read t-nation.com

------
flippyhead
The only thing more consistent than the simplicity of basic weight training is
the consistency that people are duped into thinking there are tricks.

~~~
camillomiller
Or that building muscle necessarily means "being fit" and that it's the go-to
thing to do if you want to "exercise".

Looking fit ≠≠≠ being fit.

------
CalChris
Start with BodyPump. You won't learn much if anything about proper form etc
but you'll get a lot of low intensity reps in.

After about 6 months +- you'll plateau. This is good.

Switch over to a 5x5 program like StrongLifts. Read about proper form. Watch
YouTube videos about proper form. Ask about proper form. Avoid personal
trainers and do this yourself.

I like the SL app since I can mentally check out and just think about form.

Learn to love the squat. Never skip your warmups.

Go from there.

~~~
interrrested
Why avoid personal trainers ? While I do agree but how to get proper form ?

~~~
CalChris
IMHO, a lot of time spent studying proper form by watching YouTube videos
(Scott Hermann, BuffDudes, Layne Norton, ...) will help you a lot more. A lot
of this is mental; it's you figuring things out. I don't think PTs are good
teachers. But I've learned a lot from watching these guys over and over again.

All that and learn to love the squat. Paused ATG. Squats make everything
better.

~~~
baytrailcat
Youtube is a great resource to find a general consensus of the common wisdom.

You can also record yourself with a tripod and camera and watch later.

Another way to learn is to watch other people (People who look like they know
what they are doing) in the gym. If you are the outgoing type, you can spark a
conversation with them and ask them to watch your form (or spot your lifts).
You get lot of practical knowledge this way.

Form is everything. If you cannot do the reps with proper form (and
breathing), reduce the load till you can, then slowly progress. It is worth
it.

------
drakonka
This was largely a decent intro, but I would hesitate to trust this one
article's statements without doing other research and reading other guides.

One thing that stood out to me was the author's idea that creatine is not
beneficial for women to the point where we may as well skip it. There is
research showing the opposite of what the author has stated. Example:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9390981](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9390981)

Creatine, as he says, is among the most widely researched supplements. Aside
from providing potential cognitive benefits it has been shown to be effective
for both men and women working toward strength gains. And as another user
commented, creatine supplementation could very well explain part of the great
weight gain the author claims to have experienced as it causes muscles to
retain water and appear bigger (in both genders).

------
snicky
Sorry for a shameless plug, but since we are in an exercise-related thread it
might be a good place to... yeah, you guessed it - present our app and ask for
some advise. It contains serious training plans (think weightlifting, not
5-minute abs workouts) and helps you to follow them. It's called Fortitudo and
its first scratch is available on Android here:
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.com.fortitu...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.com.fortitudo)

We're also building iOS and web versions now and all of us developers working
on the app are weightlifters with 3-10 years of experience :) Please take a
look at it and tell me what you liked and what you didn't. Thanks

[Edit] Website (an oldish version): [https://42.do/](https://42.do/)

------
julianshapiro
Author here. More than happy to spend the next few hours answering any
questions if the admins find that appropriate. I will do my best to cite
evidence/research for my responses.

~~~
finkin1
I've seen some studies that say the number of reps you do doesn't matter. Can
you comment on this? Here's a link to a study:
[http://jap.physiology.org/content/early/2016/05/09/japplphys...](http://jap.physiology.org/content/early/2016/05/09/japplphysiol.00154.2016)

Also, I've never heard of muscles shrinking due to being overworked. Can you
elaborate on how this happens?

~~~
julianshapiro
#1: Reps. When working out for muscle size (as opposed to strength), it's
optimal to use a weight that’s light enough to do a set of at least 8 reps
with but heavy enough that you can't easily do more than 10 reps [1, 2]. This
range of 8 to 10 reps means it's fine if you stop at 8, 9, or 10 reps in any
set. Go as high as you can while stopping one rep short of the maximum you
feel you could do.

Stopping one rep short of exhaustion is an important technique: It doesn’t
decrease your rate of gains and it increases your recovery time between sets
so that you can complete all your reps (study, study, study) [3, 4].

#2: Shrinking from overworking is surprisingly a real thing. The science is
unclear as to how _exactly_ muscle mass responds to resistance exercise, so my
answer would be made up if I gave you one. What I can tell you is that "being
overworked" is the result of lifting too heavy for too many total reps. This
might seem impossible since your body should be unable to continue lifting
past a natural point of exhaustion, but if you use machine exercises
(especially a pulley machine), it's easy to cause a disproportionate amount of
stress to your muscle relative to the incrementing heaviness trajectory you
were lifting for free weights.

