The hardgainers guide to rapid muscle growth
Today, a couple of questions about hardgainers and muscle growth, lactic acid and DOMS, as well as protein requirements for muscle growth.
Q. I think about myself a hardgainer because I have a very tough time building muscle. Do you have any kind of tips for me that will deliver results?
A. If you need a straightforward suggestion for muscle size, a total of thirty to 60 reps per bodypart two times a week is enough to lead to size gains in the majority hardgainers. Using the barbell bench press by way of example, if you’re following an upper-lower split, you might do 5 heavy sets of 5 reps, and then a back-off set of ten (5 x 5 + 10 = 35 total reps) on Monday followed by 4 lighter sets of 10 reps (4 x 10 = 40 reps) on the Thursday. The majority hardgainer workouts should really be based on this proven mass-building concept.
Q. What do you think about the idea that lactic acid brings about muscle soreness?
A. Truth is, far from being a waste product, lactic acid is really a supply of energy for your muscles. In fact, one of the reasons that intensive training makes it possible to exercise harder and longer is that it makes your muscles better at using lactic acid.The concept lactic acid is detrimental is one of the classic mistakes in the history of science.
Lactic acid has absolutely nothing to do with DOMS. In fact, a lot of the lactic acid is gone from your muscles soon after exercise.
So why do your muscles get sore a day or two after working out?
A bout of unaccustomed or unusually rigorous exercise leads to inflammation – precisely the same biological safety system that causes the redness, swelling and pain when you cut your skin.
Inflammation is your body’s reaction to damage so helping to commence the process of repair and healing. And one of the stages in this process is an increase in the production of immune cells, which rise to a peak between one and two days after activity.
These cells then generate chemical compounds that make pain receptors within your body – which are to blame for the transmission of dull, aching pain signals – very sensitive.
The outcome?
When you move, these pain receptors are triggered. As they are way more sensitive to pain than usual, you wind up feeling sore.
Q. Just how much protein is desirable for gaining muscle? I have seen suggestions which range from 1 to 2.5 grams of protein each pound of bodyweight, and I have also seen quite a few people claim that virtually no additional protein is required? Who’s correct?
A. Protein specialist Doctor Peter Lemon suggests 1.6-1.7 grams of protein for each kilogram of body mass daily for individuals involved in resistance training. Consequently, a 70-kg man would take in about 136 grams of protein daily. A lot of bodybuilders will strive for a rather larger figure – about 2.2 grams for each kilogram (one gram for every pound) – which will give our 70-kg man 154 grams of protein each day.
The higher amount stated (2.5 grams for every pound) is too high. Surplus protein is going to be burned to supply energy, utilized for ureagenesis or turned into sugar, and is highly unlikely to be transformed into additional muscle.