Muscle gain
- Thread starter DanielHK
- Start date
Chris Mills
Level 6 Valued Member
or do your clothes fit differently (tighter in neck and shoulders, looser around waist)? This is sometimes first obvious sign.
Hrungnir
Level 7 Valued Member
A lot of good answers in here, just to add my two cents for me kettlebells have made my traps explode like barbells never did. It’s funny because having massive traps has been a goal for quite sometime and I was doing a lot of deadlifts/power cleans/power snatches/shrugs and got some decent progress, gave up to focus on KB C&P and they absolutely exploded.
GovernorSilver
Level 6 Valued Member
I'm in the middle of running Easy Muscle on the clean-and-press only schedule. I'll use a sewing measuring tape to try to measure results at the end of the program but shirts feel tighter than they did before I started the program.
From what I understand of recent hypertrophy research, the choice of training tool does not matter as long as the volume is high enough to stimulate muscle growth, preferably with a 10-rep max load or whatever load your program of choice recommends. The same research I looked at also says hypertrophy resulted from training with a light load, but only if reps were done to failure - which is has some consequences- eg. maybe needing more recovery days between workouts vs. not training to failure.
I prefer kettlebells and suspension trainers because they're very forgiving on my joints compared to other equipment I've tried.
From what I understand of recent hypertrophy research, the choice of training tool does not matter as long as the volume is high enough to stimulate muscle growth, preferably with a 10-rep max load or whatever load your program of choice recommends. The same research I looked at also says hypertrophy resulted from training with a light load, but only if reps were done to failure - which is has some consequences- eg. maybe needing more recovery days between workouts vs. not training to failure.
I prefer kettlebells and suspension trainers because they're very forgiving on my joints compared to other equipment I've tried.
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DanielHK
Level 4 Valued Member
This is actually part of the issue.. clothes are looser - but at 162lbs I feel like I dont have more room to go down .. idea is not to lose weight
DanielHK
Level 4 Valued Member
Do you feel like you have added muscle with easy strength?
Scrumdog
Level 4 Valued Member
I've run Easy Muscle A once and the Giant several times and found both added muscle around my shoulders and upper torso.
North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
Eat more.
60% of hypertrophy is nutrition. If not eating enough, any program becomes a weight loss program.
fabskl
Level 5 Valued Member
Actually, research (e.g. Schoenfeld et al.) shows that similar hypertrophy can be achieved with a wide range of load (>30%1RM), as long as the reps are done "close to failure", mostly 0-5 reps in reserve, where going to failure (0 RIR) is very taxing on you CNS, but does not contribute much more to the hypertrophic stimulus.
So number of hard sets is more important than load. With low loads you need to do many reps, which can be unpleasant (the "burn") and with high loads you need more rest and it stresses on the joints more. So 10RM is a good middle ground.
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DanielHK
Level 4 Valued Member
Helpful. Thank you
Do you track your nutrition?
What are your calories, protein, carbs, and fats each day?
Make sure you're getting at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean or goal body-weight (this is non-negotiable). You can go up to 1.5-2 grams per pound of lean or goal body-weight especially if you're eating lower carbs.
Research is clear on this especially for fat loss (you need more protein then):
Has your weight gone up or down while following BuiltStrong Minimalist?
For sure!
However, he's using BuiltStrong Minimalist 3x/week and S&S on the off days.
bluejeff
Level 7 Valued Member
This is becoming more and more accepted. Look into Chris Beardsley’s work on hypertrophy. The short of it is that a “hard set” means the individual muscle fibers are experiencing a high degree of mechanical tension. More researchers (including Schoenfield, IIRC) are starting to think that mechanical tension is not only a key factor for hypertrophy but might be THE key factor. Going “close to failure” means you end up exerting a lot of tension towards the end of the set. That’s what’s meant by a “hard set.” It also helps explain why varying rep and loading ranges result in hypertrophy.
I’ve personally seen hypertrophy from slow and controlled pushup variations as well as from heavy, low rep work. I saw quad development from high rep Hindu squats as well (light load and high volume). In either case, the last couple-few reps per set had to feel pretty difficult.
Viewed this way, it really does seem to point to moderate-rep sets as being the Goldilocks zone for hypertrophy. Low rep and high load means that while you’re getting a high dose of tension, you’re not able to get a very high volume. High rep and low load means that the volume gets really high with respect to the amount of “hard reps.” Moderate load, however, means you can get a good 5-ish hard reps for every set of something like 8.
Edit: this model ALSO helps explain why cluster sets work so well for a lot of people…
DanielHK
Level 4 Valued Member
I eat between 2100-2300 cals; 150-160g protein and fill out the rest with carbs / fats — typically higher fats
watchnerd
Level 8 Valued Member
+1
I'm only 1" taller than OP, but my lean body mass (as measured by Dexa) is higher than OP's total bodyweight.
I do my hypertrophy work in the winter, when it's easier to naturally eat more.
watchnerd
Level 8 Valued Member
I'm only 1" taller than you and probably older (53), but if I eat 2100-2300 calories a day, I'm losing weight rapidly.
My maintenance calories are 2900-3200 calories, depending on my training at the time.
watchnerd
Level 8 Valued Member
Ben Strong
Level 5 Valued Member
To reiterate what watchnerd said, it seems that you are eating on the low end of the recommended range for your weight. The low end of the range is for sedentary individuals, see snip from BMR calculator below. I wasn't sure of your age so went with 25 years old. Since you are running Built Strong Minimalist and S&S then you are far from sedentary. If your goal is to gain muscle then it seems the missing link here is your overall calorie intake. It seems your training stimulus is in order so try eating more. Your protein intake seems to be hitting the mark (1g/lb BW) so perhaps try to get some complex carbs (e.g. sweet potatoes, oats, rice) or more healthy fats (e.g. peanut butter, almonds, avocado, pumpkin seeds) on training days and see if that helps.
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North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
Imma push back on this a little. Personally I believe what works best might vary from person to person, but I stand close to Thib when he (paraphrase) says to do enough to trigger muscle synthesis and then get out of the gym.
Have also seen a huge difference between lower load approaches and ones that utilize a high % of one's repmax for at least 1/3 of my volume.
And topping it off I got my best hypertrophic response using relatively low weekly volume but hammering in the last set per exercise. More to it than just that.