[1]
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7873571_Muscular_ad...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7873571_Muscular_adaptations_in_response_to_three_different_resistance-
training_regimens_Specificity_of_repetition_maximum_training_zones)

[2]
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23252049_Changes_in...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23252049_Changes_in_muscle_size_and_MHC_composition_in_response_to_resistance_exercise_with_heavy_and_light_loading_intensity)

[3]
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4731492/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4731492/)

[4]
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21986694](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21986694)

~~~
Y201K
Recent research has shown that progressing with 8-12 reps is not any more
optimal for hypertrophy than progressing with 20-30 reps (what people would
normally think of as developing "muscular endurance"). The difference in
practicing 8-12 reps is increasing strength as well, i.e., participants doing
20-30 reps didn't see significant increases in their 1RMs (despite muscle
growth) while those doing 8-12 reps did.

------
jkraker
I used to obsess over muscle mass back in college and that being "all
natural." Creatine and citrulline malate? I black listed them in my quest, and
my personal experience is that these are not needed for the goals stated in
the article. I also did not use protein supplements, but then again I had
access to an all you can eat cafeteria with sufficient variety to support a
(mostly) healthy protein rich diet.

A disciplined training program and diet got me what the article promises (over
20 lbs of muscle mass and significant strength gains) without buying any
supplements. I can't remember how long it took, but it wasn't that much longer
than 3 months. As long as you're not going for the unusually bulked up look, a
disciplined training program and diet will get you where you want to be.

------
wruza
Though I'm not taking it as ultimate truth, I'm glad this article exists. Most
foobar-advice sites just copy-paste some material without bothering to note
readers that it is not backed by anything except similar googled bs.

Btw, is anyone aware of "engineer's guide to xyz" aggregator?

~~~
wruza
After reading it, all came down to "if you want to lose some fat, pay some
bucks or share the link with 15 people" formula.

Subtleties are always there at the end.

------
projektir
The impression I got is that men like the thin type more than the fit type.
And, even then, they care about the face more than they care about the body.
The motivation to exercise for that kind of reason is just not there for
women, in my opinion.

Agreed with his thoughts on male physique attractiveness, though, as well as
the section about steroids.

Overall, seems like a nice guide, and I appreciate someone, for one,
remembering that women exist. Very detailed and comprehensive, even if it's
not necessarily super accurate (doesn't have to be, does it?). I may add it to
my schedule in addition to the kickboxing if I can justify a 2nd gym. I find
it interesting that he stats with grip, grip and basic hand strength is my #1
problem for so many situations. I spent about 2 hours preparing a bike rack
because I simply didn't have enough strength to move the metal rods in place.

I think his arguments for how little time it takes vs. how easy it is to get
to a decent baseline (rather than chasing the popular ideal) are good enough.
And having your own home equipment is probably a much better predictor of
consistency than any amount of motivation. The other motivation stuff I would
say is decidedly not useful. Exercise at this level is indeed available to
almost everyone and doesn't require you to be a hyper-motivated super hard
working person, you just need to decide that it's something you want to do and
fit in your schedule.

~~~
ZenoArrow
> "The impression I got is that men like the thin type more than the fit
> type."

I know it's a cliché, but it's also true... men have different preferences,
just like women have different preferences. However, if we're looking at
average preferences across the world, I'd say men overall do prefer fitness
over thinness (assuming it's toned fitness instead of a bodybuilder physique).

I suspect the idea that men value thinness above fitness may in part come from
the fashion industry, where height and thinness are definitely prized highly,
but in my opinion that's mostly because they make it easier on fashion
designers (long flowing lines, less need to tailor the clothes to the body
shape of the model).

> "And, even then, they care about the face more than they care about the
> body."

I would say this is true, but again I can only speak for myself. In my
personal opinion a woman with an attractive face is attractive almost
regardless of their body shape.

> "The motivation to exercise for that kind of reason is just not there for
> women, in my opinion."

Sure, the motives are different. From what you've said, it sounds like you're
already committed to working out, so this isn't something that applies to you,
but what I want to make it clear to anyone reading this is... do it for
yourself. None of what I've just said about body preferences matters, feeling
healthy is better than just looking good. If it gives you a confidence boost
too, great. I guess what I'm saying is don't let a feeling of 'not being good
enough' drive you, instead enjoy the results you get out of what you put in.

------
robomartin
My biggest source of frustration is fat loss vs. strength/muscle gain.

I started strength training a year ago. Didn't really get serious about it
until march of this year. I'm 50+ and had to devote several months to work on
flexibility and what I call "injury proofing" myself. This meant mostly
working with machines to slowly get things ready for free weights. In March I
quit machines and switched 100% to free weights under the Rippetoe program.

I've seen visible improvements in shape, for example, my t-shirs are now
tighter around my biceps. And, yes, I am significantly stronger than a year
ago. What's the problem, then?

Well, I probably have 30 lbs of fat, with a good chunk of it around my belly,
that just makes me miserable. My lifting coach tells me I need to accept it
and eat more. I hate it and want my "you look pregnant" fat belly gone. Not
sure what to do other than to stop lifting and going on a low calore diet. I
am afraid I would lose all the gains of the last year of work. I am
approaching a 300 lbs deadlift at this point.

When I go to a regular gym I am often stronger than most guys there. I am
grabbing hundred+ pound dumbells when everyone else is working with
75-pounders. Yet, I am the one who looks fat. It's frustrating.

