Avril To put it bluntly, reasonable resistance fitness is a necessary prerequisite for men to gain muscle, but it is definitely not the only determining factor. The essence of muscle gain is the result of the joint action of "training stimulation + nutritional supplements + rest to promote repair." If you practice wrong, supplement wrong, or don't sleep enough, let alone building muscle, you may lose muscle.
There is a lot of quarrel on the Internet about the relationship between the two. Some people say, "You can gain weight as long as you pound the iron." Some people say, "70% of eating and 30% of training, training is not important at all." In fact, it is all based on the experience of each person stepping on the pitfalls, and there is no absolute right or wrong. When I first touched the fitness equipment, I believed the saying "you just have to practice well". I went to the gym for two hours every day, taking turns to pound my chest, shoulders, back and legs. I felt lazy even if I took 30 seconds between sets. When I got hungry after training, I would eat hamburgers and drink iced Coke. When I got back, I had to stay up until one or two o'clock to play games. In three months, I gained five pounds. My body fat increased by 4%, my muscle mass didn't increase by half a cent, and I looked swollen even when wearing a T-shirt. Only later did I realize that my training was equivalent to tearing down an old house and preparing to build a new one. As a result, I didn't transport steel and cement, and I didn't give the workers time to build it. What kind of house can I build?
Later, I met a brother who happened to be on the other extreme. He used a food scale to count calories every day. Every bite of chicken breast had to be measured accurately to the gram. He drank protein supplements in small doses, fearing that they would be wasted ten minutes later. As a result, it was good to go to the gym twice a week. Each training session lasted for forty minutes, and half the time was enough. I kept taking photos in front of the mirror, and the training weight always stayed at the level I just started, and my muscles couldn't get enough micro-tear stimulation. After eating so much protein, it turned into belly fat. In half a year, my body fat increased a lot, and my arm circumference only increased by less than 0.5 centimeters.
To use an analogy, building muscle is like giving your boss a salary increase. Training is your work performance. You must first provide evidence that "the work I do deserves a higher salary" before your boss will consider giving you a raise. Nutrition and rest are your bargaining chips when negotiating salary with your boss. Without any of them, you can't negotiate.
Don’t think that just exercising can help you build muscle. Different exercise modes have far different effects. I was preparing for a half-marathon in the past two years. I ran 10 kilometers every day for two months. I only did strength training once in a while. I didn't deliberately take in enough protein after training. In two months, my arm circumference dropped by 1.5 centimeters. My previous fitness clothes made my shoulder line feel slumped. This is because long-term aerobic exercise consumes muscles and does not provide enough resistance stimulation. The body will naturally feel that "muscles are useless and do not need to be retained" and take the initiative to break down the energy supply for you.
There are also people who say, "I don't need to train at all, I just move a few times and I can grow muscles." This is really not bragging. Either they are a novice who has just started to exercise, and their body is particularly sensitive to stimulation. Even if the training is not so standard, it can still be effective.
My deepest feeling after practicing for four or five years is that don’t directly equate fitness and muscle building, and don’t deify any aspect. Be honest and find the training intensity that suits you. Eat enough 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, and sleep for 7 hours a day. Only then will your muscles be willing to slowly grow on your body. There is no rush.
