One of the biggest debates in bodybuilding in the past decade has been about whether a higher or lower training frequency is better. Early studies that compared training only once a week to twice a week seemed to suggest twice a week builds more muscle and that's what most trainers heavily promoted. But more recent studies that were better designed have increased our understanding of this subject.
How often should you train each muscle per week? Over the last decade, a number of studies suggested that hitting each muscle twice a week is ideal and that a low frequency like working each muscle only once a week is not optimal. Recently a group of researchers carefully designed a study to help us answer this question that is still fiercely debated to this day...
For the last decade or so, one of the most researched and talked about subjects in resistance training has been volume. Specifically, how much volume optimizes muscle growth? We know that initially, when you add training volume, you gain more muscle, but then the amount of gains tapers off. But ultimately, if volume exceeds a certain level, gains flatten out and reverse direction, which indicates the point of overtraining and under-recovery. The million dollar questions are, "how much volume is enough" and could counting sets be the best way to track it?
How much protein you should eat per day to build muscle at the optimum rate? This question has been debated for years. It still is to this day, though good science points to 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day as a pretty good guideline. But one question that probably causes even more controversy and confusion is this one: “How much protein you should eat at each meal?” Differently stated, “How much protein can your body absorb or digest in one sitting?”
One of the biggest training debates in recent years is about the ideal training frequency: If your goal is building muscle, should you train each muscle group once a week or twice a week? (Or somewhere in between?) If you listen to most trainers today, you'll probably hear them say it's ideal work each muscle twice per week. However, based on recent research as well as observation of what's working for top bodybuilders, the answer about training frequency may not be so cut and dried. In today's post, Tom Venuto gives a unique and open-minded answer to a reader's question on this topic.
It's possible that everything you thought you knew about how much weight you should lift and how many reps you should do to build muscle might be wrong. But if it is, it's nothing to be upset about. For many people, the recent discovery that you can build as much muscle lifting light weights for high reps as you can lifting moderate weights or heavy weights is great news. Read on to learn why and how you can gain muscle with light weights.
Almost everyone still believes in at least a few protein myths. I admit, I believed some of these myths myself years ago. But the science of optimal protein intake has advanced a lot since then. Also, protein prescription can be very nuanced. "How much protein" can vary based on your goal, current body fat level, training status, age, whether you're in a deficit or surplus, and many other factors. Click to learn more
Everyone knows that the minute you finish lifting you need to slam a post-workout shake with fast acting whey protein and high glycemic index carbs with low fat so that you don’t miss out on the window of opportunity for muscle gains, right? Wrong.
Many top scientists and bodybuilding coaches have suggested that you should eat both after and before you train to maximize muscle-building results. Yet many people don't have time to prepare a full breakfast or sit around waiting for a big meal to digest before being able to train comfortably without nausea. For some, training in the early morning is the only time they can do it. If you're in the same boat, what should you do? Should you force yourself to eat at least something? Will you lose all your gains if you lift fasted? Or is there another solution?
I'd like to introduce a new type of "hybrid" split routine designed for building both muscle and strength at the same time. You'll get a lot stronger on this schedule, but because you don't train heavy every day of the week, it's fairly easy on your joints. It also rotates some of the exercises through the week so you don't get bored, and it uses triple progression so you can keep making gains on the same routine for 12 weeks straight.