~~~
mter
Keep lifting, but your workouts will suffer. I just went from ~274 to ~258.
I'm weak as hell.

You won't lose the strength permanently. I took off years while doing my
degree + my first 2 years and in the past 12 months I regained 20 years of
lifting strength.

------
dahart
Best article I've ever read on muscle building based on reviews of scientific
literature: Matt Might's Hacking Strength
[http://matt.might.net/articles/hacking-
strength/](http://matt.might.net/articles/hacking-strength/)

From a high level, it looks like this article aligns and agrees with Might's.

------
nicholas73
It's true that gains can be had quickly. I've seen athletes go from Charles on
the left, to bodybuilder on the right, in a 3-6 month timeframe. These are
athletes who would get drug tested, so I'm pretty sure it's all natural.

Although I think it's yet to be proven Julian can make you look like Charles
though. Achieving gains is a bit different than building a well rounded
athletic body - the kind that is recognizable and aesthetically pleasing.

My physique was like Charles' but I got it from playing sports over years, not
from doing isolated exercises in the gym. It's easy to spot who got big in the
gym, as certain muscles are overemphasized.

So it's quite easy to be healthy and strong. Just pick an activity you like,
and eat well. IMO, gym work should be on top of that, to get you competitive
in the sport you choose. It's not a complete development unless you really
know what you are doing and are extremely disciplined. That is, doing things
the hard way.

------
ookblah
lol the answer, like a lot of things in life... is simple, but not easy. how
to build muscle:

\- nutrition. eat enough protein and calories. i don't think people have to
overthink this. if you're getting fat and don't like what you see eat less. if
you're constantly weak and tired eat more. if you're good at tracking
cals/weight then do that.

\- get enough sleep.

\- pick a good beginners lifting plan: something like stronglifts or starting
strength. these are help you build solid habits and good form, but in the end
it's just picking up heavy stuff and putting it down until your muscles
fatigue within a certain amount of reps. repeat the next week.

\- the most important factor: consistency. even 2 good spaced out workouts a
week will do wonders, but you'd be surprised how many people can't manage
that. a shitty program and diet/sleep will be overcome by just straight
consistency. you will progress slower, have an off week or two or three, but
by the end of each year you will have progressed. this is where i think people
fail the hardest, and think of it as some like grueling journey to the "finish
line" as fast as possible when it's really a long marathon for the rest of
your life. nobody wins an award for getting leaned out in 3 months vs 6,
you're building habits for life (sorry, just a rant)

i'm obviously simplifying, but for most of the population and even for the
"goal" pics in that article, you could train indefinitely on a basic program
and achieve that.

having jumped on this train at age 29 and going on year 5, i can tell you that
it all these tricks and tips might help you in the short term, but in the end
everyone is going to learn some things the hard way and make some of the same
mistakes over and over. there are no shortcuts (edit: unless you use some
"help").

------
intrasight
There was a time in the distant past when my goal was to get "big". For the
last 10+ years, my goal was to get "fit". After multiple orthopedic surgeries
in 2014 (don't ask), I pretty much have no choice but to focus on "fit". Is
just my personal opinion, but I think "fit" men and women look better than
"big" men and women. Here's my two bullet point guide to fitness:

1\. go to the gym for 2 hours every day

2\. don't eat junk food, drink beer, or drink soda

#2 actually comes as a side benefit from #1, for me anyway, because my body
now keeps my mind in check when it comes to food.

