So much gym bro advice is bad, like a good 50% of it is wives tales (bros tales?) and another 25% is just way over thinking it and not necessary unless you're training to become a full time professional body builder competitor.
You really don't need to be "optimizing" your workout and the majority of people don't need to be massively altering their diet and lifestyle to build muscle. The human body is already optimized to build muscle.
The human body is a machine that turns carbs into energy and energy into movement and that movement creates strain. The human body is a machine that turns protein + strain into muscle growth. All you need is the correct amount of crabs, protien, and strain to develop muscle.
"But how much is enough carbs?? How much is enough protein??" 45%-65% of your calories should be carbs (preferably complex carbs and whole foods). If you're trying to build muscle you should be getting half a gram of protein for every pound that you weigh.
"But should I have protein before or after the gym???" it doesn't matter, just get the correct amount daily and avoid having more than 30grams in a meal becouse you're body will stop caring at that point. You should have carbs (roughly an hour or so) before the gym, remember the human body is a machine that turns carbs into energy and you need that energy at the gym.
"Do I need to have lots of testosterone to build visible muscle". No, the human body is a machine that turns protein + strain into muscle, regardless of your hormones. Higher testosterone makes it easier, but it's not required.
"What about all these complicated workout routines that Instagram keeps trying to sell me or that YouTubers keep talking about?" You don't need them. Pick three days you can workout, they should not be back to back. Muscle doesn't build during exerince but during healing after the exercise. If you don't rest between workout days you won't gain as much muscle. On one of those days do 5 exerices that involve the pulling motion. On another day do 5 exerices that do pushing motion. On the other day do 3 exerices for your legs and 2 for your core. Stretch every day including rest days. Do yoga at least once a week.
"How many times do I do those 5 exercises?" 4 or 5 sets of 4-8 reps for each exercise. Start with 4 sets of 4 reps and increase the reps as it gets easier. When it's easy at 5 sets of 8 reps, increase the weight by 2-5 pounds and start over at 4 sets of 4 reps with the new weight. Between every set rest 2-4 minutes (rest 2 mins if your lifting 20 or under and 4 misn if your lifting 20 or higher), rest between sets is important for your body to understand it needs to build muscle, it needs to feel the ache to understand that the protein should be used for muscle development.
"What about cardio?" if you get less then 10k steps a day, add 10-30 mins of cardio to the end of each gym day. If you get less than 5k steps a day add 15 mins of card to the end of each gym day and add a fourth day where you do an hour of cardio. If that's difficult, don't feel like you need to do it all at once. Do 10-15 mins, then rest for 2-5 mins, then do 10-15 mins more until you hit an both of cardio. Cardio doesn't kill your gains, the gym bros are lying to you. Cardio is good for your heart health and your balance which will help you lift more in the long run.
"Do I need to loose weight to gain muscle?" No, the amount of body fat you have doesn't effect your ability to gain muscle. The human body is a machine that turns protein + strain into muscle, and that includes fat bodies.
"Do I need to gain weight to gain muscle?" Maybe. If you are in a calorie deficit (your body burns more calories then you eat and you don't have fat stores to make up for that) then you're not going to be able to gain much muscle and eventually you're body will stop developing it when it hits it limits. Remember the human body is a machine that turns carbs into energy and energy into strain, if you don't have enough carbs you don't have enough energy then you can't lift as much. The human body is a machine that turns protein + strain into muscle, if you don't have enough protien then the strain breaks down your muscle and you have nothing to rebuild it stronger, which will result in injury insta if of gains. If you are skinny and eating enough, you will develop some muscle, but probably not as much as someone who weighs more becouse if there is less body then their is less muscle. Also keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat. When you work out the scale WILL go up, the scale doesn't know the difference between fat and muscle and bone and water and organs. The scale going up is not bad (regardless of the type of weight gain happening).
"Do I need a gym membership to gain muscle?" No, but it makes it easier becouse you have acsess to more tools, a monetary obligation to actually workout, and possibly gain a community that will push you to keep going (just be aware some of that community might firmly believe in gym bro tales about calorie counting and cardio=bad and body fat=bad. You mustn't listen to them. They have a body dysmorphia disorder and/or an eating disorder and they want you to have it to, in order to validate themself). You can buy some Dumbells and do a lot of exerices with those and a chair or a bench or a wall or your floor, no gym membership required.
"What about pre-workout?" You don't need it.
"What about protein powder? " It's an easy and cheap way to meet your protein goals, if you can't with the food available to you.
"What about creatinine?" It is the only supplement proven to help with muscle growth and has no medically known side effects, it has been highly studied and reaserched and determined safe to use. You do not need to use it or any other supplements to gain muscle, if you want to use a supplement, then the only one you should trust and use is creatine.
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