The hardgainers guide to rapid muscle growth

Today, there are a couple of questions about hardgainers and muscular growth, lactic acid and post-exercise muscle soreness, as well as protein intake for mass building.

Q. I consider myself a hardgainer because I have a very tough time gaining muscle. Do you have any approaches for me that will deliver results?

A. If you need a uncomplicated suggestion for muscle size, a total of thirty to 60 reps for each muscle group twice per week is enough to result in mass gains in the majority hardgainers. To use the flat bench press as an example, if you are using an upper-lower split routine, you might perform 5 heavy sets of five repetitions, and then a back-off set of ten (5 x 5 + 10 = 35 total reps) on Monday and then 4 lighter sets of 10 repetitions (4 x 10 = 40 reps) on the Thursday. The majority of hardgainer workouts should be based upon this proven muscle-building concept.

Q. What is your opinion on the thought that lactic acid causes muscle soreness?

A. The fact is, far from being a waste product, lactic acid is actually a source of power for your muscles. In fact, one of the reasons that intense training helps you exercise harder and for a longer time is that it makes your muscles better at utilizing lactic acid. The concept lactic acid is bad is amongst the classic blunders in the history of science.

Lactic acid has nothing to do with delayed-onset muscle soreness. The truth is, a lot of the lactic acid is gone from your muscles shortly after exercise.

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

A session of unaccustomed or unusually intense exercise brings about inflammation – the same natural defense system that creates the redness, swelling and pain when you cut your skin.

Inflammation is the body’s response to injury and helps to commence the process of restoration and recovery. And one of the steps in this process is an increase in the production of immune cells, which reach a high 24-48 hours after activity.

These cells then generate chemical compounds that make pain receptors in your body – which are responsible for the transmission of certain pain signals – very sensitive.

The result?

Whenever you move, these pain receptors are stimulated. Because they are significantly more responsive to pain than normal, you end up feeling sore.

Q. Just how much protein is necessary for gaining muscle? I have seen suggestions which range from 1 to 2.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, and I have also noticed some individuals point out that virtually no additional protein should be used? Who is right?

A. Protein expert Doctor Peter Lemon advises 1.6-1.7 grams of protein per kilo of body mass each day for individuals engaged in strength training. So, a seventy kilogram man would ingest around 136 grams of protein on a daily basis. Most bodybuilders will shoot for a rather larger figure – about 2.2 grams every kilogram (1 gram for each pound) – which would give our 70 kilogram guy 154 grams of protein each day.

The larger figure stated (2.5 grams per pound) is just too high. Excess protein is likely to be burnt off to produce energy, used for ureagenesis or turned into sugar, and is highly unlikely to be converted into new muscle mass.