I do fitness classes. No heavy weights. Mostly women - some of whom could kick
my butt. There might be one other guy besides myself in a class of 40. I don't
care - they've let me in on their fitness secret - let me join the tribe.

~~~
stickhandle
But beer is proof that God loves us

------
z3t4
on your first day at the gym, do the exersises without any weigt on, then on
second day do them with half the weigt, or you will be so sore you dont want
to go back. Your body will adapt quickly thoug, after ten sessions it will
start to feel nice.

~~~
tome
I think this is really important. Nothing can destroy the excitement of
starting a new life regime than feeling broken and sore after your first day.

------
reasonattlm
Alternatively, find a contact with access to enough recent biotech equipment
to generate myostatin antibodies [1] or otherwise blockade myostatin or
increase follistatin via gene therapy or other strategy.

I wager that this sort of thing is already taking place quietly on a small
scale, given the large and growing number of people with access to the
necessary tools and ability to do this.

[1]: [http://news.iupui.edu/releases/2015/12/myostatin-warden-
musc...](http://news.iupui.edu/releases/2015/12/myostatin-warden-muscle-
growth.shtml)

~~~
jacques_chester
There's a lot of snake oil in this space. Nobody has conclusively developed
any kind of myostatin inhibition in humans.

There's basically a Nobel prize for anyone who does because it's the holy
grail for muscle-wasting diseases. So the research is fiercely intensive.

------
BigJeffeRonaldo
It's not obvious to me that you need to research this stuff. Just start going
to a gym and do whatever the bug guys do, then ask advice when appropriate.

------
vannevar
The 2.5lb increments/week seems unrealistic. If you can increase weight by
2.5lb/week over any sustained period, it most likely means that you started
with too low a weight. A 2-3 week increment cycle seems intuitively more
likely to match actual strength gains. I'd be curious to hear others'
experience, or any references on the subject.

~~~
toasterlovin
I will grant that I was severely underweight when I started lifting at 6'6",
205lbs (well, underweight by the standards of strong people; most people would
probably say I was a better weight when I started), but I have gained weight
at around that rate for sustained periods multiple times in my lifting career.

10/10/13 - 12/11/13, 205lbs - 235lbs, 3.75lbs per week

4/24/14 - 9/12/14, 235lbs - 275lbs, 2.2lbs per week

4/29/16 - 8/22/16, 385lbs - 315lbs, 2lbs per week

I don't know exactly what my body fat % is, but I do have the healthy layer of
fat that you would expect of somebody who is "bulking". My gut feeling is that
my body fat % is similar now at 320 to what it was at 245.

I followed Starting Strength's gallon of milk per day recommendation and
generally ate as much food as possible. Lots of carbs, didn't really pay much
attention to my protein intake, though I eat a "normal" amount of meat.

I should say, though, that my gut feeling is that I could have grown faster in
the last two spurts. Gaining has, so far, never felt difficult and, as a
father of two small children , my lifestyle is not really compatible with
optimizing recovery. I've been super stressed through a lot of my training and
I'm a notorious insomniac even on nights where kids don't keep me up.

~~~
vannevar
That sounds reasonable for bulking. I was actually referring to the increments
on the weights you're lifting. If curling 25 lbs is on the edge of your
ability to finish 4 sets when you start, say, is it reasonable to expect
you'll be curling 35 lbs one month later? And 45 lbs a month after that? In my
experience, real strength gains come more slowly.

~~~
toasterlovin
Probably not for curls, but definitely for lower body. I'm still adding 7.5lbs
to my squat every week (currently at 355x5x3) and 15lbs to my deadlift
(current at 395x5x1).

------
languagehacker
I'm very much looking forward to this guy's next posts: * 20 Things You Can Do
To Drive Your Man Wild Tonight! * We Ask Ten Women What They Really Think of
Dudes With A Six Pack * "It took all day" \-- Jonathan Taylor Thomas with an
exclusive on his recent visit to the DMV

The last one won't be a rambling blog post, either. It will be science.

------
acconrad
How you can tell someone is lying to you / full of crap rule #10233:

They sell you something as a pre-requisite to the thing that needs to be done.

