THE FORUMS

Before we start, yes, I know it's ironic that my name is Cupcakes and I'm posting a health-related topic. This thread was inspired by a long debate in another thread about the best methods to become fit.

Without rambling on too much further,  it's not hard to lose weight, or be fit, or put on muscle. It's simple. Yes, there are a few small special things you can tweak to improve your success, but the core remains the same. I've had a good physique for quite a long time now, but it wasn't always that way, I used to be weak and weedy. Now I like how I look, I can lift heavy things when I need to, and when I'm at the beach it gets the attention of girls (this is where looks come in - but back when I was a chode, that's all it got me, attention, it never went further than that.)

To gain muscle:

1. Get enough sleep: 7-8 hours per night
2. Eat enough protein: 2g per kg (1g per lb) of bodyweight
3. Lift weights
4. Be consistent! Keep to it!

Now for a bit more detail.

1. Sleep. When you sleep, your body uses protein to build muscle. Lifting weights strains your muscles, and your body adapts to this strain by building additional muscle. Simple. Get at least 7 hours of sleep per day, 8-9 hours is even better, but I got fine results on about 7 per night.

2. Eating enough protein. Protein is what is used to build your muscle. 2g per kilogram of bodyweight is ideal (that's 1g per pound.) 1.5g/kg will still work pretty well. If you are serious about building mass I wouldn't go less than that. Calories do not matter, so long as you are not starving yourself.

3. Lift weights. Forget about machines, nothing against them, but you just don't NEED them. These are the main exercises to get you to a good stand-out level of muscularity: bench press, shoulder press, squats, deadlift, barbell curl. The most important thing is that you push yourself. It's called a WORKout, not an easyout.

Now for a few guidelines: aim for 4-8 sets of each exercise, with 6-12 repetitions per set. If you can easily and consistently do more than 12 reps each set, add more weight. The amount of weight you should be heavy enough that you start struggling to reach that 12th repetiton. Rest 1-2 minutes between sets. How often you work out is up to you. Sometimes I have done full workouts of every exercise lasting around an hour and a half twice per week. Other times I have worked just one or two body parts per day, and ended up doing a larger number of shorter workouts per week. Experiment to see what works best for you. And remember what I have said in this paragraph is a guideline, not a rock solid rule. Sometimes I will go nuts and do 25 sets of bench presses. It ends up working, because I worked my muscles hard, I pushed them to the limit, I strained them.

4. Consistency. You have to keep at this. Results are not immediate, they take time. Don't skip workouts, don't make up shitty excuses for not doing it either. Don't try to justify it. Just go out there and do it, put in the effort, if you don't put in the effort you will not get results.

Putting on muscle is really not hard. This will set you on your way. Forget about anything more complicated, remember:

BE CONSISTENT, it takes time to improve
EAT PROTEIN, 2g/kg will set you well on your way
LIFT WEIGHTS, heavy compound movements, EXHAUST YOURSELF!!!
SLEEP, 7+ hours per night

Much Love,
Cupcakes.