A simple muscle building tip that works for hardgainers

Now, there are a few questions on the subject of hardgainers and muscular growth, lactic acid and DOMS, as well as protein intake for hypertrophy.

Q. I consider myself a hardgainer as I have a very tough time building muscle. Have you got any kind of approaches for me that will deliver results?

A. If you want a straightforward prescription for mass, a total of thirty to 60 reps for each muscle group twice a week is sufficient to lead to muscle growth in just about all hardgainers. To use the barbell bench press as an illustration, if you’re following an upper-lower split, you might do 5 heavy sets of 5 reps, and then a back-off set of 10 (5 x 5 + 10 = 35 total reps) on Monday and then 4 lighter sets of ten repetitions (4 x 10 = 40 reps) on the Thursday. The majority of hardgainer workouts need to be based on this established mass-building concept.

Q. What is your view of the notion that lactic acid results in 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 helps you train harder and for a longer time is that it makes your muscles better at utilizing lactic acid. The notion that lactic acid is bad is among the classic errors in the history of science.

Lactic acid has absolutely nothing to do with post-exercise muscle soreness. In fact, the majority of the lactic acid has disappeared from your muscles shortly after exercise.

So why do your muscles get sore a day or two after working out?

A bout of unaccustomed or unusually intense exercise brings about inflammation – the same natural safety mechanism that causes the redness, swelling and pain when you cut your hand.

Inflammation is your body’s reaction to injury and helps to begin the process of restoration and recovery. And one of the stages in this process is a rise in the production of immune cells, which reach a high 1-2 days after training.

These cells then produce chemical compounds that make pain receptors in your body – which are to blame for the transmission of certain pain signals – more sensitive.

The result?

Whenever you move, these pain receptors are stimulated. As they are far more sensitive to pain than usual, you end up feeling sore.

Q. How much protein is required for adding muscle? I have come across advice covering anything from 1 to 2.5 grams of protein per pound of body mass, and I’ve also seen quite a few people point out that no additional protein is needed? Who is correct?

A. Protein expert Dr. Peter Lemon advises 1.6-1.7 grams of protein for every kilogram of weight per day for those engaged in resistance training. So, a seventy kilogram guy would consume around 136 grams of protein on a daily basis. A lot of bodybuilders will strive for a somewhat larger number – around 2.2 grams every kilo (1 gram for every pound) – which would give our 70-kg guy 154 grams of protein daily.

The bigger amount mentioned (2.5 grams per pound) is too high. Surplus protein is likely to be burned to supply energy, utilized for ureagenesis or turned into sugar, and will not be transformed into additional muscle.