These priorities are seriously out of whack. If you simply ate healthy (in a
caloric excess) and did a basic strength training program at a gym (5x5 or
Starting Strength), you would get superior results to citrulline malate and
hand gripper exercises. Check out these pyramids[1][2] to understand how to
prioritize your nutrition and exercise.

[1] [http://muscleandstrengthpyramids.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015...](http://muscleandstrengthpyramids.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/10/Eric-Helms-Muscle-Strength-Nutrition-Pyramid.jpg)

[2] [http://www.kinetix.bz/wp-
content/uploads/2015/07/TrainingPyr...](http://www.kinetix.bz/wp-
content/uploads/2015/07/TrainingPyramid.jpg)

Notice for nutrition, supplements are the smallest part, whereas calories
(energy balance) are the most important. Funny how this article focuses on the
least important part.

Or for training, notice that the most important section is specificity - if
you're training for strength and size, you need to train the exercises that
maximize the strength and size of as many muscles as possible. So therefore
would you choose big movements that work lots of muscles with lots of weight
to build lots of muscle simultaneously (i.e. squat, deadlift) or small
movements that work few muscles and therefore influence a small amount of mass
(i.e. hand gripping and crushing strength).

You don't need to pay for anything to get in shape (other than a gym
membership). I'm a competitive powerlifter who graduated high school at 6'1"
140 lbs and I routinely walk around over 200 lbs now at 30, without ever
having to pay for hand grippers or someone's workout plans to make it work.

------
bitL
Make sure you don't destroy your immunity/adrenal glands by overtraining.
Lifting is a major source of stress and can overload your stress-coping
mechanism; if you go through a phase of increased stress from work/family,
tone it down or do just maintenance cardio, or else you might break down and
become seriously sick.

------
amelius
I'd like to hear some good advice on how to get rid of belly fat. Of course, I
could eat less, but then I'd be in constant need of energy (as I do work out a
lot, so I think I'd lose muscles if I ate less, which would be bad of course).
So, how do I lose that belly fat while maintaining muscles?

~~~
beachstartup
"i just want to lose a little bit of belly fat" is an internet fitness cliche
second only to "i don't want to get all big and bulky".

the startup equivalent is, "i don't want to be a billionaire, i just want to
make a couple million bucks, that's all. where do i start?"

luckily, losing fat is easier than startups, because it's deterministic.

you can not spot-reduce fat. you need to lose fat all over your body. your
genetics determine where it comes off first/last/etc. anyone telling you
otherwise is selling you something.

for fat loss, look into a ketogenic diet and high intensity interval training
combined with strength training.

------
brandonmenc
> Workouts: First 2 months [...] 2 months to infinity [...]

A recipe for unlimited plateauing. Don't tell this guy about mesocycles.

He's still in the "newbie gains" phase - where nearly anything you do results
in gains - so take everything he says with a huge grain of salt.

------
huntermonk
> "In other words, the majority of women prefer the left side to the right
> side"

These sort of statements are misleading - women who are more physically
attractive (unfortunately, what most males prefer) tend to prefer the model on
the right (in my experience).

~~~
jazzyk
Most of females are into the types of Brad Pitt and David Beckham, who are
definitely fit, but thin (Beckham is outright scrawny, Pitt used to be "cut"
when he was young, not so much now)

So definitely the "left" type. A lot of women say they are intimidated by too
much muscle.

------
presidentender
This is not _wrong_ , but it's also not any more right than stronglifts.

------
santa_boy
Quite timely :-) .. Any training videos / program that anyone would recommend?
There are ton out there and would like to get a few recommendations (paid ones
too)

------
milkdilk
Nice amazon affiliate link get rich quick scheme.

------
jsonmez
LOL. Just LOL. I hate to be negative. But look at author. Look at his
pictures. He's got no clue what it really takes or what he is taking about.
Not bad advice, but not great. I've spent 20 years building my physique
([http://YouTube.com/simpleprogrammer](http://YouTube.com/simpleprogrammer))
and I can tell you that no one has it "figured out." I have learned one thing
for sure though. Never trust someone who doesn't look much better than you do.

~~~
laichzeit0
The biggest problem is when people using anabolic steroids give advise without
disclaiming that they're not natural. The two simply do not go together.
Naturals do not train the same as steroid users. They cannot recover as fast.
They cannot do such high volume work. They need to get stronger to get bigger.
Most of the bro science revolves around some brosplit that hits 1 body part
once a week and at some ridiculous volume.

~~~
raverbashing
"Let me try this same training routine as someone on steroids and wonder why I
can't make progress because the only thing increasing is my cortisone levels"

------
thehooplehead
What worked for me was removing barriers to exercise. It's been an odd,
decade-long progression, but here's how it went:

\-------------

I. Initial Annoyance with Gym

a) The biggest barrier is building the willpower to get to the gym. I live in
a snowy city, so I knew that heading to the gym would be torture in the
winter.

b) Working full-time meant that the only times to head to the gym were before
work (6-8) or after work. I wanted to match my exercise time to when I had the
motivation.

c) Heading to the gym is a huge cost. If you do 4 sets, it might only be 20
minutes of actual lifting, an hour round trip to/from the gym, 20 minutes
showering. I think mentally, you know that heading to the gym is a a huge
time-sink, cluster of obligations that goes far beyond the actual lifting.

\--------------

II. the Home Gym - It was the obvious solution to the issues above. In
addition, it's been a massive cost saving over the years. It's not a massive
setup, here's what I have:

a) Bowflex Selecttech dumbbells - they adjust weights from 12.5 pounds to 52.5
pounds (there's a version that goes up to 90lbs too). You can do a lot of
different exercises with them

b) Jump rope - a heavy leather rope, not a speed rope. It's incredible how fit
you'll get from jumping for 15 straight minutes every other day. Plus it beats
running because you can watch TV while you do it.

c) Two kettlebells

d) Resistance bands - these have been marginally useful, but they're also
cheap and really portable. I bring them with me when I travel

e) interlocking floor mats - these protect the floor, but I've never dropped
anything in nearly 8 years

f) a yoga mat - for situps

g) an Xbox - I'm not kidding. I would play Pro Evolution Soccer and Fallout 3
while doing situps.

h) Medicine ball - Don't get one. It's no fun unless you have someone to throw
it to.

I researched different lifts using ExRx primarily using these two links:

* [http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html](http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html)

* [http://www.exrx.net/Lists/WtMale.html](http://www.exrx.net/Lists/WtMale.html)

All of those items can be tucked away into a closet or under the bed. I stuck
with that for the first four years of my home gym. Ultimately, I added two
large pieces that increased the space taken up, but still don't dominate the
room they're in:

* An adjustable bench that folds flat

* the Power Tower (that's really what it's called) - a station for chin-ups/pull-ups and Roman chair lifts

You won't be Instagram-huge, but you can get large muscles. It's a little
underpowered for chest since it lacks a bench press, but you'll still have
chest gains doing isometric dumbbell presses.

\-----------

Finally, this summer, I've lately found a ridiculously effective way to
motivate myself to consistent exercise -- I only play video games while
exercising. It's essentially a Pomodoro-style alternation between 8 minutes of
playing, then lifting 10-15 reps of each exerise. It's incredible to realize
that it only takes about 4 minutes to run through your exercises. I think
people often spend the interval between sets agonizing about how tired they
are and dreading the next set. Now, once I'm done lifting, I go straight to
another mental task (video games) which feels like a reward for lifting. Once
cycled through my exercises 4-6 times, I drink a protein shake, maybe play
videogames for another hour, then continue with the rest of my day.

It sounds bizarre, but it's been a ten year progression to fit exercise as
painless as possible. I wouldn't recommend this for beginners though. Exercise
equipment isn't the sort of thing you want to buy lightly. Also, I had lifted
a bit in high school, and consistently in college before starting the home
gym. It's likely best to learn the basics first.

------
johnward
Hackers Guide to gaining muscle: Trenbolone

~~~
caub
not to confound with Toblerone

~~~
mschuetz
I do like toblerone, though.

------
caub
[https://daks2k3a4ib2z.cloudfront.net/54a5a40be53a05f34703dd1...](https://daks2k3a4ib2z.cloudfront.net/54a5a40be53a05f34703dd18/57b12ee3ec62b90517b8b4f1_My%20Transformation%202-p-800x593.jpeg)
on the left, it feels far enough muscles for a developer, why would you need
more muscles? that consumes more calories :) and are pretty useless, except
for our stupidly wrong society's standards

~~~
vemv
\- You'll look like a developed man, rather than like a permateenager. This is
nature, not artificial standards

\- Greater bone strength AND flexibility, preventing posture issues

\- You'll be perceived better in your development team when it comes to
leadership, arguments, etc. It's hardwired in us

Seems like a deal to me!

